How far in advance should one study for the pcat? I plan on taking the PCAT in October and/or November and was gonna start studying for the PCAT this summer. Is that ample time or do I have time to spare or should I have started a looooooong time ago? Thanks.
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When to start studying
Started by PharmEm
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PharmEm said:
Now, unless you're lucky like me who already took Organic I and II and crammed for the Janurary 2005 PCAT during Christmas break. Honestly, if you know the material, it's not difficult to really prepare for. The questions you see on the PCAT are the questions you see in any Freshmen Chemistry textbook.
PharmEm said:
I only studied for about 2.5months maybe a 2-3 hours a week--it was all review for me since I have BS already and then I was working a full time job. Again, if you have already had the classes (do know orgo and calc) then it will be mostly review. I would give yourself a little time just so you're not cramming so start now. Take your time and just enjoy it. Don't stress out over the test too much.
Buy the Kaplan test book. It will over prepare you and you'll walk out feeling that the test was too easy. It's a great feeling.
Study for two months, ~3 hours/day if you're a good test taker and all of the material is review. More if not.
I did that while working full time and hit a 98%. Reading comp dragged me down. =P
Study for two months, ~3 hours/day if you're a good test taker and all of the material is review. More if not.
I did that while working full time and hit a 98%. Reading comp dragged me down. =P
I used the Kaplan book to review and I didn't think the organic review was that helpful. I still did okay on that section, but I'd had orgo previously (although several years earlier). I would recommend knowing the rest of the chem really well and finding whatever resources you can for the orgo part. Unfortunately, I don't know of a good organic review book to recommend... sorry
I would try the calculus for dummies book (or is it idiots, dont remember) it goes into the basics pretty well, and since all the PCAT math must be stuff you can do without a calculator it should cover what you need.
