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U of T PCAT Cutoffs confusion


Futbol99

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Can anyone tell me what marks in relativity I have to get on the pcat to get an interview? I am not quite understanding this percintile chart they have up on their site: http://pharmacy.utoronto.ca/pharmd/admissions/pcat

 

Bio - 10

Chem - 20

Quant - 20

Verbal - 10

RC- 20

Composite - 20

Writing - 3 (1-6)

 

So does the "10" mean I have to score in the top 10% of test takers like 90% sorta thing, or I have to do better than 10% of the people writing? I just recently started thinking about writing the PCAT and I am not sure what I am supposed to aim for. Anyone who got interviews/understands the way they have it presented can explain to me? Thanks :D

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You just need to have a higher percentile than the cut-off listed. So your second example is correct (you have to be better than the bottom 10%). The cut-offs are ridiculously low, it's frustrating they even use the PCAT. But apparently PCAT scores do factor into final selections and can off-set lower GPAs.

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You just need to have a higher percentile than the cut-off listed. So your second example is correct (you have to be better than the bottom 10%). The cut-offs are ridiculously low, it's frustrating they even use the PCAT. But apparently PCAT scores do factor into final selections and can off-set lower GPAs.

 

Wow thats crazy, haha, I didnt think it would be that at all.

Do u know if people can get accepted with minimum cutoffs for PCAT, such as that interview plays a big role, or accepted scores tend to be higher?

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I'm not too sure what the accepted PCAT scores tend to be. You should check out SDN forms for UofT pharmacy, some people post their stats there. I think I remember a few people being accepted with a really low score in one section.

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I have a friend who got into uoft pharm this cycle. I remember talking to her about pharm on the train and she mentioned the cutoffs for pcat was 20%tile or something, which I thought was ridiculously low! But she insisted it was actually 20%tile.. as in you only have to score in the top 80% LOL. It makes sense since she mentioned she guessed all the orgo questions (she didn't take orgo at the time of the pcat) and still got in. To be sure I would email UofT and ask :)

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I have a friend who got into uoft pharm this cycle. I remember talking to her about pharm on the train and she mentioned the cutoffs for pcat was 20%tile or something, which I thought was ridiculously low! But she insisted it was actually 20%tile.. as in you only have to score in the top 80% LOL. It makes sense since she mentioned she guessed all the orgo questions (she didn't take orgo at the time of the pcat) and still got in. To be sure I would email UofT and ask :)

 

Do you mind finding what your friends PCAT composite score was and/or her stats she got admitted by?

I took Epona advice and went on SDN. Maybe it's not a good representation to look on there because there were like 25 who posted actual stats, but it SEEMS that a good mix between cAvg , PCAT and interview will do the trick. I wonder what was the lowest PCAT score admitted and such. The lowest I saw on SDN was 76% composite I believe but had 80% avg and felt good for 8/10 interview stations. It seems that u of t undershot the PCAT stats as post interview they would mean a lot. Idk lol we'll see. Really hoping interview can make up for pcat scores as I don't have much time. I wanna apply this cycle.

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Have you written the PCAT yet? I didn't find it overly difficult, I wouldn't worry about not having too much time to study for it.

 

I have just came off a long period of MCAT studying, and took a couple months break. Now I have the things I need to study for PCAT, I am planning to study for it in the next couple days and see my luck September 5th (if there is a spot) so I can at least have something to apply with. If I do decent Ill either rewrite end of October or in Jan so I can apply this cycle.

 

Do u have any advice studying for it efficiently? I am still a bit confused and would hate to spend extra time for the wrong reasons. I want to get it out of the way asap! my dream is to get in this cycle!

 

Thanks!! :)

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Did you buy the practice tests? I would recommend doing those for practice and to see where you are at. Since you've just come off the MCAT, you are probably familiar with most of the bio and chem stuff, and RC is easier than VR, so I would suggest doing practice quantitative questions and some practice essays.

 

In terms of my studying, I just read through Kaplan's PCAT prep book quickly to refresh my memory on the topics, did practice questions (that I bought from Pearson, plus the ones in Kaplan), and tried to memorize a few things for bio.

 

It is much easier than the MCAT, and covers a lot of the same material so I think you will be more than fine!

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  • 1 year later...

To answer your question regarding the PCAT cutoffs; they are exactly what you think - they are EXTREMELY LOW. The PCAT has very very very little to your actual file review. If it is very high it'll benefit you - like in the 90% or higher. If it's not in that range, its just a cutoff to make sure you have some capability in those sections. The majority of your acceptance to U of T pharmy will depend on your MMI score and GPA.

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