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As the title says, took the DATs yesterday. My score breakdown are as follows
Bio: 19
GC: 29
OC: 25
PAT:20
QR:19
RC: 21
TS: 22
AA:23
This was my second time taking it and i did substantially better the second time around. First attempt i had a TS 20, AA 20, and a PAT of 16. I took it again to primarily address the PAT and i suspected i could have done better on some of the science sections. In terms of time management on the NS, i took 30 minutes to do the bio section. 15 for Gchem and 15 for ochem. Had half an hr to go over the full science section.
Here is an overview of what my impressions of the sections.
Bio
By far the most random section I've had. I did all the problems from the Kaplan course (quizzes, subject tests, the whole deal) twice in addition to all of their full length exams. I also went through the Bio section of DAT Destroyer. Yet, what i saw on the exam was a bit trickier than more straight forward questions i've seen in the past. Some questions i've never seen before and they definitely felt very random. I had about 5-6 of these. Didn't see anything on plants, body systems, respiration, or digestion. Did see a lot of phylum characteristic questions as well as genetics.
GC
Seemed like a very straight forward section to me. Most of the stuff on this section came right out of destroyer. I made sure to do every problem in destroyer twice so it definitely helped on this part. Saw the typical stoichiometric ratios, ideal gasses, electronegativity, oxidation/reduction, equilibrium, and "what makes a strong acid" questions. Did not see any solutions questions, enthalpy, or electrolysis questions which i thought would be on the exam.
Ochem
One of my weaker sections from last time i took the exam. I got an 18 on it before. Again, it was pretty indicative of what was seen in destroyer. Do every problem twice and you will have no problems. Kaplan also proved to be very good in this section. Kaplans flashcards, the ones that came with the course were also useful--a few of the concepts came up on the exam. Nomenclature, aromatics, resonance, aldol chem. Heavy on concepts. Few questions on nitty gritty reactions and their products. Again, seemed to be pretty straightforward.
PAT
Did not have as good a run as i thought i would. First time i took the test i got a 16. Was hoping for a 21 and over. I exclusively used CDP; i found the kaplan PAT to be a bit ambiguous--especially keyhole. Did all 10 practice exams on CDP and was getting scores from 21-23. A little disappointed with pat but its much better than a 16
Keyhole emphasized scale more than CDP did. TFE was same difficulty. Angles were a little bit easier. Hole punching was about medium CDP difficulty--if you do all of the CDP practice exams, you will notice that some hole punches are easy while some are incredibly hard. Cube counting was simple, no tricks. Lastly, pattern folding was surprisingly pretty hard. Also emphasized scale more than particular shapes.
QR
Didn't notice the function of a calculator, Lol. I spent a lottt of time doing some pretty lengthy calculations. I was surprised by how much number crunching i had to do. But, makes sense that there is more to do with the calculator function added on. My previous score in this section was 21. Got a 19 this time around. ehhh
Reading Comprehension
Nothing all too tricky. Read and answer questions.
Studying
As mentioned before, i used DAT destroyer in addition to kaplans online resources. CDP for PAT is absolutely necessary. That's about it. I had a stopwatch on me the whole time i was studying and my total studying time came out to be around 160 hours for the second go around. I think if you can get that many hours in you would be in pretty good shape. Also, don't underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep! Work fast, and stay loose on the exam. Probably the best advice i can give prospective test takers.
Thanks for reading this and i hope it has helped those out there about to take the exam. I know I have gained some insight from previous posts before my exams. Goodluck
Bio: 19
GC: 29
OC: 25
PAT:20
QR:19
RC: 21
TS: 22
AA:23
This was my second time taking it and i did substantially better the second time around. First attempt i had a TS 20, AA 20, and a PAT of 16. I took it again to primarily address the PAT and i suspected i could have done better on some of the science sections. In terms of time management on the NS, i took 30 minutes to do the bio section. 15 for Gchem and 15 for ochem. Had half an hr to go over the full science section.
Here is an overview of what my impressions of the sections.
Bio
By far the most random section I've had. I did all the problems from the Kaplan course (quizzes, subject tests, the whole deal) twice in addition to all of their full length exams. I also went through the Bio section of DAT Destroyer. Yet, what i saw on the exam was a bit trickier than more straight forward questions i've seen in the past. Some questions i've never seen before and they definitely felt very random. I had about 5-6 of these. Didn't see anything on plants, body systems, respiration, or digestion. Did see a lot of phylum characteristic questions as well as genetics.
GC
Seemed like a very straight forward section to me. Most of the stuff on this section came right out of destroyer. I made sure to do every problem in destroyer twice so it definitely helped on this part. Saw the typical stoichiometric ratios, ideal gasses, electronegativity, oxidation/reduction, equilibrium, and "what makes a strong acid" questions. Did not see any solutions questions, enthalpy, or electrolysis questions which i thought would be on the exam.
Ochem
One of my weaker sections from last time i took the exam. I got an 18 on it before. Again, it was pretty indicative of what was seen in destroyer. Do every problem twice and you will have no problems. Kaplan also proved to be very good in this section. Kaplans flashcards, the ones that came with the course were also useful--a few of the concepts came up on the exam. Nomenclature, aromatics, resonance, aldol chem. Heavy on concepts. Few questions on nitty gritty reactions and their products. Again, seemed to be pretty straightforward.
PAT
Did not have as good a run as i thought i would. First time i took the test i got a 16. Was hoping for a 21 and over. I exclusively used CDP; i found the kaplan PAT to be a bit ambiguous--especially keyhole. Did all 10 practice exams on CDP and was getting scores from 21-23. A little disappointed with pat but its much better than a 16
Keyhole emphasized scale more than CDP did. TFE was same difficulty. Angles were a little bit easier. Hole punching was about medium CDP difficulty--if you do all of the CDP practice exams, you will notice that some hole punches are easy while some are incredibly hard. Cube counting was simple, no tricks. Lastly, pattern folding was surprisingly pretty hard. Also emphasized scale more than particular shapes.
QR
Didn't notice the function of a calculator, Lol. I spent a lottt of time doing some pretty lengthy calculations. I was surprised by how much number crunching i had to do. But, makes sense that there is more to do with the calculator function added on. My previous score in this section was 21. Got a 19 this time around. ehhh
Reading Comprehension
Nothing all too tricky. Read and answer questions.
Studying
As mentioned before, i used DAT destroyer in addition to kaplans online resources. CDP for PAT is absolutely necessary. That's about it. I had a stopwatch on me the whole time i was studying and my total studying time came out to be around 160 hours for the second go around. I think if you can get that many hours in you would be in pretty good shape. Also, don't underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep! Work fast, and stay loose on the exam. Probably the best advice i can give prospective test takers.
Thanks for reading this and i hope it has helped those out there about to take the exam. I know I have gained some insight from previous posts before my exams. Goodluck
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