What subjects or courses are covered on the PCAT exam?
I was planning on taking the PCAT but didn't really know what specific subjects are covered exactly or if it has changed any bit since I took it the first time, 3-4 years ago. Also, would it be okay to use sparknotes, idiot's guide or AP books to brush up on some of the subjects? Links are provided below for examples about what I'm talking about..
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Chemi...1346208383&sr=1-13&keywords=organic+chemistry
http://idiotsguides.com/nf/Book/Boo...?The_Complete_Idiot's_Guide_to_Chemistry,_3rd
_Edition_Ian_Guch
http://idiotsguides.com/nf/Book/Boo...0.html?The_Complete_Idiot's_Guide_to_College_
Biology_Emily_Jane_Willingham,__Ph.D.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/biology-for-dummies-rene-fester-kratz/1100295242?ean=9780470598757
etc.
I also have course materials from the Kaplan PCAT course to refer to from 2009--but they're reeaalllly boring, which why I'm asking if I can use reference guides
😳).
Would it just be better to buy the textbooks again and review from there?
What about The Khan Academy?
Thanks
Essays - No real way to study, but you should brush up on grammar and writing techniques. This is a pretty easy section, but you have to be able to type something, even if you have no idea what the essay question is asking, which isn't uncommon.
Verbal Ability - The best way to study this is to find a nice vocabulary list and memorize all the words. Word roots may also help but can be misleading if you can't identify the relationships in the analogies sections or you miss an "indicator" in the sentence completion.
Biology - Kaplan PCAT covers this biology great. You should be able to get a very high score with general biology. All I used was Kaplan PCAT Biology and my general biology notes to study and I got 97th percentile.
Chemistry - Once again, Kaplan PCAT works wonders here, but only for general chemistry which is only ~50% of the section. If you haven't taken organic chemistry or biochemistry I recommend you find study materials. Organic Chemistry As a Second Language works great as well as the first few chapters of Lehinger Principles of Biochemistry. I only had general chemistry the time I took the PCAT and I still scored 93rd percentile. Most of the organic chemistry is up to SN1 and SN2 reactions while Biochemistry is things like amino acid structures (memorize them!). If you can't find a cheap book then at least study the amino acids.
Reading Comprehension - This isn't really a section you can study for, but you have to be able to read fast and know what to look for. The testing conditions are hard to replicate since people will be typing their essays at the same time as you are reading so I recommend studying with the television on a reasonable volume so you can cope with concentrating with loud noises in the background.
Quantitative Ability - Use Cliff Notes or something for the basics and a Calculus book (I used Stewart 7e Early Transcendentals). This section was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. Most things in the section are transcendental based or have trigonometric identities so make sure you know these well. There is actually full blown statistics so make sure you know the basic formulas which can easily be found online. Most material I used didn't indicate the difficulty of this section so just be weary. If you are strong in mathematics, then it shouldn't be a problem as long as you know what to anticipate.
Basically here are the classes covered:
Essays:
- A college level writing class can get you a decent score, no books are really needed. If you're a string writer, there's nothing to fear.
Verbal Ability:
- Vocabulary generally isn't covered in college but you can find nice vocab lists through GRE prep from companies like Kaplan.
Biology:
- General Biology I and II are sufficient, however knowledge in more advanced areas may be helpful.
Chemistry:
- General Chemistry I and II (MUST HAVE because these are your easy questions).
- Organic Chemistry (High recommended, I got lucky here with mostly basic reactions but there is NMR and more complex reactions that can be on the section).
- Biochemistry (Recommended, I was hoping this was basic stuff like glucose, starch, and other easy molecules, but you can't fake your way through the material. You need to have a grasp on the first few chapters of a text book).
Reading Comprehension:
- If you read in your free time, you should be fine; if not, start picking up scientific journals or science related scholarly articles. There is plenty of background noise to go with these long and boring passages. There are some MCAT supplies which may help but I know I reverted to my instincts on this section when taking the exam so just make sure you prepare enough and don't underestimate it. I know numerous of people who scored extremely low in this section.
Quantitative Ability:
- All of your high school math classes are probably ingrained in your head by this time since math is cumulative and repetitive. At this point you should only need a review.
- Statistics (recommended since there are "real" statistics on this. It's not just probability and junk. There is finding the population mean and all that "fun" stuff).
- Calculus I (highly recommended because the math is mostly calculus with transcendentals mixed in) Make sure you are comfortable with your trigonometric identities or they will hurt your score badly.
I would advise against AP books and "guides for ordinary people" since they may only cover the AP class at a sufficient level but not the actual college course. College textbooks are so much more helpful, albeit a harder read. You should be able to score very well on the PCAT with just Kaplan's guide though. I haven't tried it but there is also Dr. Collins materials that I heard are helpful.
Here is a list of the materials I used:
-
Organic Chemistry As a Second Language Semester One Topics
-
McGraw Hill Biology
-
Zumdahl Chemistry
-
Kaplan GRE Vocabulary
-
Lehinger Principles of Biochemistry
-
Kaplan PCAT (2012-13)
-
Princeton Review MCAT Verbal and Writing
-
McGraw Hill PCAT (not as useful as Kaplan and out of date - does have organic chemistry review though!)
-
Cliff's PCAT Tests (waste of time)
Books I would also recommend:
-
Klein Organic Chemistry (same author as the second language books, using it for organic chemistry this semester).
Hope this helps a little!
