PCAT Exam Review
A career as a pharmacist can be very rewarding from a personal satisfaction standpoint, as well as extremely lucrative. Because of this, schools of pharmacy, just like schools of medicine, are swamped with far more applications for admission than they can possibly accept. To help them find the best candidates, pharmacy schools use the Pharmacy College Admissions Test, or PCAT. The PCAT test is a standardized test that is very good at predicting who will do well in pharmacy school and who won’t. The vast majority of pharmacy schools in America require it. So for anyone hoping to become a pharmacist, a top score on the PCAT is almost a must. It can literally be the difference between a career in pharmacy and doing something else for a living. It currently costs $105 to take the PCAT exam, although that figure is likely to go higher in the future. Unlike many standardized educational tests in America, the PCAT test is only given three times a year-June, October, and January. So you’ll want to make sure you register well in advance so you don’t lose any time in pursuit of your pharmacy career. It will take you around four hours to complete all the sections of the PCAT exam, and you are not allowed to bring a calculator to the test.
One thing that’s fairly new on the PCAT test is the Problem Solving category. In plain English, this means you’ll be given 30 minutes to write an essay demonstrating your writing and logic skills. On the verbal section of the PCAT, you’ll have 30 minutes to answer 50 questions testing your vocabulary skills. On the quantitative portion of the test, you’ll have 45 minutes to answer around 65 questions on math, algebra, etc. The majority of the questions will be on math such as fractions, decimals, etc., but there will also be questions on algebra and geometry and other advanced concepts. The reading comprehension portion of the PCAT test is 45 questions in 45 minutes on your ability to grasp and interpret written material. The biology portion of the exam lasts 30 minutes and consists of 50 questions. The chemistry section also is timed at 30 minutes and contains 60 questions on organic and inorganic chemistry. The PCAT is a very demanding test. To pass it, you’ll need to avail yourself of some good prep materials.