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I was originally going to postpone my test another week to study math, but I missed the cut-off for rescheduling so I had no choice. I'm glad I got it over with though--one less thing to worry about! SDN is a wonderful site with a wealth of information. Thanks to everyone on here sharing what worked for them, it helped me tremendously! I hope to help others by summarizing what tools I used to prepare (except for QR and RC, which I sucked badly).
PAT 21
QR 18
RC 17
BIO 23
GC 21
OC 25
TS 23
AA 21
Undergrad 3.57/Sci 3.77
Here is how I prioritized the categories to study for: 1. GC, 2. BIO, 3. OC, 4. everything else, and PAT last. Because I knew I wasn't going to be a speed reader in less than a couple of months, I focused on the sciences. I saved PAT for last because I remember practicing a few time in the past and did it again several months later and I was back to ground zero. So for me, PAT had to be done days before the exam to help my mind get used to seeing different shapes and have it still be fresh (more on that towards the end).
I expected QR and RC to be really low because I read word for word and I just suck at math. What's funny is after reading on a thread that Destroyer Math is the best source for QR, I ordered it, thinking I'll be able to postpone my test date another week. Then realized that I was several hours too late to cancel. My book arrived this morning
). If anyone would like to buy it, I welcome your PM.
For GC, I used Destroyer. I didn't remember anything from my year of GC so I wanted to tackle it first. Did all the problems w/o timing, reviewed all. Did all of Kaplan Subject tests & quizzes. Went back to Destroyer, redid all the problems timed. On a separate notebook, I wrote down all the questions I got wrong based on the type of the problem. It helped me organize the material in my head and notice my tendencies and the types of questions I get wrong. After doing Destroyer twice, Kaplan got a lot easier.
For Bio, I did Crack Dat, Destroyer and Kaplan tests. From hearing how everyone thought Bio was totally random, I spent the most time on Bio. I used flashcards at first but realized I could be spending my time better doing something different. The problem I had with pre-made flashcards was that I may be going over stuff that I already know, but I won't know if I know it until I spend time reading it. Plus, I can't always use them if I'm out and about. So, instead, I recorded the problems that I got wrong and the concepts I wasn't familiar with on a handheld recorder and listen to them while doing the dishes or grocery shopping. I also created a word doc and typed in the missed concepts in categories. Instead of having info scattered all over, it helps me to organize things in my mind when notes are in sections. The typing process and reading through to decide which category to place the info under help me study the material too.
I had just finished a year in OC so I spent the least time on it relative to the rest. I used Destroyer mostly, went through the Road Maps, and redid the problems I got wrong a couple of more times. Again, on a separate notebook, I wrote down the reagents that I wasn't familiar with, and kept missing. Thanks to SDN, I learned that HCl/ROOR is not the same as HBr/ROOR! I thought it was a typo on Destroyer when I first saw it.
I then turned to RC, which made me realize, there really wasn't much I can do. I tried the different strategies suggested on the threads and Kaplan, but I have a bad short-term memory and I write too slow and sloppy so none of the strategies worked for me. I just preyed.
Tried QR...totally sucked. I did the QR section on the Destroyer twice and some Kaplan, but I wasn't going to be able to memorize all the Trig functions or the unit circles so I decided to move on to PAT.
I did Kaplan but Crack DAT PAT was a lot more challenging and helpful. I had to guess on most of the angles because they all looked the same to me so I focused on Key Hole and TFE.
For the hole punch, if you have trouble seeing where the hole ends up like I was, go to an office supply store and get a 2x2 post it and a single hole punch. Given the # of folds, there's so many way the paper can be folded. If you do it enough times, your mind just picks up these things. Say, for a certain fold, if you open it, the hole move where, that kind of deal. I spent way too much time on the angles on the real test but luckily, being able to work through the hole punch more quickly balanced it out.
I hope this helps anyone who's planning on studying for the DAT.
Now, I must wait and hope for the best. Wish me luck! And good luck to everyone!
PAT 21
QR 18
RC 17
BIO 23
GC 21
OC 25
TS 23
AA 21
Undergrad 3.57/Sci 3.77
Here is how I prioritized the categories to study for: 1. GC, 2. BIO, 3. OC, 4. everything else, and PAT last. Because I knew I wasn't going to be a speed reader in less than a couple of months, I focused on the sciences. I saved PAT for last because I remember practicing a few time in the past and did it again several months later and I was back to ground zero. So for me, PAT had to be done days before the exam to help my mind get used to seeing different shapes and have it still be fresh (more on that towards the end).
I expected QR and RC to be really low because I read word for word and I just suck at math. What's funny is after reading on a thread that Destroyer Math is the best source for QR, I ordered it, thinking I'll be able to postpone my test date another week. Then realized that I was several hours too late to cancel. My book arrived this morning
). If anyone would like to buy it, I welcome your PM. For GC, I used Destroyer. I didn't remember anything from my year of GC so I wanted to tackle it first. Did all the problems w/o timing, reviewed all. Did all of Kaplan Subject tests & quizzes. Went back to Destroyer, redid all the problems timed. On a separate notebook, I wrote down all the questions I got wrong based on the type of the problem. It helped me organize the material in my head and notice my tendencies and the types of questions I get wrong. After doing Destroyer twice, Kaplan got a lot easier.
For Bio, I did Crack Dat, Destroyer and Kaplan tests. From hearing how everyone thought Bio was totally random, I spent the most time on Bio. I used flashcards at first but realized I could be spending my time better doing something different. The problem I had with pre-made flashcards was that I may be going over stuff that I already know, but I won't know if I know it until I spend time reading it. Plus, I can't always use them if I'm out and about. So, instead, I recorded the problems that I got wrong and the concepts I wasn't familiar with on a handheld recorder and listen to them while doing the dishes or grocery shopping. I also created a word doc and typed in the missed concepts in categories. Instead of having info scattered all over, it helps me to organize things in my mind when notes are in sections. The typing process and reading through to decide which category to place the info under help me study the material too.
I had just finished a year in OC so I spent the least time on it relative to the rest. I used Destroyer mostly, went through the Road Maps, and redid the problems I got wrong a couple of more times. Again, on a separate notebook, I wrote down the reagents that I wasn't familiar with, and kept missing. Thanks to SDN, I learned that HCl/ROOR is not the same as HBr/ROOR! I thought it was a typo on Destroyer when I first saw it.
I then turned to RC, which made me realize, there really wasn't much I can do. I tried the different strategies suggested on the threads and Kaplan, but I have a bad short-term memory and I write too slow and sloppy so none of the strategies worked for me. I just preyed.
Tried QR...totally sucked. I did the QR section on the Destroyer twice and some Kaplan, but I wasn't going to be able to memorize all the Trig functions or the unit circles so I decided to move on to PAT.
I did Kaplan but Crack DAT PAT was a lot more challenging and helpful. I had to guess on most of the angles because they all looked the same to me so I focused on Key Hole and TFE.
For the hole punch, if you have trouble seeing where the hole ends up like I was, go to an office supply store and get a 2x2 post it and a single hole punch. Given the # of folds, there's so many way the paper can be folded. If you do it enough times, your mind just picks up these things. Say, for a certain fold, if you open it, the hole move where, that kind of deal. I spent way too much time on the angles on the real test but luckily, being able to work through the hole punch more quickly balanced it out.
I hope this helps anyone who's planning on studying for the DAT.
Now, I must wait and hope for the best. Wish me luck! And good luck to everyone!
