2012 Hottest DAT Study Materials

[Philippines03j]

IT'S the NEW YEAR! Happy 2012 to all you studying for the DAT!

Last year I created a poll similar to this one.I added a few more resources that were not included on last years poll. Please only vote if you already took the DAT.

I really tried to include any resource that I could possibly think of or find. If I happened to miss any resources (Usually 1 or 2 that slips by me ) just list it in the comments section.

Hoping this poll helps out any students preparing for the DAT in the year 2012! Goodluck

ONLY VOTE 1 TIME! PLEASE DO NOT sign into multiple accounts to vote for the same material over and over again in order to make YOUR or anyone elses product seem more recommended than it is. This not only dishonest but changes results and does not help the predental students. Thanks

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[Philippines03j]

Keep voting

 

[Philippines03j]

Quick update At just over 70 votes here are the current rankings

#1 TIE- Chad's Videos & DAT Achiever
#3 Crack DAT PAT
#4 DAT Destroyer
#5 Cliffnotes AP Biology

Vote for your favorite study materials for the DAT! Maybe your favorite will end up on top.

 

[Toothbud]

Is DAT achiever really the best dat tool I can buy? Whats the reasoning?

 

[ChapelHillT]

I did take it at the end of Oct 2011, so maybe I'm a touch dated, but I have a big problem with Chad's quizzes not getting more love. The videos are great and obviously necessary before doing the quizzes, but the quizzes are spot on. In my experience/opinion, if you know his quizzes cold, you are in line for a 21+ on each of the chem sections with just Chad alone.

 

[Philippines03j]

Toothbud: In my opinion Dat Achiever is a good study product if you want more practice tests that will challenge you. They generally underestimate your score because they are much more difficult than the real thing. Top Score pro will give you a much more accurate prediction of your actual score so it depends what you want.

ChapelHILLT: Agree Chad's videos are great for getting familiar with the concepts but practice material is what will get you the higher score. I actually wish I saw more people try out the ACS exam. When I took the O-CHem ACS exam I scored somewhere in the 97 percentile range. 1 month later I took the DAT and with only 1-2 days (couple hours each day) review I scored somewhere in the 95th-ish percentile. Felt like this was spot on also for the chems.

 

[phy241]

Chad videos in my opinion are sufficient to get you a 30 on chem. I used Chad's videos and got a 26 on US DAT. For cDAT, I did about 100 problems in DAT Destroyer, but just went back to Chad's material and got a 30. Just go over them, take notes, do the quizzes a few times, and you should be good.

 

[IronJeff]

datQvault is probably one of the most underrated paid resources for the DAT. Really made a difference for me..
Still, Chad's is without a doubt the best bang for your buck for the sciences (not including bio of course!).

 

[phy241]

I couldn't agree with you more, in terms of randomness and difficulty of DAT biology, I think it reflects it pretty well. I got the same exact same score on the actual DAT twice (US and Canadian) as I did on my practice tests on datQvault.

datQvault is probably one of the most underrated paid resources for the DAT. Really made a difference for me..
Still, Chad's is without a doubt the best bang for your buck for the sciences (not including bio of course!).

 

[Toothbud]

Toothbud: In my opinion Dat Achiever is a good study product if you want more practice tests that will challenge you. They generally underestimate your score because they are much more difficult than the real thing. Top Score pro will give you a much more accurate prediction of your actual score so it depends what you want.

ChapelHILLT: Agree Chad's videos are great for getting familiar with the concepts but practice material is what will get you the higher score. I actually wish I saw more people try out the ACS exam. When I took the O-CHem ACS exam I scored somewhere in the 97 percentile range. 1 month later I took the DAT and with only 1-2 days (couple hours each day) review I scored somewhere in the 95th-ish percentile. Felt like this was spot on also for the chems.

Thanks for the explanation...

However, I have been following this poll since it opened and I couldn't help but notice that any time any of the materials get ahead by a few votes that there will be 5-10 votes just for dat achiever...Isn't that a little fishy?

 

[white fang]

Thanks for the explanation...

However, I have been following this poll since it opened and I couldn't help but notice that any time any of the materials get ahead by a few votes that there will be 5-10 votes just for dat achiever...Isn't that a little fishy?

Good observation, I have not been following this thread but do find it strange that DAT achiever is showing up as popular as it is. When you read breakdowns it seems to be the exception rather than the rule that really thought Achiever was one of the best study materials and I know I didn't find value in it personally.

 

[ushaseos]

I know I didn't find value in it personally.

Just remember guys - your mileage may vary.

I credit a lot of my success to Achiever, but it seems you wouldn't white fang (and I am sure you have good reason not to). A lot of people really love Destroyer and I didn't even buy a modern version. I used an ANCIENT 2007 version.

Its nice that this sort of survey exists so people who are clueless about what to buy have some nice leads they can explore, but it is after all subjective opinion. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Philippines03j]

Bumpin... Keep on voting.

 

[white fang]

Bumpin... Keep on voting.

Any idea as to how achiever remains on top? I don't understand how it is more popular than things like DAT Destroyer, it seems everyone agrees DAT Destroyer is great while Achiever has very mixed reviews.

Seems like someone could be gaming the results.

You should make this a public poll in the future so we can who is doing the voting.

 

[Philippines03j]

Any idea as to how achiever remains on top? I don't understand how it is more popular than things like DAT Destroyer, it seems everyone agrees DAT Destroyer is great while Achiever has very mixed reviews.

Seems like someone could be gaming the results.

You should make this a public poll in the future so we can who is doing the voting.

It is difficult to say why Achiever remains on top especially with this not being a public poll. I did make an announcement on the very first thread after I saw similar observations to those made by Toothbud. These polls also play a decent amount of weight on whether students purchase a product or not so it may be as simple as them recruiting (having friends) sign-in and vote for their product. Then again who knows maybe it is just getting the most votes (small sample size).

I still think achiever is a great aid in preparation for the DAT but in my opinion just not as valuable as some of those others that are constantly mentioned on SDN. I would buy it again if I found my self in the position of studying for the DAT again . Thankfully will not ever happen

 

[JonLee]

I didn't notice the other section at the bottom, but I totally vouch for Organic Chem as a Second Language.

I did good in ochem, but after a year of not looking at it, everything was just a murky cloud in my head. Those two books really helped jump starting my memories of ochem with the concise easy to understand analogies the author uses.

Anyone that needed to brush up on ochem use these books and agree?

 

[Philippines03j]

Just given this poll a bump...