PCAT Achiever trial - only 12 questions there?

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Challenger1

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I just checked out a PCAT Achiever trial (the free demo - not buying the program) and was surprised to find it has only 12 questions. Tried to do it again but the same 12 questions keep coming up. Is this really all it has??? Will there be a new set of 12 tomorrow?
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Challenger1 said:
I just checked out a PCAT Achiever trial (the free demo - not buying the program) and was surprised to find it has only 12 questions. Tried to do it again but the same 12 questions keep coming up. Is this really all it has??? Will there be a new set of 12 tomorrow?
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are you serious?
if they show you all the questions then you don't really have to pay for it.
the 12 questions are sample questions, and they are there to show you if the program is right for you.
 
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I'm not sure whether you're going to see another new set of 12 questions tomorrow, but would say that the full license software is very well designed to help students prepare for the PCAT in all subjects and categories.:luck:
 
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ionou said:
TSG, have you used it before?
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I'm using it now to for the October PCAT. Questions are well written and mimic closely those you would see on Person's online tests. Good practice for verbal and reading sections, while the sciences and maths are pretty challenging in a good way though. For the writing tests, I would recommend answering them on a piece of paper since this section isn't going to be graded other than the sample solutions given. I like the timer settings they give you where you will be prompted with a message when the time alloted is half remaining or five minutes left.:thumbup:
 
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Challenger1 said:
I just checked out a PCAT Achiever trial (the free demo - not buying the program) and was surprised to find it has only 12 questions. Tried to do it again but the same 12 questions keep coming up. Is this really all it has??? Will there be a new set of 12 tomorrow?
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I dunno about the trial, but I did see new questions (especially Biology and Quantitative Ability) coming up on the paid version every once in a while I get into the program to review the tests. Looks like they really mean it by saying that the sample tests will be "constantly updated" according to the link below:

http://www.3tquest.com/index.php?module=products&id=4
 
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How many questions are in the paid one? Are the scores that they give you comparable to the practice from Pearson's or the real tests? Do you think it's worth the money?
 
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Does it really have 800 questions? Is this including the 3 mock exams?
 
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It should probably mention over 700 questions instead of close to 800 questions, to be more accurate. On the other hand, it could also mean more than 800 questions cuz the new questions noted to be replacing the retired ones in the Bio and Maths sections ever since I bought this software could easily consist close to another 100 questions. This alone is already worth the money paid for.

Not sure how the scoring it gives you is scaled, but it does tell you how many questions you answered correctly which could readily tell where your percentile is.
 
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ionou said:
How many questions are in the paid one? Are the scores that they give you comparable to the practice from Pearson's or the real tests? Do you think it's worth the money?
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I've not seen any PCAT guide out there giving you the scaled scores when you are done with a mock test, not even Pearson's. I'm amazed the Achiever is able to come up with those informative scores. :cool:
 
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It's the quality (NOT the quantity) of the questions that matters here. There aren't really many good practice tests out there that can direct you to the right things to focus on. I wouldn't have been aware that calculus on quantitative ability could be that widespread and sporadic had I not tested myself with the Achiever -- truly a great resource in my opinion.
 
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TSG said:
I've not seen any PCAT guide out there giving you the scaled scores when you are done with a mock test, not even Pearson's. I'm amazed the Achiever is able to come up with those informative scores. :cool:
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What are you talking about. Pearson's test gives you the percentile you scored as well as the range of percentile you fell inbetween (ie. 80-99 percentile).
 
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busyizzy said:
What are you talking about. Pearson's test gives you the percentile you scored as well as the range of percentile you fell inbetween (ie. 80-99 percentile).
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I meant the 200 - 600 scaled scores, NOT the percentiles. Someone please correct me if I've still been wrong. :)
 
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I heard Kaplan's classes give you the scaled scores too, but have no idea how they figured that out.
 
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Bidadari said:
It's the quality (NOT the quantity) of the questions that matters here. There aren't really many good practice tests out there that can direct you to the right things to focus on. I wouldn't have been aware that calculus on quantitative ability could be that widespread and sporadic had I not tested myself with the Achiever -- truly a great resource in my opinion.
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I agree considering the many crappy test prep/guides out there.
 
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What about Top Score? Does anybody use PCAT software on a daily basis?
 
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ionou said:
What about Top Score? Does anybody use PCAT software on a daily basis?
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No one seems to have discussed about it lately and it seems to me an outdated set of materials with no detailed solutions.
 
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So, what would you recommend? Did anyone do the entire PCAT Destroyer?
 
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ionou said:
So, what would you recommend? Did anyone do the entire PCAT Destroyer?
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Your best bet would be using your textbooks, lecture notes you have been familiar with; then, do a lot of practice tests that are updated and reflective of the current administration. Destroyer has been known for the DAT and may not be suitable for the PCAT, other than the fact that it covers only sciences and maths (no VA, no RC, and nothing on essays ...). You would be better off sticking to Dr Collin's guide.
 
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Have you found correlation between scores given by PCAT Achiever with scores from the actual test? The website says that you can only install it on one PC. Is it true?
 
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ionou said:
Have you found correlation between scores given by PCAT Achiever with scores from the actual test? The website says that you can only install it on one PC. Is it true?
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You will most likely raise your scores on the PCAT if you pay attention to all questions and explanations in Achiever and work more diligently from there. I didn't know you could only install on one computer. The macbook I have been carrying around is the only notebook being worked on. That's probably the reason I have not had a problem with ...
 
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TSG said:
You will most likely raise your scores on the PCAT if you pay attention to all questions and explanations in Achiever and work more diligently from there ...
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Yes, the scaled scores will assuredly go up on the real thing compared to Achiever's. However, the percent scores on the reports shouldn't be treated as the percentiles you would expect to see on your official PCAT scores.
 
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PharmSic said:
Yes, the scaled scores will assuredly go up on the real thing compared to Achiever's. However, the percent scores on the reports shouldn't be treated as the percentiles you would expect to see on your official PCAT scores.
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why?
 
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Percent score relates to the number of questions answered correctly out of all the questions tested. A percentile is determined by your individual performance over the results obtained by other test takers, which is something available only through Pearson's database.
 
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PharmSic said:
Percent score relates to the number of questions answered correctly out of all the questions tested. A percentile is determined by your individual performance over the results obtained by other test takers, which is something available only through Pearson's database.
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Okay, thanks for the clarification. /-
 
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Okay, I finally decided to buy it online, and took a test yesterday to see how I would bomb on those tough questions like most of you said here. I agree that there are many tricky problems there that would force you to think them through quite a bit ... but how do I check for the solutions for questions that I did wrong? The program would begin a new test every time I click the Start button. Any clue?
 
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Sunscreen said:
Okay, I finally decided to buy it online, and took a test yesterday to see how I would bomb on those tough questions like most of you said here. I agree that there are many tricky problems there that would force you to think them through quite a bit ... but how do I check for the solutions for questions that I did wrong? The program would begin a new test every time I click the Start button. Any clue?
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You would have to first get under the Completed/In Progress tab; then, double click on the test you have completed from the list of records in the table. The same should also apply to generating the score reports just in case you have not had that figured out.
 
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busyizzy said:
What are you talking about. Pearson's test gives you the percentile you scored as well as the range of percentile you fell inbetween (ie. 80-99 percentile).
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I thought the scaled scores matter the most on the score report. Would pharmacy schools ever look at the percentiles?
 
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I'm pretty sure pharm schools only care about the percentiles. I have never ever seen anyone refer to their pcat scores in terms of the scaled scores and pharm schools post their average as percentiles (i.e. minimum 60, not like minimum 400 or whatever). Plus I have also never seen people with like 90+ percentile get like above 499 scaled score...and isn't the highest 600? So the scaled scores seem kinda messed up.
 
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Wow, can't believe that summer is around the corner again. What's everybody's plan? Signing up for June or August PCAT?
 
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I heard bio and quantitative ability from PCAT Achiever are especially good. Are there any updates or changes to be made on other sections such as the verbal and the chem sections?
 
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ALAS!!!! the time of the utter "omg this totally blows" has come. Pharmcas applications, volunteer/experience work, shadowing, PCATS, Letters of Reccs, Gasping over GPAs, transcripts, brown nosing, memorizing the dictionary for vocab, learning to calculate pKa without a Ti, mailing random stuff to schools!! oh the challenges of pre health!!
 
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Anyone out there taking the computerized PCAT this fall? If so, is there a DEMO on the format of the test that you get to look it up online? Is it something similar to Achiever or it will be an entirely different interface? Thanks.
 
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I wouldn't risk taking the computer based PCAT if given a choice. The paper version is so much easier to work on despite the very fact that it is going to take more time to complete the entire session.
 
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Can't really imagine how this is going to affect those who can't type fast and well like me. :eek:
 
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PillyNosy said:
Anyone out there taking the computerized PCAT this fall? If so, is there a DEMO on the format of the test that you get to look it up online? Is it something similar to Achiever or it will be an entirely different interface? Thanks.
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Bump, someone has got to know this, please!
 
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TSG said:
I wouldn't risk taking the computer based PCAT if given a choice. The paper version is so much easier to work on despite the very fact that it is going to take more time to complete the entire session.
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Agreed. Opt for the conventional route before the CBT thing would go full swing.
 
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