So how are you studying for the PCAT?

[inquirer89]

I've been reading a chapter a night in my Kaplan for about an hour, then reviewing it the next morning for an hour, then starting on the next chapter that night. If I do this almost everyday, then I should be able to go back and review adequately until my August PCAT.

I'm just afraid that I won't have the retention. There's so much to know! I also haven't taken Orgo or Cal yet, so I'm a bit worried.

What is everyone else's study habits? (especially if you're using the Kaplan...I'm interested to know)

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[Farcus]

I think a chapter a night is kind of slow, try for 2 but if you never taken any of the required classes they i guess one is good since you're literally learning new stuff.

I been just concentrating on Biology, Reading, Verbal right now. I did my chapter reading for my packet since i bought the program and then did all the problems and the workbook. Then I went to library to rent GRE,SAT BIO II, and AP Bio stuff for reviewing those kind of problems. Hopefully i'm set. Next on my list is math, and gen chem(worst area), and ochem. I also been learning 10 words a day and having a big packet of words that I accumulated over the month since school has been over. I review all the words I know I might be iffy on, the ones I know fairly well I put em in a packet and try to review that packet once a week while the packet that I'm not iffy on I review every day twice until they go in to the other pile. I also wrote a lot of biology notecards but I haven't been keeping up with those but I'm about to today

 

[samfromVA]

For me, I am taking exams after exams. I finished taking CLIFF, Barron and Kaplan and now Harcourt.

One thing I wonder if the questions that I see in harcourt exam is similar to real exam or not. Also, why do I feel that couple of questions in Harcourt are so freakin confusing, hard to answer and long. Anyone have answers for my confusion let me know.
Thanks

 

[lev zev]

I'm currently using the PCAT Destroyer with all my notes from my previous college classes. After I complete all the Questions in the destroyer I'm going to do PCAT exams. I find this for me a good strategy to obtain most the knowledge I need for it. For the speed of things I'm reading passages from random books and trying to do the questions in the PCAT destroyer as fast as I can.
Good Luck, hope I helped.

 

[sakigt]

So far Ive read the Bio section in a week. This week its Chem and next week its Math - then comes the PCAT.

If you paid attention in your prereqs, the Kaplan book should be mostly review. I wrote a page of notes front and back from the Bio section. It was actually a confidence builder to see how much I retained.

 

[inquirer89]

I just remembered a good tip. My AP psych teacher from high school told us to use "pooper cards" for learning definitions. So basically, you can be prepared for the PCAT verbal section by sitting on the toilet for 5 min a day

 

[Farcus]

So far Ive read the Bio section in a week. This week its Chem and next week its Math - then comes the PCAT.

If you paid attention in your prereqs, the Kaplan book should be mostly review. I wrote a page of notes front and back from the Bio section. It was actually a confidence builder to see how much I retained.

Thats it? 1 page? That must be really condensed.

 

[199778]

For me, I am taking exams after exams. I finished taking CLIFF, Barron and Kaplan and now Harcourt.

One thing I wonder if the questions that I see in harcourt exam is similar to real exam or not. Also, why do I feel that couple of questions in Harcourt are so freakin confusing, hard to answer and long. Anyone have answers for my confusion let me know.
Thanks

i heard that the harcourt exam is quite similar to the real PCAT given last June/Aug/Oct. It will be good review to look at it before the PCAT. I think there is a fee of $20? to take it but it might be worht it. I am going to do that next week. Good Luck to all.

 

[sakigt]

Thats it? 1 page? That must be really condensed.

You shouldnt be taking notes of EVERYTHING. Theres no way someone can actually remember it all. The point of the sheet is to provide a quick review the night before the exam. The points you just need a little help memorizing.

The rest of the book should be review of concepts you remembered from your prereqs.

Ive never taken the PCAT before, but Ive taken cummulative crazy hard tests. You have to trust that you have learned the material, and focus your attention on the details you always get confused for some reason. The ones you cant logic your way through. Exocrine vs Endocrine, Sypathetic vs Parasympathetic, Fats vs Proteins, and what part of the brain is responsible for what. Memorize the stupid, basic stuff, and count on your smarts to logic your way through the rest of it.

And anyway, well see how wrong I am about that in a few weeks.

 

[sakigt]

Heres exactly what Im doing:

Months before: Pay attention in prereqs, learn, dont memorize for an exam
Weeks before exam: Reviewing Kaplan. Taking basic notes, 1 page per section
Night before: Review 3 review pages I wrote, have a good dinner, print out everything I need, go to bed early
Morning of: Wake up early, have a good breakfast, wear comfy clothes, leave for testing place early.
Drive: Rock out to good music (this is more important than you think), At stoplights look at a concept youre having a problem memorizing and think about that concept until the next light, repeat
Testing Center: Leave your notes in the car! Its too late now! Commiserate with fellow test takers, relax, drink some water and use the restroom. Your job for the next few hours is to use your knowledge to do well. If you dont do well its either because you honestly didnt try or its because thats simply your best. No biggie. The sun will come up tomorrow, and you can learn from your errors when you retake it.

 

[inquirer89]

Sounds like a good plan. Tell us how you think you did on the July exam. I'm curious to see if my own plan of study will work for me once I take the exam in August (*cross fingers).

 

[PharmApp2008]

My course of action for undergrad and studying for the PCAT is if I didn't know it before I read it I write it down. That is a lot of writing I know but then I have a pretty good outline of absolutely everything that I'm sure that I don't know. I may read this outline once in its entirety and then read it again several times to learn the most important parts. For the PCAT I made notecards of things I absolutely wanted to know. My last PCAT I got an 85 and graduated with a 3.8. I think my method was helpful because I took the PCAT in January and I took most of my prereqs 5-6 years ago. That leads me to believe that I did learn in my classes (not just memorized for the tests).