Week 8 Standardized Test Preparation

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Week 8Standardized Test Preparation
Kent L. BarrusPre-professional Advisor
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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Why Take Standardized Tests?

• Grades Dont Tell the Whole Story
• The Great Equalizer of Undergraduate Education
• More Important for Students Graduating from
  Schools not Well Known or Schools Whos
  Reputation is Less than Other Schools.
• Determine the Test Taking Ability of an
  Applicant.
• Will you Do Well on Medical School Exams?
• Will you Do Well on a Licensing Exam?

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
What are the Different Tests?

• MCAT
• Allopathic
• Osteopathic
• Podiatry
• Some Veterinary and Pharmacy Schools
• DAT - Dental
• OAT - Optometry
• PCAT Pharmacy
• VCAT Veterinary (No Longer Offered)
• GRE Graduate Schools

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Essentials

• When to Take the Test
• April 17th or August 14th
• Deadlines March 12th or July 9th
• Where to Take the Test
• 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
• Regular Exam Fee - 185.00
• Miscellaneous Fees ranging from 10 to 60

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Essentials

• How and Where to Register for the Test

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Scope of the Exam

• Verbal Reasoning (VR)
• 65 Questions
• Score 1 to 15
• 85 Minutes
• Physical Sciences (PS)
• 77 Questions
• Score 1 to 15
• 100 Minutes

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Scope of the Exam

• Biological Sciences (BS)
• 77 Questions
• Score 1 to 15
• 100 Minutes
• Writing Sample (WS)
• 2 Questions
• Score of J to T
• 60 Minutes

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Preparation

• Self Study
• Class Notes
• Preparation Books
• AAMC Website
• Study Groups
• Draw from the skills and knowledge of other
• Support to reach the goal
• May slow the pace of learning down

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
MCAT Preparation

• Commercial Courses
• 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

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Essentials

• When to Take the Test
• Any time of the year
• Give yourself at least 3 weeks to register
• Where to Take the Test
• Idaho Boise Sylvan Learning Center
• Utah Ogden, Orem, or Salt Lake City Sylvan
  Learning Center
• Costs
• Regular Exam Fee - 160.00
• Score Sent to 5 schools, NOT AADSAS.
• Additional score reports are 10 per school.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Essentials

• How and Where to Register for the Test
• Registration is good for 12 months

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Scope of the Exam

• Survey of Natural Sciences
• 90 Minutes
• Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
• Perceptual Ability
• 60 Minutes
• Angle discrimination, form development cubes,
  paper folding, etc.
• Scoring of the Test
• Standard scores range from 1 to 30. 17 is
  considered average.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Scope of the Exam

• Reading Comprehension
• 60 Minutes
• Read, organize, analyze, and remember new
  information
• Quantitative Reasoning
• 45 Minutes
• Mathematics, Numerical Calculations, Conversions,
  Probability and Statistics, Geometry,
  Trigonometry, and Word Problems

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
DAT Preparation

• Self Study
• Class Notes
• Preparation Books
• ADA Website
• Other Online
• Study Groups
• Commercial Courses

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Essentials

• COMPUTERIZED IN 2004
• When to Take the Test
• February 7th 2004 and October 16th 2004
• Deadlines December 29th and September 7th
• Where to Take the Test
• Idaho Idaho State University
• Utah Weber State (Ogden) or BYU (Provo)
• Costs
• Regular Exam Fee - 130.00
• Score Sent to 5 schools.
• Additional score reports are 10 per school.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Essentials

• How and Where to Register for the Test

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Scope of the Exam

• Survey of Natural Sciences
• 90 Minutes
• Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry
• Reading Comprehension
• 50 Minutes
• Read, organize, analyze, and remember new
  information

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Scope of the Exam

• Physics
• 50 Minutes
• Quantitative Reasoning
• 45 Minutes
• Mathematics, Algebra, Probability and Statistics,
  Geometry, Trigonometry, and Word Problems
• Scoring of the Test
• Standard scores range from 200 to 400. 300 is
  considered average.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
OAT Preparation

• Self Study
• Class Notes
• Preparation Books
• OPTED Website
• Other Online
• Study Groups
• Commercial Courses

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Essentials

• When to Take the Test
• January 24th 2004, March 27th 2004, and October
  25th 2004
• Deadlines December 5th, February 13th, and
  September 12th
• Where to Take the Test
• Idaho Idaho State University
• Utah Weber State (Ogden) or BYU (Provo)
• Costs
• Regular Exam Fee - 69.00
• Score Sent to 1, 2, or 3 schools.
• Must arrange for PCAT score to be sent to
  PharmCAS if applying to PharmCAS schools.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Essentials

• Register By Mail
• Application Packet
• Register Online
• Only For March Test 2004 and later.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Scope of the Exam

• 300 multiple-choice questions with 3½ hours to
  take it.
• Verbal Ability
• 50 Questions
• Quantitative Ability
• 65 Questions
• No Trig or Calculus
• Biology
• 50 Questions

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Scope of the Exam

• Chemistry
• 60 Minutes
• Reading Comprehension
• 45 Questions
• Additional Experimental Section
• You will not know which section is experimental
• Scoring of the Test
• Standard scores range from 100 to 300. 200 is
  considered average.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
PCAT Preparation

• Self Study
• Class Notes
• Preparation Books
• PCATWEB Website
• Study Groups
• Commercial Courses

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Essentials

• When to Take the Test
• Any time of the year
• Deadlines December 5th, February 13th, and
  September 12th
• Where to Take the Test
• Idaho Pocatello, Boise
• Utah Ogden
• Costs
• Regular Exam Fee - 115
• Score Sent to 4 institutions.
• Additional Score Report 15 per Institution.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Essentials

• Register By Mail
• Application Packet in CAC
• Register by Phone

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Scope of the Exam

• 300 multiple-choice questions with 3½ hours to
  take it.
• Verbal Ability
• Analyze and evaluate written material
• Analyze sentence relationships
• Recognize word and concept relationships
• Quantitative Ability
• Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis
• Reason Quantitatively

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Scope of the Exam

• Analytical Writing
• Essay Portion
• 45 minute Present your perspective on an issue
• 30 minute Analyze an Argument
• Scoring of the Test
• 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

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Scope of the Exam

• GRE Subject Tests
• Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Literature in English
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Psychology

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
GRE Preparation

• Self Study
• Class Notes
• Preparation Books
• GRE Website
• Study Groups
• Commercial Course

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills

• Pace Yourself
• Dont forgo answering easy questions because you
  spent to much time on harder questions.
• Mark up the Test Booklet (for paper-based tests)
• Underline important points
• Strike through wrong answers
• Make calculations or drawings
• Read the Entire Question Carefully
• Dont make an assumption as to the answer with
  thoroughly reading the question.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills

• Use the dot method
• 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.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills

• Answer Every Question
• Unlike the SAT, there are no penalties for
  guessing.
• Your first instinct is more likely to be correct.
• Dont change answers unless it is obvious that
  you misinterpreted the question.
• Approximate the answer
• 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.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills

• For Reading and Verbal Tests
• 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
• Practice, Practice, Practice.
• Read the Op-Ed pieces in major newspapers.
• Typical Structure
• Explain what the statement means
• Describe some situation in which you disagree
  with the statement
• Provide justification for your disagreement.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills

• For Reading and Verbal Tests
• 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
• Practice, Practice, Practice.
• Read the Op-Ed pieces in major newspapers.
• Typical Structure
• Explain what the statement means
• Describe some situation in which you disagree
  with the statement
• Provide justification for your disagreement.

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Test Taking Skills

• Study for the test like you would a 4 credit
  class.
• 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.
• Visit the Learning Assistance Lab

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Bio 311 - Professional School Preparation
Should You Retake a Test?

• 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.