Changes to the PCAT itself

[CMeaker]

I think this topic may have been discussed before. What new sections have been added to the PCAT? I have heard that they added Physics and I also heard that they added Calculus. Which is correct?

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[Glycerin]

I think this topic may have been discussed before. What new sections have been added to the PCAT? I have heard that they added Physics and I also heard that they added Calculus. Which is correct?

It's generally quicker just to search the forum using "PCAT" as your keyword than to wait for a response. But since I'm replying now...

Taken from http://www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/admissions/PCATCHANGES.htm:

CHANGES TO PCAT

Blueprint:

The new test blueprint reflects updates to the test to be more inline with prerequisite expectations of pharmacy schools. Changes to the PCAT blueprint include increased proportions of organic chemistry, pre-calculus and calculus, and critical reading items. In addition, a Critical Thinking Essay will be introduced this year to evaluate critical thinking abilities and conventions of language skills. The test will take approximately 235 minutes (3 hours, 25 minutes).

Test Scores:

PCAT scores now reflect new norms which are used to calculate new scaled scores and percentile ranks. The scaled scores are based on the number of items correct and are calculated separately for each 5 subtests, with a Composite score as an un-weighted average. The percentile ranks indicate the percentage of examinees from the norm group who received a scaled score lower than a given score. The new norms are based on data collected from 1998 to 2003 from all first time PCAT examinees.

Transcripts:

Official transcripts sent to pharmacy schools will now include each candidate's most recent PCAT scores along with up to 4 additional previous attempts over a 5-year period. For PCAT scores obtained prior to the introduction of the new norms, the transcript will also provide the candidate's original percentile ranks and corresponding percentile ranks based on the new norms.

No Standbys:

Due to new online registration at www.pcatweb.info, the stand-by registration policy has been eliminated. This should reduce unnecessary confusion for all participants.

Questions:

For any other questions pertaining to the PCAT, please contact Customer Relations at 1-800-622-3231.