My half day summer~DAT 8/28/2012

Detailed breakdown:

Kaplan: I took the Kaplan course last summer and did the minimal amount of work to get the higher score guarantee. It exposes you the the material and gives you time for it to sit in. This summer I made sure I knew how to solve all of the Kaplan problems. Kaplan in my opinion on their Diagnoistic, Midterm, Practice Test 1, 2, and 3 were really useful in exposing you to different questions that I didn't see in any other sources I used. Their workshops are great and so are their online practice exam sets (5 for each subject, extra for math (a little too much probabilty though) and full length science sections A and B. The class itself was kinda a waste of time because its exposes you to stuff you already know like what do ribsomes do, etc. I made sure I knew the Kaplan blue book inside out. I also found that doing a detailed analysis of your mistakes on practice exams helps you learn the best. Kaplan reading section is much harder than the real one. I think I lucked out though because on the practice ADA from 2009 I only scored a 18 and freaked out! Kaplan's PAT is good for keyholes and paper folding especially. They have this whole section of 80 hard paper folding problems that were great in my opinion and most comparable to the real PAT. Their angles are wayyyy too easy but whatever on the whole still good practice. Overall, Kaplan gives you the tools you need and you shape how bennifical the course is for you. Yes they give you alot of work to do but if you put in the efforts YOU WILL REAP THE BENEFITS.

Chad's Videos: I felt that they were a way for me to procrastinate from studying. They were great and I played them on high speed and watched them once 2 months ago lol. They taught me how to do concentration questions with Ka and logs which I didn't know beforehand.

Topscore: It gives you a feel for test taking. In my opinion, too specific and outdated compared to the real one.

Now, the good stuff, ACHIEVER. Honestly, if you are going to buy one thing, buy Achiever. Their PAT solns are so clearly and literally made everthing click for me. Their biology questions are tough and their math is hard and too time consuming compared to the simple things on the actual exam.

Crack PAT Science: total waste of time. Their chemistry is absurd and their biology is too specific. Don't buy it.

Crack DAT Math: pretty good. I liked the guy who made the videos "if you set up the problem correctly (finger motion) the problem practically solves itself" lmao

Crack PAT: Good for exposure. Their competion with paper folding extras was great too. Their angles are absurd. On the real test, the angles are in the same line unlike Crack the PAT. I realized this a few days ago and that was why I kept scoring below average. On the real test every diagram had illusion cubes and Crack the PAT was great at teaching you how to deal with them.

Crack DAT Reading: Way too nonscience orientated. Alot of tone questions. Never scored higher than a 22 and scored as low as a 17. Some of their answer choices are cut off and it pissed me off alot.

qVault: I liked their reading comp, and biology. Their chemistry was a bit much. Their questions were too easy and their answers were obvious.

DAT destroyer: Questions and concepts appear on the test. Especially from the bio section. If you master the bio section, you are set. Chem was benneficial as well.

Cliff's AP Bio: Pretty good at introducing you to the things you need to know. Too plant orientated.

Barron's AP Biology:I liked their pictures and diagrams. They helped me remember concepts.

Barron's DAT: USELESS. Its full of mistakes, total waste of $.

Math Destoyer: FAB! It is hard and you will get everything wrong on your first pass through the book, but its great for speed and stamina. The formula in the front are very helpful.

Orgo Destroyer: I love orgo, hence I loved the book. It was great and challenging. I scored poorly on my first round but you learn vital concepts. Overall it incorporates concepts you need to know for the test although at times a bit much.


Advice: Do not look at the clock, seriously it just freaks you the --- out and makes you panic and waste time. I also, smelled rosemarry essential oils, which you may think sounds nuts. A study was published that test takers who smelled rosemarry did significantly better on standardized tests. I tried it before a practice test and you should too and I literally scored much higher than I have ever before. It works and makes you not make careless mistakes (given that you put in the effort to grasp the material beforehand).

Chem was too hard and specific, but the answers were obvious for qvault. I mean I literally scored the same on qvault compared to the real DAT. My gen chem section was rough with a lot of lab based wierd abstract thinking.

youknowthedrill said:

Unless you completely blow your interview, you'll be getting a call on Dec 1.

Click to expand...

EpicDentist said:

Wow you are a shoe in! Congrats

Click to expand...

biomolecmed said:

Awesome job. Your scores are outstanding.

Click to expand...

Thanks everyone! I was just worried about my application be late for this cycle. I guess I'm fine thank goodness.

aqz said:

Says the guy with scores pretty much just as high.

Good job qnz.

Click to expand...

Good job to you too aqz! We killed the DAT yesterday. I can't believe they made you reschedule due to a power outage. I couldn't imagine the mental buildup just to wait another couple of days to retake it.

aqz said:

Thinking back, I'm grateful for the postponement.

I know for a fact that the test I got yesterday was one of the easier ones according to the RC passages, so I could have easily gotten a much harder DAT had it not been postponed.

Click to expand...

My reading comp was extremely easy as well. I feel like they got easier or maybe its just because after scoring above 20 on Achiever any reading comp feels like a breeze

Seahawk said:

Biblical scores. Congrats.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment!

Dotoday said:

I don't think you need to worry about applying so much. As long as you apply before November, with your GPA and scores, I cannot imagine you would have a problem.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

NewBee12 said:

Speechless !!!!!
I salute you and your performance

Click to expand...

Thanks so much! After 2 months of 10 hours a day studying, the hardwork really paid off!

jaychokshi said:

Where do I get that rosemary oil lol btw awesome scores, and I can only imagine this score.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 Skyrocket!

Click to expand...

Rofl. It totally works or maybe its just the placebo effect..whatever. I used scissors to cut up the rosemarry growing in my garden and I call it oil to make it sound fancier.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2107260/How-sniffing-rosemary-boost-brain-power.html

I am not crazy lol

shootingstar7 said:

Congrats on your scores they are fab!! You should apply this cycle but not to any east coast schools or Colorado.

Click to expand...

I'll let you have Colorodo But, I am applying to all NY, NJ, and PA schools and Harvard

Dentalkid434 said:

I probably should have also smelled rosemarry essential oils prior to my exam- maybe it would have assisted with my performance Congrats on the stellar performance! Best of luck with the application process!

Click to expand...

biomolecmed said:

Don`t even worry about the interview. Just be yourself. your academic performance proves that you are interested in studying in Dental School. They will love you.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the confidence boost. Now, I need to figure out what to wear to an interview lmao A great excuse to go shopping I'd say!

Dotoday said:

How did you keep your endurance up by studying for 10 hours? Awesome job.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

I drank poweraid and coffee lol. But seriously, (as dorky as it may sound) I am an only child and I looked foward to watching tv with my parents every night at 8. So, I was motivated each day to get alot done by that time so I could enoy their company.
I think that actually helped me preservere especially in the beginning when the DAT seemed so far away and my studying seemed like it wasn't helping much. Good luck!

Dotoday said:

Hey, whatever works right? It worked. Powerade and coffee is a good combination, lol. Good luck with you application process. Where would you like to go to Dental school?

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Thanks! Good luck to you too!
I am applying to:
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine (CONN)
Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HVD)
University Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine (BU)
University of Maryland School of Dentistry (MYD)
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Dental School (UMDNJ)
Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CUL)
Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine (SUSB)
University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine (BUF)
New York University College of Dentistry (NYU)
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine (PITT)

anjuab said:

So, for bio... Cliffs and barrons bio were enough to prepare you for the bio section? and... while the achiever's bio questions were tough, did they help prepare you for the bio section? or would it be better to not bother with achiever's bio?

Click to expand...

Cliff's and Barron's was a great combo to prepare. The one question I did get wrong in bio was mentioned in Cliff's, just too briefly. Achiever is great for phenotype/genotype questions. The real exam has alot of conceptual questions like that. Bio really isn't hard, just understand the basics of the questions and the extra details are thrown in to confuse you. Totally doable.I also wouldn't spend longer than 20 min on bio section because you either know it or you don't. The chemistries are much more challenging, at least on my exam they were.