When to take the PCAT?

[goheel]

I'm a entering freshman this fall, and I wonder when should be the best time to take the PCAT. I figure I will take all of them from now til when I apply for pharmacy school, which is 3 times I think. As far as science courses, I'm taking the 1st semester of chemistry this fall. I don't know if that will prepare me enough for the test on january. I do plan to take the 2nd of semester of chemistry in the spring, and either biology or the 1st semester of organic chemistry. Which is better to take to prepare for the PCAT? biology or organic chem? Hope I'm not confusing you guys. Thanks in advance

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[dgroulx]

Do not take the PCAT until you have completed two semesters of general chemistry, two semesters of biology and at least a month of organic chemistry. There is no sense taking the test before you are prepared.

Some schools look at the number of times that you took the test. A good score the first time will look better than someone who had to take the test 3 times to get an equivalent score.

You should be taking both chemistry and biology your freshman year, not just chemistry.

 

[goheel]

I do realize that I need to as much chemistry and biology as possible to take the PCAT, but as far as I know, I only have 3 chances to take it. I intend to apply for pharmacy schools in the fall of 2004, so I figure there will be 3 dates for PCAT from now until then. If I want to begin pharmacy school in the fall of 2005, I need to apply in the fall of 2004, right? Sorry, I'm a newbie.

 

[dgroulx]

I took the PCAT in October of last year, then applied to schools in January of this year. That still gave me the chance to take the test again in January, if I needed to. If you do well in general chemistry and biology in college, you most likely will only need to take the test one time. It sounds like you are planning on failing the test. You need to think positively!

 

[goheel]

is the PCAT like the SAT? where the 2nd time you take it, you usually do better than the 1st time.

 

[dgroulx]

Originally posted by goheel
is the PCAT like the SAT? where the 2nd time you take it, you usually do better than the 1st time.

Sorry, I haven't met anyone who has taken it twice. Believe me, the test is not hard.

 

[rmp]

Hi guys,

For those of you who have taken the PCAT what book did you use to study? I know Kaplan offers a prep course, but from what I've read on the post its not as hard as other standardized exams. Would you recommend Kaplan, Barrons, Arco etc. You're insight would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[badxmojo]

i used barons and arco..they prepared me pretty well. for the love of god don't take a prep course.. those expensive courses are not worth it for the pcat.

 

[rmp]

Thanks for the info. Cheers!

 

[28657]

Only apply to take the PCAT once you've studied for it...trust me it pays off. I studied about 3 months and I scored in the 99th percentile and I have a 3.6 GPA so I'm not "super" smart. Therefore the test is easy if you study for it.

The best study guides I found (and I bought them all!) were Barrons PCAT (great overall questions - exactly like on the real test - some were even the same), Kaplans GRE Verbal Workbook (excellent - if you're good at memorizing then learn the top words - most are on the verbal part of the PCAT - I'm sure I'm one of the few who've used this book and it got me a 99th verbal score), for chem and o-chem if you still have your textbooks just review them or buy a cliff's notes review book. I don't recommend buying the PCAT audio tapes - a big waste of money, and don't buy ARCO'S pcat - the questions aren't relevant. The hardest part of the PCAT for me was the math section - just practice calculations over and over because the time limit is too short and you'll need to increase your speed in calculating things.

As for when to take the test, take it anytime after General Chemistry II. I don't think there was too much O-chem on the test...although I don't really remember. If there was an O-chem question it was probably really easy like..."Is phenol an alcohol, ketone, blah blah blah"

As for taking the test more than once ask your school of choice...I got a 75%ile on the math section (99%ile overall) and I was worried if that would affect how the school looked at me. They told me it wouldn't make a difference. But I'm sure if I took the test again I would have scored MUCH higher on the math section...then again I could have scored lower in the other sections.