Finally finished it's been a long time coming. Retake results.
(Point differences from 1st time)
Bio: 22 +1
GC: 28 +6
OC: 29 +4
RC: 20 +4
QR: 20 +3
PA: 23 +1
TS: 25 +3
AA: 24 +4
If you come into my room the first thing you will always see on my desk is my previous DAT scores from 6 months ago. A reminder of failure to push me forward.
Test day: Thanks to some help I was actually able to sleep the night before the test unlike last time. The first thing I did in the morning was open the Math destroyer and started reviewing. A while back I realized doing it is a great warm-up that gets the juices flowing and as a result better scores on the practice exams. Afterwards I studied bio until the start of the test. I felt prepared for everything except for bio and most of all the RC section. I had my headphones on all day listening to depressing music. Something about feeling dreadful is extremely motivating. I'm generally a happy dude but happiness isn't useful for long intensive work because, for one, it makes more vulnerable to being distracted by girls.
Tested started 4:30 and ended 10:00pm.
BIO – Material: Destroyer, DATqVault, Achiever, Cliff Bio & Chad's Questions
The Bio section started out with a string of questions that were very obvious thanks to destroyer and qvault. There were a few questions (2 or 3) that were awfully specific and contained pieces of useless info in the question that seems to have been inserted solely to lead you to the wrong answer. I genuinely thought I was going to score better when I finished it. I must have made some dumb mistakes.
Destroyer is the best for all sections. Bio qvault was good and had some info not covered in destroyer. Achiever was useful in the way that it forcibly crushed cockiness and took you out of complacency. Cliff AP Bio book was great for a quick review. Rusty on a topic? Read Cliff Bio and after 30-45 min you'll be completely reacquainted with everything you need to know about the topic. Chad's bio was also good, I only did the questions.
GC – Same as above
I thought I was going to get a lower score because there was a minor theme of around 2 or 3 half-life questions that featured a twist I've never encountered. I finished Bio and OC quickly and took my time trying to figure them out. Pleasantly surprised with this score, though my original goal coming into the test was for 30 :/
Do Destroyer, once you get a good grasp of it you're almost guaranteed to get at least a 20 for GC and OC. Chad's GC/OC questions are also very good. Achiever is considerably more difficult than the actual test. Qvault GC and OC were a bit repetitive and the easiest of all the material.
OC -- material same above
Honestly don't know what happened. One question wrong? How? Impossible. I thought I knew all the questions...
PA -- Material: CrackDATpat and Achiever
The keyholes section had the same weirdness about it that I remember from my first time taking the test. When I say weird I'm referring to the abysmally low quality images that they used. The images on the test seemed as if they were distorted in some way. CDP had nice clear images. The images on the test looked similar to the way Achiever has it but a bit worse. Though I could be wrong here and the pictures may have looked low quality b/c of the old computers in my prometric center. Whatever the reason for the low quality, it did make this section more challenging than it should be. Keyholes on the test involve looking at the proportions and matching the sizes, much in the same way as Achiever. Combination of low quality and proportions made 3 or 4 of the questions here seem confusing.
Everything else was fine and doable. Practice is all you need. Achiever is a must if you want a high score.
RC -- Material: CrackDAT reading, Qvault, and Achiever
This RC score with a percentile of 65.5 may not seem to be that high but this score made me feel the best because I was fully expecting to get a 16 again after I finished it. In my first attempt of the DAT I didn't practice this section.
After some sporadic attempts on this section over the course of a few months I finally got my CDreading scores to be consistent around the 20's. During the month of this test I tried the qvault and again scored in the 20s consistently. Then I tried my hand at Achiever and my world shattered like a great big fat person through a skylight. It was horrible. The two scores of 14 made me realize CDreading had easy non-science and really basic science passages. They were not representative of the type of passages that would be on the test. The same also applies for Qvault. I tried Achiever RC again a week before my test and scored a 17. Definitely an improvement and I saw some people that had high RC scores on the DAT score the same on that particular Achiever exam. It made feel slightly better and made me reconsider rescheduling the test again.
My technique on the test began by mapping out the first passage and the first half of the second passage. After a certain point in the 2nd passage my method devolved into a panicked frenzy of ‘search and destroy' with a dash of deliberate reading. The RC section I had seemed very well suited to be done with pure search and destroy because I had no questions about the authors tone, opinion, or anything not related to a specific fact in the passages. Despite this, I had a gut feeling that I was doing everything wrong because my timing was off, taking more than 20min for a passage then rushing through the next one.
In hindsight I believe CDreading and Qvault were the reasons why I got this score even though the topics of their passages are sometimes non-science. Just the act of practicing this section so many times helped me get accustomed to what showed up on the real test. Tip: don't do Achiever RC within 2 weeks of your test date.
QR -- Materials: Achiever, CDmath, and Math destroyer
This section required the minimum amount of brains because it was so basic. That being said I failed the requirement and brought too much brains. The questions were often so simple I confused myself by thinking there were subtle concepts at play that I just wasn't seeing.
Also the test center was freezing. By the time I got to this section my intensity was waning and that made me vulnerable to the ac they were blasting non-stop. I even stopped what I was doing to tuck my shirt into my underwear and my jeans into my socks. You guys should have seen the elderly woman that works there sprint to see what I was doing. I'm convinced the cold decreased blood flow to the brain making my ability to stay sane and clear diminish.
I finished this section with 10min to spare and with 4 questions I was unsure of that were marked. Those 4 questions ate up those minutes b/c I couldn't remember how to estimate cube roots that weren't perfect cubes as well as other types of questions with estimations that are similar. Inefficient overreliance on the calculator was what ended up happening and I didn't get a chance to review any of the other 36 questions.
QR diagnosis: I bombed, not as bad as last time but still bad. My bombing is more evident when you compare my Achiever, CDmath and Math destroyer scores with this QR.
Practice Tests
Qvault: Section/#1/#2/#3/#4/#5/#6/#7/#8/#9/#10
Bio: 20/18/16/18/21/17/20/21/18/18
GC: 24/24/20/20/20/20/19/21/22/20
OC: 24/24/22/21/22/22/21/21/19/22
RC: 19/21/19/X/19/20/22/ X / X / X
QR: 22/23/22/22/22/23/27/26/X/X
Achiever: Section/#1/#2/#3/#4/#5
Bio: 20/19/17/16 /X
GC: 20/18/18/18 /X
OC: 20/18/25/17 /X
PAT: 18/21/20/18 /X
RC: 17/14/14/17 /X
QR: 17/19/19 /X /X
Crack DAT Reading: #1/#2/#3/#4/#5/#6/#7/#8/#9/#10:
15/18/20/18/17/20/20/19/21/20
Crack DAT Math: #18/#19/#20/#21/#22/#23/#24/#25:
23/25/30/21/25/22/28/28
CDP: scores ranged from 20-24
Math Destroyer: raw scores ranged from 31-38 with a mode of 34.
Thoughts: The RC score of 65.5 percentile made me feel the best; I was fully expecting a 16 again. If I had gotten a 16 this path would have ended and I'd probably end up as a high school chem teacher *shudders*. I started this test with a goal of getting 25 but because I bombed QR I didn't. Part of me wants to do a retake b/c of QR but I won't because I hate RC.
With my sub-par gpa this will hopefully help.
My bad if anything above is incoherent the test ended 11 hours ago at 10pm and I still haven't slept mainly because IM A FREE MAN again baby, no longer bound by these shackles of strict self-imposed rules..
(How do I post a pic on this thing?)
(Point differences from 1st time)
Bio: 22 +1
GC: 28 +6
OC: 29 +4
RC: 20 +4
QR: 20 +3
PA: 23 +1
TS: 25 +3
AA: 24 +4
If you come into my room the first thing you will always see on my desk is my previous DAT scores from 6 months ago. A reminder of failure to push me forward.
Test day: Thanks to some help I was actually able to sleep the night before the test unlike last time. The first thing I did in the morning was open the Math destroyer and started reviewing. A while back I realized doing it is a great warm-up that gets the juices flowing and as a result better scores on the practice exams. Afterwards I studied bio until the start of the test. I felt prepared for everything except for bio and most of all the RC section. I had my headphones on all day listening to depressing music. Something about feeling dreadful is extremely motivating. I'm generally a happy dude but happiness isn't useful for long intensive work because, for one, it makes more vulnerable to being distracted by girls.
Tested started 4:30 and ended 10:00pm.
BIO – Material: Destroyer, DATqVault, Achiever, Cliff Bio & Chad's Questions
The Bio section started out with a string of questions that were very obvious thanks to destroyer and qvault. There were a few questions (2 or 3) that were awfully specific and contained pieces of useless info in the question that seems to have been inserted solely to lead you to the wrong answer. I genuinely thought I was going to score better when I finished it. I must have made some dumb mistakes.
Destroyer is the best for all sections. Bio qvault was good and had some info not covered in destroyer. Achiever was useful in the way that it forcibly crushed cockiness and took you out of complacency. Cliff AP Bio book was great for a quick review. Rusty on a topic? Read Cliff Bio and after 30-45 min you'll be completely reacquainted with everything you need to know about the topic. Chad's bio was also good, I only did the questions.
GC – Same as above
I thought I was going to get a lower score because there was a minor theme of around 2 or 3 half-life questions that featured a twist I've never encountered. I finished Bio and OC quickly and took my time trying to figure them out. Pleasantly surprised with this score, though my original goal coming into the test was for 30 :/
Do Destroyer, once you get a good grasp of it you're almost guaranteed to get at least a 20 for GC and OC. Chad's GC/OC questions are also very good. Achiever is considerably more difficult than the actual test. Qvault GC and OC were a bit repetitive and the easiest of all the material.
OC -- material same above
Honestly don't know what happened. One question wrong? How? Impossible. I thought I knew all the questions...
PA -- Material: CrackDATpat and Achiever
The keyholes section had the same weirdness about it that I remember from my first time taking the test. When I say weird I'm referring to the abysmally low quality images that they used. The images on the test seemed as if they were distorted in some way. CDP had nice clear images. The images on the test looked similar to the way Achiever has it but a bit worse. Though I could be wrong here and the pictures may have looked low quality b/c of the old computers in my prometric center. Whatever the reason for the low quality, it did make this section more challenging than it should be. Keyholes on the test involve looking at the proportions and matching the sizes, much in the same way as Achiever. Combination of low quality and proportions made 3 or 4 of the questions here seem confusing.
Everything else was fine and doable. Practice is all you need. Achiever is a must if you want a high score.
RC -- Material: CrackDAT reading, Qvault, and Achiever
This RC score with a percentile of 65.5 may not seem to be that high but this score made me feel the best because I was fully expecting to get a 16 again after I finished it. In my first attempt of the DAT I didn't practice this section.
After some sporadic attempts on this section over the course of a few months I finally got my CDreading scores to be consistent around the 20's. During the month of this test I tried the qvault and again scored in the 20s consistently. Then I tried my hand at Achiever and my world shattered like a great big fat person through a skylight. It was horrible. The two scores of 14 made me realize CDreading had easy non-science and really basic science passages. They were not representative of the type of passages that would be on the test. The same also applies for Qvault. I tried Achiever RC again a week before my test and scored a 17. Definitely an improvement and I saw some people that had high RC scores on the DAT score the same on that particular Achiever exam. It made feel slightly better and made me reconsider rescheduling the test again.
My technique on the test began by mapping out the first passage and the first half of the second passage. After a certain point in the 2nd passage my method devolved into a panicked frenzy of ‘search and destroy' with a dash of deliberate reading. The RC section I had seemed very well suited to be done with pure search and destroy because I had no questions about the authors tone, opinion, or anything not related to a specific fact in the passages. Despite this, I had a gut feeling that I was doing everything wrong because my timing was off, taking more than 20min for a passage then rushing through the next one.
In hindsight I believe CDreading and Qvault were the reasons why I got this score even though the topics of their passages are sometimes non-science. Just the act of practicing this section so many times helped me get accustomed to what showed up on the real test. Tip: don't do Achiever RC within 2 weeks of your test date.
QR -- Materials: Achiever, CDmath, and Math destroyer
This section required the minimum amount of brains because it was so basic. That being said I failed the requirement and brought too much brains. The questions were often so simple I confused myself by thinking there were subtle concepts at play that I just wasn't seeing.
Also the test center was freezing. By the time I got to this section my intensity was waning and that made me vulnerable to the ac they were blasting non-stop. I even stopped what I was doing to tuck my shirt into my underwear and my jeans into my socks. You guys should have seen the elderly woman that works there sprint to see what I was doing. I'm convinced the cold decreased blood flow to the brain making my ability to stay sane and clear diminish.
I finished this section with 10min to spare and with 4 questions I was unsure of that were marked. Those 4 questions ate up those minutes b/c I couldn't remember how to estimate cube roots that weren't perfect cubes as well as other types of questions with estimations that are similar. Inefficient overreliance on the calculator was what ended up happening and I didn't get a chance to review any of the other 36 questions.
QR diagnosis: I bombed, not as bad as last time but still bad. My bombing is more evident when you compare my Achiever, CDmath and Math destroyer scores with this QR.
Practice Tests
Qvault: Section/#1/#2/#3/#4/#5/#6/#7/#8/#9/#10
Bio: 20/18/16/18/21/17/20/21/18/18
GC: 24/24/20/20/20/20/19/21/22/20
OC: 24/24/22/21/22/22/21/21/19/22
RC: 19/21/19/X/19/20/22/ X / X / X
QR: 22/23/22/22/22/23/27/26/X/X
Achiever: Section/#1/#2/#3/#4/#5
Bio: 20/19/17/16 /X
GC: 20/18/18/18 /X
OC: 20/18/25/17 /X
PAT: 18/21/20/18 /X
RC: 17/14/14/17 /X
QR: 17/19/19 /X /X
Crack DAT Reading: #1/#2/#3/#4/#5/#6/#7/#8/#9/#10:
15/18/20/18/17/20/20/19/21/20
Crack DAT Math: #18/#19/#20/#21/#22/#23/#24/#25:
23/25/30/21/25/22/28/28
CDP: scores ranged from 20-24
Math Destroyer: raw scores ranged from 31-38 with a mode of 34.
Thoughts: The RC score of 65.5 percentile made me feel the best; I was fully expecting a 16 again. If I had gotten a 16 this path would have ended and I'd probably end up as a high school chem teacher *shudders*. I started this test with a goal of getting 25 but because I bombed QR I didn't. Part of me wants to do a retake b/c of QR but I won't because I hate RC.
With my sub-par gpa this will hopefully help.
My bad if anything above is incoherent the test ended 11 hours ago at 10pm and I still haven't slept mainly because IM A FREE MAN again baby, no longer bound by these shackles of strict self-imposed rules..
(How do I post a pic on this thing?)
Last edited:
