- Joined
- Feb 19, 2009
- Messages
- 291
- Reaction score
- 8
I'm so glad to be done, it's time to take a break.
I'm super happy with my scores because I averaged around a 19-20 on my topscore sciences, so I didn't expect to do this well. I checked SDN compulsively throughout the whole process (3 weeks studying 5-8 hrs/day and 3 weeks of studying 8-12 hrs/day) and the advice here on SDN helped a ton.
PAT 25 (99.7%)
QR 22 (95.7%)
RC 30 (100%)
Bio 29 (99.9%)
GC 24 (95.2%)
OC 30 (100%)
TS 28 (99.9%)
AA 27 (100%)
A lot of what I studied is similar to what everyone does (KBB, Cliffs AP Bio, Chad's videos, Topscore, Achiever, Destroyer, Math Destroyer), but I did find some new resources that I'm excited to share.
PAT: I used Crack the DAT PAT and did 5 of my ten tests, I was scoring from 22-24 on average. Angles were a little easier on the real DAT and patterns were like complex origami.
QR: Eerily similar to Math Destroyer. I'm not one of those people who push Destroyer, but I've got a conspiracy theory about Dr. Romano extracting test questions from people who've taken the DAT...
Khan Academy:
If you struggle with any particular section of math (trig, geometry, probability, statistics, ellipses, etc.) go to this website and look up some free videos on that topic:
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Don't be intimidated by the volume of videos, just ctrl-f and search for a topic.
He also has some good videos on biology and chemistry, but I like the Thinkwell course and Chad's videos more (see below).
RC: I don't like search and destroy, so used this strategy I found from Vicviper here on SDN (Vicviper's RC Strategy):
I read all the questions first and try to remember a key word from each question (I don't write anything down). Then I read the passage one paragraph at a time, making sure I answer all questions related to that paragraph. If I can't remember what the questions are, I scan through all of them again. Any questions I missed I go back to that part of the passage and reread it and answer that question.
My first practice test with Topscore I used search and destroy and got a 22. I switched to this method and got a 29 on the two remaining topscore tests. On the actual test each passage took me about 16 min, giving me about 10 min to go back and re-read all the questions (I fixed two that I did wrong the first time around). With search and destroy I felt like I was wasting so much time scanning and not actually reading. With this method
I end up reading the whole passage once, paragraph at a time, and saving time to go back and check my answers.
*Edit: Also, during my 15 min break I wrote the numbers 1-50 on my whiteboard. When I answered a question I erased that number so I would know which questions I had left.
If you're still confused, read Vicviper's post.
Biology: This was the section I was most worried about because it is so broad and I haven't taken classes on taxonomy, evolution, plants, or ecology. I read through KBB, Cliffs AP Bio, and did destroyer. Those were good, but I still lacked a basic knowledge of Taxonomy etc. Two resources that really helped me:
Thinkwell Bio
This biology course by Thinkwell:
http://www.thinkwell.com/student/product/biology
has videos, quizzes, and additional content. But it costs $150.
EDIT:
UnFortunately, all the same videos are NO LONGER posted for free on two different websites:
http://www.5min.com/Tag/George%20wol...l?CategoryID=0
http://www.mefeedia.com/feeds/92219/...-videos/oldest
Now you have to either buy the whole course from Thinkwell.com or buy chunks/individual sections from http://thinkwell.mindbites.com/series/441-biology
I've posted this before, but the guy that teaches these videos is really good. He is cheesy and normally a high school teacher, so I can understand if you don't like his style.
His videos on plants (alternation of generations), diversity of life (taxonomy and evolution), embryology, and respiration/photosynthesis are golden.
I don't recommend that anyone watch all of the movies, it would take too much time. Go the first link, look for something you're not comfortable with, and then look up the title of that video on one of the second two links.
TTC Biology: The Science of Life
I don't recommend this for anyone who has less than a month before the DAT, but there's an 72 chapter audiobook (30 min each) called Biology: the Science of Life by The Teaching Company. I got it on sale for $80, so don't pay full price for it if you can avoid it. Basically it's a professor teaching a comprehensive biology course, subject by subject. I didn't listen to the whole thing, but I probably listened to at least 20 hours of it. I would listen to it when I went running in the mornings and while I worked in my lab. If you've got a lot of time, big commutes, or a long road trip, I highly recommend it.
I did the sections on evolution (Hardy-Weinberg eq., etc), development, the origin of life, and random other sections. It was great.
If you're a biology major and have already learned this stuff, you might be bored out of your mind.
Follow BiomajorPreDent's advice:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=652091
Basically he says to read Ch: 19-21 in Campbell's 7th edition Biology. If you have the 8th edition it's pretty much the same, but the front of the book explains where they've changed those chapters in the 8th edition. I highly recommend it, especially if you haven't had molecular bio. There were a couple of questions on the DAT that came directly from those chapters.
OChem and Gen Chem:
Chad is the man. If you don't know who Chad is, go to course saver . com and pay the $35 (per month) to see his videos. It's worth it. Just search sdn for Chad if you don't believe me.
I followed Chad up with Destroyer. Don't do it in the reverse order, it will just make you depressed.
Anki: It will raise your score and save you time. Use it
I'm too tired to give it the attention it deserves, but in short it's a free flashcard program that uses spaced repetition to help you memorize more in less time. Check out KarateTooth's amazing post about it. I really started using it 2 weeks before the DAT, but I wished I had used it sooner. Also, don't use someone else's flashcards, make your own based on what you miss on practice tests, it will be much more helpful.
Other than that, I had a friend who I studied with. Having a DAT study-buddy is awesome because you motivate each other, stay focused longer, and share useful resources. I highly recommend it.
Oh, and running in the mornings helped a lot as well. Once you're done with the DAT check out this book about the effects of running on the brain:
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
I'm applying to UoP, Indiana, Creighton, UNLV, Ohio State, Case Western, Marquette, Louisville, Tufts, Nova, Midwestern, and a few others.
I hope my breakdown helps someone. I've learned a lot from everyone else's advice here, so I want to give back. Thanks!
I'm super happy with my scores because I averaged around a 19-20 on my topscore sciences, so I didn't expect to do this well. I checked SDN compulsively throughout the whole process (3 weeks studying 5-8 hrs/day and 3 weeks of studying 8-12 hrs/day) and the advice here on SDN helped a ton.
PAT 25 (99.7%)
QR 22 (95.7%)
RC 30 (100%)
Bio 29 (99.9%)
GC 24 (95.2%)
OC 30 (100%)
TS 28 (99.9%)
AA 27 (100%)
A lot of what I studied is similar to what everyone does (KBB, Cliffs AP Bio, Chad's videos, Topscore, Achiever, Destroyer, Math Destroyer), but I did find some new resources that I'm excited to share.
PAT: I used Crack the DAT PAT and did 5 of my ten tests, I was scoring from 22-24 on average. Angles were a little easier on the real DAT and patterns were like complex origami.
QR: Eerily similar to Math Destroyer. I'm not one of those people who push Destroyer, but I've got a conspiracy theory about Dr. Romano extracting test questions from people who've taken the DAT...
Khan Academy:
If you struggle with any particular section of math (trig, geometry, probability, statistics, ellipses, etc.) go to this website and look up some free videos on that topic:
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Don't be intimidated by the volume of videos, just ctrl-f and search for a topic.
He also has some good videos on biology and chemistry, but I like the Thinkwell course and Chad's videos more (see below).
RC: I don't like search and destroy, so used this strategy I found from Vicviper here on SDN (Vicviper's RC Strategy):
I read all the questions first and try to remember a key word from each question (I don't write anything down). Then I read the passage one paragraph at a time, making sure I answer all questions related to that paragraph. If I can't remember what the questions are, I scan through all of them again. Any questions I missed I go back to that part of the passage and reread it and answer that question.
My first practice test with Topscore I used search and destroy and got a 22. I switched to this method and got a 29 on the two remaining topscore tests. On the actual test each passage took me about 16 min, giving me about 10 min to go back and re-read all the questions (I fixed two that I did wrong the first time around). With search and destroy I felt like I was wasting so much time scanning and not actually reading. With this method
I end up reading the whole passage once, paragraph at a time, and saving time to go back and check my answers.
*Edit: Also, during my 15 min break I wrote the numbers 1-50 on my whiteboard. When I answered a question I erased that number so I would know which questions I had left.
If you're still confused, read Vicviper's post.
Biology: This was the section I was most worried about because it is so broad and I haven't taken classes on taxonomy, evolution, plants, or ecology. I read through KBB, Cliffs AP Bio, and did destroyer. Those were good, but I still lacked a basic knowledge of Taxonomy etc. Two resources that really helped me:
Thinkwell Bio
This biology course by Thinkwell:
http://www.thinkwell.com/student/product/biology
has videos, quizzes, and additional content. But it costs $150.
EDIT:
UnFortunately, all the same videos are NO LONGER posted for free on two different websites:
http://www.5min.com/Tag/George%20wol...l?CategoryID=0
http://www.mefeedia.com/feeds/92219/...-videos/oldest
Now you have to either buy the whole course from Thinkwell.com or buy chunks/individual sections from http://thinkwell.mindbites.com/series/441-biology
I've posted this before, but the guy that teaches these videos is really good. He is cheesy and normally a high school teacher, so I can understand if you don't like his style.
His videos on plants (alternation of generations), diversity of life (taxonomy and evolution), embryology, and respiration/photosynthesis are golden.
I don't recommend that anyone watch all of the movies, it would take too much time. Go the first link, look for something you're not comfortable with, and then look up the title of that video on one of the second two links.
TTC Biology: The Science of Life
I don't recommend this for anyone who has less than a month before the DAT, but there's an 72 chapter audiobook (30 min each) called Biology: the Science of Life by The Teaching Company. I got it on sale for $80, so don't pay full price for it if you can avoid it. Basically it's a professor teaching a comprehensive biology course, subject by subject. I didn't listen to the whole thing, but I probably listened to at least 20 hours of it. I would listen to it when I went running in the mornings and while I worked in my lab. If you've got a lot of time, big commutes, or a long road trip, I highly recommend it.
I did the sections on evolution (Hardy-Weinberg eq., etc), development, the origin of life, and random other sections. It was great.
If you're a biology major and have already learned this stuff, you might be bored out of your mind.
Follow BiomajorPreDent's advice:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=652091
Basically he says to read Ch: 19-21 in Campbell's 7th edition Biology. If you have the 8th edition it's pretty much the same, but the front of the book explains where they've changed those chapters in the 8th edition. I highly recommend it, especially if you haven't had molecular bio. There were a couple of questions on the DAT that came directly from those chapters.
OChem and Gen Chem:
Chad is the man. If you don't know who Chad is, go to course saver . com and pay the $35 (per month) to see his videos. It's worth it. Just search sdn for Chad if you don't believe me.
I followed Chad up with Destroyer. Don't do it in the reverse order, it will just make you depressed.
Anki: It will raise your score and save you time. Use it
I'm too tired to give it the attention it deserves, but in short it's a free flashcard program that uses spaced repetition to help you memorize more in less time. Check out KarateTooth's amazing post about it. I really started using it 2 weeks before the DAT, but I wished I had used it sooner. Also, don't use someone else's flashcards, make your own based on what you miss on practice tests, it will be much more helpful.
Other than that, I had a friend who I studied with. Having a DAT study-buddy is awesome because you motivate each other, stay focused longer, and share useful resources. I highly recommend it.
Oh, and running in the mornings helped a lot as well. Once you're done with the DAT check out this book about the effects of running on the brain:
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
I'm applying to UoP, Indiana, Creighton, UNLV, Ohio State, Case Western, Marquette, Louisville, Tufts, Nova, Midwestern, and a few others.
I hope my breakdown helps someone. I've learned a lot from everyone else's advice here, so I want to give back. Thanks!
Last edited:
{lol}
