Should I cancel Jan 2011 pcat?

[wlim]

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I was wondering if you guys think I should cancel Jan 2011 pcat?

My first practice pcat I got 60-80.
My second one, I got 50-70. Idk how its possible I got worse after a week of studying.

In terms of curriculum, I still need Organic 2, Microbiology, and A&P.

Do you guys think a month is enough studying to increase my score to 80-85?

 

[longhornatheart]

I was wondering if you guys think I should cancel Jan 2011 pcat?

My first practice pcat I got 60-80.
My second one, I got 50-70. Idk how its possible I got worse after a week of studying.

In terms of curriculum, I still need Organic 2, Microbiology, and A&P.

Do you guys think a month is enough studying to increase my score to 80-85?

Are you applying for admission into Fall 2011? If so, canceling your PCAT will cause you to delay entering Pharmacy School until Fall 2012.

If all you're missing are those classes you've mentioned, you have more than enough classes in order to do well on the PCAT. What study materials are you using? Are you taking the Pearson practice PCAT exams? Is there a section or a few sections that you need to focus the most on? One month is definitely enough to increase your score as long as you keep working at it.

 

[chemguy79]

I'm not nearly as optimistic; I think that taking the PCAT while missing pre-reqs is a bad idea. Quite a few people have done well without taking every course, but it's tough to generalize performance based on random posters at SDN.

My biggest concern is that you'll be missing a fair percentage of the material covered on the Biology section. It's definitely possible to do well, but a lot of it depends on (1) how well you retain the material which you have learned from the other courses and (2) how much exposure you've had to the material from the missing courses.

 

[wlim]

I only plan on applying Fall 2011 if my pcat score is good enough (80-85). The practice tests I took were from Pearson. On those practice tests, my chem has been 80-99 percentile both times, but my verbal and reading comp has been around 50-70. Quant 60-80. Bio, around 50.

If I improve my bio and keep a good chem score, I think that should be enough to get a composite 80-85. My only concern is that on the practice tests, there were questions in biology I had no idea how to answer, like radioimmunassay, characteristics of specific bacteria.

So far, I am using Kaplan. Which I feel is sufficient, except for the microbiology questions. Does the actual pcat have as many microbio questions as the pearson practice?

 

[Notecard]

I don't know how many people would agree with this but I thought the Pearson practice tests were a lot easier than the PCAT itself. Biology seemed about the same but Chem and Quant were quite a bit more difficult on the PCAT.

 

[Nikkia]

I don't know how many people would agree with this but I thought the Pearson practice tests were a lot easier than the PCAT itself. Biology seemed about the same but Chem and Quant were quite a bit more difficult on the PCAT.

Really? Aren't they abstracted from previous PCAT that should both reflect the level of difficulty and the types of questions on the real thing?

 

[longhornatheart]

There were only a few micro questions on my version of the PCAT and quite a few A&P questions. My bio 2 course covered all the body systems so I found the material sufficient though I was taking A&P at the same time.

If you do a search for micro on the PCAT, you'll find topics that previous posters have mentioned may be tested on the PCAT such as identifying common gram positive and gram negative bacteria, the diseases they cause, and their shapes. Also know a little about common viruses. I studied the Kaplan and Dr. Collins guides and did well on biology but I also retain that kind of information fairly well.

As for the Pearson practice exams, I thought the level of difficulty was on par with the October 2010 PCAT. A few of the questions were even identical.

One of my friends took the PCAT with only half a semester of A&P and Orgo 1. She scored in the upper 80s but she also did very well on the Quant section.

If you're applying for admission into Fall 2011, sounds like you need to take the January PCAT regardless of whether or not you feel ready unless the schools don't require the PCAT. My favorite study guide is Dr. Collins. I found the material extremely helpful though the math and reading comprehension a bit too simplistic.