Taking the PCAT after being out of school for 3 years

[jackal head]

I'm a bit embarrassed to be back here but here I am. I decided recently that I should give pharmacy one more go but this time apply to more than one school (aiming for almost every single school in Canada). The PCAT is going to play a critical role this time (the school I applied to before did not require it).

The problem is that my oldest university class was 6 years ago. I had As in all my chemistry classes but today is Day 1 of my PCAT preparation and all is not well. The periodic table does not look as familiar as I remember it and I'm slowly going through Dr.Collins, even the basics like atomic mass / number I have had to think about when these things used to be second nature.

I took the PCAT before and I can attest to the fact that doing well in the core science classes is the best way to score high. During my first attempt at the PCAT, I already knew half of everything in Dr.Collin's but now it's all a blur.

What can I do? I'm preparing to take it in the summer of 2014 which I hope gives me enough time (I'm outside of school and working full time now so study time is not what it used to be). I'm currently using Dr.Collins + MCAT Audio Osmosis. I have the Kaplan book too but heard many bad reviews about it (I heard it's basically a copy of the MCAT prep books).

I was just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar predicament, how they handled it and what they did to prepare. I'd appreciate any insight.

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[NVPham]

I graduated more than 2 years ago. I started to study for PCAT in July, and spent 2 months on it. All the calculation, and concepts appeared to be a little foreign at first. However, after the first week of study, what I learned before, started to come back.

It won't be so hard to recall what you learned, especially you had As in all your chemistry classes. Be patient with yourself, trust your ability, and keep focus on your goal. Best of luck!

 

[CHOPKINSCaFe]

Hey there you are in the same boat as me I took the PCAT 3 years ago, using Kaplan - I wasn't impressed- this time around I bought Barton's for 20 bucks and took the test / pre-tests to see what I need help in, and it was very enlightening and inexpensive! Turned out I really need a math review - for this I used You Tube - it can be a fantastic resource. My scores are not stellar, but they are competitive and I did better the second time around. Maybe you will too!

 

[Hokie07]

I've been out of college for 6 years (hadn't had gen bio and gen chem in almost 10) and took a Kaplan class this summer and hired a private tutor through them. During my diagnostic test I panicked a bit as I realized that I recognized all these questions, but had no clue how to solve them anymore. I can't say enough how much Kaplan helped me, especially having the private tutor!! I ended up taking the PCAT in Oct, scoring 89 composite (91 in Chem, 85 in Bio). It's a lot of work if you want to get the most out of the class, but well worth it. I work full-time and felt like all my time outside of work was either in the kaplan class, studying/preparing for the class, or with my tutor.

 

[jackal head]

paying $3000 for a private tutor seems pretty out outrageous to me, not sure if I could ever do that

 

[Hokie07]

Not that it's much better, but I paid $2150 for the anywhere Kaplan class (with a teacher, but online) and 15 hrs of tutoring (the lowest package). It's still a lot of money, but to me it was worth it...think of it as an investment in your future! I can't attest that this is what schools are looking for, but for me, since I've been out of school for so long and have not been working in a healthcare field, I wanted to show them that I still had a strong foundation of my science classes.

To each their own though, I know its a lot of money. You were just asking how people prepared and wanted to offer how I was able to do well, given my similar situation.

 

[velvet75]

I too had been out of school for a long time when I decided to reapply for pharmacy school. I was scared at first about the PCAT because it had been over 5 years since I took any chemistry classes. But what I did was buy a Kaplan PCAT book and studied on my own. I was working full time and had to take care of two kids while doing this. I would study as much as I could at home but I also took the book to work and studied during my lunch break. Plus, I went to my local library and checked out books about chemistry, biology, and any other subject I felt I needed to review. I specifically remember checking out Organic Chemistry for Dummies. Those library books helped me immensely.

I looked into taking a Kaplan course but I felt it was too expensive for me to spend that much money. The most I spent was maybe 50-60 bucks for the Kaplan study guide which I bought on Amazon.

I don't remember my exact scores but I do recall doing really good in Chemistry and Biology. I actually did better than the first time I took the PCAT & that was when I was in school…lol. Nevertheless, I was accepted to two pharmacy schools and am currently half way through my 3rd year.

I wish you the best!

 

[jackal head]

I too had been out of school for a long time when I decided to reapply for pharmacy school. I was scared at first about the PCAT because it had been over 5 years since I took any chemistry classes. But what I did was buy a Kaplan PCAT book and studied on my own. I was working full time and had to take care of two kids while doing this. I would study as much as I could at home but I also took the book to work and studied during my lunch break. Plus, I went to my local library and checked out books about chemistry, biology, and any other subject I felt I needed to review. I specifically remember checking out Organic Chemistry for Dummies. Those library books helped me immensely.

I looked into taking a Kaplan course but I felt it was too expensive for me to spend that much money. The most I spent was maybe 50-60 bucks for the Kaplan study guide which I bought on Amazon.

I don't remember my exact scores but I do recall doing really good in Chemistry and Biology. I actually did better than the first time I took the PCAT & that was when I was in school…lol. Nevertheless, I was accepted to two pharmacy schools and am currently half way through my 3rd year.

I wish you the best!

Wow, that's really encouraging. Thanks for sharing.