Educational Desparities

[PharMed2016]

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I have always wondered about the desparity between GPA and PCAT/MCAT scores. In others how the student performed in school versus how they did in the PCATs. Is there a strong correalation between these two?

I have seen thoroughout my time looking a schools this unusual occurence. There are some schools that have high GPAs for their entering class but very low scores on the PCAT/MCATs. What does this tell us exactly?

I think this is more prevalent with the PCATs than the MCATs. Just want to hear what people think. Could this be an educational desparity? Demographics?

Either way I do not believe that those that graduate from professional degrees are any less qualified.

 

[FLPharm2Be]

I think you are asking different questions here. I am not sure if you are interested in the relation between a candidate's pcat and their gpa in pharmacy school or pcat and their pre-pharm gpa. I am assuming the later. It is hard to correlate gpa and pcat because the pcat is only a percentile, so not everyone can achieve in the upper tier. But, everyone can "in theory" achieve a high gpa. The pcat is just a test of information that Hartcourt deems necessary to enter pharm school. The schools use it to put all candidates on an even playing field, since universities and their respective gpas do vary. I've attended 6, so yes, they vary. My gpa at some schools is a 4 and at others is a sub-3. Overall, my gpa was low and my pcat was high. If you peformed well in a difficult undergrad program and a difficult institution, there is a good chance you will perform well on the pcat. Also, the reverse is likely true. Any other situation is pretty much in the air and not really predictable.

 

[Sparda29]

I had a 3.14 GPA, while getting a 73rd Percentile Composite on the PCAT, and a 22M on the MCAT. It really varies on the person.

 

[medicalCPA]

Unfortunately, your question is poorly worded and I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to ask. I'll take a stab, however...

It depends directly on the person, and indirectly on the school. Both GPA and PCAT/MCAT scores are a way to measure what you learned in class, so theoretically if you learn your material properly, you should end up with a high GPA and a high PCAT/MCAT score. To learn you will need a good instructor who not only knows his stuff inside and out, but who is also able to effectively communicate that stuff to students. You will also need good facilities (labs, tutors, other learning materials). In theory, the better the school, the better the access student have to such materials.

However, even if a school can offer the above to its students, only those who take advantage of it will actually end up LEARNING. If you really learn, not just pass, you will do well, even if your school is (ostensibly) poor. I strongly believe this.

I went to a school that's probably not in the third or fourth tier among US universities. I graduated with a 4.0 GPA, scored 98 on the PCAT, 33R on the MCAT, and 1590 (out of 1600) on the GRE. There were other 4.0's at my school who scored 23 and 26 on their MCATs. Make of it what you will.

 

[bananaface]

The exams reflect your long term retention as well as how well you learned material in the first place. If you get A's and then forget everything, you exam scores will still blow.

 

[LongPigeon]

Your GPA not only depends on how hard you work, but also on the difficulty of your school and the competitiveness of your classmate!! You can study really really hard but when a class follows a normalized distribution, there are some that just won't get good grades in certain classes <= like me 🙁

ah well.