ti89titanium
07-03-2009, 06:05 PM
Hey Everyone! I took my DATs 6/19 and thought I'd share my experience about prepping/taking it.
PAT 21
QR 21
RC 24
BIO 22
GC 25
OC 30
TS 25
AA 24
Study Materials used:
DAT DESTROYER
DAT ACHIEVER
TOPSCORE
CDP
PRINCETON REVIEW MCAT HYPERLEARNING TEXTBOOK
Also read a couple chapters out of Cliffs AP Bio and Kaplan BB
PAT: Used CDP. Did all 10 practice tests. Was averaging 23-25. The actual test was similar to CDP, but I got nervous during the test. Otherwise, CDP is a good indicator of how well you'll do.
QR: I've always felt comfortable with math. Went over DAT destroyer to familiarize myself stats and permutations.
RC: Search and Destroy worked like a charm. English is my second language so the verbal sections have always been my weak point. On my DAT, there was very little inference/tone questions about the passage; just straight forward answers written there CLEARLY in the passage. Took 1 test on TS and got a RC, got a 25, so I just ran with it.
BIO: Read Princeton Review. GREAT book to learn basic concepts. I used it to study when I first took the MCATs when I was still premed, and got a 14 on the section. However, there are topics not covered in this book that require additional sources to supplement.
KAPLAN BLUE BOOK for Ecology and Biodiversity (as an intro)
Cliffs AP Bio Book for Biodiversity and Plants (to fill in the details not covered in KBB)
TS, DESTROYER, ACHIEVER: Made flashcards for those random, unfamiliar questions
GC: Princeton Review Hyperlearning Text for concepts. Again, GREAT book. Got a 13 on physical science section of MCATs, which test heavily on concepts, using this book alone.
Went through Destroyer 3 times. I found using a calculator was helpful. Why waste time on crunching numbers. The importance lies in understanding the methods used to derive the answer. Actual test was very simple.
OC: Princeton Review Hyperlearning for concepts. However, greatest help on this section was definitely DAT DESTROYER. Went through it 3 times. Made flashcards for all the roadmaps + random reactions I didn't know. The actual test was very simple.
Thanks for everyone on the forums. As people have pointed out, you have to consult different resources to adequately prepare for the DAT. The difficult part is knowing which ones, but thanks to SDN, I was available to utilize them most efficiently. All in all, studied a couple months, about 3-4 hrs a day.
PAT 21
QR 21
RC 24
BIO 22
GC 25
OC 30
TS 25
AA 24
Study Materials used:
DAT DESTROYER
DAT ACHIEVER
TOPSCORE
CDP
PRINCETON REVIEW MCAT HYPERLEARNING TEXTBOOK
Also read a couple chapters out of Cliffs AP Bio and Kaplan BB
PAT: Used CDP. Did all 10 practice tests. Was averaging 23-25. The actual test was similar to CDP, but I got nervous during the test. Otherwise, CDP is a good indicator of how well you'll do.
QR: I've always felt comfortable with math. Went over DAT destroyer to familiarize myself stats and permutations.
RC: Search and Destroy worked like a charm. English is my second language so the verbal sections have always been my weak point. On my DAT, there was very little inference/tone questions about the passage; just straight forward answers written there CLEARLY in the passage. Took 1 test on TS and got a RC, got a 25, so I just ran with it.
BIO: Read Princeton Review. GREAT book to learn basic concepts. I used it to study when I first took the MCATs when I was still premed, and got a 14 on the section. However, there are topics not covered in this book that require additional sources to supplement.
KAPLAN BLUE BOOK for Ecology and Biodiversity (as an intro)
Cliffs AP Bio Book for Biodiversity and Plants (to fill in the details not covered in KBB)
TS, DESTROYER, ACHIEVER: Made flashcards for those random, unfamiliar questions
GC: Princeton Review Hyperlearning Text for concepts. Again, GREAT book. Got a 13 on physical science section of MCATs, which test heavily on concepts, using this book alone.
Went through Destroyer 3 times. I found using a calculator was helpful. Why waste time on crunching numbers. The importance lies in understanding the methods used to derive the answer. Actual test was very simple.
OC: Princeton Review Hyperlearning for concepts. However, greatest help on this section was definitely DAT DESTROYER. Went through it 3 times. Made flashcards for all the roadmaps + random reactions I didn't know. The actual test was very simple.
Thanks for everyone on the forums. As people have pointed out, you have to consult different resources to adequately prepare for the DAT. The difficult part is knowing which ones, but thanks to SDN, I was available to utilize them most efficiently. All in all, studied a couple months, about 3-4 hrs a day.