Praise for the "Dr. Collins" guide ... and in need of some advice

[MaybePharmacist]

Hi everyone! Well, I took the January PCAT and received my score a few days ago. First of all, this was my 2nd time taking the PCAT. The first time I took it (in October), I had enrolled in Kaplan's program. This, in my opinion, was a huge mistake. I believe I wasted around $1000 without getting much in return. My October scores were as follows: Verbal - 86, Biology - 54, Reading Comprehension - 75, Quantitative - 50, Chemistry - 32, Writing - 3 and 3, Composite - 62. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. After getting these scores, I decided to invest in the Dr. Collins guide because of the great things that I had heard about it. I spent about 4 weeks (my winter break) studying the Dr. Collins materials as follows: 2 weeks going through the chemistry packets and practice tests and 1 week each on the biology and quantitative packets. I studied around 3-4 hours per day. I didn't even bother opening the verbal and reading comprehension packets because I felt fairly confident about these sections already (this material comes fairly easily to me). I have to say that that month I spent studying was worth it. My January scores are as follows: Verbal - 92, Biology - 87, Reading Comprehension - 79, Quantitative - 70, Chemistry - 58, Writing - 3 and 3, Composite - 84. I know that the overall distribution of my scores isn't ideal, but I'm thrilled with my composite score. For anyone struggling with the biology, quantitative, or chemistry sections of the PCAT, I would advise you to spend the money on the Dr. Collins guide. It's worth every penny. However, I do have one concern: I'm worried about my chemistry score. Do you think it would be advisable for me to retake the PCAT to improve this score? For all of those who did well in the chemistry section (especially if chemistry isn't your strong point), what did you do? What study material did you use? I would appreciate any advice on improving my score (ideally, I would like for it to fall somewhere in the 70-80 region). However, I worry that I won't do as well overall if I take the PCAT again. So, its come down to risking my composite score/other section scores in order to raise my chemistry score. Oh, and I have one more question: Let's say I take the PCAT again (for the 3rd time), but I do worse than I did the 2nd time. Could I send my 2nd score to potential schools, or would I have to send the newest scores? Thank you so much for any advice! I really appreciate it!

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[annievu]

wow good question...i heard from some other threads where it depends on the school...some schools would take ur highest composite one, while some schools would take the latest one...so i would advise you to research on the schools you apply to...and good job on the bio section...wow ur score went up pretty high with dr. collin's study guide...my first time's chem section is 58 too...i guess the second time i take it, it should be higher (at least i hope so)...i studied off of Kaplan study guide every single formulas and concepts in there...and everything else is just lucks i guess...but since u have dr. collins, take advantage of it and go over more...

 

[myru0127]

I was enrolled in Kaplan course too, and it was so disappointing. Was your PCAT score lower than your diagnosis one? Because mine was lower and I got full-refund of the course! Even though I got the money back, but still it was waste of my time. I just bought Dr. Collin's note. I hope it can help me.
I have a question for you. How did you study for verbal, reading and even essay?

 

[snake3]

Hey guys,

Since you took the PCAt already, do the Collins practice tests resemble the real PCAt?

thanks

 

[CK8652]

Verbal - Study for verbal by memorizing all Dr. Collins examples in verbal section (about 2 pages worth). You'll get a 95% by having a pulse and these memorized (you'll actually see these exact ones on the test).

Reading - Use a pencil to guide your eyes when reading the paragraphs (it really does help). Do all the practice tests.

Essay - just use the tips and actually write a couple essays and evaluate yourself after your done.

 

[pch]

Hi everyone! Well, I took the January PCAT and received my score a few days ago. First of all, this was my 2nd time taking the PCAT. The first time I took it (in October), I had enrolled in Kaplan's program. This, in my opinion, was a huge mistake. I believe I wasted around $1000 without getting much in return. My October scores were as follows: Verbal - 86, Biology - 54, Reading Comprehension - 75, Quantitative - 50, Chemistry - 32, Writing - 3 and 3, Composite - 62. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. After getting these scores, I decided to invest in the Dr. Collins guide because of the great things that I had heard about it. I spent about 4 weeks (my winter break) studying the Dr. Collins materials as follows: 2 weeks going through the chemistry packets and practice tests and 1 week each on the biology and quantitative packets. I studied around 3-4 hours per day. I didn't even bother opening the verbal and reading comprehension packets because I felt fairly confident about these sections already (this material comes fairly easily to me). I have to say that that month I spent studying was worth it. My January scores are as follows: Verbal - 92, Biology - 87, Reading Comprehension - 79, Quantitative - 70, Chemistry - 58, Writing - 3 and 3, Composite - 84. I know that the overall distribution of my scores isn't ideal, but I'm thrilled with my composite score. For anyone struggling with the biology, quantitative, or chemistry sections of the PCAT, I would advise you to spend the money on the Dr. Collins guide. It's worth every penny. However, I do have one concern: I'm worried about my chemistry score. Do you think it would be advisable for me to retake the PCAT to improve this score? For all of those who did well in the chemistry section (especially if chemistry isn't your strong point), what did you do? What study material did you use? I would appreciate any advice on improving my score (ideally, I would like for it to fall somewhere in the 70-80 region). However, I worry that I won't do as well overall if I take the PCAT again. So, its come down to risking my composite score/other section scores in order to raise my chemistry score. Oh, and I have one more question: Let's say I take the PCAT again (for the 3rd time), but I do worse than I did the 2nd time. Could I send my 2nd score to potential schools, or would I have to send the newest scores? Thank you so much for any advice! I really appreciate it!

ok heres my idea. Don't listen to me completely bcuz i'm from canada and the requirements here are probablly different from where you live, but I would say don't bother writing it again. I mean, if your composite is above 80 and the only bad section is chemistry, its just not worth it. plus, what if worse comes to worse you score lower than 84 this time? so ya, thats just my opinion. hope that helps!

 

[MaybePharmacist]

Hi guys! Thanks for yor replies! To myru0127: Do you have any idea about how to get a refund from Kaplan? I thought that their policy was that if you aren't satisfied with your score, then you could re-enroll in one of their courses for free. To snake3: Yes, I thought that the Collins practice tests were quite similar to the actual PCAT in terms of the material covered and the difficulty of the questions presented. To pch: Don't the majority of schools focus specifically on how well you did on the chemistry section of the PCAT? I'm just worried that they'll see that score and think "wow ... how's she going to be come a pharmacist when she sucks at chemistry?" ... lol.

 

[pch]

Hi guys! Thanks for yor replies! To myru0127: Do you have any idea about how to get a refund from Kaplan? I thought that their policy was that if you aren't satisfied with your score, then you could re-enroll in one of their courses for free. To snake3: Yes, I thought that the Collins practice tests were quite similar to the actual PCAT in terms of the material covered and the difficulty of the questions presented. To pch: Don't the majority of schools focus specifically on how well you did on the chemistry section of the PCAT? I'm just worried that they'll see that score and think "wow ... how's she going to be come a pharmacist when she sucks at chemistry?" ... lol.

Speaking for UBC, I heard that they only look at your composite score. But of course if you and someone else had the same composite and your chemistry is a lot lower than theirs, they might offer the spot to that person instead. I think it really depends on whether you think you'll be able to do better. If you think you've done the best you could, then leave it. But if you think you can do a little better in chemistry, then take the exam again. hope this helps!