Week 8
Standardized Test Preparation
Kent L. Barrus
Pre-professional Advisor
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Why Take Standardized Tests?
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Grades Don’t Tell the Whole Story
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The Great Equalizer of Undergraduate Education
More Important for Students Graduating from Schools not Well
Known or Schools Who’s Reputation is Less than Other Schools.
Determine the Test Taking Ability of an Applicant.
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Will you Do Well on Medical School Exams?
Will you Do Well on a Licensing Exam?
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
What are the Different Tests?
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MCAT
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Allopathic
Osteopathic
Podiatry
Some Veterinary and Pharmacy Schools
DAT - Dental
OAT - Optometry
PCAT – Pharmacy
VCAT – Veterinary (No Longer Offered)
GRE – Graduate Schools
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Essentials
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When to Take the Test
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Where to Take the Test
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April 17th or August 14th
Deadlines: March 12th or July 9th
Idaho – Albertsons College (Caldwell), University of Idaho
(Moscow), Idaho State University (Pocatello)
Utah – Utah State University, Southern Utah University, Weber State
University, Brigham Young University, University of Utah
Costs
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Regular Exam Fee - $185.00
Miscellaneous Fees ranging from $10 to $60
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Essentials
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How and Where to Register for the Test
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Scope of the Exam
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Verbal Reasoning (VR)
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65 Questions
Score 1 to 15
85 Minutes
Physical Sciences (PS)
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77 Questions
Score 1 to 15
100 Minutes
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Scope of the Exam
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Biological Sciences (BS)
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77 Questions
Score 1 to 15
100 Minutes
Writing Sample (WS)
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2 Questions
Score of J to T
60 Minutes
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Preparation
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Self Study
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Class Notes
Preparation Books
AAMC Website
Study Groups
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Draw from the skills and knowledge of other
Support to reach the goal
May slow the pace of learning down
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Preparation
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Commercial Courses
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Very Expensive
Helps you create a course of study
Built in financial motivation
Sense of confidence that you have done all you can do to prepare
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Essentials
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When to Take the Test
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Where to Take the Test
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Any time of the year
Give yourself at least 3 weeks to register
Idaho – Boise Sylvan Learning Center
Utah – Ogden, Orem, or Salt Lake City Sylvan Learning Center
Costs
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Regular Exam Fee - $160.00
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Score Sent to 5 schools, NOT AADSAS.
Additional score reports are $10 per school.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Essentials
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How and Where to Register for the Test
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Registration is good for 12 months
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Scope of the Exam
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Survey of Natural Sciences
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Perceptual Ability
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90 Minutes
Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
60 Minutes
Angle discrimination, form development cubes, paper folding, etc.
Scoring of the Test
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Standard scores range from 1 to 30. 17 is considered average.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Scope of the Exam
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Reading Comprehension
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60 Minutes
Read, organize, analyze, and remember new information
Quantitative Reasoning
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45 Minutes
Mathematics, Numerical Calculations, Conversions, Probability and
Statistics, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Word Problems
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Preparation
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Self Study
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Class Notes
Preparation Books
ADA Website
Other Online
Study Groups
Commercial Courses
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Essentials
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COMPUTERIZED IN 2004
When to Take the Test
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Where to Take the Test
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February 7th 2004 and October 16th 2004
Deadlines: December 29th and September 7th
Idaho – Idaho State University
Utah – Weber State (Ogden) or BYU (Provo)
Costs
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Regular Exam Fee - $130.00
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Score Sent to 5 schools.
Additional score reports are $10 per school.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Essentials
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How and Where to Register for the Test
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Scope of the Exam
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Survey of Natural Sciences
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90 Minutes
Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
Reading Comprehension
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50 Minutes
Read, organize, analyze, and remember new information
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Scope of the Exam
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Physics
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Quantitative Reasoning
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50 Minutes
45 Minutes
Mathematics, Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Geometry,
Trigonometry, and Word Problems
Scoring of the Test
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Standard scores range from 200 to 400. 300 is considered average.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Preparation
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Self Study
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Class Notes
Preparation Books
OPTED Website
Other Online
Study Groups
Commercial Courses
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Essentials
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When to Take the Test
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Where to Take the Test
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January 24th 2004, March 27th 2004, and October 25th 2004
Deadlines: December 5th, February 13th, and September 12th
Idaho – Idaho State University
Utah – Weber State (Ogden) or BYU (Provo)
Costs
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Regular Exam Fee - $69.00
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Score Sent to 1, 2, or 3 schools.
Must arrange for PCAT score to be sent to PharmCAS if applying to
PharmCAS schools.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Essentials
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Register By Mail
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Application Packet
Register Online
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Only For March Test 2004 and later.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Scope of the Exam
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300 multiple-choice questions with 3½ hours to take it.
Verbal Ability
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Quantitative Ability
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50 Questions
65 Questions
No Trig or Calculus
Biology
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50 Questions
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Scope of the Exam
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Chemistry
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Reading Comprehension
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45 Questions
Additional Experimental Section
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60 Minutes
You will not know which section is experimental
Scoring of the Test
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Standard scores range from 100 to 300. 200 is considered average.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Preparation
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Self Study
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Class Notes
Preparation Books
PCATWEB Website
Study Groups
Commercial Courses
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Essentials
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When to Take the Test
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Where to Take the Test
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Any time of the year
Deadlines: December 5th, February 13th, and September 12th
Idaho – Pocatello, Boise
Utah – Ogden
Costs
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Regular Exam Fee - $115
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Score Sent to 4 institutions.
Additional Score Report $15 per Institution.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Essentials
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Register By Mail
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Application Packet in CAC
Register by Phone
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Scope of the Exam
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300 multiple-choice questions with 3½ hours to take it.
Verbal Ability
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Analyze and evaluate written material
Analyze sentence relationships
Recognize word and concept relationships
Quantitative Ability
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Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis
Reason Quantitatively
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Scope of the Exam
Analytical Writing
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Essay Portion
45 minute “Present your perspective on an issue”
30 minute “Analyze an Argument”
Scoring of the Test
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Verbal Score 200-800 in 10-point increments
Quantitative Score 200-800 in 10-point increments
Analytical Writing Score 0-6 in half-point increments
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Scope of the Exam
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GRE Subject Tests
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Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
Biology
Chemistry
Computer Science
Literature in English
Mathematics
Physics
Psychology
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Preparation
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Self Study
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Class Notes
Preparation Books
GRE Website
Study Groups
Commercial Course
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills
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Pace Yourself
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Mark up the Test Booklet (for paper-based tests)
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Don’t forgo answering easy questions because you spent to much time
on harder questions.
Underline important points
Strike through wrong answers
Make calculations or drawings
Read the Entire Question Carefully
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Don’t make an assumption as to the answer with thoroughly reading
the question.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills
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Use the ‘dot’ method
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Put a small dot on the answer sheet for a question that will require
significant time to answer.
Put a question mark next to this question in the test booklet.
If you run out of time on the test, you can go back quickly and fill in
the answer sheet where you placed the dot.
This helps reduce the possibility of missing questions due to totally
random guessing.
Helps prevent frame shifting errors.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills
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Answer Every Question
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Unlike the SAT, there are no penalties for guessing.
Your first instinct is more likely to be correct.
Don’t change answers unless it is obvious that you misinterpreted the
question.
Approximate the answer
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If the possible answers differ significantly from each other it is possible
to approximate for quicker calculations.
Adjust the numbers to be calculated by rounding off or move to a close
number with a known trig function.
With most problems you will be able to tell which answer is a
reasonable estimate.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills
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For Reading and Verbal Tests
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Answer the question only on the basis of the information given, NOT
from prior knowledge.
Sometimes reading the questions and answers first can alert you as to
what you should be looking for in the passage to be read.
For the Writing Sample
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Practice, Practice, Practice.
Read the Op-Ed pieces in major newspapers.
Typical Structure
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Explain what the statement means
Describe some situation in which you disagree with the statement
Provide justification for your disagreement.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills
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For Reading and Verbal Tests
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Answer the question only on the basis of the information given, NOT
from prior knowledge.
Sometimes reading the questions and answers first can alert you as to
what you should be looking for in the passage to be read.
For the Writing Sample
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Practice, Practice, Practice.
Read the Op-Ed pieces in major newspapers.
Typical Structure
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Explain what the statement means
Describe some situation in which you disagree with the statement
Provide justification for your disagreement.
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills
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Study for the test like you would a 4 credit class.
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There are no ‘tricks’ or ‘strategies’ that can substitute for knowledge of
a subject.
Get a good nights sleep
Arrive in plenty of time so you are not hurried.
Eat well before the test and during.
If you are a poor standardized test taker, you can improve.
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Visit the Learning Assistance Lab
Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Should You Retake a Test?
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Are your scores consistent with your grades?
Did you prepare adequately for the test?
Will you have the time and motivation to prepare for a second
test?
Doing the same or worse a second time will hurt you.