Hello!
I’m sure many of you have questions as to how to start preparing for the PCAT. I’m here to help guide you and give you some advice.
- Take a practice test. Find out what areas you are weak in, and what areas you are strong in.
- Create a study plan, and make sure you are spending time on each section (even if it’s a strong section).
- I took the PCAT on the first test date in July, and so I started studying in June. But I did enjoy my summer, and I would suggest you make sure you are still doing fun things! I actually went to California for a week, and brought my study materials.
- Set specific goals for each week and for each day. Link these goals to each subject. How much time do you want to spend on Chemistry vs Biology vs Verbal?
- Carve out a specific time of your day to study.
- I personally studied from 4-6pm Monday through Friday. Sometimes more and sometimes less depending on what kind of groove I was in. Of course life happens, but always try to dedicate time to the PCAT studying each week!
- Find the resources that you want to use.
- I personally used the Kaplan PCAT Prep Book. It should come with one online practice test and one practice test in the book. Definitely utilize those. The book is listed as $55, but on Amazon you can find it for cheaper!
- If you are able to spend more money, I would recommend the PCAT Prep Course by Dr. Collins. It is a looooot more money than the Kaplan book, but I know people who have taken it, and it increased their PCAT score significantly. Like from the 60th percentile to the 90th!
- Another source that I personally used was this man named Chad. He is (potentially was now) an instructor at Arizona State University. He would create review videos for chemistry that was one of the reasons I did very well in Gen Chem and O Chem. When I was preparing for the PCAT, I was able to utilize the videos he had. Now he and some other gentlemen have a website called CourseSaver! You can gain access to all videos and quizzes for $50 for 30 days. The chemistry may be very helpful to you, I definitely thought it did. It has 14.5 hours of gen chem, 14 hours of ochem, 5.5 hours of quantitative and 7.5 hours of biology. Currently the biology videos are free of charge because they are incomplete! I have met a dental student that studied for the DAT using Chad’s videos from CourseSaver, and he only says amazing things 🙂
- Use the resource!!
- I tried to review the material then answer/solve questions.
- Try to find a study buddy.
- I was fortunate enough to have a friend that was studying for the MCAT at the same time I was studying for the PCAT. It was nice having someone to meet at the library and to hold me accountable!
- Ask pharmacy students.
- You will find a wide range of answers as to how they studied. But pick what method is good for you!
As always, if you have any questions at all please email me at sakai.22@osu.edu! Enjoy your summer 🙂
