Introduction to the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) Exam

Function of the Test
The Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) is an admissions test for candidates seeking to attend pharmacy programs at U.S. colleges. It is designed to gauge the academic proficiency of prospective pharmacy curriculum candidates. The PCAT is a prerequisite for most, but not all, pharmacy schools in the United States. From time to time, the test content is modified to make sure that it correctly depicts the current science, mathematics, and language arts requirements specific to pharmacy programs.

Most pharmacy schools do not accept students until they have finished at least two years of undergraduate college courses, but there are some programs that accept students directly from high school. Because of this wide range, PCAT test takers can vary in age from high school students to those attending undergraduate college programs. Most sources agree that it is best to have college-level knowledge of biology, chemistry, and pre-calculus prior to taking the PCAT, and the best time to take the entrance exam is the summer or fall before applying to a pharmacy school.

Test Administration
The PCAT is administered via computer at Pearson VUE test sites in the United States and some international locations several times throughout a test cycle. Registration can be done online or through the mail (although additional fees may be charged). It is important to note that there are two registration deadlines. Test candidates registering by the first deadline are most likely to get the date, time, and location of their choosing. Those who do not register until the second deadline will incur a late fee and are not guaranteed to receive their preferred testing date, time, or location.

The PCAT may be taken up to five times, but on the sixth attempt, restrictions may be placed on successive registrations, and supplementary supporting documents from a pharmacy school, teacher, or official may be required. If this is the case, the candidate cannot register for the PCAT until the required documents are received and he or she is approved to take the exam again.

As per the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), testing arrangements for candidates with disabilities are provided by Pearson VUE test centers at no additional cost. Test candidates with physical limitations that are considered disabilities under the ADA may inquire about special testing accommodations.

Test Format
Established by PsychCorp, a brand of Pearson Assessment, Inc., the PCAT contains about 192 multiple-choice questions and a writing test. Candidates are given four hours to finish the exam, as well as instructive time and a brief rest period, approximately halfway through the test-taking process.

There are five sections on the PCAT, covering the following topics: writing, biology, chemistry, critical reading, and quantitative reasoning.
 

 
The PCAT writing prompt is chosen from topics that address health, science, cultural, social, or political issues.

The biology subtest includes questions on general biology, microbiology, health, and human anatomy and physiology.

The chemistry section covers general chemistry, organic chemistry, and basic biochemistry processes.

Content objectives for the critical reading subtest include comprehension (specifically word and idea recognition and understanding); analysis (such as inference and interpretation of writers and ideas); and reasoned judgment evaluation (concepts such as bias, argument support and thesis/conclusion). The quantitative reasoning (mathematics) section covers the topics of basic math, algebra, probability, and statistics.

Scoring
The PCAT is graded on a scale from 200-600, with a median score of 400. Candidates with a score of 430 are usually in 90th percentile range. Percentile rankings are based on the scores of test takers in the present norm group (all candidates who took the test for the first time between July 2011 and January 2015). Scaled scores are based on the number of correctly answered questions on each subtest. Each multiple-choice subtest is calculated separately. Therefore, examinees obtain a grade for each multiple-choice subtest, a total score for the four multiple-choice subtests together, and a writing score. Since each pharmacy school has its own admissions requirements, there is no typical "passing score" on the PCAT exam.

Recent/Future Developments
As of July 2016, the PCAT underwent some structural changes. The biology and chemistry subtests were renamed biological processes and chemical processes. Both also received new reading sections, each with four corresponding questions. In addition, the verbal ability section (which covered analogy and sentence-completion questions) was totally removed from the test. Also, reading comprehension was renamed critical reading, and quantitative ability was renamed quantitative reasoning. The quantitative section now focuses more on word problems and less on pre-calculus and calculus.