QR-Math desyroyer difficulty

[2thDoc11]

Hello all,

I've managed to get a good understanding of chemistry and biology, improving a lot with pat and have been reading science articles. I have about 6 weeks until my exam and I've been having a really hard time with math. I have the math destroyer and I'm just not getting it. Does anyone know how to get a handle on the qr section? I've also been watching orgomans qr videos on youtube and they all seem really easy after walking through them but again just not doing well with the math destroyer. Any tips? I've always had a hard time with math.

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[ChemistryDentist]

Hello all,

I've managed to get a good understanding of chemistry and biology, improving a lot with pat and have been reading science articles. I have about 6 weeks until my exam and I've been having a really hard time with math. I have the math destroyer and I'm just not getting it. Does anyone know how to get a handle on the qr section? I've also been watching orgomans qr videos on youtube and they all seem really easy after walking through them but again just not doing well with the math destroyer. Any tips? I've always had a hard time with math.

Watch that full playlist. Most of those videos cover the difficult questions from Math Destroyer, even though the ones in the book may be a bit more challenging. Don't be discouraged with how hard they are - keep practicing them over and over. Do some questions every day, and then do the same questions you didn't or couldn't do the day before the next day. Doing that helped me grasp a better understanding of the questions and topics.

 

[Faris_]

I believe reading any of the destroyer books without prior solid foundation is a waste of time and the videos are giant mess and don't follow any systemic approach to explain the various subjects covered by math section, or the sciences for that matter. If you want to understand the subjects covered for the math section personally I recommend "GRE Math Strategies" by Manhattan. it is much cheaper than math destroyer and you can find it on eBay for even cheaper. I took the GRE a few years ago and these books are excellent in explaining things and they come with a ton of practice problems. if you want more practice the "5 Lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems" has 550 pages of pure math question and academically presented solutions and presented by subjects. I picked this book from eBay for $5, no joke, and it is 100 times better than Math Destroyer, I know because I have both. There's a value in Math Destroyer but honestly it is not worth the full retail price and it is not as helpful without a solid understanding. just my 2cents!

 

[2thDoc11]

I believe reading any of the destroyer books without prior solid foundation is a waste of time and the videos are giant mess and don't follow any systemic approach to explain the various subjects covered by math section, or the sciences for that matter. If you want to understand the subjects covered for the math section personally I recommend "GRE Math Strategies" by Manhattan. it is much cheaper than math destroyer and you can find it on eBay for even cheaper. I took the GRE a few years ago and these books are excellent in explaining things and they come with a ton of practice problems. if you want more practice the "5 Lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems" has 550 pages of pure math question and academically presented solutions and presented by subjects, and picked this book from eBay as well for $5, no joke, and it is 100 times better than Math Destroyer, I know because I have both. There's a value in Math Destroyer but honestly it is not worth the full retail price and it is not as helpful without a solid understanding. just my 2cents!

Do these books cover all the types of questions?

 

[Faris_]

Do these books cover all the types of questions?

The subject covered, according to my 2018 version, are:
algebra
fractions decimals and percents
geometry
number properties (rates, statistics, combinatorics, probability, others)
word problems
quantitative comparisons
data interpretation

I think that's all the subjects covered on the DAT. If something else is covered on DAT that isn't part of this list am sure someone else will mention it, hopefully! Its is a 700 page book so you'll probably skip most of it and focus on the subjects you need to work on. Believe me, it explains everything covered in the subjects listed above. Save money and buy used if you decide to buy one!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Hello all,

I've managed to get a good understanding of chemistry and biology, improving a lot with pat and have been reading science articles. I have about 6 weeks until my exam and I've been having a really hard time with math. I have the math destroyer and I'm just not getting it. Does anyone know how to get a handle on the qr section? I've also been watching orgomans qr videos on youtube and they all seem really easy after walking through them but again just not doing well with the math destroyer. Any tips? I've always had a hard time with math.

eBrow
Hi, I feel your pain, many students find Math quite challenging. Good news is you don't need to get a 30 in Math to get into dental school, most schools are forgiving on a little lower math score, but try to get at least an 18 which is very doable. Make sure your scores shine in other sections of the DAT. First when you say you are not getting it, I am sure you are getting some problems correct, so don't focus on things you know how to do, search for problems that cause you trouble and make those your strength. Continue to go over our videos, if you need a video on a certain topic just ask we will try to make one. I highly encourage you to change your mindset if possible and make math your friend. There is also a website called Purple Math that has a lot of free resources. And if all the fails get a tutor. No one wants retake the DAT exam because of a very low Math score and it does happen. Didn't say that to scare you, my goal if for a student to take the exam one time only if possible.

Wishing you the best...#think30....Nancy

 

[ChemistryDentist]

I believe reading any of the destroyer books without prior solid foundation is a waste of time and the videos are giant mess and don't follow any systemic approach to explain the various subjects covered by math section, or the sciences for that matter. If you want to understand the subjects covered for the math section personally I recommend "GRE Math Strategies" by Manhattan. it is much cheaper than math destroyer and you can find it on eBay for even cheaper. I took the GRE a few years ago and these books are excellent in explaining things and they come with a ton of practice problems. if you want more practice the "5 Lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems" has 550 pages of pure math question and academically presented solutions and presented by subjects. I picked this book from eBay for $5, no joke, and it is 100 times better than Math Destroyer, I know because I have both. There's a value in Math Destroyer but honestly it is not worth the full retail price and it is not as helpful without a solid understanding. just my 2cents!

I definitely have to disagree with you in some of your points here Faris. Did you get a chance to take the DAT yet?

Nonetheless, @eBrow , the Math Destroyer is definitely the main resource you need to utilize for that section. As someone not fantastic at math, I got a 30 in QR using this book, the general Destroyer, and the YouTube videos. There will be some struggle involved with learning the material, no doubt! But you pretty much need to suffer through the "not knowing things" phase and practice, practice, practice. The videos and the Destroyer problems aren't in any particular order, but I thought that was a strength more than a weakness of the materials. Do you think the DAT will come in a set order of problems? Of course not! It's better practice for the real exam than having a nice, clean order.

Getting some extra practice couldn't hurt I suppose using GRE resources, but I wouldn't waste your time or money buying new resources. Just use the free GRE math problems online, don't go and buy anything else. More resources will probably confuse you more than help, especially if you haven't gotten these resources down yet. If you need help, refer to the Orgoman YouTube videos and you will be able to figure out most of the problems. If you don't, you could ask the DAT Destroyer Facebook page for help as well - they're really good about helping out there, all, again, without spending more money. For some of the questions, if you search for part of the question stem in the search bar on the page, or if you look up the question number, you may find others that answered how to solve the question in the past.

Don't be discouraged by having problems with QR. Everyone has that one section they do not love and just can't get a huge handle on. Just practice as much as you can, and try not to take it until you have some more confidence. Given that you post on SDN a lot asking these sorts of questions, your anxiety is getting the best of you (or you are not as prepared as you should be). Keep practicing.

Best of luck!

 

[2thDoc11]

I definitely have to disagree with you in some of your points here Faris. Did you get a chance to take the DAT yet?

Nonetheless, @eBrow , the Math Destroyer is definitely the main resource you need to utilize for that section. As someone not fantastic at math, I got a 30 in QR using this book, the general Destroyer, and the YouTube videos. There will be some struggle involved with learning the material, no doubt! But you pretty much need to suffer through the "not knowing things" phase and practice, practice, practice. The videos and the Destroyer problems aren't in any particular order, but I thought that was a strength more than a weakness of the materials. Do you think the DAT will come in a set order of problems? Of course not! It's better practice for the real exam than having a nice, clean order.

Getting some extra practice couldn't hurt I suppose using GRE resources, but I wouldn't waste your time or money buying new resources. Just use the free GRE math problems online, don't go and buy anything else. More resources will probably confuse you more than help, especially if you haven't gotten these resources down yet. If you need help, refer to the Orgoman YouTube videos and you will be able to figure out most of the problems. If you don't, you could ask the DAT Destroyer Facebook page for help as well - they're really good about helping out there, all, again, without spending more money. For some of the questions, if you search for part of the question stem in the search bar on the page, or if you look up the question number, you may find others that answered how to solve the question in the past.

Don't be discouraged by having problems with QR. Everyone has that one section they do not love and just can't get a huge handle on. Just practice as much as you can, and try not to take it until you have some more confidence. Given that you post on SDN a lot asking these sorts of questions, your anxiety is getting the best of you (or you are not as prepared as you should be). Keep practicing.

Best of luck!

Haha thanks man! Hoping nobody would notice my frequent posts but yes my anxiety tends to worsen when it comes to exams(especially ones that determine what the next 2 years of your life looks like). I managed to get a handle on the chemistry portion which has boosted my confidence quite a bit. Just have to use that to conquer math I suppose.

 

[Faris_]

I definitely have to disagree with you in some of your points here Faris. Did you get a chance to take the DAT yet?

Nonetheless, @eBrow , the Math Destroyer is definitely the main resource you need to utilize for that section. As someone not fantastic at math, I got a 30 in QR using this book, the general Destroyer, and the YouTube videos. There will be some struggle involved with learning the material, no doubt! But you pretty much need to suffer through the "not knowing things" phase and practice, practice, practice. The videos and the Destroyer problems aren't in any particular order, but I thought that was a strength more than a weakness of the materials. Do you think the DAT will come in a set order of problems? Of course not! It's better practice for the real exam than having a nice, clean order.

Getting some extra practice couldn't hurt I suppose using GRE resources, but I wouldn't waste your time or money buying new resources. Just use the free GRE math problems online, don't go and buy anything else. More resources will probably confuse you more than help, especially if you haven't gotten these resources down yet. If you need help, refer to the Orgoman YouTube videos and you will be able to figure out most of the problems. If you don't, you could ask the DAT Destroyer Facebook page for help as well - they're really good about helping out there, all, again, without spending more money. For some of the questions, if you search for part of the question stem in the search bar on the page, or if you look up the question number, you may find others that answered how to solve the question in the past.

Don't be discouraged by having problems with QR. Everyone has that one section they do not love and just can't get a huge handle on. Just practice as much as you can, and try not to take it until you have some more confidence. Given that you post on SDN a lot asking these sorts of questions, your anxiety is getting the best of you (or you are not as prepared as you should be). Keep practicing.

Best of luck!

When I had a kid I asked the pediatrician what type of baby water I needed to buy for formula and she kind of giggled, she said she herself doesn't buy baby water for her infant since it is effectively the same as regular filtered water or bottled water, it's just marketing. The DAT math section is no different than the far more popular GRE math section especially after the DAT added comparison type questions, but some vendors like to make you think they are the only ones with reliable information regarding a test while there's a far more superior and more established vendors backed up by some of the biggest tutor networks in the country.

It amazes me the number of people that come on this website complaining about the difficulty and confusion going through the destroyer book yet when I went through them I found maybe one out of a 100 that needed me to go to a source to understand what I missed. In here some people like to say "it is OK to struggle and find the material difficult to go through, just power through it", this statement perplexes me every time. No, you shouldn't find a level of difficulty in a testing material to the point it causes you frustration and post about your experience online and it is not the book's fault. The reason for that is the destroyer books are never meant to be a substitute for learning, it only has questions and in a random order and they are excellent at what they do if you use them after you have finished preparing for exam 100%, not 50%, not 90%. People come from different educational backgrounds and thus respond differently to the same testing materiel and that's why you need a source to learn the material first and not expect everyone else to have your experience going through Math Destroyer.

What I suggested for the OP is a book where every subject in the math section is very well explained by an established source used by the millions who take the GRE everyday so I don't understand the logic of dismissing that and suggest it is a waste of time and money. Since when is learning and building a solid foundation is a waste of time and money to prepare for one's most important exam ever. Am glad you brought up Orgoman Facebook group, it is one of the most toxic environments I've seen mainly because the guy in charge has no manners and belittles people at every chance he gets and many of his answers, not all, are just a referral to his books mixed with an insult. Some excellent questions are posted on that group but good luck not getting insulted if you post a question. Not to mention the guy he has posting math questions, I've included an image indicates the level of intellect that guy has and the whole incident is truly indicative of the atmosphere in that group.
I'd like to say I use the destroyer books but I use them the same way I use a previous version of an upcoming exam I have in school, not as study material but as testing material after I've finished studying. If I encounter a question that I found difficult to solve and understand I don't power through, I go back to the drawing board and go through that subject.
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[artist2022]

Going to lock this thread before it goes off the rails. People are free to use whatever resource they want, and they are free to voice their opinions over different resources.

OP, use Khan Academy or get a tutor to help you with some of the questions. Chegg Tutors is great and is not too expensive I think. There are tons of other websites too (I think Wyzant has a bunch of tutors, but their rates differ tutor to tutor; Chegg has the same rate. These are the two I know best - not advertising for them though). They can help work through a few problems with you. It's important to know the material first before attempting questions from the Destroyer, as it's meant to test your knowledge, NOT necessarily help you learn the concepts.