Another advantage of this is that it teaches the student about the structure and pattern of the test. Practice tests should also be completed every other week to continue to gauge scoring trends. A student may find out that he or she tends to score higher on the biology parts of the test, for example, and lower on the chemistry parts, so adjustments can be made to focus more on chemistry throughout the study plan. First, a student should take a practice exam or two to find out how much he or she already knows before even beginning a study plan. I would recommend starting to study 2-3 months before your scheduled test date. “I think the most important piece of advice to consider when it comes to preparing for the PCAT is starting to study early, take plenty of practice exams, and to stay consistent – especially if you’re a student planning on applying for pharmacy school after only taking the minimum pre-requisites. The testing center provided noise cancelling headphones, but I am distracted easily, so extra ear plugs under those would have been nice. I would suggest taking ear plugs if they are allowed. Lastly, take a bottle of water and some snacks to keep in the locker that the testing center gives you because it is a very long test and you will be glad to have a snack and drink during your break. I was not aware of this and it threw me off a bit. I think it is good to note that you cannot take a calculator to the exam.

However, if you have time, I have heard taking it more than once is a good idea. It was a good amount of money, but worth it, in my opinion because I only had to take the PCAT once. I did very well on the PCAT so it must have worked. This was a great tool for me, and I followed the study guide exactly.

The most helpful thing for me was that I ordered the online/mailed packet of Dr. I studied at night (while taking pre-req courses and raising a child…so I promise, it’s do-able) about 3 nights a week. “I would begin to prepare for the PCAT approximately 3-6 months in advance. If you put the work in – you’ll be just fine. This schedule worked great for me, but remember to find a method that you feel comfortable with! On the day of the exam, take a deep breath and trust yourself. In the last few weeks, I went back and reviewed the chapters I felt needed more attention based on my practice test scores.

I bought the book about three months before my exam date and assigned myself a chapter per week to focus on. “To prepare to take the PCAT, I purchased the Princeton Review book called “Cracking the PCAT” – which had not only study guides and practice tests, but also strategies specific for each section. We asked all of our P1 student ambassadors to write down some study tips and helpful hints for students who are about to take the PCAT for pharmacy school and recieve so much advise that we have split the info into 2 blog posts, so make sure you chack the blog again in 2 weeks for more tips! We hope that you find their advise helpful as you prepare for the PCAT!

Dr collins pcat practice exam