- Joined
- Jan 23, 2013
- Messages
- 411
- Reaction score
- 197
Alright so here is my comeback story!
My background:
I went to a large private university and majored in biology. I took the DAT last year and scored a 17 AA (awful I know) with not one score above 20. I thought I worked hard, but the materials I had were not good in my opinion. I used Kaplan, Bootcamp, and Crack DAT PAT, bad decisions.
This time around I did my research on the materials that I should use thanks to people on SDN that posted their scores. I used Destroyer, Kaplan, Cliffs, Crack DAT PAT, and Math Destroyer
Here are my scores
PAT-21
QR-21
RC-20
BIO-28
GC-23
OC-23
TS-25
AA-23
Materials used rankings
Destroyer (10/10)
haha no but seriously, this book lives up to its hype and its not overkill (as some people say on SDN) by any means. I don’t understand why some people on here bash this book. It is an amazing resource when used correctly.
KBB (6/10)
I didn’t really find this book helpful other than gaining basic concepts on the DAT, its nice to go over one time in my opinion. I did however find it helpful (and accurate) in the PAT section so for the PAT section it gets a (8/10).
Cliffs (7/10)
This book is very dense and very detailed. I found it pretty hard to understand but I went through it once and found it helpful. Plus its not expensive, I would say its worth it.
Crack DAT PAT (5/10)
Personally I think you should save your money and not buy this product because I don’t believe that it accurately portrays the test. It’s a little pricey and they don’t give very good explanations to the answers. Kaplan was definitely a better representation of the test.
Math Destroyer (10/10)
Know the formulas and the types of questions used in this book and you’re golden.
Section Breakdown
PAT-21
I mostly used Kaplan because I didn’t like Crack DAT PAT, I did fine. Angles were a little tough (I always struggled with those) but the strategy I used was to skip to the angles, (Q30) and then do the test from there. Believe me you wont feel as time constrained doing it this way.
QR-21
Was a little nervous about this section. I wrote down like a million formulas from the Math Destroyer and finished with 2 mins. remaining. Math Destroyer is key in this section as I saw a ton of the same type questions.
RC-20
So it’s my lowest score, I’m not too upset as I didn’t even study this section. I used the search and destroy method and was happy with my score.
BIO-28
This is the section that I studied most. Destroyer is absolutely KEY in this section. When I said use correctly above ^^^ I mean a lot of the answers are all of the above, but you need to understand every single one of the statements. Every single one of my questions on the exam was covered in the book in one way or another. I went through the bio section of the destroyer 7-8 times thoroughly. Do this and it will pay off.
GC-23
Once again, just use the destroyer; it has examples of everything covered on the exam in one way, or another. Know the formulas used and when to use them. Know every concept in this book and you will be golden.
OC-23
Did I say it enough times? Get. The. Destroyer. (if you want to do well) The roadmaps in this book are AMAZING. I’m pretty sure there is “Orgoman” on the front of the book for a reason. If only I had this book when I was taking undergrad orgo. Know the roadmaps, know the concepts, and know this book and you will beat the science section of the DAT.
Summary:
So I went from a 17AA to a 23AA by using better materials and working my butt off for about 2.5 months. There is no substitution for hard work. I loved having SDN to give me encouragement about other comeback stories. I hope that I inspire others who have done poorly, to ace the DAT the next time.
My background:
I went to a large private university and majored in biology. I took the DAT last year and scored a 17 AA (awful I know) with not one score above 20. I thought I worked hard, but the materials I had were not good in my opinion. I used Kaplan, Bootcamp, and Crack DAT PAT, bad decisions.
This time around I did my research on the materials that I should use thanks to people on SDN that posted their scores. I used Destroyer, Kaplan, Cliffs, Crack DAT PAT, and Math Destroyer
Here are my scores
PAT-21
QR-21
RC-20
BIO-28
GC-23
OC-23
TS-25
AA-23
Materials used rankings
Destroyer (10/10)
haha no but seriously, this book lives up to its hype and its not overkill (as some people say on SDN) by any means. I don’t understand why some people on here bash this book. It is an amazing resource when used correctly.
KBB (6/10)
I didn’t really find this book helpful other than gaining basic concepts on the DAT, its nice to go over one time in my opinion. I did however find it helpful (and accurate) in the PAT section so for the PAT section it gets a (8/10).
Cliffs (7/10)
This book is very dense and very detailed. I found it pretty hard to understand but I went through it once and found it helpful. Plus its not expensive, I would say its worth it.
Crack DAT PAT (5/10)
Personally I think you should save your money and not buy this product because I don’t believe that it accurately portrays the test. It’s a little pricey and they don’t give very good explanations to the answers. Kaplan was definitely a better representation of the test.
Math Destroyer (10/10)
Know the formulas and the types of questions used in this book and you’re golden.
Section Breakdown
PAT-21
I mostly used Kaplan because I didn’t like Crack DAT PAT, I did fine. Angles were a little tough (I always struggled with those) but the strategy I used was to skip to the angles, (Q30) and then do the test from there. Believe me you wont feel as time constrained doing it this way.
QR-21
Was a little nervous about this section. I wrote down like a million formulas from the Math Destroyer and finished with 2 mins. remaining. Math Destroyer is key in this section as I saw a ton of the same type questions.
RC-20
So it’s my lowest score, I’m not too upset as I didn’t even study this section. I used the search and destroy method and was happy with my score.
BIO-28
This is the section that I studied most. Destroyer is absolutely KEY in this section. When I said use correctly above ^^^ I mean a lot of the answers are all of the above, but you need to understand every single one of the statements. Every single one of my questions on the exam was covered in the book in one way or another. I went through the bio section of the destroyer 7-8 times thoroughly. Do this and it will pay off.
GC-23
Once again, just use the destroyer; it has examples of everything covered on the exam in one way, or another. Know the formulas used and when to use them. Know every concept in this book and you will be golden.
OC-23
Did I say it enough times? Get. The. Destroyer. (if you want to do well) The roadmaps in this book are AMAZING. I’m pretty sure there is “Orgoman” on the front of the book for a reason. If only I had this book when I was taking undergrad orgo. Know the roadmaps, know the concepts, and know this book and you will beat the science section of the DAT.
Summary:
So I went from a 17AA to a 23AA by using better materials and working my butt off for about 2.5 months. There is no substitution for hard work. I loved having SDN to give me encouragement about other comeback stories. I hope that I inspire others who have done poorly, to ace the DAT the next time.
)
