DAT done 7/31/10

humbody77 said:

hmm so i guess i didn't realize how rare my scores were. i probably should have researched on this forum more, but like i said, not applying for awhile, so i'm just starting to get knowledgeable about this stuff

anyways i can't sleep so i'm gonna look up my kaplan scores for toothfairy:

bio/Gchem/OChem/PAT/RC/QR/TS/AA
Kaplan MT: 29/21/25/28/25/21/25/24
Kaplan FL 1: 19/23/25/25/25/26/22/24
Kaplan FL 2: 26/24/20/26/23/25/24/24
Kaplan FL 3: 26/18/19/25/26/24/22/23
Kaplan Final: 26/23/28/25/21/26/26/25

To Casper: I currently tutor OChem at UC Berkels, so i didn't have to study much for that section. I used to tutor GChem too, but I was having a lot of trouble with the speed for GChem (when i was still doing kaplan online stuff), i used to sit there for a minute before knowing what calculation to do. So I broke up destroyer into 30 question chunks and only let myself have 45 minutes per chunk. The second time I went through it straight, all 242 questions in one chunk. With the bio section I think my major (molecular cell biology) helped a lot. because honestly it's the background of having taken so many biology centered classes that things are so ingrained in my head that I was able to reason through tough questions. If I wasn't a science major i would have probably read campbell's entirely, because that's about the knowledge most bio majors accumulate during their undergrad

hope that helps, sorry if it doesn't. I'm not very good at giving broad sweeping generalized advice.

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lippy104 said:

Lol what are you talking about you didn't know how rare your scores are, you're in the 100th percentile for AA, TS, and Bio and above 99% for almost every other section. You would think somebody who was smart enough to get such amazing scores would be able to figure this out.

Not trying to sound bitter, just thought this was funny. Congrats.

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ramseszerg said:

What is wrong with you? You probably would've gotten similar scores no matter how you prepared. Maybe you should do cancer research or something instead. haha congratulations.

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humbody77 said:

Took me awhile to post this, but I've been celebrating and enjoying my summer (i'm not applying till next cycle so once i finished i stopped thinking about dent school/DATs and joined the rest of the world) anyways here are my scores:

Bio: 30 (100.0)
GChem: 29 (99.9)
OChem: 28 (99.5)
PA: 26 (99.5)
RC: 25 (99.5)
QR: 22 (98.7)
TS: 30 (100.0)
AA: 27 (100.0)

told a few people and they flipped out about my scores. So i started realizing they're pretty good. I'm quite happy.

Anyways here's my studying plan for those who are interested:

So basically I studied from June 10th-ish until my test. I started reading the KBB before that but i was also out of the country so it was really relaxed studying. During the Kaplan course (lasted till mid july) I spent 6 hours a day studying in 3 hour chunks (mostly reading KBB and doing other stuff to follow along with the class). Last 2.5 weeks before my test I did a weekly schedule of: test, review, test, review, test, review, "day off" so that i ended up taking a test every other day.

After taking a test I would take a 2 hour break then review the stuff I got wrong, make flashcards for bio etc. Review days were pretty hardcore 8-12 studying, 12-2 break, 2-6 studying, 6-8 break, and 8-10 studying, sleep by 11. My "days off" i was supposed to do other stuff to prevent burn out but i just took it easier those days (like only half a day of studying)

I'm a big believer in the psychology principles of preparing/studying in environments and situations that you test in, so I woke up around 7 each day and took my practice tests at 8 am and my alternating schedule resulted in me taking a test on the three saturdays before my actual test. I wore pretty much the same outfit for every test: leggings, shirt, hoodie. Basically comfy stuff and kept my hair tied up. Maybe it's superstition???

So I took a Kaplan course (I don't know why people bash Kaplan so much, I guess it's hit and miss cause the teacher I had was pro, not only in teaching the subjects but just preparing us mentally for the test so we wouldn't be surprised) Online resources were really good, what was nice was the 5 full-length tests they included. Overall a pretty decent package of our instructor and the practice problems.

Used destroyer starting the day after I finished the Kaplan course, went through GChem and OChem twice (the second time through I did during the week leading up to my test) I really liked it, very broad and good explanations. Went through Bio only once because ran out of time.

Used Math Destroyer, very helpful because it's divided into 40 question tests so you can practice your timing (which was what i needed to work on the most) only did the first 5 tests tho (they give you 11)

I was having trouble with GChem so I redid all the GChem Kaplan subject tests.

Oh yeah, i used CDP for PAT studying i really liked it, really clear explanations, i got the 10 test package. did all 10 and 1 random the day before my test. I think it's really important to not let yourself slack on PAT just because you think you've got it. it's really a thinking style that you need to keep fresh. HATE angles tho, also on CDP cube counting makes my head spin

So I ended up taking 5 Kaplan Full-lengths and 3 Achiever Full-lengths. I thought Achiever was crazy hard sometimes but I knew it was supposed to be. Their RC is especially long. The best part about Achiever was their customer service. My Achiever wasn't working/opening on my computer (even tho it was fine the day before) so I emailed the support guy and he CALLED me to help me troubleshoot. I was so impressed that he cared so much.

Anyways I'm home so i don't have access to my list of scores that I got on all my practice tests, but if there are requests I can post them up in a few days when i go back.

I hope that helps someone out there. I had some trouble planning out when to study what and what to use. So i perused SDN like no other and asked my Kaplan teacher for advice. I thought it'd be nice for people to see another study plan. Let me know if i was unclear or you'd like more detail/advice. I don't know how much I can help, I just did what I know is good for me.

ALSO i don't plan to scan my score report. If you don't believe me I don't care hatuhs gon' hate

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spoog74 said:

yeah right bro, cause u only get a nice white paper stating your scores and your percentiles and you're either obviously too stupid to realize that 100 % means 100 percentile or ur just being cocky and obnoxious.


Anyways, amazing scores congratz

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Tyrangiel said:

You guys realize this thread is a year old right? Not that his advice isn't relative still but.

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