FREEDOM! Mah creyz. DAT Breakdown 9/09/2012

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First off, thanks so much to the SDN community for everything! I've mostly been a lurker here, but everyone has been so helpful and welcoming; my score would not have been possible without all of you guys. Particular thanks go to Bangity for his amazing biology notes, xJtrandx for his hole punching advice, and Sama951 for his wicked sick PAT tutorial. I know that reading breakdowns in the weeks leading up before my exam was an immensely invaluable source of information for me, so I thought I'd try my hand at one of my own. I hope you find it useful!

I'm by no means a smart person, so rest assured that if I can do it, so can you! :thumbup: I studied about 5-6 hours a day for a little more than six weeks, with occasional days off and very casual studying during the final week. I felt like such a slacker compared to the 8+ hour regiment that everyone else was doing, but could never manage to push myself to do much more. :laugh: With my schedule, I would usually rise at 11, eat breakfast, have some coffee, and spend some time waking up, before starting to study at around 1. I would then study on and off throughout the day – wasn't strict on breaks and anything like that (sometimes I would just like not do anything for the entire afternoon), but I did keep a stopwatch on myself so I knew that I had reached my 5-6 hour goal. To give you some basic background, I'm a biology major/chemistry minor at a major research university, and my cGPA and sGPA fall in the 3.8-4.0 range.

DAT Scores
PAT: 22
QR: 21
RC: 24
BIO: 23
GC: 22
OC: 28
TS: 23 (99.3)
AA: 24 (99.9)

PAT: Crack DAT PAT, KBB, Achiever
I'm not sure I'm quite the best person to give advice on this section considering that I have the spatial reasoning sense of a crippled porcupine. Like, drawing a stick figure is a big accomplishment for me. People kept telling me that all I need to do was rotate the figure around in my head, and my general response was WTF I don't even know whether that's a sphere or a cube and you want me to twist it ¾ degree to the right and ½ to the left after an intraaxial inversion? GTFO man. :oops: Predictably then, Achiever was impossible and made me want to stab out my eyeballs with a blunted spoon. On the other hand, KBB was almost insultingly easy. CDP struck a happy medium. I bought the 10-test version and went through each section separately (so I would take JUST the keyhole section of all 10 tests to learn the strategy, and then I would move on to just TFE, and so on and so forth). At the end, I went back and took the full tests to learn the timing and pacing, which I thought was a critical part of preparing for PAT.

A little sad to say, but I had like no actual strategies for PAT. Keyhole and TFE basically consisted of me squinting at the figures to try and seek out some definitive characteristic that might help me eliminate some of the answer choices. Angles involved lot of praying and cursing (I swear to this very day they still all look the same). Hole-punching was my favorite section of the PAT (thanks again to xJtrandx for his help in explaining the tic tac toe method! You guys should check out his YouTube video for a very clear explanation on this), and I thought cube counting was fairly straightforward as well. For pattern folding, read Sama951's wicked PAT tutorial; there are a much of good tips in there.

One thing to keep in mind is that CDP does not prepare you for how proportions-heavy the DAT is. It focuses a lot more on the minor details than the overall structure, giving you nearly identical shapes and forcing you to distinguish between the minute differences (part of the reason why line counting does not work on the real DAT). It's important to do as many tests as possible for PAT, even if you feel like you aren't improving with each one (you are, I promise!). Practice might not make perfect, but it sure as hell will get you a little bit closer.

On the real test, this section felt like a dream to me. I took advantage of the 15-minute tutorial to draw my hole punching squares, but by the time I had reached the actual PAT section, I was sluggish from the exceedingly stressful science section. So by the time the 5-minute warning popped up, I still hadn't finished pattern folding and had like 12 questions left unanswered. So basically I had to run back and pick the first thing that looked right; if all of them looked right, I went with C (the statistically most likely answer choice!). Needless to say, I was ASTOUNDED by the 22 – by my estimation, I was praying for a 17 so at least I would make the cut-off for most schools, particularly since I was consistently hitting 18-20 on my practice tests. So in conclusion. Yeah. No idea what happened here. Awkward turtle. :oops:

QR: Math Destroyer
If I could frame Math Destroyer and mount it on the wall of my room, I would. Math is one of my least favorite subjects, but Math Destroyer should be all that you need to do well on the QR section. Always test under timed conditions and always understand the explanations underlying the solution. Some of the solutions will show you shortcuts that are very helpful to memorize. Math Destroyer has a useful formula sheet at the beginning of the book that also comes in handy. Tests 11-13 are teeth-grindingly difficult, but they cover valuable information like p value and probability, so do them if you can! Know your triangle properties and your trig; it will save you a lot of grief later on. Also, circles and work time problems have a frighteningly high tendency to pop up, so know those also.

I was shaking from nerves and exhaustion by the time I reached the QR section; my right hand was spasming so much I kept punching in the wrong numbers on the on-screen calculator. I was operating on Math Destroyer instinct at this point and the 21 was a pleasant surprise. Most of the problems were fairly straightforward; there were a couple I had to squint at a couple of times because I had never seen the concept before OR because I embarrassingly did not understand the word problem. Time is the most important element of this section, so if you can't solve it in a minute, it's probably best to cut your losses and keep moving.

RC: Nothing!
It's hard to prep for RC because I think it's one of those skills acquired over a lifetime of use instead of one that you hone simply in preparation for an exam. I deeply enjoy reading and read everyday for fun, so I didn't stress myself too much on it. I ran through two practice sections (ADA 2007, KBB) just to familiarize myself with the general pace and format and then subsequently proceeded to ignore RC for the rest of the time – my general thought is that skimming the passage should be sufficient to get a general idea of its contents, and then afterwards search and destroy will be your BFF Jill. RC on the actual DAT was actually a therapeutic section for me; I was lucky enough to get some relatively straightforward (passages that were actually quite enjoyable to read, so that was extremely fortunate because it gave me some downtime to recuperate before QR.

BIO: KBB, Cliffs AP Biology in conjunction with Bangity's notes, Barrons AP Biology, DATQVault, DAT Destroyer, Khan's Academy videos, Achiever, random YouTube stuff, some of Chad's videos and quizzes, miscellaneous free MCAT multiple choice materials

YOU GUYS I HAVE SO MANY FEEELININGSSS ON THIS. As a bio major myself, I was like super competitive and invested on doing well in this section. :p Cliffnotes was well-worth its weight in gold. I read through it twice, and then reviewed with Bangity's notes which I had added to over the course of my studying. I used Barrons and YouTube videos to clarify any unclear topics. Cliffnotes does NOT cover anatomy, marine biology, or the various DNA technologies in enough detail (try KBB for these, though the organization of their material is lacking at best), and covers plants, biological diversity, and fungi in TOO MUCH detail, so adjust accordingly.

Because the bio section is so broad and comprehensive, memorization of all the information that is presented becomes totally impractical, if not altogether impossible. Therefore, the most important thing to do is diagnose your weaknesses and obtain a clear picture of what will likely show up on the exam. Practice questions are the #1 way to do this. For example, I initially dismissed reproduction as being a relatively minor topic, and therefore tended to skim over those materials. Then questions about capacitation and the menstrual cycle and the zona pellucida kept popping up in Destroyer and QVault and finally I was like, well, I guess I need to learn it after all, and lo and behold, apparently my real DAT thought I needed to know about reproduction too. For biology, don't worry about getting the practice questions right. Instead, worry about digesting and comprehending the explanations and concepts, and understanding why the other answer choices are wrong. Study Destroyer and QVault especially carefully; both are profoundly helpful tools and, if used correctly, will be the key to a higher score. QVault is particular good for those with short attention spans (like me); I would intermittently do a quick test or two in between long study sessions as a method of procrastination.

The law of diminishing returns absolutely applies for bio – you can spend an obscene amount of time studying and still not be guaranteed a high score because the amount of material that can be tested is so discouragingly vast and arbitrary. If time is an issue, I would recommend focusing on GC and OC because the scope of their discussions is much more linear and limited; by proxy, the amount of effort you invest will be much more proportional to your performance.

Regarding biology on the real exam – it was absolutely nerve-wracking. I skipped the first five questions of the exam and was DEVASTATED that my strongest subject would turn out to be my downfall. That feeling was exacerbated by the fact that I felt like they were targeting every single subject that I didn't know while ignoring every single one that I did. My bio score, like my PAT score, came as such a surprise that I was speechless. I am still in shock. :confused: Looking back at it, I think my redemption came with my experience with higher-level biology courses, because the answers to those questions certainly didn't come out of my studying. A strong background in the sciences will of course facilitate performance on any part of the DAT, but I think that's particular true of biology, which relies more on a library of acquired knowledge rather than just short-term memorization.

GC: Chad's Videos, DAT Destroyer, KBB, Achiever
CHAD IS THE MAN. :love::love:He could be my baby daddy any day of the week – I absolutely adore him. As someone who has always preferred textbooks over lectures, Chad's Videos were like a revelation to me. Like everyone else says, his videos should be ALL THAT YOU NEED in terms of raw information, so don't even open that KBB book. I have a solid background in general chemistry, but I had basically forgotten everything since first year of university, so I watched Chad's Videos twice and took copious notes on them, and skimmed the notes twice before the exam. Super, super helpful and concise, and hits on everything that you need to know while ignoring everything that you don't. 1000x thumbs up.

With that said, I don't think anybody can do well with JUST Chad's Videos. Supplementation of pure knowledge with the ability to work problems is the key. Destroyer was aces in this case. ACES. Every single one of their problems was absolutely right on key; I worked the GC section about 1.5 times for the exam and it was immensely helpful. A little more difficult than the actual exam, but it's astoundingly good preparation. DO AS MUCH OF DESTROYER AS YOU CAN AS MANY TIMES AS YOU CAN. Understand what you're doing and the ways that the question could be asked differently, and you will be GOLDEN. I breezed through the GC section on my DAT (and had actually expected a higher score than 22), blessing my Destroyer book at home every step of the way.

OC: Chad's Videos, DAT Destroyer, KBB, DATQVault, Achiever
Okay, seriously. If Chad didn't already have a wife, I would marry him. :laugh: As someone who profoundly enjoyed college orgo (yeah yeah, I'm a freak, yukk it up), I found that his videos were actually almost kind of fun to watch. He explains difficult concepts like E1/E2/SN1/SN2 reactions so well (a subject that I NEVER understood before watching his video), and he hits on everything that could possibly be covered in the exam without being redundant or superfluous. Again, I watched his videos twice (except for the organic lab experiments, which I skipped because I had just recently covered in summer orgo lab) and skimmed over the notes before the exam. Top-notch, and I can't recommend it enough to everyone.

Destroyer was also an immensely powerful tool for OC. I went through the questions twice, carefully studying the concepts and the explanations each time, and that allowed me to power through the OC section in less than 15 minutes on the real DAT. The Road Maps are also very helpful and are a great review method, although I did not invest anymore than a couple of hours studying them. Overall, Destroyer should be a mandatory review tool for OC; if you do well in Destroyer OC, you'll shine on the real exam. DATQVault was significantly less useful for me because I found their explanations severely lacking – I went through a couple of tests but never really progressed beyond that.

The great thing about organic chemistry is that everything makes sense if you take the time to understand it. Moreover, if you understand the basic concepts, it will save you a LOT of memorization and confusion further down the road, so take some time to do that rather than just trying to brute force your way through everything.


I never took a full practice test because I have the attention span of a blind hedgehog, but I did take as many science sections as possible. That list includes ADA 2007, ADA 2009, OAT Sample Test, 3 DAT Achiever tests, and 2 Kaplan tests. I began them about two weeks before my actual exam so that I would have time to diagnose and address any weaknesses in my knowledge. Of all these, the ADA 2009 test (beware of the errors on the answer key!) yielded the closest TS results to my actual score. I averaged around a 20-21 TS for the Achiever tests, and thought they were overall good representations of the information on the actual exam.

And finally, here is some information that I wish someone had told me before I started studying:
1) The DAT is not a test of intelligence. It is instead a test of stamina, discipline, and your ability to synthesize and regurgitate information that covers a very wide breadth but a very shallow depth. The primary determinant of your performance will focus on your ability to put your head down and keep going, so just don't stop!
2) Slow and steady wins the race. It's important to set a reasonable, consistent schedule for yourself. Ambition is good, but too much of it is cripplingly exhaustive. Take breaks! Have fun! Burnout is all about developing resentment over what you're forced to give up, so always try to make time for what you love.
3) The stuff you don't know is oftentimes the stuff that you must know. It was always easier to study the material that I was familiar with, but the truth is I probably didn't need to. Sometimes if I was having a lazy day, I'd find myself migrating towards things I've already gone over a million times or subjects that I really liked (and thus knew a lot about). In hindsight, that time could probably have been more productively spent napping. If you already took biochemistry and know how the Krebs cycle works, you probably don't need to read and reread that cellular respiration chapter. Instead, delegate your time and energy covering material that you don't know (that angiosperm life cycle with the headache-inducing diagram? Might be important). Diagnose your weaknesses with practice exams and problems and extinguish them.
4) Priority is the name of the game. It's nearly impossible to expect to be able to cover everything that could be tested (particularly relevant to the biology section, also known as the MOST RANDOM SECTION IN THE WORLD), so focus on what's most likely to be tested. Many people just tackle the test through a brute force method where they memorize everything in sight, but a lot of material is time consuming and HARD (biological diversity and plants chapter left me half-dead), so if you're pressed down to the wire, don't be afraid to cut your losses and disregard some of the minor details. It IS a gamble, but more often than not it will work itself out. Always keep in mind: breadth over depth. Study smarter, not necessarily harder.
5) Problems are your best friend/designated driver/soulmate. Work as many of them as possible from as many sources as possible. Do them over and over again and understand the reasoning behind the answers. You don't even have to limit yourself to DAT material – over the course of the six weeks, I wrote the OAT practice exam, some MCAT multiple choice material, and even old AP exam questions (mostly because they were free and I didn't feel like shelling out more money for DAT practice exams). IMO, this is hands-down the BEST and most EFFECTIVE way to learn and retain information. Studying the actual material simply sets you up for being able to do the problems; having to solve it on paper is a completely different story than understanding a written explanation for it, so make sure you can do both. Also, there's only so much they can test on, so if you do enough problems, you'll end up seeing a surprisingly number of them again on the real DAT.
6) Don't panic. The last week of the exam, I was so discouraged by the vast amounts of information I had to know that I basically gave up (I said "casually studied" earlier in the breakdown, but it was more like "didn't study at all" hahaha). I was absolutely morose on the day of the test, feeling like I didn't know anything and had forgotten everything. I was a little sloppy in my preparation – when I left my house, I still didn't know anything about plants, fungi, sugars, electrochemistry, or probability (all not-insignificant areas of the rest). I was 100% sure I had failed the test up until the moment I got my score (and then I panicked AGAIN and looked for my name because I was sure the scores belonged to a different person). You always know more than you think you do, so just stay calm and go for it!


TL;DR. Sparknotes version – 1) Chad and Destroyer are a blessing from above. 2) Do as many problems as you can. 3) Study hard and study often, but it shouldn't be all that you're doing. Thanks again for everything and good luck to all preparing for the DAT! Feel free to shoot any questions my way if you have them!

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Congratulations! Hard work pays off! Can you please post the link for the PAT strategies of Sama951 and Bangity's notes for Biology? Thank-you
 
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Great job and breakdown! I thought I was going to do better in gen chem than I did bc Chad was so awesome. Whatever. And, I totally agree that you don't have to be a genius to do well on this test, just a good/strategic test taker. Good luck with your application!
 
First off, thanks so much to the SDN community for everything! I've mostly been a lurker here, but everyone has been so helpful and welcoming; my score would not have been possible without all of you guys. Particular thanks go to Bangity for his amazing biology notes, xJtrandx for his hole punching advice, and Sama951 for his wicked sick PAT tutorial. I know that reading breakdowns in the weeks leading up before my exam was an immensely invaluable source of information for me, so I thought I'd try my hand at one of my own. I hope you find it useful!

I'm by no means a smart person, so rest assured that if I can do it, so can you! :thumbup: I studied about 5-6 hours a day for a little more than six weeks, with occasional days off and very casual studying during the final week. I felt like such a slacker compared to the 8+ hour regiment that everyone else was doing, but could never manage to push myself to do much more. :laugh: With my schedule, I would usually rise at 11, eat breakfast, have some coffee, and spend some time waking up, before starting to study at around 1. I would then study on and off throughout the day – wasn't strict on breaks and anything like that (sometimes I would just like not do anything for the entire afternoon), but I did keep a stopwatch on myself so I knew that I had reached my 5-6 hour goal. To give you some basic background, I'm a biology major/chemistry minor at a major research university, and my cGPA and sGPA fall in the 3.8-4.0 range.

DAT Scores
PAT: 22
QR: 21
RC: 24
BIO: 23
GC: 22
OC: 28
TS: 23 (99.3)
AA: 24 (99.9)


!


So what exactly do you consider a smart person?

Oh and great scores lol
 
Thanks all for the kind replies! :D

Congratulations! Hard work pays off! Can you please post the link for the PAT strategies of Sama951 and Bangity's notes for Biology? Thank-you

Bangity's amazing notes:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=923768

And the HUGE wicked PAT tutorial thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643

So what exactly do you consider a smart person?

Oh and great scores lol

Thank you! Haha. I feel like I'm surrounded by so many people who are brighter and more talented than me that I don't feel very smart a lot of the time! I get through life pretty simply just like everyone else - on a lot of hard work and just a spot of luck. :p
 
Wow, this is a great job. I do not know what to praise more, your scores or your breakdown :laugh:. Awesome job, congratulations.
 
First off, THANK YOU! Your breakdown has been immensely helpful and has alleviated some of the 1 million tons of pressure I'm feeling right now. I have the same degree as you and similar study habits aka I spend half my time derping on reddit and the other half doing Destroyer problems, so it has been nice to see someone succeed that has similar behaviors. Anyway, I'm writing to ask about this:

>ADA 2007, ADA 2009, OAT Sample Test

Where are these treasures you speak of?
 
First off, THANK YOU! Your breakdown has been immensely helpful and has alleviated some of the 1 million tons of pressure I'm feeling right now. I have the same degree as you and similar study habits aka I spend half my time derping on reddit and the other half doing Destroyer problems, so it has been nice to see someone succeed that has similar behaviors. Anyway, I'm writing to ask about this:

>ADA 2007, ADA 2009, OAT Sample Test

Where are these treasures you speak of?

The ADA 2007 and OAT Sample Tests can be found free of charge online (just run a quick Google search). You'll have to pay for the ADA 2009 website, unfortunately - the order form can be found on the official website. :)
 
After reading your breakdown, I must disagree with you about your self assessment ;) How can you say that you are not a smart person? You organized your studying schedule and made it very efficient without overworking yourself. Your results are clearly great. You have nothing to worry about. You definitely have the correct frame of mind and intelligence to be a good dentist. Great job and good luck in Dental school.

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