Studying for PCAT

[pharmboy1023]

I am planning to take the PCAT this summer in mid July 2013 to apply for early admission Fall of 2014.

My spring quarter ends 1st week of June, which would give me about a month of studying before taking the PCAT.

Is this enough time for prepping for the PCAT? Would I have to study 8 hrs a day to be able to do good?

PS- My Gen Chem skills are not really good now since I took it 2 years ago -____-

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Guitarmacy]

You'll be good as long as you dedicate about 3 hours a day, 6 days a week to studying. How much time you really need depends on you, but the average student who scores high will probably be looking at those numbers. Check out the PCAT discussions in the other sub-forum.

 

[cuddlefish78]

I heard there is a a lot of gen chem. I plan on talking the pcat in September and studying all summer.

 

[Sugoi Travis]

I heard there is a a lot of gen chem. I plan on talking the pcat in September and studying all summer.

I can vouch for this statement as well. I took the PCAT this past September and there definitely were a lot more questions on general chemistry than organic chemistry. I'd say around a 70:30 split in favor of general chem for my test.

 

[pharmboy1023]

Thanks everyone for your feedback! Do you think I should take it in July or September? because i know if you take it in July you can do early admissions which is suppose to give you a better chance of getting an interview

 

[FLaCoPHaRm]

I took the PCAT on July of last year and it ended up working well. You have to find study materials that will focus in the PCAT. I used Collins and Kaplan Bio and I felt I was well prepared even with just 2 weeks of straight studying.

I would suggest to fully understand the material without becoming overwhelmed with the details. That is why I mentioned to find study aids that focus on the PCAT first and the actual material second.

 

[Starshipp]

Remember that they added biochemistry questions on there now too. I had several pharmaceutical questions regarding drugs too. Big I think those were the experimental questions. Maybe not.

 

[UTsto]

Remember that they added biochemistry questions on there now too. I had several pharmaceutical questions regarding drugs too. Big I think those were the experimental questions. Maybe not.

I had a lot of pharmaceutical questions on my PCAT I took this past September as well. Thank God I have a degree in biochemistry because I was surprised at the questions that were geared more toward biochem. On my exam, however, I had about a 50:50 split between gen chem and o-chem.

 

[jenbl89]

What did you use as a study resource? I found the Dr. Collins kit, and saw good and bad reviews on it, and then I see the Kaplan and Pearson books, but I am not sure which will be the best resource to use as a study guide for the PCAT.

 

[UTsto]

What did you use as a study resource? I found the Dr. Collins kit, and saw good and bad reviews on it, and then I see the Kaplan and Pearson books, but I am not sure which will be the best resource to use as a study guide for the PCAT.

I used the Kaplan books but I found that using YouTube teaching videos in conjunction with the Kaplan materials helped out with visual learning as well.

 

[Guitarmacy]

What did you use as a study resource? I found the Dr. Collins kit, and saw good and bad reviews on it, and then I see the Kaplan and Pearson books, but I am not sure which will be the best resource to use as a study guide for the PCAT.

Collins all the way IMO.

 

[owlegrad]

Belongs in PCAT forum

 

[xtsukiyox]

I would recommend taking the PCAT in July, with one caveat. Check with your schools of choice to see how they handle multiple PCAT scores. Many won't penalize you at all. Worst case scenario, if you bomb it, you get great experience as to how to study for September - best case, you can just apply with your stellar score & get in. If you don't take it until September, you have no chance for a retake before a lot of schools close their applications.

Keep in mind that the PCAT is a race against time. Knowing how to do complicated problems is great, but if you take too long to do it, you may have theoretically given up easy points elsewhere. Practice with an eye towards knowing how to narrow it down and identify traps.