PLease Help!!!! Questions about PCAT Preparation

[cdpiano27]

I have questions about the courses and when the PCAT should be taken. I am in a pretty unusual situation.

Here it is:

I am finishing a masters degree this year (Spring 2006) in a mathematical area (statistics) with a 3.987 undergrad gpa and around a 3.9 grad gpa. I will have earned an AA from a local community college along with both a BS and an M.Stat in statistics.

In terms of the sciences, in my undergrad and graduate I have taken two semesters of general chem, general physics (calculus based), genetics, (had AP credit for biology but need to take the second sesmter for credit due to different schools policies), lots and lots of calculus in everything (Quantative should be a guaranteed 99)

But this is where I am concerned:

After May 2006, I will take the prereqs that I need for the three Florida schools.
In the Fall of 2006 I plan to take Organic Chem I with Anatomy I and Bio II (even though I checked my AP syllabus and the exam had covered ecology ). I am just very concerned because I have to take the PCAT by January by the latest, and maybe Orgo I is not enough for the exam. Should I study topics from Orgo II on my own? For the Bio (Is Anatomy I enough? what is from anatomy II?) Is the difficulty like the AP Biology multiple choice or SAT II Biology?
I took the SAT II in Biology and got a 680 and a 4 on the AP in high school (sophomore year!) but back in 1997-1998. I remember that there was definitely ecology on both the exams.

Or should I try to go to another school where Orgo I is offered in a six-week session in the summer (what could I learn in such a short period of time anyway?) Or is it not possible to cram Orgo I in a six-week session adequately enough especially with labs! I think there are no local schools that would offer this in a twelve-week session.

P.S. I plan to work as a pharm tech to get experience during this time.

For the schools that I am applying to average score composite is 88 (UF) and I do not know what it is for NOVA and Palm Beach Atlantic.

I am just wondering. I would like to be adequatley prepared for the PCAT but I do not want to waste time waiting another year to apply to pharmacy school. If I took the prereqs without the PCAT I would waste another year just to study for the PCAT without taking any courses since I already have degrees and getting a second degree in biology would probably not help my admission chances at all. (By the way I am paying out of state tuition for the prereq courses since I have lived in Florida but moved to another state for my masters degree and then I would be coming back to Florida since my parents live there). After a year I would then be considered a Florida resident again.

But maybe the PCAT is set up so it can only be taken for students whose majors were in biology in are in the junior or senior year (similar to the DAT and MCAT). So in this effect I would have no choice but to do this.

It also seems like there are no decent study books for PCAT orgo. Is the MCAT prep books or DAT prep books a good bet for learning what I would need to learn ON MY OWN.

I am a good test taker at the other secions though got 670 verbal, 750 quant, 6.0 essay on GRE.

So my concern, is about the science sections, and MOST DEFINITELY the PCAT CHEMISTRY!

So in summary the schedule for the pre-reqs is:

Summer 2006
(Six weeks)

Lab for Bio I (due to strange awarding of my AP credit)

Fall 2006

Orgo I
Bio II
Anatomy I

Take PCAT in January (Maybe try in October)

Spring 2007

Orgo II
Anatomy II
Gen Chem II Lab (need to go back and take this)
(These are UF requirements, my top choice)

nova just differs with macro and micro economics with I would take in the summer, if I got into NOVA but not UF.

I also want to take as few classes as possible and will be completing these at a CC (UF says they do not care where they are taken).

Any suggestions would be very helpful!

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[chloejane]

I think you should do just fine having only Organic 1... there is organic on the test, but for me, most of it was from the first semester that I remember. For
A&P, I think it would help to have both semesters of the class. I had quite a bit of anatomy on the test that was from both semesters. However, I hadn't taken either semester of anatomy when I took the PCAT--- I just used the Kaplan PCAT study guide to review and I did very well. I would suggest using the Kaplan book to review the second semester of A&P and I'm sure you'll do fine.

 

[DownonthePharm]

I just took the PCAT Sat and their was very little organic chemistry and few calculations. Most of the questions were of the reasoning type. As for biology, most of it is general bio and then if you read the physiology parts of the Kaplan guide you will be fine.

With your background you should be able to do really well in the quantatative section which IMO is the the hardest one.

 

[BlondieRX]

I agree with the other posts. There's isn't anything extensive on the PCAT for organic chemistry, mainly nomenclature, which will be covered the first semester of organic. There are a few synthesis questions on there, like hydration and dehydration but you'll cover that in the first semester as well. I think the only that will be a hinderance is not have the full year of A and P. There are quite a few questions about the processes of the body systems, etc. The Kaplan book is great about going over these. You would probably be okay even taking the test in October, but with a great deal of studying on A and P and maybe some synthesis reactions for organic. Besides if you do bad on these sections, it sounds like your quant score will bring your composite up!

Good Luck!

 

[PharmDeb]

I think the last 3 posts were excellent advice.

I hadn't had A&P before taking the PCAT and still scored extremely high in the Bio section. You will have Bio I lab (good refresher for the lecture) and Bio II completed by the January test and they pretty much cover everything in there. I sure wouldn't recommend taking Orgo in the summer. There's a lot to absorb in that class and an awful lot of people find it to be one of the more difficult prerequ's. I felt like the Orgo questions on the PCAT were from the first semester.

Don't forget, if you are still uncertain, you can take the test in October and not have it graded just to see what you will be dealing with.

I'm curios...You have come this far in Statistics and it sounds like you have really excelled at it. This is a very lucrative field. Why the switch to pharmacy? Or are you wanting to do statistical work in the pharmacy field?

 

[jamboo54]

You will be fine with first semester ochem. It would be beneficial if you took both semester's human anatomy but its not needed at all. I took the PCAT before I took human anatomy. Use your general bio book to learn anatomy. There is more than enough info in the general bio book. It might even be better because it doesn't go into excessive details which the PCAT does not cover.