It's no secret that PCAT composite scores are dropping for accepted students. More schools + flatlining number of applicants = more students being accepted with lower credentials. And it's not just the new schools with lower standards- threads abound on SDN about one "Top 20 school" that is accepting applicants with composite scores in the 30s and another that interviewed an applicant with a composite of 5 (yes...a 5).
No PCATs are needed for most California schools!
Yes, its true that some students who never come close to the GPA or PCAT requirements get interviews. They almost always fall into one of three categories:
- politically driven decision to interview based on who the candidate is
- legacy student (a parent went to the school)
- parent is a major financial donor to pharmacy (or other school)
The question is not whether the 5th percentile student was interviewed... that is a courtesy.
We love to sit in our barca loungers and assume that these externalities are irrelevant and that admissions committees would act indifferently and impassionately. Unfortunately, in the real world, people are not willing to sacrifice their careers all because they didn't grant an interview to a student. I don't agree with the practice... but I do sympathize with the moral conundrum one faces.
Additionally, with regards to acceptances, perhaps you don't know the entire story of the candidate. For example, some students will take the PCAT without ever having taken a course in one or more of the subjects tested on the PCAT. A student who is aiming for the 2+4 option might have never taken a biology or calculus course but has a 4.0 in chemistry and the other pre-requisites. What do you do? The student bombed the biology and math sections, but aced the chemistry. Clearly, the student is capable of performing well. Do you take a chance on the student? Or do you insist that the student have taken all the courses tested on the PCAT prior to taking the PCAT? Or perhaps the student has a disability but is intellectually competent - should we say that the student is barred from pharmacy school because he/she cannot take tests normally but is as capable of curing cancer as you or I?
I warn all of you would-be scientists - you cannot make assumptions based on the absence of information!
It is good to question admissions methodologies. Through critical analysis, one can drive improvements to ensure the production of the best pharmacists that America can supply. And to that end, I encourage all accepted students to get involved in the process as much as permitted at your school. And if students are not a part of the admissions process, one should question why this is so. No one should have a greater incentive to ensure a superior incoming class than the current students - the next class is your legacy; they will represent your school when you are out in the working world. In my experience, students are more critical about accepting their future peers than faculty.
