Dr. Collins vs. TopScore ...

[MaybePharmacist]

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Hi all. I got my results from the October PCAT a weeks ago, and I was pretty disappointed. I ended up with a composite score of 62 🙁 (even with the Kaplan couse! ... what a waste of $1,000!). Anyways, I was looking to invest in another prep course of sorts. I've read a lot of good things about the Dr. Collins study guide, but I also recently came across the TopScore study guide. There's a big difference between these two in terms of price ($300 vs. $50 ... unless I bought the Dr. Collins guide off of someone for $150-$200). I was wondering if anyone has used TopScore to prep for the PCAT (since it seems as though most people have used it for the DAT, although there's a PCAT version). If so, how helpful was it, what did you like/dislike about it, etc.? What I really need to improve on is my chemistry score, so if one of these guides is better in terms of preparing you for the chemistry section of the PCAT, then please let me know. *sigh* ... I really need to get my score up by at least 28 points in total (and my chemistry score even more!). Also, if anyone has any other suggestions about prep courses, I'm always open to new ideas. Thank you!

P.S. - Has anyone tried PCAT Destroyer?

 

[Kate921]

I did Dr Collins in class prep and it was my savior for my pcat score! My score went up 26 percentile points to a cumulative score of 97th percentile. They are all so knowledgeable and just sooo helpful!

 

[MaybePharmacist]

Thanks for your response Kate! Unfortunately, I live fairly far away from Florida, so I wouldn't be able to do Dr. Collin's in-class prep (which sounds very helpful). But, at the moment, I'm definitely leaning towards the Dr. Collin's study guide. I'm curious about how you felt regarding how well Dr. Collin's prepared you for the chemistry section of the PCAT (although, since you got a 97, I'm assuming you were pretty prepared for it 🙂). Anyways, any other opinions/suggestions/advice are welcome!

 

[Kate921]

well his in class prep is basically just them going over his packet materials out loud and you can field questions but if you just do the self study you can email any questions and i think call too. The chemistry part of the course is very helpful mine went from 81 to 88. Its very straightforward and there are a TON of practice chemistory sections, more than any other of the sections included in the course. I think about 9 or so.

here's a breakdown of before and after for this course:

Verbal 51 to 86
Bio 71 to 90
RC 68 to 99
Quant 69 to 88
Chem 81 to 88
Overall 71 to 97

 

[Pharmaniac]

well his in class prep is basically just them going over his packet materials out loud and you can field questions but if you just do the self study you can email any questions and i think call too. The chemistry part of the course is very helpful mine went from 81 to 88. Its very straightforward and there are a TON of practice chemistory sections, more than any other of the sections included in the course. I think about 9 or so.

here's a breakdown of before and after for this course:

Verbal 51 to 86
Bio 71 to 90
RC 68 to 99
Quant 69 to 88
Chem 81 to 88
Overall 71 to 97

Wow, how do u bring up ur verbal and RC by THAT MUCH 😱😱😱

 

[MaybePharmacist]

Those are definitely impressive scores! I wish my chemistry score was as high as yours before you did the Dr. Collin's prep class! Unfortunately, in my case, verbal and reading comprehension were my two highest scores (86 and 75, respectively), which is probably the reason why I got a composite of 62 at all (otherwise, if they had been as low as my other scores, I would have scored in the 40s-50s 🙁). I probably need to raise my chemistry score by at least 50 points (if that gives you any idea about how badly I scored in that section). I'm definitely going to get the Dr. Collin's self-study course, but can anyone recommend an additional book (or anything) for chemistry? Thanks!

 

[Kate921]

ha i dunno how they all went up so much. I literally did not do anything more than go to the classes adn then two days before the pcat i read over all the packets again and did te practice questions...collins materials are just that good i guess!

 

[Pharmaniac]

ha i dunno how they all went up so much. I literally did not do anything more than go to the classes adn then two days before the pcat i read over all the packets again and did te practice questions...collins materials are just that good i guess!

Okay, well I mean the RC is more of a personal thing. What steps/strategies did u take to do well? Anything that u share would be GREATLY appreciated (lol i got 55 in oct pcat in RC EWWWWW😡)

 

[LLna1016]

Those are definitely impressive scores! I wish my chemistry score was as high as yours before you did the Dr. Collin's prep class! Unfortunately, in my case, verbal and reading comprehension were my two highest scores (86 and 75, respectively), which is probably the reason why I got a composite of 62 at all (otherwise, if they had been as low as my other scores, I would have scored in the 40s-50s 🙁). I probably need to raise my chemistry score by at least 50 points (if that gives you any idea about how badly I scored in that section). I'm definitely going to get the Dr. Collin's self-study course, but can anyone recommend an additional book (or anything) for chemistry? Thanks!

I wonder if you are having difficulity with Organic Chem? If that is your problem, it would be really hard to master the chem section in one month since Ochem takes a longer time to digest and understand. Otherwise, Kaplan's science review notes have a detailed review for all the knowledge needed for chem.
Good luck~

 

[helloeveryone]

Okay, well I mean the RC is more of a personal thing. What steps/strategies did u take to do well? Anything that u share would be GREATLY appreciated (lol i got 55 in oct pcat in RC EWWWWW😡)

Aw, Don't panic pharmaniac. 55 RC is not THAT bad. I know ppl who got as low as 13!!! So there is hope 🙂

 

[MaybePharmacist]

I wonder if you are having difficulity with Organic Chem? If that is your problem, it would be really hard to master the chem section in one month since Ochem takes a longer time to digest and understand. Otherwise, Kaplan's science review notes have a detailed review for all the knowledge needed for chem.
Good luck~

lol yes I am definitely having issues with chemistry. I've gotten good grades in all of my biology classes, but let's just say that my chemistry grades haven't been as impressive. I really think it's as if I have a mental block towards that subject. Anyways, I'm going to get my hands on the Dr. Collins study guide soon and I still have all of my Kaplan materials, so hopefully my score will go up if I study from those for about 5 weeks. If not, there's always the next test, which will give me a couple of months to study. We'll see how it turns out. Thanks for the luck! 🙂

 

[Pharmaniac]

Aw, Don't panic pharmaniac. 55 RC is not THAT bad. I know ppl who got as low as 13!!! So there is hope 🙂

lol, wow. Ya there obviously is hope to do REALLY GOOD in Jan., right helloeveryone?

 

[ufpharm0111]

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[UyenRita]

I agree, without the Dr. Collins notes I would not have succeeded at doing well on the PCAT. In comparison to Kaplan prep/Princeton - Dr. Collin's notes were amazing and concise. They stated just what you need to know for the exam, nothing more, nothing less.

I'd say that the verbal material helped the most for my exam, overall i got a 94 on the pcat. If you have questions I'd be happy to answer them!

When did you take the exam? and how much time did you put for the prep?
Much appreciate your sharing.

 

[UyenRita]

here's a breakdown of before and after for this course:

Verbal 51 to 86
Bio 71 to 90
RC 68 to 99
Quant 69 to 88
Chem 81 to 88
Overall 71 to 97

Kate👍, to tell you the truth, I did say "WOW" out loud when i read these scores of yours even though I was in the library...!! and yea, WOW, is Dr. Collins materials helped you that much??? anything else you have used other than Dr. Collins? And how much time did you put for your prep?
Much appreciate your sharing.