DAT Adventure Complete! AA 24 TS 27 PAT 24

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Soon To Be Dr G

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Hey all, whatsup! I hope you guys are ready for the ride of your lives, because this DAT "adventure" was and incredibly taxing one.
Here are my scores:
Bio 25 :love:
Chem 26
Orgo 29 :love:
Reading 20 +pissed+
Math 21
PAT 24 :highfive:
TS 27 :clap:
AA 24 :zip:

Started officially studying: June 5, 2013
DAT Exam: August 22, 2013
Avg Study Time per Day: Consistently at 9 Hours a day with breaks
Total Approximate Study Hours: 1000

This entire mission of someday joining the dental community was one of the most time consuming and difficult tasks that I've ever undertaken. But, as Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, "In whatever you choose to do, do it because it's hard, not because it's easy." These are words of brilliance!

I would like to start my breakdown with a key concept: Enter with the right attitude! This profession is accessible to those who succeed, but whether you succeed or not is up to your attitude. I am the type of guy who will invest my entire being into my academic tasks because I demand greatness of myself (which often led to sleepless nights because of unbearable heart palpitations and nervousness!). I am highly enthusiastic about academics and it is important that I enjoy every step of the way, because otherwise it would just be time wasted. I say this not because I wish to brag, I really don't, I say this because it is all to often that I see my peers take on the task of studying for DATs merely because it is a means to an end. While there are those who succeed this way, coming into it with a happy attitude will make it all much easier and much more pleasant.

Ok, now that that's over, here is my prep breakdown:

Biology:
Destroyer 10/10
Do NOT answer the questions and move on, this is STRICTLY learning book. Dr. Romano just made it fun and interactive by using question format. You must know the meaning of EACH definition and understand every single right AND wrong answer!!!
Cliffs AP Bio 9/10
Great starting material! I used this before the destroyer to relearn all of biology... I literally suck at biology and got B-'s in both Bio 1 and Bio 2... So this meant relearning each piece of info!
DATQVault 7/10
Questions were beyond difficult on this site. I would often find myself feeling down after a QVault practice exam. My scores for bio were like this (correct out of 40 questions): 28, 28, 30, 27, 32, 32, 30, 35, 32, 29. You can imagine that these scores were attained over a course of two and a half months... and I took the tests in order, so the low scores KILLED me! :wtf: Nonetheless, I say it is a great source because it did teach me plenty of info! (Only for bio)

Chemistry:
Destroyer 10/10
This was excellent for DAT prep because it was harder than the real thing, and really taught you what you needed to know for the DAT!!!!!!)
DATQVault 5/10
Meet my friend, El Garbagio... don't spend money on any DATQVault other than biology... please! :thumbdown: My scores were (# correct out of 30): 22, 18, 22, 26, 25, 23, 28, 25, 28, 28

Organic Chemistry:
Destroyer 10/10
Once again, this book did wonders. I was an excellent student in college in my organic classes, but the book still managed to teach me important information. Romano did not include a single piece of useless info in this book, so you should know every single thing discussed.
DATQVault 6/10
Not too great, but I still did each exam. My scores were (# correct out of 30): 29, 24, 28, 28, 26, 26, 28, 27, 28, 27

Reading Comprehension:
DATQVault 8/10
Actually scratch what I said about getting QVault for bio only.. I found that reading here was similar to my DAT passages!!! I didn't even complete the entire 7 exams but here are my scores (# correct out of 50) 33, 42, 32, 40, 37

Math:
Math Destroyer 10/10
DUDE! Do EVERY problem. This math destroyer was GOLD!!!! Difficult and at times frustrating, but WORTH IT! I spent my entire month of June on math, too bad I forgot most of it by DAT time :mad:

PAT:
CrackDatPAT
This is some VERY important software! I bought the full $200 package for all the PAT stuff, and it was super important, because it strongly resembled my DAT!
Test 1: 23 (I did this one last, but the rest are in order)
Test 2: 18
Test 3: 20
Test 4: N/A
Test 5: 23
Test 6: 22
Test 7: 21
Test 8: N/A
Test 9: N/A
Test 10: 20

I felt that because I trained my mind to imagine the molecules and chirality centers during organic, I was able to grasp PAT much quicker than my peers.

Now for the Topscore Exams:
Exam 1:
Bio 21
Orgo 20
Chem 19
Reading 20
Math 21
PAT 22 (much easier than my DAT)
TS: 20
AA: 20

Exam 2:
Bio 19
Chem 19
Orgo 25
Reading 22
Math 22
PAT 23
TS 21
AA 21

Exam 3 (I didn't do the entire exam, just science sections):
Bio 17 :(
Orgo 30
Chem 21

So, here we are. I am done with my DAT adventure and you are in the middle of yours, or perhaps just considering to start. I truly wish you the best, and I'll tell you that as a student just like you who's been through this roller coaster, it really is a fun experience. You get to prove to yourself what you are truly capable of.

I wish you all the best, please feel free to ask questions!
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Dirty. Idk why everyone hates on Qvault chemistries though, I seem to think they are good practice. Why do you think they were so bad? They seem to be similar score-wise to what you got on the real thing.
 
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The truth is, QVault was testing the wrong material half of the time. Of the 300 questions I completed on QVault, maybe 50 were useful for learning DAT-like material.
 
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I kept hearing people telling me how "impossible" PAT was on the real DAT and how CDP was nothing like it, but for me it was really almost identical. Aside from so "impossible" keyholes and top front ends, they were mostly exactly the same!
 
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Awesome scores! What strategy did you use for RC? and are you saying the Keyholes and TFE were really hard on the real thing?
 
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JCLewis90 said:
Awesome scores! What strategy did you use for RC? and are you saying the Keyholes and TFE were really hard on the real thing?
Click to expand...

Yea man, Keyholes and TFE were really tough, folding and cube counting were extremely simple (although I recommend checking over each cube counting question twice to make sure you made the right choices).
For RC I used search and destroy. I was super bummed because I came up like 64th percentile... seems like there are alot of reading geniuses out there. I am not a fast reader and I certainly do not read and understand material too efficiently, especially from leisurely books. I like to stick to my science textbooks lol. Anyway, my topics were very interesting and I was hoping to score higher in this section!
 
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Soon To Be Dr G said:
Yea man, Keyholes and TFE were really tough, folding and cube counting were extremely simple (although I recommend checking over each cube counting question twice to make sure you made the right choices).
For RC I used search and destroy. I was super bummed because I came up like 64th percentile... seems like there are alot of reading geniuses out there. I am not a fast reader and I certainly do not read and understand material too efficiently, especially from leisurely books. I like to stick to my science textbooks lol. Anyway, my topics were very interesting and I was hoping to score higher in this section!
Click to expand...


Ahh.. ok. I've been using DAT Bootcamp and CDP for PAT, and Bootcamp seems to be a good bit harder than CDP. Hopefully I'll be prepared for those tougher Keyholes and TFE questions.

But I'm definitely the same way when it comes to RC.. I'm not a fast reader because when I try to read fast, I can't retain any information. I forget what I just read and have to go back and read it again. I'm just trying to figure out what method will work best for me. I'm afraid the passages on the real DAT will be difficult to use Search and Destroy for.
 
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Soon To Be Dr G said:
The truth is, QVault was testing the wrong material half of the time. Of the 300 questions I completed on QVault, maybe 50 were useful for learning DAT-like material.
Click to expand...

Do you think the chemistry sections on Qvault were too hard compared to the DAT or just too random?
 
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Jordwin said:
Then why'd you miss 2-12 if they were so easy? Lol
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What do you mean 2-12? The example was super simple, but they included two random questions that I was forced to guess on. I believe a 26 in gen chem is one question wrong. But unfortunately that is the DAT strategy... to give you like 27 doable problems, and 3 really confusing problems, whether it be the choices or the wording of the questions, they can be confusing.
 
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Great scores and awesome breakdown. Congratulations.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
 
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Soon To Be Dr G said:
What do you mean 2-12? The example was super simple, but they included two random questions that I was forced to guess on. I believe a 26 in gen chem is one question wrong. But unfortunately that is the DAT strategy... to give you like 27 doable problems, and 3 really confusing problems, whether it be the choices or the wording of the questions, they can be confusing.
Click to expand...

Oh sorry I thought you meant Qvault questions were way too easy, my bad! I misunderstood you. Thanks for the clarification!
I've thought some of the Qvault questions had been quite random. I hadn't heard of isoelectronic before Qvault for an example.
 
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Jordwin said:
Oh sorry I thought you meant Qvault questions were way too easy, my bad! I misunderstood you. Thanks for the clarification!
I've thought some of the Qvault questions had been quite random. I hadn't heard of isoelectronic before Qvault for an example.
Click to expand...

Ahhhh, Isoelectronic was one of the 50 that were actually useful man! You must look at the destroyer, it covers the truly important topics. You will then notice the useful and useless problems on QVault.
 
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Soon To Be Dr G said:
Ahhhh, Isoelectronic was one of the 50 that were actually useful man! You must look at the destroyer, it covers the truly important topics. You will then notice the useful and useless problems on QVault.
Click to expand...

Well I know what an isoelectronic series is, i suppose it is the same? Maybe i was just not thinking. I've already gone through the destroyer.
 
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Soon To Be Dr G said:
Hey all, whatsup! I hope you guys are ready for the ride of your lives, because this DAT "adventure" was and incredibly taxing one.
Here are my scores:
Bio 25 :love:
Chem 26
Orgo 29 :love:
Reading 20 +pissed+
Math 21
PAT 24 :highfive:
TS 27 :clap:
AA 24 :zip:

Started officially studying: June 5, 2013
DAT Exam: August 22, 2013
Avg Study Time per Day: Consistently at 9 Hours a day with breaks
Total Approximate Study Hours: 1000

This entire mission of someday joining the dental community was one of the most time consuming and difficult tasks that I've ever undertaken. But, as Neil Degrasse Tyson once said, "In whatever you choose to do, do it because it's hard, not because it's easy." These are words of brilliance!

I would like to start my breakdown with a key concept: Enter with the right attitude! This profession is accessible to those who succeed, but whether you succeed or not is up to your attitude. I am the type of guy who will invest my entire being into my academic tasks because I demand greatness of myself (which often led to sleepless nights because of unbearable heart palpitations and nervousness!). I am highly enthusiastic about academics and it is important that I enjoy every step of the way, because otherwise it would just be time wasted. I say this not because I wish to brag, I really don't, I say this because it is all to often that I see my peers take on the task of studying for DATs merely because it is a means to an end. While there are those who succeed this way, coming into it with a happy attitude will make it all much easier and much more pleasant.

Ok, now that that's over, here is my prep breakdown:

Biology:
Destroyer 10/10
Do NOT answer the questions and move on, this is STRICTLY learning book. Dr. Romano just made it fun and interactive by using question format. You must know the meaning of EACH definition and understand every single right AND wrong answer!!!
Cliffs AP Bio 9/10
Great starting material! I used this before the destroyer to relearn all of biology... I literally suck at biology and got B-'s in both Bio 1 and Bio 2... So this meant relearning each piece of info!
DATQVault 7/10
Questions were beyond difficult on this site. I would often find myself feeling down after a QVault practice exam. My scores for bio were like this (correct out of 40 questions): 28, 28, 30, 27, 32, 32, 30, 35, 32, 29. You can imagine that these scores were attained over a course of two and a half months... and I took the tests in order, so the low scores KILLED me! :wtf: Nonetheless, I say it is a great source because it did teach me plenty of info! (Only for bio)

Chemistry:
Destroyer 10/10
This was excellent for DAT prep because it was harder than the real thing, and really taught you what you needed to know for the DAT!!!!!!)
DATQVault 5/10
Meet my friend, El Garbagio... don't spend money on any DATQVault other than biology... please! :thumbdown: My scores were (# correct out of 30): 22, 18, 22, 26, 25, 23, 28, 25, 28, 28

Organic Chemistry:
Destroyer 10/10
Once again, this book did wonders. I was an excellent student in college in my organic classes, but the book still managed to teach me important information. Romano did not include a single piece of useless info in this book, so you should know every single thing discussed.
DATQVault 6/10
Not too great, but I still did each exam. My scores were (# correct out of 30): 29, 24, 28, 28, 26, 26, 28, 27, 28, 27

Reading Comprehension:
DATQVault 8/10
Actually scratch what I said about getting QVault for bio only.. I found that reading here was similar to my DAT passages!!! I didn't even complete the entire 7 exams but here are my scores (# correct out of 50) 33, 42, 32, 40, 37

Math:
Math Destroyer 10/10
DUDE! Do EVERY problem. This math destroyer was GOLD!!!! Difficult and at times frustrating, but WORTH IT! I spent my entire month of June on math, too bad I forgot most of it by DAT time :mad:

PAT:
CrackDatPAT
This is some VERY important software! I bought the full $200 package for all the PAT stuff, and it was super important, because it strongly resembled my DAT!
Test 1: 23 (I did this one last, but the rest are in order)
Test 2: 18
Test 3: 20
Test 4: N/A
Test 5: 23
Test 6: 22
Test 7: 21
Test 8: N/A
Test 9: N/A
Test 10: 20

I felt that because I trained my mind to imagine the molecules and chirality centers during organic, I was able to grasp PAT much quicker than my peers.

Now for the Topscore Exams:
Exam 1:
Bio 21
Orgo 20
Chem 19
Reading 20
Math 21
PAT 22 (much easier than my DAT)
TS: 20
AA: 20

Exam 2:
Bio 19
Chem 19
Orgo 25
Reading 22
Math 22
PAT 23
TS 21
AA 21

Exam 3 (I didn't do the entire exam, just science sections):
Bio 17 :(
Orgo 30
Chem 21

So, here we are. I am done with my DAT adventure and you are in the middle of yours, or perhaps just considering to start. I truly wish you the best, and I'll tell you that as a student just like you who's been through this roller coaster, it really is a fun experience. You get to prove to yourself what you are truly capable of.

I wish you all the best, please feel free to ask questions!
Click to expand...



Well done! I hope you get into your desired school. I'm sure you will!
I've just started my adventure into the DAT grind, and knowing it will be a gruesome one. I'm glad to have gotten your take on it. I'm also studying from the Destroyer, using it as an aid in understanding the questions and the proper answers... Along with the Destroyer i'm using Cliff, crack the PAT and Kaplan. What are your thoughts on those?
i'm fairly new to prepping for this exam so any new insight would be great!!

Cheers
-George
 
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Wowww. You guys keep raising the bar.
Sick scores. Congrats. My biggest fear are orgo and bio. How do you think I should approach the destroyer?
 
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Wow! Niceee scores....currently using destroyer, math destroyer, kbb, and crack dat pat!
 
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Thanks for your blog and useful information! Congrats on your matriculation into dental school. :)
 
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If you have Destroyer and Cliffs for Bio, is that enough detailed info, or do you think you need Campbell too?
 
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Guys, really. This thread is a year old. There's a really low chance you'll get a reply.
 
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