DAT achiever

aznhomieboi1689 said:

Hey guys,

I was wondering if DAT achiever is a good prep /practice thing to have? For those who have had it, I'd like some opinion, thanks!

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I'm taking the DAT tomorrow, but I think achiever is a pretty good resource overall. The bio section is too easy. It tests knowledge rather than emphasize useless detail, which I've been told is a huge component on the DAT. Chem is pretty decent, but heavy on the calculations sometimes. PAT is all right until it gets to TFE. The level of difficulty for TFE on achiever borders on the obnoxious. RC I didn't find to be too bad.

DAT achiever is challenging. I used it for sciences, QR and RC
the RC on achiever is like the real thing
QR is similar too
Sciences are tougher than real test.

I think if you have time, and have gone through all of topscore, then go for achiever, it's very good for letting you know what area of the test you need to work on. It is important to not get discouraged by achiever, rather use it to constructively assist you in your studies.

Good luck

I haven't really used it yet. But being able to take the FL tests that start with a Tutorial just like the real thing is truly impressive and helpful.

aznhomieboi1689 said:

Hey guys,

I was wondering if DAT achiever is a good prep /practice thing to have? For those who have had it, I'd like some opinion, thanks!

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Really tough and provoking that will make you study harder though.

CrabTree said:

I haven't really used it yet. But being able to take the FL tests that start with a Tutorial just like the real thing is truly impressive and helpful.

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Yes, the complete full length feature truly mimics the real test taking experience. You can actually write down some needful notes on the white board during the tutorial before the first test begins. Also, the option to have the program work directly on the Mac is another plus point for the Macbook users.

What about taking a subject test? Can I take just the Bio and Gen Chem sections without Org Chem showing up?

CrabTree said:

What about taking a subject test? Can I take just the Bio and Gen Chem sections without Org Chem showing up?

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yup

I was not a huge fan of achiever, so here is my pros/cons list:

Pros
I improved on almost every section on the real DAT from my first try
It provided full length practice tests, and any full length practice test are worth taking
Achiever QR was a good representation of actual QR
My RC score went up from a 16 to a 19 which I felt was huge (although I attribute this more to the easier version the second DAT and using SnD)
BIO was okay.
O-chem was pretty good, but had some questions that were way to hard.
It prepares you for the worst, and it makes you study more.

Cons
Overall, this was not an accurate representation of the DAT
Achiever the day before real DAT: 16/16/17
Real DAT: 20/19/21
I feel that a practice test should give you an idea of what you need to work on. When you score a 13-15 on every section it is not very helpful, and kills your confidence.
Most of the explanations were weak/incomplete
Gen Chem was over the top, they did not have any real difficult questions on the actual DAT
PAT was way too hard.
RC made me want to cry.
It must connect to the internet to verify the license. I would imagine that Topscore does this as well, but I do not know. I understand that they must do this so that we do not all email Achiever to one another, and then the company loses business. I had internet connectivity problems the day before my DAT and had trouble taking a practice test...very frustrating.

If you do use DAT achiever, try not to get discouraged. My chemistry and O-chem scores went up 6-8 points on the real exam from the achiever scores. It has been said by other people, but I would try Topscore first then try Achiever if you have time (I have not tried Topscore, but it sounds a little better than Achiever from other peoples posts). Also, I felt the free online practice test from the ADA was great, but you should get at least one of the computerized programs since the DAT is computerized.

erk005 said:

I was not a huge fan of achiever, so here is my


It must connect to the internet to verify the license. I would imagine that Topscore does this as well, but I do not know. I understand that they must do this so that we do not all email Achiever to one another, and then the company loses business. I had internet connectivity problems the day before my DAT and had trouble taking a practice test...very frustrating.

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I just want to correct this...

So DAT achiever downloads tests off the internet... so lets say you are using wifi and you get disconnected and you are unable to connect to the internet then the images on the dat achiever wont load. So what does this mean if you are unable to connect to the internet your test will still go on and you wont see all the pat problems and you wont be able to see some math problems. B/c achiever downloads images separately from the text. Why? That will save bandwidth and thus saving money. Achiever pat is hard in a sense when i first took it; it took at least 5-10 mins to load all the pat and some math problems. they do this b/c some people just take sciences so why waste it... so they do everything seperately **Experience

Topscore:
I dont think needs to connect to the internet... But the best part is all the 3 tests are already on your computer. you are just paying them to gain access to it. So no downloading of any sort all the questions are on a database file in your computer ... even if you lose your Internet in the middle or even the beginning it will still work. 100%

If you can afford it, get both. The more practice the better you'll do on test day.

Thank you guys for your valuable inputs. I'll be sure to feedback how things go once I'm through with my final. -- Cheers.

For me, Achiever did help a lot with a great testing experience. I got to take the FLs in extended timer mode for my DAT testing accommodation. The questions are tough, but I ended up studying harder and doing better on the real DAT.

I didn't use the Achiever and I did very well without it. However, I know of ppl who did use it and it was major help. For some of the subject areas it can be a bit over the top, but in general it's good to get as much practice as possible.

U can get the Achiever here as well as a compilation of other good DAT study resources:
http://sites.google.com/site/studentdocdds/my-reading-list

Practice is key. It'll get better, trust me.

KirinJ said:

For me, Achiever did help a lot with a great testing experience. I got to take the FLs in extended timer mode for my DAT testing accommodation. The questions are tough, but I ended up studying harder and doing better on the real DAT.

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What do you mean by "testing accommodation"? Is that some kind of special treat others won't get on the same DAT?

i heard that DAT achiever was not compatible with mac.
does it really work with mac? that would be great

WaxWing said:

What do you mean by "testing accommodation"? Is that some kind of special treat others won't get on the same DAT?

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It's meant for students with learning disabilities. On Topscore, I would have to turn off the timer and keep a watch on a separate clock. But on Achiever, I could simply select 1.5 of the normal test time and proceed with the FLs.

does new achiever only have 3 tests or you could do more since its online?

prsndwg said:

does new achiever only have 3 tests or you could do more since its online?

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I believe achiever has got only 3 complete tests at the moment. It should certainly add more tests to it anytime sooner ...

ivshow said:

i heard that DAT achiever was not compatible with mac.
does it really work with mac? that would be great

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It has not been compatible with mac for many years, but it is now. That really provides the ease and convenience to the growing number of students going for the fast, sleek, and reliable macbooks.

prsndwg said:

does new achiever only have 3 tests or you could do more since its online?

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yea they only give u 3 tests. I actually just finished the 1st one, and i got a 14 on RC !!!!! i'm not really an English person but i can usually pull an 18 on Kaplan and got a 20 on TS1 (which i heard it's a bit easiler than the real thing). This is such a major confidence hit, the passages were LONGGGG, i'm actually scared now. PAT was also a bit harder than Kaplan and TS in my opinion, especially the pattern folding. Other parts were fair though, overall i think it's good test prep.

witeteath said:

yea they only give u 3 tests. I actually just finished the 1st one, and i got a 14 on RC !!!!! i'm not really an English person but i can usually pull an 18 on Kaplan and got a 20 on TS1 (which i heard it's a bit easiler than the real thing). This is such a major confidence hit, the passages were LONGGGG, i'm actually scared now. PAT was also a bit harder than Kaplan and TS in my opinion, especially the pattern folding. Other parts were fair though, overall i think it's good test prep.

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their old version, before the internet was needed, had the easiest passages.. glad they made it a bit harder. Keep practicing them. Not sure what do you mean by longer PAT. That's impossible. 6 sections, 15 Qs each for a total of 90 Qs is what every PAT exam should have!

prsndwg said:

their old version, before the internet was needed, had the easiest passages.. glad they made it a bit harder. Keep practicing them. Not sure what do you mean by longer PAT. That's impossible. 6 sections, 15 Qs each for a total of 90 Qs is what every PAT exam should have!

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i didn't say the pat was long, i meant that the passages in RC were long, the PAT was just hard, actually only the pattern folding part, they have the most ridiculous mind twisting folds, but i guess it does prepare u for the worst...

RC passages can be as long as you would see on Achiever, but they are easier to read through on the real thing. I think the tone and inference questions from Achiever's RC are really helpful and invaluable for practice purpose. I had quite a number of these on my DAT.

Dat Achiever is worth the money...but helps to keep this stuff in mind...

Pros
Great study tool
Excellent for preparing you for the test format, timing, and procedure (the setup is almost identical)
Gives you an idea of your strengths and weaknesses
Is much more difficult than the DAT, making the actual DAT seem easy by comparison

Cons
Questions are very very difficult
Makes you want to kill yourself
Seeing the scores after taking the practice tests was unbelievably demoralizing, and the closest I have felt in my life to having a nervous breakdown

All that said...well worth the money, it makes you study harder, and by using the questions as indicators of the topics to review, you can really get yourself prepared for the dat.

The day before I took the dat, I took the last practice test and got (off the top of my head) ~ 15, 17, 19, 18, 16, 18. And the next day on the dat got 20, 21, 19, 21, 21, 25. That said, doing badly on the Achiever tests doesn't mean you will do well, but don't get down if your scores are low, it will make you study harder, and the DAT will seem easier by comparison.

Also, for what its worth, I considered Ochem to be my strongest subject, being my highest score (at 19) consistantly on the practice tests, however it was my lowest score (at 19 again) on the dat.

WiscoStudent said:

Dat Achiever is worth the money...but helps to keep this stuff in mind...

Pros
Great study tool
Excellent for preparing you for the test format, timing, and procedure (the setup is almost identical)
Gives you an idea of your strengths and weaknesses
Is much more difficult than the DAT, making the actual DAT seem easy by comparison

Cons
Questions are very very difficult
Makes you want to kill yourself
Seeing the scores after taking the practice tests was unbelievably demoralizing, and the closest I have felt in my life to having a nervous breakdown

All that said...well worth the money, it makes you study harder, and by using the questions as indicators of the topics to review, you can really get yourself prepared for the dat.

The day before I took the dat, I took the last practice test and got (off the top of my head) ~ 15, 17, 19, 18, 16, 18. And the next day on the dat got 20, 21, 19, 21, 21, 25. That said, doing badly on the Achiever tests doesn't mean you will do well, but don't get down if your scores are low, it will make you study harder, and the DAT will seem easier by comparison.

Also, for what its worth, I considered Ochem to be my strongest subject, being my highest score (at 19) consistantly on the practice tests, however it was my lowest score (at 19 again) on the dat.

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Well done, Wisco. Not sure what's going to happen as the DAT is deemed for changes starting this spring ...

witeteath said:

yea they only give u 3 tests. I actually just finished the 1st one, and i got a 14 on RC !!!!! i'm not really an English person but i can usually pull an 18 on Kaplan and got a 20 on TS1 (which i heard it's a bit easiler than the real thing). This is such a major confidence hit, the passages were LONGGGG, i'm actually scared now. PAT was also a bit harder than Kaplan and TS in my opinion, especially the pattern folding. Other parts were fair though, overall i think it's good test prep.

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I have been getting low scores on the RC too. I know those difficult questions in achiever are meant to prepare you for the worst. But, would they really help get you through the piano passage with decent RC score still?

Would I be set as far as study materials if I get the Kaplan review and the achiver? Or would I need something like Crack or destroyer. Any help is good.thnx

CrabTree said:

I have been getting low scores on the RC too. I know those difficult questions in achiever are meant to prepare you for the worst. But, would they really help get you through the piano passage with decent RC score still?

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Anyone has an answer to my question, pls?

alej1020 said:

Would I be set as far as study materials if I get the Kaplan review and the achiver? Or would I need something like Crack or destroyer. Any help is good.thnx

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I only bought Kaplan, achiever, and Crack (Pat and Math). That combo worked for me. I didn't feel deficient of practice material at all. I didn't get Topscore because someone told me it was too easy (I'm easily influenced). And I didn't get destroyer (I was looking through my friend's copy, and the bio section just looked too specific and pointless for me to study. The Chems looked fine, though. Regardless, I didn't waste my $150.).

CrabTree said:

I have been getting low scores on the RC too. I know those difficult questions in achiever are meant to prepare you for the worst. But, would they really help get you through the piano passage with decent RC score still?

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I was scoring low on achiever rc, and I ended up doing ok on the real rc. I didn't get pianoed, so I'm not exactly sure how much achiever will help for that passage. Ultimately, though, I'm sure that you'll be better prepared for it because you practiced with something as hard as achiever. If I only used Kaplan for rc, I probably wouldn't have gotten the score I did. BTW, don't freak out during the test if you see the piano. I have friends who have taken it and say it's overrated..

Thanks for the kind advice, uclaDDS101. English is not my first language, but will see if this would help me through.