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- Jan 14, 2014
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Just came back from test centre, sitting down and start typing this breakdown, a bit messy but it's from my fresh memory. Hopefully this will be a bit helpful for future DAT takers.
Everything is based on my personal background/experience, so please just extract the part you think it's helpful~
AA: 24
TS: 24 (Bio: 27; GC: 24; OC: 22)
PAT: 25
RC: 22
QR: 25
Q-Banks used: Bootcamp, qVault, Destroyer, CDP (i bought the most expensive version! and turned out just did PAT once....what a waste!!! not recommended from my side)
Bootcamp: HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended for every subject! It ACCURATELY reflected what I've encountered during the real deal. However, it won't allow me to save my own question list to review. Moreover, the RC part is 1) upside down compared to real test and 2) actual test has NO question # listed under. The content of Bootcamp's RC highly resembles those of real test: it's all about science!
and Ari, the founder of BC, is being supportive on my questions and feedback! I am sure w/ persistence, BC will be the top-review resource for DAT takers! Way to go!
QV: Highly recommended for Science. It allowed me to make a question list of my own so I can blast (torture) myself constantly (on daily basis) for wrong answers i made, so to make sure i won't get them wrong during actual test. Didn't spend too much time on other subjects of QV.
Destroyer: a good start-up Science material for me, yet the price is a bit over its actual value. If you are tight on money, getting the above two will be fine. I went through it 3 times though.
CDP: like i said, what a waste lol. if you want it, just get PAT for introductory purpose.
Personal Note: IMO, all q-banks should serve to help you learn from mistakes, so do not feel bad about scoring lower than expected/do not think you're cheating if you remembered all q-bank answers and scored 30. It's WHAT YOU DO in Real DAT that counts!
Here goes detailed breakdown:
Bio:
Material used: Cliff, Feralis, Destroyer, Bootcamp+qVault
Before test: I started with Cliff's 3rd edition, then felt bored but still managed to complete once w/o really remembering anything. The parts I hated most are evolution/ecology and any creature that's not human.
I started destroyer and quickly "browsed" through all bio questions in 2 days, wrote down logics/thinkings/why true/false beside each question i got wrong at first time. Then i just kissed goodbye to Cliff (BORING!) and start Feralis. Meanwhile after destroyer I also started Bootcamp and QV. I edited Feralis myself, adding/deleting images, points, format, etc. Eventually ended up with a 106 page pdf file, printed out and read while I am on toilet lol.
1-week before test: Do, redo, and re-redo qbanks again and again, mainly QV (it lets u save questions of own choice) + Bootcamp, check wrongs and make sure right ones are already like second-nature. read all notes again and again and focused on weak areas to straighten things out like telling your own story. Biology has no tricks but only FACTS to mem orize!
During test: I do not get any plant question (yeah!!), all in all, fair content. Others are all human-related or just simple facts of cells/bacteria.
After Thought: Drop Cliff if you are of bio major. Do as many qs as you can since it's all about EXPOSURE!
OC/GC:
Material used: Chad's, Khan's, OChem as 2nd Language, Destroyer, Bootcamp + qVault.
Before test: chemistry for me is like a stranger. Last time i studied on chem was 7-8 yrs ago, so this becomes my ultimate struggle (my mark tells the story lol). I watched Chad once with 1.5x. I never liked video lectures w/ a guy walking right and left, but his outlines and RXN Tables are of big help. I supplemented myself w/ Ochem as 2nd Language (very helpful) and Khan's academy (also helpful and no man walking around, just the BLACKBOARD!). besides those, it's all about doing q-bank again and again. Not great score for me so check on others who got higher and learn from them. Personally I hate any course w/ a prefix/suffix of -chem- in name (e.g.. Biochem!)
btw: I ditched on CDP Sci since both its interface and content suck compare to BC/QV. CDP contents on Sci is either too hard/easy or irrelevant in my opinion. So think twice if you are about to purchase the whole expensive combo (i could have used those money to buy some shoes/clothing!!!)
During test: felt the same as bootcamp/QV. no strange wtf questions/reagents. I got screwed on two rxn that i can't recall. so please KNOW all RXNS, Chad's table or Destroyer road map until you can play them around like Lego.
After Thought: Maybe another month of study on chemistry will boost my mark.....
PAT:
Material used: CDP PAT, Bootcamp, 30% of QV
Before test: Started with CDP to get a hold of basic strategy, finished once and then jumped right to Bootcamp. I highly recommend BC for PAT since it's harder than real deal, aka you WILL get frustrated but that's a good thing!! coz mistakes alert you on tiny details/proportions of shapes so no similar mistake will be made again during actual test! I practiced PAT one night per week for 4 weeks.
During Test: I got couple complex keyhole models which required some second thoughts. TFE, pattern folding are both doable and nothing strange. Cube-counting gave a couple ones with hollow-centers so be very careful. Keyhole is all about symmetry. I have no idea about angel-ranking so just go w/ instinct.
After thought: CDP Pat is good for introductory, and once you master the basic skills, ditch it and go for BC. If you want more exposure, try QV but not 100% necessary.
RC:
Material used: Bootcamp, CDP, QV.
Before test: I started late on RC coz I aced GRE before, but DAT RC is....weird (yeah that's the word for it IMO). I tried numerous methods but none worked perfectly.
During test: I averaged 12 paragraphs long for each. I got a lot of "statement true-false", very time-consuming questions. My strategy is to glance through all questions first and then start reading the whole passage and answer questions IN ORDER.
After thought: Ultimately, just read the questions, then passage and trust your short-term memory!! Like I said, I dunno why DAT loves to pick on tiny details instead of big picture on RC, so it's weird, compared to my GRE experience.
QR:
Material used: Destroyer (not math destroyer), some online search.
Before test: Not to bluff but I was once in team of IMO so difficult math (note the word "difficult"lol) is never a problem for me. The only thing annoyed me on DAT was the conversion of units b/w metric & imperial. I am from Canada (yeah a country ruled by the Queen but uses Metric instead of Imperial wtf!!). I also got a very faded memory on trigonometry formulas. I searched online for conversions and formulas and printed them out the night before test for some quick cramming.
During test: My mind wandered off during this last section so prob some careless mistakes, oh well.
After thought: Do as many questions especially in weak area. pay attention to units!! I was hoping for a 30 on QR, but then carelessness dragged me down (as usual in all my previous exams lol).
Overall feeling: I studied 1.5 month for DAT. The key thing in my study is all about doing questions over and over again. The trick is to make sure that I know WHY each CHOICE of a question is right/wrong. A qbank offers limited # of qs but with own imagination unlimited possibility can be deduced and self-tested. I do not have a specific schedule for every subject, but just simply rotating from Bio->Chem->Bio->Chem on daily basis, and PAT + RC once/twice a week.
I've been through worse exam scenarios (and you dun wanna know what they are lol), so DAT 5-hour session is a breeze on energy level. I started at late noon (never a get-up-early-type guy) and managed to finish around 4.5 hours. My strategy is as usual: black coffee w/ sugar + a bottle of water. Chat with prometric centre guys to ease my mood before entering, and proceeded the whole thing as did q-banks on my laptop. Try to hypnotize urself constantly that "I KNOW THIS ****" so you won't get affected by occasional misses of questions.
Thank you all for reading this far, and please bear w/ my grammar/tone/irrelevant thoughts, as I can barely keep my eyes open now...
BEST of LUCK to you all!!!
Everything is based on my personal background/experience, so please just extract the part you think it's helpful~
AA: 24
TS: 24 (Bio: 27; GC: 24; OC: 22)
PAT: 25
RC: 22
QR: 25
Q-Banks used: Bootcamp, qVault, Destroyer, CDP (i bought the most expensive version! and turned out just did PAT once....what a waste!!! not recommended from my side)
Bootcamp: HIGHLY HIGHLY recommended for every subject! It ACCURATELY reflected what I've encountered during the real deal. However, it won't allow me to save my own question list to review. Moreover, the RC part is 1) upside down compared to real test and 2) actual test has NO question # listed under. The content of Bootcamp's RC highly resembles those of real test: it's all about science!
and Ari, the founder of BC, is being supportive on my questions and feedback! I am sure w/ persistence, BC will be the top-review resource for DAT takers! Way to go!
QV: Highly recommended for Science. It allowed me to make a question list of my own so I can blast (torture) myself constantly (on daily basis) for wrong answers i made, so to make sure i won't get them wrong during actual test. Didn't spend too much time on other subjects of QV.
Destroyer: a good start-up Science material for me, yet the price is a bit over its actual value. If you are tight on money, getting the above two will be fine. I went through it 3 times though.
CDP: like i said, what a waste lol. if you want it, just get PAT for introductory purpose.
Personal Note: IMO, all q-banks should serve to help you learn from mistakes, so do not feel bad about scoring lower than expected/do not think you're cheating if you remembered all q-bank answers and scored 30. It's WHAT YOU DO in Real DAT that counts!
Here goes detailed breakdown:
Bio:
Material used: Cliff, Feralis, Destroyer, Bootcamp+qVault
Before test: I started with Cliff's 3rd edition, then felt bored but still managed to complete once w/o really remembering anything. The parts I hated most are evolution/ecology and any creature that's not human.
I started destroyer and quickly "browsed" through all bio questions in 2 days, wrote down logics/thinkings/why true/false beside each question i got wrong at first time. Then i just kissed goodbye to Cliff (BORING!) and start Feralis. Meanwhile after destroyer I also started Bootcamp and QV. I edited Feralis myself, adding/deleting images, points, format, etc. Eventually ended up with a 106 page pdf file, printed out and read while I am on toilet lol.
1-week before test: Do, redo, and re-redo qbanks again and again, mainly QV (it lets u save questions of own choice) + Bootcamp, check wrongs and make sure right ones are already like second-nature. read all notes again and again and focused on weak areas to straighten things out like telling your own story. Biology has no tricks but only FACTS to mem orize!
During test: I do not get any plant question (yeah!!), all in all, fair content. Others are all human-related or just simple facts of cells/bacteria.
After Thought: Drop Cliff if you are of bio major. Do as many qs as you can since it's all about EXPOSURE!
OC/GC:
Material used: Chad's, Khan's, OChem as 2nd Language, Destroyer, Bootcamp + qVault.
Before test: chemistry for me is like a stranger. Last time i studied on chem was 7-8 yrs ago, so this becomes my ultimate struggle (my mark tells the story lol). I watched Chad once with 1.5x. I never liked video lectures w/ a guy walking right and left, but his outlines and RXN Tables are of big help. I supplemented myself w/ Ochem as 2nd Language (very helpful) and Khan's academy (also helpful and no man walking around, just the BLACKBOARD!). besides those, it's all about doing q-bank again and again. Not great score for me so check on others who got higher and learn from them. Personally I hate any course w/ a prefix/suffix of -chem- in name (e.g.. Biochem!)
btw: I ditched on CDP Sci since both its interface and content suck compare to BC/QV. CDP contents on Sci is either too hard/easy or irrelevant in my opinion. So think twice if you are about to purchase the whole expensive combo (i could have used those money to buy some shoes/clothing!!!)
During test: felt the same as bootcamp/QV. no strange wtf questions/reagents. I got screwed on two rxn that i can't recall. so please KNOW all RXNS, Chad's table or Destroyer road map until you can play them around like Lego.
After Thought: Maybe another month of study on chemistry will boost my mark.....
PAT:
Material used: CDP PAT, Bootcamp, 30% of QV
Before test: Started with CDP to get a hold of basic strategy, finished once and then jumped right to Bootcamp. I highly recommend BC for PAT since it's harder than real deal, aka you WILL get frustrated but that's a good thing!! coz mistakes alert you on tiny details/proportions of shapes so no similar mistake will be made again during actual test! I practiced PAT one night per week for 4 weeks.
During Test: I got couple complex keyhole models which required some second thoughts. TFE, pattern folding are both doable and nothing strange. Cube-counting gave a couple ones with hollow-centers so be very careful. Keyhole is all about symmetry. I have no idea about angel-ranking so just go w/ instinct.
After thought: CDP Pat is good for introductory, and once you master the basic skills, ditch it and go for BC. If you want more exposure, try QV but not 100% necessary.
RC:
Material used: Bootcamp, CDP, QV.
Before test: I started late on RC coz I aced GRE before, but DAT RC is....weird (yeah that's the word for it IMO). I tried numerous methods but none worked perfectly.
During test: I averaged 12 paragraphs long for each. I got a lot of "statement true-false", very time-consuming questions. My strategy is to glance through all questions first and then start reading the whole passage and answer questions IN ORDER.
After thought: Ultimately, just read the questions, then passage and trust your short-term memory!! Like I said, I dunno why DAT loves to pick on tiny details instead of big picture on RC, so it's weird, compared to my GRE experience.
QR:
Material used: Destroyer (not math destroyer), some online search.
Before test: Not to bluff but I was once in team of IMO so difficult math (note the word "difficult"lol) is never a problem for me. The only thing annoyed me on DAT was the conversion of units b/w metric & imperial. I am from Canada (yeah a country ruled by the Queen but uses Metric instead of Imperial wtf!!). I also got a very faded memory on trigonometry formulas. I searched online for conversions and formulas and printed them out the night before test for some quick cramming.
During test: My mind wandered off during this last section so prob some careless mistakes, oh well.
After thought: Do as many questions especially in weak area. pay attention to units!! I was hoping for a 30 on QR, but then carelessness dragged me down (as usual in all my previous exams lol).
Overall feeling: I studied 1.5 month for DAT. The key thing in my study is all about doing questions over and over again. The trick is to make sure that I know WHY each CHOICE of a question is right/wrong. A qbank offers limited # of qs but with own imagination unlimited possibility can be deduced and self-tested. I do not have a specific schedule for every subject, but just simply rotating from Bio->Chem->Bio->Chem on daily basis, and PAT + RC once/twice a week.
I've been through worse exam scenarios (and you dun wanna know what they are lol), so DAT 5-hour session is a breeze on energy level. I started at late noon (never a get-up-early-type guy) and managed to finish around 4.5 hours. My strategy is as usual: black coffee w/ sugar + a bottle of water. Chat with prometric centre guys to ease my mood before entering, and proceeded the whole thing as did q-banks on my laptop. Try to hypnotize urself constantly that "I KNOW THIS ****" so you won't get affected by occasional misses of questions.
Thank you all for reading this far, and please bear w/ my grammar/tone/irrelevant thoughts, as I can barely keep my eyes open now...
BEST of LUCK to you all!!!
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