ecrown said:
For those who have used this guide, can you help feedback on how to best utilize the 3D animated solutions at the PAT sections? I found the questions much more challenging than rest of other guides and heard that many have scored above 20 for their PAT as a result of using this awesome program. I only got a 16 on the first PAT mock test and am hoping to drill my mental perception more thoroughly before deciding to attempt the other two tests. Any secrets/comments/insights shared will be greatly appreciated... thanks.
Here's what I have done:
Aperture Passing: Upon seeing the model, do not rotate it right away. Mentally figure out for yourself the three generic views (top, front, end so called). You may want to unshade the model and zoom it to the right dimension before rotating it to tally with what you have perceived.
Orthographic Projection: Right click on the drawing and click View -> Overview Window... to pop up that little tiny page housing the 12 views related to the answers first. Figure out what/why you have answered wrongly as you try to reveal these views by enlarging (resizing) the Overview Window. Only then you should begin to animate the drawing in "Continuous Play" mode. Do not pamper yourself with this advanced feature. As the model is being animated, challenge yourself what exact view should come next. Doing this will kill two birds with one stone as you're at the same time drilling yourself for the Aperture Passing section. A proven way to tell how well you have mastered Top/Front/End questions is to play the show manually in reverse mode. Try it out, it works one way to another.
Angle Ranking: I don't know why so many threads have been saying that angle ranking has been the toughest in the PAT. If PAT will one day be based on this section alone, you probably do not need any practice guide anymore. Everyone can ace the PAT easily then. There are at most 3-5 difficult questions in the actual test which can appreciably be overcome via elimination and intelligent/sensible guesses.
Paper Folding: Listen,,, there are many two hole punches and at least one three hole punch in the actual PAT. You should also take note of multiple 1/4 or 3/4 folds. Sometimes 1/8 fold too. Like angle ranking, they are also meant to form a bonus section if and only if you have been well prepared to handle them. You should position the solution window and move it such that the next image only appears right after you've mentally unfolded it one at a time. That should be the way to learn. Don't be spoon-fed.
Cubes: If you don't score full points here, you are automatically asking for trouble. Pay attention to missing cube and use the method as described by the guide. I supposed you should be fine with this.
Form Development: Again, before you rotate the model, can you tell what patterns lie on the hidden sides/parts?
Hope the above info help to a certain extent. I'm truly thankful to this guide that has made me score significantly higher than the national mean.
I've tried Kaplan and Topscore and have all of their PAT tests scored beyond 20 but am worried if these are true reflection of my ability to do the same on coming DAT. I will proceed to order "DAT Achiever" and feedback to you guys how I think about it. 
