talked to dr collins!
Started by sdpcat
LOL Exactly.
OP, did you expect him to say anything different? "Why yes, some students do miserably on the PCAT using my study guide. Sucks to be them!" *fiendish diabolical laughter ensues*
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I've just started noticing that myself. Do people give themselves no credit for their hard work?
I feel like they don't. A lot of people say "I owe it all to Collins!" I don't agree, even though I bought his packet. I used it as more of a review. It's funny the general chemistry I had reviewed in his packet was not in the test. Won't go into specifics of equations or problems as it's not allowed, but I could've ignored his whole Chemistry packet and performed the same in that section, same with RC. VA is the only thing that really stood out that he's great for.I've just started noticing that myself. Do people give themselves no credit for their hard work?
I think people retain more themselves over their individual undergraduate experience and the one's with high PCAT scores don't owe it all to Collins, but owe it to themselves.
I concur with this. Collins' bio was absolutely not helpful whatsoever for me there was maybe 3-4 questions that were *similar* to stuff I'd seen on his tests and even then they were stuff I knew prior to beginning my studying. Bottom line, if you are going to depend on Collins solely, you most likely are in for a rude awakening on the real thing. His packet is good for clarifying poorly worded PCAT questions that may or may not appear, but even then it also is extremely poorly edited and ambiguously explained. I swear by Collins but don't attribute my 99th percentile to his packet alone. I could have gotten high 90s easily without it. His stuff helped me get the few oddball questions that propelled me into the 99th.
So what would you suggest? I mean i got a 29% studying kaplan. So i need other options. I am retaking in january so i can get some organic chem under my belt this fall. I dont know i am just hopeful that Dr collins will bring me up to at least a 60%.
I think Collins may be more beneficial to certain types of students. Personally, I started my studying already having good prior knowledge on the biology information. If you have the money, I would definitely recommend Collins packet over anything else, period. Especially if you scored that low, you will most likely see a significant percentile increase.
That being said, I did have some qualms with the unprofessional way the packet was haphazardly thrown together and photocopied. Seemed like a faineant high school freshman could have done a better job at proofreading the many spelling, contextual and downright misleading errors.
My recommendation to you is to invest in the Collins packet, recycle any Kaplan stuff you have, go through all of Collins sub-tests timed and without any external aids. Afterwards make note of anything you do not understand and review it with textbooks, online sources et cetera. Also you should invest in all three Pearson practice exams and do likewise for each.
Hope this helps!
The packet does look very unprofessional. I even had some pages that were poorly printed and some that you couldn't even read... As much as I recommend Dr. Collins for helping me with the quantitative, chemistry, and verbal section, I personally thought it was odd how I found a large amount of the same exact questions on the Pearson practice exams. Most, if not all, of my reading passages seemed to be the same between Dr. Collins and Pearson's practice exams.
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Yeah im buying it regardless. I need something to help me man, i did terribly and know thats it's doable but i went in thinking i was the man and not taking any practice exams or anything. Well guess what that wasnt a great idea pcat won the first fight but ill be ready to go round 2!!!😉
Does anyone know if the updates are essential?
Like if i have an older model or year would I be missing out on a lot of new info?
Like if i have an older model or year would I be missing out on a lot of new info?
I would say that staying up to date with the PCAT is essential because it changes a lot. Within a year should be ok but just get Dr Collins latest version and go from there. I know it can be a bit harsh on the wallet but think of it as an investment.
Hope That helps.
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Hope That helps.
😱
Honestly, did you provide the time limit with any degree of proof or was it just a time that you made up?
My friend used my Dr. Collins from summer of 2009 for January's PCAT and scored 93rd percentile and other students who used my form of the packet scored in the 90s as well. The ONLY thing that is added are "updates"; The basic packet is the exact same. (I purchased another version of it from a poster on SDN to compare so I could find out if it did change at all. It didn't.)
Frankly, if you're going to randomly make up information, try to do it at a place where people can't call you on your "facts."
Dr. Collin's "updates" are ways for him to make money. In no way are they worth the $20.00 for a few pages of random material.
Agreed, completely.
However, EVERYONE bandies about getting the recent updates before each PCAT. His core packet is MORE than enough to put you in great shape for the PCAT.
I saw a lot of stuff from his recent update on my test. I wouldn't completely discount it, although I agree that you will still be in very good shape without the update.
