I have lurked this forum for the longest time, I want to thank all the regular contributors to the site for telling me what resources to use and how I should study, etc. Couldn't have done as well without SDN for sure. Now that I'm done, I want to contribute a little advice and insight myself...
Breakdown:
PA 22
QR 24
RC 24
Bio 19
GC 23
OC 24
TS 21
AA 23
Resources:
CDP, CDR, Chad's Videos, Dat Destroyer, 2009 ADA sample exam, Kaplan BB, Cliffs AP Bio, Math Destroyer, NO Topscore or Achiever lol (ran out of time
)
PA: It is tough. Tougher than CDP. CDP is good practice though. I improved a lot using it. I think you can improve a lot if you go over your mistakes after the test and really learn how and why it's incorrect and how it should be right. I did this right after every CDP test and I think this helped me improve the most. I think this applies the most to TFE, because initially I think a lot of people (well, at least me) have a vague idea of what the object looks like and can reason out the answer using lines. Usually you don't have enough time in an actual test to imagine the shape so you rely on line counting. I would do that at first but after every test, I would go over the entire TFE section and just create the image in my head, then I would look at the answer to confirm if the shape was correct or not. Doing this repeatedly with every test builds up your ability to do it quickly.
Differences between CDP and actual test:
Hole fitting: Problems on actual test are more based around proportions rather than imagining how to rotate the object. This is also true of the 2009 test.
TFE: About on par with CDP. I never used line counting, always imagined the object in my head. I don't think you should rely on line counting for this section because I could see how it could trip you up with some objects.
Angles: SUPER easy on my test compared to CDP...seriously all the angles were so obvious. I got lucky here. My strategy: rotate your body/head so that the 2 angles you're comparing are in the same position/facing the same direction. Then compare. You look like a fool doing it but I feel it works
Hole Punching: Exactly like CDP. Note: the 2009 version has 'triple folds' that some people speak of. I would recommend doing this test just so you can get an idea of what these are in case you run into it on the actual test.
Cube Counting: Way easier than CDP. Some only had like 10 blocks total.
Pattern Folding: EFFING HARD. Spent like 15 minutes on this section. Ran out of time and guessed on like 2-3.
My theory: each test version will have one super hard section. I guess for me, it was pattern folding. Others may get a hard hole punching, or angles, or something. I think that's why you see some disparity among the breakdowns.
I think the best representation of the actual PAT section is the 2009 ADA sample test. It is very very similar to it.
QR:I did math destroyer like a month before the test, got like 25s on the last few (excluding 11 and 12, which were so fricken hard) so I didn't touch math for the last 3.5 weeks lol. BAD idea because I had become rusty by the time the exam approached. I had to re-memorize all the equations and tactics. Overall, math destroyer is great, great practice. The actual test has very similar to the questions in destroyer. The test was about on par with math destroyer. My suggestion...do at least 3 math tests a week before your test so you don't become rusty. I was a bit rusty and I felt like I could have finished the test if I wasn't so slow. BTW, the 2009 sample test was ridiculously hard compared to the actual test.
RC: Bought CDR but only did 2 tests because I ran out of time lol. I think CDR is pretty representative of the real RC though. The articles were of equal difficulty. There are both detail and tone questions on the actual test. My strategy: read a couple questions, then read a couple paragraphs. Rinse and repeat.
Bio: My advice: download the notes off predds.net! Great site...I found it my last week and just downloaded the general bio notes, it's a great resource. Cliffs AP is too detailed in some parts but I think overall it's good to read through.
GChem: Chad's + Destroyer. Hands down best combination. I was getting rocked my 1st time through. But I did this section 3 times. By the 3rd time, I could do questions in like 3 seconds. Make sure to learn how solve the problem if you didn't get it right. For Chad, I took notes on each video and read it like a billion times. Then I retook a 2nd set of notes, just listing out things I kept forgetting. I think if you do these 2, you should be set for the Gchem section.
OChem: Chad's + Destroyer. Best combination hands down. I also did this section 3 times. I got destroyed by destroyer the 1st time. I literally got 80% of them wrong the 1st time through. I made sure to write down each reaction I didn't know and memorized all of them. Similar to Gchem, If you master Chad + Destroyer, you will definitely get 20+.
Most valuable resources: predds.net, Chad's, Destroyer, Math destroyer, CDP, 2009 ADA Sample test <-very similar to real test imo, Cliffs AP, CDR (Kaplan BB is optional if you have all these resources imo)
Lastly, for all those who are on the verge of breaking down. Just remember that if you put in the work, and studied hard, good things will happen. I doubted myself every step of the way, thinking "what if I come across a tough section, or problems that I don't know?" Thinking negatively like this just creates extra tension. Don't be like me. Just believe in yourself, and the hard work you put in, and you'll come out fine in the end. Good luck everybody.
Breakdown:
PA 22
QR 24
RC 24
Bio 19
GC 23
OC 24
TS 21
AA 23
Resources:
CDP, CDR, Chad's Videos, Dat Destroyer, 2009 ADA sample exam, Kaplan BB, Cliffs AP Bio, Math Destroyer, NO Topscore or Achiever lol (ran out of time
)PA: It is tough. Tougher than CDP. CDP is good practice though. I improved a lot using it. I think you can improve a lot if you go over your mistakes after the test and really learn how and why it's incorrect and how it should be right. I did this right after every CDP test and I think this helped me improve the most. I think this applies the most to TFE, because initially I think a lot of people (well, at least me) have a vague idea of what the object looks like and can reason out the answer using lines. Usually you don't have enough time in an actual test to imagine the shape so you rely on line counting. I would do that at first but after every test, I would go over the entire TFE section and just create the image in my head, then I would look at the answer to confirm if the shape was correct or not. Doing this repeatedly with every test builds up your ability to do it quickly.
Differences between CDP and actual test:
Hole fitting: Problems on actual test are more based around proportions rather than imagining how to rotate the object. This is also true of the 2009 test.
TFE: About on par with CDP. I never used line counting, always imagined the object in my head. I don't think you should rely on line counting for this section because I could see how it could trip you up with some objects.
Angles: SUPER easy on my test compared to CDP...seriously all the angles were so obvious. I got lucky here. My strategy: rotate your body/head so that the 2 angles you're comparing are in the same position/facing the same direction. Then compare. You look like a fool doing it but I feel it works
Hole Punching: Exactly like CDP. Note: the 2009 version has 'triple folds' that some people speak of. I would recommend doing this test just so you can get an idea of what these are in case you run into it on the actual test.
Cube Counting: Way easier than CDP. Some only had like 10 blocks total.
Pattern Folding: EFFING HARD. Spent like 15 minutes on this section. Ran out of time and guessed on like 2-3.
My theory: each test version will have one super hard section. I guess for me, it was pattern folding. Others may get a hard hole punching, or angles, or something. I think that's why you see some disparity among the breakdowns.
I think the best representation of the actual PAT section is the 2009 ADA sample test. It is very very similar to it.
QR:I did math destroyer like a month before the test, got like 25s on the last few (excluding 11 and 12, which were so fricken hard) so I didn't touch math for the last 3.5 weeks lol. BAD idea because I had become rusty by the time the exam approached. I had to re-memorize all the equations and tactics. Overall, math destroyer is great, great practice. The actual test has very similar to the questions in destroyer. The test was about on par with math destroyer. My suggestion...do at least 3 math tests a week before your test so you don't become rusty. I was a bit rusty and I felt like I could have finished the test if I wasn't so slow. BTW, the 2009 sample test was ridiculously hard compared to the actual test.
RC: Bought CDR but only did 2 tests because I ran out of time lol. I think CDR is pretty representative of the real RC though. The articles were of equal difficulty. There are both detail and tone questions on the actual test. My strategy: read a couple questions, then read a couple paragraphs. Rinse and repeat.
Bio: My advice: download the notes off predds.net! Great site...I found it my last week and just downloaded the general bio notes, it's a great resource. Cliffs AP is too detailed in some parts but I think overall it's good to read through.
GChem: Chad's + Destroyer. Hands down best combination. I was getting rocked my 1st time through. But I did this section 3 times. By the 3rd time, I could do questions in like 3 seconds. Make sure to learn how solve the problem if you didn't get it right. For Chad, I took notes on each video and read it like a billion times. Then I retook a 2nd set of notes, just listing out things I kept forgetting. I think if you do these 2, you should be set for the Gchem section.
OChem: Chad's + Destroyer. Best combination hands down. I also did this section 3 times. I got destroyed by destroyer the 1st time. I literally got 80% of them wrong the 1st time through. I made sure to write down each reaction I didn't know and memorized all of them. Similar to Gchem, If you master Chad + Destroyer, you will definitely get 20+.
Most valuable resources: predds.net, Chad's, Destroyer, Math destroyer, CDP, 2009 ADA Sample test <-very similar to real test imo, Cliffs AP, CDR (Kaplan BB is optional if you have all these resources imo)
Lastly, for all those who are on the verge of breaking down. Just remember that if you put in the work, and studied hard, good things will happen. I doubted myself every step of the way, thinking "what if I come across a tough section, or problems that I don't know?" Thinking negatively like this just creates extra tension. Don't be like me. Just believe in yourself, and the hard work you put in, and you'll come out fine in the end. Good luck everybody.
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