work full time and PCAT

[greenteacup]

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Hi all,

I was wondering what is the BEST way to study for PCAT if I do not have a lot of time. I work full time and can only spend a few hours a night and weekends for PCAT.

My sister told me to do a bunch of practice tests and not review the materials. What do you guys think?

Please advice!

 

[sp10]

Well its hard to say given the information you provided. Did u just finish the classes required or has it been a while since you took all those science classes? How fresh is the material in your mind? If its been a while, I would recommend reviewing the material before you start taking the practice tests. I realize its hard both working full time and preparing for a test, but with proper time management, I'm sure u'll be fine.

 

[desklamp]

if you want to score well on verbal, you have to review the material. by review i mean get familiarized with the types of passages and questions for reading comp, and memorize words for the verbal section unless you are like already a walking dictionary.

it seems like a ton of people score badly on verbal on any standardized test because they think "it's just reading, i know how to read" and then don't study, and subsequently fail.

 

[rxlea]

If you get paid vacations, take a week off and do nothing but studying the week before the PCAT.

 

[medicalCPA]

The information you provided is incomplete -- you did not say how long it was until you have to take the PCAT. Studying a few hours a day won't work if you have, say 3 weeks until your PCAT. If you had 3-6 months...much better.

 

[BelleMD2B]

If you get paid vacations, take a week off and do nothing but studying the week before the PCAT.

That's what I'm doing.

 

[Kalium]

Hi all,

I was wondering what is the BEST way to study for PCAT if I do not have a lot of time. I work full time and can only spend a few hours a night and weekends for PCAT.

My sister told me to do a bunch of practice tests and not review the materials. What do you guys think?

Please advice!

You should probably review materials, AND do practice tests. Studying a few hours a night and weekends is fine if you have several weeks to prepare, but don't try if you only start a week or two before.

 

[ajh88]

As others have said, not sure how much time you have before you take it, what your background is (how much school you've had, if you're currently a student or going "back" to school, etc.).

If you haven't started studying at all, I would recommend doing a practice exam to gauge your strengths and weaknesses. The sections where you do great, don't spend as much time studying for those - the ones where you do poorly, focus on studying for those.

I don't remember which books I used - it was too long ago - but since I had been out of college for about 10 years when I took the PCAT, I had to study math and chemistry a LOT but didn't spend much time studying for the other sections. A lot of it is going to depend on your background and your personal strengths and weaknesses.

I think taking practice exams is a good way to familiarize yourself with the types of questions (and as I said before, to identify areas you need to work on), but I don't think using them alone is enough (unless you are already totally awesome in every area of the exam!).

I also worked full time while I was preparing for the PCAT - I didn't take any vacation time, but here is what I DID do:

1) Practice exam - decided I needed to really study chemistry and math and brush up on biology - decided not to worry about RC or Verbal because I did well in those sections

2) Made a study plan - spent about 1-2 hours a night about 5 nights a week reviewing the sections I had decided on. I started studying about 6 weeks before taking the exam.

3) Took another practice test to check my progress

4) After hitting bio, chem, and math hard, I did a brief review of the RC and verbal sections just to feel good about it.

5) Did a couple more practice exams to feel comfortable with the time restraints and question formats.

6) Took the PCAT

Just remember, you won't be able to study and/or memorize everything - so try to hit the high points and draw on the knowledge you already have from school. Good luck!