My PCAT score. =(

[Shingo123]

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Well I just got my PCAT score. It was my first time taking it, however I did not have all of the pre-reqs done yet. I have not completed O-Chem, Bio 1 or Calculus.

Unfortunately I did not do to well.

I got basically a 50 on all the fields, for a 51 composite. Not to happy but I will be more prepared next time.

One thing I was a little concerned about is the reading and the verbal.
I got a 58 on the verbal and a 51 on the reading.

I feel like these are some of my strengths so I kind of wonder what happened? How will I prepare for them in the future. Will experience alone be enough to improve on that?

Also, my writing was a 3,3.

 

[Knickerbocker]

I find it boggling that so many people take the PCAT without the prerequisites. How many people can teach themselves calculus or organic chemistry without having a class for a grade? Few, I'd guess.

You guys are just stressing yourselves out by not waiting until you are ready for the exam. The companies that make money off of it are quite pleased, though.

No idea about the reading/verbal, though. Do you read regularly? That's probably the best thing for this exam?

 

[AngelaCL]

I find it boggling that so many people take the PCAT without the prerequisites. How many people can teach themselves calculus or organic chemistry without having a class for a grade? Few, I'd guess.

You guys are just stressing yourselves out by not waiting until you are ready for the exam. The companies that make money off of it are quite pleased, though.

No idea about the reading/verbal, though. Do you read regularly? That's probably the best thing for this exam?

I don't know - I took the exam with only one summer semester of Orgo, where I felt like I retained very little, and no micro, and years since I last took calculus or general bio. I did fine. I think it depends on if you are a good test taker, if you are disciplined enough to study on your own, and if your general chemistry and biology courses give you enough background knowledge. I do think it's a terrible idea to take the exam before you at least take two semesters of general bio and chem, because you need to have a good background before you can attempt to self-learn physiology and anatomy, micro, orgo, etc. And of course the more classes you take before the test the better - but you won't necessarily do poorly if you don't have all the prereq's under your belt.

Edit: What I don't understand is all the people saying that they did poorly, but they didn't study. Why would you take this exam if you aren't going to study at all? My friend took his without studying, but he goes to a 0+6 school so his score didn't matter. Depending on what kind of student you are you might not need to study all the subjects, but I think it's a good idea to at least take a practice exam or two and find your weaknesses. Then again, maybe I'm just bitter that I don't have $125 to spend on a trial run.

 

[Gwalla]

...........

 

[hmmmmm]

i hope you improve because that score is horrible.................you should finish your prereqs then study the pcat real hard and see what happens

thanks for pointing that out captain obvious

but your post was not needed as we're all not as petarded as you too need someone to state the obvious🙄

 

[nehe87]

You know, it really irks me to see so many people on this board being so discouraging to people who haven't finished all the pre-reqs--it's simply not true that you can't do well without them.
I got my PCAT scores today, and I got a 95% composite, and a 92 and 90 in chem and bio respectively, and I hadn't finished organic or microbiology and have never taken A&P, and I was perfectly fine.
It's really irritating when you're looking for some encouraging words and people keep telling you it's basically hopeless. That's why I read these forums--for the encouragement.
I think if you're self-motivated, you can study on your own and be fine without all the pre-reqs.

 

[rowerpharm]

You know, it really irks me to see so many people on this board being so discouraging to people who haven't finished all the pre-reqs--it's simply not true that you can't do well without them.
I got my PCAT scores today, and I got a 95% composite, and a 92 and 90 in chem and bio respectively, and I hadn't finished organic or microbiology and have never taken A&P, and I was perfectly fine.
It's really irritating when you're looking for some encouraging words and people keep telling you it's basically hopeless. That's why I read these forums--for the encouragement.
I think if you're self-motivated, you can study on your own and be fine without all the pre-reqs.

I agree. I got an 85 without taking bio II, organic chemistry, and microbiology. I did not study as much as I should have, but even a little studying helps. Anything you can do will raise your score just that much more.

 

[Knickerbocker]

You know, it really irks me to see so many people on this board being so discouraging to people who haven't finished all the pre-reqs--it's simply not true that you can't do well without them.
I got my PCAT scores today, and I got a 95% composite, and a 92 and 90 in chem and bio respectively, and I hadn't finished organic or microbiology and have never taken A&P, and I was perfectly fine.
It's really irritating when you're looking for some encouraging words and people keep telling you it's basically hopeless. That's why I read these forums--for the encouragement.
I think if you're self-motivated, you can study on your own and be fine without all the pre-reqs.

The problem is that people take the exam, and when they do badly they sometimes use the "didn't have all the prereqs" excuse. If that is why so many do badly, isn't it logical to take the classes first?

Yes, some people can teach themselves quite well. Also, some courses, like A&P and organic are less important for the test than courses like calculus.

I guess this problem happens because so many people want to get in after two years of undergraduate work. Once pharmacy schools finally make a BS/BA a requirement, then this problem will go away.

 

[Shingo123]

Well, thanks for the helpful tips. Anyway, I was not saying that I did not have the prereqs as an excuse just I believe I will be able to better in those sections once I do have them.

But the writing and verbal devastated me, I have always done well in the reading and verbal stuff so it came as a surprise.

And Gwalla go take you sorry ass somewhere else. Thank you.