difference between PCAT and MCAT?

[jungjh9001]

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I know that PCAT and MCAT are different tests..
but in content wise.. Is MCAT a lot harder than the PCAT?
and what are some noticeable differences between two tests?
(Is MCAT a lot more biology based than PCAT?)

 

[Tatodotcom]

It's safe to say that the MCAT is harder than the PCAT

if you search you will see that this has been answered multiple times if you want more info

 

[luke123]

I know that PCAT and MCAT are different tests..
but in content wise.. Is MCAT a lot harder than the PCAT?
and what are some noticeable differences between two tests?
(Is MCAT a lot more biology based than PCAT?)

My question is do people really not read or do any research on subjects before they ask?

Look up mcat and pcat on the internet it will tell you what each test and dont test.

Also, yes its safe to say mcat is harder than pcat don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[IrishRxMan]

Is an apple different from an orange in any way? MCAT is tougher, has physics 2 questions and others from courses you don't need to take for pharmacy. But, they have to do something to keep those out that don't really have the intestinal fortitude to gut through all that. I see the PCAT getting that way in the future out of necessity. Maybe not as hard, but harder than it is now.

 

[will7678]

Yeah I took both at about the same time and I found the MCAT to be MUCH harder. However by the time the MCAT came I had already decided that I didn't want to go to medical school and was just going to try for pharm school. I had already paid for the test so I just took it anyways.

 

[yappy]

Though the content of each is different - I have heard an even larger difference is how the tests approach the same material; even though both are multi-choice.

For example the PCAT may ask you a question that you will either know or guess. The MCAT will provide you with alot of the information but will make you apply that information and solve a given problem.
I guess its analogous to fill-in-the-blank vs essay style tests.

This is just information i've heard... I have not taken the tests.

 

[Passion4Sci]

Difference between the PCAT and the MCAT

PCAT - Gets you into pharmacy school.
MCAT - Gets you into medical school.

/thread.

 

[luke123]

Difference between the PCAT and the MCAT

PCAT - Gets you into pharmacy school.
MCAT - Gets you into medical school.

/thread.

No kidding. However, you cant deny that the mcat is harder than the pcat. I dont understand why pharmacy/pre-pharm students deny this so much.

 

[pharm B]

I think there's some "little guy" syndrome in a lot of pre-pharmers. Rather than see pharmacy as a whole other field of health careers, they see it (personally) as being inferior.

 

[tungsten87]

whoever says the PCAT is even close to the MCAT in the level of difficulty is wayyyy off base. Anyone who can regurgitate the details of the basic sciences and is decent at math can score an 80%+ on the PCAT.

 

[Passion4Sci]

No need to compare MCAT to PCAT.

Apples to oranges.

PCAT is for pharmacy school, MCAT is for medical school.

What's left to debate?

 

[luke123]

No need to compare MCAT to PCAT.

Apples to oranges.

PCAT is for pharmacy school, MCAT is for medical school.

What's left to debate?

It's not apples to oranges... We are not trying to say that pharmacy is inferior to medical school. Not at all, I believe that pharmacy is a necessary position in the health field as a check and balance to make sure pts are receiving the proper medications for their treatment.

With that being said the mcat is harder. Medical school is harder to get into. They are comparable because they both test someones ability to get into a graduate program in the health field, its just that the mcat is much harder because it requires one to integrate information given to get the correct answer. The pcat is just a memorization test, do you know the info or not.

 

[Passion4Sci]

It's not apples to oranges... We are not trying to say that pharmacy is inferior to medical school. Not at all, I believe that pharmacy is a necessary position in the health field as a check and balance to make sure pts are receiving the proper medications for their treatment.

With that being said the mcat is harder. Medical school is harder to get into. They are comparable because they both test someones ability to get into a graduate program in the health field, its just that the mcat is much harder because it requires one to integrate information given to get the correct answer. The pcat is just a memorization test, do you know the info or not.

Medical school is harder to get into, probably, for a variety of factors not limited to the MCAT.

I guess I'm just lost on what the topic of debate here is. What's the goal? That the PCAT should be more like the MCAT in terms of difficulty? Yeah, I'd be all for that. In fact, let's change the NAPLEX and MPJE/CPJE to reflect the difficulty of the USMLE steps also. Perhaps the role of a run of a mill physician, as compared to your run of the mill pharmacist is different in scope. Perhaps said physician will need more integration/synthesis skills than an average pharmacist, and this is so reflected on the MCAT vs. the PCAT. I am not at all bellicose regarding this issue. It seems to me that, so far as my limited experience goes, physicians are tasked with more diagnosis than pharmacists are, and in this case, a more difficult synthesis-based exam seems appropriate.

But, like I elucidated earlier, I'm perfectly fine with a more difficult PCAT. Can we make pharmacy schools harder to get into in general? How many medical schools outside of Caribs and DOs take 2.85 GPA (NO MATTER the circumstances) candidates? I'm actually curious about that and don't feel like looking it up because my iPhone sucks.

I know I will incur the wrath of all pharmers everywhere, but I don't really believe a pharmacist, (your average pharmacist compared to your average physician) needs to use the same toolkit as a physician does, and obviously someone agrees with me, due to the structure of the PCAT vs. the MCAT.










Posted from mobile iPhone device.

 

[luke123]

Medical school is harder to get into, probably, for a variety of factors not limited to the MCAT.

I guess I'm just lost on what the topic of debate here is. What's the goal? That the PCAT should be more like the MCAT in terms of difficulty? Yeah, I'd be all for that. In fact, let's change the NAPLEX and MPJE/CPJE to reflect the difficulty of the USMLE steps also. Perhaps the role of a run of a mill physician, as compared to your run of the mill pharmacist is different in scope. Perhaps said physician will need more integration/synthesis skills than an average pharmacist, and this is so reflected on the MCAT vs. the PCAT. I am not at all bellicose regarding this issue. It seems to me that, so far as my limited experience goes, physicians are tasked with more diagnosis than pharmacists are, and in this case, a more difficult synthesis-based exam seems appropriate.

But, like I elucidated earlier, I'm perfectly fine with a more difficult PCAT. Can we make pharmacy schools harder to get into in general? How many medical schools outside of Caribs and DOs take 2.85 GPA (NO MATTER the circumstances) candidates? I'm actually curious about that and don't feel like looking it up because my iPhone sucks.

I know I will incur the wrath of all pharmers everywhere, but I don't really believe a pharmacist, (your average pharmacist compared to your average physician) needs to use the same toolkit as a physician does, and obviously someone agrees with me, due to the structure of the PCAT vs. the MCAT.










Posted from mobile iPhone device.

And here I was thinking you disagreed with me. I also think it should be harder, and I feel that the standard on who gets accepted should go up. As well as making it required that you have a Bachlor degree.

 

[Passion4Sci]

And here I was thinking you disagreed with me. I also think it should be harder, and I feel that the standard on who gets accepted should go up. As well as making it required that you have a Bachlor degree.

I don't necessarily disagree no.

I just think the debate is silly since, to me, they are different jobs with different requirements.

No need to make a welder know how to crochet...

 

[ffpickle]

Medical school is harder to get into, probably, for a variety of factors not limited to the MCAT.

I guess I'm just lost on what the topic of debate here is. What's the goal? That the PCAT should be more like the MCAT in terms of difficulty? Yeah, I'd be all for that. In fact, let's change the NAPLEX and MPJE/CPJE to reflect the difficulty of the USMLE steps also. Perhaps the role of a run of a mill physician, as compared to your run of the mill pharmacist is different in scope. Perhaps said physician will need more integration/synthesis skills than an average pharmacist, and this is so reflected on the MCAT vs. the PCAT. I am not at all bellicose regarding this issue. It seems to me that, so far as my limited experience goes, physicians are tasked with more diagnosis than pharmacists are, and in this case, a more difficult synthesis-based exam seems appropriate.

But, like I elucidated earlier, I'm perfectly fine with a more difficult PCAT. Can we make pharmacy schools harder to get into in general? How many medical schools outside of Caribs and DOs take 2.85 GPA (NO MATTER the circumstances) candidates? I'm actually curious about that and don't feel like looking it up because my iPhone sucks.

I know I will incur the wrath of all pharmers everywhere, but I don't really believe a pharmacist, (your average pharmacist compared to your average physician) needs to use the same toolkit as a physician does, and obviously someone agrees with me, due to the structure of the PCAT vs. the MCAT.










Posted from mobile iPhone device.

you elucidated that earlier, eh?

aren't you the ****nut that corrects everyone else's grammar, e.g. when I used "i.e.," (correctly)...

 

[ffpickle]

No need to compare MCAT to PCAT.

Apples to oranges.

PCAT is for pharmacy school, MCAT is for medical school.

What's left to debate?

Why is it that when two things are different, it is concluded that they can not be compared? I've noticed this trend on SDN, in particular.

"Apples to oranges"? Why can't we compare apples to oranges?

Sure, I can compare one apple to another one for a variety of factors (nutritional value, price, etc.). Maybe I will compare red delicious to grannysmith, or compare different red delicious apples to look for the most ripe one. Similarly, I can comapre the 2007 PCAT to the 2009 PCAT or MCAT 7A to MCAT 5B.

But if I am going to the grocery store that is standardized testing, I can also compare different fruits to one another. I may want to compare & contrast apples and oranges. Perhaps I will look at the vitamins, mineral content, taste, difficulty in eating, between the two fruits. Similarly, I can compare the PCAT & MCAT if I choose to, in terms of content, overall difficulty, preparation strategies, test-taking strategies, time, etc.

It just really annoys me that because two things are "different," they can't be compared. We're comparing two standardized tests for professional health programs. It's perfectly reasonable to compare these things to one another. It's not like we're comparing a monkey wrench to to the PCAT.

Damn...that was a long post.

 

[IrishRxMan]

Why is it that when two things are different, it is concluded that they can not be compared? I've noticed this trend on SDN, in particular.

"Apples to oranges"? Why can't we compare apples to oranges?

Sure, I can compare one apple to another one for a variety of factors (nutritional value, price, etc.). Maybe I will compare red delicious to grannysmith, or compare different red delicious apples to look for the most ripe one. Similarly, I can comapre the 2007 PCAT to the 2009 PCAT or MCAT 7A to MCAT 5B.

But if I am going to the grocery store that is standardized testing, I can also compare different fruits to one another. I may want to compare & contrast apples and oranges. Perhaps I will look at the vitamins, mineral content, taste, difficulty in eating, between the two fruits. Similarly, I can compare the PCAT & MCAT if I choose to, in terms of content, overall difficulty, preparation strategies, test-taking strategies, time, etc.

It just really annoys me that because two things are "different," they can't be compared. We're comparing two standardized tests for professional health programs. It's perfectly reasonable to compare these things to one another. It's not like we're comparing a monkey wrench to to the PCAT.

Damn...that was a long post.

Ah, FFPickle decides to tip his hat...PDE-5 inhibitors still working for you or did you have to resort to a VED? What exactly are you besides someone that likes to stir the pot? Are you pre-pharm, pre-med, pre-dental, pre-optometry, a student in one of those schools or a professional? I think you are not a member of the last two due to your posts that I have seen. Troll on mighty soldier...

 

[ffpickle]

Ah, FFPickle decides to tip his hat...PDE-5 inhibitors still working for you or did you have to resort to a VED? What exactly are you besides someone that likes to stir the pot? Are you pre-pharm, pre-med, pre-dental, pre-optometry, a student in one of those schools or a professional? I think you are not a member of the last two due to your posts that I have seen. Troll on mighty soldier...

which posts in particular indicate this?


right, none.

 

[ffpickle]

Ah, FFPickle decides to tip his hat...PDE-5 inhibitors still working for you or did you have to resort to a VED? What exactly are you besides someone that likes to stir the pot? Are you pre-pharm, pre-med, pre-dental, pre-optometry, a student in one of those schools or a professional? I think you are not a member of the last two due to your posts that I have seen. Troll on mighty soldier...

by the way, why don't you talk when you go to a real pharmacy school.