Should I retake the PCAT?

Question: I received my August PCAT today:
Verbal: 53%Biology: 80%Reading Comprehension: 21%Quantitative Ability: 91%Chemistry: 81%Writing: 2, 2Composite: 71%

I am shocked to see that my reading comprehension and verbal scores are that low. Although English is my second language, I've been in the US for 13 years now. What do you think about the 71% composite score and should I re-take it in October? But if I take it in October, my application won't be complete until November until the schools receive it (I'm applying to some rolling admission schools)...What should I do??? Thank you!


Answer: This is a tricky one. If you had scored 71 in each category, I wouldn't be as concerned with a composite of 71. However, having one very low score (21 on PCAT Reading) won't help you. Plus, scoring a 2 on the writing doesn't minimize any concerns. On the blog previously, we did address how to handle one deceptively low PCATsub-category score. You might review some of the earlier posts.

I would make the argument that if your statement is well written (which is a must in this case), you could try to persuade a committee that the test does not accurately reflect your abilities. Certainly, in an interview setting, I would imagine that an interviewer would pay particular attention to your communication skills.

In short, yes I would retake the PCAT. I would focus on thereading/verbal areas. Work on pre-tests and study guides. You have taken the test once and now have an idea what to expect. I would anticipate improvement in your second attempt.

Good luck.