PCAT Essay Writing Prompts

[Koala3298]

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I'm writing some essays for the sample pcat essay prompts I found in the internet. There are some prompts that I have no idea how to approach. A few examples are:
Discuss a solution to the problem of increase bankruptcy rates in lower-end middle class citizens.
Discuss a solution to the problem of government corruption
Discuss a solution to the problem of increased government spending
Discuss a solution to the problem of saturated job market in the pharmacy field.

My question is: Are those prompts similar to the actual prompts? If yes, could someone give me some solutions to each problem.

 

[NextStepTutor_4]

Hi @Koala3298! These prompts are similar to prompts you may encounter on the PCAT. I think you're aware that prompts ask you to present a solution to a particular problem and you can imagine prompts can be broad in scope (and not necessarily limited to pharmacy or medicine).

In terms of writing solutions, let's take the problem of increased bankruptcy rates in lower-end middle class citizens. You won't have to know too much about economics to answer this question. Try to think what causes bankruptcy in the first place. Well, one could be that they don't have enough jobs. Why would that be? Perhaps if we could bolster the economy in some way (short term tax reform, lower taxes) that could allow some cushion for those citizens. Now that we have covered what the "economy" can do, can individuals help themselves get out of bankruptcy? Certainly! On those lines, think along the lines of empowering the individual to seek an education and find a stable career.

That was just a couple of solutions to the first prompt that you provided. A good way to navigate through prompts in my opinion is to ask yourself what the root cause of the problem could be. If you can keep asking yourself the questions that start with why, what, or how, you might be able to formulate and work your way towards a solution.

I hope this helped!

 

[Sincerely Sapphire]

Hey 🙂,
In all honesty, most pharmacy schools don't pay much attention to the writing. Spend your time studying content about bio, chem, grammar, and math. That's what helps your composite score and that's what the schools focus on.

 

[BlackDiamond277]

My prompt on the PCAT was an exact one I had seen on their practice website a few weeks before I took it, and I have heard this from other classmates, as well. I agree with Sapphire that most schools are not going to heavily weigh the score.