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First off before the breakdown, I'd like to thank all the members of SDN for their help in studying for this exam. I wouldn't have been able to get such these scores without the various breakdowns over the years and their various recommended materials. Well, let's get started.
Study Time: 2 1/2 months on and off for 2-3 hours a day
Scores:
PAT: 21
QR:19
RC:25
BIO:23
GC:23
OC:23
TS:23
AS:22
cGPA:4.00
sGPA:4.00
PAT: The only thing I used to study this section was the CDP. For the keyholes, top/front/end, angles, cube counting, I thought CDP was exactly as difficult as the real test. The problem on my test anyways was the pattern folding. I might have been extremely tired or something, but the patterns that I was required to fold was much more difficult than any of the ones I encountered in the CDP. There was one folding that somehow resulted in several flat discs of the same size being folded into a circle 😕. I spent too much time on that question and didn't have time to double-check any previous questions. But overall I was pretty happy with CDP and my score I guess.
QR: I only used the Math destroyer to study for this. In terms of difficulty, I would say the DAT this time was a bit harder. I only had around 5 non-word problems. The other 35 questions were word problems and each one required me to derive some sort of algebraic equation to solve them. By the time I reached my 30th question I only had 5 minutes left. So i had to guess the last 8 or so. My recommendation for this question is to do as many word problems as possible and practice your timing on them. Also, don't rely on the computer calculator too much. It is, as other members have said, extremely laggy. I probably should of just done all my calculations by head instead of messing around with the calculator and wasting time. Also, that goddamn dry erase board and markers was driving me crazy. Marker marks covered my hands and my hands were also super sweaty for some reason so every time ,out of reflex, I touch my white shirt there would be new hand prints on it.
I was expectant and also pretty disappointed when I saw my scores to this section.
RC: I did not study this. As I had been taking mostly upper science classes, I was constantly reading scientific articles and other materials all the time. Also I read articles from the science daily pretty much every day for enjoyment
. The only tips I can give for this section is that look at the questions that are ask first, skim the paragraph for the answer then read the paragraph and repeat. If it is a tone question that doesn't involve a single paragraph but the entire article, I usually just read the first 2 paragraphs and the last 2 paragraphs and decided from there. It has worked for me in all standardized tests so far maybe it'll work for you.
BIO: The test as people have said is very random. It can range from anatomy to ecology. I read both cliffs ap and barron's ap bio around 4 times each. So a total of 8 times for both. The dat destroyer was my source for some additionial practice problems. These two ap prep textbook contained everything I needed for this section. I missed a few questions because I had forgotten the purpose of certain hormones as well as some anatomy introduced in both text. So remember your charts in both books and you should be fine. I thought the destroyer was pretty good for this section also. I actually got a 2 questions on the test that was very similar to the ones in the destroyer come up.
I was pretty happy with my scores for this section, though I should have gone back and reviewed a few days prior to test.
GC: The study materials I used for this section were the ACS general chemistry and DAT destroyer. There's not much to say about this section, except go through the dat destroyer and the acs doing practice problems over and over until you understand them. This section was super easy aside from the fact that they threw in several laboratory techniques questions that I had not studied for. So if any of you get a chance review your chemistry lab materials.
OC: For this section, I used the Destroyer, reactions note card, and old problems/tests/quizzes given to us by my ochem professor. The section was straight forward. Lots of give-me-points reaction questions. Some theory mostly over polarity,boiling points, melting points etc... A few nomenclature questions. I did not get any carbohydrate questions or amino acid questions. However, I was gracious enough to get several lab technique questions that I did not study for. I'm pretty sure I missed all of them.
My questions for your all: Is my QR too low? Should I retake the DAT? Or Should I just get everything ready to apply for the upcoming cycle?
Study Time: 2 1/2 months on and off for 2-3 hours a day
Scores:
PAT: 21
QR:19
RC:25
BIO:23
GC:23
OC:23
TS:23
AS:22
cGPA:4.00
sGPA:4.00
PAT: The only thing I used to study this section was the CDP. For the keyholes, top/front/end, angles, cube counting, I thought CDP was exactly as difficult as the real test. The problem on my test anyways was the pattern folding. I might have been extremely tired or something, but the patterns that I was required to fold was much more difficult than any of the ones I encountered in the CDP. There was one folding that somehow resulted in several flat discs of the same size being folded into a circle 😕. I spent too much time on that question and didn't have time to double-check any previous questions. But overall I was pretty happy with CDP and my score I guess.
QR: I only used the Math destroyer to study for this. In terms of difficulty, I would say the DAT this time was a bit harder. I only had around 5 non-word problems. The other 35 questions were word problems and each one required me to derive some sort of algebraic equation to solve them. By the time I reached my 30th question I only had 5 minutes left. So i had to guess the last 8 or so. My recommendation for this question is to do as many word problems as possible and practice your timing on them. Also, don't rely on the computer calculator too much. It is, as other members have said, extremely laggy. I probably should of just done all my calculations by head instead of messing around with the calculator and wasting time. Also, that goddamn dry erase board and markers was driving me crazy. Marker marks covered my hands and my hands were also super sweaty for some reason so every time ,out of reflex, I touch my white shirt there would be new hand prints on it.
I was expectant and also pretty disappointed when I saw my scores to this section.
RC: I did not study this. As I had been taking mostly upper science classes, I was constantly reading scientific articles and other materials all the time. Also I read articles from the science daily pretty much every day for enjoyment
. The only tips I can give for this section is that look at the questions that are ask first, skim the paragraph for the answer then read the paragraph and repeat. If it is a tone question that doesn't involve a single paragraph but the entire article, I usually just read the first 2 paragraphs and the last 2 paragraphs and decided from there. It has worked for me in all standardized tests so far maybe it'll work for you. BIO: The test as people have said is very random. It can range from anatomy to ecology. I read both cliffs ap and barron's ap bio around 4 times each. So a total of 8 times for both. The dat destroyer was my source for some additionial practice problems. These two ap prep textbook contained everything I needed for this section. I missed a few questions because I had forgotten the purpose of certain hormones as well as some anatomy introduced in both text. So remember your charts in both books and you should be fine. I thought the destroyer was pretty good for this section also. I actually got a 2 questions on the test that was very similar to the ones in the destroyer come up.
I was pretty happy with my scores for this section, though I should have gone back and reviewed a few days prior to test.
GC: The study materials I used for this section were the ACS general chemistry and DAT destroyer. There's not much to say about this section, except go through the dat destroyer and the acs doing practice problems over and over until you understand them. This section was super easy aside from the fact that they threw in several laboratory techniques questions that I had not studied for. So if any of you get a chance review your chemistry lab materials.
OC: For this section, I used the Destroyer, reactions note card, and old problems/tests/quizzes given to us by my ochem professor. The section was straight forward. Lots of give-me-points reaction questions. Some theory mostly over polarity,boiling points, melting points etc... A few nomenclature questions. I did not get any carbohydrate questions or amino acid questions. However, I was gracious enough to get several lab technique questions that I did not study for. I'm pretty sure I missed all of them.
My questions for your all: Is my QR too low? Should I retake the DAT? Or Should I just get everything ready to apply for the upcoming cycle?
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