Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT)
The PCAT is an exam elaborated by PsychCorp, a brand of Harcourt Assessment, Inc. The PCAT is a rigorous test that helps distinguish qualified candidates to pharmacy colleges. It measures general academic ability and scientific knowledge essential for the beginning of pharmaceutical education. The PCAT is created exclusively for colleges of pharmacy.
Pharmacy College Admission Test consists of 280 multiple-choice items and two Writing topics. Applicants are given four hours to finish the test (plus administrative time for instructions and time for a short rest break about intermediate through the test).
The reason of the Pharmacy College Admission Test is to establish a regular process of measurement for the skills that have been acquired by pharmacy school candidates. These abilities are considered important to pharmacy schools for a first-year student to be able to be successful. The principle behind the PCAT is similar to the SAT's that are essential for application to American colleges. Although these tests are similar experiences, the PCAT is much more difficult and complicated.
PCAT scores are one of the most indispensable elements to your qualification for pharmacy school. The higher your PCAT score, the better your possibilities of admission will be for a respected, competitive pharmacy program. Careful preparation, along with hard work, will rigorously enhance your possibility of success on the PCAT.
Sections of the PCAT
- Verbal Ability questions determine general, nonscientific word knowledge applying antonyms and analogies.
- Quantitative Ability questions determine your skills in arithmetic processes including fractions, decimals, and percentages. They also test your skill to think logically through and understand quantitative concepts and relationships, including use of algebra (but not of trigonometry or calculus).
- Biology questions determine your knowledge of the principles and concepts of basic biology, with a main importance on human biology.
- Chemistry questions determine your knowledge of principles and concepts of inorganic and elementary organic chemistry.
- Reading Comprehension questions determine your capacity to comprehend, investigate, and interpret reading passages on scientific topics.
PCAT Scores
You will get a scaled score and percentile for every of the five multiple-choice parts of the PCAT, and for all five of the multiple-choice parts as a complete (composite scores). Scaled scores run from 200 to 600. A separate score, ranging from one through five, is given for the Writing section. A score of five is “excellent”, and a score of one is “bad”.
There is no “passing” score for the PCAT, but you will require knowing what the average cut-off score is for the pharmacy schools to which you're looking to apply to. Look at the school's Web site you are interested in to see the average PCAT score for their program.
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