DAT Destruction (2/21/13)

PAT 22 (90.9%)
QR 22 (96.4%)
RC 22 (85.9%)
BIO 21 (91.8%)
GC 24 (96.1%)
OC 25 (96.6%)
TS 23 (97.5%)
AA 23 (98.1%)

Background:
I’m a fourth year Genetics major/Spanish minor in the honors program at UGA- 3.89 overall GPA and a 3.85 science GPA. I’ve worked in a genetics lab for the past 3 years, co-authored 2 separate publications, am the vice-president and co-founder of a student organization, tutor underprivileged Hispanic children, and have around 100 hours of dental shadowing. I was initially pre-med, but last summer I interned at a well-known hospital and realized that medicine was not my life’s calling. It was pretty tough to abandon my lifelong dream, especially when all my friends were taking their MCATs and interviewing, but I sucked it up and took the plunge. I shadowed a few dentists in the fall and fell in love with the profession. Feeling confident about a career in dentistry, I began reading SDN to compile a list of study materials and devise a schedule to help me tackle the DAT. I knew that it was going to be tough to study incessantly during my last semester of college while all my friends were out celebrating their recent acceptances to medical school, but I told myself that it would pay off in the end. I also have an amazing girlfriend who kept me motivated and frequently fed and cleaned up after me while I was locked away in my room. I definitely owe her a few nice dinners and a new pair of shoes. Anywhoo, here is my breakdown. I hope you guys find it to be informative and motivating.


Study Materials:
1. Cliff’s AP BIO – A must have for the BIO section. Read it front to back and understand EVERYTHING. If something doesn’t quite sink in, use Wikipedia. I’m serious. There was definitely a question or two on the real thing that I was able to answer only because I was curious about everything I read and used Wikipedia constantly. Also, Cliff’s is a very good start, but is definitely lacking in Anatomy & Physiology (especially the Musculoskeletal system). I supplemented my BIO studies with the Kaplan MCAT Biology book that I borrowed from a friend, and it did help a bit. I wouldn’t say it’s a necessary purchase, but you do need to take the initiative to further investigate the organ systems using other materials (i.e youtube videos, Wikipedia, other prep books, etc.)
2. Chad’s Videos – I seriously owe this guy a beer because my chemistry and math scores were 100% his doing. It’s been 3 years since I took Gen Chem, 2 years since Ochem, and I took algebra and trig freshman year of high school, so I had forgotten quite a bit. Chad knows his stuff and doesn’t bother with extraneous information. He cuts to the core of what you need to know, and I felt 100% prepared after finishing his videos. He’s also a funny guy, and I was able to power through hours of teaching because he kept me engaged and entertained. Don’t bother with other resources for the chems and math, Chad is more than enough. Just sit back, take notes, and enjoy.
3. Math Destroyer – A very helpful resource. Chad gives you the tools to do well, but the QR section is all about timing, so you need to practice a ton. These tests are pretty tough, but after a few tests you start developing shortcuts and your score will jump up pretty quickly. The most important thing to do in using this resource is to review your wrong answers. You need to understand why you are missing certain problems so you can figure out how to tackle them next time. All in all, I’d say Math Destroyer is harder than the QR section on the real thing.
4. Crack DAT PAT – I’ve heard some people say that CDP isn’t representative of the actual DAT, but I must disagree. I was completely satisfied with how it prepared me for the PAT section. If you can get your hands on other PAT material, go for it, but don’t worry if you can’t. In hindsight, I’m pretty sure I would’ve gotten the same PAT score, even if CDP was the only resource I had. Buy it, you won’t be disappointed.
5. Crack DAT Reading – Ehh, I have mixed feelings about this one. It’s great practice for the few tone questions you’ll see and the passages are around the same length and density as the RC passages on the DAT. However, there are not enough search-and-destroy like detailed questions in these practice passages. Buy this if you have the extra money, but I think the Topscore reading sections are a much better representation of what you’ll see on the DAT.
6. TopScore – Definitely purchase this. It’s great practice for all the sections and it helps you build up your endurance for the big day, and believe me, endurance is a huge factor in your test day performance. The Topscore sciences were slightly more difficult and time consuming, so if you can get 19+ on those sections, you’re golden. The TS PAT was the only section I was disappointed with as it was pretty easy, so I would purchase CDP and really focus on scoring consistently in the 22+ range. As for the TS RC section, I thought this was the most accurate of any of the materials I used, and I scored right around what I was averaging. Finally, the TS QR section was comparable to the real thing in terms of difficulty, but gets repetitive with the same types of problems. Use Math Destroyer to get some variety and you’ll do fine here.
7. 2007 ADA Sample DAT – Way too easy. Use this as an indicator of your weakest areas after your first run through of all your study material. Then go back and hit those sections hard. I took this test around a month before my DAT.
8. ANKI – Ahh, the best for last. Most people are highly opposed to buying $30 apps for their iPhone/iPad, but this was the absolute best purchase I made for my DAT preparation. I spent a week making flashcards from the notes I made from Cliff’s, Chad’s, and anything else I came across during my studies. Having access to these flashcards on my cell phone allowed me to constantly review the plethora of concepts that you are required to know for this test. I flipped through my flashcards whenever I had free time (on the bus, during class, while talking to people on the phone, and especially when I was on the porcelain throne). ANKI has a very clean layout and allows you to set times for when each flashcard will reappear in your deck depending on how difficult you find the concept to be. After flipping through these flashcards for a week or two, I felt extremely confident about the main concepts for the DAT and I was able to spend some extra time learning the random stuff that could potentially show up in the BIO section (i.e in-depth taxonomy). If your like me and have a hard time retaining mass amounts of information, get this app. It’ll make you feel confident about the science and math concepts and gets sort of addicting. If you would like access to the decks I created, just drop me a PM.

I know some of you are probably questioning why I didn’t use DAT Destroyer. I’m not saying that it’s a bad resource or anything, and from what I’ve read it’s quite the opposite. I just wanted to focus more of my time on mastering the concepts than doing practice problems. I feel that many studiers make the mistake of focusing too much on the practice material rather than mastering the concepts behind the problems. Remember, studying is all about efficiency. Use the practice problems as a guide to highlight your weaker areas. Don’t worry about exposing yourself to every problem you can get your hands. Trust me, reviewing on your own is the best way to prepare. Only you know what your weaknesses and strengths are, and no single practice book or test can adequately prepare you for what may show up on test day. Just focus on the concepts and you’ll do fine.


Study Schedule
I made a very detailed study schedule with day-by-day instructions that kept me on track and motivated, especially during the initial stages of studying. If any of you would like me to send you a copy, just let me know. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and my plan may not be right for you and by no means is a guarantee to DAT success. Hopefully, it can serve as a template for others to use to modify and create their own schedule catered to their own specific needs. With that in mind, here is a brief overview of my study schedule:

I started studying over winter break using a modified version of dentalWorks’s 8 week study schedule. The first 3 weeks I hit it hard averaging 6-8 hours a day taking 1 day off/week. This way, I was able to finish my initial review of the sciences and math before spring semester classes began. During this time I took notes on anything I wasn’t 100% comfortable with so that I could make flashcards later with ANKI. I also hit a few Crack DAT Reading tests just to work on my timing and become familiar with this section. I held off on the Crack DAT PAT tests because I wanted to avoid running out of tests before the big day so that I could stay fresh for this section. A day or two after completing my initial review, I took the 2007 sample DAT test and used my results to direct my secondary review. I spent the final 1-1.5 months making/reviewing flashcards and doing practice tests, while handling my spring semester courseload (12 hours: Cell Biology, Microbiology, Spanish Linguistics, Weightlifting, and a Genetics seminar).


Practice Tests
Section Tests
Crack DAT Reading Test# 1/2/3/4/5:
20/23/21/23/22

Crack DAT Pat Test #1/2/3/4/5:
17/20/22/19/23

MATH Destroyer Test #1/2/3/4/5/6:
18/19/26/20/23/25 (using the 2007 DAT conversion chart)

Full-Length Tests (BS/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR/TS/AA)
2007 ADA Sample DAT:
21/21/25/17/21/24/22/22

TopScore #1
21/20/19/20/22/21/20/21

TopScore #2
21/23/20/22/22/24/21/22

TopScore #3
21/19/25/26/20/25/21/22

Real DAT
21/24/25/22/22/22/23/23


The Test
BIO (21):
Like many other SDNers, I found this section to be pretty random. The BIO section definitely focuses on breadth over depth, but is manageable when considering the fact that it’s a multiple-choice test. More than likely you will get a few questions about something that you are totally unfamiliar with, but you should be able to eliminate answers based on other knowledge and intuition, so don’t freak out if you read a question thinking “WTF is this BS?!?!” Just go to the answers and start eliminating and you should narrow it down to 2, if not 1. If you can’t, mark and move on. You’ll have plenty of time to come back. I’d say this section was pretty much on par with what I saw on TopScore, which is evidenced by the fact that I scored a 21 on every practice test and on the real thing.

To prepare for this section, just try to get your hands on as much material as possible. However, doing well in your undergraduate science classes and studying to retain rather than just get the grade will pay off big time in your prep for this section. I also think that DAT Destroyer would be helpful for this section, since BIO is all about exposing yourself to as much as possible.

GC (24):
Much easier than TopScore. I didn’t have too many time-consuming calculations to do. Instead most of the questions I had were quick comparison questions and other basic conceptual questions. If you can hit a 20+ consistently on TopScore, focus on something else because you’re going to kill this section. Just make sure you understand everything found on Chad’s videos. I felt that there was a pretty even distribution of questions from every concept possible, so maybe a quick review of Chad’s quizzes before test day would be a good idea.

OC (25):
Like GC, this section was extremely straightforward and much easier than the OC sections on TopScore. I didn’t have any of the unusual line rxns. Just know your basic mechanisms, line reactions, and rankings. Again, Chad will prepare you well for this section, so just review your notes and take his quizzes before the big day and all will be well.

All in all, I found the science sections to be pretty easy when compared to TopScore. I think I finished the sciences with 35 minutes left, spent 10 minutes reviewing my marked questions, and then got bored and moved on to PAT.

PAT (22):
With the exception of keyholes, I found this section to be very similar to CDP. The keyholes on the real thing had slightly worse resolution and had more complex images that were difficult to visualize. I’ve heard Achiever’s PAT prepares you well for the keyhole section, but honestly it’s not terribly difficult or anything. As for the other sections, if you can do well on CDP, you will do fine on the real thing. I had about 10 minutes left over after my last question, and used my remaining time to check marked questions (mainly keyholes). For those of you who are worried about angles (as I was), don’t be. I found the angles on CDP to be far more difficult than those on the actual DAT.

RC (22):
I don’t know if I got passage shafted or not, but this was definitely the most difficult RC section that I’ve had, so I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to snag a 22 here. I felt like crap after this section because I knew I had done well on TS and PAT and I thought this section was going to kill my AA. My first and third passages weren’t the issue, but my second passage……… ouch. I’ve heard about the dreaded Piano passage (retired now I think), but I’m fairly sure ADA decided to immortalize Piano in its new and improved physics form. That thing was incredibly dense, nearly impossible to comprehend the first time through (assuming you don’t have a Ph.D. in Physics), and is just plain scary. I started panicking during this passage because I kept reading the same paragraph over and over and couldn’t understand a word of it. That was the 3rd paragraph and the rest of the passage was the same way. So I made a judgment call and went pure SnD for that passage’s questions and was able to nail most of them, but I had to guesstimate on a few. Just pray you don’t get this passage.

My primary strategy for RC was to skim the passage, jot a few keywords about each paragraph, and then attack the questions. I think this is the safest method as it allows you to get a good idea of the author’s tone and makes the inference/main idea questions much easier to tackle. It should only take you 6-7 minutes to skim the passage, leaving you 13-14 minutes for the questions, which is more than enough time. This strategy worked well for passages 1 and 3. That being said, you should have a back up strategy if you get pressed for time or get a really dense, scientific passage like the physics one. I switched to SnD for this passage and I think it paid off in the end.

QR (22):
Somewhat disappointed with my score in this section. I got an 800 on my SAT math sans calculator (batteries died XD), finished Calc III my senior year of high school, and was scoring 24+ on the majority of my practice tests, so it’s safe to say math comes naturally to me (no, I’m not Asian). Furthermore, I thought this QR section to be the easiest of them all and really didn’t feel like I missed a single problem, but I guess I made some careless mistakes. Just watch Chad’s videos and do the Math Destroyer tests. If you can score in the 20s on MATH Destroyer without any extra time, you’ll do fine here. Like I said before, this section is all about timing, so make sure you know the QUICKEST way to solve all the different types of problems. Oh, and the exam’s calculator worked fine for me, exactly the same as the one that comes with your computer.


Final Thoughts
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to not neglect your body. Make sure you get plenty of sleep. Your mind needs it to store the mass amount of information that you are throwing at it. I also began working out vigorously right around the time I started my DAT prep to get my Spring break bod ready for my last big trip before graduation. I worked out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week without fail, which kept my endorphins up and kept my mind fresh each and every day. I know this seems like a lot of time wasted but you just need to prioritize. Remember, get plenty of sleep, keep working out, and don’t neglect the girlfriend. You can neglect your friends instead. They’ll understand.

If you guys need any help/advice or a copy of my ANKI decks/ study schedule, just pm me. I’m more than willing to help out. As for now, I’m going to enjoy my last few months of college before I start working on my apps for the 2014 cycle. Best of luck guys!

Cheers,
Mumford