- Joined
- Jul 7, 2012
- Messages
- 39
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I'm probably not gonna post a picture because I don't really want to figure it out.
PAT 21
QR 21
Reading 19 (52.2% lol)
BIO 20
Gen Chem 22
Organic 23
TS 22 AA 21
My first post, like many others I read a lot of Breakdowns as I was pulling my hair out for this test. I'm going to be a Junior for ya'll that are worried because you're taking it early. SDN network helped me know what I needed to study and really helped me achieve my scores, which I am really happy with it. I knew I wasn't the guy that could make the 29's on sections like I see on here but I knew I was well balanced academically and that I, like every college student, had put in the hours both in class and in preparation for the test.
Disclaimer: I'm not any smarter than anyone else, made a 28 on my act in HS, pretty average person, not a young genius like some of the people on here, so I hope that encourages some of ya'll "tweeners" like me
I think this is more important than the breakdown section:
IF YOU WANT TO DO GOOD, WORK HARD. Thats all it is, keep working, keep studying, keep trying, you're time will come and you will kill the test. Don't beat yourself up for taking breaks, doing poor on your practice test.
The things I'm glad I did now but while I studied got so mad I was doing them
FROM JUNE 18th - When I took test yesterday I....
- Prestiged on call of duty twice, I dont even like video games (half of one prestige was with a pistol for you guys out there that think your pretty good)
- Watched entire game of thrones series (incredible)
- Watched 3-4 season of breaking bad before I decided his wife makes me want to punch the tv more than watch their show
- Took nights and partial days off to spend with my friends and family, they will keep you motivated
- Volunteered at a free dental clinic on Thursdays with a friend of mine
- Played tennis several nights with a buddy to keep me in shape
- Discovered Iced Coffee from Walmart, stuff is awesome for when you get tired of the hot stuff, or just too lazy to make it like me
* I mentioned that so you will understand it's ok to live a little
Now for All of ya'lls favorite part, the materials breakdown
-Chads videos- 10/10everyone here loves chad and it's because it really is the most helpful on the chemistry sections, better than destroyer, better than kaplan, better than anything. I watched the 2010 vids and the 2012 vids so i at least watched through twice. Print out his handouts and take good notes. You shouldnt have to watch vids a third time if you have notes. It's more efficcient to look over and review every hand out in an hour and thirty than watch one section of video in an hour and thirty. *Take notes both times, I took blank page notes first time, and handouts second, staying active is important or you will ADD out easily I would do the stupidest stuff when I was watching the vids without active note taking.
* I also watched the trig video in QR section, memorize the table on hand out it will help you do well on trig questions.
KAPLAN FULL COURSE- 6/10 I would give this a -1300/10 because of its price, but if money is not an issue it truly is a 6/10. Going to class kind of sucks. I got lucky and had a good teacher but the classes really just don't help all that much. The online interface is pretty good though. Do all of the sciences quizzes and section test they are great for practicing. I got to where I was making 75%-90% on most all of the section test by test time.
- USE THE WORKSHOPS they are boring, but they have good stuff. I used mostly the math ones and they really did make everything a lot easier.
-KBB is good for a general review, just use it for Bio and maybe math though, chads for everything else
DAT DESTROYER-8/10 I went through this before chads and let it "destroy" my confidence pretty bad I was getting like 5/15 right, it was stupid. I went through and everyone I missed I wrote the question out with the answer and why- THIS IS NOT NECESSARY, it sucked and it really didnt help. JUST WATCH CHADS FIRST. After I watched Chads I went through ochem and genchem of destroyer in like 4 days and missed very few. It has so many problems that it is great practice.
*I only read through about 100 BIO Q and A's and one of them was on my test so look at that (know which lung is smaller and why question)
DAT ACHIEVER- This program blows for people like me. I find it very hard to care about a fake practice test so it's almost like torturing myself with one that is infinitly harder. This stupid program is like that DAT FROM HELL, I just quit after about 40 questions every time, do not rely on almost any questions from there to be on your test. Don't waste your money on self torture, buy topscore instead as I here it is more representative (scores in breakdown they are lol worthy).
* with all that rudeness toward Achiever, The PAT and QR are pretty good, QR on DAT is easier.
CRACK DAT ROYAL FLUSH- 9/10 first thing I bought before I even started summer or researched but i'm glad I did besides science part.
CDMATH - I used this a lot and scored anywhere from a 17-22. I think it is great practice of the video walk through's. You get sick of studying and it's nice to watch someone work it out for you sometimes. It was harder than DAT but everything in math ties in, practice is key
CDPAT- got 22's on my last 4 and thought it was very representative.
CDreading- at the beginning I did a few of these and thought they were good.
CDScience
Cliff's Ap Bio book 9/10- its got what you need but lacks on the endocrinology explanation wise, it gives you the table to memorize but could have been better
Barron's AP Bio flash cards 9/10- I used these at the beginning and picked them up again the week of my test, slodging through Bio sucks, good solid flash cards really helped me keep going without getting too off track.
This has gone on too long but I will keep going because I know I read every single word when I was studying and it was my only escape from my cave of studies where i could trick myself into thinking its ok to not study as long as i'm reading breakdowns. yeah.
THE TEST
Notes to start
- I did have an eraser, i did not expect this, not all prometrics have received the new markers.
-Bring your License and Credit Card (sign Back) and show up early because they can let you take it sooner, mine was scheduled 1pm and I started at 12:30.
- I drank a mocha something from starbucks before because I love super energy rushes and being jittery during test, it keeps me on my toes, your Adrenal Medulla will send you a large amount of Epinephrine and activate your Sympathetic Nervous system and you will finish most of the sections with spare time. If I got that BIO wrong don't judge me.
- Listen to this on your drive there if you wanna get pumped up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B_Z7_14frQ
- Listen to this if you wanna be calmed down, me and my girlfriend found these guys last week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEDnGAvjQXw
BIO 20
- EXPECT TO HAVE 4-5+ That you have never seen before. Just do your best and keep pushing through it. There were one or two that seemed difficult because they were so wordy but were really asking basic knowledge. A BUNCH OF THEM ARE SUPER BASIC BIO. Cover as much biology as you can and you will be fine, I had no crazy taxonomies, some strange genetics questions, basic cellular division, basic organelle properties, A few endocrinology but obvious ones like epinephrine and cortisol, oh ya and my dat destroyer question mentioned above
achiever bio scores 15/15/ 14/14 *week before test lol
Kaplan bio 14/16/16/19/19
all my kap scores will be diagnostic/midterm/test1/test2/test3
CHEM 22
- more calculations than what I have heard many say, know that pv=nrt can also be P(MW)=dRT if given density, I had to use this and didnt memorize it until the week of test. There are a lot of conceptual questions, I wish I could remember better for ya'll but I know they were straightforward and pretty easy (GIVEN YOU HAVE DONE YOUR WORK WITH CHAD). I Did not have all of my calculations set up on answers. most of them were but they did test my ability to manipulate scientific notation. Become familiar with this, it never feels comfortable but you will get it down. It was basic so dont stress but I had not expected to have to for ex. multiply two sci notations and divide by one, so just be ready. I did have a lab question I think.
Achiever scores 16/15/ 15/16 *week before test
Kaplan scores 13/16/15/18/19
Ochem 23
This section was very broad, it was not difficult but it did cover many different areas. Stereochemistry, there were a lot of side chain reactions on benzene, aka trying to make you do EAS. Just be careful. I did have a few tricky amine questions so know how Nitrogen compounds work, I've always put them off because they are weird, I hate any Nitrogen compound. I had A vesper question where it told me the structure and asked polarity so that would be a good thing to brush up on as well. A few lab questions that I had never seen before but they had key words in the description of what it was doing that led me to know the answer, I believe.
achiever scores: 17/16/ 19/17
Kaplan scores: 15/17/18/17/17
PAT 21
I think overall this is very similar to CDP
Keyholes: they were pretty tough I usually get perfect on CDP keyholes, and had trouble with a few but this is expected so keep marking and moving!
TFE: really pretty basic, I suggest using CDP to see the 3d image and really getting a grasp on how to view it 3d rather than all that line counting balogne
Angles: My strategy on angles is to go fast because they suck and I know I'm not gonna get em all. Gives me more time for everything else. They were similar to CDP sadly, with the exception of a couple easier. But you don't have to get perfect so it's ok!
CUBES: easier than cdp, blocks are bigger so look weird, overall structures have less blocks. I actually kept zoning out during this section so I think I may have lost a few gimmies. Make sure you develop a pattern and can really focus when you do the cube counting method, its easy, but important, don't overlook it.
Pattern folding: Pretty basic patterns, some shading, some complex foldings. work on pattern folding through CDP and it will eventually click. I always search for a main face in answers and just try to match them up.
I had ~5mins left
CDP scores were like 17's-19's and 22's by time of test, i think i did 8 of them.
BREAK: goes by a lot slower when you're at home, take your break you will need it.
READING 19 (52%)
I worked on reading a little and did ok but I never found a strategy I liked, I actually never tried search and destroy because I am better at reading through once so I know the layout but God I got a bad one (not according to percentiles, but I really struggled) My first passage was about Fungus and Bacteria taxonomy and diseases they cause, my second passage was about epithelial and mycemota (or something) cells and my third was about medical ethics. These passages really sucked. BUT KNOW GOING INTO IT THAT ONE SECTION IS GOING TO GET TO YOU, MAYBE MORE BUT DEFINITELY ONE. I switched mid first section to search and destroy which I have never used and I freaked out, guessed on a few. It was a rough hour but It turned out okay, Just do your best and it will all work out. I also couldn't make myself practice reading I thought it was extremely boring.
QR 21
Section I worried about most, I thought I had potential to do well in everything and get screwed by QR if I got a bunch of trig and stats. Last math I took was statistics in Highschool. THIS SECTION WAS SO MUCH EASIER THAN I ANTICIPATED. Use your problem solving mindset and figure out what the question is asking it is pretty basic stuff. A few trig problems, a few strange geometry problems but overall it was ok. Don't forget there are a 1000g in a kg haha I don't know why it took me forever to remember it was 1000 and not 10,000 but I needed it for a calculation. IF YOU KNOW A QUESTION, WORK IT, IF IT LOOKS WEIRD, MARK AND COME BACK. You're mind will work faster under the pressure and you will finish with time left to check problems if you do not stare at one problem too long, DONT STARE AT PROBLEMS, MARK AND MOVE. I think that is crucial for you to do your best.
CDPmath scores 19/18/16/19/22/17
kap math 16/16/21/21
Achiever 17/17/19/17
Well, that was annoyingly long to type out but I really hope it helps some people. Not everyone is going to ace every practice test they take, my low scores could be attributed 85% to apathy. It is hard to study all day and be pumped up for a practice test, or wake up early to take a 4 hour test that does nothing for you. IT JUST MEANS YOUR HUMAN. Some of the guys/girls on here are absolutely brilliant and kill everything from practice to the real deal, that might not be you so understand yourself and don't get down. You will do incredible on the test, it just takes hard work and confidence. Know what you are capable of realistically, figure out your strategies (like my speed angle ranking, and mark and move for QR) that will help you score a point or two higher, and don't doubt the work you've put in. It will all pay off I promise.
* after this summer of studying, I absolutely, will not, proof read this.
PAT 21
QR 21
Reading 19 (52.2% lol)
BIO 20
Gen Chem 22
Organic 23
TS 22 AA 21
My first post, like many others I read a lot of Breakdowns as I was pulling my hair out for this test. I'm going to be a Junior for ya'll that are worried because you're taking it early. SDN network helped me know what I needed to study and really helped me achieve my scores, which I am really happy with it. I knew I wasn't the guy that could make the 29's on sections like I see on here but I knew I was well balanced academically and that I, like every college student, had put in the hours both in class and in preparation for the test.
Disclaimer: I'm not any smarter than anyone else, made a 28 on my act in HS, pretty average person, not a young genius like some of the people on here, so I hope that encourages some of ya'll "tweeners" like me
I think this is more important than the breakdown section:
IF YOU WANT TO DO GOOD, WORK HARD. Thats all it is, keep working, keep studying, keep trying, you're time will come and you will kill the test. Don't beat yourself up for taking breaks, doing poor on your practice test.
The things I'm glad I did now but while I studied got so mad I was doing them
FROM JUNE 18th - When I took test yesterday I....
- Prestiged on call of duty twice, I dont even like video games (half of one prestige was with a pistol for you guys out there that think your pretty good)
- Watched entire game of thrones series (incredible)
- Watched 3-4 season of breaking bad before I decided his wife makes me want to punch the tv more than watch their show
- Took nights and partial days off to spend with my friends and family, they will keep you motivated
- Volunteered at a free dental clinic on Thursdays with a friend of mine
- Played tennis several nights with a buddy to keep me in shape
- Discovered Iced Coffee from Walmart, stuff is awesome for when you get tired of the hot stuff, or just too lazy to make it like me
* I mentioned that so you will understand it's ok to live a little
Now for All of ya'lls favorite part, the materials breakdown
-Chads videos- 10/10everyone here loves chad and it's because it really is the most helpful on the chemistry sections, better than destroyer, better than kaplan, better than anything. I watched the 2010 vids and the 2012 vids so i at least watched through twice. Print out his handouts and take good notes. You shouldnt have to watch vids a third time if you have notes. It's more efficcient to look over and review every hand out in an hour and thirty than watch one section of video in an hour and thirty. *Take notes both times, I took blank page notes first time, and handouts second, staying active is important or you will ADD out easily I would do the stupidest stuff when I was watching the vids without active note taking.
* I also watched the trig video in QR section, memorize the table on hand out it will help you do well on trig questions.
KAPLAN FULL COURSE- 6/10 I would give this a -1300/10 because of its price, but if money is not an issue it truly is a 6/10. Going to class kind of sucks. I got lucky and had a good teacher but the classes really just don't help all that much. The online interface is pretty good though. Do all of the sciences quizzes and section test they are great for practicing. I got to where I was making 75%-90% on most all of the section test by test time.
- USE THE WORKSHOPS they are boring, but they have good stuff. I used mostly the math ones and they really did make everything a lot easier.
-KBB is good for a general review, just use it for Bio and maybe math though, chads for everything else
DAT DESTROYER-8/10 I went through this before chads and let it "destroy" my confidence pretty bad I was getting like 5/15 right, it was stupid. I went through and everyone I missed I wrote the question out with the answer and why- THIS IS NOT NECESSARY, it sucked and it really didnt help. JUST WATCH CHADS FIRST. After I watched Chads I went through ochem and genchem of destroyer in like 4 days and missed very few. It has so many problems that it is great practice.
*I only read through about 100 BIO Q and A's and one of them was on my test so look at that (know which lung is smaller and why question)
DAT ACHIEVER- This program blows for people like me. I find it very hard to care about a fake practice test so it's almost like torturing myself with one that is infinitly harder. This stupid program is like that DAT FROM HELL, I just quit after about 40 questions every time, do not rely on almost any questions from there to be on your test. Don't waste your money on self torture, buy topscore instead as I here it is more representative (scores in breakdown they are lol worthy).
* with all that rudeness toward Achiever, The PAT and QR are pretty good, QR on DAT is easier.
CRACK DAT ROYAL FLUSH- 9/10 first thing I bought before I even started summer or researched but i'm glad I did besides science part.
CDMATH - I used this a lot and scored anywhere from a 17-22. I think it is great practice of the video walk through's. You get sick of studying and it's nice to watch someone work it out for you sometimes. It was harder than DAT but everything in math ties in, practice is key
CDPAT- got 22's on my last 4 and thought it was very representative.
CDreading- at the beginning I did a few of these and thought they were good.
CDScience
Cliff's Ap Bio book 9/10- its got what you need but lacks on the endocrinology explanation wise, it gives you the table to memorize but could have been better
Barron's AP Bio flash cards 9/10- I used these at the beginning and picked them up again the week of my test, slodging through Bio sucks, good solid flash cards really helped me keep going without getting too off track.
This has gone on too long but I will keep going because I know I read every single word when I was studying and it was my only escape from my cave of studies where i could trick myself into thinking its ok to not study as long as i'm reading breakdowns. yeah.
THE TEST
Notes to start
- I did have an eraser, i did not expect this, not all prometrics have received the new markers.
-Bring your License and Credit Card (sign Back) and show up early because they can let you take it sooner, mine was scheduled 1pm and I started at 12:30.
- I drank a mocha something from starbucks before because I love super energy rushes and being jittery during test, it keeps me on my toes, your Adrenal Medulla will send you a large amount of Epinephrine and activate your Sympathetic Nervous system and you will finish most of the sections with spare time. If I got that BIO wrong don't judge me.
- Listen to this on your drive there if you wanna get pumped up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B_Z7_14frQ
- Listen to this if you wanna be calmed down, me and my girlfriend found these guys last week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEDnGAvjQXw
BIO 20
- EXPECT TO HAVE 4-5+ That you have never seen before. Just do your best and keep pushing through it. There were one or two that seemed difficult because they were so wordy but were really asking basic knowledge. A BUNCH OF THEM ARE SUPER BASIC BIO. Cover as much biology as you can and you will be fine, I had no crazy taxonomies, some strange genetics questions, basic cellular division, basic organelle properties, A few endocrinology but obvious ones like epinephrine and cortisol, oh ya and my dat destroyer question mentioned above
achiever bio scores 15/15/ 14/14 *week before test lol
Kaplan bio 14/16/16/19/19
all my kap scores will be diagnostic/midterm/test1/test2/test3
CHEM 22
- more calculations than what I have heard many say, know that pv=nrt can also be P(MW)=dRT if given density, I had to use this and didnt memorize it until the week of test. There are a lot of conceptual questions, I wish I could remember better for ya'll but I know they were straightforward and pretty easy (GIVEN YOU HAVE DONE YOUR WORK WITH CHAD). I Did not have all of my calculations set up on answers. most of them were but they did test my ability to manipulate scientific notation. Become familiar with this, it never feels comfortable but you will get it down. It was basic so dont stress but I had not expected to have to for ex. multiply two sci notations and divide by one, so just be ready. I did have a lab question I think.
Achiever scores 16/15/ 15/16 *week before test
Kaplan scores 13/16/15/18/19
Ochem 23
This section was very broad, it was not difficult but it did cover many different areas. Stereochemistry, there were a lot of side chain reactions on benzene, aka trying to make you do EAS. Just be careful. I did have a few tricky amine questions so know how Nitrogen compounds work, I've always put them off because they are weird, I hate any Nitrogen compound. I had A vesper question where it told me the structure and asked polarity so that would be a good thing to brush up on as well. A few lab questions that I had never seen before but they had key words in the description of what it was doing that led me to know the answer, I believe.
achiever scores: 17/16/ 19/17
Kaplan scores: 15/17/18/17/17
PAT 21
I think overall this is very similar to CDP
Keyholes: they were pretty tough I usually get perfect on CDP keyholes, and had trouble with a few but this is expected so keep marking and moving!
TFE: really pretty basic, I suggest using CDP to see the 3d image and really getting a grasp on how to view it 3d rather than all that line counting balogne
Angles: My strategy on angles is to go fast because they suck and I know I'm not gonna get em all. Gives me more time for everything else. They were similar to CDP sadly, with the exception of a couple easier. But you don't have to get perfect so it's ok!
CUBES: easier than cdp, blocks are bigger so look weird, overall structures have less blocks. I actually kept zoning out during this section so I think I may have lost a few gimmies. Make sure you develop a pattern and can really focus when you do the cube counting method, its easy, but important, don't overlook it.
Pattern folding: Pretty basic patterns, some shading, some complex foldings. work on pattern folding through CDP and it will eventually click. I always search for a main face in answers and just try to match them up.
I had ~5mins left
CDP scores were like 17's-19's and 22's by time of test, i think i did 8 of them.
BREAK: goes by a lot slower when you're at home, take your break you will need it.
READING 19 (52%)
I worked on reading a little and did ok but I never found a strategy I liked, I actually never tried search and destroy because I am better at reading through once so I know the layout but God I got a bad one (not according to percentiles, but I really struggled) My first passage was about Fungus and Bacteria taxonomy and diseases they cause, my second passage was about epithelial and mycemota (or something) cells and my third was about medical ethics. These passages really sucked. BUT KNOW GOING INTO IT THAT ONE SECTION IS GOING TO GET TO YOU, MAYBE MORE BUT DEFINITELY ONE. I switched mid first section to search and destroy which I have never used and I freaked out, guessed on a few. It was a rough hour but It turned out okay, Just do your best and it will all work out. I also couldn't make myself practice reading I thought it was extremely boring.
QR 21
Section I worried about most, I thought I had potential to do well in everything and get screwed by QR if I got a bunch of trig and stats. Last math I took was statistics in Highschool. THIS SECTION WAS SO MUCH EASIER THAN I ANTICIPATED. Use your problem solving mindset and figure out what the question is asking it is pretty basic stuff. A few trig problems, a few strange geometry problems but overall it was ok. Don't forget there are a 1000g in a kg haha I don't know why it took me forever to remember it was 1000 and not 10,000 but I needed it for a calculation. IF YOU KNOW A QUESTION, WORK IT, IF IT LOOKS WEIRD, MARK AND COME BACK. You're mind will work faster under the pressure and you will finish with time left to check problems if you do not stare at one problem too long, DONT STARE AT PROBLEMS, MARK AND MOVE. I think that is crucial for you to do your best.
CDPmath scores 19/18/16/19/22/17
kap math 16/16/21/21
Achiever 17/17/19/17
Well, that was annoyingly long to type out but I really hope it helps some people. Not everyone is going to ace every practice test they take, my low scores could be attributed 85% to apathy. It is hard to study all day and be pumped up for a practice test, or wake up early to take a 4 hour test that does nothing for you. IT JUST MEANS YOUR HUMAN. Some of the guys/girls on here are absolutely brilliant and kill everything from practice to the real deal, that might not be you so understand yourself and don't get down. You will do incredible on the test, it just takes hard work and confidence. Know what you are capable of realistically, figure out your strategies (like my speed angle ranking, and mark and move for QR) that will help you score a point or two higher, and don't doubt the work you've put in. It will all pay off I promise.
* after this summer of studying, I absolutely, will not, proof read this.
