July 27 PCAT score thread

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harmonidrum

harmonidrum

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t-minus 1.5 hours and counting!!:xf: post scores here
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desigirl89 said:
I took my PCAT on July 27th as well and I did good in some areas and not so good in some areas. Here's my percentiles:

VA: 50%
BIO: 99%
CHEM: 95%
RC: 19% <---:scared:
QA: 93%

Should I retake? Aside from PCAT, I have great leadership skills at my univeristy (historian, vice president, and currently president of pre-pharmacy association), 200+ volunteer hours in a hospital pharmacy, and by the time I apply, 1.5 years of pharmacy technician job experience. And my GPA is currently 3.78

What should I do? I'm so confused. Someone please evaluate me!!
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What school are you applying to? these stats are sufficient for most schools.
 
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desigirl89 said:
I took my PCAT on July 27th as well and I did good in some areas and not so good in some areas. Here's my percentiles:

VA: 50%
BIO: 99%
CHEM: 95%
RC: 19% <---:scared:
QA: 93%

Should I retake? Aside from PCAT, I have great leadership skills at my univeristy (historian, vice president, and currently president of pre-pharmacy association), 200+ volunteer hours in a hospital pharmacy, and by the time I apply, 1.5 years of pharmacy technician job experience. And my GPA is currently 3.78

What should I do? I'm so confused. Someone please evaluate me!!
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Really good scores! Most peoples verbal and RC are the lowest as they are the hardest to improve. How did you study For the science and math classes?
Vaddiya btw ;) haha
 
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thesituation559 said:
Really good scores! Most peoples verbal and RC are the lowest as they are the hardest to improve. How did you study For the science and math classes?
Vaddiya btw ;) haha
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Thanks for the evaluation. This was my second PCAT I had written so I did improve by a lot. Ever since high school I have loved math. For practice on math I used the "Schaum's outlines." When it came to the sciences I used Kaplan, Destroyer, Dr. Collins, as well as Kaplan's online Organic Edge on-demand class. I also had the Princeton Review Hyperlearning Science Reviews which helped A LOT! I even made flashcards in addition to the Kaplan ones I had. Overall this summer, I mocked the testing conditions and took practice tests about 11 times (3 from Pearson, 3 from Achiever, 2 from Kaplan, and the rest I made test sets from Dr. Collins) at my univeristy's library or the Kaplan center.

Hope this helps!
 
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Hey Desigirl, How were the practice exams from achiever? I considered buying them, but there was only 1 review on amazon, and it was kinda negative. Is it roughly the same difficulty as the actual PCAT?
 
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For those who did good in math - What did you do to study? I didn't find Collins entirely helpful although it did help some.

Edit - Desigirl89, you did very good on all the sections that matter most. I wouldn't retake it. I'll check out those math study guides you mentioned as well.
 
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immaculate said:
Thank you! I feel better now :oops:
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Hey, we're prelim composite buddies! (94 on 7/27)

I'll have to post my scores when I get home & find the paper. :p

Flew through the verbal... Had extra time on Biology & both essays... Spent too much time on a few Chem questions early, but realized early enough to correct... Ran out of time on the Math, but again realized early enough to compensate by at least giving myself a few seconds to rule out bad answers (instead of just answering C). I was caught a little off-guard that I slowed down so bad on the Math, because I didn't during all but the first one I took of the practice tests from Pearson.

One of the reading comps was poor quality, imo (compared to the practice tests online & the other sections on the test), and by my score I'd guess it's not an experimental one. The passage seemed unfocused and the questions were thus a bit vague. Not that it's constructive for anyone to know that, but it was somewhat frustrating when I was tearing up the rest of the test. :rolleyes:
 
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desigirl89 said:
I took my PCAT on July 27th as well and I did good in some areas and not so good in some areas. [...] What should I do? I'm so confused. Someone please evaluate me!!
Click to expand...

Go post in the What Are My Chances thread. That's what I'd do.

In this thread, we're all in the same boat (for the most part) that you are - working on an application. There are people with more experience over there.

Edit:
dudecoolname said:
For those who did good in math - What did you do to study? I didn't find Collins entirely helpful although it did help some.
Click to expand...

Kaplan practice tests to identify weaknesses. (I also picked up a couple other books, but they were less helpful, except in practicing going quickly on multiple choice math questions.) Google / YouTube / Math book for explanations on things I missed (omg logs how I hate thee)... Online games to increase my calculation speed. Also, I tried to do everyday math problems in my head as quickly as I could - tips, estimating gas cost, mileage, chair configurations & multiplication by 12, 13, 14 chairs per row. Pearson tests to confirm I was fast enough & knew enough.
 
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I took it on the 27th too.

VA - 478/99
Bio - 447/96
RC - 435/90
QA - 457/97
Chem - 472/99

Comp - 458/99

When I first heard about the test, I was most worried about the writing because I'm not particularly fast at it. Having the test on the computer helped immensely and I finished with enough time to skim over my essays.

Not really sure how I managed verbal ability. I didn't study for it and vocab hasn't every really been my strong suite. I think I just got lucky and got words I already knew (or lucky guesses).

For biology, I studied the stuff in the Kaplan book but it has a lot of extra stuff. I think what helped me the most was having Physiology last semester.

Kaplan's gen chem was a pretty good review. I used my ochem too since Kaplan ochem is terrible. I'm also majoring in chemistry so I just reviewed things.

I took two of the Pearson practice tests and they were super helpful. I always ran out of time on the QA section so during the test, I kept reminding myself to skip the hard problems right away and come back to them. At the end of the test, I had about 3 mins to go over the problems that I skipped. It's hard for me to just skip problems but I probably wouldn't have finished in time if I hadn't done this. For studying - I looked over Kaplan's QA section but it wasn't all that helpful and the Kaplan QA section of the practice test was much harder than the real thing (plus a lot of mistakes). Instead, I went to the library and studied from an algebra and a precalc textbook.

I thought the RC was pretty close to the practice tests. They seemed longer on the real thing but I think that was just the formatting (they had the same number of paragraphs). I didn't really know how to study for this though. I guess the best thing would be to go over the answer explanations once you finish the practice tests.

Best advice - buy the Pearson practice tests and take them seriously. Then, go over the answer explanations and study the material you miss most often. You could take one when you start studying, one in the middle, and one right before the test.
 
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desigirl89 said:
Thanks for the evaluation. This was my second PCAT I had written. The first one was horrible (62% composite score) so I did improve by a lot. Ever since high school I have loved math. For practice on math I used the "Schaum's outlines." When it came to the sciences I used Kaplan, Destroyer, Dr. Collins, as well as Kaplan's online Organic Edge on-demand class. I also had the Princeton Review Hyperlearning Science Reviews which helped A LOT! I even made a bunch of flashcards in addition to the Kaplan ones I had. Overall this summer, I mocked the testing conditions and took practice tests about 11 times (3 from Pearson, 3 from Achiever, 2 from Kaplan, and the rest I made test sets from Dr. Collins) at my univeristy's library or the Kaplan center.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
This was very helpful thanks! Which shaums outline do you have? The calculus one? which would be the most beneficial for the pcat? thanks! Also contact schools you are applying to sometimes they do not accept sub section scores under a certain number
 
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total foodie said:
Hey Desigirl, How were the practice exams from achiever? I considered buying them, but there was only 1 review on amazon, and it was kinda negative. Is it roughly the same difficulty as the actual PCAT?
Click to expand...


I really liked the Achiever. It had all sections and it was timed. At that time I was with Kaplan so I had my instructor grade my essays. You pay online and you immediately get a downloading request which downloads the software on your computer/laptop where you can access all 3 tests. I would definitely recommend the Achiever!
 
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dudecoolname said:
For those who did good in math - What did you do to study? I didn't find Collins entirely helpful although it did help some.

Edit - Desigirl89, you did very good on all the sections that matter most. I wouldn't retake it. I'll check out those math study guides you mentioned as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your evaluation. I appreciate it. For the math study guides I bought the College Algebra, Precalculus, and Calculus books. I did check out the Probability & Statistics book from the library but I didn't get time to go through it. Definitely check out the library if you want to save $!
 
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thesituation559 said:
This was very helpful thanks! Which shaums outline do you have? The calculus one? which would be the most beneficial for the pcat? thanks! Also contact schools you are applying to sometimes they do not accept sub section scores under a certain number
Click to expand...


For the math study guides I bought the College Algebra, Precalculus, and Calculus books. I did check out the Probability & Statistics book from the library but I didn't get time to go through it. Definitely check out the library if you want to save $!
 
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xtsukiyox said:
Go post in the What Are My Chances thread. That's what I'd do.

In this thread, we're all in the same boat (for the most part) that you are - working on an application. There are people with more experience over there.

Edit:

Kaplan practice tests to identify weaknesses. (I also picked up a couple other books, but they were less helpful, except in practicing going quickly on multiple choice math questions.) Google / YouTube / Math book for explanations on things I missed (omg logs how I hate thee)... Online games to increase my calculation speed. Also, I tried to do everyday math problems in my head as quickly as I could - tips, estimating gas cost, mileage, chair configurations & multiplication by 12, 13, 14 chairs per row. Pearson tests to confirm I was fast enough & knew enough.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm new here but also thanks for the guidance!
 
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Would you say it is insufficient to only use dr collins for the math section? I'm going thru it and learning how to do each type of problems. For Chem I'm doing dr collins and going thru my ochem book. I am also going to be buying the 3 pearson exams. Should I be in good shape if i practice all of those. I have one shot on the test for SEPT to do well
 
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desigirl89 said:
I really liked the Achiever. It had all sections and it was timed. At that time I was with Kaplan so I had my instructor grade my essays. You pay online and you immediately get a downloading request which downloads the software on your computer/laptop where you can access all 3 tests. I would definitely recommend the Achiever!
Click to expand...

I thought the achiever was wayy harder than the actual pcat. Some reading passages were 12 paragraphs long which is impossible to finish in 48 minutes.
 
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Even though it was my lowest section on the PCAT by far, I really think Dr. Collins is great for the quant. section. If you can do every problem from the his test conceptually(not just memorize answers) you will be in great shape. Make sure you practice your timing too. I knew I was going to do well enough on other sections that all I needed was a halfway decent score in quant to make up for it.
 
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harmonidrum said:
Even though it was my lowest section on the PCAT by far, I really think Dr. Collins is great for the quant. section. If you can do every problem from the his test conceptually(not just memorize answers) you will be in great shape. Make sure you practice your timing too. I knew I was going to do well enough on other sections that all I needed was a halfway decent score in quant to make up for it.
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Awsome for quant I'm just doing dr collins and learning how to do all the problems not MEMORIZING them. For chem do you think collins and skimming thru my ochem book should do me fine? and for Bio i'm doing dr collins and reading out the kaplan book roughly 15-20 min a day. thanks!
 
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thesituation559 said:
Awsome for quant I'm just doing dr collins and learning how to do all the problems not MEMORIZING them. For chem do you think collins and skimming thru my ochem book should do me fine? and for Bio i'm doing dr collins and reading out the kaplan book roughly 15-20 min a day. thanks!
Click to expand...

As far as chem is concerned, Dr. Collins is the way to go. There wasn't much in the ways of orgo 2 on my exam, and he pretty much covers all the pertinent sections in his packet. I also think Organic Chem as a Second Language is a immensely helpful book.
 
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harmonidrum said:
As far as chem is concerned, Dr. Collins is the way to go. There wasn't much in the ways of orgo 2 on my exam, and he pretty much covers all the pertinent sections in his packet. I also think Organic Chem as a Second Language is a immensely helpful book.
Click to expand...

agreed with harmonidrum, i saw almost no organic chem 2 on my exam. And very few orgo 1 questions even lol
 
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gotgame740 said:
QFT!! Most people I saw at my testing center were looking through their Kaplan books or said they took the Kaplan course. As we all know on here, Kaplan is crap.
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All I bought was a Kaplan book and scored in the 90th percentile composite, Chemistry was 98th and QA was 95th. :laugh:
 
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WISBadger said:
All I bought was a Kaplan book and scored in the 90th percentile composite, Chemistry was 98th and QA was 95th. :laugh:
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You're about the only person I've seen scoring well only using Kaplan. Your undergrad classes must have prepared you very well and you're probably a good test taker too.
 
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Second time posting here, and I figured I would add to the pool

VA: 86
BIO: 99
RC: 24...........FAIL
QA: 85
CHEM: 99
COMP: 96

First time taking the PCAT, I used the Dr. Collins study guide and a LOT of my own research. I tanked my RC because I literally choked on that section, literally. I couldn't finish the RC and I had to leave the last 10 questions blank, there was this horrible article about music and that killed me, but it seems like a good chunk of people struggled with the RC.

I am satisfied with my scores, but that damn RC is killing me because I know I can do better. I have been contemplating if I should retake the test, because my RC score is horribly low and I don't know how that would look to my prospective pharm. schools. What do you guys think?

Also, congrats to everyone! and good luck to everyone taking it in september
 
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gotgame740 said:
You're about the only person I've seen scoring well only using Kaplan. Your undergrad classes must have prepared you very well and you're probably a good test taker too.
Click to expand...
:thumbup: I'm certain your good scores in those sections are certainly not the result of Kaplan. Kaplan orgo is non-existent, and Kaplan quant is mostly focused on fractions and basic algebra.
 
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hlee019 said:
Second time posting here, and I figured I would add to the pool

VA: 86
BIO: 99
RC: 24...........FAIL
QA: 85
CHEM: 99
COMP: 96

First time taking the PCAT, I used the Dr. Collins study guide and a LOT of my own research. I tanked my RC because I literally choked on that section, literally. I couldn't finish the RC and I had to leave the last 10 questions blank, there was this horrible article about music and that killed me, but it seems like a good chunk of people struggled with the RC.

I am satisfied with my scores, but that damn RC is killing me because I know I can do better. I have been contemplating if I should retake the test, because my RC score is horribly low and I don't know how that would look to my prospective pharm. schools. What do you guys think?

Also, congrats to everyone! and good luck to everyone taking it in september
Click to expand...

Seriously, the only way that I would retake the PCAT with your scores if your SOP requires a minimum score each specific subsection. You have an incredibly solid score. :)
 
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Does anyone have their scores on https://tpc-etesting.com/pcat/ScoreReport yet? I know it says within 5 weeks on the Pearson site, so when can we expect to see our score report?

I'm a little worried because I see the following on this page and I'm hoping it's like that for everyone because mine was definitely scored!

"No Test Score Exception There are no test scores in your profile. If you have taken the PCAT within the last five years, chose to score the test, and your test scores have not been invalidated by Pearson, please contact PSE Customer Relations at 1-800-622-3231 or [email protected] to get a new User ID."
 
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JonPrePharmD said:
Does anyone have their scores on https://tpc-etesting.com/pcat/ScoreReport yet? I know it says within 5 weeks on the Pearson site, so when can we expect to see our score report?

I'm a little worried because I see the following on this page and I'm hoping it's like that for everyone because mine was definitely scored!

"No Test Score Exception There are no test scores in your profile. If you have taken the PCAT within the last five years, chose to score the test, and your test scores have not been invalidated by Pearson, please contact PSE Customer Relations at 1-800-622-3231 or [email protected] to get a new User ID."
Click to expand...

When I phoned Pearson, the rep told me I could expect to see my score posted first week of september/last week of august.
 
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Got my official score report today. Nothing changed from the preliminary scores, but I only got 3.0/3.0 on writing, what's up with that?
 
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Score report! No change in composite from my preliminary report, and the other numbers look about right (but I don't remember the exact numbers).


Verbal: 437 / 92
Biology: 430 / 88
RC: 416 / 71 (one horrible prompt)
Quant: 443 / 94
Chemistry: 449 / 95
Writing: 3.0 / 3.0 (someone had a stick up their subjective...)


Composite: 435 / 94

:soexcited::soexcited::soexcited:
 
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OK, so here's my consipracy theory: The Pearson writing scorers get paid the same no matter how many hours they work, so they all got together and decided to take a long vacation after scoring the July PCATs. They skimmed the essays - if they saw an error, 2.0/2.0, if they didn't see one immediately, 3.0/3.0. Scored 'em all in 2 days then hit the beach until September! ;) :laugh:
 
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xtsukiyox said:
OK, so here's my consipracy theory: The Pearson writing scorers get paid the same no matter how many hours they work, so they all got together and decided to take a long vacation after scoring the July PCATs. They skimmed the essays - if they saw an error, 2.0/2.0, if they didn't see one immediately, 3.0/3.0. Scored 'em all in 2 days then hit the beach until September! ;) :laugh:
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lol, completely agree on this one
 
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xtsukiyox said:
OK, so here's my consipracy theory: The Pearson writing scorers get paid the same no matter how many hours they work, so they all got together and decided to take a long vacation after scoring the July PCATs. They skimmed the essays - if they saw an error, 2.0/2.0, if they didn't see one immediately, 3.0/3.0. Scored 'em all in 2 days then hit the beach until September! ;) :laugh:
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing, personally. I flubbed up one of the essays a smidge, but still received a solid score. This is probably the reason why a number of schools have an essay for their interviewees to write on their interview day.
 
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Ok, my essay was pretty damn good. After the exam was over, I was surprised at how well I extemporized. Shame on Pearson.
 
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what about the mean score? it says i got a 2.8. Does everyone who got a 3/3 also got a mean of 2.8 as well?
 
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beanie92 said:
what about the mean score? it says i got a 2.8. Does everyone who got a 3/3 also got a mean of 2.8 as well?
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Erm ... Huh?

The mean score is the average score of the students that had that particular essay, therefore, the mean score is a separate entity than your personal score. If you have the same essays as another person who took the exam, you should have the same mean score.
 
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harmonidrum said:
I still maintain that I deserved no less than a 4. This 3/3 is an outrage lol.
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Based on the description in the info booklet / practice tests, I also maintain I deserved higher than a 3/3. As a general rule, I don't make grammar & spelling errors, so at least that section should have been higher than 3. The other score is more subjective - maybe my essay was boring. :laugh:

I'm guessing they scored my essay I wrote while I was "playing on tilt" after the break. The Pearson people were total dicks. :mad:

Whatevs, didn't effect my composite. :p A 3 out of 5 proves I can write under pressure at least as well as average, and my personal statement shows more directly how well I can write.
 
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xtsukiyox said:
Based on the description in the info booklet / practice tests, I also maintain I deserved higher than a 3/3. As a general rule, I don't make grammar & spelling errors, so at least that section should have been higher than 3. The other score is more subjective - maybe my essay was boring. :laugh:

I'm guessing they scored my essay I wrote while I was "playing on tilt" after the break. The Pearson people were total dicks. :mad:

Whatevs, didn't effect my composite. :p A 3 out of 5 proves I can write under pressure at least as well as average, and my personal statement shows more directly how well I can write.
Click to expand...

There was absolutely NO orthographical or grammatical errors in either of my essays. If a human being(s) actually read my essays, either they are adverse to my political viewpoints that I expressed in my writing, or simply happen to be grossly incompetent at their job.
 
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