Which section should I study first?

[xKenny]

Which section should I study first? Does it matter?

I'm currently a freshmen, looking forward to apply to this upcoming cycle. I'm gonna be taking PCAT in July...and unfortunately, without prior organic chemistry courses (all Ochem courses at my school were filled up before I even had a chance to enroll!). I have a pretty solid background of math, general chemistry, and general biology. In my AP Chem class in high school, we learned a little bit about different structures and the names and formulas for the functional groups. But I don't know if it would be enough for Ochem section on PCAT.

Any tips here?

P.S. I'm not worry so much about reading and writing sections.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[kovey]

Organic Chem is the hardest part of the Chemistry section on the PCAT. I would recommend that you take at least one OChem course in university prior to writing the PCAT. If you are 100% set on taking the PCAT this summer, then OChem should be a major focus of your studying because you will have a lot to learn.

For the Math section, you need to know your calculus. Hopefully you have taken Calc in university, because that will give you a good base for the test.

Biology is the easiest section IMO, but you need to know Anatomy and Physiology in addition to Gen Bio. The Kaplan biology section is a pretty good study guide for that section of the test.

As for Reading Comp, you definitely need to study for it. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ANY SECTION OF THE TEST. Spend time doing timed passages to get used to the style of questions, and also to get your reading speed up to par for the test. The Kaplan book has a decent RC section, although I would recommend getting the Kaplan book that has 100 MCAT reading passages because that will give you the most practice.

Time-management is extremely important on the PCAT. You should buy the Pearson practice tests and do them in a timed setting. Keep in mind that Chem and QA are generally harder on the actual test than on the practice test. You need to be able to do quick mental math, and you need to have a decent reading speed for the test. Those are both things you can improve by studying and timing yourself.

 

[chemguy79]

I think that you're potentially causing yourself problems by "not worrying so much about verbal and reading."

Reading is the section that typically surprises people the most because they do not practice the types of questions that they see in that section. Literary trends and supporting arguments are integral to reading and it's something that I focused on extensively to get a score above 80 in that section. In fact, reading was my lowest section score on the PCAT as I scored 92+ on every other section of the PCAT.

 

[xtsukiyox]

I studied the stuff I actually had to relearn first.

Then I moved to the stuff I needed to practice getting faster at or learn a better approach (test-taking skills learning).

Then I brushed up on the specific stuff I couldn't remember (memorization). It seems to fall out of my head so fast!

While I was studying all along, I made a list of things I wanted to "cram in" at the last minute & read it the morning of my test (I took it at 12:30) - things like specific equations or variable values. If this stresses you out, don't do it. If I'm particularly afraid of forgetting something (like an equation), I run into the test & write it immediately on my scratch paper, before I even get to that section.