One and Done! (22AA/22TS/25PA)

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free99

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Scores if image embed doesn't work:
AA - 22 (95.7%)
TS - 22 (94.8%)
PA - 25 (98.6%)
BS - 25 (99.1%)
GC - 22 (89.2%)
OC - 22 (88.7%)
RC - 19 (53.2%)
QR - 20 (88.3%)

Being done is so surreal. When you devote yourself to this test, you study, then study some more, and even when you're having fun and not studying, the DAT is always in the back of your mind. Throughout the past 2 months of studying (4-5 hrs a day, sometimes more, sometimes less), I've gotten so much solid advice and support from people on here that I feel like it's my obligation to return some of the love. I'm going to break down every section here, feel free to ask me questions if I don't address something you're curious about.

I started studying last November, but my progress got really thrown off by the holidays, and I didn't really whole heartedly start studying until mid-January when the semester began, my girlfriend was busy with grad school, and my friends were more tied up in other things. From Mid January until today (yup, until the very last second before I left the door) I was studying. I work ~25 hours a week, so I studied in my free time when I wasn't at work.

I found great motivation in looking at other people's practice scores vs their real scores. I adapted jimpanzee's (thanks brotha!) "Statbook" and kept meticulous records of my performance on all graded study material. I've attached it at the bottom.

Biology (25, 99.1%)
Materials used: Cliffs, Barrons, DAT Destroyer, DATqVault (free! thanks @datqvault), YouTube, MCAT Audio Osmosis in the car :)thumbdown)

You'll never know everything, so I think out of all the sections on the test, luck is a huge component of this. For example: I only had a few taxonomy questions, no photosynthesis, no plants. I think the key here is just exposing yourself to a ton of material. I studied biology last, so this information was freshest in my mind. My three primary methods of studying were drawing out pathways/cycles, remembering tons of mnemonics (ex. anterior pituitary produces GAP TFL, osteoBlasts BUILD, alpha cells make glucose, beta cells make insulin, because G comes before I in the alphabet, and alpha comes before beta), and watching youtube videos (find Craig Savage, I enjoyed his lectures).

General Chemistry (22, 89.2%)
Materials used: Chads 2x, DAT Destroyer 2x

I've said this before, but if you're not using Chad's videos I think you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. For the price, these study materials are the best bang for the buck. I honestly expected a bit of a higher score here, given that I got perfect scores on 2007 and 2009, but I can't really complain. Destroyer is way overkill, but that said I think if you approach it knowing it's not representative of the test it has a lot of value. It doesn't matter how many you get wrong, just REVIEW your answers and learn why you got it wrong. Chad's quizzes were pretty representative of the real exam. There was an even mix of conceptual questions vs. calculations.

Organic Chemistry (22, 88.7%)
Materials used: Chads 2x, DAT Destroyer 2x

Again, Chad's set me up nicely here. Destroyer Ochem is, again, far more difficult than the real thing, but presents a wealth of information and is a valuable learning tool. I whited out products and filled in all of the roadmaps about 5 times.

Perceptual Ability (25, 98.6%)
Materials used: Crack DAT PAT, Achiever, a little bit of qvault

I would do perceptual ability tests when I couldn't muster up enough motivation to study the sciences. I never scored above a 23 on CDPAT, but scored 18, 21, and 21 on Achiever PAT 1-3. In terms of difficulty:

Hardest --> Easiest
Keyholes -- Achiever >> REAL >> CDPAT
Orthographic Projection -- All about the same, Qvault I think was actually the hardest
Angler Ranking -- REAL >> CDPAT >> Achiever
Hole Punching -- All about the same
Cube Counting -- CDPAT > REAL = Achiever
Paper Folding -- CDPAT > Achiever > REAL

I've described my methods for each section in other threads, so just post here or PM me if you need any suggestions/assistance with a particular subsection.

Reading Comprehension (19, 53.2%)
Materials used: 2009 ADA, Achiever

So, I was hoping for 20+ on all sections, but then I got some tough passages. My passages were: Fiber optics, Prions, Genetic diseases. Time management is key here - watch the clock and try to not get hung up on one question, give yourself time to get the "gimmies" then come back to the tough questions. I had a lot of "The statement is correct but the reason is NOT" type of questions. I think if I retook the test, which I won't, I'd probably practice a few more reading sections before going in on game day.

Quantitative Reasoning (20, 88.3%)
Materials used: Math Destroyer, Destroyer, Qvault

This section wasn't too bad. People have said it before and it's true, practice problems so that when you encounter one on the real thing you immediately know the TYPE of problem and don't have to think "how do I set this up?" Consult the statbook to see my scores on practice material. My computer shut off randomly with ~10 minutes left! The proctor had to come in and restart the computer, and I resumed with the same amount of time left. Despite that malfunction, my calculator worked like a charm and I used it a ton.

Complete Practice Tests
Materials used: ADA 2007, ADA 2009, Achiever

I wouldn't go into this test without practicing at least one full, timed, test. One question on the real exam was literally word for word from the ADA 2009. Maybe that's their way of paying me back for not giving me an answer key, haha. 2007 and 2009 are good indicators of score, though I think they're both a little easier than the real thing. I loved using Achiever, despite my sub-par scores.

In conclusion...
I'm so relieved this is over and won't have to take it again. I've got to acknowledge Ari (Gator D) - this guy is the man. He was a great support throughout the process helping guide my study process, and actually persuaded me to postpone the test (I think I scored much better in bio because of this). He's working on a website that hosts DAT practice material and it's off to a nice start - Shoot him a PM and get on board!

Now it's time to get back to real life and have some fun! Please post here or PM me with any questions you have, it's almost therapeutic to "debrief" after the exam, so I'm totally open to chat.


PS: ALL MATERIALS SOLD, THANKS!

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Attachments

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Wow, awesome scores across the board! :thumbup: Congrats!!

Question- i'm new to studying for it, but I was under the impression DatQVault for Bio was something you had to buy -- you got it for free??
 
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Wow, awesome scores across the board! :thumbup: Congrats!!

Question- i'm new to studying for it, but I was under the impression DatQVault for Bio was something you had to buy -- you got it for free??

You do, unfortunately, and I would highly suggest it (at least bio). I won a free subscription during SDN test prep week. If you're looking for 2012 destroyer, let me know! Best of luck studying, feel free to PM with questions.
 
Great job on this test. Solid scores. Congratulations.

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Congrats on your scores! I also had the same three passages as you except I took my test way back in August... haha
 
Looking at your statbook, I noticed you have destroyer OC / GC / BIO on there twice across 1-9 cells. What does that mean exactly? I'm assuming that the first would be your first time going through X problems while the second is the second time going through the same x problems?
 
Good work! Really diggin that bio and PA score!
Thanks! They both came as a bit of a surprise, as I thought the angle section had totally killed my score.
Amazing job! Those are beautiful scores. All the hard work definitely paid off B)
thanks hombre
Looking at your statbook, I noticed you have destroyer OC / GC / BIO on there twice across 1-9 cells. What does that mean exactly? I'm assuming that the first would be your first time going through X problems while the second is the second time going through the same x problems?
Yeah the second row is my second time through the book. Many of those questions were done during overnight shifts at work, so I didn't retain as much as I wanted.
Nice work, glad my statbook was of some use! Good luck with your application!
Yeah man, I loved opening up the spreadhseet and filling in the blanks after a day of studying. It was a huge motivator.
Congrats Free! You killed it man, enjoy the time off for some much needed R and R
I'ma try!
 
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Do you know how many you got wrong on rc? You are in 50% and its still 19? Thats amazing.

I don't know exactly, but I would assume I got about 13 or 14 wrong. People, on average, score better in the reading sections, resulting in low percentages for the scaled scores, comparatively. I think people don't generally need to prepare much for this section and, more so than any other sections on the test, you've either got it or you don't. That said, I think anyone can get a decent score here with a strategy and a little prep.
 
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I'm a non-trad who did informal post-bacc to take all the pre-reqs plus a few upper level bios for the first time (largely non-science major). My post-bacc performance was pretty good (3.70), but my undergrad had its rough spots.

oGPA - 3.15
sGPA - 3.28
BCP GPA - 3.70 (consists entirely of classes from post-bacc, never took any BCP classes in undergrad)

Given those GPAs, do you guys think this DAT is sufficient to get a few interviews if I apply broadly (20+ schools)? I'm planning on taking a few more credits (16-20) over the summer and in the fall to raise my oGPA to 3.2 and my sGPA to 3.4. Thanks!
 
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Thanks for the replies, everyone. I'm a non-trad who did informal post-bacc to take all the pre-reqs plus a few upper level bios for the first time (largely non-science major). My post-bacc performance was pretty good (3.70), but my undergrad had its rough spots.

oGPA - 3.14
sGPA - 3.26
BCP GPA - 3.70 (consists entirely of classes from post-bacc, never took any BCP classes in undergrad)

Given those GPAs, do you guys think this DAT is sufficient to get a few interviews if I apply broadly (20+ schools)? I'm planning on taking a few more credits (16-20) over the summer and in the fall to raise my oGPA to 3.2 and my sGPA to 3.4. Thanks!

you'll likely get a few looks. it's probably a good thing you'll continue to take courses mid-cycle to show dschools you haven't jumped off the academic train.
 
you'll likely get a few looks. it's probably a good thing you'll continue to take courses mid-cycle to show dschools you haven't jumped off the academic train.

Truth, it's a good train to ride. I contemplated applying to an SMP but I think I'm going to give this cycle a go with these stats while continuing a little more undergrad education. We'll see how things go in June.
 
Do you think knowing scientific topics about priod diseases, fiberoptics will help you in RC section?

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Do you think knowing scientific topics about priod diseases, fiberoptics will help you in RC section?

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Not really, no. In fact, I think one of my achiever RC passages was about prions and there really wasn't much overlap in the discussion. I would just practice several RC tests before going into the real thing. This section is not hard and can be improved upon with practice. I did less than 5 before going into the test, and I think had I done a few more practice exams I would have improved my score a bit.
 
Killer Scores Congratz Bud!

You think Craig Savage touches on all the bio u need?
Chads Ochem quizzes similar to the real thing?
Thanks!
 
Killer Scores Congratz Bud!

You think Craig Savage touches on all the bio u need?
Chads Ochem quizzes similar to the real thing?
Thanks!

He could probably get you to where you need to be, though I'd probably thumb through cliffs or barrons in addition. And yeah, chad's Ochem quizzes are spot on.
 
Do you still have your DAT prep. materials?
If yes, I'm interested to buy them. how much do you sell all of them?
 
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