- Joined
- Jan 10, 2013
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 0
Been a lurker here for a while but since I got a lot of help reading these threads it's time to give back.
My scores
PA 22
QR 23
RC 25
Bio 22
GC 28
OC 24
TS 24
AA 24
Who am I: I'm a 4th year bio major at a well-known public college. My gpa is the definition of mediocrity at a 3.5 for both overall and sciences. first year was not kind to me (academically)
I only had winter break to study for this test, right after my finals, so you can imagine how I felt while my friends were having a merry ol' time going snowboarding or traveling while I was cooped up in my room for 3 weeks.
Perceptual Ability (22): Crack Dat Pat, Kaplan
Kaplan was pretty much worthless for this section since it was way too easy but it's a good intro to how to approach the different kinds of problems. I only got through about 6 Crack Dat tests but it was instrumental in developing speed and I attribute my score to it.
-How CDP compares to the Actual DAT. Keyholes: much easier than actual, TFE: easier, Angles: harder, Pattern Folding: similar, a smidgen harder, Cube counting: harder, Patterns: spot on
How to Prepare: Get Crack Dat Pat. Do ALL the tests. I heard Achiever has good PAT tests as well.
During the Test: Have your eye on the clock and don't freak out if you're stuck on one problem. Mark it and move on. It's a race against the clock here.
Quantitative Reasoning (23): Math Destroyer, Internet
I was disappointed with my score here because I was banking on this to bring my AA up but whatever. I'm good at math but I definitely didn't practice enough since I ran out of time. Math Destroyer's problems are representative of all the hard problems that could potentially crop up on the real thing.
How to Prepare Get Math Destroyer. Just practice a LOT; again, speed is the name of the game here. If you encounter a rate problem you have no time to think about how to set up the equations...it should be muscle memory. Know your trig identities, area/volume formulas, and conversions. Google probability stuff for more explanations. PRACTICE.
Reading Comprehension (25): nothing
I didn't really prepare for this.
How to Prepare uhhh. haha
During the Test Don't use search and destroy. I know that for me at least, using that method would have resulted in a lower score. Read the whole passage over first then attack the first question. You end up with a better overall knowledge of the passage for tone-inference questions and know where in the passage the question is referring to right away.
Biology (22) Cliffs AP Bio, DAT Destroyer, DATQvault
My lowest science score would be in the subject I'm majoring in... I had a lot of taxonomy/cladistics questions on here which did not play to my forte (anatomy, cell metabolism). But I guess this means you have to be prepared for everything to appear on the test. I went through Cliffs and wikipediaed stuff I wanted more detail on. Destroyer is good for getting more random facts in there. DATQvault is nice because it mirrors the test format and gives you a score report at the end.
General Chemistry (28) Chad's, DATQvault, Destroyer
Chad is the man. My last chem class was AP Chem in junior year but this guy breaks it down and tells you the salient stuff. I made an outline based on his lectures and it served me very well. DATQvault was also a very good representation of what cropped up on the real DAT.
Organic Chemistry (24) Chad's, DATQvault, Destroyer
Chad is on point here as well. So is DATQVault. Destroyer really makes you comfortable with all the reactions. The roadmaps are useful as well. I had a few random reactions crop up from the roadmaps that weren't covered anywhere else. Don't just memorize, try to understand why things happen and this will simplify your studying process.
Random tips
-Do not test caffeine's diuretic properties. Yes. You will have to go pee and it sucks. You will have enough adrenaline pumping through your veins to keep you alert anyway.
-Be confident. If you plop down in your Prometric chair dreading the next 5 hours, on the verge of tearing your hair out in anxiety, you have already been defeated. Go in there and pretend everyone else is taking the DAT and that you are competing with them, and that you will come out on top. It's all about that positive mentality. Stay focused, but calm. Relish the chance to finally show them what you've got and what you're capable of. Veni Vidi Vici.
-Don't neglect your body during the weeks you're studying. I went to the gym at least five times a week and slept early every day. You can neglect your friends instead.
-On the way to prometric, play some pumpup jams and get in the freakin mood because YOU'RE GOING TO BATTLE. Some of my sample tracks included:
We Takin' Over - DJ Khaled
'Till I Collapse - Eminem
Stronger - Kanye
Rocky Theme Music
I Made It - Kevin Rudolf
Sky's the Limit - Notorious BIG
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
...you get the point.
Thanks to everyone's breakdowns who I creeped on and best of luck to everyone taking the DAT in the future. If you have any questions feel free to ask me
My scores
PA 22
QR 23
RC 25
Bio 22
GC 28
OC 24
TS 24
AA 24
Who am I: I'm a 4th year bio major at a well-known public college. My gpa is the definition of mediocrity at a 3.5 for both overall and sciences. first year was not kind to me (academically)
I only had winter break to study for this test, right after my finals, so you can imagine how I felt while my friends were having a merry ol' time going snowboarding or traveling while I was cooped up in my room for 3 weeks.
Perceptual Ability (22): Crack Dat Pat, Kaplan
Kaplan was pretty much worthless for this section since it was way too easy but it's a good intro to how to approach the different kinds of problems. I only got through about 6 Crack Dat tests but it was instrumental in developing speed and I attribute my score to it.
-How CDP compares to the Actual DAT. Keyholes: much easier than actual, TFE: easier, Angles: harder, Pattern Folding: similar, a smidgen harder, Cube counting: harder, Patterns: spot on
How to Prepare: Get Crack Dat Pat. Do ALL the tests. I heard Achiever has good PAT tests as well.
During the Test: Have your eye on the clock and don't freak out if you're stuck on one problem. Mark it and move on. It's a race against the clock here.
Quantitative Reasoning (23): Math Destroyer, Internet
I was disappointed with my score here because I was banking on this to bring my AA up but whatever. I'm good at math but I definitely didn't practice enough since I ran out of time. Math Destroyer's problems are representative of all the hard problems that could potentially crop up on the real thing.
How to Prepare Get Math Destroyer. Just practice a LOT; again, speed is the name of the game here. If you encounter a rate problem you have no time to think about how to set up the equations...it should be muscle memory. Know your trig identities, area/volume formulas, and conversions. Google probability stuff for more explanations. PRACTICE.
Reading Comprehension (25): nothing
I didn't really prepare for this.
How to Prepare uhhh. haha
During the Test Don't use search and destroy. I know that for me at least, using that method would have resulted in a lower score. Read the whole passage over first then attack the first question. You end up with a better overall knowledge of the passage for tone-inference questions and know where in the passage the question is referring to right away.
Biology (22) Cliffs AP Bio, DAT Destroyer, DATQvault
My lowest science score would be in the subject I'm majoring in... I had a lot of taxonomy/cladistics questions on here which did not play to my forte (anatomy, cell metabolism). But I guess this means you have to be prepared for everything to appear on the test. I went through Cliffs and wikipediaed stuff I wanted more detail on. Destroyer is good for getting more random facts in there. DATQvault is nice because it mirrors the test format and gives you a score report at the end.
General Chemistry (28) Chad's, DATQvault, Destroyer
Chad is the man. My last chem class was AP Chem in junior year but this guy breaks it down and tells you the salient stuff. I made an outline based on his lectures and it served me very well. DATQvault was also a very good representation of what cropped up on the real DAT.
Organic Chemistry (24) Chad's, DATQvault, Destroyer
Chad is on point here as well. So is DATQVault. Destroyer really makes you comfortable with all the reactions. The roadmaps are useful as well. I had a few random reactions crop up from the roadmaps that weren't covered anywhere else. Don't just memorize, try to understand why things happen and this will simplify your studying process.
Random tips
-Do not test caffeine's diuretic properties. Yes. You will have to go pee and it sucks. You will have enough adrenaline pumping through your veins to keep you alert anyway.
-Be confident. If you plop down in your Prometric chair dreading the next 5 hours, on the verge of tearing your hair out in anxiety, you have already been defeated. Go in there and pretend everyone else is taking the DAT and that you are competing with them, and that you will come out on top. It's all about that positive mentality. Stay focused, but calm. Relish the chance to finally show them what you've got and what you're capable of. Veni Vidi Vici.
-Don't neglect your body during the weeks you're studying. I went to the gym at least five times a week and slept early every day. You can neglect your friends instead.
-On the way to prometric, play some pumpup jams and get in the freakin mood because YOU'RE GOING TO BATTLE. Some of my sample tracks included:
We Takin' Over - DJ Khaled
'Till I Collapse - Eminem
Stronger - Kanye
Rocky Theme Music
I Made It - Kevin Rudolf
Sky's the Limit - Notorious BIG
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
...you get the point.
Thanks to everyone's breakdowns who I creeped on and best of luck to everyone taking the DAT in the future. If you have any questions feel free to ask me
Last edited:
Awesome scores and great job =D See you clinic, competition =P
