Self- Studying vs Live class for PCAT

[thereal313]

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What is better live class vs self studying prepping for PCAT

 

[capri1722]

Honestly it depends on how you learn best and how much money you're willing to spend. Self-study is usually cheaper, but works best if you are highly motivated as an individual. If you're like me and very unmotivated to study without outside pressure, tutoring or a class might be better for you.

(The rest of this is all personal experience and contains some elements of "do as I say, not as I do.")

I chose to self-study and spent about $40 on a Kaplan PCAT prep book. I opened it once the day I got it, read about 5 pages about the format of the exam, and didn't open it again until three days before my exam. At that point I spent every minute outside of work cramming, focusing mostly on organic chemistry and the writing section. I got a 97th percentile on the exam, but I was very stressed and did not expect to do any better than ~70. Do not self-study if you know that you will not have the self-motivation necessary.

 

[dizpnoyownzyoo]

The answer to your question will be different for everyone. I did well in most of my pre-req classes so the Kaplan book, 3 Pearson tests, and 3 weeks was sufficient for me to review and practice.
That’s how I’ve always done studying though: independently crammed last minute lol. Ask yourself how you study best.

There are a lot of factors to consider: how much money you wanna spend, how well you already know the material, how much time you have to study, your study habits, etc.

We can definitely say that it’s possible to score 95%+ from just self studying with the $40 Kaplan book.

 

[lalaland33]

I was wanting to do the live class to study for the course but the schedule options were pretty bad for me so I ended up self-studying.
In my opinion, the live class might end up making you more lazy because you might assume that just because you have it, you'll do better on the exam. But you need to stick to the schedule the offer you (and it can be 3 hours a day, 3 days a week). But if you are terrible at self-studying but know how to stick to a schedule, I would recommend the live class because they know what material to go over specifically for the exam.

 

[thereal313]

Thank you all

 

[Bareitashvilli]

What is better live class vs self studying prepping for PCAT

With the Collins self study packet and Pearson tests and my research I got an 85 in bio and 78 in chem.

A live studying session would have better prepared me for math and reading