The little black book of PCAT tips

[aubieRx]

Post your PCAT tips here; tips that you think will help others prepare for the exam based on your experiences.

Here are a few tips I feel I should pass along *i scored 99 percentile overall*

1. Re-read parts of your freshman biology book (about the cell, animal anatomy and physiology etc.). I think doing that helped me a lot
2. Take as many reading/verbal practice quizzes as you can so that when you get the real thing you will fly through them
3. Cliff notes general chemistry review is a very good tool if you have forgotten a lot of that material
4. Know calculus. I made the mistake of thinking that the new calc questions would not be so plentiful. I guessed wrong.
5. Barrons (current edition) study guide chem section is almost worthless. Use petersons or another guide instead


Overall I personally found that the test is not extremely specific...the questions on anatomy for example were all very general questions that anybody who has taken anatomy should easily be able to master. That is why the freshman bio book is a big help; it focuses on the overall concepts. I think that if you scored well in teh classes (bio chem etc) and do a minimum of review (i reviewed for about 3 hours on average per day for 3 weeks) you will be fine because a lot of it seemed so general.

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[RUN DMV]

Yeah, I agree that the Barrons' PCAT book sucks. It's good that it gives information about the pharmacy admission process and it gives advice on how to do well on the interview. But as for review, it's lousy as it only gives you a list of what to study for the PCAT so you'll have to reread your textbooks.

I had an overall 83 on the PCAT so I think I have some advice to give. If you're cheap like me and you live in a big city like Philly, go to the biggest library. You can usually borrow all kinds of PCAT books as well as the MCAT's, SAT Math Review or MAT (Miller Analogy Test) books. The Barrons book was the only one I bought, everything I read was in the library.

Also, no matter what book you buy for the PCAT's, it probably has no calculus and you'll have to know it for the PCAT's. Learn to pace yourself, I think the PCAT's don't deduct points for wrong answers so GUESS, GUESS, GUESS when running out of time. A blank answer is always wrong while a guessed answer might be right.

As for preparing for the PCAT's, I won't lie, I crammed for the January 2005 test during my Christmas break. I think the best way to learn for the PCAT is basically learning the material. If you're a good Chemistry student, you'll do well on chemistry for example. So always do well on your courses because the PCAT's will ask you the kind of problems you find in your textbooks.

My final advise is try to get on your hands on those Math books that show you shortcuts on problem solving. You're not allowed to bring a calculator so you have to know how to do math real quickly.

 

[gotgame83]

no calculator then im guessing the calculus is more fundamental then advanced stuff...at least i hope ive had calc 1 and 2 buts that was 3 years ago. I am one of the most calculator dependant people in the world today....

 

[mystiqx]

i know i've scanned the forum and found alot of past PCAT threads, it would be cool if they were moved here (if its not too much trouble). Just a thought

~M

 

[crying moo]

I took the PCAT 2 years ago and rocked it. There is some very good advice here! The test may have changed since then so I can't offer anything specific.
Here are my additional day-of-the-test tips:

1) get good sleep & eat a light breakfast

2) review the practice questions in the info booklet (they have a strange way of appearing in "other places"...?)

3) it's a long test. bring a good brain snack. Chocolate covered nuts are preferred! (This is very important!)

4) dress comfortable and do NOT get distracted by all the other people. focus on yourself and no small-talk - everyone is nervous and it is contagious.

The test is not a monster.. just go in there, know your **** and do your thing.

 

[KYPharm]

I took the PCAT in Jan. without taking organic yet and found that it had more organic than I thought it would. I just bought a 2005 edition of the Kaplan study guide and it doesn't really cover a lot of organic either. So I was wondering if all of the tests will have more organic on them and if so what is the best way for me to prepare myself for the organic. This edition says that there is more calculus on the PCAT but it doesn't say anything about chemistry changes.

 

[UT-Frank]

Yeah, I agree that the Barrons' PCAT book sucks. It's good that it gives information about the pharmacy admission process and it gives advice on how to do well on the interview. But as for review, it's lousy as it only gives you a list of what to study for the PCAT so you'll have to reread your textbooks.

I had an overall 83 on the PCAT so I think I have some advice to give. If you're cheap like me and you live in a big city like Philly, go to the biggest library. You can usually borrow all kinds of PCAT books as well as the MCAT's, SAT Math Review or MAT (Miller Analogy Test) books. The Barrons book was the only one I bought, everything I read was in the library.

Also, no matter what book you buy for the PCAT's, it probably has no calculus and you'll have to know it for the PCAT's. Learn to pace yourself, I think the PCAT's don't deduct points for wrong answers so GUESS, GUESS, GUESS when running out of time. A blank answer is always wrong while a guessed answer might be right.

As for preparing for the PCAT's, I won't lie, I crammed for the January 2005 test during my Christmas break. I think the best way to learn for the PCAT is basically learning the material. If you're a good Chemistry student, you'll do well on chemistry for example. So always do well on your courses because the PCAT's will ask you the kind of problems you find in your textbooks.

My final advise is try to get on your hands on those Math books that show you shortcuts on problem solving. You're not allowed to bring a calculator so you have to know how to do math real quickly.

i thought the barron's PCAT review was a pretty good review and had good representative problems. gave a decent review of vocabs, and good practice for the reading section. a biology and chemistry review book might be a good supplement with it (since they only have sample tests). when i took it, there was no essay/writing portion, and i heard there's one now... overall, the test is pretty fair. good luck!

 

[PharmaBG]

How do you guys plan on getting ready for the PCAT calculus section. I have taken two math classes in college but none of them covered Calculus exclusively. I want to take the October PCAT so I still have some time to practice, however, I am not quite sure what books to look at in order to review Calculus problems. Any suggestions? I am math-phobic

I am currently reading the 2004-2005 Kaplan PCAT book. It is been very helpful so far, however, Calculus is not included!!!

Thanks

 

[RUN DMV]

How do you guys plan on getting ready for the PCAT calculus section. I have taken two math classes in college but none of them covered Calculus exclusively. I want to take the October PCAT so I still have some time to practice, however, I am not quite sure what books to look at in order to review Calculus problems. Any suggestions? I am math-phobic

I am currently reading the 2004-2005 Kaplan PCAT book. It is been very helpful so far, however, Calculus is not included!!!

Thanks

If you have a calculus textbook, use that. Calculus is calculus whether from a textbook or the PCAT. If you need specific problems, why don't you just go to a library and look up one of those GRE books on mathematics.

 

[fub5623]

no calculator then im guessing the calculus is more fundamental then advanced stuff...at least i hope ive had calc 1 and 2 buts that was 3 years ago. I am one of the most calculator dependant people in the world today....

haha wow i wasn't even aware that calculators weren't allowed.

 

[blueclassring]

there is a great posting by a fellow engineer that outlines some of the questions asked on the exam. do a search, his name is CuRy. it helps. do plenty of practice problems. i'm in the midst of studying now and plan to take the exam in june.

 

[aubieRx]

haha wow i wasn't even awared that calculators weren't allowed.

are they allowed in pharmacy school tests? hmmm I wonder...

 

[aubieRx]

Chill out on stressing about the calculus! I took the test in January, and it was 55 problems algebra-based, 5 calculus-based. Concentrate more on shortcuts to answering algebra-based questions. I hit a 96 quantitative, and honestly, that was the one section on the exam that left a smile on my face. It's easy.

hmmmmm i had almost half calc based on my exam. Do worry about the calc..

 

[PharmaBG]

If you have a calculus textbook, use that. Calculus is calculus whether from a textbook or the PCAT. If you need specific problems, why don't you just go to a library and look up one of those GRE books on mathematics.

GRE are not very helpful w/ Calculus. I have a few of them at home.

 

[craziness824]

Yeah, I agree that the Barrons' PCAT book sucks. It's good that it gives information about the pharmacy admission process and it gives advice on how to do well on the interview. But as for review, it's lousy as it only gives you a list of what to study for the PCAT so you'll have to reread your textbooks.

I had an overall 83 on the PCAT so I think I have some advice to give. If you're cheap like me and you live in a big city like Philly, go to the biggest library. You can usually borrow all kinds of PCAT books as well as the MCAT's, SAT Math Review or MAT (Miller Analogy Test) books. The Barrons book was the only one I bought, everything I read was in the library.

Also, no matter what book you buy for the PCAT's, it probably has no calculus and you'll have to know it for the PCAT's. Learn to pace yourself, I think the PCAT's don't deduct points for wrong answers so GUESS, GUESS, GUESS when running out of time. A blank answer is always wrong while a guessed answer might be right.

As for preparing for the PCAT's, I won't lie, I crammed for the January 2005 test during my Christmas break. I think the best way to learn for the PCAT is basically learning the material. If you're a good Chemistry student, you'll do well on chemistry for example. So always do well on your courses because the PCAT's will ask you the kind of problems you find in your textbooks.

My final advise is try to get on your hands on those Math books that show you shortcuts on problem solving. You're not allowed to bring a calculator so you have to know how to do math real quickly.

Definitely Guess. It does not hurt you at all. And you will definitely be pushed for time. In my room, you heard groans when the proctor called time after each section. Make sure when you practice to use the time limits and no calculator. It will help you speed along during the actual test. Try the full scale practice test in most of the study books.

As for Calc, definitely review that. They aren't going to make you do multiple integrals, but you will need to know the basics. They also increased the number of organic chem questions--know basic reactions. As for bio--I think reviewing your gen bio book will help the most.

I'm not sure if the essay part of the Jan PCAT was part of the score--I think that starts for the next test. Do study what makes a good essay. And make sure you take time during your 30min for that section to think before you start writing.

And most importantly just RELAX. You can always take it again if needed. I know before my test started several people were talking about it being the 3rd time they were taking it. Of course, I don't know what score they needed for their schools, but no worries. For most schools, the PCAT isn't the absolute deciding factor.

 

[aubieRx]

If you do it right the first time you won't have to take it again. Take it seriously cause its mildly serious and it costs money and time. I heard one girl in line say she had not prepared for it and I was shocked.

 

[imperial frog]

Time your math section practice runs...the problems are pretty easy but most people seem to run out of time.

Something that I did was go over the outline in the front of the practice books and review what I knew. Then, instead of going over what I didn't know, I made sure that I had the other stuff down cold...I figured I had a better chance by refreshing my memory than learning new stuff. And it worked.

 

[chloejane]

I definately agree that is important to go over calc!! I had calc my sophomore year of undergrad and took the PCAT during my grad school years... any review you can get will probably help. You don't realize how much you forgot until you attempt to do the problems again.
I also used a vocab book- "word power" by kaplan, I believe. Even if you are very knowledgable about vocab, it definately doesn't hurt to read the book and see if there is anything that you find helpful. For me (with a mediocre vocab), the book was helpful.
Also, focus your studying time on areas you are shaky on, not just the bio-- I made that mistake. I focused on bio and realized that I probably could have done better had I focused more on the quant that I didn't study as much.

 

[OSURxgirl]

I disagree with the Barron's comment. I used Barron's for the chem section and got a 95 in chem. If you follow the topic outline given in Barron's and fill it in with info from your gen chem book, you bascially have everything you need to know. However, the sample questions in the Barron's book were actually much more difficult than those on the actual PCAT. If you can do the Barron's questions, you should have no problem answering the PCAT chemistry questions.

My tip is to take anatomy & physiology before the PCAT. It will make the bio section a breeze.

Another tip is to practice the math, especially your timing. Speed is really important in this section. If I remember right, there were 65 questions to answer in 45 minutes. Make sure you can do calculations with decimals, fractions, exponents, logs, and radicals quickly and without a calculator.

Finally, do not study the day before the PCAT. Try to relax that day and save your mental reserves for the exam.

 

[gds.]

Someone recently gave me this tip for multiple choice tests:

Before the test, pick a letter. If you can't figure out the answer or if you are running out of time, then pick that letter.