PAT Help

[preden1221]

Hello All,
So i dont take my DAT until January, but have spent this summer to do a majority of my studying. I started in May and have been using primarily Bootcamp. While everything is going great, i am struggling in the PAT BAD. I went through Joel's videos, and have been doing practice problems, but i get 2/15 right (probably luck). I decided to start fresh and am planning on buying Booster (which i have heard nothing but good things about). How did you guys approach studying for the PAT (using booster)? I know practice makes perfect, but it seems like nothing is "picking up". Thanks.

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[teethphoto]

I can not speak for booster. However, DAT bootcamp did a well enough job in terms of presenting each sub section of the PAT as well as tips, tricks, do's, and don'ts. Simply said and with no fluff, the PAT section needs consistent practice. Go through all the videos and start applying the methods/tricks taught in the video to some practice problems. When you become comfortable with a sub section (or not, depends on you), you could start creating your own methods and ways of solving those problems. I and likely many others practiced for the PAT everyday, especially when we (or maybe just me) felt burnt out or needed a break. One month before my exam, I did 15-20 problems for each subsection of 2 alternating sets. For example, on Monday I would do 15-20 problems for each of the three sections I needed to do for the day (Angle Ranking, Cube Counting, Pattern Folding) for a total of 45-60 problems each day. Tuesday would include the same amount of questions but for the other three sections. From there, you keep alternating between the 2 sets each day and, of course, you make adjustments a long the way. If you are killing the cube counting section but hard flunking pattern folding, you should allocate more time to pattern folding.

If you need help with a specific sub section of the PAT like hole punch or whatever, I am sure many of us on SDN can happily assist.

More power to you.

 

[PurpleSails]

I personally liked studying pat on DATbooster, since I pretty much started on square one, the videos they had where they teach you techniques and tricks were super helpful in helping me develop my own strategies. But in the end, whatever resources you end up using, your scores will inevitably depend on how much you practice, and if your brain gets used to folding/looking at those shapes! Also, pat really "clicked" for me when I realized it's less about solving the puzzle, and more about doing process of elimination Vlvery quickly

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Hello All,
So i dont take my DAT until January, but have spent this summer to do a majority of my studying. I started in May and have been using primarily Bootcamp. While everything is going great, i am struggling in the PAT BAD. I went through Joel's videos, and have been doing practice problems, but i get 2/15 right (probably luck). I decided to start fresh and am planning on buying Booster (which i have heard nothing but good things about). How did you guys approach studying for the PAT (using booster)? I know practice makes perfect, but it seems like nothing is "picking up". Thanks.

This is just a suggestion, my students that struggle often find it easier to get a book with a lot of PAT problems that offer some tips and tricks. There a lot of books available so you might consider trying that as a supplement to what you are already using. When you take the DAT is it going to be 2 dimensional so good to be prepared seeing a lot of problems in that format.

Just my 2 cents...Nancy, co/owner, Destroyers

 

[deleted1130657]

I started off in the same boat as you, but I only gave myself 7 weeks to prepare for the DAT. The first PAT practice exam I took I scored a 15... and it was one week before my exam. My last week of studying I went hard on the bootcamp generators. I used Patbooster initially but found that the keyholes were more difficult than they needed to be. I would stick with Bootcamp. I neglected PAT for most of my studying because I had no natural ability at it and honestly just thought it was frustrating, but when I spent the week before my exam practicing diligently I ultimately scored a 21 on the real thing. I thought the Bootcamp question banks were pretty similar to the real exam. More so than Patbooster. That was just my experience though. I seriously sucked at PAT, so if I can score above a 20, I think anyone with enough willpower can. Good luck!!

 

[Chicago_predental]

I used PAT Booster and found it did a very thorough job in giving me tips on how to approach the section, especially TFE. I loved the video explanations because they walk you through why each answer is incorrect so you can start to pick up on patterns. It made me a lot more efficient in the section and I ended up having about 10 mins leftover to review anything I skipped on the real exam