Am I in Good Shape for DAT??

[ballyhoo]

Hi!

So the last two weeks before my DAT, I'm just doing practice exams. I did my second DAT Achiever exam today, and I'm not sure if it's good/bad and if I should be worried?

I got the scores of:
PAT 19
QR 24
RC 20
Bio 16
GC 16
OC 13
TS 16

My organic chemistry needs some studying still definitely I've improved from my first Achiever test, which were all 1-2 scores below what I have here. I'm just going through all the answers thoroughly and reviewing Chad's lecture video notes I took.

Thanks for the input!

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[WVU2014]

2 weeks is plenty of time to shape up on O chem. Everything else looks pretty good though.

 

[MatthewCC]

Achiever is overkill from what everyone posts, I didn't use them.

If you can do Destroyer problems mostly correct you are in good shape for chemistry.

I would get Qvault and take a few days to go through it; I found it very similar to my test (21 AA).

 

[DDS Perez]

How in the world did you get a 20 on that second achiever RC! That thing was superb!! you work in wallstreet? did you see that second passage about finances lol sick. Here are my score from the second achiever:

PAT: 21
QR: 18
RC: 15
BIO: 17
GCHem: 18
Ochem: 18

 

[Troyvdg]

How in the world did you get a 20 on that second achiever RC! That thing was superb!! you work in wallstreet?

forreal. I was like

 

[ballyhoo]

Ah great! I will just study some more ochem I guess haha - stil haven't actually finished Chad's ochem videos, so maybe that's why. I have the DAT destroyer but didn't do it - I guess I should, then!!

And haha yes that passage was seriously intimidating!! I ended up just not really reading the entire passage and looking at the passage again for each question. I think I ran out of time though ! (On the RC section)

Will take my third Achiever exam tomorrow and might buy Qvault then - which sections would you all recommend?

Thanks SO much for the advice/input! i can't believe I didn't find SDN sooner

 

[DDS Perez]

finish Chads before... don't rush into the exams when your half way prepared. Your not following the point of those exams, in my opinion, just an advice. I think Qvault its better for that type of usage (random tests and repetition and stuff like that) but these practice test like Achiever and Topscore; is wise to do them when you "think" your are prepared. You will do alot better in the chemistries if you finish all possible practice before tackling the exam. You just need more experience, and qvault and destroyer will give it to you. I know is tempting, but is the best thing to do, do them when you think your ready for this test. Try it and hold your anxiety lol. Don't take me the wrong way, is just an advice that i know for a fact that will help you.

Qvault is great! get it! a lot easier than achiever, except for bio... I would say Qvault bio is harder than achiever.

 

[DDS Perez]

Regarding sections, I would get all but RC, for two reasons:


1. You seem to be VERYYYY good at RC. Scoring a 20 on that RC section of achiever is beyond my scope.

2. It is made to do search and destroy. If you plan to do search and destroy on the real test by all means, get it. But thats not going to be my approach for this test. I will do what they want us to do, what we are supposed to do read and answer lol. The articles are too dense with little to none Tone, interference, and main idea questions. Irrelevant to me, but not if you are 100% sure that your taking the risk and doing s and d.

 

[ballyhoo]

Thanks DDS perez! I don't usually do search and destroy, but I keep on finding myself low on time, so I just do that method. I haven't studied for RC prior to taking the Achiever exams, so that's probably why I keep on finding myself strapped for time.... But I'm a bit relieved to hear that that RC score isn't bad! I never thought of myself as being particularly good at it ... do you know if QR is hard for the Achiever as well? Or if it's similar to the DATs? (of course you might not have taken it yet so if there's anyone out there who has.. haha) i try looking on these forums as well, but QR doesn't seem to come up too often!

And thanks for your advice I still have 5 achiever tests left, so I'll just leave those for now and watch Chad's videos. That's a good point - I'll go ahead and get qvault then, and do that + destroyer for the sciences. I've also been reading Cliff's AP bio, but not too much :/ I think I finished around 1/3 of it? I should get on that.

Thanks again Are you taking the DAT soon as well?

 

[DDS Perez]

Yeahh I have it june 28th, 16 days and 6 hours and 15 minutes lol

I have been here on this forum for a long time. No study material is better than SDN! lol. And it looks like QR in achiever is representative of the DAT. Also i have heard that Qvault matches up too. But is a section that while is important, is not lol. Is important because it helps for the first impression the AA score. But other than that 19 is average more than enough i believe. I have also heard that DAT destroyer is great! QR is my weakest section so i am planning on nailing destroyer for 2 days straight the few days leading up to the test and let it be it. Not too concern.

Concentrate on Ochem. Your 13 is not a good sign. thats kind of low, again dont get me wrong, it just shows a little lack of practice thats all, but you need to improve it!!!

It seems you have a lot to do in two weeks!!! lol but try to buckle up and do destroyer and vaults before doing your achievers. Maybe some one else can hammer me down on this comment, but if you dont get that Ochem score at least to a 15 you should think about extending your time for the test a little. Remember is better to be safe than to have to go through all this again...

I am a chem major and i have tutored orgo for a while now. I feel really good about it. here are my Qvault scores and compare... see where your at:

1- 21
2-21
3-21
4-23
5-24
6-24


If your in the 20's - 22's from what i have seen here your good to go. Make sure you can at least get close to that before you take your test!!

 

[DDS Perez]

Check this thread out ballyhoo:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=916033

THere is everything you need to know about Qvault!

And btw thanks for calling me DDS already! I feel special lmaoo!

 

[aznnytezx]

How did you prepare for the reading comprehension? Any methods?!

 

[ballyhoo]

Haha thank you for your advice!!! My test is actually on the 28th, too!

I'll ... do Destroyer + qvault this week, and then Achiever the next. And watch Chad's videos ... SO MUCH TO STUDY. But yes, SDN is super super helpful I hope you do well on the DATs!! Your ochem scores look amazinggg ... it's so hard for me because to me it doesn't look like set mechanisms, but really random things!

And aznnytezx (your sn is so hard to type! haha) I don't really have a set tactic... but what I do when I start the RC section is I first skim through the passage for 2-3 min max, and while I'm skimming through it, I try to think like a test maker. I make mental "blocks" of similar topics: for example, if the first part is talking about TMJ problems, then the second part is talking about TMJ related diseases, and the third is talking about therapies, etc) ,keeping in mind the tone and what the passage is getting across. Then, when I'm doing the questions, I have an idea of where things are since I made mental notes to myself. If I don't know the answer to a question and it's taking more than 1 min, I make an educated guess, write down the question number (can we do this on the exam?) and mark it, then move on. If I can, I go back and look for it. But usually I don't have time :/

 

[aznnytezx]

Thanks, That sounds great! In the exam, you will not be able to write down in a piece of paper. But you can mark it on the computer, and write the #'s down on a whiteboard that you marked.

Haha thank you for your advice!!! My test is actually on the 28th, too!

I'll ... do Destroyer + qvault this week, and then Achiever the next. And watch Chad's videos ... SO MUCH TO STUDY. But yes, SDN is super super helpful I hope you do well on the DATs!! Your ochem scores look amazinggg ... it's so hard for me because to me it doesn't look like set mechanisms, but really random things!

And aznnytezx (your sn is so hard to type! haha) I don't really have a set tactic... but what I do when I start the RC section is I first skim through the passage for 2-3 min max, and while I'm skimming through it, I try to think like a test maker. I make mental "blocks" of similar topics: for example, if the first part is talking about TMJ problems, then the second part is talking about TMJ related diseases, and the third is talking about therapies, etc) ,keeping in mind the tone and what the passage is getting across. Then, when I'm doing the questions, I have an idea of where things are since I made mental notes to myself. If I don't know the answer to a question and it's taking more than 1 min, I make an educated guess, write down the question number (can we do this on the exam?) and mark it, then move on. If I can, I go back and look for it. But usually I don't have time :/

 

[ballyhoo]

Ohh I see...what whiteboard? I didn't know we had a whiteboard?