Taking the PCAT...
Started by Oilsooner
I didnt take it and I got 68 in Chem. I would say you need it because every 3 or 4 question was organic related. I took the PCAT again in Jan and didnt see more than 7-8 questions on organic. I guess it depends on the test you get. If you really cant take it, then I would suggest buying McGraw Hill guide because it has a really good organic section with a ton of reactions etc.
I did that. I wouldn't recommend it. I was really good at Gen Chem I & II and I still did terribly on the PCAT's chem section without organic. I think it was partially my timing being off and partially just my lack of o chem knowledge. I think you're much better off waiting until after the first semester of organic.
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If you can afford it, it might not be a bad idea to take it for a no score. Then you'll get the "first time jitters" out of the way (if you're prone to getting nervous with big tests). You'd also know what you're up against then, too.
I'm pretty sure it's different depending on the test. I took it in August, too...there was much more O chem that time (or so it appeared to me).
I took the August 2010 PCAT and I would estimate that at least 40% of the questions were Organic, material from both Orgo I and Orgo II. I took it 4 days after my Orgo II final and scored a 99 composite on the Chem. If you want to do well, I wouldn't risk taking without any Orgo. The cross section of questions will vary on any particular test day. I wouldn't go into hoping to get lucky and have a light Orgo version of the test.
WORD! I definitely would NOT take the PCAT without taking at least Organic I. Organic Chemistry isn't really something that you can teach yourself because there are many topics where you actually need someone to explain them to you. I don't know how someone would understand chair confirmations, reaction mechanisms, SN1 vs. SN2, etc. without taking the class.
