The PCAT®, also known as the Pharmacy College Admission Test, includes questions on scientific aptitude, especially in biology and chemistry; math, including calculus; reading comprehension; verbal ability; and writing skills. With the exception of two free-form essays, all PCAT® questions are multiple-choice. In the math and science sections, multiple-choice questions usually test facts and substantive knowledge. As a result, they’re frequently presented as equations, definitions, or questions based on rules. Candidates are frequently asked to deduce, compare, and analyze various written meanings and grammatical constructions in the verbal and reading comprehension PCAT® questions.
The vast majority of PCAT® questions are based on facts. They’re designed to see how well a graduate admissions candidate understands the fundamentals of earth and life sciences, as well as math, and how well they communicate. Most pharmacy schools require applicants to have completed a bachelor’s degree in a scientific field, or at least significant coursework in math and science, from an English language institution before being admitted. As a result, there should be little new information on the exam for candidates, but it is usually necessary to brush up on prior to test day.
All PCAT® sections, with the exception of the writing section, contain a series of multiple-choice questions in which test takers must select the best answer from four or five options. The multiple-choice format, especially in the science and math sections, can make the exam more difficult than if the questions simply required a written response. Despite the fact that the correct answer is one of the options, most PCAT® questions are phrased in such a way that several different answer options appear to be correct at first glance. In order to prepare for the PCAT® test, you’ll need to review the subject matter as well as practice reading and answering PCAT®-style questions.
One of the main goals of the verbal ability section of the PCAT® is to assess candidates’ understanding of English language nuances and grammatical structures. The section includes vocabulary analogy questions as well as sentence completion questions, which ask for the best word or phrase to complete a sentence’s thoughts. Verbal questions can be difficult because they typically ask for the best answer, not just the correct one. Most of the time, at least some of the options presented in a multiple choice selection could work.
Reading comprehension has the fewest questions compared to the other multiple-choice sections, but that does not mean it is any shorter. PCAT® reading comprehension questions begin with the presentation of a passage, which is usually complicated and obscure. The following questions are designed to assess the candidate’s ability to extract relevant information from unfamiliar text quickly. The PCAT®reading comprehension sections are nearly identical to similar sections on other standardized tests in almost every way.
The writing abilities section of the PCAT® is the only free-answer section, and it requires examinees to write two distinct essays. Both essays are timed, and they are intended to show how test-takers use verbal communication and language skills in practice in a variety of ways. The essay portion of the exam was traditionally written longhand on prepared exam paper. Although the PCAT® exam is increasingly given on a computer, locations that provide word processing do not offer a spelling or grammar check.