DAT Done (3/3/13) with Breakdown

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xatlasb

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Hey everyone,

First off I want to say thanks to everyone who may have helped me, whether it was just a word of encouragement that I read or the numerous breakdowns I've seen, they really did help. I wanted to give back to the community with a break down of my own.

Scores
PAT: 21 (89.2)
QR: 20 (95.1)
RC: 24 (98.0)
Bio: 23 (98.9)
GC: 25 (98.9)
OC: 25 (98.9)
TS: 24 (99.7)
AA: 23 (99.7)

First off I want to write about the experience, since it's still fresh in my mind. My test was at 7:30 am, and I woke up at 5:15 am and got there at 6:30, and they let me start early at 6:45. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking during the fingerprint part, and the lady told me to try and calm down and that everything would be alright.
So the they open the test and I set up my PAT stuff during the tutorial and wrote down any chem formulas that came to my mind, and with 2 min to go on the tutorial, I clicked the start button.

Bio: Bio turned out to be a lot easier than I was expecting. Especially after doing achiever tests, I was most worried about this part of the test, considering how random it could be. I marked at least 5 of them, but overall went well.

GC: This turned out to be so much easier than I was expecting! I was getting stressed about the calculations, but turned out there were only a few and it just felt really easy.

OC: Was also worried about this, but turned out I got easy questions, I think? Nothing too complicated, nothing too crazy, and it went really well.

I finished SNS with 20 min to spare, so just went over all my marked questions and prepared myself for PAT.

PAT: This probably was on the same level as CDP. I was really worried that it was going to be Achiever hard, but it wasn't that bad. The angles were actually really easy (easier than both Achiever and CDP!) The keyholes were a bit hard, definitely had some proportions going on. TFE was challenging, but fair. Pattern folding seemed pretty do-able. I think I missed my points on keyholes mostly. Hole punches were a little tricky, there were some third folds. I was so nervous during this section that my ink on my board was getting smudged out since my palms were so sweaty.

Break: Took the break, went to the bathroom, brought a granola bar and a chocolate bar for energy, did some stretching, and got some water. Make sure you utilize this time, because it really does help.

RC: This was also a section that I was worried about. The only practice I did was on Achiever, and I did not score well on it. I guess I got easy passages or something, but it went really well. I was at 38 min after the first passage, and sped up my pace and finished with 3 minutes to spare.

QR: This was the section I was least worried about since it was the one that I always scored the highest on. I'm seriously shocked that this was my lowest score, and honestly a bit disappointed, but I can't complain about my scores as a whole.

When I finished the QR section, my heart IMMEDIATELY started pounding as it started to calculate the scores. I had to close my eyes cause I was so nervous, and then of course the survey popped up, which I got really frustrated with. I took it, but wasn't really reading the questions. And then the screen went white, and again, heart was POUNDING. So relieved with the scores that I got, took a lot of restrain not to scream/cry express any emotion when I saw them.

I think what's really important is to stay focused during the exam. Unfortunately, my room was pretty hot, and I had a sweater on, which had to stay on until the break. Just think about all the studying that you've done and know that it's going to pay off. I'm still having a hard time believing that I'm done with the test and that I got the scores that I got! I'm telling you, if I can do it, you can too!!


Study Materials


Bio: Cliffs AP Bio, Chad's videos, Alan's notes, Destroyer (1x). I didn't really start studying this section hardcore until the week of my exam. My biggest wake up call was when I was getting 14's on Achiever in Bio, and this is when I knew it was time to step up the game. I was honestly really focused on this part for the entire week, made TONS of flashcards, study sheets, anything I could to help me remember. I think that writing things out is what helps me, not writing on the computer, but by hand.

GC: Chad's (quizzes too), Destroyer (2x). These two resources should be more than enough to get you a high score! Took very detailed notes on Chad.

OC: Chad's (2x and quizzes), Destroyer (2x). Took VERY detailed notes both times while going through Chad's. I remember HATING stereo-chemistry when I took it last year, but Chad made it sooo much more understandable.

RC: Nothing, just the normal reading I have to do for school. Tried a bunch of strategies while doing Achiever and found the one that worked best for me. Guess it paid off.

QR: Math Destroyer. I did tests 1-9 and usually got 35 correct on average (got like 30-32 on the first 4 and then 35 on the remaining 5).

Practice Tests: Did Achiever 1-3. Those tests really beat me up and kind of brought my confidence down, but I knew that they weren't accurate of what the test was going to be like. I tried to use them as study references, and it paid off. The best thing about them was probably getting me mentally prepared to take the whole test. Also, the software is very similar (basically identical) to the actual exam. Would pick it over Topscore, even if I had a PC and could have had Topscore. I think it's best to train and practice on the worst case scenario. Also was deciding about doing the 2007/2009 ADA tests the week of, but decided against it, after doing the 3 Achiever tests the week before. I really wanted to hammer in Bio and just general review, and I think it was a good choice.

Overall: I'm so relieved this is over and that I don't have to re-take! I'm a bit annoyed knowing that if I had gotten 1 point higher on any section (math!) I'd have made a 24 AA (average came out to 23.4). Oh well, I honestly couldn't have asked for better scores! The SDN community inspired me so much and I'm really thankful for everyone's input and help! Confidence is key!

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It's definitely nerve wrecking waiting for the scores. Hahah, the good ol survey right before.

Those are awesome scores. Congrats.
 
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Congrats on killing the DAT! How similar was the DAT qr section to the qr of DAT destroyer? I'm most worried about this section. Did you happen to use qvault?

I've gotten an average of 19 on all the qvault qr tests, and struggle with completing the DAT Destroyer qr, math destroyer is pretty damn hard I think.
 
Congrats on killing the DAT! How similar was the DAT qr section to the qr of DAT destroyer? I'm most worried about this section. Did you happen to use qvault?

I've gotten an average of 19 on all the qvault qr tests, and struggle with completing the DAT Destroyer qr, math destroyer is pretty damn hard I think.
I actually never did any of the math section of the DAT destroyer, I only did Math Destroyer problems. Math destroyer was pretty challenging, especially completing the entire test in 45 minutes. The actual DAT wasn't that similar to Destroyer, there were a few questions that I'd never seen before (trig graphing), but I felt like it was do-able. Maybe I made some careless mistakes since its the last section and I was metally exhausted? I'm just surprised that I scored lower than on achiever... Guess achiever QR is easier then?
 
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