97 PCAT Composite: Ask Me Anything

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chemistrytrash

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Tip #1: don't buy Dr. Collins. The flash cards are free on quizlet. You're welcome.

Tip #2: the practice test in the Kaplan book looks exactly how the real PCAT will look at a Pearson testing center. Same formatting, coloring, everything.



Biology: 99 ( never took general bio, just A&P I&II and micro )

Chemistry: 76 ( only took through gen Chem 1 when I took the PCAT )

Reading: 99 ( read Shakespeare or Lolita or something that is difficult to read and you need to be very critical to derive meaning from, there ya go, all the preparation you need )

Math: 85 ( took thru calc I when I took the test )

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Tip #3: dont waste your time studying old class material. Do use your time getting used to the pace of the exam (practice tests) and learning how to hack the PCAT (usually tips are located in the first few chapters of the studying guide books)
 
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I took it in January, and as stated, I had only taken up through gen Chem 1 and thus had no ochem

how are the passages on bio and chem? are they as hard as kaplans? what about chem calculations? also, are the straightforward questions really difficult or on collins level
 
how are the passages on bio and chem? are they as hard as kaplans? what about chem calculations? also, are the straightforward questions really difficult or on collins level

The passages I would say are pretty similar to the Kaplan. The Barron's and "crack the PCAT" passages are a bit too easy. As long as your reading comprehension is decent you should be able to derive the answer you need from a couple of context clues.
On my test there were almost no Chem calculations and when there were, they were straightforward, and I had not memorized any formulas.
Straightforward questions are just that, but usually you will need to know the material. For example they could show you bronchioles and you would need to which system (respiratory) they belonged to.
 
I didn't study ochem at all, and I got a 76 on the chemistry portion, so honestly there was very little of it on the exam
OK I've heard other people say that they got a lot of ochem like predicting reactions or something?
 
How come? :O

OP is literally the only person that's ever said Kaplan is similar to the actual PCAT. Secondly, OP either got lucky or miraculously had little to no orgo on their exam, but orgo is typically a pretty big part of the chem section on the PCAT. You'd be a fool not to take orgo before taking the PCAT.

OP might be something just short of a genius. If you're aiming for a 90%tile+ in biology and chemistry and 90%tile+ composite, you should put in more effort than OP did.
My composite was lower than OPs (94%tile), however, I scored 95%tile+ in bio, chem, and quant. I 100% recommend Collins & Pearson practice tests and found that the actual PCAT was very different from kaplan. To each his own though, I suppose.
 
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OP is literally the only person that's ever said Kaplan is similar to the actual PCAT. Secondly, OP either got lucky or miraculously had little to no orgo on their exam, but orgo is typically a pretty big part of the chem section on the PCAT. You'd be a fool not to take orgo before taking the PCAT.

OP might be something just short of a genius. If you're aiming for a 90%tile+ in biology and chemistry and 90%tile+ composite, you should put in more effort than OP did.
My composite was lower than OPs (94%tile), however, I scored 95%tile+ in bio, chem, and quant. I 100% recommend Collins & Pearson practice tests and found that the actual PCAT was very different from kaplan. To each his own though, I suppose.


You're making assumptions. I said the Kaplan practice tests look the same visually not that they had similar content. I scored a 60 on Kaplan the night before I took the test.

Not to brag but I'm a gifted chemistry student and was named chemistry student of the year. I took an into Biochemistry course normally intended for nursing majors and I feel that it gave me a decent enough background to do well on the chemistry section.

It's not luck.
 
Tip #1: don't buy Dr. Collins. The flash cards are free on quizlet. You're welcome.

Tip #2: the practice test in the Kaplan book looks exactly how the real PCAT will look at a Pearson testing center. Same formatting, coloring, everything.

The passages I would say are pretty similar to the Kaplan. The Barron's and "crack the PCAT" passages are a bit too easy.

You're making assumptions. I said the Kaplan practice tests look the same visually not that they had similar content. I scored a 60 on Kaplan the night before I took the test.

Not to brag but I'm a gifted chemistry student and was named chemistry student of the year. I took an into Biochemistry course normally intended for nursing majors and I feel that it gave me a decent enough background to do well on the chemistry section.

It's not luck.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but what you said above gives the reader the impression that you're also stating the content is similar. Sorry for making the assumption though. Also, in your original post you only stated that you took up until gen chem 1 + AP I/II & micro, you also later mentioned so yeah, given just that scoring a 76% on the chemistry section is pretty lucky. No one knew you took biochem until just now, which believe me, makes a difference. Lastly, sorry If I offended you. I didn't mean to. While I said you may have gotten lucky, I also said that you may have had little to no orgo on your exam, or also that you may just be naturally smart, so 9each should study more.

But like I said, sorry if I offended you.
 
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I don't mean to be argumentative, but what you said above gives the reader the impression that you're also stating the content is similar. Sorry for making the assumption though. Also, in your original post you only stated that you took up until gen chem 1 + AP I/II & micro, you also later mentioned so yeah, given just that scoring a 76% on the chemistry section is pretty lucky. No one knew you took biochem until just now, which believe me, makes a difference. Lastly, sorry If I offended you. I didn't mean to. While I said you may have gotten lucky, I also said that you may have had little to no orgo on your exam, or also that you may just be naturally smart, so 9each should study more.

But like I said, sorry if I offended you.
Can you please tell me how the PCAT went for you? What should I focus on for the Chem portion to get at least a 90 on the section?
 
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I don't mean to be argumentative, but what you said above gives the reader the impression that you're also stating the content is similar. Sorry for making the assumption though. Also, in your original post you only stated that you took up until gen chem 1 + AP I/II & micro, you also later mentioned so yeah, given just that scoring a 76% on the chemistry section is pretty lucky. No one knew you took biochem until just now, which believe me, makes a difference. Lastly, sorry If I offended you. I didn't mean to. While I said you may have gotten lucky, I also said that you may have had little to no orgo on your exam, or also that you may just be naturally smart, so 9each should study more.

But like I said, sorry if I offended you.

Nah man it's all good I can see where I was being inconsistent now
 
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