- Joined
- Jun 25, 2012
- Messages
- 155
- Reaction score
- 3
Thank you for all you generous SDNer's who have posted their breakdowns of the DAT. Because of these wonderful people I was able effectively and strategically plan my quest to defeat the DAT.
I signed up on June 15 and received the confirmation from ADA on Wednesday of the following week.
Took the test yesterday (July 23) and these are my scores:
PAT 26 (99.8)
QR 1X (88.3)
RC 1X (54.5)
BIO 2X (95.6)
GC 2X (99.9)
OC 2X (99.5)
TS 2X (99.9)
AA 23 (99.7)
Complete scores will be re-posted once I receive my first acceptance.
Please do not ask me for any specifics about the actual exam, I will NOT answer them. This will be considered a breach of contract between me and ADA.
Here is the Breakdown, please excuse any grammar/punctuation errors as this is uncut.
For me preparing for the DAT was like playing an awesome JRPG game which I haven't played in for years. I am deeply saddened that they have cancelled FF Versus XIII and have lost faith in the future of JRPG in America
Good News! Actually Tetsuya Nomura says otherwise.
The way I approached studying for this test was treating every topic listed on ADA like checkpoints in a game.
Materials (spells, weapons, equipment as I would imagine) used and how much they cost me:
1)200 Index Cards ($1.24)
2)1 red, 1 blue, 1 black RSVP ballpoint pen ($1.22)
3)1 70 Page Single Subject Note Book ($0.49)
4)DAT QVault Complete Package ($117) Next to sdn, I'd say this is the most useful study tool known to man.
5)DAT Destroyer 2008 ($0)
6)DAT Destroyer 2009 ($0)
7)DAT Destroyer 2010 ($0) (You might wonder why do I possess this many destroyers -they were all handy downs from upper classmates) FAQs: Are each versions different? The recent editions contain about 10 extra questions and only the orders of the questions from each version are scrambled. If I were you Id go for whatever costs less (which in most cases are the earlier editions) Did you use all three editions? No I just stuck with the 2010 edition and left the other two sitting in dust.
8)Math Destroyer 2010 ($50 Craigslist) Similar difficulty
9)Crack Software Royal Flush ($0 borrowed the laptop off of a kind friend who was on vacation)
CDP-Same difficulty. Like I've said, I usually finish this section with 24 minutes to spare and on the real thing I had only 45 seconds to check.
CDR-Decent for timing. The passages however are less on sciences and are actually longer than the real thing.
CDM-Decent for timing. Scored between 20-23 using this, so I'd say it's indicative.
CDS-Garbage
10)Cliff's AP Bio ($15) Worth its weight in gold
11)Barron's AP Bio ($10) I read this first before going straight to Cliff's Bio, the wording of this book was easier to follow on topic's I've never learned.
12)Campbell's Book Eighth Ed ($25) I only used it for diagrams and pictures ONLY
13)Kaplan DAT/OAT Flash Cards ($0 got from upper classmate) This is not a learning tool, it's meant to aid retention of some basic facts/concepts.
14)Chad's Vids ($40)
15)2007 ADA Practice Test (Free)
Comparison to the DAT
Bio-way too easier
GChem-easier
OChem-easier
Pat-Same format and style, but difficult is way too easy
RC-Same length
Math-Incredibly way too easier
16)OAT Practice Test (Free)
Comparison to the DAT
Bio-somewhat similar
GChem-same difficulty
OChem-harder
Pat-n/a
RC-Did not do, no comment
Math-easier
17)2009 Printed ADA Practice Test ($37)
Comparison to the DAT
Bio-almost the same but barely easier
GChem-harder
OChem-harder
Pat-Same format and style similar difficulty
RC-Same length, and difficulty
Math-The first few words problems I couldn't do if you gave my an hour. %20 of the Q's were just unreasonable.
18)SDN (Priceless), I keep a strict time limit on when I go on to SDN, such as one day a week.
*WARNING* Save the 2009 ADA Practice and OAT Practice for last. These practice tests are like drugs-of-last-resort. Thy 2009 ADA practice test is similar in difficulty/format/style of Q's to the actual thing, keep its potency.
As you can see I personally spent about $300 for practice materials. It's not that bad if you know a bunch of people.
I knew that there were also other study materials available but here are my reasons why I decided not to use them:
1)Prep courses of any brand - expensive, low efficacy, only suited for those whose need structure.
2)Achiever - This is hearsay according to a friend whose used it and scored lower (AA 20, PAT 20) than me: Garbage and is not an indicator of your performance of the actual test in anyway shape or form, only suitable for those who classify themselves as an over achiever, hence the name DAT achiever.
3)Crack Dat Sciences - I have used this and at best scored 18's on ochem and gchem. This software does nothing but demean your abilities.
4)KBB-ran low on money. Many poor reviews, so I did not buy it.
Subjects: total time [Date]
BIO:7 days [Jun17 -Jun23]
Bio courses taken: AP Biology(high school), Genetics, Biochemistry I & II.
Method of Study: Since the table of contents from AP Cliff had 14 chapters excluding the lab, I would read 2 chapters a day from both cliffs and barrons and make flash cards on things I knew would not stick in my head by the day of the test. For example [Front] How NADH(S) are made in CAC Cycle? [Back] 3 per molecule of Acetyl-CoA side note: in eukaryotes active transport is required for the transport of pyruvate from cytosol to mitochondrial matrix therefore a net of 36ATP will be produced in Eukaryotes rather than 38ATP as in Prokaryotes. I ended up using 70% of my flash cards for this subject. I also supplemented with Kaplan Flash Card as it saved me some time from making certain cards.
I also heavily relied on Mnemonics to remember lists of things. If any of you were a child from the late 90's I KNOW you remember all 151 Pokémon. I believed we remembered all that crap because we loved (an emotion) them. Trust me on this emotion and memory is heavily correlated. If something can make you laugh it will most likely stick. So for example:
Morgan Blasts Gas (Morula->Blastula->Gastrula) I would imagine in my head Morgan from Chuck farting
FLAGTOP (FSH, LH, ACTH,GH, TSH, melanOcyte, Prolactin)
Sweet, Sex, Salty (Glucocorticoids, Aldosterone, Mineralcorticoids)
Tell Diane MesMet(her last name) about My Yellow car (Telencephalon Diencephalon, Mesencephalon Metencephalon, Myelencephalon)
Four Old Lovely Mexican Priests Singing (Follicular Phase->Ovulation->Luteinizing Phase->Menstruation->Proliferation->Shedding)
Dumb Kings Play Chess on Fine Green Sand (Domain->Kingdom->Phylum->Class->Order->Family->Genus->Species) I would imagine the Burger King playing chess on green sand
The list goes on forever...... The point here is do whatever it takes to evoke emotions and tie it to something you need to remember, and you WILL remember it. I promise you!
DATQvault, I believe, was better than the Destroyer for bio because you get to figure out where your weaknesses are and specifically improve from there. The Destroyer however, is just a bunch of random questions. My Qvault scored averaged out be 20 with a standard deviation of 2. I basically projected that I would score between 18 or 22 on the actual. So based on my experience the QVault was worth it.
Please save yourself the misery and do not the read the entire Campbells book. I only used it to refer to images and diagrams. If you believe that reading the entire Campbells is necessary then go ahead I guarantee by the time you 've finished chapter 30 you will have forgotten a vast amount of stuff from prior chapters, and you'll probably have two bald spots on the side of your head if you get what I'm saying.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GC&OC: 10 days Total [GC: Jun24-July 2] ][OC: July 15]
GC Method of Study: Chad vid's nuf said. You watch his videos, you takes notes which comes out to be roughly 40 pages, you do the quizzes, you only make cards for those "exception" and that should be more than enough. If you have extra time you do destroyer (which will over prepare you). I got about 82% of the Destroyer correct.
OC Method of Study: I am really glad ADA tests us on this section rather than physics. This subject was my most favorite in college, I TA for it, and I tutor for it. I did not watch chads vids for this section but I'm sure he would be just as helpful. I did the destroyer once and got 94% correct on the first attempt so I was pretty confident I was going to own this section. On the actual test I finished this section in about 11 minutes. I literally had to rub my eyes on a few question because I literally thought they were joking.
My advice to you: Unless your major is chemistry am not really sure how to approach these two sections. But definitely do the destroyer as I felt over prepared for the actual exam.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QR: 7 days [July16-July22]
Method of Study: This test is not about how much you know math but how fast you can do math. The last math class I ever took was multivariable calculus freshmen year. I scored 780 on the math part of the SAT, and I do not have a clue what happened here. But I definitely do remember feeling nauseous by the time this section came I was about to vomit during the exam.
DATQvault was great but they score you too generously. My practice scores were overestimated. My average on Qvault was 25 with a standard deviation of 3. I was projecting between a 22 and 28 but ended up with a measly 19 due to my brain giving up on me during the actual test.
If you suck at word problems please use How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra by Mildred Johnson. I remember back in 8th grade my SAT instructor gave this book to all of us and from then on I never feared a single word problem ever again. Go on Amazon and look at the table of contains for this book if that is not enough to convince to then I don't know what will.
Here is my gift to you:
These were the only conversion I remembered for the test
1mi=5280ft=1.61km
1m=3.3ft
1 in = 2.54cm
1ft=30.5cm
1gal=16cups=128oz=4quarts=8lbs
1lbs=454g=.454kg=16oz
1Kg=1L
F=>K: 5/9(F+460)
K=>F: 9/5(K)-460
Ha: alternative hypothesis. I.e. Kids at school X performs the same as kids at school Y
Ho is null hypothesis opposite to Ha. I.e. Kids at school X does NOT perform the same as kids at school Y.
p>alpha (fail to reject, DOES NOT MEAN ACCEPT Ho)
Test Statistic<Critical Value (fail to reject Ho)
p<alpha (reject Ho)
Test Statistic>Critical Value (reject Ho)
I do not think it would be fair to calculate any p value as that would require tables and lots of small numbers so dont worry about calculating anything just the concepts.
Make sure you know the arithmetic formula an=a1+ (n-1)d and the arithmetic sum n(a1+an)/2 this should save you time from adding large sums of number with an apparent pattern
The calculator does lag and it looks identical to the basic calculator found on Windows XP even the layout and all its functions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAT: 3 days [July13, July14, July22]
Method of Study: Since childhood I have engaged in many perceptual activates from folding origami with my grandma, sculpturing in high school, and speed cubing with cubes of various dimensions. This stuff comes naturally to me. I remember doing my first PAT test last year and got everything right except for angle ranking.
-My strategy for angle ranking is to use the answer choices to guide me to the best choice. By doing this I would get about 70-90% correct each time on CDP.
Here is the technique: I noticed on both ADA practice tests and CDP that they typically give the answer choices with a certain pattern for example:
Q41 from 2007 ADA:
A 3-1-4-2
B 1-3-4-2
C 1-3-2-4
D 3-2-1-4
Looking holistically at the answer choices you should realized that either 2 or 4 is the largest and 3 or 1 is the smallest. Oddly enough this is the case 80% of the time. You should always be able to weed out 2 possible largest and 2 possible smallest. When you do weed out the 2 largest and the two smallest you then ask between the two which one is the sharpest arrow, the one that is the sharpest will be the smaller of the two.
Looking at between 1 or 3, 1 is obviously more sharper than 3 therefore eliminating choices A,D. You know have to rank between 4 and 2 and ask which one is sharper. This strategy helped me performed consistently on all 10 CDP practice tests. For the ones where the answer choices give 3 possible angles a largest or 3 possible smallest, those are actually easier than the one above, I least that's how I felt.
-For hole punching I just want to debunk the myth of 1/3 folds as there are no such things. You can easily take a simple square-sized sheet of paper and try to produce one yourself you will notice that the holes produced via a one third fold should never align with the holes in the answer choices. However, the hole punches test on ADA's samples test are a bit different from CDP in a sense that their paper has a bezel of empty space surrounding the perimeter of the holes closest to the edges of the paper. This is what I believe CDP should fix if they would to be similar to ADA. If ADA did wanted to be cruel they would have to stop giving the white hole appearing on every answer choices and only then and there could 1/3 folds be produced. So as long as you have white holes appearing on your answer choices you should be safe from 1/3 folds.
-Cube counting should be the easiest of all section there is no need for explaining, if you have trouble with this you might need to reconsider dentistry as a profession; sorry to put it this way. My advice is to predeterminly know what n-number of sides look like and count from there and not actually count how many sides is each cube.
-TFE/Keyholes/Pattern Folding: Being able to construct mental images and rotating them in your head is what I do best. My advice to you is to look at those tiny details to guide yourself to the correct answer. For pattern folding here and then I could actually use the same techniques done in keyholes instead of mentally fold the figure. Also for pattern folding, if a flap appears to have a distinct pattern on one side this does not mean that it's there on the other side of that flap. Other than that, I really do not have any other advice to share because this would make the post at least 5x longer.
Overall I only used CDP 10 tests and average about 22 and standard deviation of 3. I normally finished each CDP tests with about 24 minutes to spare however on the actual test I had only 45 seconds to spare, but I felt the difficulty between actual and CDP to be quite on par. I am beginning to believe either the clock on the CDP is running a few seconds slower or actual DAT is running faster. But I am leaning toward actual clock running faster.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RC (18): 2 days [June15, July22]
I got a 620 on my verbal section of SAT. Only did 4 CDR tests (tests 1,2,3,4) and scored 19's on the first three and 17 on the fourth. There was absolutely no way to improve reading comprehension in 37 days. Skills like reading are developed through the years of practice. I was born here in the states and have lived here all my life and I only read when I have to.
The way I approached this section was to do superb on the other sections in the hopes that they would offset the low RC that I had anticipated. My strategy for this section was to spend the first ten minutes reading and jotting down key words then spending the next ten minutes answering the questions whilst repeating this strategy on subsequent passages. I noticed while practicing CDR that I would actually do better on the first passage (getting about 90% of the questions correct) then screwing up on the next two passages.
I do not fare well when it comes to reading while being pressured which was the case on the actual test. My personal advice is that you keep one single strategy for reading because if you change it on the actual test you might panic and screw up. By the way my scroll wheel at the test center did not work, use the up and down arrow on the keyboard instead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Days [July3-14] 9 days total: I just did a bunch of practice test mostly for biology using qvault and the destroyer making sure all my weak points were patched.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Test Day:
I actually came to the exam excited to take it. I honestly felt that I had put down more than enough time preparing for the final boss. Although I was well aware that many people on this forum have spent over 3 months in preparation for this test, I personally felt that the longer I spent studying the more I would forget by the time the actual test came. At this point I felt like I have farmed enough experience points and skills to defeat the DAT. I did use the 15 minute tutorial period to write down my math formulas and conversions and spent the last 5 minutes praying. You are allowed to keep the same board you started off with (the ones before the schedule break) and use them for RC and QR.
Please be courteous to the test proctor as they are the one giving you the boards and pens. Do not piss them off or they will do everything in their efforts to be inefficient.
The 15 min tutorial: Right when the test proctor finished using the metal detector on me they pointed with their finger from their desk(which is located directly at the entrance to the testing room, also there's a glass window through which they can see all the test takers through) to my testing cubicle and that was it. I was not physically escorted to my testing cubicle. They however, did check my id twice during the test(once during the PAT, and once during RC). Never in my mind was I ever worried about them barring me from writing any content on my two boards during the 15 min tutorial
The Boards: The boards they gave me was a pastel green 8" by 11" sheet of laminated card stock with about 1/4 of the top taken up with the testing centers letter head, instructions on how to use the boards, and a disclaimer that Big Brother is watching you. This was redundant on both sides of the sheet.
The Pens: they let you use are Staedtler Lumocolor Fine Tip Non-permanent Black Ink, you get two.
The Scheduled Break: Right after I finished the PAT the screen redirected me to the 15 minute break screen with the option to proceed(do not click this button.) Within that 15 minute break I suggest you swap out your boards/pens(if you need to), use the restroom, splash some cold water in your face, eat your snack(I brought half-way-frozen-cool-blue Gatorade, and a granola bar) quickly, change out your earplugs if you brought extra, walk outside the building to get a breath of fresh air for 30 seconds. All of what is said should be done within 6 minutes.
You will need the other 7 minutes to return to your testing cubicle just in case if a long line develops due to other test takers signing in(this was what happened to me. Luckily I didn't lose any time for the RC though.) Remember, you have to do the full body check and sign in prior to entering the testing room.
There is a quick survey right after the test asking how you felt about your testing experience at Prometric, and etc.
The computer display at my testing center were full screen HP LCD monitors. I can't seem to remember the screen size(felt like 17"), but I remember they were height adjustable screens.
It is possible to erase with sweaty hands by smearing it. They do allow earplug but only if it comes in a commercially sealed package. Word of advice: do not schedule your exam at 8:30AM I chose the 1:30PM instead because you can actually take the exam any time earlier than 1:30PM.
Also the MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO ACING THIS TEST IS TO STAY CALM AND RELAX. Because of this I was able to finish the the sciences with 25 minutes to spare. If you do end up finishing early just sit there and check, replace new boards or write down stuff you need for subsequent sections.
Fin.
If you have any other Q's post or PM. I'm here to help. See ya!
I signed up on June 15 and received the confirmation from ADA on Wednesday of the following week.
Took the test yesterday (July 23) and these are my scores:
PAT 26 (99.8)
QR 1X (88.3)
RC 1X (54.5)
BIO 2X (95.6)
GC 2X (99.9)
OC 2X (99.5)
TS 2X (99.9)
AA 23 (99.7)
Complete scores will be re-posted once I receive my first acceptance.
Please do not ask me for any specifics about the actual exam, I will NOT answer them. This will be considered a breach of contract between me and ADA.
Here is the Breakdown, please excuse any grammar/punctuation errors as this is uncut.
For me preparing for the DAT was like playing an awesome JRPG game which I haven't played in for years. I am deeply saddened that they have cancelled FF Versus XIII and have lost faith in the future of JRPG in America
Good News! Actually Tetsuya Nomura says otherwise.The way I approached studying for this test was treating every topic listed on ADA like checkpoints in a game.
Materials (spells, weapons, equipment as I would imagine) used and how much they cost me:
1)200 Index Cards ($1.24)
2)1 red, 1 blue, 1 black RSVP ballpoint pen ($1.22)
3)1 70 Page Single Subject Note Book ($0.49)
4)DAT QVault Complete Package ($117) Next to sdn, I'd say this is the most useful study tool known to man.
5)DAT Destroyer 2008 ($0)
6)DAT Destroyer 2009 ($0)
7)DAT Destroyer 2010 ($0) (You might wonder why do I possess this many destroyers -they were all handy downs from upper classmates) FAQs: Are each versions different? The recent editions contain about 10 extra questions and only the orders of the questions from each version are scrambled. If I were you Id go for whatever costs less (which in most cases are the earlier editions) Did you use all three editions? No I just stuck with the 2010 edition and left the other two sitting in dust.
8)Math Destroyer 2010 ($50 Craigslist) Similar difficulty
9)Crack Software Royal Flush ($0 borrowed the laptop off of a kind friend who was on vacation)
CDP-Same difficulty. Like I've said, I usually finish this section with 24 minutes to spare and on the real thing I had only 45 seconds to check.
CDR-Decent for timing. The passages however are less on sciences and are actually longer than the real thing.
CDM-Decent for timing. Scored between 20-23 using this, so I'd say it's indicative.
CDS-Garbage
10)Cliff's AP Bio ($15) Worth its weight in gold
11)Barron's AP Bio ($10) I read this first before going straight to Cliff's Bio, the wording of this book was easier to follow on topic's I've never learned.
12)Campbell's Book Eighth Ed ($25) I only used it for diagrams and pictures ONLY
13)Kaplan DAT/OAT Flash Cards ($0 got from upper classmate) This is not a learning tool, it's meant to aid retention of some basic facts/concepts.
14)Chad's Vids ($40)
15)2007 ADA Practice Test (Free)
Comparison to the DAT
Bio-way too easier
GChem-easier
OChem-easier
Pat-Same format and style, but difficult is way too easy
RC-Same length
Math-Incredibly way too easier
16)OAT Practice Test (Free)
Comparison to the DAT
Bio-somewhat similar
GChem-same difficulty
OChem-harder
Pat-n/a
RC-Did not do, no comment
Math-easier
17)2009 Printed ADA Practice Test ($37)
Comparison to the DAT
Bio-almost the same but barely easier
GChem-harder
OChem-harder
Pat-Same format and style similar difficulty
RC-Same length, and difficulty
Math-The first few words problems I couldn't do if you gave my an hour. %20 of the Q's were just unreasonable.
18)SDN (Priceless), I keep a strict time limit on when I go on to SDN, such as one day a week.
*WARNING* Save the 2009 ADA Practice and OAT Practice for last. These practice tests are like drugs-of-last-resort. Thy 2009 ADA practice test is similar in difficulty/format/style of Q's to the actual thing, keep its potency.
As you can see I personally spent about $300 for practice materials. It's not that bad if you know a bunch of people.
I knew that there were also other study materials available but here are my reasons why I decided not to use them:
1)Prep courses of any brand - expensive, low efficacy, only suited for those whose need structure.
2)Achiever - This is hearsay according to a friend whose used it and scored lower (AA 20, PAT 20) than me: Garbage and is not an indicator of your performance of the actual test in anyway shape or form, only suitable for those who classify themselves as an over achiever, hence the name DAT achiever.
3)Crack Dat Sciences - I have used this and at best scored 18's on ochem and gchem. This software does nothing but demean your abilities.
4)KBB-ran low on money. Many poor reviews, so I did not buy it.
Subjects: total time [Date]
BIO:7 days [Jun17 -Jun23]
Bio courses taken: AP Biology(high school), Genetics, Biochemistry I & II.
Method of Study: Since the table of contents from AP Cliff had 14 chapters excluding the lab, I would read 2 chapters a day from both cliffs and barrons and make flash cards on things I knew would not stick in my head by the day of the test. For example [Front] How NADH(S) are made in CAC Cycle? [Back] 3 per molecule of Acetyl-CoA side note: in eukaryotes active transport is required for the transport of pyruvate from cytosol to mitochondrial matrix therefore a net of 36ATP will be produced in Eukaryotes rather than 38ATP as in Prokaryotes. I ended up using 70% of my flash cards for this subject. I also supplemented with Kaplan Flash Card as it saved me some time from making certain cards.
I also heavily relied on Mnemonics to remember lists of things. If any of you were a child from the late 90's I KNOW you remember all 151 Pokémon. I believed we remembered all that crap because we loved (an emotion) them. Trust me on this emotion and memory is heavily correlated. If something can make you laugh it will most likely stick. So for example:
Morgan Blasts Gas (Morula->Blastula->Gastrula) I would imagine in my head Morgan from Chuck farting
FLAGTOP (FSH, LH, ACTH,GH, TSH, melanOcyte, Prolactin)
Sweet, Sex, Salty (Glucocorticoids, Aldosterone, Mineralcorticoids)
Tell Diane MesMet(her last name) about My Yellow car (Telencephalon Diencephalon, Mesencephalon Metencephalon, Myelencephalon)
Four Old Lovely Mexican Priests Singing (Follicular Phase->Ovulation->Luteinizing Phase->Menstruation->Proliferation->Shedding)
Dumb Kings Play Chess on Fine Green Sand (Domain->Kingdom->Phylum->Class->Order->Family->Genus->Species) I would imagine the Burger King playing chess on green sand
The list goes on forever...... The point here is do whatever it takes to evoke emotions and tie it to something you need to remember, and you WILL remember it. I promise you!
DATQvault, I believe, was better than the Destroyer for bio because you get to figure out where your weaknesses are and specifically improve from there. The Destroyer however, is just a bunch of random questions. My Qvault scored averaged out be 20 with a standard deviation of 2. I basically projected that I would score between 18 or 22 on the actual. So based on my experience the QVault was worth it.
Please save yourself the misery and do not the read the entire Campbells book. I only used it to refer to images and diagrams. If you believe that reading the entire Campbells is necessary then go ahead I guarantee by the time you 've finished chapter 30 you will have forgotten a vast amount of stuff from prior chapters, and you'll probably have two bald spots on the side of your head if you get what I'm saying.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GC&OC: 10 days Total [GC: Jun24-July 2] ][OC: July 15]
GC Method of Study: Chad vid's nuf said. You watch his videos, you takes notes which comes out to be roughly 40 pages, you do the quizzes, you only make cards for those "exception" and that should be more than enough. If you have extra time you do destroyer (which will over prepare you). I got about 82% of the Destroyer correct.
OC Method of Study: I am really glad ADA tests us on this section rather than physics. This subject was my most favorite in college, I TA for it, and I tutor for it. I did not watch chads vids for this section but I'm sure he would be just as helpful. I did the destroyer once and got 94% correct on the first attempt so I was pretty confident I was going to own this section. On the actual test I finished this section in about 11 minutes. I literally had to rub my eyes on a few question because I literally thought they were joking.
My advice to you: Unless your major is chemistry am not really sure how to approach these two sections. But definitely do the destroyer as I felt over prepared for the actual exam.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QR: 7 days [July16-July22]
Method of Study: This test is not about how much you know math but how fast you can do math. The last math class I ever took was multivariable calculus freshmen year. I scored 780 on the math part of the SAT, and I do not have a clue what happened here. But I definitely do remember feeling nauseous by the time this section came I was about to vomit during the exam.
DATQvault was great but they score you too generously. My practice scores were overestimated. My average on Qvault was 25 with a standard deviation of 3. I was projecting between a 22 and 28 but ended up with a measly 19 due to my brain giving up on me during the actual test.
If you suck at word problems please use How to Solve Word Problems in Algebra by Mildred Johnson. I remember back in 8th grade my SAT instructor gave this book to all of us and from then on I never feared a single word problem ever again. Go on Amazon and look at the table of contains for this book if that is not enough to convince to then I don't know what will.
Here is my gift to you:
These were the only conversion I remembered for the test
1mi=5280ft=1.61km
1m=3.3ft
1 in = 2.54cm
1ft=30.5cm
1gal=16cups=128oz=4quarts=8lbs
1lbs=454g=.454kg=16oz
1Kg=1L
F=>K: 5/9(F+460)
K=>F: 9/5(K)-460
Ha: alternative hypothesis. I.e. Kids at school X performs the same as kids at school Y
Ho is null hypothesis opposite to Ha. I.e. Kids at school X does NOT perform the same as kids at school Y.
p>alpha (fail to reject, DOES NOT MEAN ACCEPT Ho)
Test Statistic<Critical Value (fail to reject Ho)
p<alpha (reject Ho)
Test Statistic>Critical Value (reject Ho)
I do not think it would be fair to calculate any p value as that would require tables and lots of small numbers so dont worry about calculating anything just the concepts.
Make sure you know the arithmetic formula an=a1+ (n-1)d and the arithmetic sum n(a1+an)/2 this should save you time from adding large sums of number with an apparent pattern
The calculator does lag and it looks identical to the basic calculator found on Windows XP even the layout and all its functions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAT: 3 days [July13, July14, July22]
Method of Study: Since childhood I have engaged in many perceptual activates from folding origami with my grandma, sculpturing in high school, and speed cubing with cubes of various dimensions. This stuff comes naturally to me. I remember doing my first PAT test last year and got everything right except for angle ranking.
-My strategy for angle ranking is to use the answer choices to guide me to the best choice. By doing this I would get about 70-90% correct each time on CDP.
Here is the technique: I noticed on both ADA practice tests and CDP that they typically give the answer choices with a certain pattern for example:
Q41 from 2007 ADA:
A 3-1-4-2
B 1-3-4-2
C 1-3-2-4
D 3-2-1-4
Looking holistically at the answer choices you should realized that either 2 or 4 is the largest and 3 or 1 is the smallest. Oddly enough this is the case 80% of the time. You should always be able to weed out 2 possible largest and 2 possible smallest. When you do weed out the 2 largest and the two smallest you then ask between the two which one is the sharpest arrow, the one that is the sharpest will be the smaller of the two.
Looking at between 1 or 3, 1 is obviously more sharper than 3 therefore eliminating choices A,D. You know have to rank between 4 and 2 and ask which one is sharper. This strategy helped me performed consistently on all 10 CDP practice tests. For the ones where the answer choices give 3 possible angles a largest or 3 possible smallest, those are actually easier than the one above, I least that's how I felt.
-For hole punching I just want to debunk the myth of 1/3 folds as there are no such things. You can easily take a simple square-sized sheet of paper and try to produce one yourself you will notice that the holes produced via a one third fold should never align with the holes in the answer choices. However, the hole punches test on ADA's samples test are a bit different from CDP in a sense that their paper has a bezel of empty space surrounding the perimeter of the holes closest to the edges of the paper. This is what I believe CDP should fix if they would to be similar to ADA. If ADA did wanted to be cruel they would have to stop giving the white hole appearing on every answer choices and only then and there could 1/3 folds be produced. So as long as you have white holes appearing on your answer choices you should be safe from 1/3 folds.
-Cube counting should be the easiest of all section there is no need for explaining, if you have trouble with this you might need to reconsider dentistry as a profession; sorry to put it this way. My advice is to predeterminly know what n-number of sides look like and count from there and not actually count how many sides is each cube.
-TFE/Keyholes/Pattern Folding: Being able to construct mental images and rotating them in your head is what I do best. My advice to you is to look at those tiny details to guide yourself to the correct answer. For pattern folding here and then I could actually use the same techniques done in keyholes instead of mentally fold the figure. Also for pattern folding, if a flap appears to have a distinct pattern on one side this does not mean that it's there on the other side of that flap. Other than that, I really do not have any other advice to share because this would make the post at least 5x longer.
Overall I only used CDP 10 tests and average about 22 and standard deviation of 3. I normally finished each CDP tests with about 24 minutes to spare however on the actual test I had only 45 seconds to spare, but I felt the difficulty between actual and CDP to be quite on par. I am beginning to believe either the clock on the CDP is running a few seconds slower or actual DAT is running faster. But I am leaning toward actual clock running faster.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RC (18): 2 days [June15, July22]
I got a 620 on my verbal section of SAT. Only did 4 CDR tests (tests 1,2,3,4) and scored 19's on the first three and 17 on the fourth. There was absolutely no way to improve reading comprehension in 37 days. Skills like reading are developed through the years of practice. I was born here in the states and have lived here all my life and I only read when I have to.
The way I approached this section was to do superb on the other sections in the hopes that they would offset the low RC that I had anticipated. My strategy for this section was to spend the first ten minutes reading and jotting down key words then spending the next ten minutes answering the questions whilst repeating this strategy on subsequent passages. I noticed while practicing CDR that I would actually do better on the first passage (getting about 90% of the questions correct) then screwing up on the next two passages.
I do not fare well when it comes to reading while being pressured which was the case on the actual test. My personal advice is that you keep one single strategy for reading because if you change it on the actual test you might panic and screw up. By the way my scroll wheel at the test center did not work, use the up and down arrow on the keyboard instead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Days [July3-14] 9 days total: I just did a bunch of practice test mostly for biology using qvault and the destroyer making sure all my weak points were patched.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Test Day:
I actually came to the exam excited to take it. I honestly felt that I had put down more than enough time preparing for the final boss. Although I was well aware that many people on this forum have spent over 3 months in preparation for this test, I personally felt that the longer I spent studying the more I would forget by the time the actual test came. At this point I felt like I have farmed enough experience points and skills to defeat the DAT. I did use the 15 minute tutorial period to write down my math formulas and conversions and spent the last 5 minutes praying. You are allowed to keep the same board you started off with (the ones before the schedule break) and use them for RC and QR.
Please be courteous to the test proctor as they are the one giving you the boards and pens. Do not piss them off or they will do everything in their efforts to be inefficient.
The 15 min tutorial: Right when the test proctor finished using the metal detector on me they pointed with their finger from their desk(which is located directly at the entrance to the testing room, also there's a glass window through which they can see all the test takers through) to my testing cubicle and that was it. I was not physically escorted to my testing cubicle. They however, did check my id twice during the test(once during the PAT, and once during RC). Never in my mind was I ever worried about them barring me from writing any content on my two boards during the 15 min tutorial
The Boards: The boards they gave me was a pastel green 8" by 11" sheet of laminated card stock with about 1/4 of the top taken up with the testing centers letter head, instructions on how to use the boards, and a disclaimer that Big Brother is watching you. This was redundant on both sides of the sheet.
The Pens: they let you use are Staedtler Lumocolor Fine Tip Non-permanent Black Ink, you get two.
The Scheduled Break: Right after I finished the PAT the screen redirected me to the 15 minute break screen with the option to proceed(do not click this button.) Within that 15 minute break I suggest you swap out your boards/pens(if you need to), use the restroom, splash some cold water in your face, eat your snack(I brought half-way-frozen-cool-blue Gatorade, and a granola bar) quickly, change out your earplugs if you brought extra, walk outside the building to get a breath of fresh air for 30 seconds. All of what is said should be done within 6 minutes.
You will need the other 7 minutes to return to your testing cubicle just in case if a long line develops due to other test takers signing in(this was what happened to me. Luckily I didn't lose any time for the RC though.) Remember, you have to do the full body check and sign in prior to entering the testing room.
There is a quick survey right after the test asking how you felt about your testing experience at Prometric, and etc.
The computer display at my testing center were full screen HP LCD monitors. I can't seem to remember the screen size(felt like 17"), but I remember they were height adjustable screens.
It is possible to erase with sweaty hands by smearing it. They do allow earplug but only if it comes in a commercially sealed package. Word of advice: do not schedule your exam at 8:30AM I chose the 1:30PM instead because you can actually take the exam any time earlier than 1:30PM.
Also the MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO ACING THIS TEST IS TO STAY CALM AND RELAX. Because of this I was able to finish the the sciences with 25 minutes to spare. If you do end up finishing early just sit there and check, replace new boards or write down stuff you need for subsequent sections.
Fin.
If you have any other Q's post or PM. I'm here to help. See ya!
Last edited:
