PCAT Score Interpretation

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LV1992

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Verbal PR 99
Biology PR 97
Reading Comprehension PR 98
Quantitative Ability PR 45
Chemistry PR 91
Composite PR 97

Do I need to be concerned about my low quantitative score or am I alright? I am not looking to get into a top tier school.
 
you have a 97 composite. that is phenomenal. it would be appreciated if you give us some insight on led to those high percentiles. thanks
 
you have a 97 composite. that is phenomenal. it would be appreciated if you give us some insight on led to those high percentiles. thanks

I'm not the OP, but I got a 96 composite (68 VA, 99 Bio, 86 Reading, 77 Quant, 97 Chem).

I used my Kaplan book and took the exams. First one I took was kind of my diagnostic, and from there I focused on what I didn't know. I clearly had forgotten about radioactivity, the gas laws, and some of the more basic things like the percent of some isotope making up the total mass presented on the periodic table. For math, I did practice problems I found online and used my old calculus textbook. I also watched some Khan Academy videos for anything I was unsure of (i.e. some organic chemistry and calculus laws/rules you never use past the first week of class). As for reading and verbal, I didn't put much effort into working on those. I figured that whatever I have for vocab now is all that I'll have. I read news articles, but that's nothing different than what I do every day anyway. Thinking back, I wish that I spent more time reviewing math from before calculus. There were a lot of problems on my exam pertaining to statistics and vectors. Also a lot of fraction and decimal manipulation which was difficult to do when I was only allotting something like 30 seconds per question.

My biggest tip to you is to really learn your coursework as you go through it, and try to get fast at quantitative. Also triage your questions. I flagged all of the passages for bio and chem and saved them for the end.

Take a deep breath, don't doubt yourself too much, you'll be fine. I thought that I failed the exam and was really nervous to go to the guy at the front desk and get my printed results. He handed it to me with a smile and told me I did well. I was the awkward girl actually making conversation with people in elevators because I was so proud at how I did. I really truly thought that my quantitative section ripped me a new one. Goes to show that you're probably going to do a whole lot better than you think.
 
you have a 97 composite. that is phenomenal. it would be appreciated if you give us some insight on led to those high percentiles. thanks

I studied from the Kaplan book. The best advice I can give is to study the main concepts. Don't worry about small details. I wouldn't spend too much time on reading or vocabulary. I wasted hours looking at difficult vocab words in Kaplan and there were only a few difficult words on the test. Also, be aware of your remaining time on the quantitative section. I spent time on a few questions I couldn't figure out and didn't finish the section. Just pick an answer, flag them, and move on. If you think you did terrible on a section, don't let it distract you from the rest of the test. I thought I did terrible on the chem section, but I was wrong. As med77 said, your scores can be much better than you think.
 
I studied from the Kaplan book. The best advice I can give is to study the main concepts. Don't worry about small details. I wouldn't spend too much time on reading or vocabulary. I wasted hours looking at difficult vocab words in Kaplan and there were only a few difficult words on the test. Also, be aware of your remaining time on the quantitative section. I spent time on a few questions I couldn't figure out and didn't finish the section. Just pick an answer, flag them, and move on. If you think you did terrible on a section, don't let it distract you from the rest of the test. I thought I did terrible on the chem section, but I was wrong. As med77 said, your scores can be much better than you think.

I'm really having trouble deciding whether to get the kaplan book or dr. collins. I would rather not spend $375 on the dr. collins if I can get the same scores as if I studied with the Kaplan book. Can you give me any of your experiences with the Kaplan book? Kinda freaking out lol thanks!
 
I'm really having trouble deciding whether to get the kaplan book or dr. collins. I would rather not spend $375 on the dr. collins if I can get the same scores as if I studied with the Kaplan book. Can you give me any of your experiences with the Kaplan book? Kinda freaking out lol thanks!

I have no experience with the Dr. Collins book, so I can't really give a good recommendation. I personally wouldn't spend the $375 because I thought Kaplan covered most of the concepts. If you have a decent background in each of the subjects, I think Kaplan would be fine.
 
I'm not the OP, but I got a 96 composite (68 VA, 99 Bio, 86 Reading, 77 Quant, 97 Chem).

I used my Kaplan book and took the exams. First one I took was kind of my diagnostic, and from there I focused on what I didn't know. I clearly had forgotten about radioactivity, the gas laws, and some of the more basic things like the percent of some isotope making up the total mass presented on the periodic table. For math, I did practice problems I found online and used my old calculus textbook. I also watched some Khan Academy videos for anything I was unsure of (i.e. some organic chemistry and calculus laws/rules you never use past the first week of class). As for reading and verbal, I didn't put much effort into working on those. I figured that whatever I have for vocab now is all that I'll have. I read news articles, but that's nothing different than what I do every day anyway. Thinking back, I wish that I spent more time reviewing math from before calculus. There were a lot of problems on my exam pertaining to statistics and vectors. Also a lot of fraction and decimal manipulation which was difficult to do when I was only allotting something like 30 seconds per question.

My biggest tip to you is to really learn your coursework as you go through it, and try to get fast at quantitative. Also triage your questions. I flagged all of the passages for bio and chem and saved them for the end.

Take a deep breath, don't doubt yourself too much, you'll be fine. I thought that I failed the exam and was really nervous to go to the guy at the front desk and get my printed results. He handed it to me with a smile and told me I did well. I was the awkward girl actually making conversation with people in elevators because I was so proud at how I did. I really truly thought that my quantitative section ripped me a new one. Goes to show that you're probably going to do a whole lot better than you think.
i feel same way for you , CONGRATULATIONS Girl! you did well its fun bragging about the score huh? haha u remind of the good times. i only got an 87 and the person i spoke to on elevator was a real estate person and she thought since i got high score to be pharmacist im gonna buy a house from her.
 
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