I just took DAT
PAT 23 (94.7%)
QR 19 (83.5)
RC 18 (37.5%)
BIO 23 (97.4%)
GC 28 (99.0%)
OC 25 (96.6%)
TS 25 (99.3%)
AA 23 (98.1%)
overall: GC OC was easy, easier than any other practice exams/questions. BIO was tricky. QR was hard (I am a physics major I have taken several college maths but......I don't know) RC was harder than any practice exams (except Achiever) PAT was fair about same as Topscore but harder than CrackPAT.
BIO: Destroyer, Cliff, Qvault, Topscore, Achiever
I was aiming for 30 and obviously I didn't do that great... but I think knowing everything (literally everything) in Cliff will let you to +23 for sure
Destroyer is good just do it. I did twice.
Qvault is good practice. I did first 7 exams and I realized that some questions on the bottom do not show up in the practice exams so I ended up doing all questions for each topic.
Topscore is good. Maybe a little harder than the real exam.
Achiever... I did 1~5 just to study anything that I have missed from other study sources. Good study material but not representative at all.
GC: Destroyer, Chad, Qvault, Topscore, Achiever
maybe I got 1~2 wrong... I don't know which one.
Destroyer and Chad is like everyone says a MUST. I did Destroyer twice, I took intense notes of Chad's video. I did almost all the Chad's quizzes. Like biology, I did first 7 qvaults exams and did all the questions on the bottom.
Topscore is good but harder than the real exam
Achiever...well... it motivates you if you don't want to you don't have to take Achiever. but rest study materials are must
OC: Destroyer, Chad, Qvault, Topscore, Achiever
just did same as how I studied GC.
I would say OC was really easy (although I did better in GC). Every study materials are good practice but the real exam is easier so don't get discouraged even if you are not doing well on the practice. and do not overstudy OC. I think I did overstudy, but when I saw the questions, I thought I should have studied for in depth the basics than studying more complex reactions.
PAT: CrackPAT, Chad, Topscore, Achiever
CrackPAT is good for starters. But I think it is easier than the real exam. I did all the 10 practice tests and redid the exams that I have low scores after several days. I started PAT early because I thought this was not studying but practicing. But if you start too early, you might forget so I recommend about 1 month before the real exam.
I did Chad's angle ranking. I think it was hard, but actually it was a good representative (talking about the size of angle, difficulty).
Topscore and Achiever were pretty good representative, although they sometimes reuse the figures (but they have different answer choices I think).
Keyhole: I had 2~3 WTF but generally it was doable.
TFE: it was OK
Angle: practice with Chad's and Topscore, Achiever
Hole punch: easy but harder than practice questions. People say they got only 3 folds...I got like 4 folds in multiple diagonals....I was usually getting 100% on practice questions on this section but I am not sure if I got all them right during the real exam
Cube Counting: the cubes were huge. it was not bad. For this section I used my left hand for the mouse so that I count and record the sides with my right hand.
Pattern: the difficulty was between CrackPAT and Achiever/Topscore. The figures were clear but little harder than CrackPAT.
RC: CrackRC, qvault, Topscore, Achiever
what a nightmare.....I thought I was going to get at least 20...but it was hard..
I am a bad slow reader. I decided to search for the answer. But...I don't know...it usually worked during my practice
CrackRC is a good starter, but it's kinda easy.
qvault is pretty good although the first 2 are easy
Topscore is pretty good representative and Achiever is way too hard.
RC..just practice and develop your own method to ace this section
QR: CrackQR, qvault, Topscore, Achiever
wow....maybe it was because I did bad on RC and that thought disturbed me during QR but 19 is the worst score I ever got. Although I never had statistics, I have a good background of math. I have taken Calc BC, Calc III, some physics maths. But the questions were hard. I had to use calculator (which lags) because none of the numbers were nice.
My practice exam scores:
Topcore:
#/BIO/GC/OC/PAT/QR/RC/TS/AA
#1/20/17/16/21/20/18/18/19
#2/17/20/23/23/18/21/20/20
#3/18/19/19/23/23/18/19/19
CrackPAT
#1 18/22
#2 25
#3 18/19/22/22
#4 20
#5 22
#6 22/24
#7 23
#8 18/23
#9 21
#10 25
CrackRC
#1 16
#2 17
#3 15
#4 16
#5 17
#6 19
#7 19
#8 18
#9 22
#10 21
Qvault (just noticed while writing this that I did 8 exams not 7..)
#/BIO/GC/OC/QR/RC
#1/22/21/19/23/21
#2/18/18/24/20/24
#3/19/24/18/22/19
#4/22/24/21/25/17
#5/20/22/20/25/19
#6/18/18/21/22/19
#7/23/21/19/27/
#8/27/20/24/25/
Achiever (I didn't do RC in Achiever from #3 but AA has RC score as 0 so AA is meaningless)
#/BIO/GC/OC/PAT/QR/RC/TS/AA
#1/21/18/18/18/21/19
#2/18/15/1720/19/15/17/17
#3/17/18/18/19/20/0/18/15
#4/16/16/17/16/18/16/0/16/13
#5/17/15/14/19/19/0/16/13
As you see my scores are completely different from what I could expected from my practice exam scores (maybe not?)
But I really did my best for studying DAT. I woke up everyday 7:30~8am, I had a breakfast. I went to school library and studied until 5pm. I came back home, ate dinner and studied until 12. I did this everyday without exception from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, I went to church, and when I came home I studied my flashcards. I studied in this schedule from may 11th to june 25th. It was very stressful, and I tried not to get crazy so I watched TV shows while eating and try to relieve stress.
I said I did Destroyer twice. I first did all the questions: 60 bio questions, 30 OC questions, 35 GC questions, and 15 QR questions. On a piece of paper I wrote all my answers and I marked all the questions that I got wrong. (I had 60%~75% right one the first time). I then did qvault, Achiever questions. I came back to Destroyer and I redid all the problems by solving one problem at a time and checking the answers. I looked at the questions that I got right also to make sure that I didn't guess right but I actually got it right. I not only look at the explanations of Destroyer, but I also searched online for further information if I thought it was insufficient. I used flashcards to memorize all. I had to packs: one that I memorized and one that I didn't. I put the flashcards in the pack of memorized cards when I was able to bring up the answer right away. After about 2 weeks I reviewed all the flashcards. I had about 350 flashcards.
I did similar methods for studying with Achiever and Topscores and Qvault. In the morning when I got to the library, I start with reviewing my flashcards and memorize them. I do some Chad quizzes and Qvault questions and I eat lunch. Because my DAT was scheduled to 12:30 I tried to eat early lunch and try to take the practice test at 12:30. I get back home and eat dinner. I start to review every single questions (even if I got it right) by telling loud the answer and comparing it again (so basically I did all the tests twice). Like Destroyer, I looked at the explanation (although they were poorly written), and I searched online (mostly) for further information and wrote down on the flashcards.
I really studied hard for 6~7 weeks. I have postponed the exam once. I had to study hard and got a good score because I have a low gpa and I am an international student. I had 3.6~3.7 but I got a depression during my college years and my gpa went down to 3.0. I decided to become a dentist last semester, (I already had taken Biology I and II, GC and OC) I posponed my graduation a year to take prerequisite courses and I just got 3.85 this semester. I know this is going to be challenging with all these handicapes....
So I am a little disappointed by my score although I think I did good....
Considering that I have not taken any Biology except I and II (I just took Microbiology but doesn't help for DAT) I considered myself poor biology background and I studied hard. I had to study everything by myself except genetics and cells (topics covered in Bio I, II).
I don't know what I am talking...
Anyways just keep in mind that as long as you study hard you will do good.
You have to push yourself, telling yourself that you need to study more.
But you should be confident.
Getting nervous on the test day can be overcome by confidence.
For my confidence I preyed to God everyday, especially the night before, right before the exam.
I wish good luck to everyone who is taking DAT
and I hope we will be classmates next fall
P.S. sorry if I have typo or bad english. I couldn't concentrate on writing because I am tired just taking the test, and people are texting/calling me.
Thanks for reading!
PAT 23 (94.7%)
QR 19 (83.5)
RC 18 (37.5%)
BIO 23 (97.4%)
GC 28 (99.0%)
OC 25 (96.6%)
TS 25 (99.3%)
AA 23 (98.1%)
overall: GC OC was easy, easier than any other practice exams/questions. BIO was tricky. QR was hard (I am a physics major I have taken several college maths but......I don't know) RC was harder than any practice exams (except Achiever) PAT was fair about same as Topscore but harder than CrackPAT.
BIO: Destroyer, Cliff, Qvault, Topscore, Achiever
I was aiming for 30 and obviously I didn't do that great... but I think knowing everything (literally everything) in Cliff will let you to +23 for sure
Destroyer is good just do it. I did twice.
Qvault is good practice. I did first 7 exams and I realized that some questions on the bottom do not show up in the practice exams so I ended up doing all questions for each topic.
Topscore is good. Maybe a little harder than the real exam.
Achiever... I did 1~5 just to study anything that I have missed from other study sources. Good study material but not representative at all.
GC: Destroyer, Chad, Qvault, Topscore, Achiever
maybe I got 1~2 wrong... I don't know which one.
Destroyer and Chad is like everyone says a MUST. I did Destroyer twice, I took intense notes of Chad's video. I did almost all the Chad's quizzes. Like biology, I did first 7 qvaults exams and did all the questions on the bottom.
Topscore is good but harder than the real exam
Achiever...well... it motivates you if you don't want to you don't have to take Achiever. but rest study materials are must
OC: Destroyer, Chad, Qvault, Topscore, Achiever
just did same as how I studied GC.
I would say OC was really easy (although I did better in GC). Every study materials are good practice but the real exam is easier so don't get discouraged even if you are not doing well on the practice. and do not overstudy OC. I think I did overstudy, but when I saw the questions, I thought I should have studied for in depth the basics than studying more complex reactions.
PAT: CrackPAT, Chad, Topscore, Achiever
CrackPAT is good for starters. But I think it is easier than the real exam. I did all the 10 practice tests and redid the exams that I have low scores after several days. I started PAT early because I thought this was not studying but practicing. But if you start too early, you might forget so I recommend about 1 month before the real exam.
I did Chad's angle ranking. I think it was hard, but actually it was a good representative (talking about the size of angle, difficulty).
Topscore and Achiever were pretty good representative, although they sometimes reuse the figures (but they have different answer choices I think).
Keyhole: I had 2~3 WTF but generally it was doable.
TFE: it was OK
Angle: practice with Chad's and Topscore, Achiever
Hole punch: easy but harder than practice questions. People say they got only 3 folds...I got like 4 folds in multiple diagonals....I was usually getting 100% on practice questions on this section but I am not sure if I got all them right during the real exam
Cube Counting: the cubes were huge. it was not bad. For this section I used my left hand for the mouse so that I count and record the sides with my right hand.
Pattern: the difficulty was between CrackPAT and Achiever/Topscore. The figures were clear but little harder than CrackPAT.
RC: CrackRC, qvault, Topscore, Achiever
what a nightmare.....I thought I was going to get at least 20...but it was hard..
I am a bad slow reader. I decided to search for the answer. But...I don't know...it usually worked during my practice
CrackRC is a good starter, but it's kinda easy.
qvault is pretty good although the first 2 are easy
Topscore is pretty good representative and Achiever is way too hard.
RC..just practice and develop your own method to ace this section
QR: CrackQR, qvault, Topscore, Achiever
wow....maybe it was because I did bad on RC and that thought disturbed me during QR but 19 is the worst score I ever got. Although I never had statistics, I have a good background of math. I have taken Calc BC, Calc III, some physics maths. But the questions were hard. I had to use calculator (which lags) because none of the numbers were nice.
My practice exam scores:
Topcore:
#/BIO/GC/OC/PAT/QR/RC/TS/AA
#1/20/17/16/21/20/18/18/19
#2/17/20/23/23/18/21/20/20
#3/18/19/19/23/23/18/19/19
CrackPAT
#1 18/22
#2 25
#3 18/19/22/22
#4 20
#5 22
#6 22/24
#7 23
#8 18/23
#9 21
#10 25
CrackRC
#1 16
#2 17
#3 15
#4 16
#5 17
#6 19
#7 19
#8 18
#9 22
#10 21
Qvault (just noticed while writing this that I did 8 exams not 7..)
#/BIO/GC/OC/QR/RC
#1/22/21/19/23/21
#2/18/18/24/20/24
#3/19/24/18/22/19
#4/22/24/21/25/17
#5/20/22/20/25/19
#6/18/18/21/22/19
#7/23/21/19/27/
#8/27/20/24/25/
Achiever (I didn't do RC in Achiever from #3 but AA has RC score as 0 so AA is meaningless)
#/BIO/GC/OC/PAT/QR/RC/TS/AA
#1/21/18/18/18/21/19
#2/18/15/1720/19/15/17/17
#3/17/18/18/19/20/0/18/15
#4/16/16/17/16/18/16/0/16/13
#5/17/15/14/19/19/0/16/13
As you see my scores are completely different from what I could expected from my practice exam scores (maybe not?)
But I really did my best for studying DAT. I woke up everyday 7:30~8am, I had a breakfast. I went to school library and studied until 5pm. I came back home, ate dinner and studied until 12. I did this everyday without exception from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, I went to church, and when I came home I studied my flashcards. I studied in this schedule from may 11th to june 25th. It was very stressful, and I tried not to get crazy so I watched TV shows while eating and try to relieve stress.
I said I did Destroyer twice. I first did all the questions: 60 bio questions, 30 OC questions, 35 GC questions, and 15 QR questions. On a piece of paper I wrote all my answers and I marked all the questions that I got wrong. (I had 60%~75% right one the first time). I then did qvault, Achiever questions. I came back to Destroyer and I redid all the problems by solving one problem at a time and checking the answers. I looked at the questions that I got right also to make sure that I didn't guess right but I actually got it right. I not only look at the explanations of Destroyer, but I also searched online for further information if I thought it was insufficient. I used flashcards to memorize all. I had to packs: one that I memorized and one that I didn't. I put the flashcards in the pack of memorized cards when I was able to bring up the answer right away. After about 2 weeks I reviewed all the flashcards. I had about 350 flashcards.
I did similar methods for studying with Achiever and Topscores and Qvault. In the morning when I got to the library, I start with reviewing my flashcards and memorize them. I do some Chad quizzes and Qvault questions and I eat lunch. Because my DAT was scheduled to 12:30 I tried to eat early lunch and try to take the practice test at 12:30. I get back home and eat dinner. I start to review every single questions (even if I got it right) by telling loud the answer and comparing it again (so basically I did all the tests twice). Like Destroyer, I looked at the explanation (although they were poorly written), and I searched online (mostly) for further information and wrote down on the flashcards.
I really studied hard for 6~7 weeks. I have postponed the exam once. I had to study hard and got a good score because I have a low gpa and I am an international student. I had 3.6~3.7 but I got a depression during my college years and my gpa went down to 3.0. I decided to become a dentist last semester, (I already had taken Biology I and II, GC and OC) I posponed my graduation a year to take prerequisite courses and I just got 3.85 this semester. I know this is going to be challenging with all these handicapes....
So I am a little disappointed by my score although I think I did good....
Considering that I have not taken any Biology except I and II (I just took Microbiology but doesn't help for DAT) I considered myself poor biology background and I studied hard. I had to study everything by myself except genetics and cells (topics covered in Bio I, II).
I don't know what I am talking...
Anyways just keep in mind that as long as you study hard you will do good.
You have to push yourself, telling yourself that you need to study more.
But you should be confident.
Getting nervous on the test day can be overcome by confidence.
For my confidence I preyed to God everyday, especially the night before, right before the exam.
I wish good luck to everyone who is taking DAT
and I hope we will be classmates next fall
P.S. sorry if I have typo or bad english. I couldn't concentrate on writing because I am tired just taking the test, and people are texting/calling me.
Thanks for reading!