How was todays pcat experience? Oct 07

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fenil2005

fenil2005

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hi guys,
i was scared to death about the reading and math section but i think i did best in those sections and not that well in chem and bio in which i was very confident about scoring a lot of points... but overall i think i should get betwen 60-70 composite...but who knows it might be well over or well below..so my fingers are crossed..
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thats how i feel about math and reading
but chem ws kinda hard i think...im not sure
my scores usually end up being the opposite of what i think...soooooo i hope to get at least a 70%
 
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I thought I did the worst on the reading, seemed harder than the last time I took it. And I felt the best about the Chem and Math. Finished every section, so I guess that is a good thing.
 
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I think I ok. 4 of the passage on the Aug pcat was on this one so I was happy. about that. Chem and Math was kind hard. My stomach started hurting so bad during the math section probably because of the food I ate during the break. I couldn't concentrate at all. I only had 15 answers down when they called 20 minutes. YIKES! so we'll see
 
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I thought the writing prompts were a lot easier for this October exam than for the August exam. They were very simple topics to write about. I thought bio was pretty easy, but chem was a bit harder. Math was harder this time I thought also. I felt very rushed at the end. Soooo glad it's over, but I'm just hoping I got better than my 80 on the August exam! I think I did... but now it's the long wait to find out!
 
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I definitely bombed chem because I haven't seen organic yet. I did excellent in bio, guessed a few in math, did excellent in reading, guessed a few on verbal.

essay topics were so easy.

other than that, I would never take the PCAT where i took it again (FAU) because I got lost on the campus for 30 minutes. there were no signs ANYWHERE, no one to ask for help.. i ended up asking 4 people walking on campus to direct me. there weren't even maps anywhere on the campus or signs on the actual buildings. i mean seriously it was ridiculous. the whole class was lost..

anyway im hoping for at least an 80. i'm so glad this test is over, though!!! :hardy: :hardy: :hardy:
 
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The writing prompts were sort of silly, but I think I responded to them fairly well. Biology wasn't bad, but if I had just skimmed through my Biology I and II notebooks a little more closely, I could have answered some of the questions with more certainty. Chemistry was fairly easy. The reading part of the PCAT was MUCH better than the reading part on the ACT. I actually had the time to read passages and consider the questions. I was really happy about that. I think I did well in reading. The math...If I were to guess which section I did the worst on, it would be the math section. I just don't have a strong background with some of the concepts that were very prevalent in today's math section. I'm hoping for at least an 80%ile. The average transfer student's PCAT %ile at the pharmacy school I hope to apply to is 77%ile, so I figure (or hope :p) that 80%ile will put me in the safe for that aspect of admissions.
 
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Oh, and the verbal section was not too bad, either. In fact, I think I did really well on it.

This thread isn't violating Harcourt's policy, is it? We're all just giving general impressions/opinions about today's PCAT. We're not discussing specific material. I certainly hope this thread is okay in that respect.
 
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we are not violating any rights....becuase we are not discussing the content of the test...
 
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I took the PCAT in Aug and felt so much better after that test than today. I finished chemistry at the last minute. and I had 5-6 math questions left when the time was up. I just hope for the best and i hate it that we have to wait 6 wks for the score......:mad:

Good luck to us :luck:
 
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Sulilina1 said:
I definitely bombed chem because I haven't seen organic yet. I did excellent in bio, guessed a few in math, did excellent in reading, guessed a few on verbal.

essay topics were so easy.

other than that, I would never take the PCAT where i took it again (FAU) because I got lost on the campus for 30 minutes. there were no signs ANYWHERE, no one to ask for help.. i ended up asking 4 people walking on campus to direct me. there weren't even maps anywhere on the campus or signs on the actual buildings. i mean seriously it was ridiculous. the whole class was lost..

anyway im hoping for at least an 80. i'm so glad this test is over, though!!! :hardy: :hardy: :hardy:
Click to expand...

I can relate to the poor direction (if we had one :rolleyes:). Most everyone seemed lost. I just followed PCATers to the site. Well, essay started well! Even better, was the verbal!! Then came bio... oh my gosh (I must be dreaming) BANG! I did very well on that! (you just know when you do good) :D

Well, sadly, if I have a poor PCAT, it will be attributed to the chemistry and math section. For reading, one never knows really. You think it's the purpose of the essay, then it may be easily wrong. Organic chemistry and the reactions is just not my cup of tea. And then math, somebody mentioned it being harder... I think it's true. :scared:
 
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This is first time I took PCAT. I only have a month to prepare, so I only studied organic chemistry, but sadly there are only few organic chem questions on the Chem section

Verbal - not bad
Bio- have to guess few questions, I didn't study it at all
Chem- Didn't answer few questions, ran out of time, but the question is pretty easy
Math- Forgot all of my calculus and how to do log lol
Reading- Not bad
Writing- Not a good writer

I'm probably going to sign up for Jan PCAT.
 
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Verbal- It was ok, alot of the vocab words I memorized were actually on there :)

Bio- more Immuno than micro, I'm takin immuno right now so wasn't that bad except 4 some other quest. I was like wtf?

Chem- I dunno I thought it was hard, that could be just me. Lots of organic!

Reading- reading is reading, never know with this section.

Math- wasn't too bad except for a few problems here and there. Gotta guess "b" lol.

writing- screw this section, now they gotta put 2 essays. what a waste of time.
 
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Bio- not too hard, finished all questions

Verbal- time to spare

Reading- 20 minutes to spare

Essays- not too bad

Math- finished all problems but guessed on probably 10

Chem- OMG! What was that? Did I even study because it sure didn't feel like it. They called 5 minutes and I swear I had at least 15 left. I just started bubbling. It was ugly.
 
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I AGREEE...CHEM WAS RIDICULOUS!...and i studied for the that more than anything...yuck :eek:
 
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I agree...I think I bombed the chem the section was pretty long..i think i missed about 5 or so..terrible stuff :eek:...Bio was pretty good overall...the reading and the verbal...well I always feel I do good in them (10 mins to spare on the reading...i took a washroom break as I fell asleep on my test :p) but then it just does not happen that way :D...oh well its finally over and I can sleep for a bit before getting back to study for an O-chem exam...jeez.....
 
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Writing, verbal, reading, biology, and chemistry were all okay, in my opinion. I felt a little rushed in the chem section and didn't get to double check my answers as thoroughly as I would have liked, but overall, it wasn't too bad. The organic on it was pretty simple, and this coming from someone who hasn't finished o-chem I yet. *piece of advice to other in this situation--take a look at as many reactions as you can, even if you haven't gotten to them in class--it helps TREMENDOUSLY.
Now the math. *sigh* I have mixed feelings about this one. I felt like I knew a lot of it, I would say most of it. But there was some weirdness going on in this section! I think I must have guessed on about 6-8 of them. I think some of those may have been not so bad, but you need TIME to figure them out, and that's one thing you definitely do not have on the PCAT! I'm just hoping everyone else thought they were hard, too, and that it won't hurt me too much.
Overall, as a first time PCATer, I didn't think it was THAT bad.
 
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English- not good. I had enough time but i felt questions had always 2 answers that could be used.

Chem- was doing well until i heard 5 mins left and i had 18 questions unanswered :( :( :( :(

Bio- proly knew 2/3, rest guessed

Math- was doing ok, but had 14 questions with 5 mins left.

OVERALL: Terrible. Hope to get 50-70 percentile overal.
 
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:eek: CHEMISTRY!!!! OMG!! I almost cried!
That's the only section that I didn't have enough time for.
I can't think of anything except that I was sweating during the chemistry section. Probably, I should've studied Org Chem more..

Is it only me who thinks PCAT is getting harder?
This is my second time. Last time was Oct 2006.. so one year ago.
This PCAT is way harder compared to Oct 2006.
My previous score is 87%, but I think this one will go down after all those study and practice..

OMG!! :(
 
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Verbal - okay
Biology - Way easier than expected
Chemistry - okay
Reading - aced it
Math - I was absolutely butt raped. Had to resort to the "C" method for at least 10 questions.... hell of a way to end a test, I did not skip out of the room, to say the least.

Not a single practice test I took did the actual quant. section justice (Barrons, Kaplan, PCAT Proffesor). Way more Calc.... way more crying.
 
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NotCoy said:
:eek: CHEMISTRY!!!! OMG!! I almost cried!
That's the only section that I didn't have enough time for.
I can't think of anything except that I was sweating during the chemistry section. Probably, I should've studied Org Chem more..

Is it only me who thinks PCAT is getting harder?
This is my second time. Last time was Oct 2006.. so one year ago.
This PCAT is way harder compared to Oct 2006.
My previous score is 87%, but I think this one will go down after all those study and practice..

OMG!! :(
Click to expand...


Well 87 is a pretty good score too....they take your highest score in any case...I might give it in Jan as well.....
 
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Verbal - was the same as August, nothing too difficult.

Biology - Not too difficult, a bit changed up from August. No more of those crazy Microbio questions on the August test. They must of been experimentals because there wasn't even one question asking for the bacteria that caused the disease.

Chem - they must be looking on this board because they got rid of a lot of ochem compared to the August test. what the hell, I studied all this ochem and there was just really, really basic stuff compared to August. They switch things around too much. Give me a break PCAT making dude.

Reading Comp - No way to prepare for this section, to stinking vague, I can't tell the difference if the writer of a passage is A) Happy B) Happier C) Happiest D) Not Happy :smuggrin:

Math - Once again very hard, I couldn't do a lot of the problems because I can't do math in my head in 2 seconds like they require. Those 2 questions that required semi-geometry better have been experimental because they were suppose to have taken geometry out. I really think you only need to get maybe 75% to get a 99 percentile in math. I always ask others about the math section and nobody either finishes or does it well to feel confident.
 
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yeah, that math section was so hard, ran out of time with like 6 questions. the math part on cliff's was nothing compared to this one. i probably should have used the "C" method too instead of randomly bubbling in answers for the last few problems.
 
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I already know that my math score is going to be terrible. I'm really hoping that my scores on the rest of the sections bring my composite score up.
 
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I should add that on the math section they switch things around too much. In the August test, there was a lot of differentiating, ie using the different rules, this October test had nothing. I have no advice on how to study for the math section because it is not consistent month to month. And remember how people were going crazy after the June test about the vectors being hard. There were vector questions that were easy as pie just as easy as August. Maybe they will put vectors back in on the January test with a vengence.
 
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the reading section killed me too. i think there shouldn't be reading sections on any standardized test, whether its the PCAT, SAT, GRE or whatever. they're just so subjective.
 
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Some girl forgot her exam ticket. She was hysterical and wasn't from around the area. Man, some people crack me up.
 
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First, I thought this exam was A LOT easier than the August exam.

Verbal: easy... I had enough time to go back and check my answers.

Bio: easy; at the most, I guessed on about 4-5 questions.

Essays: they were ridiculously easy... I had enough time to go back and grammatically check my entire essay.

Reading: they reused a lot of the same passages from the August exam...

Chem: Organic portion was easy.. I wished they added more, I felt that there were like 7 questions devoted to that portion while the rest were general chemistry. I don't know how I performed... it was pretty tough.

Math: don't get me started on this portion of the exam. I literally had no time to study for math and I have not taken Calculus in two years. I had exams this past week and the next, so studying for math was out of the question. :(

Based on how I feel about chemistry and math, I will probably take the exam again in January.
 
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This was my first time taking the PCAT. I did not study, but I wish I had, because the exam was way easier than I expected. The Kaplan prep books are much more difficult. I thought the exam resembled the Barron's PCAT practice book. The worst sections for me today were chem and math, because I didn't study for them at all. Too bad, because it was basically Chem 101 material. I also forgot how to do logs! I am hoping for at least a 70th percentile.
 
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The math and chemistry sections were brutal! :eek:

The rest was not too bad...then again, it makes me nervous when it seems too easy...coz it's usually not. Hopefully, I did ok. SOOO glad it's over!!!:)
 
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MATH AND CHEMISTRY KILLED ME!!!! I HAD TO GUESS ABOUT 10-15.

Bio was a little hard but had enough time.

The rest were a piece of cake.:)
 
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Throughout the test, I would turn the page and think, "This is wayyy easier compared to the August PCAT." Three of the same passages appeared on the reading comprehension section and many biology questions reappeared as well, except the micro questions (thank God). The math was better then last time but the Chemistry was worst. I prefer O Chem over General chemistry and they got rid of those O chem questions that I like so much. Plus, the writing topics were a lot better. Oh well, the good news is...it is finally over:cool:!
 
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:(THE MATH SECTION oh my gosh.......like seriously i had already skipped like 7 and was at no 28 ...5 MINUTES !!!!!! LEFT!!!!!.....WAT DA HELL!!!!!!!

i think i focused way too much on calculus and ignored other parts ....oh my gosh , im so taking it next jan

wow its actually an experience taking this test...being it my first time

thank God i have one more chance.........the rest were errr okay but i always do better than i think ..hopefully this will follow the routine.

i thought i would be FREE after the october test but mehn after this its till January
 
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The PCAT was way easier than I expected but I don't think I did well. If I had seriously prepared using Kaplan's book I would've been fine.

Essays were okay. I didn't have time to write conclusions.

Verbal was fine. Although, I guessed for 2 or 3 analogies and 1 sentence completion.

Bio was alright. I guessed for several questions.

Chem was actually alright. I think I may have had a good method going for this section. I answered all of the questions that required less than 5 seconds to read first. Then I went back and did any that required calculations.

Reading was harder than I expected.

Math was crazy. I had 20 more or less questions to answer at the 5 minute warning. I randomly bubbled in the last minute and a half.

I'm not sure how I did, all I can do is wait and see.
 
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For those who guessed on 10 Math questions, you are going to get a really high score.

From what I remember of the August questions compared to my August scores, you're doing really well if you're confident of this many answers:

Verbal: 3/4 of them
Biology: 3/4 of them
Reading: 4/5
Chem: 2/3
Math: 1/2 (or less)

Not a coincidence that it's a rush to finish Chem and for most of us flat-out impossible to finish Math. It happens every time so that's why you don't have to have as many right answers on Chem & Math.

The posts on here just re-emphasize how you need to bring a watch to the test. As long as it isn't a calculator watch & doesn't have a really loud, annoying Beep, they will let you use it.
 
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well its my first time taking the exam as PRACTICE= NO SCORE OPTION ...i felt that

- biology was not bad except some of the graph questions and fungi...:eek:

- chem was not bad...i thought there will be alot of calculations and organic

- verbal.. i dont think it was hard but i need to go through the flashcards again

- reading ...was easy i guess

- math guess 50 %


anyway i ended up with no score option ..how did you guys think about the biology questions..i cant remember any direct questions?
 
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verbal was bad(english is my second language)
bio was ok (more practical questions than just definations) kaplan is good for bio but definitely not for a&p and micro....lots of genetics questions
chem was ok i think it was harder than i expected guessed like 6-7
do not spend time worrying and studying organic chem reactions very few and basic reactions and again not a lot of calculations
reading felt good ran out of time so guess like 5 questions
math guessed like 6 questions but i was finished before time and the easiest section for me...
 
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O...M.......FFFFFFFFFFFFF............G....................


MATH WAS HARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD :mad::mad::mad::mad::confused:
 
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