The PCAT is a specialized exam which helps identify qualified applicants to pharmacy colleges by measuring general academic ability and scientific knowledge necessary to pursue advanced education in pharmaceutical medicine. Required by approximately 2/3 of pharmacy programs, the PCAT is offered three times each year. This test lasts approximately three and one‑half hours, with a short rest break halfway through the exam. Descriptions of the test sections follow:
Verbal Ability (30 minutes)
The verbal ability section measures general, nonscientific word knowledge using antonyms and analogies. There are 50 multiple choice questions in this section. Quantitative Ability (45 minutes)
The quantitative section measures ability in arithmetic processes, including fractions, decimals, and percentages, and ability to reason and understand quantitative concepts and relationship, including applications of algebra. There are 65 questions which are split into approximately 75 percent basic math concepts and algebra, 15‑20 percent geometry, and 5‑10 percent advanced math (logs, factorials, etc.). Biology (30 min)
The biology section measures knowledge of general principles and concepts of biology, with a specific emphasis on human physiology. There are 50 multiple choice questions in this section. Organic and General Chemistry (30 min)
The chemistry section measures knowledge of general principles and concepts of inorganic and some basic organic chemistry. There are 60 multiple choice questions in this section. Reading Comprehension (45 min)
The reading comprehension section measures ability to comprehend, analyze and interpret reading passages on scientific topics. There are 6 reading passages with 6‑8 accompanying questions, for a total of 45 questions in this section. Subject may cover any area in the natural sciences, general sciences and humanities. No outside knowledge is necessary to complete the section. Experimental Items
The form of the PCAT that you take may contain experimental multiple-choice items that are embedded within the six subtests, or it may have a separate section with experimental items. The experimental items are being tested for future use on PCAT test forms and will not effect your score. You will not know which items are experimental and which count toward your score, so it is very important that you do your best on all the items and sections of the test.
PCAT Revisions Effective June, 2007
Harcourt Assessment will introduce several changes to the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) beginning with the June 2007 exam. Revisions will include administration. The AACP PCAT Advisory Panel and Harcourt Assessment agreed to revise the proportions of test items per content objective, define the Writing section as Problem Solving, add an experimental Writing section, and report separate Writing scores for Conventions of Language and Problem Solving skills. These changes will extend the
registrants' overall testing time by five minutes for a total of 240 minutes (4 hours), plus rest breaks.
To accommodate the additional number of individuals registering for the PCAT and the trend toward earlier application deadline dates, Harcourt will offer four test dates during the 2007-08 testing cycle. The four
test dates are scheduled to allow students the ability to retake the exam during the same cycle, if desired. Last year, Harcourt also increased the number of seats available for each examination to accommodate the additional volume of PCAT registrants.
2006-07 CYCLE:
October 21, 2006
January 20, 2007
2007-08 CYCLE:
June 23, 2007
August 25, 2007
October 20, 2007
January 19, 2008
