1 week left til DAT....studying advice?

[HubbaBubba]

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Alright everyone, I know there are already a lot of threads with this topic, but I wanted to post one with my specific situation.

I have 6 days left until the DAT. So far the things I've used to study are:
-Kaplan DAT book (skimmed for bio)
-Crack DAT & PAT (mostly for QR RC and PAT...sciences were pointless)
-a little bit of Cliffs AP Bio (skimmed for bio)
-Chad's videos & quizzes (for ochem and gchem)
-Topscore

I've taken two Topscore practice exams so far, and this is how I scored on them...

TEST ONE (taken a couple weeks ago):
AA: 16
TS: 14
Bio: 15
GC: 13
OC: 13
PAT: 21
RC: 21
QR: 20

OBVIOUSLY I was nowhere near ready when I took this, I just wanted to get an idea of where I stood. PAT, RC and QR were on point, but sciences were in the dirt.

So, after that eye-opener, I downloaded chads videos for ochem and gchem, which I feel helped tremendously.
After finishing all chad's videos and quizzes, I decided to test myself again to see where my true weak points are.

This was my score from the second practice exam (just finished 5 minutes ago):
AA: 18
TS: 17
Bio: 16
GC: 18
OC: 19
PAT: 21
RC: 20
QR: 21

Average joe scores, but better than the first.
I feel VERY confident in PAT, QR, and RC, so I'm not going to worry about those for the next few days. However, I want to do something within this last week that will really boost my science scores. I have one last Topscore test that I plan on taking 3 days before the real thing.

So I just had a few questions...

1) Most importantly...what's the best way to study for BIO? Just going through Cliffs or what? Practice quizzes? There's just SO MUCH material that idk how to feel confident for that section, but since it's my lowest section I really want to boost it up.

2) I recently acquired DAT Destroyer from a friend....should I consider going through it during this last week for gc/oc/bio to really test my knowledge? Or is that kinda overkill for the last week prior to the exam? Maybe reinforcing key points would be more important...

3) Lastly, how accurate are Topscore results compared to DAT results? Are there any upward/downward trends suggesting that it's harder/easier than the real thing?

I guess I'm just wondering what you guys think is the best way to make use of these last 5 days. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Average Guy]

1) Go through all your quizzes/exams/questions used to study from and take notes on what you could improve on, which includes any question you guessed on, picked a right/wrong answer for the wrong reason, and the ones you simply didn't understand. Study those topics more than the other topics you feel you have a grip on. You know what you already know so strengthen what you don't know to increase your "database" of information. This goes for all sciences, math, reading, and PAT sections. Look over what you know well so it stays fresh but give priority to what you feel needs that last bit of improvement. Make sure to plan your studying for each day so you feel like you have a handle on everything.

2) You have it so might as well look through it to see if you can find anything that would help you.

3) Taking Kaplan so can't help you there. Check out this thread which may answer your question.

And most importantly, take it easy the day before your exam. You don't want to stay up all night studying and not get enough sleep. Go out and enjoy the day to take your mind off of the DAT. If you feel you should look something over go ahead but don't get too caught up in it! With the improvement in your two practice exams you should do just fine on test day! Good luck!

 

[HubbaBubba]

1) Go through all your quizzes/exams/questions used to study from and take notes on what you could improve on, which includes any question you guessed on, picked a right/wrong answer for the wrong reason, and the ones you simply didn't understand. Study those topics more than the other topics you feel you have a grip on. You know what you already know so strengthen what you don't know to increase your "database" of information. This goes for all sciences, math, reading, and PAT sections. Look over what you know well so it stays fresh but give priority to what you feel needs that last bit of improvement.

2) You have it so might as well look through it to see if you can find anything that would help you.

3) Taking Kaplan so can't help you there. Check out this thread which may answer your question.

And most importantly, take it easy the day before your exam. You don't want to stay up all night studying and not get enough sleep. Go out and enjoy the day to take your mind off of the DAT. If you feel you should look something over go ahead but don't get too caught up in it! With the improvement in your two practice exams you should do just fine on test day! Good luck!

Great advice!!! I've noticed that quite a few of them are dumb mistakes that could have been avoided 😡

 

[Average Guy]

Great advice!!! I've noticed that quite a few of them are dumb mistakes that could have been avoided 😡

Yea, those are the worst kinds of mistakes. Taking 2 or 3 more seconds rereading the question an answer can make a real difference on test day!

 

[HubbaBubba]

Anyone else have any ideas on how to improve the bio score? Every practice test I've taken is extremely random

 

[hongbinbaneben]

1) Keep reviewing
2) Keep doing practice tests, but do not get discouraged if you do not get satisfying scores
3) Relax, sleep, and stay mentally and physically healthy

 

[jwan14]

When you do practice tests, LEARN from them and don't just worry about the scores you are getting and then rush through reviewing. The last two weeks I've not been taking as much time as I should reviewing wrong answers because I'm upset about not getting as high of a score as I wanted. And DONT worry about your scores now, whatever they are now just realize they will be better on the test as long as you review now.

Other than that I'd say review notes watch YouTube videos. As long as you've put in the time up until now to learn the concepts you will be fine. Studying in a different way might help to reinforce all the things you've learned

 

[wildzodiac]

Take the next couple of days and review Fareli's notes. Highly recommended.

 

[HubbaBubba]

Take the next couple of days and review Fareli's notes. Highly recommended.

all 70 pages?! haha is that pretty much anything and everything they can test on?

 

[wildzodiac]

all 70 pages?! haha is that pretty much anything and everything they can test on?

As we all know, biology is a very broad area of study. Ferali's notes does a good job at streamlining all the info. Remember that topics such as plant biology, basic human a+p, genetics, ecology, evolution, taxonomy, cell bio, etc. are all fair game...

 

[DATtestTho]

Go over all the BC quizzes for bio/chem/ochem. Also do all of chads ochem and chem quizzes 2-3 times until you know every aanswer and why. Aside from that just watch youtube videos for the big topics of bio (hormones, plants, systems) and skim feralis notes. Try not to burn yourself out though-like 5-6 hrs a day tops or at least take big breaks during your studying and get fresh air.

 

[HubbaBubba]

1) Keep reviewing
2) Keep doing practice tests, but do not get discouraged if you do not get satisfying scores
3) Relax, sleep, and stay mentally and physically healthy

When you do practice tests, LEARN from them and don't just worry about the scores you are getting and then rush through reviewing. The last two weeks I've not been taking as much time as I should reviewing wrong answers because I'm upset about not getting as high of a score as I wanted. And DONT worry about your scores now, whatever they are now just realize they will be better on the test as long as you review now.

Other than that I'd say review notes watch YouTube videos. As long as you've put in the time up until now to learn the concepts you will be fine. Studying in a different way might help to reinforce all the things you've learned

As we all know, biology is a very broad area of study. Ferali's notes does a good job at streamlining all the info. Remember that topics such as plant biology, basic human a+p, genetics, ecology, evolution, taxonomy, cell bio, etc. are all fair game...

Go over all the BC quizzes for bio/chem/ochem. Also do all of chads ochem and chem quizzes 2-3 times until you know every aanswer and why. Aside from that just watch youtube videos for the big topics of bio (hormones, plants, systems) and skim feralis notes. Try not to burn yourself out though-like 5-6 hrs a day tops or at least take big breaks during your studying and get fresh air.

Thanks for the help guys!

I recently puchased the 10 Bio tests from Qvault, and I've been working through them to see where my knowledge is really lacking.

Turns out how well I do really depends on which test I get...my bio scores are inconsistently ranging from 15-19. I've heard those scores aren't indicative and lots of times scores jump up from Qvault scores, but still doesn't do wonders for my confidence.
I'll skim feralis notes and see if that changes anything, but aside from learning new material as I get it wrong on practice tests, I think I really know all I'm gonna know for bio.

 

[HubbaBubba]

Anyone know how closely the DAT Qvault questions mirror the DAT? I'm doing well on the qvault tests but I don't want to do a complete 180 on the real thing...

 

[dentalstd]

I took the biology qvault and i scored like a point higher than my average on qvault
Also, if anyone is interested, my dat qvault for biology expires in september 30th 2014... if you have paypal or venmo and wanna pay half the price let me know~

 

[tooth knockn]

Good luck,

Study a lot

Push to the limit

Like Tony Montana