- Joined
- Apr 15, 2011
- Messages
- 33
- Reaction score
- 3
Overall GPA: 3.13 Science GPA: 3.15 BCP GPA: 3.18 (very upward trend with all GPA's and took post BA)
2011 DAT Scores........... 2012 DAT Scores
PAT - 25 (99.0%)............ 23 (94.7%)
QR - 21 (96.4%)............. 20 (88.3%)!!!!
RC - 22 (84.4%)............. 22 (85.9%)
BIO - 20 (88.0%)............ 21 (91.8%)
GC - 21 (87.0%)............. 25 (97.1%)
OC - 21 (85.7%).............. 22 (88.7%)…
TS - 21 (91.6%)............... 22 (94.8%)
AA - 21 (93.4%).............. 22 (95.7%)
Because my breakdown became very, very, very long, I broke it into two. There may be some redundancies, but whatever.
My dad once told me a wise man learns from his own mistakes, but a genius learns from other's mistakes. There could be a lot of useful points here in that regard.
First Time:
Materials by importance: Crack DAT PAT , Chad's Videos, Cliffs AP Biology (2nd Ed.), Math Destroyer, DAT Destroyer, Thinkwell Biology Lectures (Video), Campbell's Biology 2008, The Teaching Company Biology Lectures (Audio), Kaplan BB.
Practice Tests: Kaplan Blue Book, Kaplan online test, 2007 and 2009 ADA tests, and Achiever Tests.
Additional Material for round 2 by importance: Princeton's MCAT Chemistry, Cliffs AP Biology (3rd Ed.), OSU Free Online Organic Chemistry Flashcards, and Reaction Summaries from both McMurry and Vollhardt Organic Chemistry. I retook the Kaplan BB test too.
http://legacyweb.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/flashcards/
Quick Breakdown:
After almost 9 months since I took the DAT the first time, I studied for about a month. 4-6 hours a day for about two weeks, then 10 hours a day for one week. The week before the test, I studied 4 hours a day the first few days of the week, but took a full 3 days off right before the test. (See long breakdown for more)
PAT – Major point would be to have a strategy for each section, but if you run into trouble, don't be afraid to take a step back and improvise. Also, do not waste too much time on something you find very complicated. Mark it, guess, and move on.
QR – Math Destroyer was perfect for this. Take these tests fast and when you're fresh so you can retain more. Study for this section a bit before you take it. It will save you from bad habits and you'll do much better after the first few tests.
RC – Never studied for this except for practice tests and I used search and destroy. I got a 22, but I think as long as you're really amped before this section you'll do fine.
BIO – Instead of spending TONS of time and effort to get from a 21 to a 25 on this section, focus on GC and OC. You can get in the high 20's with the less effort than it would take to get one extra point in biology. People say this section is random and broad, but I think 36/40 questions are over the main concepts or facts you should know from Cliffs and other sources. 3/40 will be a stretch of a concept, it will sound complicated, but it will boil down to a concept or fact you know, and an application of that fact. Normally they'll set you up.
GC – Study MORE than biology. Know every type of problem and every way they can ask it. Memorize all the facts you should know. Even the oxidation states of certain elements. They only difference between the first time and second time I tested was Princeton MCAT. I thought it was great, even though when I was going through it nothing was blowing my mind. I think it's good because the test is more simple gen chem problems (not like Destroyer).
OC – Study MORE than biology. Memorize every reaction and important intermediates and do a lot of practice problems. If I could go back before I started studying again, I would repurchase Chad's organic chemistry videos and watch them again.
Main Tip: Don't do anything for 2-3 days before the test. Maybe some light review of notecards. Mainly, just try to have fun and get your mind off things. The more you enjoy yourself, the better you'll feel on test day, which makes all the difference. When the time comes, you'll remember everything you learned once the problem comes up. Even if you can't list every characteristic of a certain fungi off the top of your head, you will be able to pick it out.
LONG Breakdown:
I studied for about a month. 4-6 hours a day for about two weeks, then 10 hours a day for one week. The week before the exam, I studied 4 hours a day, but took a full 3 days off right before the test. When you know the material (especially when you have taken the test twice), you aren't going to forget anything essential. All the core material (to get 20+s) will be there and all you're doing is stressing yourself out. I went for bike rides, saw the Avengers (incredible), and enjoyed myself. The first time I took the DAT, I studied up until the morning of the test, and even when I was fried, I was forcing myself to recall things that would easily come to me on a test. I may have even taken an Achiever test the day before (not smart…. An M.D. friend told me that sometimes when he's been on vacation for a while and comes back, he is worried that he may be rusty or has forgotten a lot of stuff, but he said once he is presented with the symptoms, it all comes back. Don't forget this is multiple choice (lol).
PAT: This is my favorite section if I had to pick one. For the keyholes, use your judgment and make sure you rotate the object around encase certain, less-obvious faces might fit through. When you have two that you can't decide on, look for the differences between them and then compare to the object again. For top-front-end, practice makes perfect and eventually you will just start seeing the missing picture in your head and you will find your answer that much faster. With angles, I mainly use the hill method, but sometimes I just take a step back and try to use my best judgment. I've always thought about doing angles first and then skipping back to the beginning, but I never tried it. You may think it's a good idea to try. With hole-punches, I just work backwards. I think they're pretty easy and the only time you actually have to think is when there is a strange fold. If so, I usually unfold it once in my head without worrying about the hole. Once you've done enough, you'll get really good at it. For cube counting, I make a column 0-5 and put a tick by each one as I count the entire problem, and I always move in the same direction every time. For instance, start at the bottom left corner closest to you, then move backwards, then up to the next level of blocks, until you reach the top, then back down to the next row of cubes, if that makes sense. Then you'll have an easier time finding where you are if you lost your place, but really, you should be very mindful during the actual test and try not to autopilot any sections like you might do during practice tests. Lastly, pattern folding may seem intimidating but there is a great way that I tackle these problems. I've basically noticed a few ways that they try and trick the test taker. Instead of making this breakdown any more obnoxiously long, I'm going to just post a separate strategy.
QR: Memorize the trigonometry functions, the conversions, geometry formulas, and practice your probability. The equations at the beginning of math destroyer were helpful, but I looked up a few more. I'm going to attach some images of things I meant to write down before this section (later though, they are packed away). I had 10 seconds left after my break so I didn't have time, so I just figured I'd wing it (not the best idea).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIVpemcoAlY&feature=fvwrel
Quick Unit Circle Trick (Watch it once and you'll barely have to think about the unit circle when writing it out)
Also, I would get into a habit of writing down the equations you struggle with or don't feel like memorizing before you take each Math Destroyer test. Even if you're cheating. And use that cheat sheet while you're solving the problems. Eventually you'll only be writing down a handful of equations, or none. This is how I remembered all the trig formulas that I didn't feel like memorizing. Just writing them down every time was enough.
Oh yeah, and when practicing QR, use window's default calculator (basic settings), because it is almost identical to the one on the test. And try not to rely on it too much! It lags pretty bad and if you aren't familiar with lagging, play more online video games, lol. It has a square root function too, if that is worth mentioning.
One other thing, if you get a moderately simple probability/permutation/etc. question, instead of thinking too much about it, literally draw out what they are asking and try to find the answer. For instance, there are 4 paths from A to B, how many ways can a person walk from A to B without taking the same route back. Sounds like a 4!/2! = 12 permutation. That would get you there, or if you don't feel like thinking, its probably just as easy to write an A and four lines going to B and guiding your pen through every scenario, counting while you go. If that makes sense, you still quickly get to 12 routes in this example.
RC: This section is all about the person taking the test. Do you easily pick out words in crossword puzzles? You might be better at search and destroy then. If you're a speed reader, maybe read through the questions first and then move onto the passage. I read at a moderate pace, not fast, but not slow. I think a solid strategy is taking the first 30 seconds and just skim through the passage and grasp as much information as possible about what the paragraphs deal with, some names or terms that pop out, and then start going through the questions, marking the ones you can't find (but guess!) and coming back. Only spend 20 minutes on each passage. If the one that is taking forever is hard, the next one may be easy, and you might be able to get all the questions right with a full twenty minutes. When you're given a number, percentage, date or a region, look for an alternative version of it while you're looking. For instance, if a question asks you for a percentage and A.2 B. 10 C. 30 D. 40 E. 80 and you're skimming through the passage, there will only be a few places where there will be numbers, percentages, or statistics. You may see 95% somewhere, and say, damn, that's not it, but somewhere else a "two out of five" catches your eye, and you tell yourself, well that's 40%, let me read that line. Voilà! Answer D.
BIO: WARNING! You can make this section WAY more stressful than it has to be. I cannot stress this enough (no pun). I literally studied 1/3 of the amount I did last time, but instead of memorizing all these stupid random facts, I concentrated solely on the main concepts and it totally paid off. I would suggest reading through Cliff's once, then going back and making notes on Anki. I made notecards first and pretty much rewrote every sentence with blanks, which was a bad idea and a waste of time. Thinkwell Biology videos have been mentioned on here before, and they are helpful, though it is expensive. They may not be necessary if you have a strong biology background. I bought a bunch of those huge notecards (8.5 x 5.5 maybe… and on the blank side draw out each of the diagrams you need to know (respiration, photosynthesis, mitosis, protein synthesis, etc.) and use colored pens to help highlight important features. On the other side, write out a key for the diagram (if you used a red and purple pen to show active transport versus passive) and any other important facts. The more effort you put into it, the more it will help you. Make your own mneumonics or acronyms for memorizing. Funny is the best. Memory is very tied to emotion. I tried to stick to the sound rather than direct spelling. I liked my "Poor Ned Plates Newman's Rotisserie. Molly And Arthur Eat Corn" for "Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Rotifera. Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Chordata". This helped me remember the order in the table, and then I remembered things like "0,1,1, and the rest are 2" for gut openings, etc. Also, "P-MAT" for prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. For some reason, I always had trouble remembering the order, but not anymore lol.
Here are a few more….
"Morgan blasts gas" – Morula, blastula, gastrula
Alpha Cells – Glucagon (G closer to A in alphabet), Beta Cells – Insulin (I farther from A)
Adenine-Guanine – Purines (A-G = Ag (silver)) You want PURE Silver (Purines) and you want more silver rings (2 rings)…then of course Cytosine-Uracil-Thymine the Pyrimidines (CUT the Pie, one slice(ring) though, on a diet!)
…. I actually have a bunch of these but they are in my box of DAT stuff that I put away …. If a few people would like them I can get them later though….
GC: I wasn't expecting this section to be my best section, but I think that Princeton's MCAT Gen Chem made the difference for me. I went through it section by section, solving the problems and taking notes on important things that stood out, that maybe wasn't stated in Chad's videos. Then I followed that up with my notes from Chad's videos from the first time. I would take time to make an Anki deck for gen chem with very simple notecards for things like oxidation states for important elements (apparently I needed to know metalloids, not sure how I missed that). Honestly, if you know all the main things, and have done some practice, you'll be set. Destroyer was good practice, but definitely overkill. I went through Destroyer once after I reviewed Chad's notes, then a second time, but only for the questions I missed the first time.
OC: Buy completely blank notecards (front and back white, no lines, and cheapest!). They are great for writing a reaction down on one side, leaving out the products, and on the other side, writing down the reaction and leaving out the reagents or reactants. All the information is on the card, but both sides test your knowledge. I felt like I knew every reaction and most intermediates going in, as well as all the conceptual things, including lab techniques. I didn't study the biochemistry stuff as much, though I did the first time. I remember there not being any questions on that the first time, so I just made sure I knew the major stuff, just encase. I can go through the Destroyer and get almost every answer right in one evening, so I'm not sure what to think. If I took the test again I would either watch Chad's again, or find another source to study (maybe Princeton's MCAT Orgo?).
Overall opinion on the actual test after testing twice (sorry for redundancies…:
PAT: Time management is HUGE on test day, especially here. I didn't manage my time well like I did the first time I tested and on test day I spent too much time trying to figure out a couple hard keyhole problems, which caused me to have to do each hole-punch in 15 seconds and I had to count cubes in groups of threes. (1,3, and a 4 in that column, onto the next, 2,2, and a 5…. And so on.) I should have just guessed and marked, the second I felt like those key holes were too hard. I remember flying through keyhole the first time, and feeling very confident with my answers but this time I was frustrated. I felt like a lot of the pictures where very fuzzy or pixelated. There was one that was an amorphous blob of polygons and all I could think of was that they were trying to put one in there that everyone would miss, unless they made a lucky guess. I should have marked it immediately and moved on. But overall, Crack PAT is a great reflection of this section, and like I'll say in QR, don't waste time on a question you're having problems with, because chances are if you don't waste time, you'll have extra time at the end to try again, plus you'll get questions right you may not have if you were rushing.
QR: …………. I was very disappointed with this section. I specifically studied more than I did the first time, though I guess I didn't take as many practice tests (maybe 5 this time, versus 8 last time). Well, I maybe didn't study more, but I studied smarter and things that I was iffy with going in the first time, I knew very well this time. When I got to the test, I was excited to have gotten a trig problem that I thought I could figure out. I think I spent 3 minutes on that problem and I should have just marked it. Once I got to the end I had 2 minutes left and 4 problems, and when I flipped through the problems to see which ones I had the best shot at finishing and getting them right, they were all equally simple, but needed time to write out the work. Instead of getting 1 wrong and 4 right, I got 5 wrong (worst case scenerio). The moral of the story is that this section is NOT hard; it's all about time management. There may be 1-2 iffy questions, and all the rest are solvable. I remember reading a great strategy for this section that I'll repeat here (but didn't use, and should have…. Go through all of the problems and solve the simplest ones first, like the basic algebra problems. The ones set up for you. Mark and randomly guess the harder/longer ones (words problems, trig problems, geometry, probability). Make sure you mark AND guess, so encase you don't make it back in time, you still have an answer, but if you use this strategy you'll have time to come back. The next time through answer the questions that you know how to do, but take a little more thought/time. Then when you have everything answered correctly, but a couple difficult ones, tackle them. I think if I had just done that, it would have been the difference between a 25+ and the 20 I got…
RC: There were some questions where I thought I got lucky and couldn't imagine many other people figuring them out, which led me to think I did even better, but I'm happy with a 22. The first question I had though, I looked forever, and reread so many paragraphs, but couldn't figure it out (physics passage…. But that just ended up getting me ready for the following questions that I flew through. I guessed and marked and came back with extra time before I needed to move on, but I still couldn't figure it out. When I got all the way through, I didn't go to the review page, which would have let me see if I skipped a problem or two, which I might have, but I'll never know now, lol. I was more concerned about the first problem, which didn't seem difficult, but I couldn't find the answer. Anyways, my best advice is to find a strategy you like, even if you don't practice (which I didn't). If you hear a strategy and you think it's a great idea, it probably is for you at least. Be very mindful and if you're running low on time and think you know the answer to a question even without reading, just put the answer down. I had a very obvious question/answer and picked it without looking, and while looking for another answer I noticed it and confirmed I was right. Make sure you know what the question is asking. If it says something like, what is the initial cause of ….yadda… and the paragraph talks about one thing leading to another leading to another, all of which are answers, put the first thing, lol.
BIO: I remember telling myself while I was taking the test the first time that there were some problems that covered an obvious concept I needed to know, but instead of making sure I knew that inside and out, I memorized a few more plant facts (you get what I'm saying). There was literally not ONE question that I wasn't the slightest bit familiar with. I think people confuse difficult questions with random facts. Some questions seem to test your knowledge of a biological concept/fact that you are able to answer with the concept/fact alone. I think when they throw in a random enzyme name people freak out and claim random, even though the problem sets you up for success by telling you what the enzyme effects, which should lead you to realize what the cause would be if that cell process (or whatever) wasn't functioning correctly. I think a lot of practice tests writers throw in very random facts for their "hard" questions, but they are a waste of time and mental energy. What does a Kangaroo Rat eat? Really Jimbo? I'm sure someone can argue how this was a reasonable question, but it definitely isn't going to pop up in the DAT. A very random fact is not a hard question, it's a dumb question that you aren't going to see on the real thing. If you feel like something is very, very random, I wouldn't even make a notecard on it.
GC: Basic. Basic. Basic. Nothing here is going to blow your mind with the stretch of a concept like DAT Destroyer does. That may be why the Princeton's MCAT book helped me. I was the most nervous about how prepared I would be for this section and for no reason. I remembered the first time I took the DAT that the questions were easier, but I just needed more practice. There were a handful of things that you need to memorize, like oxidation states of certain elements:cough:: metalloids ::cough:, but other than that, draw out Lewis Structures (or at least practice so much that you can do it in your head/already know what it looks like).
OC: I honestly thought I did better than this. I got a B+ in my first Orgo class and an A in the second. It was always my strength and I always hear people saying how this section is totally general, and I have to agree. I am just not sure how I only went from a 21 to a 22. The first time I took the DAT I remember not feeling as confident with certain topics, but this time I literally memorized it all, every reagent and reaction, products and tricks. While I was taking the test, I felt like every question was very easy and I don't remember struggling with even one question, but maybe because I blew through it, I must have made a couple stupid mistakes. I remember having time after I finished and I decided to go through GC again instead because halfway through GC I had to take a 2 minute bathroom break, that totally saved my patience/concentration.
General Tips:
My Hierarchy of Caffeine (by volume):
Starbucks Coffee > Store Brand Coffee > Chai Latte ~ Energy Drinks > Half-Caf Coffee ~ Black Tea > Soda > Green Tea
Move up and down accordingly lol
Oxytocin: [Posterior Pituitary: Location] (Hit F9) => Front: Oxytocin: […Location] Back: Oxytocin: Posterior Pituitary
I made a whole separate deck for hormones, and made cards for the location, the chemistry, and the function. You can also tag each slide with either category, that way, if you want to only focus on the locations of each hormone, you can use the Cram function and select only Locations. This was very helpful for me….
Well, that was my crazy rant of a breakdown. Maybe this makes up for my lack of posting on the boards. Hopefully you guys have found some helpful information. I have a few things I'll scan and post later. I think that next year my application will be stronger and since my DAT scores were mainly consistent, that proves that I'll be able to succeed in dental school. Let me know if you guys have any questions or want me to expand on anything. I always have plenty to say, lol.
EDIT:
I forgot to mention some additional resources that I used....
khanacademy.com - This was great for helping me better understand certain QR concepts, like permutations and combinations. If you're patient while watching the videos, you'll get more out of them. Just search for a concept you need to work on in QR. They have videos on other sections now, but I didn't really use those as much (we have Chad's lol).
Organic Odyssey - I forgot that I bought this book with DAT and Math destroyer. I used it during one of my orgo classes more, but I went through a couple sections that I noticed I was missing on the DAT destroyer. Overall, I wouldn't bother with this because it has way too much stuff in it, compared to what will be tested on the real DAT. Just know what you're suppose to, and know it really well. Don't memorize too much stuff that you do not see very often.
Princeton's AP Biology - I "got this from a friend" and didn't really use it to study, but I did take the first practice exam at the end and found the questions to be much more like the DAT compared to some tests. They were good questions as far as testing your knowledge of the concepts, rather than tricking you or asking you a very random fact. I'm sure the second test was good too, but I think I just didn't feel like practicing more, and only wanted to do notecards.
Lastly, I'd like to mention SDN as a resource. SDN is great, and it's really the people that make it great. There wont be just one breakdown or one persons opinion on something that will totally work for you and get you the score you want. You need to know yourself, ask the right questions, and find correlations on here that will work for you. For instance, if you're weak in organic chemistry, find multiple breakdowns about people overcoming a weak organic chemistry background, and see if they used the same resources. Taking time to do this will save you money on worthless material and get you in the best shape for the test.
2011 DAT Scores........... 2012 DAT Scores
PAT - 25 (99.0%)............ 23 (94.7%)
QR - 21 (96.4%)............. 20 (88.3%)
!!!!RC - 22 (84.4%)............. 22 (85.9%)
BIO - 20 (88.0%)............ 21 (91.8%)
GC - 21 (87.0%)............. 25 (97.1%)
OC - 21 (85.7%).............. 22 (88.7%)
…TS - 21 (91.6%)............... 22 (94.8%)
AA - 21 (93.4%).............. 22 (95.7%)
Because my breakdown became very, very, very long, I broke it into two. There may be some redundancies, but whatever.
My dad once told me a wise man learns from his own mistakes, but a genius learns from other's mistakes. There could be a lot of useful points here in that regard.
First Time:
Materials by importance: Crack DAT PAT , Chad's Videos, Cliffs AP Biology (2nd Ed.), Math Destroyer, DAT Destroyer, Thinkwell Biology Lectures (Video), Campbell's Biology 2008, The Teaching Company Biology Lectures (Audio), Kaplan BB.
Practice Tests: Kaplan Blue Book, Kaplan online test, 2007 and 2009 ADA tests, and Achiever Tests.
Additional Material for round 2 by importance: Princeton's MCAT Chemistry, Cliffs AP Biology (3rd Ed.), OSU Free Online Organic Chemistry Flashcards, and Reaction Summaries from both McMurry and Vollhardt Organic Chemistry. I retook the Kaplan BB test too.
http://legacyweb.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/flashcards/
Quick Breakdown:
After almost 9 months since I took the DAT the first time, I studied for about a month. 4-6 hours a day for about two weeks, then 10 hours a day for one week. The week before the test, I studied 4 hours a day the first few days of the week, but took a full 3 days off right before the test. (See long breakdown for more)
PAT – Major point would be to have a strategy for each section, but if you run into trouble, don't be afraid to take a step back and improvise. Also, do not waste too much time on something you find very complicated. Mark it, guess, and move on.
QR – Math Destroyer was perfect for this. Take these tests fast and when you're fresh so you can retain more. Study for this section a bit before you take it. It will save you from bad habits and you'll do much better after the first few tests.
RC – Never studied for this except for practice tests and I used search and destroy. I got a 22, but I think as long as you're really amped before this section you'll do fine.
BIO – Instead of spending TONS of time and effort to get from a 21 to a 25 on this section, focus on GC and OC. You can get in the high 20's with the less effort than it would take to get one extra point in biology. People say this section is random and broad, but I think 36/40 questions are over the main concepts or facts you should know from Cliffs and other sources. 3/40 will be a stretch of a concept, it will sound complicated, but it will boil down to a concept or fact you know, and an application of that fact. Normally they'll set you up.
GC – Study MORE than biology. Know every type of problem and every way they can ask it. Memorize all the facts you should know. Even the oxidation states of certain elements. They only difference between the first time and second time I tested was Princeton MCAT. I thought it was great, even though when I was going through it nothing was blowing my mind. I think it's good because the test is more simple gen chem problems (not like Destroyer).
OC – Study MORE than biology. Memorize every reaction and important intermediates and do a lot of practice problems. If I could go back before I started studying again, I would repurchase Chad's organic chemistry videos and watch them again.
Main Tip: Don't do anything for 2-3 days before the test. Maybe some light review of notecards. Mainly, just try to have fun and get your mind off things. The more you enjoy yourself, the better you'll feel on test day, which makes all the difference. When the time comes, you'll remember everything you learned once the problem comes up. Even if you can't list every characteristic of a certain fungi off the top of your head, you will be able to pick it out.
LONG Breakdown:
I studied for about a month. 4-6 hours a day for about two weeks, then 10 hours a day for one week. The week before the exam, I studied 4 hours a day, but took a full 3 days off right before the test. When you know the material (especially when you have taken the test twice), you aren't going to forget anything essential. All the core material (to get 20+s) will be there and all you're doing is stressing yourself out. I went for bike rides, saw the Avengers (incredible), and enjoyed myself. The first time I took the DAT, I studied up until the morning of the test, and even when I was fried, I was forcing myself to recall things that would easily come to me on a test. I may have even taken an Achiever test the day before (not smart…
. An M.D. friend told me that sometimes when he's been on vacation for a while and comes back, he is worried that he may be rusty or has forgotten a lot of stuff, but he said once he is presented with the symptoms, it all comes back. Don't forget this is multiple choice (lol).PAT: This is my favorite section if I had to pick one. For the keyholes, use your judgment and make sure you rotate the object around encase certain, less-obvious faces might fit through. When you have two that you can't decide on, look for the differences between them and then compare to the object again. For top-front-end, practice makes perfect and eventually you will just start seeing the missing picture in your head and you will find your answer that much faster. With angles, I mainly use the hill method, but sometimes I just take a step back and try to use my best judgment. I've always thought about doing angles first and then skipping back to the beginning, but I never tried it. You may think it's a good idea to try. With hole-punches, I just work backwards. I think they're pretty easy and the only time you actually have to think is when there is a strange fold. If so, I usually unfold it once in my head without worrying about the hole. Once you've done enough, you'll get really good at it. For cube counting, I make a column 0-5 and put a tick by each one as I count the entire problem, and I always move in the same direction every time. For instance, start at the bottom left corner closest to you, then move backwards, then up to the next level of blocks, until you reach the top, then back down to the next row of cubes, if that makes sense. Then you'll have an easier time finding where you are if you lost your place, but really, you should be very mindful during the actual test and try not to autopilot any sections like you might do during practice tests. Lastly, pattern folding may seem intimidating but there is a great way that I tackle these problems. I've basically noticed a few ways that they try and trick the test taker. Instead of making this breakdown any more obnoxiously long, I'm going to just post a separate strategy.
QR: Memorize the trigonometry functions, the conversions, geometry formulas, and practice your probability. The equations at the beginning of math destroyer were helpful, but I looked up a few more. I'm going to attach some images of things I meant to write down before this section (later though, they are packed away). I had 10 seconds left after my break so I didn't have time, so I just figured I'd wing it (not the best idea).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIVpemcoAlY&feature=fvwrel
Quick Unit Circle Trick (Watch it once and you'll barely have to think about the unit circle when writing it out)
Also, I would get into a habit of writing down the equations you struggle with or don't feel like memorizing before you take each Math Destroyer test. Even if you're cheating. And use that cheat sheet while you're solving the problems. Eventually you'll only be writing down a handful of equations, or none. This is how I remembered all the trig formulas that I didn't feel like memorizing. Just writing them down every time was enough.
Oh yeah, and when practicing QR, use window's default calculator (basic settings), because it is almost identical to the one on the test. And try not to rely on it too much! It lags pretty bad and if you aren't familiar with lagging, play more online video games, lol. It has a square root function too, if that is worth mentioning.
One other thing, if you get a moderately simple probability/permutation/etc. question, instead of thinking too much about it, literally draw out what they are asking and try to find the answer. For instance, there are 4 paths from A to B, how many ways can a person walk from A to B without taking the same route back. Sounds like a 4!/2! = 12 permutation. That would get you there, or if you don't feel like thinking, its probably just as easy to write an A and four lines going to B and guiding your pen through every scenario, counting while you go. If that makes sense, you still quickly get to 12 routes in this example.
RC: This section is all about the person taking the test. Do you easily pick out words in crossword puzzles? You might be better at search and destroy then. If you're a speed reader, maybe read through the questions first and then move onto the passage. I read at a moderate pace, not fast, but not slow. I think a solid strategy is taking the first 30 seconds and just skim through the passage and grasp as much information as possible about what the paragraphs deal with, some names or terms that pop out, and then start going through the questions, marking the ones you can't find (but guess!) and coming back. Only spend 20 minutes on each passage. If the one that is taking forever is hard, the next one may be easy, and you might be able to get all the questions right with a full twenty minutes. When you're given a number, percentage, date or a region, look for an alternative version of it while you're looking. For instance, if a question asks you for a percentage and A.2 B. 10 C. 30 D. 40 E. 80 and you're skimming through the passage, there will only be a few places where there will be numbers, percentages, or statistics. You may see 95% somewhere, and say, damn, that's not it, but somewhere else a "two out of five" catches your eye, and you tell yourself, well that's 40%, let me read that line. Voilà! Answer D.
BIO: WARNING! You can make this section WAY more stressful than it has to be. I cannot stress this enough (no pun). I literally studied 1/3 of the amount I did last time, but instead of memorizing all these stupid random facts, I concentrated solely on the main concepts and it totally paid off. I would suggest reading through Cliff's once, then going back and making notes on Anki. I made notecards first and pretty much rewrote every sentence with blanks, which was a bad idea and a waste of time. Thinkwell Biology videos have been mentioned on here before, and they are helpful, though it is expensive. They may not be necessary if you have a strong biology background. I bought a bunch of those huge notecards (8.5 x 5.5 maybe…
and on the blank side draw out each of the diagrams you need to know (respiration, photosynthesis, mitosis, protein synthesis, etc.) and use colored pens to help highlight important features. On the other side, write out a key for the diagram (if you used a red and purple pen to show active transport versus passive) and any other important facts. The more effort you put into it, the more it will help you. Make your own mneumonics or acronyms for memorizing. Funny is the best. Memory is very tied to emotion. I tried to stick to the sound rather than direct spelling. I liked my "Poor Ned Plates Newman's Rotisserie. Molly And Arthur Eat Corn" for "Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Rotifera. Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Chordata". This helped me remember the order in the table, and then I remembered things like "0,1,1, and the rest are 2" for gut openings, etc. Also, "P-MAT" for prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. For some reason, I always had trouble remembering the order, but not anymore lol.Here are a few more….
"Morgan blasts gas" – Morula, blastula, gastrula
Alpha Cells – Glucagon (G closer to A in alphabet), Beta Cells – Insulin (I farther from A)
Adenine-Guanine – Purines (A-G = Ag (silver)) You want PURE Silver (Purines) and you want more silver rings (2 rings)…then of course Cytosine-Uracil-Thymine the Pyrimidines (CUT the Pie, one slice(ring) though, on a diet!)
…. I actually have a bunch of these but they are in my box of DAT stuff that I put away …. If a few people would like them I can get them later though….
GC: I wasn't expecting this section to be my best section, but I think that Princeton's MCAT Gen Chem made the difference for me. I went through it section by section, solving the problems and taking notes on important things that stood out, that maybe wasn't stated in Chad's videos. Then I followed that up with my notes from Chad's videos from the first time. I would take time to make an Anki deck for gen chem with very simple notecards for things like oxidation states for important elements (apparently I needed to know metalloids, not sure how I missed that). Honestly, if you know all the main things, and have done some practice, you'll be set. Destroyer was good practice, but definitely overkill. I went through Destroyer once after I reviewed Chad's notes, then a second time, but only for the questions I missed the first time.
OC: Buy completely blank notecards (front and back white, no lines, and cheapest!). They are great for writing a reaction down on one side, leaving out the products, and on the other side, writing down the reaction and leaving out the reagents or reactants. All the information is on the card, but both sides test your knowledge. I felt like I knew every reaction and most intermediates going in, as well as all the conceptual things, including lab techniques. I didn't study the biochemistry stuff as much, though I did the first time. I remember there not being any questions on that the first time, so I just made sure I knew the major stuff, just encase. I can go through the Destroyer and get almost every answer right in one evening, so I'm not sure what to think. If I took the test again I would either watch Chad's again, or find another source to study (maybe Princeton's MCAT Orgo?).
Overall opinion on the actual test after testing twice (sorry for redundancies…
:PAT: Time management is HUGE on test day, especially here. I didn't manage my time well like I did the first time I tested and on test day I spent too much time trying to figure out a couple hard keyhole problems, which caused me to have to do each hole-punch in 15 seconds and I had to count cubes in groups of threes. (1,3, and a 4 in that column, onto the next, 2,2, and a 5…. And so on.) I should have just guessed and marked, the second I felt like those key holes were too hard. I remember flying through keyhole the first time, and feeling very confident with my answers but this time I was frustrated. I felt like a lot of the pictures where very fuzzy or pixelated. There was one that was an amorphous blob of polygons and all I could think of was that they were trying to put one in there that everyone would miss, unless they made a lucky guess. I should have marked it immediately and moved on. But overall, Crack PAT is a great reflection of this section, and like I'll say in QR, don't waste time on a question you're having problems with, because chances are if you don't waste time, you'll have extra time at the end to try again, plus you'll get questions right you may not have if you were rushing.
QR: …………. I was very disappointed with this section. I specifically studied more than I did the first time, though I guess I didn't take as many practice tests (maybe 5 this time, versus 8 last time). Well, I maybe didn't study more, but I studied smarter and things that I was iffy with going in the first time, I knew very well this time. When I got to the test, I was excited to have gotten a trig problem that I thought I could figure out. I think I spent 3 minutes on that problem and I should have just marked it. Once I got to the end I had 2 minutes left and 4 problems, and when I flipped through the problems to see which ones I had the best shot at finishing and getting them right, they were all equally simple, but needed time to write out the work. Instead of getting 1 wrong and 4 right, I got 5 wrong (worst case scenerio). The moral of the story is that this section is NOT hard; it's all about time management. There may be 1-2 iffy questions, and all the rest are solvable. I remember reading a great strategy for this section that I'll repeat here (but didn't use, and should have…
. Go through all of the problems and solve the simplest ones first, like the basic algebra problems. The ones set up for you. Mark and randomly guess the harder/longer ones (words problems, trig problems, geometry, probability). Make sure you mark AND guess, so encase you don't make it back in time, you still have an answer, but if you use this strategy you'll have time to come back. The next time through answer the questions that you know how to do, but take a little more thought/time. Then when you have everything answered correctly, but a couple difficult ones, tackle them. I think if I had just done that, it would have been the difference between a 25+ and the 20 I got…RC: There were some questions where I thought I got lucky and couldn't imagine many other people figuring them out, which led me to think I did even better, but I'm happy with a 22. The first question I had though, I looked forever, and reread so many paragraphs, but couldn't figure it out (physics passage…
. But that just ended up getting me ready for the following questions that I flew through. I guessed and marked and came back with extra time before I needed to move on, but I still couldn't figure it out. When I got all the way through, I didn't go to the review page, which would have let me see if I skipped a problem or two, which I might have, but I'll never know now, lol. I was more concerned about the first problem, which didn't seem difficult, but I couldn't find the answer. Anyways, my best advice is to find a strategy you like, even if you don't practice (which I didn't). If you hear a strategy and you think it's a great idea, it probably is for you at least. Be very mindful and if you're running low on time and think you know the answer to a question even without reading, just put the answer down. I had a very obvious question/answer and picked it without looking, and while looking for another answer I noticed it and confirmed I was right. Make sure you know what the question is asking. If it says something like, what is the initial cause of ….yadda… and the paragraph talks about one thing leading to another leading to another, all of which are answers, put the first thing, lol. BIO: I remember telling myself while I was taking the test the first time that there were some problems that covered an obvious concept I needed to know, but instead of making sure I knew that inside and out, I memorized a few more plant facts (you get what I'm saying). There was literally not ONE question that I wasn't the slightest bit familiar with. I think people confuse difficult questions with random facts. Some questions seem to test your knowledge of a biological concept/fact that you are able to answer with the concept/fact alone. I think when they throw in a random enzyme name people freak out and claim random, even though the problem sets you up for success by telling you what the enzyme effects, which should lead you to realize what the cause would be if that cell process (or whatever) wasn't functioning correctly. I think a lot of practice tests writers throw in very random facts for their "hard" questions, but they are a waste of time and mental energy. What does a Kangaroo Rat eat? Really Jimbo? I'm sure someone can argue how this was a reasonable question, but it definitely isn't going to pop up in the DAT. A very random fact is not a hard question, it's a dumb question that you aren't going to see on the real thing. If you feel like something is very, very random, I wouldn't even make a notecard on it.
GC: Basic. Basic. Basic. Nothing here is going to blow your mind with the stretch of a concept like DAT Destroyer does. That may be why the Princeton's MCAT book helped me. I was the most nervous about how prepared I would be for this section and for no reason. I remembered the first time I took the DAT that the questions were easier, but I just needed more practice. There were a handful of things that you need to memorize, like oxidation states of certain elements
:cough:: metalloids ::cough:, but other than that, draw out Lewis Structures (or at least practice so much that you can do it in your head/already know what it looks like). OC: I honestly thought I did better than this. I got a B+ in my first Orgo class and an A in the second. It was always my strength and I always hear people saying how this section is totally general, and I have to agree. I am just not sure how I only went from a 21 to a 22. The first time I took the DAT I remember not feeling as confident with certain topics, but this time I literally memorized it all, every reagent and reaction, products and tricks. While I was taking the test, I felt like every question was very easy and I don't remember struggling with even one question, but maybe because I blew through it, I must have made a couple stupid mistakes. I remember having time after I finished and I decided to go through GC again instead because halfway through GC I had to take a 2 minute bathroom break, that totally saved my patience/concentration.
General Tips:
- Take care of yourself! Get enough sleep and good sleep. Blackout your room (windows/electronics) and try to get at least 8 hours every night. Try to eat healthy and at least go for a five or ten minute walk a few times a day, between studying. If you can, actually go work out at the gym for 45 minutes.
- SUPER FOOD! I didn't know how to start this, but I recently noticed a lot of people talking about Nootropics and study aids, which are good and I would encourage you to use one if you are interested, but do your research and don't just buy something and start taking it because the GNC guy said it's good. Now that I got that out of the way, you should all look into a supplement called GREEN VIBRANCE. It isn't technically a nootropic, but it does help you energy-wise. There is way too much to say about this stuff, so I'll keep it short. Basically even if you are a health nut, you still aren't getting a lot of the nutrients your body loves. This stuff is like a power house of energy and nutrients. After I drink it, I'm ready to seize the day. It's not like having a cup of coffee. It's more like just feeling good. As if your body has all the things it needs to function properly (you still gotta eat though…lol). Look into it. You won't find any bad reviews about it, other than the taste. Put it in some non-concentrate orange juice and throw it back. If you think about taking 3-5 shots of tequila on the weekend, which tastes worse and is toxic to your body, it won't seem so bad. It's a little more than a dollar a day, which is great when you see the reported benefits.
- I would suggest (if you're trying to do really, really well) not taking classes while you're studying for the DAT. I felt very conflicted when I was studying and taking classes, even though the classes somewhat overlapped with the DAT.
- If you drink a lot of caffeine to focus, try to cut back a bit, at least building up to test day. If you take a few days off before you test, and take what you normally do on the morning of the test, it won't matter how you slept because you'll definitely feel alert after that cup of coffee. Do NOT stop the day before, thinking one day off will help, because you will actually be withdrawing during your sleep, which disrupts your REM and you'll feel like death in the morning (happened to me the first time…lol)
My Hierarchy of Caffeine (by volume):
Starbucks Coffee > Store Brand Coffee > Chai Latte ~ Energy Drinks > Half-Caf Coffee ~ Black Tea > Soda > Green Tea
Move up and down accordingly
lol- If you're typing notes on Anki and reading off a PDF file, use two monitors (it's not too hard to figure out) or at least organize your screen so you can look at both without going back and forth.
- Before you make Anki notecards, use a word document to write down the facts that you want to use in Anki. Then once you have made like 100 facts, go through each fact and find the term you feel is most beneficial for you to recall. Put brackets [ ] around that term. Do that for every fact. Then start from the top, copy each line, paste them in a blank anki slide, press F9 on your keyboard (this will blank out the word and make the complete sentence on the next slide), and final hit Ctrl + Enter (this will submit the notecard and bring up a blank one). Then copy the next fact in your word document and repeat. I found this system to work the best because it keeps you on one task at a time and you also have a nice word document with a bunch of facts on it, lol.
Oxytocin: [Posterior Pituitary: Location] (Hit F9) => Front: Oxytocin: […Location] Back: Oxytocin: Posterior Pituitary
I made a whole separate deck for hormones, and made cards for the location, the chemistry, and the function. You can also tag each slide with either category, that way, if you want to only focus on the locations of each hormone, you can use the Cram function and select only Locations. This was very helpful for me….
- If you're feeling good, study. If you're feeling bad, don't study. It took some time, but I noticed that forcing yourself to sit for a long time and study is pointless. You're slowing down and not retaining things, and on top of that you're stressing yourself out more because you can tell (lol). Don't be afraid to take a random evening off, especially if you have something really fun to do.
- Figure out what works best for you to concentrate. The type of music you listen to, the places you study, the supplements you take, etc. Don't listen to rap and try to study, especially if you're starting to feel burned out. If you're starting to concentrate more on the music and less on the material, you know what to do. Silence is golden.
Well, that was my crazy rant of a breakdown. Maybe this makes up for my lack of posting on the boards. Hopefully you guys have found some helpful information. I have a few things I'll scan and post later. I think that next year my application will be stronger and since my DAT scores were mainly consistent, that proves that I'll be able to succeed in dental school. Let me know if you guys have any questions or want me to expand on anything. I always have plenty to say, lol.
EDIT:
I forgot to mention some additional resources that I used....
khanacademy.com - This was great for helping me better understand certain QR concepts, like permutations and combinations. If you're patient while watching the videos, you'll get more out of them. Just search for a concept you need to work on in QR. They have videos on other sections now, but I didn't really use those as much (we have Chad's lol).
Organic Odyssey - I forgot that I bought this book with DAT and Math destroyer. I used it during one of my orgo classes more, but I went through a couple sections that I noticed I was missing on the DAT destroyer. Overall, I wouldn't bother with this because it has way too much stuff in it, compared to what will be tested on the real DAT. Just know what you're suppose to, and know it really well. Don't memorize too much stuff that you do not see very often.
Princeton's AP Biology - I "got this from a friend" and didn't really use it to study, but I did take the first practice exam at the end and found the questions to be much more like the DAT compared to some tests. They were good questions as far as testing your knowledge of the concepts, rather than tricking you or asking you a very random fact. I'm sure the second test was good too, but I think I just didn't feel like practicing more, and only wanted to do notecards.
Lastly, I'd like to mention SDN as a resource. SDN is great, and it's really the people that make it great. There wont be just one breakdown or one persons opinion on something that will totally work for you and get you the score you want. You need to know yourself, ask the right questions, and find correlations on here that will work for you. For instance, if you're weak in organic chemistry, find multiple breakdowns about people overcoming a weak organic chemistry background, and see if they used the same resources. Taking time to do this will save you money on worthless material and get you in the best shape for the test.
Last edited:
