Finally DONE 9/1!

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lisat

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Whew! First of all I want to thank everyone on the board for your support and help. You all really helped me get through these study weeks of hell! 😀 Without further delay,

PA 21 98.2%
QR 28 100%
RC 24 97.5%
Bio 22 98.7%
GC 23 96.4%
OC 25 99.4%
TS 23 99.4%
AA 24 99.8%

I took the Kaplan course and used DAT achiever. To everyone out there starting they're DAT study quest, DAT achiever is the best $50 you can spend. To be honest I think I learned more from that program than I did from Kaplan's $1200 course. It's awesome practice for the PAT! The angle ranking from Kaplan is way easier than it is on the real exam. If anyone has any questions of any sort, feel free to ask! I want to try and be as helpful as everyone was to me.

Good luck! 😀
 
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lisat said:
Whew! First of all I want to thank everyone on the board for your support and help. You all really helped me get through these study weeks of hell! 😀 Without further delay,

PA 21 98.2%
QR 28 100%
RC 24 97.5%
Bio 22 98.7%
GC 23 96.4%
OC 25 99.4%
TS 23 99.4%
AA 24 99.8%

I took the Kaplan course and used DAT achiever. To everyone out there starting they're DAT study quest, DAT achiever is the best $50 you can spend. To be honest I think I learned more from that program than I did from Kaplan's $1200 course. It's awesome practice for the PAT! The angle ranking from Kaplan is way easier than it is on the real exam. If anyone has any questions of any sort, feel free to ask! I want to try and be as helpful as everyone was to me.

Good luck! 😀
Click to expand...

Yah, she is a very smart girl. Very good job Lisa. ^_^ You know what these scores make me feel tho right? ^_*

Take care,
Rich
 
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Thanks for all the kind words, guys!

I've received a few PM's about my exam, and I thought I'd reply here.

PAT: I thought it was much, much, much easier than DAT acheiver's PAT, but it was definitely harder than Kaplan's.
QR: I thought it was very easy, but I'm usually pretty decent in Math. I didn't get any stat problems and only a couple trig questions. Kaplan and DAT achiever are both good practice for the real thing.
RC: I dedicated 20 min/passage. I skimmed the passages in 5 minutes and used 15 min to basically search like crazy for answers. haha It's not too bad because it's a split screen with the question on top and the passage in a little window below.
Bio: It was pretty basic stuff with a few random questions here and there. Kaplan's Review notes cover almost everything on this part.
OC: Very, very basic. Kaplan is more than enough for this section. A couple reactions here and there, but nothing too crazy. Know Grignards though!
GC: Mostly calculation problems without the calculation part. They don't expect you to multiply/divide crazy numbers.

I guess that's it! Let me know if there are any specific questions!

good luck! 😀
 
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lisat said:
Whew! First of all I want to thank everyone on the board for your support and help. You all really helped me get through these study weeks of hell! 😀 Without further delay,

PA 21 98.2%
QR 28 100%
RC 24 97.5%
Bio 22 98.7%
GC 23 96.4%
OC 25 99.4%
TS 23 99.4%
AA 24 99.8%

I took the Kaplan course and used DAT achiever. To everyone out there starting they're DAT study quest, DAT achiever is the best $50 you can spend. To be honest I think I learned more from that program than I did from Kaplan's $1200 course. It's awesome practice for the PAT! The angle ranking from Kaplan is way easier than it is on the real exam. If anyone has any questions of any sort, feel free to ask! I want to try and be as helpful as everyone was to me.

Good luck! 😀
Click to expand...

welcome back lisa, i have been waiting for you/
 
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teefRcool said:
wow nice job, how long did u study to get these scores and how did u break up your studying.
Click to expand...

i took the kaplan course from june to august and then i took 2 weeks off from work and studied for 12 hrs a day for 14 days straight. i broke it up and studied bio for a day, ochem for a day (alternating). to be honest though, i think i learned more from all the practice exams i took. by test time, i had taken 10 full length exams. i learned the most from those exams and not as much from reading my kaplan review notes. you really have to go through the exams though....the questions you get wrong, why you got them wrong, why other answer choices were bad....the questions you got right...why you got them right (hopefully because you acutally knew it and not because it was a lucky guess hehe) i went through each exam at least 3 times. let me know if you have any more questions.


good luck!!
 
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What is the DAT Achiever?

Rhonda



lisat said:
Whew! First of all I want to thank everyone on the board for your support and help. You all really helped me get through these study weeks of hell! 😀 Without further delay,

PA 21 98.2%
QR 28 100%
RC 24 97.5%
Bio 22 98.7%
GC 23 96.4%
OC 25 99.4%
TS 23 99.4%
AA 24 99.8%

I took the Kaplan course and used DAT achiever. To everyone out there starting they're DAT study quest, DAT achiever is the best $50 you can spend. To be honest I think I learned more from that program than I did from Kaplan's $1200 course. It's awesome practice for the PAT! The angle ranking from Kaplan is way easier than it is on the real exam. If anyone has any questions of any sort, feel free to ask! I want to try and be as helpful as everyone was to me.

Good luck! 😀
Click to expand...
 
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Great job, lisat! Fantastic scores! I was wondering what sort of PAT scores you'd been getting on the practice exams you took. I've been getting around 21 to 23 on the practice tests I've done so far (not DAT acheiver), I hope it doesn't drop by too many points on the real thing 😱

Thanks 🙂
 
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Those are amazing scores, I'm sure you studied diligently, and therefore deserve what you earned ! I hope I have it in me to do as well.

I have taken the MCAT in the past, and did quite well. As I study for the DAT, I usually only study 2-3.5 hours a day, most of it seems like review. Is it necessary to make a whole day out of studying?
 
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This might sound like a stupid question, but are calculators allowed for the test? Also, how do you study for 12 hours? I'm beginning to think that maybe I should forget dental school. With 2 kids, a full-time job and all that both entail, there is no way to study that long. I hate the idea of the DAT anyway. I've worked in a dental office for 8 years and have a high GPA. I think I would know if I wasn't capable of handling dental school. Oh, well. I guess it is a necessary evil! 😱
 
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mom2dr said:
This might sound like a stupid question, but are calculators allowed for the test? Also, how do you study for 12 hours? I'm beginning to think that maybe I should forget dental school. With 2 kids, a full-time job and all that both entail, there is no way to study that long. I hate the idea of the DAT anyway. I've worked in a dental office for 8 years and have a high GPA. I think I would know if I wasn't capable of handling dental school. Oh, well. I guess it is a necessary evil! 😱
Click to expand...

no calculators allowed on the exam, but lots of the math (or most of it) is pretty simple. they don't expect you to do too many crazy multiplication/division problems.

don't lose hope yet! i'm sure you can do it! 🙂 just try to get in a few hours of quality study time everyday (ideally). also save time for taking practice tests...maybe on the weekends?

good luck! 🙂
 
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SRW26 said:
Great job, lisat! Fantastic scores! I was wondering what sort of PAT scores you'd been getting on the practice exams you took. I've been getting around 21 to 23 on the practice tests I've done so far (not DAT acheiver), I hope it doesn't drop by too many points on the real thing 😱

Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...

My PAT scores on Kaplan were very, very high. My last Kaplan PAT scores were 24 and 25. My DAT achiever scores were 17, 18, 19. I guess my actual test scores were an avg of the two. heh

Good luck! 😀
 
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That score is really really good... I am sure you can even get into Harvard with that score.
Good luck!


------------------------------------------------------------------
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Overall GPA: 3.84
DAT: 21/22/21
 
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mom2dr said:
This might sound like a stupid question, but are calculators allowed for the test? Also, how do you study for 12 hours? I'm beginning to think that maybe I should forget dental school. With 2 kids, a full-time job and all that both entail, there is no way to study that long. I hate the idea of the DAT anyway. I've worked in a dental office for 8 years and have a high GPA. I think I would know if I wasn't capable of handling dental school. Oh, well. I guess it is a necessary evil! 😱
Click to expand...
Haha, 12 hours. I can barely stay awake for 3 hours reading kaplan and preparing. I just recommend you do whatever hours you can do everyday for the next 2 months. Just make sure it is at least one hour and a half.

Take care,
Rich
 
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Thanks so much everyone for the encouragement! It really helps. Being a single parent and trying to achieve goals at the same time can be a little intimidating at times. I did get the Top Score practice tests, so that should help. Have a great weekend!
 
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Hi lisat, I've a question for you...I'm studying for the o.chem section of the DAT & am a bit overwhelmed by all the chemical rxns (u know, elimination, Sn2, EAS, etc). Should I just study the Kaplan flashcards since the review notes are too detailed? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance & btw, your scores are awesome!! Congrats!!
 
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daisies said:
Hi lisat, I've a question for you...I'm studying for the o.chem section of the DAT & am a bit overwhelmed by all the chemical rxns (u know, elimination, Sn2, EAS, etc). Should I just study the Kaplan flashcards since the review notes are too detailed? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance & btw, your scores are awesome!! Congrats!!
Click to expand...

I basically went through the Kaplan notes and wrote out all the reactions and focused on the more common reactions, like E1, E2, SN1, SN2. I used the flashcards, but they don't specifically go over all the reactions. You might need to supplement the cards a bit. If you have the cards, I'm guessing you also have the subject tests?

Another method I used was I studied some ochem, took a practice test, and went more throughly into the material covered in the subject tests. the kaplan practice tests cover the same material as what i encountered on the real exam.

good luck!!
 
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lisat said:
i took the kaplan course from june to august and then i took 2 weeks off from work and studied for 12 hrs a day for 14 days straight. i broke it up and studied bio for a day, ochem for a day (alternating). to be honest though, i think i learned more from all the practice exams i took. by test time, i had taken 10 full length exams. i learned the most from those exams and not as much from reading my kaplan review notes. you really have to go through the exams though....the questions you get wrong, why you got them wrong, why other answer choices were bad....the questions you got right...why you got them right (hopefully because you acutally knew it and not because it was a lucky guess hehe) i went through each exam at least 3 times. let me know if you have any more questions.


good luck!!
Click to expand...

HI, those are killer scores, actually the highest i have ever seen. can you be more specific on your studying patterns?? do you take lunch, dinner, or naps during those 12 hrs? and where do you study at? during june and aug, how much do you study for during those times?

i been studying at the DAT since june 22. it seems like i cant keep stuff in my head. and everyday i study in the library from 10 till 5 with a 20 minnap and 30 min lunch. i think i am spending enough time, but some how i cant recall much stuff.. any words of wisdom?
 
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firenoodle said:
HI, those are killer scores, actually the highest i have ever seen. can you be more specific on your studying patterns?? do you take lunch, dinner, or naps during those 12 hrs? and where do you study at? during june and aug, how much do you study for during those times?

i been studying at the DAT since june 22. it seems like i cant keep stuff in my head. and everyday i study in the library from 10 till 5 with a 20 minnap and 30 min lunch. i think i am spending enough time, but some how i cant recall much stuff.. any words of wisdom?
Click to expand...

From June until mid August, I took the Kaplan course. I was working and doing other things, so I only did the homework for Kaplan. I didn't study too much more then.

Two and a half weeks before my exam, I took a break from work and studied full time. I'd start around 10:30 or so. I took a full practice exam almost every other day. On study days, I focused on Ochem or Biology. I'd read the Kaplan book and *try* to memorize stuff I tended to forget, mostly specifics, for a few hours. I'd go through some subject exams very thoroughly. I had already taken all these while taking the Kaplan course, but it was good to go through them again. I'd look up stuff I had gotten wrong and read about the topics in more detail either in the Kaplan review book or online usuing google.

I basically did that from 10:30 am until 2 am with an hour lunch break, an hour dinner break, and maybe another hour break just to cool off. There were lots of subject exams to go over (the 5 kaplan subjects and all the old kaplan practice exams I had taken).

on exam days, i'd wait to take my exam at 4:30 pm because i was taking my real exam at 4:30 pm. (i wanted to simulate test conditions) i mostly do light review up until test time. a few hours before i took my exam, i would run through the science section and pat section of an exam i had taken recently just to get my mind running. after i took my exam, i'd go over it very thoroughly going through almost every question....questions i got wrong, questions i got right but had doubts about...

that's basically all i did. nothing special. i think the best thing you can do is practice practice practice. that's when i learned the most...when i took practice exams and went over them afterwards. i'd always remember the topic and question better that way. i don't think i ever learned/retained much from just reading the kaplan review notes.

good luck! 😀
 
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lisat said:
I basically went through the Kaplan notes and wrote out all the reactions and focused on the more common reactions, like E1, E2, SN1, SN2. I used the flashcards, but they don't specifically go over all the reactions. You might need to supplement the cards a bit. If you have the cards, I'm guessing you also have the subject tests?

Another method I used was I studied some ochem, took a practice test, and went more throughly into the material covered in the subject tests. the kaplan practice tests cover the same material as what i encountered on the real exam.

good luck!!
Click to expand...

Hi Lisat! Congrats on those killer scores! 👍

I'd like your advice (since you did so well and all...) 🙂

I am taking Org. Chem I this semester (as well as Biology II) and am wondering if I should take the DAT right after taking these two courses. It seems that all Dental Schools want you to take one whole year of Org. Chem. as pre-reqs. Does this immediately translate to having to take two Org. Chemistry courses if you want to do well on the DAT? In other words, should I take the DAT if I have taken:
* Chem. I and Chem. II
* Biology I and Biology II
* Org. Chem I

or, should I wait until I have taken Org. Chem II and, say, more Biology stuff (e.g. A&P)?

My Math is okay, so I have no worries about that part.

Thanks!
 
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Pelotari said:
Hi Lisat! Congrats on those killer scores! 👍

I'd like your advice (since you did so well and all...) 🙂

I am taking Org. Chem I this semester (as well as Biology II) and am wondering if I should take the DAT right after taking these two courses. It seems that all Dental Schools want you to take one whole year of Org. Chem. as pre-reqs. Does this immediately translate to having to take two Org. Chemistry courses if you want to do well on the DAT? In other words, should I take the DAT if I have taken:
* Chem. I and Chem. II
* Biology I and Biology II
* Org. Chem I

or, should I wait until I have taken Org. Chem II and, say, more Biology stuff (e.g. A&P)?

My Math is okay, so I have no worries about that part.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I think you should be set. The Ochem covered on the DAT is pretty basic, so you probably have everything you needed after your first ochem class.

I honestly think it's better to take the DAT as soon as possible, so you don't forget any ochem, chem, and bio (since you don't need to know much from advanced courses).

good luck!!!
😀 😀
 
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lisat said:
Whew! First of all I want to thank everyone on the board for your support and help. You all really helped me get through these study weeks of hell! 😀 Without further delay,

PA 21 98.2%
QR 28 100%
RC 24 97.5%
Bio 22 98.7%
GC 23 96.4%
OC 25 99.4%
TS 23 99.4%
AA 24 99.8%

I took the Kaplan course and used DAT achiever. To everyone out there starting they're DAT study quest, DAT achiever is the best $50 you can spend. To be honest I think I learned more from that program than I did from Kaplan's $1200 course. It's awesome practice for the PAT! The angle ranking from Kaplan is way easier than it is on the real exam. If anyone has any questions of any sort, feel free to ask! I want to try and be as helpful as everyone was to me.

Good luck! 😀
Click to expand...

Anyone has any comments on getting a 17 for PAT 1 from achiever?
 
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everyone claims they devote so much time to studying for the DAT. is anyone out there taking any full time classes?
 
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