July PCAT study group

Started by Wallace12
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Wallace12

Wallace12

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Who all is taking the PCAT in July and would maybe want to join together in this thread and ask for help and keep each other motivated for the test??
I'll be studying starting ~may 13th it's the Monday after my spring finals. I'll be using Dr Collins and MAYBE cracking pcat by PR. But it doesn't matter what materials we use we can still help each other out. Lets kill this test and get accepted into pharmacy school!
LETS GOOOOO!!!
 
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Wallace12 said:
HOLY CRAP, test 4.... That one seemed much harder, and i didnt do as good.

VA- 15-35 -----dropped from test 3 (45-65)
BIO- 80-99----same
CHEM- 60-80--- close to same dropped
RC- 10-30----dropped
QUANT- 65-85--- raised from 40-60
comp- 45-65--- dropped from 65-85 i think was what it was on 3?

-i had focused solely on quant these last couple of days, though on the practice test i felt like i guessed A LOT. This test definitely seemed more challenging than number 3. that 20 increase is nice and im happy it showed a little bit, i didnt do the RC very good, i had a tough time focusing and getting into that section, its friday and im tired haha but i definitely need to do all my collin's RC tests before the real thing to get stamina and just practice. VA i feel like is going to be hit or miss for me, either i'll know the words or wont...

My plan is to finish all my remaining Collins subtests and hopefully that is enough to keep my VA, RC, and QUANT from being HORRIBLE...
Click to expand...


Exactly like my score going from test 3 to test 4, MY RC dropped from 61-81 to 40-60, i had really hard time focusing on test 4 of Pearson. I was feeling worn out after Verbal section, im starting to think that i should just stop studying until the test day so i can be fresh and excited to take the test.
 
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do you guys think that since practice test #4 is the most recent, that means it'll have a better representation of the actual test than the others? i havent taken it but i've being hearing it's harder.
 
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Hi,

I'm new to this forum and I would like to joint this thread, as i'm going to take pcat on July 18 too. ( my first Pcat ever).
I took practice test# 3 and got the range 80-99. Why can't they give us a specific number other than a range?
I did well on Bio and chem... but bad on Verbal and Reading (50%) 🙁 I'm worry about this section because i wont have enough time to improve , and also English is not my mother language. Is there any materials to study for Verbal and reading?

Also, where can I buy Dr. collin materials? I have studied for 1 month , since June, with Princeton book only.

What Pcat score is considered good enough to apply?( along with overall GPA 3.8)

Thanks
 
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nht800 said:
Hi,

I'm new to this forum and I would like to joint this thread, as i'm going to take pcat on July 18 too. ( my first Pcat ever).
I took practice test# 3 and got the range 80-99. Why can't they give us a specific number other than a range?
I did well on Bio and chem... but bad on Verbal and Reading (50%) 🙁 I'm worry about this section because i wont have enough time to improve , and also English is not my mother language. Is there any materials to study for Verbal and reading?

Also, where can I buy Dr. collin materials? I have studied for 1 month , since June, with Princeton book only.

What Pcat score is considered good enough to apply?( along with overall GPA 3.8)

Thanks
Click to expand...

80-99% composite is a the best you can receive on a pearson practice test i believe (they cant exactly tell you the exact range but give you a broad range instead).
Not much you can do to improve reading and verbal to be honest.
since you cant just buy dr collins guide from a store or something, it has to be shipped unless someone you know has one. Besides, we are like three more days left till PCAT so there'd be nowhere enough time to study enough of it. How you do on pearson is similar to pcat ive heard so you should be fine.
PCAT score depends on the school but i would guess 70% is average with some schools around the 80s. And even a lower PCAT can be offset by GPA, experience, interview,etc.
Good luck🙂
 
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Jessica1992 said:
What makes #4 so much harder? I've heard it from a lot of people on here, but I bought my 3 tests back when only 1-3 were available. People taking about test 4 is scaring me into thinking about blowing another $45 on practice tests!
Click to expand...

For me it seemed like the VA section had a lot more words I was unfamiliar with and even weirder analogies. It also felt like the bio and chem sections had more in depth questions. RC was normal, but QA had a lot more problems that required thinking.
 
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Does anyone mind posting their preliminary scores after d test! I'll be posting mine after d exam. Lets keep d thread alive through our application process!
 
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Member529 said:
Does anyone have tips for QA?
Click to expand...

The only strategy i have on QA is to skip any questions that are time consuming or hard, guess on them, flag them, and go back at the end possibly if there is enough time (yeah right haha). Personally I know I am excellent at algebra and confused with calc so I will purposefully skip hard calc questions till the end.
 
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Member529 said:
For me it seemed like the VA section had a lot more words I was unfamiliar with and even weirder analogies. It also felt like the bio and chem sections had more in depth questions. RC was normal, but QA had a lot more problems that required thinking.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks! Do you think it is worth another $45 to buy it? (I wish they would give me some sort of deal since I already bought the first 3, but I'm 99.9% sure they would just laugh at me if I asked.)
 
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isanders said:
The only strategy i have on QA is to skip any questions that are time consuming or hard, guess on them, flag them, and go back at the end possibly if there is enough time (yeah right haha). Personally I know I am excellent at algebra and confused with calc so I will purposefully skip hard calc questions till the end.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm the same. Just gotta get comfortable with skipping and moving on

Jessica1992 said:
Ok, thanks! Do you think it is worth another $45 to buy it? (I wish they would give me some sort of deal since I already bought the first 3, but I'm 99.9% sure they would just laugh at me if I asked.)
Click to expand...

If you want to measure your test taking skills with harder questions then I'd say go for it, but I think you having the other 3 tests is already a good measure on how you'll do. Avoiding the harder test will keep your confidence up which is definitely going to be important on the test day because who knows what kinds of questions we'll get.
 
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That's the best advice I've heard about purchasing the last one - thanks! My other practice books with harder questions (like the Princeton Review and worst-purchase-ever Kaplan book) I guess have prepared me for that, so maybe I'll just relax (haha, yeah right) and keep on reviewing.
 
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Does anyone know anything about the marker and erasable slate or whatever we get for the PCAT? Because if its a tiny slate and big marker that's really going to drive me crazy since I scribble a lot during chemistry and math sections. Thick marker plus small slate will cause more time spent erasing stuff which takes away from our exam time. It'd be easier if they just gave us a pencil and a lot of paper.
 
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isanders said:
Does anyone know anything about the marker and erasable slate or whatever we get for the PCAT? Because if its a tiny slate and big marker that's really going to drive me crazy since I scribble a lot during chemistry and math sections. Thick marker plus small slate will cause more time spent erasing stuff which takes away from our exam time. It'd be easier if they just gave us a pencil and a lot of paper.
Click to expand...

Mine was a fine tip marker with a large flip pad of laminated sheets.
 
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isanders said:
80-99% composite is a the best you can receive on a pearson practice test i believe (they cant exactly tell you the exact range but give you a broad range instead).
Not much you can do to improve reading and verbal to be honest.
since you cant just buy dr collins guide from a store or something, it has to be shipped unless someone you know has one. Besides, we are like three more days left till PCAT so there'd be nowhere enough time to study enough of it. How you do on pearson is similar to pcat ive heard so you should be fine.
PCAT score depends on the school but i would guess 70% is average with some schools around the 80s. And even a lower PCAT can be offset by GPA, experience, interview,etc.
Good luck🙂
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
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completed test 3 from pearson practice just now and bombed verbal, reading and quant, but got a composite of 75 -95 percentile
vetbal 20-40 percentile
bio 80-99
chem 80-99
reading 5-25
quant 25-45

Verbal was more difficult compared to test 1; quantitative was extremely tough. Feeling tensed about the real exam.
 
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Err I have just completed one section of the Pearson test. I don't see the page that lets you go back to the questions you skip. After question 48, it takes me to a page that lets me see which ones I got incorrect and correct..

😡 I am sure I can do much better if they actually allow me to go back to previous questions skipped. I am finishing these practice exams with 15 minutes to spare and not getting the chance to go back..


Can someone help?
 
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Annie14892 said:
Err I have just completed one section of the Pearson test. I don't see the page that lets you go back to the questions you skip. After question 48, it takes me to a page that lets me see which ones I got incorrect and correct..

😡 I am sure I can do much better if they actually allow me to go back to previous questions skipped. I am finishing these practice exams with 15 minutes to spare and not getting the chance to go back..


Can someone help?
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it just goes to a list of all the questions and there should be question marks on the ones you skipped
 
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Wallace12 said:
I'm pretty sure it just goes to a list of all the questions and there should be question marks on the ones you skipped
Click to expand...

Is that the same page where it shows which one you got right and wrong?

Is the actual exam going to be like this too or will you be able to go back to all the questions regardless of whether you skipped or not?
 
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Annie14892 said:
Err I have just completed one section of the Pearson test. I don't see the page that lets you go back to the questions you skip. After question 48, it takes me to a page that lets me see which ones I got incorrect and correct..

😡 I am sure I can do much better if they actually allow me to go back to previous questions skipped. I am finishing these practice exams with 15 minutes to spare and not getting the chance to go back..


Can someone help?
Click to expand...
I was wondering about this too. There has to be an easier way to go back on the ones you bookmarked without reaching the end and seeing the ones I got wrong. That messed me up a bit. I didnt see an option to see the ones I left blank.
 
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Annie14892 said:
Is that the same page where it shows which one you got right and wrong?

Is the actual exam going to be like this too or will you be able to go back to all the questions regardless of whether you skipped or not?
Click to expand...

I think on the actual exam you get to see which ones you skipped and can still go back to review any question before the time ends
 
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hey everyone i have a question and hopefully someone can help. so basically i am taking the pcat this thursday. though i have studied a lot i still don't feel prepared. im going to try my best and i am having these scores sent to the schools i am applying to. my question is if i retake the pcat in september and send the schools those new scores will that be what they look at? i have a feeling i can do better if i have more time to study.
 
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futurepharm425 said:
hey everyone i have a question and hopefully someone can help. so basically i am taking the pcat this thursday. though i have studied a lot i still don't feel prepared. im going to try my best and i am having these scores sent to the schools i am applying to. my question is if i retake the pcat in september and send the schools those new scores will that be what they look at? i have a feeling i can do better if i have more time to study.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it depends on the school you are trying to apply to, so I would look at each school's stance that you are looking to apply to. I would imagine that the majority of schools look mainly ( or solely) at your most recent score.
 
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I took practice test 2 on last Wednesday and 3 on just now. I had major increase from test 2 lol..

when I was taking test 2, I wasn't focused, exhausted, and felt asleep in the middle of test (I know, it's dumb lol..)

test 2
VA: 25-45
Bio: 62-82
Chem: 45-65
RC: 8-28
QA:75-95
Comp: 42-62


then just now, I have just taken test 3 and..

VA: 30-50
Bio: 80-99
Chem: 80-99
RC: 22:42
QA: 80-99
Comp: 78-98

I really hope test 3 score is my actual PCAT score..seriously.
and now i'm scared of test 4 due to everyone's harsh score lol...
 
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kaidou1412 said:
I took practice test 2 on last Wednesday and 3 on just now. I had major increase from test 2 lol..

when I was taking test 2, I wasn't focused, exhausted, and felt asleep in the middle of test (I know, it's dumb lol..)

test 2
VA: 25-45
Bio: 62-82
Chem: 45-65
RC: 8-28
QA:75-95
Comp: 42-62


then just now, I have just taken test 3 and..

VA: 30-50
Bio: 80-99
Chem: 80-99
RC: 22:42
QA: 80-99
Comp: 78-98

I really hope test 3 score is my actual PCAT score..seriously.
and now i'm scared of test 4 due to everyone's harsh score lol...
Click to expand...

You should take it tomorrow. Any later and I feel like you'll be burned out before taking the actual PCAT
 
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kaidou1412 said:
I took practice test 2 on last Wednesday and 3 on just now. I had major increase from test 2 lol..

when I was taking test 2, I wasn't focused, exhausted, and felt asleep in the middle of test (I know, it's dumb lol..)

test 2
VA: 25-45
Bio: 62-82
Chem: 45-65
RC: 8-28
QA:75-95
Comp: 42-62


then just now, I have just taken test 3 and..

VA: 30-50
Bio: 80-99
Chem: 80-99
RC: 22:42
QA: 80-99
Comp: 78-98

I really hope test 3 score is my actual PCAT score..seriously.
and now i'm scared of test 4 due to everyone's harsh score lol...
Click to expand...
Wow, great job! 👍 Ill be taking test 2 tomorrow so hope to see a jump from my first one (59% - 79%).
 
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I was wondering, I just finished my Pearson's pcat practice but I haven't checked my composite score yet, can you check the composite and then go back to review? or do I have to review all the questions and then check the composite score?
 
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