Information about the PCAT test
On this page you will find useful information about the Pharmacy education, links to all the Pharmacy schools in Canada and the U.S., how to apply to a Pharmacy School and information about the PCAT test.
This may include: how to study, how to get help, which product to buy, which service to use, the related web sites for the PCAT test and more.
At the end you must make the final decision. Please take your time and read the following information about the above test with care so you might save a lot of time and money at the end.

Some of the information presented here are from the PCAT Candidate Information Booklet published by the Post-Secondary Education division of Pearson. If you need more detailed information about the above test please check the related web sites.

I have tried to explain different topics with a very simple language so everybody can understand and analyze the information without any confusion. I have also made a short video in case some students are interested to see a sample of the online tutorials for the above test. Finally I have included some general Q&A's on the FAQ web page in case some students are interested to read them.

The information provided on this page and the other pages of this web site are come from my own personal views and my own personal experiences working with different students over many years. They are not intended to give credit to or to discredit any individual, any company, any institution, any organization, any product or any service.

Questions

1-If a student is interested in the Pharmacy profession, what she/he needs to do?

2-What is the PCAT test and Who needs it?

3-Who administer the PCAT test?

4-What is the content of the PCAT test?

5-What is a passing or a good score for the PCAT test?

6-How a student should study for the PCAT test?

7-What is a good study guide for the PCAT test?

8-Who runs the www.prepseminars.com and how this service can help students with the PCAT test?

9-What are the tutorial notes for the PCAT test?

10-Could students use the PCAT test tutorial notes to study for the other tests such as the OAT, the MCAT or the DAT?

11-What is the cost to buy the PCAT test tutorial booklet?

12-Application service to most Pharmacy Colleges in the U.S.

13-Anything else do students need to know about the PCAT test?

14-links to Canadian Pharmacy Schools

15-links to the U.S. Pharmacy Schools

16-Locations and dates for the PCAT group tutorial sessions

Answers

1-If a student is interested in the Pharmacy profession, what she/he needs to do?

A-For some common sense tips please click here.

B-Check the official web sites of the Pharmacy Schools or Colleges yourself!!!

C-Talk to the admission office yourself, nobody can help you more than the people who they actually running a program and set the requirements for the admission to a Pharmacy School!!!

D-Visit the Pharmacy School of your choice yourself if it is possible!!!

E-Ask for the printed materials if they are not posted on their web sites!!!
You should ask for the past few years of statistics for the students that they have applied to that school or the students who they have been accepted to that school. These statistics and information could give you valuable information about the PCAT test scores needed, GPA's of the applicants, their academic background and etc.

F-Don't trust or believe what other people say until you hear the facts yourself from the official people from the admission office of a Pharmacy School!!!

G-Choose a Pharmacy School
There are many Pharmacy Schools in Canada and the U.S. so you have many choices. I have made links to all of them at the end of this page.You need to narrow down your search to find a college that is the best for you. You need to look at many factors such as public or private college, location, tuition fees, loans and scholarships, length of the program, cost of living, college accreditation, admission requirements and etc.

H-Admission requirements
After you choose a Pharmacy School to apply to, the next important thing is to look at the admission requirements for that college. Each Pharmacy School has its own admission requirements so make sure you know exactly what they are. Here we are interested only in the PCAT test requirement.

If there is no PCAT test requirement for the Pharmacy School that you are interested in then you don't need to read the following and I wish you the best of luck in pursuing your Pharmacy education.

If the PCAT test is a part of admission requirements for that college and you need help with the PCAT test please read the following.

2-What is the PCAT test and Who needs it?
PCAT is stand for the Pharmacy College Admission Test.

The majority of the Pharmacy Schools in Canada and the U.S. (not all of them at this time) require the PCAT test as a part of their admission process. Please check the links to the Pharmacy Colleges Canada and in the U.S. to see the specific admission requirements for the each college.
If the PCAT test is required for the Pharmacy College of your choice then you need to take the test before applying to a Pharmacy College and get the highest possible score on it.

3-Who administer the PCAT test?
The Post-Secondary Education division of Pearson conducts the PCAT test.
For the official web site and the latest information about the test regarding registration, fees, dates, location of the test centers, how to write the test, scores, test content, time for the each section of the test, official practice test, etc. please visit the web site: PCAT test Information

4-What is the content of the PCAT test?
For the details about the test please look at the PCAT Candidate Information Booklet by going to the web site PCAT test Information.

The PCAT test has 6 parts:
A-Writing (first and second essay)
Conventions of language and Problem Solving

B-Verbal Ability
Analogies and Sentence Completion, non-scientific words

C-Biology
General Biology, Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology

D-Chemistry
General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry

E-Reading Comprehension
Comprehension, Analysis and Evaluation, scientific topic

F-Quantitative Ability
Basic Math, Algebra, Probability and Statistics, Pre-Calculus and Calculus

5-What is a passing or a good score for the PCAT test?
This depends on the Pharmacy School of your choice.
You need to check with the each Pharmacy School that you are interested in to see what is an acceptable score for them.
The PCAT test score range is 200-600. The higher your test score is the better chance for the admission to a Pharmacy College.
Please note that the test score is only one of the admission requirements and you need to pay attention to all the admission requirements to a Pharmacy School.

6-How a student should study for the PCAT test?
Please take the official PCAT practice test that is on the PCAT information web site before you do anything else.

You will find out where you stand by looking at the result of the official practice test before you start to look for getting help for the PCAT test (before buying a study guide or using a tutoring service).

You have already spent a few years at a university or a college and you have taken some Science, Math and English courses. You should have an idea where the problem is or if you need help or not.
If you are happy with your scores from the official practice test then you are OK.
If you think that you need help then you have to sit down and decide how to study for the PCAT test.

You have a few options:
A-Study from your text books that you have used for the first 2 years of university and college courses for Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Math and English.

B-Buy a study guide for the PCAT test from a bookstore or over the internet and study on your own.

C-Attend a tutorial class for the PCAT test in person or use an online tutorial service.

D-Use a combination of the above

The Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension and Quantitative Ability sections of the PCAT test are in the form of multiple- choice questions.

Here are some tips for how to study for the each section:
A-For the Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biology sections of the PCAT test you will usually get 2 types of questions:
a-Theoretical and Concept questions
These questions do not involve any calculations and you need to remember the information from your memory.
You must study the relevant topics for the each section before the test and learn, understand and sometimes memorize them.
These topics and information will not pop into your head during the exam if you have not seen them and studying them before the test.
I have explained some stuff about the memorization vs understanding on the FAQ web page in case you are interested to read them.

b-Calculation questions
To answer these type of questions you need to understand what the question is asking you.
You need to remember the concepts, equations and formulas from your memory and then choose and set up the correct formulas for the calculations.
You need good math skills for the calculation part as you can not use calculators during the PCAT test.
Some equations and formulas might be given to you but don't count on it. You will get a periodic table of the elements.

To answer any question from the Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biology sections of the PCAT test you must recall the answers from your memory. There are no passages (unlike the MCAT test). All questions are independent and they can come from any topic that it is mentioned in the PCAT Candidate Information Booklet. I have included all the topics in my tutorial notes and I have listed them on this page.

Here I will go over 3 very simple questions for the Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biology to explain how you need to study for these parts of the PCAT test.

Question 1 (Biology)
An example of a structural polymer made entirely of unmodified glucose repeat units?
A-lignin
B-starch
C-chitin
D-cellulose
E-glycogen

The information that you need to answer this question:
a-You need to know some information about the 4 major macromolecules from the Biology.

b-You need to know some information about the polymers from the Biology.

c-Pay attention to the key words such as "structural", "entirely", "unmodified" and what they mean here.

d-You need to remember some information about the 5 choices given here from your understanding of the Biology or from your memory.

Question 2 (Chemistry)
The cation form of an element is compared to the uncharged form of the same element. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A-The cation has more electrons
B-The cation has more neutrons
C-The cation has less electrons
D-The cation has a different half-life
E-The cation has less protons

The information that you need to answer this question:
a-You need to know some information about cation and anion from the Chemistry.

b-You need to know some information about the sub-atomic particles from the Chemistry and how they can affect the charge of an element.

c-You need to know some information about the half-life and if it is related to the charge of a particle in the Chemistry or not.

d-Pay attention to key words "cation", 'uncharged" and "same element"

Question 3 (Organic Chemistry)
Whether a reaction will proceed via an Sn1 or an Sn2
process depends on:
A-the reaction conditions
B-the structure of the products
C-the structure of the reactants
D-all of the above
E-A and C

The information that you need to answer this question:
a-You need to know some information about the 4 major reactions Sn1, Sn2, E1 and E2

b-You need to know some information about the differences between the above reactions.

c-Pay attention to the key word"reaction conditions" and make sure you understand what it means here.

d-Conditions of a reaction could be related to:
i-the structure of the Alkyl Halides and Alcohols (primary, secondary and tertiary)
ii- Solvent (protic or aprotic)
iii-Tempreture (high or low)
iv-Nucleophile or Base (strong, weak, large or small)

Now you can see that if you haven't studied the above subjects before the PCAT test or you have never seen or heard these names or terminology you will never be able to answer these type of questions. The answers will not pop into your head by staring at the questions for hours or days!!!!!!!!

Please note that these are the simplest questions that I have used here. You should expect to get more complex questions in the tutorial notes and also on the actual PCAT test.

I will let you to answer these questions on your own as a practice, so go get your notes, text books, study guides, tutorial notes or whatever you are trying to study from for the PCAT test and find the answers. Good luck.

B-To answer questions from the Reading Comprehension section of the PCAT test you need to be a fast reader.
You will get 6 passages and then following each passage you have to answer a few questions about the contents of that passage. You need to read the passage first, retain and analyze some of the information mentioned in that passage and then you must answer the questions based on the materials from the passage.
Sometimes you have to go back and forth between the passage and the questions a few times in order to get the correct answer so manage your time.
Here you don't need to study any materials before the test. The passages could be on any scientific topics and you can not really study for them from any notes or any text books.
The only thing that you can do is to practice to read faster but there is no short cut here.

The following are good ways to practice:
a-Read a few paragraphs from a science related magazine, newspaper or book.

b-Close your eyes and try to remember what you have read or try to understand and analyze what was the message of the paragraph.

c-Ask somebody to ask you a few questions from the contents of the paragraphs to see if you can remember any information from them.

d-If you remember some information then you will do fine with more practice (Please read G).

C-For the Verbal Ability section of the PCAT test you need a strong vocabulary, good grammar skills and also you need to be a good speller.

D- For the Quantitative Ability section of the PCAT test you need a broad knowledge of the Math topics from simple addition and fractions to complex word problems. Some must be learned before the test by studying the relevant topics and then you recall that information from your memory during the test.
Some materials must be analyze and process during the test and can not be studied before the test.

Here are a couple of very simple questions for you to practice on:
Question 1
Tom, Mary, Jill and Tony all are friends. One is a doctor, one is a lawyer, one is an accountant, and the other is a teacher. Use the statements below to answer the question that follows.
i-Jill and Tony go shopping with the doctor.
ii-Tom and Mary eat dinner with the accountant.
iii-Tom watches TV with the doctor and the accountant. Who is the doctor?
A-Tony
B-Jill
C-Tom
D-Mary
Here you need to know how to use the elimination process.

Question 2
If x + y = 5 and x - 2y = 2, then y equals which of the following?
A-8
B-5
C-1
D-3
Here you need to know about the algebra and how to solve equations with 2 unknown variables.

E-Please note that you can not use calculators during any section of the PCAT test (the same for the other tests such as the OAT, the DAT and the MCAT).
You need to do all the calculations in your head and with your math skills. When you are studying for the PCAT test make sure you are not using calculators in any way so you can get use to the idea.

F-For the Essay Writing section of the PCAT test you need to practice.
You should use the notes you have from your first year university English class to refresh your memory about the major rules of writing (introduction, body, conclusion, spell and grammar) and then start practicing by writing on any topic that comes to your mind.

The following are good ways to practice:
a-Once or twice a week sit down for one hour and try to write about a scientific or non-scientific topics related to Pharmacy, Medicine, Optometry or Dentistry (you can find many such topics on the internet or on the web sites of the health profession's colleges which the writing an essay could be a part of their admission requirements).

b-Let your parents, your sister, your brother or your friend read your essay.

c-Ask them to make comments about your writing skills (in all aspects such as spell, grammar, introduction, body conclusion, etc.).

d-After you find your writing weaknesses then you can work on those areas and improve them.

e-After a few weeks of practice you will see how you can progress in writing an essay.
There is no short cut here and you can only improve your writing skills with practice and over time (please read G)

G-Please be careful about the ads that they promise you to teach you how to write and how to read in a few days or in a few weeks.
You will learn the skills of how to read or how to write over many years especially if the English is not your first language.

There is no course or no book that can teach you how to write or how to read in a short period of time (a few days or a few weeks). In most of this kind of classes they will tell you exactly what you have learned in your first year university English courses.

You have already taken one or two English courses at the university or college and you have paid a lot of money for them so just use your notes from those classes to refresh your memory about the major reading and writing rules and then the rest is involve a lot of practicing.

7-What is a good study guide for the PCAT test?
This requires some research on your part. There are many books and study guides out there in the market for the PCAT test. You need to look at them and compare them to each other to see which one is the best for you.

Here are a few things to look for when you are choosing a study guide for the PCAT test:
A-The study guide must follows the outline set in the PCAT Candidate Information Booklet for the different sections of the test.

B-The study guide must have both notes and practice tests with answers for the different sections of the test.

C-The study guide must have developed by the people who they know about the PCAT test and at least they have taken the test once or twice, so they know exactly what materials are covered for the test.

D-The study guide must be updated when there are new changes to the test.

E-Don't forget the famous phrase"don't judge a book by its cover". The contents of a study guide for a test is far more important than the appearance of the book or how colorful is the book. You need the contents to do well on the PCAT test not anything else.

8-Who runs the www.prepseminars.com and how this service can help students with the PCAT test?
This tutoring service is offered by David Hunt

There are a few options for the students at this time. I am offering tutorial sessions for different sections of the PCAT test. The sessions are separated from each other to keep the cost down for the students. This way students don't need to attend all the sessions if they only have problem with a section of the PCAT test.

A-I have divided the tutorial sessions to 3 parts and students have the option to attend all or just one or two. Please note that for the each location and the each session if I do not get enough interested students (30 or more), that session will be cancelled.

i-The Chemistry and Organic Chemistry tutorial sessions (please see #16 below)
ii-The Biology tutorial sessions (Please see #16 below)
iii-The Quantitative Ability tutorial sessions (Please see #16 below)
iv-I do not offer any tutorial sessions for the Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability sections of the test (please read #6 G above)

B-Online tutoring
I am working on this option right now and it is not ready yet. You can check the online tutoring page for the details.

C-Buy a tutorial booklet and study on your own
The study booklet has all the notes and all the practice tests for all sections of the PCAT test. All questions have detailed answers if they were needed.
The cost is $250. I will explain the details about the tutorial booklet below under separate headline.

9-What are the tutorial notes for the PCAT test?
I have put the tutorial notes in 2 booklets. The booklets have notes and practice questions with the answers for different sections of the PCAT test (Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Math and English).
Some answers are in details as they needed explanations and some answers are short and self- explanatory.

Here is the breakdown of the tutorial notes for the different sections of the PCAT test:
A-Chemistry and Organic Chemistry
There are 594 pages of the notes and 1580 practice questions for Chemistry and Organic Chemistry sections of the test. (There are 2 or 3 different sets of the notes from different instructors who they were teaching the in- class tutorial sessions over the years. I thought it is a good idea to look at the same topics from different points of view and also use different teaching styles)

B-Biology
There are 740 pages of the notes and 780 practice questions for the Biology section of the test. (There are 2 or 3 different sets of the notes from different instructors who they were teaching the in-class tutorial sessions over the years. I thought it is a good idea to look at the same topics from different points of view and also use different teaching styles)

C-Quantitative Ability
There are 242 pages and 530 practice questions for the Quantitative Ability section of the test.

D-Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
There are 136 pages and 500 practice questions for the
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sections of the test.

E-Every effort has been made to make sure these notes are free of any typo, spell or copying mistakes but as it goes with any book or printed material these notes may contains some unintentional mistakes (typo, spells, missing words and letters and copying problems).
If you do find such problems with the notes please bring it to David's attention in person, by the e-mail or by the phone and the mistake will be corrected at no expense to you.

10-Could students use the PCAT test tutorial notes to study for the other tests such as the OAT, the MCAT or the DAT?
First make sure you know what are the contents of the each test. Please check the other pages on this web site for the information about the OAT, the DAT and the MCAT tests.

Here are the rules:
A-The Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, English and Math sections for the OAT, the DAT and the PCAT tests are very close to each other and they follow similar outlines. You can use the same notes for the above tests.

B-You need the Physics notes extra if you are taking the OAT test. Please check the OAT page on this web site for more details.

C-You need Perceptual Ability (PAT) notes extra if you are taking the DAT test (there are 2 different DAT tests, the American DAT test and the Canadian DAT test , Please check the DAT page on this web site for the details about the tests).

D-To do well on the MCAT test you need in depth knowledge of the different topics and it is better to use the tutorial notes that they are developed for the MCAT test (You can still use some of the Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Biology notes from the PCAT test tutorial notes if you study for the MCAT test but you need more details in some areas).

E-Please note that the format of the MCAT test is different than the DAT, the OAT and the PCAT tests.

The majority of the MCAT test questions are based on the passages that they will be provided to you during the test and you just need to extract the answers from those passages (You still need to recall important rules and equations from your memory to answer some of the Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Physics questions on the MCAT test).

Also there are some independent questions on the MCAT test that you need to relay on your memory to answer them and they are not related to any passage. Please check the MCAT page on this web site for more details.

11-What is the cost to buy the PCAT test tutorial booklet?
The cost is $250 for the whole tutorial notes.
I prefer for the students to look at the tutorial notes in person before they make a purchase. I have explained the reason on the FAQ web page in details.
I have also posted some pictures of the tutorial notes on the photo web page so you can get an idea about these tutorial notes.

12-Application service to most Pharmacy Colleges in the U.S.A.
Pharmacy College Application Service (PharmCAS)

13-Anything else do students need to know about the PCAT test?
For general information about Pharmacy profession, Pharmacy education, Pharmacy Colleges, how to apply to a Pharmacy College and for the latest information about the PCAT test regarding fees, dates, location of the test centers, how to write the test, scores, test content, time for the each section of the test, official practice test, etc. please visit the following web sites:
PCAT Information
Canadian Pharmacy Colleges
United States Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

14-Canadian Pharmacy Schools
Alberta
The University of Alberta

British Columbia
The University of British Columbia

Manitoba
The University of Manitoba

Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland

Nova Scotia
Dalhousie University

Ontario
University of Toronto

Quebec
Universite Laval
University of Montreal

Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan