- Joined
- Jul 18, 2008
- Messages
- 272
- Reaction score
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First of all Id like to thank all the members here on sdn (and sorry for the long post)I recommend this site to anyone whos just starting or has already started studying for the DAT. Without the countless hints and pointers people gave me on this forum, I would have been lost come test day.
That said, I hope to give back what I found to be very valuable in my studies: and that is tips, study materials, and a breakdown (as promised)
First, here are my scores:
PAT 24
QR 19
RC 21
Bio 23
GC 23
OC 26
TS 23
AA 22
Now for my breakdown/story (Ill go in order of events on test day):
First of all, I was so scared days leading up to the exam, but I was able to collect myself yesterday and calm down. I had studied long and hard and I knew if I did my best, Id succeed. You guys have to keep that in mind. I recommend just dropping those books the last couple of days and trying to go to bed early.
My exam was at 9am so I had to get up at 6:30 (Zzzz). Anyway, once I got to the center, my heart was pounding out of my chest. Make sure you guys do your business before you go in! (I remember 1 poster here had to go in the middle of a section and go during your break! after PAT!) Relax during the tutorial and start when youre ready.
Also, I'd recommend practicing using the lamenated sheets they give you at the test center. I got mine from kaplan, but you can buy it from scienceaide i think!
Sooo breakdown:
BIO First question and I dont know it! AHHHHH. Just mark and stick to your program. Like everyones been saying, really random stuff on here. Eventually I got on a role. There were some really easy, direct questions. Two questions, I had to do punnet squares, both were about sex-linked diseases. I was able to finish bio fairly quickly (25 minutes). That left w/ enough time for chem, since I like to take my time with calculations (which there were almost none of more on this later).
Study Materials I know its like taboo on here, but Destroyer is on the mark guys. I read through Destroyer Bio twice, first time VERY thoroughly and circled things for later. The second time I was much more confident with it. I also recommend the Kaplan subject tests. It doesnt touch on all the topics, but I think the two combined are the best combination. OH, and I almost forgot! CLIFFS is a MUST too. Youll probably see questions on evolution and taxonomy, I did. So prepare with Cliffs. I read thru it once fully and kept going over the 5 kingdoms chapter and plants (my weakest areas) a lot of times.
Note: There is a warning sign that comes up when you have 15 min and 5 min left. If someone had told me that prior to the test, it would probably have not FREAKED me out EVERY TIME on EVERY section! So beware lol
CHEM I honestly didnt have that many calculations at all. I like calculations more than conceptual questions, but I didnt complain. All the questions were straight forward, nothing was out of the ordinary. Know youre elements! I know its silly, but they gave me some names and I actually wasnt sure what the symbol was LOL. Nothing on pH for me. There were some conversions and most of the answers didnt have you solve out the actual problem (ex. It was like [8*9]/10). So that was definitely helpful for me. Chem on my practice tests took me the longest, and same happened here. I finished it with 35 min left for orgo.
Study Materials Again destroyer and Kaplan. Id recommend doing Kaplan tests first, then tackling destroyer. After I did destroyer and was getting 36-37/40 I felt really really confident. But remember, destroyer is tricky, the test wont be (at least it wasnt for me). So if youre solid with destroyer, youll be set. Also, a month ago, I wasnt sure in a few areas and I watched Chads videos (Ill find the link). Theyre really good. I touched up in areas I was shaky on and Id recommend it to you guys. Also, if you need extra questions, check out prep101. I thought a number of its free chem questions helped me. Plus its always good to have extra questions (I dont recommend their bio or orgo).
OCHEM This was my strongest section all the time. But I really had legit problems with it today. Obv my score doesnt show, but I wasnt sure of a good 5-6 problems. I had mostly reactions, and I know I got those. Others were NMR and that was fine. Be prepared for the usual stuff. I got a little lucky here with the score I think, but I wont complain. For orgo, I think if I just studied Kaplan, the reactions would kill me. I had some pretty heavy stuff that I wouldnt know. Besides for destroyer, if you guys love orgo like myself, try ACS orgo. Its on par with destroyer in terms of difficulty. But with both youre golden. If you have destroyer, just stick with it! The first time I did Destroyer orgo I got almost nothing right, but I got really into it as I studied it.
Overall for the sciences, I think destroyer is a must (don't banish me oh-doubters. It's true and you guys know it). Touch up with Kaplan if you can (Id do this before Destroyer). Make sure you read destroyer through. I had a marble notebook FILLED with notes that I would read about every day leading up to yesterday. I kept things that I thought Id forget in there and ALL my errors from practice tests. I think that really helped me gain confidence, which is key.
PAT- CDP CDP CDP! If you dont have this, buy it! I first bought the 5 test version and later upgraded to the 10 test version. They are extremely helpful at finding the right deal for you and were constantly in contact with me when I wasnt able to download it for some reason. They even called me and entered my computer through some program and opened it for me! (I felt like a computer n00b). Anyway, make sure you dont try to answer the SAMPLE problems on the DAT. I was sitting on the first keyhole sample for a minute, until Im like holy ****! LMAO. So yea dont be an idiot like me.
Here are my CDP scores (Id recommend doing CDP till the day of the exam, because its easy to forget): 18/20/20/18/25/23/21/24/23/23/22(1st test retake)
So I went up 4 points basically from the first time I took CDP. Personally, I thought test 5 was the easiest of all of them. Test 1 is pretty hard I think. CDP I thought was harder than the DAT PAT turned out. I think CDP is the best marker here and the best practice. Its the same thing for Keyholes and TFE. Angles, I thought were MUCH easier. Sometimes you just SEE it, and I think it paid off for me. Also, on the dat, you get choices like 1-3-2-4, 3-1-4-2, etc so all you really have to compare are 1 and 3 and 4 and 2 in this example. Others, it evident which one is the biggest angle (or smallest) and there is only one answer that fits (that happened like 4 or 5 times today).
Now hole punching. I was getting 8/15 on CDP until I started drawing the tic-tac-toe grid. It is an awesome method and just makes everything so easy. I drew the chart prior to test during the tutorial and you just make little xs and erase with your finger when youre done. I was getting 15/15 on the last 5 CDP tests.
Cubes CDP goes crazy sometimes with 30-40 cubes! LOL. The most on my exam was 18. But there were about 7 figures (most had only 2 questions per). Again, master CDP cubes and youll be fine. No tricks here or illusions
I had 19 minutes left for pattern folding! On CDP, at first I would actually run out of time but speed on TFE and keyholes is vital bc you can then breeze thru angles. With pattern, I was able to slow it down and even draw some things out on my scrap. Really happy with my score!
RC - I suck at verbal. I got a 520 on my SAT, but remember this is NOTHING like SAT or MCAT verbal. At first I was for people using 101 MCAT passages, but its useless. Dont waste your time with it. Sure youll get some tone and inference questions, but just stick to your method and youll be fine. I used a mix of the Kaplan and search and destroy methodD). Most of my questions were directly from the passages. Thank god, no piano! Phew. I had a mini panic attack in my first passage. I was 10 minutes in and only had answered one question. But just stick with your gameplan. I was searching for a word and only found it in the last paragraph -_-! From there I was on a role as I had the whole passage mapped out. My second passage was about crocodiles and was really interesting actually lol. I was able to breeze through the last two passages.
Also, I tried using CDR and I got 20/18/16!/20. I really didnt like it. It had ******ed passages. And its questions were more like SAT/MCAT than DAT. Stick to Acheiver and TopScore and dont freak out over RC.
Finally MATH was a bit disappointing. I was scoring well throughout my practice tests and I was rolling thru it. After RC, I had a nice headache going lol, but I just wanted to finish. My advice, dont slack off! Roll through. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and basically turned my engine off. I still managed to finish math and mark only 4 questions I didnt know. I must have made serious calculation errors along the way. But a 19, Ill live with. My advice, get Math Destroyer. Do those tests and you should rock this section. Thats all I used and I thought it was great. It was more challenging than the DAT math.
*as mentioned (thanks GIT..) if math was a 20, my AA would have been a 23*
I'll post my Achiever/TopScore scores if you guys want them. Both were very helpful.
Hope this is helpful and I'm around to answer questions about study materials (not whats on the test), etc
That said, I hope to give back what I found to be very valuable in my studies: and that is tips, study materials, and a breakdown (as promised)
First, here are my scores:
PAT 24
QR 19
RC 21
Bio 23
GC 23
OC 26
TS 23
AA 22
Now for my breakdown/story (Ill go in order of events on test day):
First of all, I was so scared days leading up to the exam, but I was able to collect myself yesterday and calm down. I had studied long and hard and I knew if I did my best, Id succeed. You guys have to keep that in mind. I recommend just dropping those books the last couple of days and trying to go to bed early.
My exam was at 9am so I had to get up at 6:30 (Zzzz). Anyway, once I got to the center, my heart was pounding out of my chest. Make sure you guys do your business before you go in! (I remember 1 poster here had to go in the middle of a section and go during your break! after PAT!) Relax during the tutorial and start when youre ready.
Also, I'd recommend practicing using the lamenated sheets they give you at the test center. I got mine from kaplan, but you can buy it from scienceaide i think!
Sooo breakdown:
BIO First question and I dont know it! AHHHHH. Just mark and stick to your program. Like everyones been saying, really random stuff on here. Eventually I got on a role. There were some really easy, direct questions. Two questions, I had to do punnet squares, both were about sex-linked diseases. I was able to finish bio fairly quickly (25 minutes). That left w/ enough time for chem, since I like to take my time with calculations (which there were almost none of more on this later).
Study Materials I know its like taboo on here, but Destroyer is on the mark guys. I read through Destroyer Bio twice, first time VERY thoroughly and circled things for later. The second time I was much more confident with it. I also recommend the Kaplan subject tests. It doesnt touch on all the topics, but I think the two combined are the best combination. OH, and I almost forgot! CLIFFS is a MUST too. Youll probably see questions on evolution and taxonomy, I did. So prepare with Cliffs. I read thru it once fully and kept going over the 5 kingdoms chapter and plants (my weakest areas) a lot of times.
Note: There is a warning sign that comes up when you have 15 min and 5 min left. If someone had told me that prior to the test, it would probably have not FREAKED me out EVERY TIME on EVERY section! So beware lol
CHEM I honestly didnt have that many calculations at all. I like calculations more than conceptual questions, but I didnt complain. All the questions were straight forward, nothing was out of the ordinary. Know youre elements! I know its silly, but they gave me some names and I actually wasnt sure what the symbol was LOL. Nothing on pH for me. There were some conversions and most of the answers didnt have you solve out the actual problem (ex. It was like [8*9]/10). So that was definitely helpful for me. Chem on my practice tests took me the longest, and same happened here. I finished it with 35 min left for orgo.
Study Materials Again destroyer and Kaplan. Id recommend doing Kaplan tests first, then tackling destroyer. After I did destroyer and was getting 36-37/40 I felt really really confident. But remember, destroyer is tricky, the test wont be (at least it wasnt for me). So if youre solid with destroyer, youll be set. Also, a month ago, I wasnt sure in a few areas and I watched Chads videos (Ill find the link). Theyre really good. I touched up in areas I was shaky on and Id recommend it to you guys. Also, if you need extra questions, check out prep101. I thought a number of its free chem questions helped me. Plus its always good to have extra questions (I dont recommend their bio or orgo).
OCHEM This was my strongest section all the time. But I really had legit problems with it today. Obv my score doesnt show, but I wasnt sure of a good 5-6 problems. I had mostly reactions, and I know I got those. Others were NMR and that was fine. Be prepared for the usual stuff. I got a little lucky here with the score I think, but I wont complain. For orgo, I think if I just studied Kaplan, the reactions would kill me. I had some pretty heavy stuff that I wouldnt know. Besides for destroyer, if you guys love orgo like myself, try ACS orgo. Its on par with destroyer in terms of difficulty. But with both youre golden. If you have destroyer, just stick with it! The first time I did Destroyer orgo I got almost nothing right, but I got really into it as I studied it.
Overall for the sciences, I think destroyer is a must (don't banish me oh-doubters. It's true and you guys know it). Touch up with Kaplan if you can (Id do this before Destroyer). Make sure you read destroyer through. I had a marble notebook FILLED with notes that I would read about every day leading up to yesterday. I kept things that I thought Id forget in there and ALL my errors from practice tests. I think that really helped me gain confidence, which is key.
PAT- CDP CDP CDP! If you dont have this, buy it! I first bought the 5 test version and later upgraded to the 10 test version. They are extremely helpful at finding the right deal for you and were constantly in contact with me when I wasnt able to download it for some reason. They even called me and entered my computer through some program and opened it for me! (I felt like a computer n00b). Anyway, make sure you dont try to answer the SAMPLE problems on the DAT. I was sitting on the first keyhole sample for a minute, until Im like holy ****! LMAO. So yea dont be an idiot like me.
Here are my CDP scores (Id recommend doing CDP till the day of the exam, because its easy to forget): 18/20/20/18/25/23/21/24/23/23/22(1st test retake)
So I went up 4 points basically from the first time I took CDP. Personally, I thought test 5 was the easiest of all of them. Test 1 is pretty hard I think. CDP I thought was harder than the DAT PAT turned out. I think CDP is the best marker here and the best practice. Its the same thing for Keyholes and TFE. Angles, I thought were MUCH easier. Sometimes you just SEE it, and I think it paid off for me. Also, on the dat, you get choices like 1-3-2-4, 3-1-4-2, etc so all you really have to compare are 1 and 3 and 4 and 2 in this example. Others, it evident which one is the biggest angle (or smallest) and there is only one answer that fits (that happened like 4 or 5 times today).
Now hole punching. I was getting 8/15 on CDP until I started drawing the tic-tac-toe grid. It is an awesome method and just makes everything so easy. I drew the chart prior to test during the tutorial and you just make little xs and erase with your finger when youre done. I was getting 15/15 on the last 5 CDP tests.
Cubes CDP goes crazy sometimes with 30-40 cubes! LOL. The most on my exam was 18. But there were about 7 figures (most had only 2 questions per). Again, master CDP cubes and youll be fine. No tricks here or illusions
I had 19 minutes left for pattern folding! On CDP, at first I would actually run out of time but speed on TFE and keyholes is vital bc you can then breeze thru angles. With pattern, I was able to slow it down and even draw some things out on my scrap. Really happy with my score!
RC - I suck at verbal. I got a 520 on my SAT, but remember this is NOTHING like SAT or MCAT verbal. At first I was for people using 101 MCAT passages, but its useless. Dont waste your time with it. Sure youll get some tone and inference questions, but just stick to your method and youll be fine. I used a mix of the Kaplan and search and destroy method
D). Most of my questions were directly from the passages. Thank god, no piano! Phew. I had a mini panic attack in my first passage. I was 10 minutes in and only had answered one question. But just stick with your gameplan. I was searching for a word and only found it in the last paragraph -_-! From there I was on a role as I had the whole passage mapped out. My second passage was about crocodiles and was really interesting actually lol. I was able to breeze through the last two passages. Also, I tried using CDR and I got 20/18/16!/20. I really didnt like it. It had ******ed passages. And its questions were more like SAT/MCAT than DAT. Stick to Acheiver and TopScore and dont freak out over RC.
Finally MATH was a bit disappointing. I was scoring well throughout my practice tests and I was rolling thru it. After RC, I had a nice headache going lol, but I just wanted to finish. My advice, dont slack off! Roll through. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and basically turned my engine off. I still managed to finish math and mark only 4 questions I didnt know. I must have made serious calculation errors along the way. But a 19, Ill live with. My advice, get Math Destroyer. Do those tests and you should rock this section. Thats all I used and I thought it was great. It was more challenging than the DAT math.
*as mentioned (thanks GIT..) if math was a 20, my AA would have been a 23*
I'll post my Achiever/TopScore scores if you guys want them. Both were very helpful.
Hope this is helpful and I'm around to answer questions about study materials (not whats on the test), etc
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