Alternatives to Bootcamp's full-length tests?

[jnowels]

Previous posts have addressed the issue of DAT Bootcamp's full-length test questions being sourced from the individual practice tests and a persons score may not reflect how well you will do on the actual DAT because you recognize questions and answers you've had before.

The old suggestions were to buy DAT Genius to avoid this problem but now that both websites have teamed up and I have access to both sites questions, where can I purchase 2-3 full-length practice exams to estimate how I will do on the actual DAT.

P.S.- I bought the 2009 DAT and will be saving that for the weekend before I take the DAT.

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[SableFire]

If I remember correctly I scored 2-4 points better on the real DAT compared to DAT Bootcamp. I really liked that the tests were harder than the real thing because then it made the real test less stressful. Also wouldn't you be more disappointed if you did better on DAT Bootcamp than on the real DAT? The only score that matters is the score you get on the real thing. Bootcamp has great questions and does a great job representing the real thing.

Here were my scores from 2014:
Bio 17/18/17/21/19 Average: 18.4 Actual: 20
GC 18/20/22/20/18 Average: 19.6 Actual: 27
OC 22/19/20/26/23 Average: 22 Actual: 21
PAT 21/21/18/18 Average: 19.5 Actual: 23
RC 20/16/22 Average: 19.3 Actual: 23
QR 20/20/21/20 Average: 20.25 Actual: 24

I did better in every section besides OC. OC was my fault though because I neglected to study it because I had just taken a year of it and felt confident. That was my only regret was not practicing it as much as other sections.

 

[jnowels]

I'm really hesitant of my Bootcamp score on the full-length test because I have seen the questions before, on the shorter tests for individual sections. What I really need is a new source for a full-length test so that I'm not answering questions I have already encountered.

 

[SableFire]

I'm really hesitant of my Bootcamp score on the full-length test because I have seen the questions before, on the shorter tests for individual sections. What I really need is a new source for a full-length test so that I'm not answering questions I have already encountered.

Oh I see. Bootcamp didn't have that when I used it only 5 tests for each subject. Honestly now that there is 10 tests per section that is a lot. If you haven't taken all the tests yet just set it up like a real test (that's what I did). First take the Bio then GC then OC. Then take the PAT. Give yourself the break time you would get on the test. Then take Math and RC. After that's done check your scores and review questions you missed. All bootcamp did was put it in a convenient format for you. It doesn't hurt to retake tests either to see what knowledge you are retaining and areas you are deficient at. Lastly, like I said before testing softwares don't give you accurate representations of what you'll get on the DAT many times they give you a worse score. Worry more about how many you are getting right and wrong and understanding the questions and less on the arbitrary score the tests spit out.

 

[Ari Rezaei]

Worry more about how many you are getting right and wrong and understanding the questions and less on the arbitrary score the tests spit out.

It's the best advice anyone can give. Your estimated scores really mean nothing and are just there for a very rough guidance. Focus on learning from the explanations and fixing your mistakes to improve your score. I still highly recommend completing each question at least twice to improve memory retention.