PCAT compared to OAT or DAT?

[gsinccom]

Anyone taken the PCAT as well as the OAT or DAT? I've heard the PCAT was a bit easier. I will likely be taking the OAT (which is almost the same as the DAT) as well the PCAT. How do the tests compare? Are the OAT kaplan materials (chem, bio, math, and reading) helpful for the PCAT? What are the best ways to prepare for the verbal and writing sections?

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[az_drugdlr]

Looks like I may be the only person on here who can help you on this! I took the PCAT in June '06, and I've been helping my boyfriend study for his DAT for the past few weeks.

Not to discourage you, but the DAT was significantly harder than the PCAT. Although I think the different versions of the DAT are of significantly differing difficulty (I think he got stuck with a harder one). From the postings online and his practice tests, it seemed he would be fine on the DAT (shooting for a 17+), and he got a 16, but he experienced much more difficult questions/material, he said, than were posted/indicated in some of the DAT forums.

I would consider my boyfriend and I of quite comparable knowledge and ability, and I pulled an all-nighter reviewing for the PCAT the night before the test, while he has been studying for a week and half solid for his DAT. As I said, he got a 16 and I got an 86th percentile.

The biology seems more in depth on the DAT, the math was definitely a little harder, there's more/harder o-chem on the DAT, and then there's perceptual ability (which you're pretty much either good at or you're not - he is, I'm not!). Then again, the PCAT has the writing section (I'm good at, he's not). You do, however, have more time per question on the DAT for math, which is a good thing (I haven't calculated for the other subjects).

Another thing that separates the two is computer vs. paper. I've heard from several people that the computer is difficult to look at for 4.5 hours: it has a flickering screen, very high resolution (meaning tiny font), and that people tend to wander in and out of the testing room (cleaning, fidgeting with the blinds, etc.). Also, any notes that you would want to make on the figures, in the math section for example, means that you have to redraw the figure when you're working on the computer.

Well, that's about all I have to say for now. I think what my boyfriend would recommend is to feel competent and ready for the test before going to take it. He took physics classes over the summer, leaving him only a week and half to study for the DAT before fall classes started. He committed to taking the test before school started, but when it got closer to time, he just didn't feel that he had prepared enough, and that really hurt him.

All I can say is I'm glad I didn't have to take the DAT (especially the perceptual ability)! But I wish you good luck on all your tests...study, study, study!

 

[gsinccom]

az_drugdlr ,

thanks for the help. How did you prepare for the PCAT? What are the best test prep materials and practice tests? How are the Harcourt Assesment materials (the two practice tests they offer)? Are the DAT/OAT kaplan materials (chem, bio, math, and reading) helpful for the PCAT? How do you recommend prepping for the verbal and writing?

Anyone else have help to offer?

 

[az_drugdlr]

As I said, I pretty much just studied the night before. A couple weeks before the test, I went through the 100 practice questions for bio in the Barron's book. The day/night before the test, I went through the 100 practice questions for math and chemistry. That's about it. Although my bio background is fairly weak (I am only now taking first semester physiology/anatomy and microbiology), I do come from a fairly strong math, chem, and English background.

I thought the Barron's book was a good way to brush up and refresh in your mind all of the math and chemistry formulas - the key is to make sure you understand how they get the answers they do. The biology questions were definitely much easier in the Barron's book than on the PCAT. Some of them I just laughed at. For example "Which of the following does 'oral cavity' refer to? (A) eye, (B) armpit, (c) heart, (D) mouth, (E) lungs" or something like that (I don't remember the exact choices). I must say I definitely did not have that question on the PCAT!

That was about the extent of my studying. I would say it is very difficult to prepare for the verbal ability section because it is impossible to learn every word in the dictionary. That's more the type of thing that you sort of have to prepare for your whole life.

On the writing, I would say to determine what works for you to write an effective paper and use that method. For me, I just sit down at the computer and begin typing my papers - no outline, no brainstorming, no written draft - which works for me, and that's how I approached the essay on the test...just sit down and do it. However, if you like/need to make an outline or brainstorm to get going, do that. You just have remember to keep it quick (there's only 30 or 35 minutes for the essay, if I remember right).

Sorry I'm not more of a help, but I really didn't prepare much for the PCAT. I'm just thankful that I got the score I did (which probably involved a certain amount of luck and good guessing) and do not need to retake the exam again. That's all I was shooting for.

 

[az_drugdlr]

PS

I forgot to mention - I didn't take the practice tests online from Harcourt, nor did I really use the DAT prep stuff to study for my PCAT. Kaplan DAT book does have a quite extensive biology section which I'm sure would be of great help, given the time to read and understand it all. Barron's has an outline of topics to study, but no explanation of anything. Maybe you could use Kaplan's DAT book to fill in the details of the outline Barron's PCAT book gives you.