PAT: 24
QR: 30
RC: 22
Bio: 25
Chem: 26
Orgo: 25
TS: 25
AA: 26
So I moved my exam three times. I studied probably 2hrs/day for 3 days of the week and then maybe 7 hours/day Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I couldn't study every day for hours on end just because I have work, volunteering, and I tutor. I did this for about a month and a half. This doesn't include the two weeks in the beginning that I used the Kaplan book.
Do not use Kaplan! Waste of money and time.
PAT: CDP
I only got through four of the sample exams, but the real PAT is WAY easier. Everything was easier except for the cube counting (there were some illusion ones) and the angles. Some of the angles look exactly the same on the real exam. I'd just go with the hill technique mentioned somewhere else on the forum. For pattern folding figure out the types of shapes there are and how many there are and then look for the answer that has the correct shapes and number of them. Everything else was cake.
Bio: Cliff's, Destroyer, Alan's notes
Cliffs was not detailed enough but it was easy and quick to read. I only read it once, but
only because my time was limited. I learned a lot through Destroyer, which I also only did once. I wouldn't recommend spending too much time on Destroyer if you don't have the time just because the questions are so oddly specific and the actual exam was more general and at times was just taking basic knowledge and putting it together to reason out a question. I read over Alan's notes three times, once with highlighting. Definitely the most useful resource of all. In fact, If I had to do it again I would just use Alan's notes.
Also for those plant haters: only had TWO plant questions. I would say know your mosses (that they are super primitive and basically can't do anything), your ferns (spores on the underside, sporophyte dominant), and your angiosperms (flowers + double fertilization). I think I just told you guys everything you need to know about plants haha.
Gen Chem: Chad's, Destroyer
I used Chad's to get the basics down, taking extensive notes, and then went through Destroyer twice. What everyone else says is definitely true--if you go through Destroyer you should be able to get a 20+. Section the questions out by 30 and time yourself like a mini practice section.
On the exam there are a good number of acid-base and also plain molarity problems.
Orgo: Chad's, Destroyer
I didn't actually get to finish the videos. I went through Destroyer once but wrote down the syntheses I had trouble remembering and key things (like how grignards will remove any acidic proton). Honestly it's so much more basic and theoretical on the real exam. Just know your acyl chloride reactions and Sn1, Sn2, E1,E2.
Sciences: I finished the exam forty minutes early somehow (SO few calculations). Make sure you get the timing down because it's so important to look over your exam. Prometric can be a little ****ty in that I click an answer and it doesn't actually fill in and I don't see it until later. Also the questions, for the most part, are easy ish but there are answers there to specifically trick you so, for example, in orgo make sure you count the carbon's and look to see that they didn't do anything weird with the answer choices.
QR: Destroyer
I suck at math basically and so I did Destroyer twice and felt bad about all the questions I got wrong and let it go. So much easier on the real exam! Only had like 1 or 2 probability ones, a LOT of mixture type things (8 $2 tickets and 4 3$ tickets blah blah), and oddly enough some stuff about determining acceleration from a graph. I didn't have any complex trig identities. I had a good twenty minutes leftover. I used the calculator for almost everything, including things like 40 divided by 20 just because I panic on exams and don't trust myself one bit with numbers.
RC: Topscore
I forgot to mention that I used all three exams for Topscore. But yeah, I only did the first two RC's because the last practice exam I took the day before and was super super tired. The RC is easier on Topscore in my opinion just because it was really hard to use search and destroy on the real exam. I would say don't take extensive notes. Only write key words and write them BIG and legible and use that as your little index because honestly search and destroy is all you can really do. Ran out of time on this section.
Testing:
For my testing center, a person would come into the room every twenty minutes or so and you raise your hand for another paper. I found that I used LOADS of scrap paper for destroyer and Topscore but on the real exam I maybe only used six? Also if you show up early they let you start the exam but don't show up and need to pee because they make you sit and start since they can't (or don't want to??) sign you out... Also I did NOT need to eat during the exam, so if you don't really get hungry then don't bring a snack.
Also, if you get time leftover from the sciences, start making your grids for the hole punching!! Saved me a lot of time (possibly).
Topscore:
Bio: 21, 21, 19 (<--- look at these 19's!!! they became 25's on the real exam!!)
Chem: 19, 20, 20
Orgo: 19, 25, 19
RC: 23, 23
QR: 22, 23
Don't worry if your topscore results aren't too good. I took my first practice six days before my exam, took one the next day, and took one the day before my exam. I think Topscore is harder, but it was definitely good practice and is a pretty good representation of the real exam.
CDP:
23, 22, 20, 18 (I got worse with practice lol)
Don't study for too long unless you're going to review EVERYTHING because I already had some basic stuff that I started forgetting come exam time. You want it all to be fresh in your head.
Good luck and stay away from Kaplan!
QR: 30
RC: 22
Bio: 25
Chem: 26
Orgo: 25
TS: 25
AA: 26
So I moved my exam three times. I studied probably 2hrs/day for 3 days of the week and then maybe 7 hours/day Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I couldn't study every day for hours on end just because I have work, volunteering, and I tutor. I did this for about a month and a half. This doesn't include the two weeks in the beginning that I used the Kaplan book.
Do not use Kaplan! Waste of money and time.
PAT: CDP
I only got through four of the sample exams, but the real PAT is WAY easier. Everything was easier except for the cube counting (there were some illusion ones) and the angles. Some of the angles look exactly the same on the real exam. I'd just go with the hill technique mentioned somewhere else on the forum. For pattern folding figure out the types of shapes there are and how many there are and then look for the answer that has the correct shapes and number of them. Everything else was cake.
Bio: Cliff's, Destroyer, Alan's notes
Cliffs was not detailed enough but it was easy and quick to read. I only read it once, but
only because my time was limited. I learned a lot through Destroyer, which I also only did once. I wouldn't recommend spending too much time on Destroyer if you don't have the time just because the questions are so oddly specific and the actual exam was more general and at times was just taking basic knowledge and putting it together to reason out a question. I read over Alan's notes three times, once with highlighting. Definitely the most useful resource of all. In fact, If I had to do it again I would just use Alan's notes.
Also for those plant haters: only had TWO plant questions. I would say know your mosses (that they are super primitive and basically can't do anything), your ferns (spores on the underside, sporophyte dominant), and your angiosperms (flowers + double fertilization). I think I just told you guys everything you need to know about plants haha.
Gen Chem: Chad's, Destroyer
I used Chad's to get the basics down, taking extensive notes, and then went through Destroyer twice. What everyone else says is definitely true--if you go through Destroyer you should be able to get a 20+. Section the questions out by 30 and time yourself like a mini practice section.
On the exam there are a good number of acid-base and also plain molarity problems.
Orgo: Chad's, Destroyer
I didn't actually get to finish the videos. I went through Destroyer once but wrote down the syntheses I had trouble remembering and key things (like how grignards will remove any acidic proton). Honestly it's so much more basic and theoretical on the real exam. Just know your acyl chloride reactions and Sn1, Sn2, E1,E2.
Sciences: I finished the exam forty minutes early somehow (SO few calculations). Make sure you get the timing down because it's so important to look over your exam. Prometric can be a little ****ty in that I click an answer and it doesn't actually fill in and I don't see it until later. Also the questions, for the most part, are easy ish but there are answers there to specifically trick you so, for example, in orgo make sure you count the carbon's and look to see that they didn't do anything weird with the answer choices.
QR: Destroyer
I suck at math basically and so I did Destroyer twice and felt bad about all the questions I got wrong and let it go. So much easier on the real exam! Only had like 1 or 2 probability ones, a LOT of mixture type things (8 $2 tickets and 4 3$ tickets blah blah), and oddly enough some stuff about determining acceleration from a graph. I didn't have any complex trig identities. I had a good twenty minutes leftover. I used the calculator for almost everything, including things like 40 divided by 20 just because I panic on exams and don't trust myself one bit with numbers.
RC: Topscore
I forgot to mention that I used all three exams for Topscore. But yeah, I only did the first two RC's because the last practice exam I took the day before and was super super tired. The RC is easier on Topscore in my opinion just because it was really hard to use search and destroy on the real exam. I would say don't take extensive notes. Only write key words and write them BIG and legible and use that as your little index because honestly search and destroy is all you can really do. Ran out of time on this section.
Testing:
For my testing center, a person would come into the room every twenty minutes or so and you raise your hand for another paper. I found that I used LOADS of scrap paper for destroyer and Topscore but on the real exam I maybe only used six? Also if you show up early they let you start the exam but don't show up and need to pee because they make you sit and start since they can't (or don't want to??) sign you out... Also I did NOT need to eat during the exam, so if you don't really get hungry then don't bring a snack.
Also, if you get time leftover from the sciences, start making your grids for the hole punching!! Saved me a lot of time (possibly).
Topscore:
Bio: 21, 21, 19 (<--- look at these 19's!!! they became 25's on the real exam!!)
Chem: 19, 20, 20
Orgo: 19, 25, 19
RC: 23, 23
QR: 22, 23
Don't worry if your topscore results aren't too good. I took my first practice six days before my exam, took one the next day, and took one the day before my exam. I think Topscore is harder, but it was definitely good practice and is a pretty good representation of the real exam.
CDP:
23, 22, 20, 18 (I got worse with practice lol)
Don't study for too long unless you're going to review EVERYTHING because I already had some basic stuff that I started forgetting come exam time. You want it all to be fresh in your head.
Good luck and stay away from Kaplan!
