Dr. Collins PCAT Self-Study Guide Thoughts

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If you can learn reasonably well just from reading, I think the Kaplan book pretty much summarizes all the biology, chemistry, and math. I think if you memorize the book, it's enough to get a 90%ile on those sections. Vocabulary might help, but the analogies seem really simple. I made fun of my girlfriend when she was studying for GRE because her analogies and antonyms are so much harder than the PCAT analogies and sentence completion. I learn best by taking a lot of practice tests and reading answers explained. If you do that, you're bound to encounter every type of problem that can be put on the test. My scores are so low because I only got the chance to take one practice test and never studied.
 
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It's funny...I did worse in ochem than chemistry at school, yet most of the answers I was sure about were for ochem questions. Half those chemistry questions, I've never seen before.
 
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Lordhokage said:
I think it would be worth it for you. Its certainly better than Kaplan.
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I second that..i just got my october scores. I scored really bad (just cant stop crying...:() I attended classes at kaplan, got their study guides, tests. All of it was just a waste of time and money. I have heard a lot of dr. collins, im gonna buy it and try to all the practice tests. Any thoughts???
 
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Dr. Collins is great, especially for verbal. But I also took the Kaplan course, and I think it is great also. Someone else on this board said that the Kaplan class prepares you like you're about to take the MCAT...it over prepares you. If you really study all of the Kaplan material, the PCAT should not be difficult. Now, there is a TON of material, so some people get overwhelmed by it. But I think both Dr. Collins and Kaplan are great. I used both and made a 90.
 
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I got a 92 in the October PCAT. :) all i did was study collins material for 8 days for the test. no kaplan or any other practice tests.

Collins is great because he subdivides the PCAT into quantifiable subsections. Without his help, I surely would have bombed!

His only real weakness was with biology. It was wayyy different on the actual exam, but through studying collins material i still was able to formulate good guesses. I got a 90 in bio.
 
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how long does it take to receive the self-study package if i ordered it yesterday? (I live in Alexandria, VA)
 
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EquateThis said:
I got a 92 in the October PCAT. :) all i did was study collins material for 8 days for the test. no kaplan or any other practice tests.

Collins is great because he subdivides the PCAT into quantifiable subsections. Without his help, I surely would have bombed!

His only real weakness was with biology. It was wayyy different on the actual exam, but through studying collins material i still was able to formulate good guesses. I got a 90 in bio.
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Congrats on your PCAT score!

I'm curious though, how did you think that Dr. Collins study material was different than that on your PCAT? I purchased his study material, it seems to be well organized, although it is a bit light on some of the specifics relative to the questions on his practice exams and Pearson's practice exams.
 
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Hello. I was just wondering if you would be interested in selling the study material if you haven't already sold it. Please reply one way or another. Thank you and God bless!
 
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Bethie Bug said:
Hello. I was just wondering if you would be interested in selling the study material if you haven't already sold it. Please reply one way or another. Thank you and God bless!
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Dr. Collins has very strict copyright rules and he frequently checks this forum; if he finds out people are selling his materials, he will get lawyers involved and he may stop his program.
 
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Moni526 said:
Dr. Collins has very strict copyright rules and he frequently checks this forum; if he finds out people are selling his materials, he will get lawyers involved and he may stop his program.
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oh no, am just thinking about getting dr Colin help.
 
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jung1 said:
What does copyright laws have anything to do with reselling a used guide?
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The company has people purchase the program as a package deal, and the materials are not eligible for resale, as discussed prior.

Farmercyst said:
Please be aware that the Collins study guides clearly state on the website that they are not for resale. It's part of the agreement signed on the original purchase form. Hence requests for or ads to sell these materials are being deleted when spotted.
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Oh, I see, just read it on the privacy statement. Hm, I've never seen anything like it. Interesting...

So if someone reuses the envelopes because they're frugal, are they breaking the Privacy Agreement? Or gives it to some kid to draw on, is that illegal distributing?

What about Fair Use Laws? Does that apply? The privacy agreement seems especially harsh. Is this law unconscionable?
 
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Pharmpills said:
Nothing is guarenteed I know people who took this course but still got 40's and 50's while some did make 80's and 90's. I know before the material use to be very similar to the actual PCAT tests but today the material is pretty different but it gives u good practice but just don't expect to pull off miracles. What helped me was taking upper level classes like microbio, Kaplan books, etc.
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Phrarmpills what score did u get? are u excepted already? I also found Dr.Collins not that well as people say here. It is very nice summary( like in textbook after each chapter, there very useful formulas and shortcuts, but the actual text was 80% different from dr.collins. Nothing personal, very good stuff, but I agree not for PCAT 2009 October and I assume not for January either. Eventhough, I am going to use it , I still reading what other people used for studying. I have Kaplan, started with it, found very interesting and slow explaining, but too many pages and too much extra stuff and very long problems and explanations and etc. My new strategy is to start with Kaplan 2009 book and read most of it, then move to Dr.Collins and add some other sources. I ignored the internet practice tests in October, but this time I will pay for it and will take them to feel good. what do you think?
 
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Does anyone who already purchased the Study Packet know if Dr. Collin has an update for the January PCAT? Please respond. This would be really helpful. Thanks.
 
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lx0xvxe said:
Does anyone who already purchased the Study Packet know if Dr. Collin has an update for the January PCAT? Please respond. This would be really helpful. Thanks.
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I suggest emailing Dr. Collins to find out....
 
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Congrats on your high score on the PCAT! Do you mind sharing your
educational background? I only have the prequisities so I don't know
if that's just enough knowledge to get a high score. I'm thinking of
taking Dr. Collins after being convinced by your discussion. I took Kaplan
and it didn't help me much. I was so overwhelmed by all the materials
they gave us to study. Yeah, biology was definitely an overkil!
When I took the actual PCAT exam, Kaplan's exam seems so much easier than the actual exam itself.:( I did really bad on my first exam and so, I cried. I promised myself that once I get into pharmacy school, I will
give back to my community because I'm finally a pharmacist and secondly, good gracious helping others feel good, and lastly, my dream has been finally reached.

Any advice would be helpful? :scared: I'm so stressed and tired.
 
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does the dr. collins chemistry give you step by step solutions to the problems or does it just list answers? because the one i have just lists answers. the math one i have has step by step solutions to problems.
 
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prepharm87 said:
does the dr. collins chemistry give you step by step solutions to the problems or does it just list answers? because the one i have just lists answers. the math one i have has step by step solutions to problems.
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Right after the index of the MC letter answers, it should have a section where it explains (I believe), how to arrive at the answer or points you towards what it taught itself.
 
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Pharmaniac said:
Right after the index of the MC letter answers, it should have a section where it explains (I believe), how to arrive at the answer or points you towards what it taught itself.
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the solutions don't tell me that A B C or D is the answer. some have a small sentence. others says "obvious". and some tell me to refer back to a page # for an explanation.
 
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prepharm87 said:
the solutions don't tell me that A B C or D is the answer. some have a small sentence. others says "obvious". and some tell me to refer back to a page # for an explanation.
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??? Isn't there a sheet with a chart of all the MC answers for the 9 tests?
 
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Pharmaniac said:
??? Isn't there a sheet with a chart of all the MC answers for the 9 tests?
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i have a sheet that gives answers but not all say for example 1. A 2.A 3.B etc etc. some gives a small explanation while others say 1. CU-12 which means to refer to that page for an explanation to that question. Is that the answer sheet you're talking about? that's the only sheet i have. 1 sheet per test.
 
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I think that it depends on the section. The Verbal section doesn't have an explanation with the answer key. The Quantitative section has a separate stapled packet of explanations for each exam. The Biology section has the answers with explanations stapled at the end of the exam. The Chemistry section has a separate stapled packet of explanations for each exam, much like the Quantitative section.
 
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prepharm87 said:
i have a sheet that gives answers but not all say for example 1. A 2.A 3.B etc etc. some gives a small explanation while others say 1. CU-12 which means to refer to that page for an explanation to that question. Is that the answer sheet you're talking about? that's the only sheet i have. 1 sheet per test.
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Yes that's right but there should be just 1 sheet saying all the letter answers for all the tests... Maybe you don't have it? Or just look for it again it's a table.
 
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i double checked. i don't have the table. the only one i have says "solutions for test #, note that cu-xx refers you to the chem units, page xx, for an explanation"
 
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Moni526 said:
Dr. Collins has very strict copyright rules and he frequently checks this forum; if he finds out people are selling his materials, he will get lawyers involved and he may stop his program.
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I'm sorry, I just had to chuckle at this comment. I seriously doubt he would stop his program because a few people selling a copy, that they bought, to other broke college students. It just wouldn't make any sense to discontinue a program that is making tons of extra money.
 
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MaximBrutii said:
I'm sorry, I just had to chuckle at this comment. I seriously doubt he would stop his program because a few people selling a copy, that they bought, to other broke college students. It just wouldn't make any sense to discontinue a program that is making tons of extra money.
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:thumbup:
 
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I would recommend the notes to anyone, i bought these notes in august, studied only them for 2 months (no kaplan, no princeton etc.) just dr. collin's notes and got a 93 composite. It's definitely the most concise set of material around. Thanks to these notes I landed an interview at UF pharm! PM me if you have questions!
 
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Dr. Collins is worth every penny. I got a 37 on my first PCAT ( i did not prepare, and was in the er with my almost 2 year old the night before)
But---- I bought the material 2 weeks before I took my next PCAT and I studied every bit of material- I made a 85. High science, low reading. I owe it to Dr Collins!!!
 
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How soon should we order Dr. Collin's material? I mean how much time prior to the exam? I think he gets his material updated frequently so I think we should get it very close to the exam date. Let say if we take August PCAT then we should get it somewhere in May-June?
Does it make sense?
I don't really know. Please advise. Thanks.
 
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Dr. Collins Study Guide is extremely helpful. It helped me a lot. I took the pcat three times. My composite score for August was 24. It was 31 for October. Then, I decided to purchase the material and I got 86 composite for January. So anyone who is going to be taking the pcat eventually should definitely consider Dr. Collins Study Guide. It is a great investment.

Chemistry 449 95
Quantitative Ability 438 91
Reading Comprehension 375 12
Biology 429 87
Verbal Ability 432 89
Composite 425 86
 
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I scored in the 99th percentile using Dr. Collins' material. I started studying 2 months before taking the exam while working full-time and taking 18 credit hours in an MBA program, so I was only able to spend an hour a day. IMHO, it is a MUST have if you want a great PCAT score.
 
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First time taking the test and I scored in the 96th percentile. I did everything in Dr. Collin's package until I got 100% on all the practice exams and learned all the material provided. I think its worth the purchase. I studied for a month, averaging around 4 hours a day on weekdays and little more on the weekends.
 
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I took the pcat twice. Did bad the first time. Studied 10x as hard the next time, and did even worse. I've convinced myself to buy this package now.
 
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chemguy79 said:
I scored in the 99th percentile using Dr. Collins' material. I started studying 2 months before taking the exam while working full-time and taking 18 credit hours in an MBA program, so I was only able to spend an hour a day. IMHO, it is a MUST have if you want a great PCAT score.
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what is IMHO
 
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Hey guys, I'm planning on ordering Dr. Collins' material after I come home from school and work tonight, but I just wanted to make sure its worth its expensive price tag. I read through most of the thread, but there were several people stating that his material may not be as great anymore since the Pcat had its update. Can anyone who has taken the January 2010 Pcat comment on this?
I plan on taking the June Pcat and hope that his material would still be helpful.

I'll be looking forward to replies after coming home tonight! Thank you in advance!
 
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Scout01 said:
Hey guys, I'm planning on ordering Dr. Collins' material after I come home from school and work tonight, but I just wanted to make sure its worth its expensive price tag. I read through most of the thread, but there were several people stating that his material may not be as great anymore since the Pcat had its update. Can anyone who has taken the January 2010 Pcat comment on this?
I plan on taking the June Pcat and hope that his material would still be helpful.

I'll be looking forward to replies after coming home tonight! Thank you in advance!
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I took the January PCAT and i still say that Dr. Collins is still worth it. Just remember that the package is set up more as a review style rather than learning it from scratch. His material will definitly get you through the Chemistry, Quantative and Verbal sections. Just as long as you properly go through the package and take the practice tests and time them as if it were a real test. ANd if you don't know the answer, dont forget about it but learn how to do it so next time. The biology is beginning to lack in its usefullness and for RC, unless you expect the same articles on the Pcat, it still helps as he gives quite a few practice articles.
 
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Scout01 said:
Hey guys, I'm planning on ordering Dr. Collins' material after I come home from school and work tonight, but I just wanted to make sure its worth its expensive price tag. I read through most of the thread, but there were several people stating that his material may not be as great anymore since the Pcat had its update. Can anyone who has taken the January 2010 Pcat comment on this?
I plan on taking the June Pcat and hope that his material would still be helpful.

I'll be looking forward to replies after coming home tonight! Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

I took it in Jan (first timer too) and I'd reccommend Collin's material for sure.
 
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ok so I got the dr collins study material second hand from a friend of a friend. Its an older version and I know that geometry is no longer on the exam. So my question is, is trigonometry still on the exam?

This is the Quantitave Topics are:

working with fractions,working w Decimals, Logarithms, Sum of Interior Angles, Factorials, Triangles, Squares, Rectangles, circles, spheres, cylinders, tempertature conversions, exponentials, dimensioanl analysis, miscellaneous problems, basic trigonometry, elementary calculous, elementary statistics.

Aren't spheres and cylinders geometry?
 
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On my form of the exam that I took in January, there was a trig derivative that I had to solve (I was very surprised to see it, although I must have done it correctly since I scored a 499 on the Quantitative section). However, I don't remember seeing anything involving a trig identity.

In short ... You could see it.
 
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chemguy79 said:
On my form of the exam that I took in January, there was a trig derivative that I had to solve (I was very surprised to see it, although I must have done it correctly since I scored a 499 on the Quantitative section). However, I don't remember seeing anything involving a trig identity.

In short ... You could see it.
Click to expand...


But are some of the topics I mentioned from dr collins quantitative section geometry? Like the spheres and cylinders?
 
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i just received dr collin's self study guide, the vocabulary list is not much at all. is there another helpful source that i can use to broaden my vocabulary? thank you
 
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I'm wondering if it is worth it to take the Dr. Collins course. I'm in South Florida, so I could take the course in person or just buy the materials. Should I do Dr. Collins, or just review Kaplan and study class notes?
 
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