Taking the PCAT in June vs October

[crossjb]

I am applying to pharmacy schools when PharmCas opens up in late June. Do pharmacy schools prefer applicants to take the PCAT in June or in October? I heard from some people I know that got in that schools prefer the fall scores, because that's when most people take it and scoring is generally tougher. I already took the PCAT in January and got an 84, but I want to prep hard for it this time and hit the 90s if possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

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[Glycerin]

This is the first year they're offering it in June, so I don't think it matters if you retake the PCAT in June or October.

 

[trishias]

I am applying to pharmacy schools when PharmCas opens up in late June. Do pharmacy schools prefer applicants to take the PCAT in June or in October? I heard from some people I know that got in that schools prefer the fall scores, because that's when most people take it and scoring is generally tougher. I already took the PCAT in January and got an 84, but I want to prep hard for it this time and hit the 90s if possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

I would suggest taking it in June that way if u still need to improve your score u have time to prepare and take it again in October. And depending on the schools u are applying to, their deadline might be early ie. Nov or Dec so I think its better for them to have the scores than to wait on them. Good luck with the test.

 

[Mr_Ritim]

I think the deadline for June PCAT was April 15th

 

[BTB]

.....I heard from some people I know that got in that schools prefer the fall scores, because that's when most people take it and scoring is generally tougher...

I call bullsh*t on the assumption that PCAT scores are determined by how many people take the test the same day you do.

From the Harcourt site:
"The percentile score shown on your personal Score Report indicates the percentage of PCAT examinees that made up the norm group--all first-time examinees that took the test between October 1998 and March 2003--with scaled scores lower than yours. For example, an examinee who earns a Composite percentile score of 70 scored higher than 70% of the examinees from the norm group on the test as a whole."

If you're taking the summer or fall 2005 tests, neither of those dates falls within the stated range of "October 1998 and March 2003". It logically follows that a summer 2005 test taker is neither at an advantage nor at a disadvantage to a fall 2005 test taker.

 

[lgooden]

I would take it in June