What's up SDN! I just retook my DAT exam (9/26) after roughly 2 months of studying. During this period, I would occasionally drop by this forum to take a glance at some of the recent DAT breakdowns, mainly as a tool to gauge the effectiveness of certain, popular study materials. I've seen many questions inquiring about similarities between certain material and the actual DAT, to questions regarding the best material for each section. While my scores aren't all that amazing or special, ill put this out there, in case anyone can make some use of it. (after all, I made some good use out of the many breakdowns here)
Here are my scores:
2nd Score -- 1st Score
PAT: 22 -- 19 (+3)
QR: 21 -- 17 (+4)
RC: 19 -- 17 (+2)
BIO: 22 -- 17 (+5)
GC: 20 -- 29 (-9) 🙁
OC: 21 -- 21 (0)
TS: 21 (90.3) -- 20 (+1)
AA: 21 (91.3) -- 20 (+1)
Biology --- 22 (+5, 17)
Materials: Cliff's AP Biology, Campbell Biology 8th edition, Qvault, Bootcamp, Topscore
Qvault - 18, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 20, 20, 20
Bootcamp - 19, 19, 18, 18, 18
Topscore - 19, 20, 19
NOTE: I don't think these bio practice test scores are representative of my actual potential, because the method I used to study for this section was to take the tests prior to any memorizing/studying, and review the incorrect or difficult ones while making them into flashcards (via program called Anki, which can sync to smartphones). My plan was to take the bio practice tests to gauge myself, and with the scores and type of questions missed, I had a decent idea on what I had to do to improve my score. Then, a week before the exam, I went through the flashcards and engrained them into my brain, with the hope that it will be fresher and easier to recall. Even before starting the flashcards and actively studying bio, I already had a good grasp of the most of the important concepts, and what was left to do was memorizing the "simple facts to memorize" (for lack of better term)" such as the various hormones, taxonomy, biomes, etc...). BTW, I wouldn't recommend this method mainly because my main motive was to avoid initially memorizing everything only to forget it as time went on, and to avoid having to occasionally reinforce them by spending time doing flashcards.
Maybe you've read in many breakdowns that Cliff's AP Biology book is one of the best content for this section, which is definitely true. It is efficiently condensed, and covers most, if not, all the major topics. However, it should NOT be used alone. Before I took my first DAT, I have read somewhere that Cliff's AP included everything to know for at least a 20 on the DAT. Then I took the ADA 2007 exam, scored a 26, and was convinced of an epic score. (I also had Destroyer BIO, which I neglected to do after reading about how its way too specific and such) This false sense of assurance along with an over-expectation, lead to an quantitative epic disappointment of 17. This was rightfully so, as I realized I was under-prepared for the bio section. This was due to the bio section being noticeably more difficult than the content I used for studying. To put it broadly, the difference is mostly not regarding the content itself, but in the way the questions are presented or worded. In addition, many questions require more in-depth knowledge of familiar content, beyond the scope of material in Cliff's. Keep in mind, there are still a decent amount of simple, quick "recall" questions, just at a lower frequency compared to the 2007 ADA version.
My version of the DAT on 9/27 included many questions regarding topics that I have speculated to be low-yield. I had around 5-6 specific taxonomy/evolution questions, 4 ecology questions (biomes, population ecology, ecological succession,), 1 lab technique question (regarding bacteria). I also felt like around half the bio section were questions on heredity/cell-cycle (using Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, chromatids/chromosomes at various stages of meiosis/mitosis, pedigree chart, linked genes, couple punnett square type questions, etc...), and also 1 thermodynamics question regarding ATP, with a lot of trap answer choices.
To summarize... It seems that the various versions of the DAT test can vary somewhat significantly in terms of topics. From my first DAT bio section, I had 0 questions on taxonomy, while this time, I was presented with a few. Furthermore, I would recommend using various studying material in conjunction with Cliff's. I would say Bootcamp was closest representative to the type of questions on the actual bio, although I am not sure the scoring works similarly. Destroyer BIO is also a great tool as it covers very specific questions, ones you will most likely run into; thus I would highly recommend going over it at least once. Qvault was also useful, but on the easier side, compared to the actual. ADA 2007 is too simple compared to the actual, and not indicative of the actual test.
General Chemistry -- 20 (-9, 29)
The result of focusing on bio, at the expense of gchem. General chemistry is probably one of the easier section, and have never had any worries here. During the test, after finishing the bio section (which was harder than I expected), I was kind of worried that my bio score would once again be low, which would be unacceptable (I was told during my interview last cycle that at least a 19 in BIO & RC was expected). Being that bio was a main priority, I zipped through GC & OC, leaving around 10 minutes to go back to bio. I believe if I had spent a normal amount of time going through GC, I would've scored few or more points higher. However, timing is a major part of the game, and I have no one to blame but myself. Sole reason I am not very satisfied with my score...
Bootcamp - 24, 22, 25, 18, 25
Qvault - 26, 21, 26, 29, 20, 21, 26, 21, 26, 21
Topscore - 21, 23, 21
Organic Chemistry --- 21 (0, 21)
Similar to GC... although I did run across one unfamiliar question not covered in any material I used.
Bootcamp - 24, 19, 19, 29, 20
Qvault - 22, 21, 22, 22, 19, 19, 19, 20, 20
Topscore - 19, 21, 21
Perceptual Ability --- 22 (+3, 19)
Most of the time I spent practicing on this section was prior to my first attempt, using Crack PAT. I was averaging around 22-24 on Crack PAT, and thought I was ready for the actual. I thought the actual PAT from my first attempt was noticeably more difficult than Crack PAT, especially the keyhole & angles. I ended up being very inefficient with time, and rushed the latter portions, to a score of 19.
For my second attempt, I haven't really spent significant amounts of time on this section, besides taking a practice test every couple days. I used Bootcamp PAT, which I believe is harder, but slightly more representative of the actual PAT than Crack PAT (which is recommended more, it seems). Honestly, I am not sure if I the PAT of the version from my first attempt & retake were much different, or if the couple practice from Bootcamp was enough to surpass the difficulty barrier, but it was significantly easier 2nd time around, and even had around 7 minutes of extra time. If I was to come up with a PAT study plan, it would involve going through Crack PAT, then testing yourself with Bootcamp or Achiever.
Bootcamp PAT - 20, 19, 21, 21, 20
Quantitative Reasoning --- 21 (+4, 17)
Math is one of my stronger subjects (or so I thought), so I devoted the least amount of time on it my first DAT attempt. I used Math Destroyer (about 7 tests, in 1 day) and honestly felt ready for the actual test. Math Destroyer is probably one of the better material for math; however, it is more difficult than the actual. This means it will be difficult to finish a test within 45 minutes. While using Math Destroyer definitely helped me cover the bases in terms of the type of questions asked, I didn't simulate real test conditions, and merely took the tests to completion without regard for time. Unfortunately for me, it seems that time management is one of the main focus of this section, something I didn't care to acknowledge. I think I had like 7-9 questions to go with like 3 minutes left or something.
Second time around, I used DAT Bootcamp, which is a good tool to practice time management, but is overly difficult, as seen by the scoring scale. I think I got more than 10 problems wrong on one of the tests, but received a 22. Thus, besides practice in marking and skipping, I don't see it as a very accurate depiction of what the actual test will be like. Nonetheless, it is good to practice material, similar in nature to Math Destroyer. I also used Crack DAT Math, and Qvault, which were pretty indicative of the actual, if not, slightly easier. I think Crack DAT Math was probably the most helpful in preparing me for the actual conditions of the test.
Bootcamp - 22, 19, 20, 20, 19
Qvault - 22, 22, 23, 22, 24, 21, 22, 24, 22
Topscore - 20, 21, 29
Crack QR - 22, 22, 23, 23
Reading Comprehension --- 19 (+2, 17)
Was expecting more from this section. My first two passages were pretty interesting, and probably did pretty well on those. My 3rd passage was only like 5 paragraphs (although longer than the usual ones), about prion hypotheses and experiments. The questions were in sets, with each set of questions having the same answer choices. Pretty much threw me off as "search-and-destroy" didn't seem feasible anymore. But at that point, I was also short on time, so I had to rush a bit.
Bootcamp - 21, 19, 23, 23, 21
Qvault - 20, 24, 22, 21
Crack RC - 23, 23, 21, 21, 21
Here are my scores:
2nd Score -- 1st Score
PAT: 22 -- 19 (+3)
QR: 21 -- 17 (+4)
RC: 19 -- 17 (+2)
BIO: 22 -- 17 (+5)
GC: 20 -- 29 (-9) 🙁
OC: 21 -- 21 (0)
TS: 21 (90.3) -- 20 (+1)
AA: 21 (91.3) -- 20 (+1)
Biology --- 22 (+5, 17)
Materials: Cliff's AP Biology, Campbell Biology 8th edition, Qvault, Bootcamp, Topscore
Qvault - 18, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 19, 20, 20, 20
Bootcamp - 19, 19, 18, 18, 18
Topscore - 19, 20, 19
NOTE: I don't think these bio practice test scores are representative of my actual potential, because the method I used to study for this section was to take the tests prior to any memorizing/studying, and review the incorrect or difficult ones while making them into flashcards (via program called Anki, which can sync to smartphones). My plan was to take the bio practice tests to gauge myself, and with the scores and type of questions missed, I had a decent idea on what I had to do to improve my score. Then, a week before the exam, I went through the flashcards and engrained them into my brain, with the hope that it will be fresher and easier to recall. Even before starting the flashcards and actively studying bio, I already had a good grasp of the most of the important concepts, and what was left to do was memorizing the "simple facts to memorize" (for lack of better term)" such as the various hormones, taxonomy, biomes, etc...). BTW, I wouldn't recommend this method mainly because my main motive was to avoid initially memorizing everything only to forget it as time went on, and to avoid having to occasionally reinforce them by spending time doing flashcards.
Maybe you've read in many breakdowns that Cliff's AP Biology book is one of the best content for this section, which is definitely true. It is efficiently condensed, and covers most, if not, all the major topics. However, it should NOT be used alone. Before I took my first DAT, I have read somewhere that Cliff's AP included everything to know for at least a 20 on the DAT. Then I took the ADA 2007 exam, scored a 26, and was convinced of an epic score. (I also had Destroyer BIO, which I neglected to do after reading about how its way too specific and such) This false sense of assurance along with an over-expectation, lead to an quantitative epic disappointment of 17. This was rightfully so, as I realized I was under-prepared for the bio section. This was due to the bio section being noticeably more difficult than the content I used for studying. To put it broadly, the difference is mostly not regarding the content itself, but in the way the questions are presented or worded. In addition, many questions require more in-depth knowledge of familiar content, beyond the scope of material in Cliff's. Keep in mind, there are still a decent amount of simple, quick "recall" questions, just at a lower frequency compared to the 2007 ADA version.
My version of the DAT on 9/27 included many questions regarding topics that I have speculated to be low-yield. I had around 5-6 specific taxonomy/evolution questions, 4 ecology questions (biomes, population ecology, ecological succession,), 1 lab technique question (regarding bacteria). I also felt like around half the bio section were questions on heredity/cell-cycle (using Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, chromatids/chromosomes at various stages of meiosis/mitosis, pedigree chart, linked genes, couple punnett square type questions, etc...), and also 1 thermodynamics question regarding ATP, with a lot of trap answer choices.
To summarize... It seems that the various versions of the DAT test can vary somewhat significantly in terms of topics. From my first DAT bio section, I had 0 questions on taxonomy, while this time, I was presented with a few. Furthermore, I would recommend using various studying material in conjunction with Cliff's. I would say Bootcamp was closest representative to the type of questions on the actual bio, although I am not sure the scoring works similarly. Destroyer BIO is also a great tool as it covers very specific questions, ones you will most likely run into; thus I would highly recommend going over it at least once. Qvault was also useful, but on the easier side, compared to the actual. ADA 2007 is too simple compared to the actual, and not indicative of the actual test.
General Chemistry -- 20 (-9, 29)
The result of focusing on bio, at the expense of gchem. General chemistry is probably one of the easier section, and have never had any worries here. During the test, after finishing the bio section (which was harder than I expected), I was kind of worried that my bio score would once again be low, which would be unacceptable (I was told during my interview last cycle that at least a 19 in BIO & RC was expected). Being that bio was a main priority, I zipped through GC & OC, leaving around 10 minutes to go back to bio. I believe if I had spent a normal amount of time going through GC, I would've scored few or more points higher. However, timing is a major part of the game, and I have no one to blame but myself. Sole reason I am not very satisfied with my score...
Bootcamp - 24, 22, 25, 18, 25
Qvault - 26, 21, 26, 29, 20, 21, 26, 21, 26, 21
Topscore - 21, 23, 21
Organic Chemistry --- 21 (0, 21)
Similar to GC... although I did run across one unfamiliar question not covered in any material I used.
Bootcamp - 24, 19, 19, 29, 20
Qvault - 22, 21, 22, 22, 19, 19, 19, 20, 20
Topscore - 19, 21, 21
Perceptual Ability --- 22 (+3, 19)
Most of the time I spent practicing on this section was prior to my first attempt, using Crack PAT. I was averaging around 22-24 on Crack PAT, and thought I was ready for the actual. I thought the actual PAT from my first attempt was noticeably more difficult than Crack PAT, especially the keyhole & angles. I ended up being very inefficient with time, and rushed the latter portions, to a score of 19.
For my second attempt, I haven't really spent significant amounts of time on this section, besides taking a practice test every couple days. I used Bootcamp PAT, which I believe is harder, but slightly more representative of the actual PAT than Crack PAT (which is recommended more, it seems). Honestly, I am not sure if I the PAT of the version from my first attempt & retake were much different, or if the couple practice from Bootcamp was enough to surpass the difficulty barrier, but it was significantly easier 2nd time around, and even had around 7 minutes of extra time. If I was to come up with a PAT study plan, it would involve going through Crack PAT, then testing yourself with Bootcamp or Achiever.
Bootcamp PAT - 20, 19, 21, 21, 20
Quantitative Reasoning --- 21 (+4, 17)
Math is one of my stronger subjects (or so I thought), so I devoted the least amount of time on it my first DAT attempt. I used Math Destroyer (about 7 tests, in 1 day) and honestly felt ready for the actual test. Math Destroyer is probably one of the better material for math; however, it is more difficult than the actual. This means it will be difficult to finish a test within 45 minutes. While using Math Destroyer definitely helped me cover the bases in terms of the type of questions asked, I didn't simulate real test conditions, and merely took the tests to completion without regard for time. Unfortunately for me, it seems that time management is one of the main focus of this section, something I didn't care to acknowledge. I think I had like 7-9 questions to go with like 3 minutes left or something.
Second time around, I used DAT Bootcamp, which is a good tool to practice time management, but is overly difficult, as seen by the scoring scale. I think I got more than 10 problems wrong on one of the tests, but received a 22. Thus, besides practice in marking and skipping, I don't see it as a very accurate depiction of what the actual test will be like. Nonetheless, it is good to practice material, similar in nature to Math Destroyer. I also used Crack DAT Math, and Qvault, which were pretty indicative of the actual, if not, slightly easier. I think Crack DAT Math was probably the most helpful in preparing me for the actual conditions of the test.
Bootcamp - 22, 19, 20, 20, 19
Qvault - 22, 22, 23, 22, 24, 21, 22, 24, 22
Topscore - 20, 21, 29
Crack QR - 22, 22, 23, 23
Reading Comprehension --- 19 (+2, 17)
Was expecting more from this section. My first two passages were pretty interesting, and probably did pretty well on those. My 3rd passage was only like 5 paragraphs (although longer than the usual ones), about prion hypotheses and experiments. The questions were in sets, with each set of questions having the same answer choices. Pretty much threw me off as "search-and-destroy" didn't seem feasible anymore. But at that point, I was also short on time, so I had to rush a bit.
Bootcamp - 21, 19, 23, 23, 21
Qvault - 20, 24, 22, 21
Crack RC - 23, 23, 21, 21, 21
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