How Does the PCAT Help Identify Qualified Applicants to Pharmacy Colleges?
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Testing Goals
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According to Pearson, which administers the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT), the test is designed to measure a person's academic abilities and scientific knowledge as they would apply to the field of pharmacology. The test measures these factors through a series of multiple choice questions and essay topics. There are 240 multiple choice questions and two essay assignments, which are completed over 4 hours. To keep the test current and applicable to pharmacy schools, Pearson frequently reviews the PCAT's content with pharmacology experts and researches the characteristics that its test must have in order to provide pharmacy schools with an accurate assessment of how competent a candidate is in relevant subject matter.
Scoring
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Scores for the multiple choice portion of the test range from 200 to 600 and are measured across six different spectrums: reading comprehension, quantitative ability, chemistry, verbal ability, biology and composite. The writing portion is measured on a scale of 0 to 5. This portion produces two scores, one that measures an individual's problem-solving abilities and another that measures her conventions of language. In addition to these scores, the PCAT will also determine an individual's percentile ranking for each subject. For example, if an individual scores a 405 in the chemistry portion of the PCAT, his percentile rank would be approximately 53, depending upon what others scored on the exam. This would tell pharmacy schools that this candidate did better on the chemistry section than 53 percent of all test takers.
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Considerations
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Remember that like any other standardized test, the PCAT does not have a definite scale that determines whether an individual passes, fails or "aces" the test. The scores are subjective, and are evaluated based upon a criteria that is determined by each pharmacy school's office of admission. Whether or not a candidate is admitted to a certain pharmacy school is determined by evaluating that candidate's PCAT score and evaluating his previous grade-point average, experience with community service, proven leadership abilities and previous experience within the pharmacology industry. These criteria are evaluated by examining one's coursework, extracurricular activities, personal life/responsibilities and level of interaction with faculty and industry professionals. Contact the pharmacy schools you're applying to in order to determine how heavily they weigh PCAT scores. Also note that individuals applying to pharmacy schools in California do not have to take the PCAT in order to be considered.
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Resources
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