PCAT matters

[FungManX]

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Hey everyone! This forum has been extreeeemly useful to me in the past few months.. I used to lurk around all the forums and I've gained so much information on all these healthcare professions.

Anyway, I've decided to take the PCAT this coming June 25,05. And i was wondering if I could keep updating this thread with Questions about what to study and how to study (I noticed there was some discussion on having a PCAT forum also, and I think thats a GREAT idea!). If the PCAT forum does open up, a moderator can move this forum at their will.


First question.
I'm studying the physical chemistry part right now with KAPLAN(study book), and I'm wondering if I should go into much detail with stuff like..the Bohr Model, or Atomic spectra?
I remeber learning that stuff in my physical chemistry class.. but I never totally understood the atomic spectra stuff... or how those Equations work (ex. E = -Rh / n^2 )

Thanks guys!

 

[trishias]

Hey everyone! This forum has been extreeeemly useful to me in the past few months.. I used to lurk around all the forums and I've gained so much information on all these healthcare professions.

Anyway, I've decided to take the PCAT this coming June 25,05. And i was wondering if I could keep updating this thread with Questions about what to study and how to study (I noticed there was some discussion on having a PCAT forum also, and I think thats a GREAT idea!). If the PCAT forum does open up, a moderator can move this forum at their will.


First question.
I'm studying the physical chemistry part right now with KAPLAN(study book), and I'm wondering if I should go into much detail with stuff like..the Bohr Model, or Atomic spectra?
I remeber learning that stuff in my physical chemistry class.. but I never totally understood the atomic spectra stuff... or how those Equations work (ex. E = -Rh / n^2 )

Thanks guys!

Hey! I don't know if they are going to change the PCAT again this year but I don't remember any physical chemistry on the test. I DO remember a lot of O. Chem. I prepared for the test by making a schedule in which I studied different subject area everyday using the various books I have. I felt very prepared the third time ( 😀 ) around because I used this technique the summer before I took last October's test. I scored in the 91st percentile. Hopes this helps and good luck.

 

[UTPharmDoc]

Hey! I don't know if they are going to change the PCAT again this year but I don't remember any physical chemistry on the test. I DO remember a lot of O. Chem. I prepared for the test by making a schedule in which I studied different subject area everyday using the various books I have. I felt very prepared the third time ( 😀 ) around because I used this technique the summer before I took last October's test. I scored in the 91st percentile. Hopes this helps and good luck.

Kaplan review book was helpful for me. There was a lot of organic on the test, no kinetics questions on mine though. There are calculus stuff on it too. Bio had a lot of weird questions on it. Just review your old notes and you should be fine. Good luck

 

[forever27]

Kaplan review book was helpful for me. There was a lot of organic on the test, no kinetics questions on mine though. There are calculus stuff on it too. Bio had a lot of weird questions on it. Just review your old notes and you should be fine. Good luck

There were definitely kinetics questions in last year's PCAT!!! I still remember one because I was stuck there for several minitues. But I agree that Kaplan review is a really nice book and very helpful.

About the basic Bohr model, it is not only taught in Pchem but also taught in any other basic chem classes associated with molecules and atoms. So, it is a very basic concept and in my opinion it is necessary to understand that if you want to have a 90+ score on PCAT

 

[meg]

They just added a writing component that starts June 2005. So it looks like you get to be one of the first ones to try it out. Article about it here:
http://www.pharmacyweek.com/subscriptions/archived_newsletters.asp?newsletter_issue_id=769

 

[FungManX]

Forever, the pchem that you had on ur exam, did it have anything to do with stuff like electron spectroscopy? thats the only stuff i don't fully understand

Meg, they've actually had that writing component for a while now.. I guess the only difference is this time they are grading it

 

[forever27]

Forever, the pchem that you had on ur exam, did it have anything to do with stuff like electron spectroscopy? thats the only stuff i don't fully understand

Meg, they've actually had that writing component for a while now.. I guess the only difference is this time they are grading it

I don't quite remember if there is Atomic spectrum in my test as there is no deep impression if it is not very hard one. I believe that review on Kaplan is enough to deal with PCAT. As I said, if you think this topic is too hard, you can skip it and make sure your other chem parts are OK and see if you have enough time to handle this one. Only when you want 100% sure your chem part is high (like 99%), you had better understand everything. Missing one or two questions will not effect you a lot. Seriously.

 

[starsweet]

How much Organic Chem II does the PCAT have? I haven't taken the second part and was wondering if it was okay to take the test before completing the second part. Is the review in the KAPLAN book good enough to do well on this part of the test, or should I wait till I finish the second part?

 

[forever27]

How much Organic Chem II does the PCAT have? I haven't taken the second part and was wondering if it was okay to take the test before completing the second part. Is the review in the KAPLAN book good enough to do well on this part of the test, or should I wait till I finish the second part?

The ochem questions I experienced in last year are not very hard, they are about the addtion, elimination, nucleophilic SN1, SN2 or sth like these. Actually I did not know before the exam they would add so many Ochem questions. But, fortuanately, I completed all my ochem courses before I took the PCAT. Who knows if they will add more weight on ochem later as ochem is the most important chemistry branch in pharmacy

 

[b*rizzle]

How much Organic Chem II does the PCAT have? I haven't taken the second part and was wondering if it was okay to take the test before completing the second part. Is the review in the KAPLAN book good enough to do well on this part of the test, or should I wait till I finish the second part?

Ditto to forever27, the o-chem on the PCAT is very very basic. I was only 1/2 way thru o-chem I when I took the PCAT and I scored an 86% on that section (94% overall). Kaplan's is a good review book...very thorough and probably harder than the actual exam, so it's some solid practice.

 

[chloejane]

I took the PCAT in Nov. and I didn't have that much O-chem (or at least much that made an impression). Most of the problems I had involved using something as a catalyst or reacting two compounds... really, all fairly basic o-chem 1 stuff or at the most the beginning of o-chem 2 stuff. The PP that suggested a Kaplan book was right on though- pretty much everything that I was asked for bio and chem was covered in the book. I would suggest reviewing a book before taking the test and brushing up on and learning the material that is either review or unfamiliar. Don't stress though- I worried a lot more about the chem than necessary. I think that had more of a negative affect than any of the lack of knowledge of that material.

Good Luck!!! 🙂

 

[starsweet]

Ok, I was reading the reviews on the Kaplan PCAT book and a lot of people said the O Chem review was not sufficient for the NEW PCAT (the tests after October 2004) and that the Calculus review was not very good either. If you took it before October then it seemed to be okay. So it looks like you have to study Calculus on your own. But I looked at the PCAT website, and it doesn't say how much Calculus will be on the test (i.e., differential, integral) so how do you know how much to study?