Those with a 90+ on PCAT.......

[chiko]

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Hello,
I know this has been asked a lot of times,but I'am taking PCAT in June..... so it's my turn to ask again........those who scored a 90+ on PCAT......... how did you guys do it?I'am just wondering........did u just do the Kaplan,Barron....or is there something else(some secret)......Please do share with us your secret.Thank you.

 

[mbishop]

to get a 96, i used barron's (an old one, but here's the new one: link). i feel this book prepared me great, but if you REALLY want to make a 90+, maybe flip through both.

Besides that, i had just taken the ptcb exam so maybe that helped.

pm me if you have any more Qs

 

[Jbuprepharm]

I used an old barron's book also for a 93


F Kaplan

 

[Namexxx]

I also used Barron for a 95. I'd circle the questions I missed and review those concepts from my science classes. Other than that, I didn't really study any old material. Be sure to take a timed practice test.

 

[Bill_252001]

I didn't really use any of those books, just undergrad biology and chemistry text books. But then again, I think I am good at biology and chemistry. For math, I was surprised to find calculus on the test but oh well, I attended the questions anyways. Composite 93%. PCAT isn't hard, it just requires you to understand the basics and apply the basics under stressful situation as the testday. Good luck.

 

[The Fargoan]

97 composite. I used Barron's and Cliff Notes practice tests. I must have taken 3 or 4 of the practice tests in timed conditions similar to the tests. I turned off my cell phone, the tv, radio, etc. and just practiced sitting and testing for 4 hours. If I got done with a section early I'd review and then just give up and go on to the next section. I felt that Barron's made Chemistry harder than the actual test and the Math section was way too easy compared to the real thing. I guess I didn't believe the 30% calculus number cited by the PCAT. They weren't kidding. I think practicing writing the essay was the biggest help because when does anyone ever write a 30 min essay?

 

[fmbzp5]

to get a 98 I personally just re read the kaplan section on chemistry to remind myself of all the formulas that slipped away over time. I Then did the plant biology section since that was something I knew almost nothing about. AFter that, practice questions after practice questions. That way it was easy to see the same concepts over and over and get them down quickly.

I don't know about anyone else but the trying to study the verbal section is a hit or miss. Since the science sections rehash the same concepts over and over again that was fairly easy to get but the verbal and reading is constantly changing and in my opinion a waste of time to study outside of doing timed practice tests to know how quickly to pace yourself.


But don't feel too discouraged, my friend took it with zero studying and hadn't taken the classes in a few years and pulled a 93 overall. He isn't the brightest guy, I guess he got lucky for the most part (but he bombed the math section so that did hurt him overall)


Good luck to you and we all hope you do well

 

[chiko]

Hello,
Thanks for all your reply.I'll try my best to do well.Thanks again.

 

[TheHillCrew]

I did not score close to a 90 on the PCAT but if I were to take it again I wouldnt bother with PCAT study guides. I would get MCAT study guides and read the Biology and Chemistry sections of the MCAT books. There are more MCAT study guides than there are PCAT. I used a bunch of pcat study books and found the Kaplan most useful. THis is how I would recommend studying: get the pcat Kaplan book which summarizes everything quite nicely and than look over millions of practice questions on MCAT biology and chemisty practice tests.

 

[yedge]

i used kaplan and the practice tests that hartcourt gives you to study. i got 99 on math and 96 on chem and bio... i thought the materials on kaplan was way harder than what it was on the actual PCAT. they ask you pretty general questions

 

[Quiksilver]

i used kaplan and the practice tests that hartcourt gives you to study. i got 99 on math and 96 on chem and bio... i thought the materials on kaplan was way harder than what it was on the actual PCAT. they ask you pretty general questions

i agree, kaplan improved me way more then i would have ever imagined. i got a 93 composite

 

[Saladfingers]

The most important piece of advice that I can think of regarding the PCAT is that it's all about time management.

Even if you know all of the material on the test but can only answer half the questions in the given time you're going to do poorly.

Getting those study guides can help if you can sit down and time yourself on practice exams that are the same length as the real thing.

Just practice your ability to stay cool under the time constraint, be able to skip questions you can't get right away and so forth.

It's all about time management.

I got a 99 on the composite.

 

[Falokis]

I haven't got my score back yet, but I can share some advice on the math section. This Jan07 everyone seemed to think it was very hard. I agree. I'm a math person and had a tough time with it. You will read in every study guild to skip ones that are hard. I can't stress this enough. DO IT. You have less than a minute for the questions. While you might know how to do it after thinking about it, you don't have the time to think about it. If you look down and see a problem and don't know EXACTLY how to work it, skip it. Finish all the ones you know how to do by instinct. Then, come back and work on the ones you need to put thought into. Get those easy points first, then get the hard ones. I had no problem going right through practice test in the 50mins, but on test day it was a huge problem. Another thing is look at the answers BEFORE working the problem. I can't guess how many times I finished working a problem to look at the choices and see that one choices is the only possibility. A large number if not all problems have 2 answers that are so obviously wrong it's funny. I wasted a ton of time that could have been saved by looking at the answers first.

 

[GreenMonster]

91, reviewed old chem, organic, bio, and calc. notes

 

[dtp384]

studied from the kaplan book for about 3 months n got a 97

 

[LTPharmD]

The PCAT is a test of knowledge that you have attained already. The DAT is as well, except it covers four years of college education instead of just two. I used a DAT book (never took the DAT, just was the only review guide I had access to) and got a 99 composite. It was surprisingly helpful. I didn't take any PCAT practice tests and that book prepared me well. But that is just my opinion.

As a previous poster said, time management is important. I would agree 100%. You must keep a good pace about answering questions. If I wasn't sure after thinking for 30 sec or so...I skipped it and came back at the end.

Good luck

 

[penguins429]

i took the pcat twice - first time i got a 95, second time a 99 ... i think that knowing the material is only a part of the exam - you also need good time management and test taking skills ...
i would advise to try taking practice exams in the time limitations that you would experience on exam day, to get the feel of how fast you must go ...
as for the material, i used the kaplan book ... it was generally more detailed than you really know, but a good preparation for the sciences nonetheless ... in my opinion, the verbal section in the kaplan was pretty useless though ...

 

[Tate]

I have been out of school for 2 years now and I got a 96 composite this Oct. I had forgotten nearly everything I needed to know for the PCAT before I studied.

I studied for about 2 months from the Kaplan book, and occasionally from the cliff notes practice tests and flashcard book thing. Then I got the PCAT audiolearn and listened to that 2 or 3 times while I was driving to work.

Good luck, it is really a mental marathon more than anything!

 

[fmbzp5]

I had bought that flashcard book. What rubbish. It was filled with so many errors I brought it back to the bookstore 2 days later to get my money back. I figured if it had so many errors on the answers I knew why should I trust it for questions that I had no clue about.

 

[senzabee]

I didn't do any formal studying for the PCAT, but I got a 96 on it. I read through the Kaplan chemistry and biology sections. In order to do well on the Math section, you should really brush up on some calculus as there was quite a bit of that on it. For the chemistry sections, know your ochem reactions and products (I don't remember the names of the rxns but when the rings open up, hydrogenation, bromination and where it goes, etc). In my opinion, you can't really study for the verbal and reading sections. You just have to manage your time, read thoroughly and understand what they are asking for. I don't think you need a wide vocabulary to know all of the tested words. Good luck!

 

[PCATtaker]

95 Comp.

Mainly studied from the Kaplan book and Barron's. If you want to buy the Kaplan book from me for a good price click on my eBay link below. If you look at the pictures I have on there you can see that it's still basically brand new. Better that than paying $45 plus tax at the store.

eBay link: Kaplan PCAT 2007 Study Guide