- Joined
- Apr 7, 2014
- Messages
- 108
- Reaction score
- 54
Yay! I'm finally done today! Thank you so much SDNers for helping me throughout my DAT studies. I owe much of my success to the plethora of information obtained from months of lurking on here. So to give back to the community, I will breakdown my DAT scores and rate the study materials I used.
PAT (23) : CDP (9/10)/Bootcamp(10/10)/Achiever(9/10)
This section scared me the most since it was something you couldn't really cram for. I was never really confident in this section so my score may just be an anomaly. I averaged between 20-22 on CDP and Bootcamp and got 21's on all three of my achiever tests. The real DAT was a good blend between all three tests. Keyholes were definitely more challenging than CDP and Hole Punching was easier than any of the three. I found angles to be really hard on the real exam which really bummed me out since I was under the impression that CDP angles were supposed to be harder. Pattern folding did not have many patterns to identify and were mostly identifying the shape of the object. I would recommend using all the three resources mentioned for PAT practice and try to practice angles every other day with Bootcamp's Angle Generator.
QR (20): Math Destroyer (10/10) Bootcamp (9/10)
I want to punch myself for doing so poorly in this section. By the time I got to QR, I was mentally checked out. I felt like I missed really easy problems like absolute value inequalities. This section is definitely trig heavy so make sure you know your identities. Math Destroyer and Bootcamp definitely over prepares you for this section so practicing those 2 should suffice. I averaged 22's on Bootcamp and missed about 5 problems out of 40 for Math Destroyer untimed.
RC (22) CDR (7/10) Bootcamp (8/10)
Holy Guacamole! I thought this section would have killed me! The passages were VERY dull and was more of a shopping list than an article. I practiced using CDR and Bootcamp. My strategy for this section was to read the whole damn thing. I tried S&D and other various methods but none of those really worked for me. I recommend reading the Scientific American links provided by Ari in Bootcamp. Looking back, I would have honed my S&D skills for this section since I didn't find any of the articles interesting at all! I averaged 21-23 on my RC in CDP and Bootcamp.
Bio (25) Bootcamp (10/10) DAT Destroyer (10/10) Cliff's AP Biology 3rd Edition (10/10)
This section was pretty straightforward. I took the advice of many on here and read through Cliff's. I then started Destroyer and took note of the concepts I was weak in. The problems are really challenging and I often missed 1/3 of my questions. I only finished 2/3 of the Destroyer Bio section and my biggest regret is not finishing the entire thing. The book literally gives out answers! Bootcamp was amazing at predicting your scores and identifying areas where you need work. I was averaging 25's on this section in Bootcamp.
GC (29) Bootcamp (9/10) Chad's (10/10) DAT Destroyer (9/10)
While studying for the DAT's, I took on a part time job tutoring students in AP Chemistry. This really forced me to learn the material. I found Chad's videos to be amazing in outlining the various topics of GC. Bootcamp was also great at predicting my score. I got anywhere between 24-30 on the Bootcamp GC tests. Destroyer again literally gives out exam questions and is a must if you are weak in GC.
OC (22) Chad's (10/10) Bootcamp (10/10) DAT Destroyer (8/10)
OC was one of those subjects I was really weak in since it has been a while since I took the course. Chad's is the single most valuable study aid for this subject. I would be so lost if it weren't for him. I learned NOTHING from KBB and had to subscribe to Chad's just for OC. The test itself was really easy and I am somewhat disappointed in my score. I averaged around 21 for OC in Bootcamp. This was because I was still learning the material while I was taking the practice tests.
General Tips: Be persistent! I am the laziest procrastinator you will ever meet. Studying for this test taught me how to really dedicate my time and efforts into something. I wish I had done that during undergrad... Studying for this test will test your stamina and will. I'm not a very smart guy so things came slower for me. I had to study 4-6 hrs/day for 3 months. Also, don't continually postpone your test. I had a phobia of taking the test and my procrastination made me delay my test date over and over. There's a point of diminishing returns and I up until now, I still don't feel that I am fully prepared for this test. Trust me, you never will feel like you are 100% ready.
PAT (23) : CDP (9/10)/Bootcamp(10/10)/Achiever(9/10)
This section scared me the most since it was something you couldn't really cram for. I was never really confident in this section so my score may just be an anomaly. I averaged between 20-22 on CDP and Bootcamp and got 21's on all three of my achiever tests. The real DAT was a good blend between all three tests. Keyholes were definitely more challenging than CDP and Hole Punching was easier than any of the three. I found angles to be really hard on the real exam which really bummed me out since I was under the impression that CDP angles were supposed to be harder. Pattern folding did not have many patterns to identify and were mostly identifying the shape of the object. I would recommend using all the three resources mentioned for PAT practice and try to practice angles every other day with Bootcamp's Angle Generator.
QR (20): Math Destroyer (10/10) Bootcamp (9/10)
I want to punch myself for doing so poorly in this section. By the time I got to QR, I was mentally checked out. I felt like I missed really easy problems like absolute value inequalities. This section is definitely trig heavy so make sure you know your identities. Math Destroyer and Bootcamp definitely over prepares you for this section so practicing those 2 should suffice. I averaged 22's on Bootcamp and missed about 5 problems out of 40 for Math Destroyer untimed.
RC (22) CDR (7/10) Bootcamp (8/10)
Holy Guacamole! I thought this section would have killed me! The passages were VERY dull and was more of a shopping list than an article. I practiced using CDR and Bootcamp. My strategy for this section was to read the whole damn thing. I tried S&D and other various methods but none of those really worked for me. I recommend reading the Scientific American links provided by Ari in Bootcamp. Looking back, I would have honed my S&D skills for this section since I didn't find any of the articles interesting at all! I averaged 21-23 on my RC in CDP and Bootcamp.
Bio (25) Bootcamp (10/10) DAT Destroyer (10/10) Cliff's AP Biology 3rd Edition (10/10)
This section was pretty straightforward. I took the advice of many on here and read through Cliff's. I then started Destroyer and took note of the concepts I was weak in. The problems are really challenging and I often missed 1/3 of my questions. I only finished 2/3 of the Destroyer Bio section and my biggest regret is not finishing the entire thing. The book literally gives out answers! Bootcamp was amazing at predicting your scores and identifying areas where you need work. I was averaging 25's on this section in Bootcamp.
GC (29) Bootcamp (9/10) Chad's (10/10) DAT Destroyer (9/10)
While studying for the DAT's, I took on a part time job tutoring students in AP Chemistry. This really forced me to learn the material. I found Chad's videos to be amazing in outlining the various topics of GC. Bootcamp was also great at predicting my score. I got anywhere between 24-30 on the Bootcamp GC tests. Destroyer again literally gives out exam questions and is a must if you are weak in GC.
OC (22) Chad's (10/10) Bootcamp (10/10) DAT Destroyer (8/10)
OC was one of those subjects I was really weak in since it has been a while since I took the course. Chad's is the single most valuable study aid for this subject. I would be so lost if it weren't for him. I learned NOTHING from KBB and had to subscribe to Chad's just for OC. The test itself was really easy and I am somewhat disappointed in my score. I averaged around 21 for OC in Bootcamp. This was because I was still learning the material while I was taking the practice tests.
General Tips: Be persistent! I am the laziest procrastinator you will ever meet. Studying for this test taught me how to really dedicate my time and efforts into something. I wish I had done that during undergrad... Studying for this test will test your stamina and will. I'm not a very smart guy so things came slower for me. I had to study 4-6 hrs/day for 3 months. Also, don't continually postpone your test. I had a phobia of taking the test and my procrastination made me delay my test date over and over. There's a point of diminishing returns and I up until now, I still don't feel that I am fully prepared for this test. Trust me, you never will feel like you are 100% ready.
)) Congrats!
