I received a lot of feedbacks and helpful information from this forum and would like to contribute something back to the community 
1. What is your background knowledge (for science)??
-> Try to take all the recommended classes before studying for DAT. I would recommend orgo, gen chem (if you don't have AP or IB credits), and bio. Classes like physiology or biochemistry will give you a huge advantage over other test takers who haven't took those classes in bio.
But don't be discouraged if you haven't took took these classes or if you took these classes too long time ago.
=> My background: I took orgo, and biochemistry, and first year biology. So I didn't have to study much at all for orgo. I am taking physiology now, but didn't take it when I first started studying for DAT. I have IB(which is like AP) gen. chem credit from high school so it's been a very long time since I saw any gen chem material.
Biochemistry helped me a lot, since the biochem mateiral from DAT was MUCH easier than the class offered at my school (I go to Michigan btw).
I studied physiology on my own.
=> Tip: I spent way too much time on bio. I studied DAT for 6 weeks total, and I literally spent 4 weeks out of those 6~7weeks just on bio. Don't dwell on bio too much. There are other sections where you can improve your score by the same amount by stuying a LOT less...
2. PAT???
=> Tip: Just practice... you can definately cut down time in cube counting, hole punching, and angle ranking. It will give you more time to concentrate on other things which actually require some time to think (key holes, pattern folding, and the other one... I already forgot what it's called) I used CDP and Kaplan for PAT.
3. RC
=> I used Kapaln's strategy, which tells you to jot down all the key words from the text. It helped me a lot. I actually don't know what to say about this section, because everyone seems to have different strategies that work for them. My score improved quite dramatically. I used to get 17's in the beginning (13 on the diagnostic test....). Then, at some point I was able to process information more quickly, and accurately and started getting 21~22s in practice tests (KAPLAN).
4. QR
=> Again... I'm sorry guys. I'm an international student from Korea, majoring in biomedical engineering and this was the one section from DAT which I didn't have to study. I was already getting 23+ without a single day of preparation and would score around that range on my first diagnostics test from Kapaln review course. I'm not trying to be cocky but I really didn't have to study for this.
5. How much did I improve??
=> I scored mostly 16~17 in all section when I first took the diagnostic test from Kapaln (execpt 22 or 23 in QR). I used to get 21~22s in Kaplan practice tests.
And this is what I got on DAT (Sep 4th, 2009)
QR: 24
RC: 26
Bio: 22
Ochem: 23
Genchem: 20
TS: 22
AA: 23
PAT: 23
6. Prep material;
=>
(1). Kaplan review course
- I found Kaplan to be very helpful. I heard a lot of different things people say about Kapaln but I thought it was very comprehensive.
(2). Schaum's Biology
- After hearing so many horror stories on Bio... I decided to buy this book and studied it on my own. (I really regret studying too much for bio... after seeing my gen chem score. I still think I would've done a lot better in gen chem if I didn't spend as much time in Bio.. I was freaking out because I didn't take physiology before and there seemed to be so many physiology questions on Bio). But I thought this book provided enough material (there's a LOT of information in this book...) for the bio section.
(3). CDP
- I thought it was helpful only for angle ranking, and hole punching. For all the other sections on PAT, I would recommend KAPLAN PATs over CDP.
6. Don't panic.
=> You will hear 10 different stories from 10 different people. Just because someone failed miserably, there is no reason for you to be discouraged. Likewise, just because someone did really well, that doesn't mean that you are going to do that great as well. Study consistently and don't let one bad practice exam score discourage you (I somehow scored 18 on RC the day before I took my DAT, although I used to get 21s before...but then I ended up doing surprisingly well in verbal)
7. Time???
=> from my experience... I would recommend 8 weeks if your background (sicence and math) is not strong. If you already feel comfortable with most of the test material, I would recommend 4 weeks. But, once again this is totally up to how much time you put in per day and how persistnetly can you keep it up. I studied 8~10 hrs a day during those 6 weeks. Of course, I socialied with my friends everyonce in awhile.
If you have any specific questions that you think I can answer, let me know.
Well. Good luck on your DATs everyone
1. What is your background knowledge (for science)??
-> Try to take all the recommended classes before studying for DAT. I would recommend orgo, gen chem (if you don't have AP or IB credits), and bio. Classes like physiology or biochemistry will give you a huge advantage over other test takers who haven't took those classes in bio.
But don't be discouraged if you haven't took took these classes or if you took these classes too long time ago.
=> My background: I took orgo, and biochemistry, and first year biology. So I didn't have to study much at all for orgo. I am taking physiology now, but didn't take it when I first started studying for DAT. I have IB(which is like AP) gen. chem credit from high school so it's been a very long time since I saw any gen chem material.
Biochemistry helped me a lot, since the biochem mateiral from DAT was MUCH easier than the class offered at my school (I go to Michigan btw).
I studied physiology on my own.
=> Tip: I spent way too much time on bio. I studied DAT for 6 weeks total, and I literally spent 4 weeks out of those 6~7weeks just on bio. Don't dwell on bio too much. There are other sections where you can improve your score by the same amount by stuying a LOT less...
2. PAT???
=> Tip: Just practice... you can definately cut down time in cube counting, hole punching, and angle ranking. It will give you more time to concentrate on other things which actually require some time to think (key holes, pattern folding, and the other one... I already forgot what it's called
) I used CDP and Kaplan for PAT. 3. RC
=> I used Kapaln's strategy, which tells you to jot down all the key words from the text. It helped me a lot. I actually don't know what to say about this section, because everyone seems to have different strategies that work for them. My score improved quite dramatically. I used to get 17's in the beginning (13 on the diagnostic test....). Then, at some point I was able to process information more quickly, and accurately and started getting 21~22s in practice tests (KAPLAN).
4. QR
=> Again... I'm sorry guys. I'm an international student from Korea, majoring in biomedical engineering and this was the one section from DAT which I didn't have to study. I was already getting 23+ without a single day of preparation and would score around that range on my first diagnostics test from Kapaln review course. I'm not trying to be cocky but I really didn't have to study for this.
5. How much did I improve??
=> I scored mostly 16~17 in all section when I first took the diagnostic test from Kapaln (execpt 22 or 23 in QR). I used to get 21~22s in Kaplan practice tests.
And this is what I got on DAT (Sep 4th, 2009)
QR: 24
RC: 26
Bio: 22
Ochem: 23
Genchem: 20
TS: 22
AA: 23
PAT: 23
6. Prep material;
=>
(1). Kaplan review course
- I found Kaplan to be very helpful. I heard a lot of different things people say about Kapaln but I thought it was very comprehensive.
(2). Schaum's Biology
- After hearing so many horror stories on Bio... I decided to buy this book and studied it on my own. (I really regret studying too much for bio... after seeing my gen chem score. I still think I would've done a lot better in gen chem if I didn't spend as much time in Bio.. I was freaking out because I didn't take physiology before and there seemed to be so many physiology questions on Bio). But I thought this book provided enough material (there's a LOT of information in this book...) for the bio section.
(3). CDP
- I thought it was helpful only for angle ranking, and hole punching. For all the other sections on PAT, I would recommend KAPLAN PATs over CDP.
6. Don't panic.
=> You will hear 10 different stories from 10 different people. Just because someone failed miserably, there is no reason for you to be discouraged. Likewise, just because someone did really well, that doesn't mean that you are going to do that great as well. Study consistently and don't let one bad practice exam score discourage you (I somehow scored 18 on RC the day before I took my DAT, although I used to get 21s before...but then I ended up doing surprisingly well in verbal)
7. Time???
=> from my experience... I would recommend 8 weeks if your background (sicence and math) is not strong. If you already feel comfortable with most of the test material, I would recommend 4 weeks. But, once again this is totally up to how much time you put in per day and how persistnetly can you keep it up. I studied 8~10 hrs a day during those 6 weeks. Of course, I socialied with my friends everyonce in awhile.
If you have any specific questions that you think I can answer, let me know.
Well. Good luck on your DATs everyone
