need help on my PCAT scores *_*

[Science Girl]

Hi

I just received my PCAT scores today for the one I did in June 20th

subject scaled scores percentile rank

verbal ability 386 26

biology 390 29

reading 372 10
comprehension

quantitative ability 404 48

chemistry 405 53

composite 391 26


please, some one helps me to read my scores; I have no idea how to read them. are they good, bad , fair ...etc?

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[siltears]

Dude...I hate to tell you, but your score isn't that good... you are suppose to look at the percentile rank. This means how well you did out of 100 people...so basically do: percentile rank/100, and you get a sense of how well you did... I would recommend you retake...because most people that get into pharm at least have a 50-60 percentile.

 

[Science Girl]

Thanks for posting

This is my first time I have taken PCAT and I am planning to take the October one. I feel like I wanna laugh and cry at the same time because my GPA until now is 4.0 and those scores are telling me sth else. If I am not going to do well in October, I won't try again. I guess it will be the end of my journey

 

[crazybob]

Thanks for posting

This is my first time I have taken PCAT and I am planning to take the October one. I feel like I wanna laugh and cry at the same time because my GPA until now is 4.0 and those scores are telling me sth else. If I am not going to do well in October, I won't try again. I guess it will be the end of my journey

have you started taking pre-pharmacy courses yet? if not, then that could be why your PCAT score isn't as high as it needs to be. you usually need at least 75% composite to be competitive.

 

[Science Girl]

I took chem I , chem II,principle of cell and molecular biology, and applied calculus I.

 

[siltears]

You shouldn't have done this badly on the PCAT than...especially if you got a 4.0 in them...Did you run out of time for each section?

 

[diastole]

How much did you study?

I recommend retaking in October and this time taking the Pearson's practice exams. You can use that to direct your studies. Even if you score poorly again which you shouldn't if you study like crazy, your journey is not over. Apply to non-PCAT schools. Your GPA will be a huge asset and your PCAT won't count against you.

You might consider spending some money and doing the Dr. Collins program. I haven't used it but some people have had nice results with it.

 

[Science Girl]

You shouldn't have done this badly on the PCAT than...especially if you got a 4.0 in them...Did you run out of time for each section?

for probably the reading section and composition, when I planned to take the PCAT in June, I didn't care so much if I was going to pass or fail; I just wanted to see what type of questions PCAT has. However, I was a little optimistic that I might have 40%, but mine are below 30%, which is kinda scary, I am afraid that I am maybe able to raise to 50% but not 75%

 

[Science Girl]

How much did you study?

I recommend retaking in October and this time taking the Pearson's practice exams. You can use that to direct your studies. Even if you score poorly again which you shouldn't if you study like crazy, your journey is not over. Apply to non-PCAT schools. Your GPA will be a huge asset and your PCAT won't count against you.

You might consider spending some money and doing the Dr. Collins program. I haven't used it but some people have had nice results with it.

thanks for cheering me up!
I will try again and review from now until Oct. I will apply at many schools and (hopefully) get accepted in one of them!

 

[crazybob]

and take more pre-requisite courses like organic chem, general physics, genetics, microbio, and calculus 2.

 

[ask0780]

I took pcat four times but my score isnot that much good,my composite below 30, ( my GPA is 3.65) please help me out. what type of material i have to study ? especially verbability and reading, these are the worest grade ever, my wanna to buy dr. collis self study, what you think, i need big help, everybody help me out please ?

 

[ChippyChad]

Join the party, my score wasn't that much better either. It seems like ppl gonna get low score on first PCAT exam no matter what.

 

[crazybob]

Join the party, my score wasn't that much better either. It seems like ppl gonna get low score on first PCAT exam no matter what.

i actually scored the highest on my first PCAT exam.

 

[Science Girl]

and take more pre-requisite courses like organic chem, general physics, genetics, microbio, and calculus 2.

oh ok, I actually took microbiology and human anatomy/physiology this summer, so like I started the classes 20 days before June PCAT. I am enrolled in Organic chemistry I for fall. I hope my score will go up after taking micro, anatomy and org,I.

calculus II and genetics !! do some pharmacy schools require those 2?
I had physics in high school and they told me that they don't need physics if I got and A or B in it, which I did.

 

[Kaiter]

thanks for cheering me up!
I will try again and review from now until Oct. I will apply at many schools and (hopefully) get accepted in one of them!

if you have any practice tests make sure you take them together. don't browse through them to sample questions until after you have taken them. this will allow you to evaluate your weaknesses and strengths better.

 

[crazybob]

oh ok, I actually took microbiology and human anatomy/physiology this summer, so like I started the classes 20 days before June PCAT. I am enrolled in Organic chemistry I for fall. I hope my score will go up after taking micro, anatomy and org,I.

calculus II and genetics !! do some pharmacy schools require those 2?
I had physics in high school and they told me that they don't need physics if I got and A or B in it, which I did.

in some schools they will count genetics as a science elective. and also count calculus 2 as an elective if you have it. it would be helpful to have calculus 2 done so that when you get to pharmacokinetics, it will be fine.

some schools will say you have to have certain number of hours of science electives and that can be done by taking some of the science courses they list. same with miscellaneous electives where they give you a list of subjects where you can take courses to get enough credit hours.

for example, here's the link for the pre-requisites i had to take http://uams.edu/cop/prospective_students/pdf_files/Hendrix.pdf

 

[Science Girl]

in some schools they will count genetics as a science elective. and also count calculus 2 as an elective if you have it. it would be helpful to have calculus 2 done so that when you get to pharmacokinetics, it will be fine.

some schools will say you have to have certain number of hours of science electives and that can be done by taking some of the science courses they list. same with miscellaneous electives where they give you a list of subjects where you can take courses to get enough credit hours.

I will obviously need calculus II if I am gonna change my major to chemical engineering, so it will work for pharmacy and chemical engineering. and the same works for physics

I was planning to finish pre-pharmacy in 2 years, it is working for my perquisites as college curriculum , but I don't know how much time I need to succeed in PCAT

 

[crazybob]

just focus on your pre-reqs for now, and if you learn well from those courses, you'll do well on the pcat. but don't think that just taking those courses are any sort of guarantee to improving. before your tests, review what you've learned, and make sure you can solve problems in a timed test.

i've actually known one pharmacist who used to be a chemical engineering major in college, and after taking organic chemistry, he decided go to pharmacy school. so you might change your mind too.

 

[crazybob]

edit: arg i can't delete this confused:

 

[Science Girl]

if you have any practice tests make sure you take them together. don't browse through them to sample questions until after you have taken them. this will allow you to evaluate your weaknesses and strengths better.

I understand .. thanks for the advice

 

[Science Girl]

I took pcat four times but my score isnot that much good,my composite below 30, ( my GPA is 3.65) please help me out. what type of material i have to study ? especially verbability and reading, these are the worest grade ever, my wanna to buy dr. collis self study, what you think, i need big help, everybody help me out please ?

i have the same problem; for myself, i think i will try dr collins study guide or mcat and stick to pearson practice tests and kaplan book ..

 

[seventhgirl]

This is my first post, yay, and I am very appreciative for all those posters who help people like me who just don't know what to do.

First, my PCAT scores were very low.
Biology 44
Chem. 44
Verbal 43
Reading 26
Quant 76
Comp. 43

The classes I have taken:
Gen Chem. I and II, OChem. I and II, Calc I, II and III, Physics I and II, Biology, Cell Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Genetics, and Biochem. I and II.

My overall GPA is 3.28

I was definitely not confident for the PCAT because in general I am a not so good at test taking and my chemistry and math classes were from five years ago. I had a study guide with two practice test and it didn't seem too difficult so I was feeling pretty good about the test. I was just trying to relax on the day of the test until I started the test and realize I had lured myself into a false sense of security. After the test I didn't think I did very well but I wasn't expecting such a low score.

So now I just registered for the August test and got the Kaplan test book. (Kaplan doesn't offer classes in my area) I am a little nervous now though because some of the comments have said for people with low scores to retake in October?

I think I can better prepare myself in three weeks, especially for the science sections, but are there any helpful guides I could get to help with verbal and reading?

Thanks

 

[charfdorn]

I took pcat four times but my score isnot that much good,my composite below 30, ( my GPA is 3.65) please help me out. what type of material i have to study ? especially verbability and reading, these are the worest grade ever, my wanna to buy dr. collis self study, what you think, i need big help, everybody help me out please ?

If this is how well you write, your verbal and reading scores will never be very high. Your essay score won't either. That will hurt your composite and your personal statement. You should improve your ability to read, write, and speak English. You probably lost a lot of test time trying to understand questions.

Also, you should have started a new thread.

 

[Passion4Sci]

A 4.0 on the transcript and a poor PCAT composite can mean several things:

a. You don't test well. Lots of people suck at standardized testing, but that doesn't mean you don't know the material.

b. The school you're at is padding grades. I saw this a lot at my alma mater, unfortunately.

c. You were mentally unprepared for the PCAT. Maybe you were anxious, and didn't eat a good breakfast or sleep well the night before.

d. Maybe you're sublimating the fact that you don't really want to be a pharmacist and this is your sub-conscious trying to keep you from doing something you don't really want to do.

Or any combination thereof.

Take the October PCAT after rigorous preparation and see if it improves... But it's possible you just don't test well.

 

[Science Girl]

A 4.0 on the transcript and a poor PCAT composite can mean several things:

a. You don't test well. Lots of people suck at standardized testing, but that doesn't mean you don't know the material.

b. The school you're at is padding grades. I saw this a lot at my alma mater, unfortunately.

c. You were mentally unprepared for the PCAT. Maybe you were anxious, and didn't eat a good breakfast or sleep well the night before.

d. Maybe you're sublimating the fact that you don't really want to be a pharmacist and this is your sub-conscious trying to keep you from doing something you don't really want to do.

Or any combination thereof.

Take the October PCAT after rigorous preparation and see if it improves... But it's possible you just don't test well.

nice explanations :a (maybe ) applies to me. b doesn't apply to me; because i actually live in one of the best counties here in KS and having my pre-pharm courses in a really really good college; i know what you mean about giving points for nothing, in my college they make us work for it!

c and d don't apply to me either

yeaaa, even i didn't test well in Oct , i still have a whole another year to study for PCAT and prepare myself .. the worst option is that if i have my bachelor degree in sth and then study pharmacy, it is the last thing i will (maybe) do but it is still a good option that works for me

 

[tydt]

Taking the PCAT this August will be the first time for me. I remember telling them to make my score count. Is it too late to tell them to make it don't count? I think I'm done for if it does. :X

 

[crazybob]

Taking the PCAT this August will be the first time for me. I remember telling them to make my score count. Is it too late to tell them to make it don't count? I think I'm done for if it does. :X

you can take it more than once and keep sending them your scores.

do they have early deadlines? if so, then you might want to focus a lot on this PCAT and then just not worry about it until you get your scores. i know it's hard, but if you do well on this one, you won't have to take the PCAT again.

 

[mug3n]

Taking the PCAT this August will be the first time for me. I remember telling them to make my score count. Is it too late to tell them to make it don't count? I think I'm done for if it does. :X

On the test booklet itself you can bubble in the "No Score" option at any time you want if you don't want your test scored, so no worries.