- Joined
- Jul 27, 2013
- Messages
- 131
- Reaction score
- 53
It is finally over!!! Before I start I really want to thank God, my wife, family, friends, and everyone who has posted breakdowns and answers to questions on here!!
PAT: 23
QR: 19
RC: 21
BIO: 21
GC: 22
OC: 22
TS: 21
AA: 21
I know these scores aren't like the freak of natures on here but for me these scores make me very HAPPY and am grateful for them!!!
Study Schedule:
I studied for three months. For the first month it was reading Cliffs AP and my old Bio notes, Chads Videos/Quizzes (while taking in depth notes), and some DAT Destroyer. I would study Bio and Gen Chem one day and O-chem and PAT the next. For the second month I started DatQVault, started studying for QR and really studied Destroyer. For the last month I still went over all those materials and also used Achiever, Topscore, and the ADA 09 test for practice. I also went through Chads Quizzes twice for both Gen and O Chem. All said and done I probably ran through Dat Destroyer 3 times. For every question I got wrong or every time I learned something new I would make a note card or write it down in one of my many study journals!!!
Before I start this is how it was FOR MY TEST!! After looking at TONS of breakdowns I have read very conflicting things. The things that stay consistent and that I can attest to is:
1. Chad is the man for both Gen Chem and O-Chem
2. Destroyer is a great tool for LEARNING
3. Comparing practice tests to the real deal really varies as to the DAT test you get
Biology
Materials Used To study: DatQVault, DAT Destroyer, Cliffs AP, some Feralis Notes, some Audio Osmosis
I really can't say more that hasn't been said as to the randomness of the actual Bio section... I at least felt like I could recognize everything but there were just some questions that I didn't know it in depth enough to apply it to the types of question that were asked. Again this was only about 5 or 6 questions, all other question were pretty straight forward. DatQVault was great and I felt like I learned alot. I got REALLY frustrated at some tests but just had to remember that I was still studying and LEARNING. Don't get frustrated with practice scores!!! I can't stress that enough. DAT Destroyer was another VERY useful tool to learn. The questions are not like they are on the real DAT but they are designed to cover multiple topics per question so you can learn. I think most if not all can be found in Cliffs but I supplemented the Anat and Phys with Feralis. I used some Audio Osmosis, I just went to grooveshark and listen to them. Kinda annoying after a while but I mainly used it for Anat and Phys review.
Gen Chem
Materials Used To Study: Chads Videos and Quizzes, DatQVault, and DAT Destroyer
Chad saved my Gen Chem score... end of story. I did pretty good with it in college but he really simplified things and taught them with SOOO much clarity. Literally everything you need to know is in his videos. I thought DatQVault was ok... Maybe just cause I didn't do that great at them they kind of ticked me off haha. Now I know there are some people that say DAT Destroyer is overkill and they are partially true. Again I think Destroyer is a fantastic tool for learning. Yes there are some random and over specific questions but I think it really helps you to apply the material and really think instead of just memorizing formulas from Chad. Overall my test was pretty straight forward, there were a few that caused me to read it over a few times to understand what was being asked though.
O-Chem
Materials Used to Study: Chads Videos and Quizzes, DatQvault, and DAT Destoyer
I actually did really good in O-Chem in college so I didn't prepare as much for this as I did for Bio and Gen Chem. I did use some, but not all, of chads videos and ALL of his quizzes. I really like his Orgain-Rxn-Table, people praise the Road Maps in DAT destroyer but I don't think enough gets said of Chads Rxn Table. DatQvualt was terrible.... I hated it and found some of the questions too weird/hard. DAT Destroyer is a great learning tool (once again). I say use it but don't get too frustrated with it. Overall my test was pretty straight forward but there were some questions that I was caught off guard with their difficulty.
PAT
Materials Used to Study: Crack DAT PAT, DatQVault and Achiever
I started off with crack dat pat and it took me a while to develop techniques and understand everything. Around test 5 things started to click and I started to understand what I needed to do. TFE was the last thing to click for me but after I got it I think it was actually one of my strongest! You should NOT use the counting method but really try to understand the what the lines mean and how to use those lines to visualize a 3-D image. I liked crack dat pat but I feel like it was great for initial practice. Again this is compared to MY TEST.
Crack Dat Pat was easier in Keyholes and TFE, way harder for angles than the real thing and about the same for everything else.
I then went to Qvault. Qvault PAT was tougher than crack dat but I felt like there were some errors (esp with the proportions of the Key Holes) and didn't like that there weren't really any explanations. One thing that I did like about Qvaults DAT was that their pattern folding was quite representative in respect to the ones where you fold and make the object (not necessarily the ones with colored shapes/patterns).
Achiever was the best PAT practice!! It was WAYYYY harder than the real thing but it really helps to get better at key holes and TFE as they are a lil too easy on crack dat pat. It is frustrating and really hard. I don't think I even finished a single test on time and on the real thing I had about 15 mins to go over things. Dont get down on the scores, just really learn from Achiever PAT!!! I spent about and hour or two really looking at every answer afterwards. The real DAT is not near as hard as achiever.
I did the free DAT Bootcamp and actually really liked it and felt it was very representative of the real deal. I wish I would have done this over Qvault.
For MY test I skipped Keyhole and TFE and went straight to angles. I then finished and then went back over keyholes and TFE. Overall I'd say it was close to the one Bootcamp test that I did but more kind of in between Achiver and crack dat pat.
Reading Comp
Materials Used to Study: Topscore and ADA 09 test
Not too much to say here, I just read each paragraph and made little notes as I went through it. Topscore was a little easy and ADA was pretty tough. I hate to say this but my RC was as tough as the ADA 09 test.... I honestly thought I was failing it and was going to retake the DAT because of the RC!!!! what a blessing haha!
Quantitative Reasoning
Materials Used to Study: DAT Destroyer, Chads Videos/Quizzes, Math destroyer, DatQvault
I hated studying for this and its been more than 5 years since I've done some of this math!!! In my opinion this is where DatQvault is very underrated, for MY TEST it was identical to Qvualt. I was thrilled with this because I was more scared for this part than any other part of the test mainly because I studied the least for this besides RC. I ABSOLUTELY HATED MATH DESTROYER!!!! Maybe I just got a easy QR but I felt like Math Destroyer was ridiculously hard. I spent hours on that thing and kind of wish I would have just done all of Qvualts tests and studied that. Again I only got a 19 but felt that if I would have studied using qvault more I could have done better. I guess if you are shooting for like a 25 on QR than Math Destroyer is the way to go
Practice Tests- DatQvault, Topscore, Achiever, and ADA 09 practice test.
I have added a my practice test for all those interested in comparing. I know looking at others practice test always made me feel good if I hadn't done well. Overall I would say Topscore was one of the best. I don't like their PAT though... just my opinion. Achiever was insanely difficult and although I bought the 5 test version (mainly for the PAT) I only did the sciences and stopped after the 4th test because it was just getting too hard!! The ADA 09 was good but man was I frustrated after I was done!! I know a lot of people say to get the hard copy but the real DAT is ON THE COMPUTER!!! Haha I dunno there are tons of errors and they don't even calculate your scores for you.... Kind of a rip off but it was good practice.
Last I just want to say don't let practice scores make you mad or feel like you can't do it. There were MANY times that I kept getting frustrated with them but STAY POSITIVE and LEARN from your mistakes.
(Just FYI my GPA is around a 3.7 and will apply next round in 2014)
Let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck every one!
PAT: 23
QR: 19
RC: 21
BIO: 21
GC: 22
OC: 22
TS: 21
AA: 21
I know these scores aren't like the freak of natures on here but for me these scores make me very HAPPY and am grateful for them!!!
Study Schedule:
I studied for three months. For the first month it was reading Cliffs AP and my old Bio notes, Chads Videos/Quizzes (while taking in depth notes), and some DAT Destroyer. I would study Bio and Gen Chem one day and O-chem and PAT the next. For the second month I started DatQVault, started studying for QR and really studied Destroyer. For the last month I still went over all those materials and also used Achiever, Topscore, and the ADA 09 test for practice. I also went through Chads Quizzes twice for both Gen and O Chem. All said and done I probably ran through Dat Destroyer 3 times. For every question I got wrong or every time I learned something new I would make a note card or write it down in one of my many study journals!!!
Before I start this is how it was FOR MY TEST!! After looking at TONS of breakdowns I have read very conflicting things. The things that stay consistent and that I can attest to is:
1. Chad is the man for both Gen Chem and O-Chem
2. Destroyer is a great tool for LEARNING
3. Comparing practice tests to the real deal really varies as to the DAT test you get
Biology
Materials Used To study: DatQVault, DAT Destroyer, Cliffs AP, some Feralis Notes, some Audio Osmosis
I really can't say more that hasn't been said as to the randomness of the actual Bio section... I at least felt like I could recognize everything but there were just some questions that I didn't know it in depth enough to apply it to the types of question that were asked. Again this was only about 5 or 6 questions, all other question were pretty straight forward. DatQVault was great and I felt like I learned alot. I got REALLY frustrated at some tests but just had to remember that I was still studying and LEARNING. Don't get frustrated with practice scores!!! I can't stress that enough. DAT Destroyer was another VERY useful tool to learn. The questions are not like they are on the real DAT but they are designed to cover multiple topics per question so you can learn. I think most if not all can be found in Cliffs but I supplemented the Anat and Phys with Feralis. I used some Audio Osmosis, I just went to grooveshark and listen to them. Kinda annoying after a while but I mainly used it for Anat and Phys review.
Gen Chem
Materials Used To Study: Chads Videos and Quizzes, DatQVault, and DAT Destroyer
Chad saved my Gen Chem score... end of story. I did pretty good with it in college but he really simplified things and taught them with SOOO much clarity. Literally everything you need to know is in his videos. I thought DatQVault was ok... Maybe just cause I didn't do that great at them they kind of ticked me off haha. Now I know there are some people that say DAT Destroyer is overkill and they are partially true. Again I think Destroyer is a fantastic tool for learning. Yes there are some random and over specific questions but I think it really helps you to apply the material and really think instead of just memorizing formulas from Chad. Overall my test was pretty straight forward, there were a few that caused me to read it over a few times to understand what was being asked though.
O-Chem
Materials Used to Study: Chads Videos and Quizzes, DatQvault, and DAT Destoyer
I actually did really good in O-Chem in college so I didn't prepare as much for this as I did for Bio and Gen Chem. I did use some, but not all, of chads videos and ALL of his quizzes. I really like his Orgain-Rxn-Table, people praise the Road Maps in DAT destroyer but I don't think enough gets said of Chads Rxn Table. DatQvualt was terrible.... I hated it and found some of the questions too weird/hard. DAT Destroyer is a great learning tool (once again). I say use it but don't get too frustrated with it. Overall my test was pretty straight forward but there were some questions that I was caught off guard with their difficulty.
PAT
Materials Used to Study: Crack DAT PAT, DatQVault and Achiever
I started off with crack dat pat and it took me a while to develop techniques and understand everything. Around test 5 things started to click and I started to understand what I needed to do. TFE was the last thing to click for me but after I got it I think it was actually one of my strongest! You should NOT use the counting method but really try to understand the what the lines mean and how to use those lines to visualize a 3-D image. I liked crack dat pat but I feel like it was great for initial practice. Again this is compared to MY TEST.
Crack Dat Pat was easier in Keyholes and TFE, way harder for angles than the real thing and about the same for everything else.
I then went to Qvault. Qvault PAT was tougher than crack dat but I felt like there were some errors (esp with the proportions of the Key Holes) and didn't like that there weren't really any explanations. One thing that I did like about Qvaults DAT was that their pattern folding was quite representative in respect to the ones where you fold and make the object (not necessarily the ones with colored shapes/patterns).
Achiever was the best PAT practice!! It was WAYYYY harder than the real thing but it really helps to get better at key holes and TFE as they are a lil too easy on crack dat pat. It is frustrating and really hard. I don't think I even finished a single test on time and on the real thing I had about 15 mins to go over things. Dont get down on the scores, just really learn from Achiever PAT!!! I spent about and hour or two really looking at every answer afterwards. The real DAT is not near as hard as achiever.
I did the free DAT Bootcamp and actually really liked it and felt it was very representative of the real deal. I wish I would have done this over Qvault.
For MY test I skipped Keyhole and TFE and went straight to angles. I then finished and then went back over keyholes and TFE. Overall I'd say it was close to the one Bootcamp test that I did but more kind of in between Achiver and crack dat pat.
Reading Comp
Materials Used to Study: Topscore and ADA 09 test
Not too much to say here, I just read each paragraph and made little notes as I went through it. Topscore was a little easy and ADA was pretty tough. I hate to say this but my RC was as tough as the ADA 09 test.... I honestly thought I was failing it and was going to retake the DAT because of the RC!!!! what a blessing haha!
Quantitative Reasoning
Materials Used to Study: DAT Destroyer, Chads Videos/Quizzes, Math destroyer, DatQvault
I hated studying for this and its been more than 5 years since I've done some of this math!!! In my opinion this is where DatQvault is very underrated, for MY TEST it was identical to Qvualt. I was thrilled with this because I was more scared for this part than any other part of the test mainly because I studied the least for this besides RC. I ABSOLUTELY HATED MATH DESTROYER!!!! Maybe I just got a easy QR but I felt like Math Destroyer was ridiculously hard. I spent hours on that thing and kind of wish I would have just done all of Qvualts tests and studied that. Again I only got a 19 but felt that if I would have studied using qvault more I could have done better. I guess if you are shooting for like a 25 on QR than Math Destroyer is the way to go
Practice Tests- DatQvault, Topscore, Achiever, and ADA 09 practice test.
I have added a my practice test for all those interested in comparing. I know looking at others practice test always made me feel good if I hadn't done well. Overall I would say Topscore was one of the best. I don't like their PAT though... just my opinion. Achiever was insanely difficult and although I bought the 5 test version (mainly for the PAT) I only did the sciences and stopped after the 4th test because it was just getting too hard!! The ADA 09 was good but man was I frustrated after I was done!! I know a lot of people say to get the hard copy but the real DAT is ON THE COMPUTER!!! Haha I dunno there are tons of errors and they don't even calculate your scores for you.... Kind of a rip off but it was good practice.
Last I just want to say don't let practice scores make you mad or feel like you can't do it. There were MANY times that I kept getting frustrated with them but STAY POSITIVE and LEARN from your mistakes.
(Just FYI my GPA is around a 3.7 and will apply next round in 2014)
Let me know if you have any questions.
Good luck every one!
