- Joined
- Jul 9, 2015
- Messages
- 55
- Reaction score
- 17
Bio: 99
Chem: 99
Read: 94
Math: 99
Comp: 99
I worked up from 60s on practice tests to a 99 on the real thing. Here are my tips.
Essentials: You MUST
-Buy as many Pearson Practice tests as you can afford (I recommend buying all 3 ~$90)
-Download the latest "PCAT Blueprint Guide" PDF (free)
-Know where to get free textbooks (library, internet)
-ANY updated PCAT study book that includes at least 2 practice exams (I recommend Kaplan ~$30)
Recommended:
-Any PCAT book you can find at your library or free from friends that are within 5 years old
-Dry erase board
-Access to free online study resources like Khan Academy
Know What's on The Exam:
Read through the PCAT Blueprint twice and keep it out where you can easily reference it. You should never have to wonder if a topic is on the PCAT. If it's in the Blueprint, it's fair game.
Study Plan:
Choose a study plan. I reccomend a 3 month, 1 month, or 3 week study plan. Choose the longest plan possible. Now setup a calendar (seriously, do it). Day one of any of the plans is to take one practice exam that came with your study book (not the Pearson Practice exam). Take it all in one setting, normal timing. That's your starting score.
For the 3 month plan, the first two months are strictly studying. Open a calendar document and write down each chapter that you will study each day. Make sure every chapter of your primary study book is accounted for in those two months. Just 1-2 hours a day. I recommend you give yourself 2 days off every week to relax or to use as makeup days. I can't tell you what to study each day because I don't know your weaknesses. If you are really weak on organic chemistry, I recommend you schedule extra days to cover those chapters in a supplementary pcat book, do practice problems from any text books you can find, watch videos on Khan Academy, practice problemetc et. If you've mastered precalculus, schedule only one day to read the chapter then move on. Once you've finished reviewing everything, you have on month to do at least 4 practice tests. More on that in the Practice Test section.
The 2 month schedule is the same except you review for 6 weeks and take tests the last 2 weeks. The first day is still the practice test. Bump up the study hours to 2-3 hours a day if you can. This is the plan I did. I didn't study the reading or essay sections as those started off as my strongest.
For the 3 week schedule, day 1 is still the practice test. Review your study book all the way through twice, memorizing everything you can for a week and a half. The last week and a half is for practice tests.
Practice Tests:
You will have at least 4 practice exams after you are done reviewing. The 3 month study plan let's you take one exam every week for the last month. The 2 month plan has you take two exams a week for the last two weeks. The 3 week plan has you take an exam every other day for the last 10 days. Try your absolute best to take each exam in one sitting! This is how you build stamina for the PCAT! You will go from feeling mentally exhausted after the first one, to not feeling not too bad by the time you've take the real PCAT (you're six one overall).
1. Study book practice exam #2 - 95% time on every section (even writing)
2. Pearson Exam #1 - 90% time
3. Pearson Exam #2 - 90% time
4. Pearson Exam #3 - 85% time
Notice that you get less time with each practice exam. This forces you to work faster and faster with each exam. This is in my opinion the biggest tip in this entire guide. This will force your brain to process things faster than you are comfortable with. B the time you take the real PCAT, it will be your 6th one overall and you will have even more time to complete it than you're used to.
After each exam. Make a list of the questions you got wrong and any questions you got right but aren't sure why. Study those topics using your study book and secondary resources. The longer study schedules give you more time to review in between exams.
Some diagrams from the Pearson Practice exams showed up on the real PCAT. And some questions were almost word for word the same with different numbers . You learn which question types the favor.
TEST TAKING STRATEGIES
General:
The Flag Method applies to all four sections of the PCAT.
Choose your favorite go to letter A-D. When you come across a question you absolutely no idea about, for example "Which chromosome is the gene that causes type I diabetes on?", mark your favorite letter as your answer and never come back to it. Coming back to it will not help you get the correct answer.
Draw a rectangle on the very top and very bottom of your erase board. When you derive an answer but aren't sure of it, don't waste any more time. Mark your answer on the exam and write the number of the question in the bottom rectangle.
If you come to a question that looks answerable, but requires a lot of thinking or makes you hunt for something in a long passage, stop, don't read any further, write this question number in the top rectangle, click the "flag question" button, and mark your favorite letter as your answer. You cannot waste time. And by choosing an answer now, you at least have something marked if you forget or don't have time to go back to that question later.
After you've answered all the questions you can choose to review the flagged questions (the ones in the top rectangle/answerable questions were too long to deal with earlier). After you've reviewed the flagged questions, review the questions you wrote in the bottom rectangle (the ones you had an idea about but weren't sure on).
Use the Guess Method at the 5 minute mark. When the 5 minute warning pops up immediately stop what you are doing, write down and circle the question you are on and mark all remaining questions with your favorite letter. Then go back and pick up where you left off. Do NOT leave any questions unanswered. This will prevent you from getting screwed over by leaving things blank.
Biology strategies:
Most of the passage based questions can be answered without reading the passage at all, so always read every question first. Even the questions that require the passage usually only refer to a single table or diagram. If you practiced exams with reduced timing, use the flag method, and read the questions first you'll, likely have some time to review at the end. I had about 15 minutes to go back to questions I wasn't sure about.
Chemistry strategies:
The exact same rules apply as the bio section. Read all the passage based questions before you read the passage. Most of them only require you to look at an equation or a single structure in the passage. The rest of the passage is designed to waste your time. Use the Flag Method to save time. You might have time left over depending on how strong you are at chemistry. I had about 8 minutes to review.
Reading strategies:
I don't have many tips here. I feel this the hardest section to improve on and the hardest to finish with extra time so I wouldn't freak out if you have no time to review. When I was running short on time I preread the questions before reading the passage. I was able to get through one entire passage that way because all it asked was one question about tone and the rest referred to specific word meanings in each paragraph. Often reading the intro paragraph, the conclusion paragraph, and the first and last sentences of middle paragraphs are enough to answer the questions. Move your finger along the screen if it helps you read faster. I had about 3 minutes to review.
Math strategies:
For the math section I firmly believe in the Flag Method if you are always short on time. I've never come close to finishing the math section so I constantly hunted for easy questions to gain points. Why spend 3 minutes getting one hard question write when you could get 3 easy questions right? Each question is worth the same amount of points. The only modification to the Flag Method is to choose either B or C as your favorite letter. The answer choices are usually listed in increasing order, so A and D are likely to be the more extreme answers, and in my opinion less likely to be the correct answer. I was not able to see the last 5 or so questions but the Guess Method allowed me to make sure every question was at least answered.
Chem: 99
Read: 94
Math: 99
Comp: 99
I worked up from 60s on practice tests to a 99 on the real thing. Here are my tips.
Essentials: You MUST
-Buy as many Pearson Practice tests as you can afford (I recommend buying all 3 ~$90)
-Download the latest "PCAT Blueprint Guide" PDF (free)
-Know where to get free textbooks (library, internet)
-ANY updated PCAT study book that includes at least 2 practice exams (I recommend Kaplan ~$30)
Recommended:
-Any PCAT book you can find at your library or free from friends that are within 5 years old
-Dry erase board
-Access to free online study resources like Khan Academy
Know What's on The Exam:
Read through the PCAT Blueprint twice and keep it out where you can easily reference it. You should never have to wonder if a topic is on the PCAT. If it's in the Blueprint, it's fair game.
Study Plan:
Choose a study plan. I reccomend a 3 month, 1 month, or 3 week study plan. Choose the longest plan possible. Now setup a calendar (seriously, do it). Day one of any of the plans is to take one practice exam that came with your study book (not the Pearson Practice exam). Take it all in one setting, normal timing. That's your starting score.
For the 3 month plan, the first two months are strictly studying. Open a calendar document and write down each chapter that you will study each day. Make sure every chapter of your primary study book is accounted for in those two months. Just 1-2 hours a day. I recommend you give yourself 2 days off every week to relax or to use as makeup days. I can't tell you what to study each day because I don't know your weaknesses. If you are really weak on organic chemistry, I recommend you schedule extra days to cover those chapters in a supplementary pcat book, do practice problems from any text books you can find, watch videos on Khan Academy, practice problemetc et. If you've mastered precalculus, schedule only one day to read the chapter then move on. Once you've finished reviewing everything, you have on month to do at least 4 practice tests. More on that in the Practice Test section.
The 2 month schedule is the same except you review for 6 weeks and take tests the last 2 weeks. The first day is still the practice test. Bump up the study hours to 2-3 hours a day if you can. This is the plan I did. I didn't study the reading or essay sections as those started off as my strongest.
For the 3 week schedule, day 1 is still the practice test. Review your study book all the way through twice, memorizing everything you can for a week and a half. The last week and a half is for practice tests.
Practice Tests:
You will have at least 4 practice exams after you are done reviewing. The 3 month study plan let's you take one exam every week for the last month. The 2 month plan has you take two exams a week for the last two weeks. The 3 week plan has you take an exam every other day for the last 10 days. Try your absolute best to take each exam in one sitting! This is how you build stamina for the PCAT! You will go from feeling mentally exhausted after the first one, to not feeling not too bad by the time you've take the real PCAT (you're six one overall).
1. Study book practice exam #2 - 95% time on every section (even writing)
2. Pearson Exam #1 - 90% time
3. Pearson Exam #2 - 90% time
4. Pearson Exam #3 - 85% time
Notice that you get less time with each practice exam. This forces you to work faster and faster with each exam. This is in my opinion the biggest tip in this entire guide. This will force your brain to process things faster than you are comfortable with. B the time you take the real PCAT, it will be your 6th one overall and you will have even more time to complete it than you're used to.
After each exam. Make a list of the questions you got wrong and any questions you got right but aren't sure why. Study those topics using your study book and secondary resources. The longer study schedules give you more time to review in between exams.
Some diagrams from the Pearson Practice exams showed up on the real PCAT. And some questions were almost word for word the same with different numbers . You learn which question types the favor.
TEST TAKING STRATEGIES
General:
The Flag Method applies to all four sections of the PCAT.
Choose your favorite go to letter A-D. When you come across a question you absolutely no idea about, for example "Which chromosome is the gene that causes type I diabetes on?", mark your favorite letter as your answer and never come back to it. Coming back to it will not help you get the correct answer.
Draw a rectangle on the very top and very bottom of your erase board. When you derive an answer but aren't sure of it, don't waste any more time. Mark your answer on the exam and write the number of the question in the bottom rectangle.
If you come to a question that looks answerable, but requires a lot of thinking or makes you hunt for something in a long passage, stop, don't read any further, write this question number in the top rectangle, click the "flag question" button, and mark your favorite letter as your answer. You cannot waste time. And by choosing an answer now, you at least have something marked if you forget or don't have time to go back to that question later.
After you've answered all the questions you can choose to review the flagged questions (the ones in the top rectangle/answerable questions were too long to deal with earlier). After you've reviewed the flagged questions, review the questions you wrote in the bottom rectangle (the ones you had an idea about but weren't sure on).
Use the Guess Method at the 5 minute mark. When the 5 minute warning pops up immediately stop what you are doing, write down and circle the question you are on and mark all remaining questions with your favorite letter. Then go back and pick up where you left off. Do NOT leave any questions unanswered. This will prevent you from getting screwed over by leaving things blank.
Biology strategies:
Most of the passage based questions can be answered without reading the passage at all, so always read every question first. Even the questions that require the passage usually only refer to a single table or diagram. If you practiced exams with reduced timing, use the flag method, and read the questions first you'll, likely have some time to review at the end. I had about 15 minutes to go back to questions I wasn't sure about.
Chemistry strategies:
The exact same rules apply as the bio section. Read all the passage based questions before you read the passage. Most of them only require you to look at an equation or a single structure in the passage. The rest of the passage is designed to waste your time. Use the Flag Method to save time. You might have time left over depending on how strong you are at chemistry. I had about 8 minutes to review.
Reading strategies:
I don't have many tips here. I feel this the hardest section to improve on and the hardest to finish with extra time so I wouldn't freak out if you have no time to review. When I was running short on time I preread the questions before reading the passage. I was able to get through one entire passage that way because all it asked was one question about tone and the rest referred to specific word meanings in each paragraph. Often reading the intro paragraph, the conclusion paragraph, and the first and last sentences of middle paragraphs are enough to answer the questions. Move your finger along the screen if it helps you read faster. I had about 3 minutes to review.
Math strategies:
For the math section I firmly believe in the Flag Method if you are always short on time. I've never come close to finishing the math section so I constantly hunted for easy questions to gain points. Why spend 3 minutes getting one hard question write when you could get 3 easy questions right? Each question is worth the same amount of points. The only modification to the Flag Method is to choose either B or C as your favorite letter. The answer choices are usually listed in increasing order, so A and D are likely to be the more extreme answers, and in my opinion less likely to be the correct answer. I was not able to see the last 5 or so questions but the Guess Method allowed me to make sure every question was at least answered.
