How to Approach Dr. Collins Material?

[smileyman22336]

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For those of you all taking the Sept 21st pcat like myself, there's 22 days left.

I am retaking it and do not want the score I got the first time, which was horrible!

With that said, I'm using Dr. Collins, but the thing is, I wonder how he does it in his class to teach students, because there are many practice tests and solutions to go through per section.

Should a practice test and solutions for the questions answered wrongly be done, up until the day of the test, then repeated? Or should more emphasis be on the review notes (considering the fact there's 22 days left).

I would like to have a certain schedule or routine instead of randomly picking what to do for the day. I need a sort of a plan, which is why I'm seeking help from those of you who excelled on the pcat using Dr. Collins material.

As for my results the first time, let's just say I didn't do better than a 50 on any section.

So I'd like to know how to most effectively utilize this study guide. Perhaps those of you who attended the actual class could also share some light, as well as those you who used Dr. Collins material (even if you didn't do so good on the pcat the first time)...

BTW if this post is a repeat, please just delete it.
Thanks!

 

[thesituation559]

I remember you posting you scored bad about 2 months ago. I'm wondering why you would wait so long to start studying? 22 days with dr collins is very little time. It's okay for someone who knows the material and just needs a review but not for someone who needs more than review.

With 22 days left I would just do the practice test. Good luck.

 

[chemguy79]

I remember you posting you scored bad about 2 months ago. I'm wondering why you would wait so long to start studying? 22 days with dr collins is very little time. It's okay for someone who knows the material and just needs a review but not for someone who needs more than review.

With 22 days left I would just do the practice test. Good luck.

Completely agree with this post. It's definitely possible to do well, but if you scored THAT poorly the first time and you're just NOW starting to use it, the past month has been a very inefficient use of your time.

 

[owlegrad]

To be fair, we don't know what he has been doing for the past month. Maybe he has used another study guide, or class notes, or whatever. No need for jumping to conclusions.

OP: I would focus on the practice tests, reviewing areas where I get a question wrong.

Good Luck!

 

[thesituation559]

To be fair, we don't know what he has been doing for the past month. Maybe he has used another study guide, or class notes, or whatever. No need for jumping to conclusions.

OP: I would focus on the practice tests, reviewing areas where I get a question wrong.

Good Luck!

He made another post a couple days ago stating is 30 days enough time to study.

Those kind of questions are ridicoulous to ask. I have been studying the past 2 months for it because I have needed to refresh a lot of material, and I still have one month left. It all depends on the person how much is enough time.

 

[smileyman22336]

I have been studying since I took the last pcat, every day for a minimum of 1 hour and maximum of 3. I haven't been procrastinating. With regards to the other post, I wanted to know if 30 days left was enough to study considering my past score. I like to know how to use this study guide to the maximum in these next 22 days...

 

[owlegrad]

He made another post a couple days ago stating is 30 days enough time to study.

Those kind of questions are ridicoulous to ask. I have been studying the past 2 months for it because I have needed to refresh a lot of material, and I still have one month left. It all depends on the person how much is enough time.

I don't disagree.

 

[thesituation559]

I have been studying since I took the last pcat, every day for a minimum of 1 hour and maximum of 3. I haven't been procrastinating. With regards to the other post, I wanted to know if 30 days left was enough to study considering my past score. I like to know how to use this study guide to the maximum in these next 22 days...

Okay well thats good that you have. To maxamize I would say go through the practice test and the questions you get wrong figure out WHY you missed them. You'll understand concepts more this way. Good luck man! I take it Sept 26th can't wait to get this over with!

 

[smileyman22336]

I have not looked at RC and Verbal as of yet...so I will need to start doing so.

I have done quantitative, biology, and chemistry.

Here's my stats as of yet:

Quantitative :
(for every question I would have guessed, I skipped it, keep this in mind):

Test 1: (this is the 2nd try, I did not record the first try):
score: 89.6, (5 wrong out of 52)

Test 2: score: 65.4, (18 wrong out of 52)

Test 3: score: 38, (32 wrong out of 52)

Test 4: score: 50, (26 wrong out of 52)


Chemistry:

Test 1: score: 38, (31 wrong out of 50)

Test 2: score: 52, (24 wrong out of 50)

I haven't done any retakes on these two exams. I've only done part 1 and reviewed the wrong answers. I am working on test 2's wrong answers tomorrow.

Biology:

Test 1: score: 54

Test 2: score: 65, (17 wrong out of 48)

Test 3: taken but grade not calculated as of yet...

Test 4: score: 85, (7 wrong out of 48)

Biology is the section where I have seen the most improvement. For each of the tests I have checked and reviewed all of the questions in which I answered incorrectly and now understand them...

I am planning on taking a pearson exam this upcoming weekend to see how I would do on the actual pcat.

So based on the information I've given you as of yet, what are your comments, and suggestions, and how do you feel I might do on the actual one?

Thanks! I will keep posting updates on this thread. 🙂

 

[chemguy79]

I have not looked at RC and Verbal as of yet...so I will need to start doing so.

I have done quantitative, biology, and chemistry.

Here's my stats as of yet:

Quantitative :
(for every question I would have guessed, I skipped it, keep this in mind):

Test 1: (this is the 2nd try, I did not record the first try):
score: 89.6, (5 wrong out of 52)

Test 2: score: 65.4, (18 wrong out of 52)

Test 3: score: 38, (32 wrong out of 52)

Test 4: score: 50, (26 wrong out of 52)


Chemistry:

Test 1: score: 38, (31 wrong out of 50)

Test 2: score: 52, (24 wrong out of 50)

I haven't done any retakes on these two exams. I've only done part 1 and reviewed the wrong answers. I am working on test 2's wrong answers tomorrow.

Biology:

Test 1: score: 54

Test 2: score: 65, (17 wrong out of 48)

Test 3: taken but grade not calculated as of yet...

Test 4: score: 85, (7 wrong out of 48)

Biology is the section where I have seen the most improvement. For each of the tests I have checked and reviewed all of the questions in which I answered incorrectly and now understand them...

I am planning on taking a pearson exam this upcoming weekend to see how I would do on the actual pcat.

So based on the information I've given you as of yet, what are your comments, and suggestions, and how do you feel I might do on the actual one?

Thanks! I will keep posting updates on this thread. 🙂

Take all of the exams and continue to review what you have missed.

Honestly, your scores aren't great on the practice exams, so it's important that you try to review the concepts that you're missing. Remember, it's the concepts that you should be confident about, not necessarily getting the questions correct since you may not see the EXACT question on the actual PCAT.

 

[Lid04pp1]

I have not looked at RC and Verbal as of yet...so I will need to start doing so.

I have done quantitative, biology, and chemistry.

Here's my stats as of yet:

Quantitative :
(for every question I would have guessed, I skipped it, keep this in mind):

Test 1: (this is the 2nd try, I did not record the first try):
score: 89.6, (5 wrong out of 52)

Test 2: score: 65.4, (18 wrong out of 52)

Test 3: score: 38, (32 wrong out of 52)

Test 4: score: 50, (26 wrong out of 52)


Chemistry:

Test 1: score: 38, (31 wrong out of 50)

Test 2: score: 52, (24 wrong out of 50)

I haven't done any retakes on these two exams. I've only done part 1 and reviewed the wrong answers. I am working on test 2's wrong answers tomorrow.

Biology:

Test 1: score: 54

Test 2: score: 65, (17 wrong out of 48)

Test 3: taken but grade not calculated as of yet...

Test 4: score: 85, (7 wrong out of 48)

Biology is the section where I have seen the most improvement. For each of the tests I have checked and reviewed all of the questions in which I answered incorrectly and now understand them...

I am planning on taking a pearson exam this upcoming weekend to see how I would do on the actual pcat.

So based on the information I've given you as of yet, what are your comments, and suggestions, and how do you feel I might do on the actual one?

Thanks! I will keep posting updates on this thread. 🙂

Did you time yourself? I think timing is important. I ran out of time doing my math section. Good luck 🙂

 

[Rxboy3]

i did all of collins' stuff 3 weeks before the start of the test and i did extremely well on the actual test. mind you, i also used kaplans, barrons, and the 5 practice exams..

things were easier for me because i did very well on my undergrad courses so the science review was very light for me (scored a 99 on both the chem and bio). i tried to focus on the english areas of the test and those are make or break kind of sections.. kind of hard to study for them.

 

[chemguy79]

i did all of collins' stuff 3 weeks before the start of the test and i did extremely well on the actual test. mind you, i also used kaplans, barrons, and the 5 practice exams..

things were easier for me because i did very well on my undergrad courses so the science review was very light for me (scored a 99 on both the chem and bio). i tried to focus on the english areas of the test and those are make or break kind of sections.. kind of hard to study for them.

One key thing to know regarding Dr. Collins is that if you have taken all of the pre-reqs, you theoretically should be using Dr. Collins as a REVIEW of the material that you have already learned. I can surmise that the previous poster knew the material well because he/she scored well in the pre-reqs, so he/she scored 99 in the Bio and Chem sections on the PCAT.

However, if you haven't finished all of the pre-reqs and you're using a study guide like Dr. Collins to teach you the material, you aren't going to get nearly as much from the study guide.

 

[xtsukiyox]

No advice not already in the thread, but... daaang... Double rainbow all the way 'cross that post!