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Well, I just took the DAT and I thought I would offer my thoughts on the experience to include preparation, resources, and the actual exam since I have taken oodles and oodles of knowledge from this site.
First off...here are my practice exam and actual DAT scores:
Bio---GC---OC---TS---RC---QR---AA---PAT
Barron's A----16---18---19----18---19---22---19----19
Barron's B----17---18---17----18---20---24---19----20
Kaplan BB----20---17---21----20---19---21---20----22
Kaplan CD----19---17---18----18---19---22---19----20
Topscore1---19----19---15---18---21----21---19---21
Topscore2---18----18---18---19---20----20---19---22
Topscore3---18----16---19---18---22----22---19---25
Actual DAT---22---23---20---22---20----22---21---19
So, a with a general analysis you can conclude that the general "3-point" rule is pretty true. I scored about 2-3 points higher on the actual DAT on the sciences.
As for studying...I have not taken a college course, studied, or been in any kind of academic atmosphere for the past 6-1/2 years. I've been in the work force, and I took 3 months off to study for the DAT. I would not recommend a study plan that went beyond 3 months. I was at the point where I was tired of looking at the same stuff over and over again. I studied between 4-7 hours a day.
Bio-
Resources: Kaplan book which I bought on Amazon.com; Schaum's Biology Outline; Campbell's Third Edition; and class notes from when I took Bio in 1994. I didn't see a lot of plant, evolution, or ecology questions on my DAT. I studied primarily from Kaplan, and I think they do a great job of presenting biology (contrary to what a lot of SDNers say). I referred to Schaum's and Campbell's on occasion if I was uncomfortable or unclear with what Kaplan said. But there was probably one question on the entire exam that I was able to answer because I spent time with Schaum's. So I would recommend just Kaplan (know it inside and out) to do well on the DAT. If you have time, refer to other sources. They will make the difference on 1 or 2 questions.
GC- Kaplan book; Examkrackers MCAT Chemistry; and Examkrackers MCAT 1001 Questions in MCAT Chemistry. This was very basic and Kaplan is all you need to know. Not too many calculations...primarily theory. All you need for this section is to know Kaplan inside and out!!! Examkrackers wasn't anything special other than another source for me to refer to if Kaplan didn't explain it well. I would recommend the questions book if you have time...and you really want to blowthis section out of the water.
OC- Kaplan; Schaum's OChem; Examkrackers MCAT Organic Chemistry; EK 1001 Questions in MCAT Organic Chemistry. I thought I actually did better on this section than what my score indicates...but I'm not complaining. This section is very comparable to Kaplan exams, and the flashcards are very helpful. Kaplan's outlines what you need to know very well. Of all the EK books to buy...I would buy the OChem book. It was a little more condensed than Kaplan, but it was another source I could refer to.
RC and QR- I didn't study at all for these sections except for practice exams. I thought the RC was a tad more difficult than Topscore. There is direct word relation and recall...but not directly. Also expect a couple of "The final sentence of this passage could be..." QR...I can't give you an honest assessment. I've always been pretty strong in math.
PAT- The PAT seemed very easy...but my score was a 19. So I misjudged it somewhere. I'm still very happy with the score. But my point is that several people have said that they thought they did better than what their score reflected. It is very similar to TS and Kaplan, but expect a 2-3 point drop from your practice scores.
Again...this is just my assessment from my DAT experience. DAT's vary, and especially in Bio, the subject matter is pretty diverse. So, don't blow off evolution and ecology because my particular test didn't have a lot. As other SDNers have been there for me in the past, I will be here for anybody who has any specific questions or encouragement. I will do my best to answer you questions BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, so feel free to ask.
First off...here are my practice exam and actual DAT scores:
Bio---GC---OC---TS---RC---QR---AA---PAT
Barron's A----16---18---19----18---19---22---19----19
Barron's B----17---18---17----18---20---24---19----20
Kaplan BB----20---17---21----20---19---21---20----22
Kaplan CD----19---17---18----18---19---22---19----20
Topscore1---19----19---15---18---21----21---19---21
Topscore2---18----18---18---19---20----20---19---22
Topscore3---18----16---19---18---22----22---19---25
Actual DAT---22---23---20---22---20----22---21---19
So, a with a general analysis you can conclude that the general "3-point" rule is pretty true. I scored about 2-3 points higher on the actual DAT on the sciences.
As for studying...I have not taken a college course, studied, or been in any kind of academic atmosphere for the past 6-1/2 years. I've been in the work force, and I took 3 months off to study for the DAT. I would not recommend a study plan that went beyond 3 months. I was at the point where I was tired of looking at the same stuff over and over again. I studied between 4-7 hours a day.
Bio-
Resources: Kaplan book which I bought on Amazon.com; Schaum's Biology Outline; Campbell's Third Edition; and class notes from when I took Bio in 1994. I didn't see a lot of plant, evolution, or ecology questions on my DAT. I studied primarily from Kaplan, and I think they do a great job of presenting biology (contrary to what a lot of SDNers say). I referred to Schaum's and Campbell's on occasion if I was uncomfortable or unclear with what Kaplan said. But there was probably one question on the entire exam that I was able to answer because I spent time with Schaum's. So I would recommend just Kaplan (know it inside and out) to do well on the DAT. If you have time, refer to other sources. They will make the difference on 1 or 2 questions.
GC- Kaplan book; Examkrackers MCAT Chemistry; and Examkrackers MCAT 1001 Questions in MCAT Chemistry. This was very basic and Kaplan is all you need to know. Not too many calculations...primarily theory. All you need for this section is to know Kaplan inside and out!!! Examkrackers wasn't anything special other than another source for me to refer to if Kaplan didn't explain it well. I would recommend the questions book if you have time...and you really want to blowthis section out of the water.
OC- Kaplan; Schaum's OChem; Examkrackers MCAT Organic Chemistry; EK 1001 Questions in MCAT Organic Chemistry. I thought I actually did better on this section than what my score indicates...but I'm not complaining. This section is very comparable to Kaplan exams, and the flashcards are very helpful. Kaplan's outlines what you need to know very well. Of all the EK books to buy...I would buy the OChem book. It was a little more condensed than Kaplan, but it was another source I could refer to.
RC and QR- I didn't study at all for these sections except for practice exams. I thought the RC was a tad more difficult than Topscore. There is direct word relation and recall...but not directly. Also expect a couple of "The final sentence of this passage could be..." QR...I can't give you an honest assessment. I've always been pretty strong in math.
PAT- The PAT seemed very easy...but my score was a 19. So I misjudged it somewhere. I'm still very happy with the score. But my point is that several people have said that they thought they did better than what their score reflected. It is very similar to TS and Kaplan, but expect a 2-3 point drop from your practice scores.
Again...this is just my assessment from my DAT experience. DAT's vary, and especially in Bio, the subject matter is pretty diverse. So, don't blow off evolution and ecology because my particular test didn't have a lot. As other SDNers have been there for me in the past, I will be here for anybody who has any specific questions or encouragement. I will do my best to answer you questions BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, so feel free to ask.
