To Take the PCAT or Not?

[Mimnguyen]

Hi all,

I'm in a dilemna. I'm thinking about applying to 6 schools, 5 of which don't require the PCAT. Is it worth it to take the PCAT, considering it's $120 and the school that requires it is my last choice? If the PCAT score is even on the ap, do the other schools take a look at it? I need as much as possible to help balance out my oh-so-not-perfect grades. Thanks everyone.

Mimi

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[lord999]

Which schools? Depending on your grades, you might want to take it anyway, particularly if you did poorly in Chem.

 

[Mimnguyen]

UCSF, UOP, Western, Midwestern <--
U of AZ and NVCP

Gen Chem: B's
O Chem: A's

 

[lord999]

Off the top of my head, I know Midwestern, U of A, and UOP require PCAT's. BTW, if you aren't an AZ or WICHE resident, you cannot apply to U of A.

You've done well enough in the chems that you can stand to lose out taking the PCAT, but you will eliminate the safety schools off your list.

 

[Mimnguyen]

Woops, I meant USC (losing my mind trying to keep everything organized). Anyhow, UOP isn't requiring PCAT's this year. That only leaves Midwestern. Should I take it anyways, because I know I will do well? Would it tip the schools one way or the other? It would seem unfair since they aren't requiring it of all applicants.

 

[BMBiology]

for midwestern when is the deadline to take the pcat?

 

[Mimnguyen]

Just calculating the numbers...

PharmCAS: 275 for 5 schools
Supp Aps: 60 UCSF
60 Western
50 UOP
75 USC
75 NVCP
Midwestern - no supp ap
PCAT: 120
-------
$715

The supp aps are getting me where it hurts. That's a freakin insane number, which doesn't include ordering transcripts, stamps, or using a letter service. I'm sorry I'm complaining, but I don't know what they were thinking implementing PharmCAS and still charging the same amount for their supp aps.

 

[Mimnguyen]

Midwestern prefers the October exam on the 25th I think.

 

[BMBiology]

PharmCas is just a way to force students to pay more. I would rather spend some time filling out the applications than pay an extra $275.

 

[BMBiology]

USC requires a fee of $75? Damn!

If you feel you have a good shot at the other schools then I would suggest not taking the PCAT. I would rather spend my time on my application, personal statements, interview questions rather than studying for the PCAT.

 

[Mimnguyen]

Yeah, it just makes me sick thinking about the number. I guess it will weed out the people who don't have money. I'll have to shell out the money somehow. I guess applicants will be limited this cycle by which schools they really want to go to and how much money they have to just 'apply'. It'll shorten the school's applicant pools. And they were even trying to persuade us that it'll be more convenient. Damn them.

I'm not sure if it is going to matter if I take the PCAT. I'm submitting my PharmCAS ap at the end of this month, before the PCAT scores will be available. I can't decide what to do...yay's or nay's please.

 

[TCB]

I would take the PCAT if I were you . You never know, ****it happens; better be safe than sorry.

 

[jdpharmd?]

The PCAT is 120 bucks all of the sudden!? I think that it was like 50 last year or the year before , wasn't it?

 

[AngryRPh]

Originally posted by Mimnguyen
Hi all,

I'm in a dilemna. I'm thinking about applying to 6 schools, 5 of which don't require the PCAT. Is it worth it to take the PCAT, considering it's $120 and the school that requires it is my last choice? If the PCAT score is even on the ap, do the other schools take a look at it? I need as much as possible to help balance out my oh-so-not-perfect grades. Thanks everyone.

Mimi

I thought that all but maybe a few of the schools require the PCAT??? In fact, I think a lot of schools strongly consider the scores in the admissions process. I would say take it because you never know when you may need it.

 

[Triangulation]

I wouldn't take it. it sounds like your zeroing in on CA and you don't need it for Cali schools. Your safety schools would probably be UOP and Western, both of which won't require it. To me the cost/benefit isn't in favor of taking it. Put another way, I don't know anyone that took it.

I mean if you take it and put forth that effort, I'd wanna be really confident that you'll get into midwestern if you need it.

 

[jdpharmd?]

Originally posted by AngryRPh
I thought that all but maybe a few of the schools require the PCAT??? In fact, I think a lot of schools strongly consider the scores in the admissions process. I would say take it because you never know when you may need it.

Cali schools don't seem to care about it. It's not a bad idea to take it, because usually the one score is good for up to 4 or 5 years (in case you change your mind, want to apply somewhere else, whatever..). Some schools are REALLY picky and make you take it THAT YEAR though: (Wayne State University COP).

 

[Mimnguyen]

I guess my real question is do the schools that don't require the pcat get influenced by the pcat scores?

 

[BMBiology]

California schools could care less if you have or have not taken the PCAT.

 

[28657]

I think maybe the only way to get a satisfactory answer would be to call each of the schools and ask them if they would be influenced by a PCAT score even if they don't require it.

 

[lord999]

My school could care less about the scores as well. It's basically a way around extremely poor grades. For those of us who have taken the PCAT, I think they would agree that it tests a lot of irrelevent garbage that has nothing to do with pharmacy or even cognitive ability.

 

[Mimnguyen]

It's settled then. I won't take the PCAT or apply to Midwestern. Saved myself $155. Whew! Thanks for all your input. I'll take all of you guys out for dinner with that money as soon as PharmD is attached to my name or I win the lottery.

 

[Triangulation]

I know that ucsf and ucsd refuse to even look at pcats. I assume usc would be the same.

 

[dgroulx]

I've taken lots of IQ tests, several in school and then a couple to test into Mensa. The verbal part of the PCAT is similar to IQ tests, but much easier. I think that if anyone can't get at least a good score on the verbal portion, then I would question their reasoning ability.

A big part of pharmacy is communication. We were told in our orientation that they will fail you for poor communication skills. They said that those people who have English as a second language should be starting to use only English to speak. There is a 4th year who isn't going to graduate because of this problem.

My school uses the PCAT. It is not a substitute for poor grades, because bad grades eliminate you. There is no one in my entering class with a low GPA, but some of them have low PCAT scores.

 

[Triangulation]

They said that those people who have English as a second language should be starting to use only English to speak.

I find the notion that your school is telling you what language to speak very unsettling. If they tried that on the West Coast they'd be fired. Whether you speak primarily farsi, spanish, korean, or the other four or five languages i consistently hear has nothing to do you with how good a pharmacist you will be. Moreover, i've worked in two pharmacies where the most common language spoken by pts isn't english (one was spanish, the other spanish and korean.)

 

[dgroulx]

I thought it was kind of odd myself, considering the large Hispanic population in south Florida. But overall, there really isn't much diversity in Florida. Of course, it helps to speak "redneck" in most rural spots.

 

[Roxicet]

originally posted by mimnguyen...
It's settled then. I won't take the PCAT or apply to Midwestern. Saved myself $155. Whew! Thanks for all your input. I'll take all of you guys out for dinner with that money as soon as PharmD is attached to my name or I win the lottery.

Whew! One less person competing for my spot at Midwestern...and free dinner. Mimi, you rock! Don't worry, I won't be applying to any cali schools.

 

[Mimnguyen]

Awe, too bad I'm not going to Midwestern. You'd get many more free dinners. Dinner parties at my house are favorites of my friends. I do it because I like to have buddies around and I love to cook.

 

[rmp]

"I won't take the PCAT or apply to Midwestern. Saved myself $155. Whew! "


The fee for the PCAT exam is $69. For that amount you can forward your score to three schools (including PharmCAS) each additional school (after your first three) is like $16 or something like that. Since most of the schools the original poster is applying to don't require the PCAT how are they calculating $155? Please explain?

Signed
Confused

 

[Mimnguyen]

I thought PCAT was 120.

 

[rmp]

No problem, yah the test is only $69. I sent in my registration Saturday. There are a lot of special fees for people requesting special accomodations. If you have any other questions check out the link below which details the cost associated for sitting for the PCAT.

Cheers!

http://marketplace.psychcorp.com/PsychCorp/Images/dotCom/pcatweb.info/pcat03_cib.fss.pdf

 

[Mimnguyen]

Thanks for the info. I had their old site addy which worked until a few weeks ago. I guessed they changed it to make it more general and I thought it was a different site. This made me further not want to take the test. Plus, I'm not applying to any schools out of CA. They'll have to drag me out of CA or let me into UW because I want to live in Seattle. Seattle sounds so fun to live in, all that good rain pouring down your slickers. lol

Cheerio!
Mimi