Is Dr Collins for Chem section is enough?

[Patel Amish]

Hello Everyone,
I am taking PCAT on July 21, 2016. So, the questions on the PCAT will be similar as Dr. Collins material?

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[atnguy13]

Hello Everyone,
I am taking PCAT on July 21, 2016. So, the questions on the PCAT will be similar as Dr. Collins material?

Dr. Collins material is based off of old exams. This upcoming PCAT on July 21st, the sciences are 40% passages in the science that is apart of your permanent score which was not at all before so I wouldn't completely rely on Dr. Collins and use Kaplan to practice passages

 

[Vdoll]

Hello Everyone,
I am taking PCAT on July 21, 2016. So, the questions on the PCAT will be similar as Dr. Collins material?

I am taking the PCAT on July 21st as well. I have been using Dr. Collins material (as well as Kaplan) but when I take the Pearson's practice tests it was way harder so idk if you should completely rely on Dr. Collins. Kaplan seems to be more detailed.

 

[atnguy13]

I am taking the PCAT on July 21st as well. I have been using Dr. Collins material (as well as Kaplan) but when I take the Pearson's practice tests it was way harder so idk if you should completely rely on Dr. Collins. Kaplan seems to be more detailed.

How are the Pearson's practice test like? Is there access to periodic table/calculator through the exam, is it easy navigate back and forth if you skip a question, things like that. I have no idea what the PCAT is going to look like, would like to get an idea. Also, did it have a lot of passage based questions in the sciences like the new blueprint says?

 

[futurepharmD103]

How are the Pearson's practice test like? Is there access to periodic table/calculator through the exam, is it easy navigate back and forth if you skip a question, things like that. I have no idea what the PCAT is going to look like, would like to get an idea. Also, did it have a lot of passage based questions in the sciences like the new blueprint says?

Hi! I think you answered my question about the calculator on the other thread. I have purchased the three Pearson practice tests and did two of them. There is no access to the periodic table/calculator, but they make a note that there will be an access to both on the real exam. It is fairly easy to navigate between problems using next/last buttons or something similiar to them. But in order to move from nonconsecutive problems such as 1 to 4, you have to pass other problems between them. If you want to go straight to a certain problem, you can go to "Review" page. Review page gives you a list of all the problems and shows you which ones you have answered/not answered. But I have been avoiding going through this page because it also shows you which questions are right/wrong even before you score your section. I'm not sure how the real PCAT will be. Finally, it seems to reflect the new changes very closely in terms of structure because the science sections contain several passages and the math sections many word-based problems as well. Hope this helps!

 

[atnguy13]

Hi! I think you answered my question about the calculator on the other thread. I have purchased the three Pearson practice tests and did two of them. There is no access to the periodic table/calculator, but they make a note that there will be an access to both on the real exam. It is fairly easy to navigate between problems using next/last buttons or something similiar to them. But in order to move from nonconsecutive problems such as 1 to 4, you have to pass other problems between them. If you want to go straight to a certain problem, you can go to "Review" page. Review page gives you a list of all the problems and shows you which ones you have answered/not answered. But I have been avoiding going through this page because it also shows you which questions are right/wrong even before you score your section. I'm not sure how the real PCAT will be. Finally, it seems to reflect the new changes very closely in terms of structure because the science sections contain several passages and the math sections many word-based problems as well. Hope this helps!

Thank you, this helps a lot! Since a lot of the science problems are passage based problems now is there a lot less chemistry math problems you see? and what type of organic chemistry problems do you see? As the new blueprint says there isn't going to be much nomenclature and I see that a lot of that in my Dr. Collins practice exams. What would you say chemistry portion is more heavily concentrated on?

 

[Vdoll]

Thank you, this helps a lot! Since a lot of the science problems are passage based problems now is there a lot less chemistry math problems you see? and what type of organic chemistry problems do you see? As the new blueprint says there isn't going to be much nomenclature and I see that a lot of that in my Dr. Collins practice exams. What would you say chemistry portion is more heavily concentrated on?

I think there was only one or two questions about nomenclature when I took the practice test. The rest heavily focus on acid/base reactions. Also there were a lot of questions about functional groups, like which molecule with this specific type of functional group would make a good electrophile/nucleophile or react well with this certain molecule. And also questions on which oxidizing/ reducing agent to use. I barely see any math problem thoughout the test, except for balancing equation.

 

[futurepharmD103]

I think there was only one or two questions about nomenclature when I took the practice test. The rest heavily focus on acid/base reactions. Also there were a lot of questions about functional groups, like which molecule with this specific type of functional group would make a good electrophile/nucleophile or react well with this certain molecule. And also questions on which oxidizing/ reducing agent to use. I barely see any math problem thoughout the test, except for balancing equation.

Which test did you take? I took 3 and 4.

 

[Vdoll]

Which test did you take? I took 3 and 4.

I took 1 and 2. What did 3 and 4 look like?

 

[futurepharmD103]

I took 1 and 2. What did 3 and 4 look like?

I'm sorry! There are only 5, 6, and 7 multiple choice test. I did 5 and 6, so they are probably the same as yours.

 

[Mxt1990]

I am starting to freak out.. I thought I was a rockstar when I was doing Dr Collins and took persons test today and sucked...

What are y'all thoughts? Dr. Collins isn't a good reflection on the new updated exam

 

[aar44]

Have anyone used PCAT Destroyer? I don't think you should use Dr. Collins. I bought it back in 2012 and notice how it was not sufficient to pass the PCAT alone. Kaplan is alright guide but I will also use Princeton review as well(their review is detail than Kaplan).

 

[futurepharmD103]

I am starting to freak out.. I thought I was a rockstar when I was doing Dr Collins and took persons test today and sucked...

What are y'all thoughts? Dr. Collins isn't a good reflection on the new updated exam

I actually missed less questions on the Pearson tests...~10 questions per section. How many did you miss? This was good for me because I used to miss even more on Dr. Collins. I think the questions from Dr. Collins are more straightforward and simple. The passages are definitely a lot more difficult on the Pearson.

 

[Mxt1990]

I actually missed less questions on the Pearson tests...~10 questions per section. How many did you miss? This was good for me because I used to miss even more on Dr. Collins. I think the questions from Dr. Collins are more straightforward and simple. The passages are definitely a lot more difficult on the Pearson.

The stand alone ones are fine.. It's the passage based ones that are a problem. How are you approaching those type of questions?

 

[futurepharmD103]

I'm not sure if this is the best way, but I quickly skim the paragraph first. Then once I read each question, I go back to the passage to look for the answer. For some passage-based questions on Pearson, I didn't even have to read any text but just the reactions and structures. How about you? I'm really nervous about the test since no one really knows what to expect on the new exam.

 

[futurepharmD103]

The stand alone ones are fine.. It's the passage based ones that are a problem. How are you approaching those type of questions?

I'm not sure if this is the best way, but I quickly skim the paragraph first. Then once I read each question, I go back to the passage to look for the answer. For some passage-based questions on Pearson, I didn't even have to read any text but just the reactions and structures. How about you? I'm really nervous about the test since no one really knows what to expect on the new exam.

 

[Mxt1990]

I'm not sure if this is the best way, but I quickly skim the paragraph first. Then once I read each question, I go back to the passage to look for the answer. For some passage-based questions on Pearson, I didn't even have to read any text but just the reactions and structures. How about you? I'm really nervous about the test since no one really knows what to expect on the new exam.

I tried to first answer the question as if it was a stand alone question and then I look in the passage for support of my answer...I'm not sure if that's the best way either..
I am nervous too. I thought about pushing it back to Sept, but hey, maybe they might cut us slack since we're the first group taking the new exam (fingers crossed)