Hulloooo my fellow friends!!!
So I literally just came back from the prometric center (you know you need to get a life when the first thing you do after getting back is going straight to SDN haha). Didn't do as well as I hoped, but eff it. Can't win em all.
Anyway, so I studied for about 2 months....the first month definitely taking it easy, and then kind of hardcore the last month. Although hardcore for me is like 6-8hrs/day (I know people did way more). In that time I probably lost a gazillion pounds, turned transparent due to lack of sun, and pretty much atrophied my entire nervous system. It was like living with a headache for 2 months....in the beginning it was awful and then it just turned into a dull monotonous feeling of dread haha.
This morning I woke up (after a great night of sleep, thanks to my mom and her fabulous collection of sleeping pills haha) totally refreshed and ready to go. I reviewed my notes a bit and then headed to prometrics. As soon as I got inside prometrics, I died.
The place looked like a freaking mental asylum. White walls, no decoration, creepy rooms filled with people staring wide-eyed at computer screens. And that's when the nerves set in.
After I got situated in front of my comp, I used to 15-min tutorial so just relax my nerves. I wrote some formulas down and just took some breathers. And then the test started and my scores are as follows:
PAT: 20 (79%)
QR: 20 (94%)
RC: 19 (52%)
BIO: 20 (88%)
GC : 17 (47%) ----- what effff!!!!!!!!
OC: 20 (80%)
AA: 19 (78%)
TS: 19 (75%)
So my scores are ******edly consistent except for my 17 in G-chem. Dude, so ****ing pissed about that effing score.
PAT(20): Super stoked on this score. Used only CDP and Topscore. I got the 10 test version of CDP and my results ranged from 15-19, and then last night I took a test and got 20. Topscore PAT (I dont have in front of me) but I think they were 17/18/19.
KH: I thought they were a bit easier than CDP. The shapes were easier to visualize for sure, but maybe I messed up on the proportions or something.
TFE: It's hard to say. Probably a bit easier, but once again cuz there were less lines to consider. One note of advice is that counting lines didnt really work on here as well as it usually does with CDP. I definitely had the try and visualize the shapes.
Angles: On par...no method here. It was always my worst one. I just would lean back as far as I could and just go for it.
HP: I though some of it was harder than CDP. I usually got 15/15 on CDP and there were like 2 or 3 here where I was like huh?
Cubes:Less cubes than CDP fo shizzle. I got 2 phantom cube questions
PF: A lot less shading ones than CDP and more of just figure folding which was waaay legit. I suck at the shading ones.
QR (20): Piiiissssed about this score. Topscore I got 21/21/25! I was really hoping that it would bring up my average, but to no avail. I pretty much just used Math Destroyer. I had one compound interest, a few trig, like 3 probability....I cant remember what else.
RC (19): Pissed about this one as well. Again, Topscore was 21/21/21. No piano, but I did get the ethics passage. It was smooth sailing until then. I had a passage about fungi and epithelial/mesenchymal cells which each took me about 20 minutes. And then I saw the ethics bitch. It was just soooooo long and dumb! And like the last 10 questions I had to finish in 4 minutes...so that sucked. The epithelial passage had like one tone and one inference questions which were also ******ed!
Bio (20): Couldn't be happier with this score. I spent the least amount of time on bio and it definitely showed in my Topscore results, which were 16/15/17. So I have no clue how I managed to pull that one off. For this I used Cliffs (only read through once) and I also read ExamKrackers bio, which I loved! Its definitely not good enough to be the only resource (doesnt really cover plants or taxonomy) but it's really really good for systems and physiology. Its only like 15bux on Amazon, so I definitely think its a must.
GC (17): Again, what the FUUUUUCK!!!! My topscore results on here were like 18/18/18 (not quite sure, but along those lines). I usually felt most comfortable with this section, but my test version, I thought it was hard! I wish I could remember questions too, but I can't really. The wording was kind of off and there were one or two lab/technique questions that totally threw me off. But dude, seriously? Like if wasn't for this effing score, I feel like I would be sitting pretty at a 20AA. Definitely furious about this section.
As if it matters, I used KBB and Chad for this, and also ExamKrackers. Chad was awesome, KBB was okkkay and again, I loved ExamKrackers. Its just written really well and I really liked how they organized the information. I definitely recommend it over KBB. I also did Destroyer, which was awesome. It really hammered home some of the important concepts.
OC (20) : Thrilled at this score. I was getting 17/17/19 on Topscore. I used KBB, Chad, and Destroyer. I made notecards for all the Destroyer roadmaps and for some of the reactions in KBB (I probably had around 200-300 notecards). My last week of studying all I did was go over notecards, and learn them flat. I got C's all through college O-chem, so I am deifinitely pleased with this.
I had one questions on some specific test to determine a functional group. I had never seen it before so couldn't even tell you if I wanted to. I had one HNMR and one CNMR and the rest were reactions...i think. I dont remember.
And thats it!
But the one thing I REALLY want to emphasize, and I really wish I followed my own advice, is to chill. But, you all know that already. The key is to not only know that you need to stay calm, but figure out how.
What really helped me out last night was (well taking an ambien for one, haha) and just realizing that this is a stupid test.
And whats even better about this test, than ANY other test that you have ever taken (except the SATs) is that its alright if you mess it up the first time. Unlike college, where one bad test score determines everything, here you get a chance to take it as many times as you want until you get the score you want.
And also remember, this is an easy test. It test not only your aptitude, but your ability to work under pressure. Lets be real here, we're all smart ass kids. We got accredited degrees from great schools, we worked our asses off to get where we are today. People taking this test, for the most part, we're on level playing fields. But really distinguishes the great scores, are people who were able to focus, relax and just work methodically through the questions. The knowledge is all there and for those of you taking it soon, I know you guys all have the ability to do a great job.
One last pearl (I am just gonna keep dragging this post out...haha), this test is also dumb ****ing luck. You may know Campbell's front to back, have been a nuclear scientist and lived in a 2D world, but if its not your day, its just not your day. And there is nothing to be done about that. So just do the best you can (which I know is way more than enough for a lot of you) and just let the DAT gods decide the rest.
If you have any other questions (which I can't imagine you would since this is so stupidly long), just PM me.
Good luck to all of you guys!!!!!!!
So I literally just came back from the prometric center (you know you need to get a life when the first thing you do after getting back is going straight to SDN haha). Didn't do as well as I hoped, but eff it. Can't win em all.
Anyway, so I studied for about 2 months....the first month definitely taking it easy, and then kind of hardcore the last month. Although hardcore for me is like 6-8hrs/day (I know people did way more). In that time I probably lost a gazillion pounds, turned transparent due to lack of sun, and pretty much atrophied my entire nervous system. It was like living with a headache for 2 months....in the beginning it was awful and then it just turned into a dull monotonous feeling of dread haha.
This morning I woke up (after a great night of sleep, thanks to my mom and her fabulous collection of sleeping pills haha) totally refreshed and ready to go. I reviewed my notes a bit and then headed to prometrics. As soon as I got inside prometrics, I died.
The place looked like a freaking mental asylum. White walls, no decoration, creepy rooms filled with people staring wide-eyed at computer screens. And that's when the nerves set in.
After I got situated in front of my comp, I used to 15-min tutorial so just relax my nerves. I wrote some formulas down and just took some breathers. And then the test started and my scores are as follows:
PAT: 20 (79%)
QR: 20 (94%)
RC: 19 (52%)
BIO: 20 (88%)
GC : 17 (47%) ----- what effff!!!!!!!!
OC: 20 (80%)
AA: 19 (78%)
TS: 19 (75%)
So my scores are ******edly consistent except for my 17 in G-chem. Dude, so ****ing pissed about that effing score.
PAT(20): Super stoked on this score. Used only CDP and Topscore. I got the 10 test version of CDP and my results ranged from 15-19, and then last night I took a test and got 20. Topscore PAT (I dont have in front of me) but I think they were 17/18/19.
KH: I thought they were a bit easier than CDP. The shapes were easier to visualize for sure, but maybe I messed up on the proportions or something.
TFE: It's hard to say. Probably a bit easier, but once again cuz there were less lines to consider. One note of advice is that counting lines didnt really work on here as well as it usually does with CDP. I definitely had the try and visualize the shapes.
Angles: On par...no method here. It was always my worst one. I just would lean back as far as I could and just go for it.
HP: I though some of it was harder than CDP. I usually got 15/15 on CDP and there were like 2 or 3 here where I was like huh?
Cubes:Less cubes than CDP fo shizzle. I got 2 phantom cube questions
PF: A lot less shading ones than CDP and more of just figure folding which was waaay legit. I suck at the shading ones.
QR (20): Piiiissssed about this score. Topscore I got 21/21/25! I was really hoping that it would bring up my average, but to no avail. I pretty much just used Math Destroyer. I had one compound interest, a few trig, like 3 probability....I cant remember what else.
RC (19): Pissed about this one as well. Again, Topscore was 21/21/21. No piano, but I did get the ethics passage. It was smooth sailing until then. I had a passage about fungi and epithelial/mesenchymal cells which each took me about 20 minutes. And then I saw the ethics bitch. It was just soooooo long and dumb! And like the last 10 questions I had to finish in 4 minutes...so that sucked. The epithelial passage had like one tone and one inference questions which were also ******ed!
Bio (20): Couldn't be happier with this score. I spent the least amount of time on bio and it definitely showed in my Topscore results, which were 16/15/17. So I have no clue how I managed to pull that one off. For this I used Cliffs (only read through once) and I also read ExamKrackers bio, which I loved! Its definitely not good enough to be the only resource (doesnt really cover plants or taxonomy) but it's really really good for systems and physiology. Its only like 15bux on Amazon, so I definitely think its a must.
GC (17): Again, what the FUUUUUCK!!!! My topscore results on here were like 18/18/18 (not quite sure, but along those lines). I usually felt most comfortable with this section, but my test version, I thought it was hard! I wish I could remember questions too, but I can't really. The wording was kind of off and there were one or two lab/technique questions that totally threw me off. But dude, seriously? Like if wasn't for this effing score, I feel like I would be sitting pretty at a 20AA. Definitely furious about this section.
As if it matters, I used KBB and Chad for this, and also ExamKrackers. Chad was awesome, KBB was okkkay and again, I loved ExamKrackers. Its just written really well and I really liked how they organized the information. I definitely recommend it over KBB. I also did Destroyer, which was awesome. It really hammered home some of the important concepts.
OC (20) : Thrilled at this score. I was getting 17/17/19 on Topscore. I used KBB, Chad, and Destroyer. I made notecards for all the Destroyer roadmaps and for some of the reactions in KBB (I probably had around 200-300 notecards). My last week of studying all I did was go over notecards, and learn them flat. I got C's all through college O-chem, so I am deifinitely pleased with this.
I had one questions on some specific test to determine a functional group. I had never seen it before so couldn't even tell you if I wanted to. I had one HNMR and one CNMR and the rest were reactions...i think. I dont remember.
And thats it!
But the one thing I REALLY want to emphasize, and I really wish I followed my own advice, is to chill. But, you all know that already. The key is to not only know that you need to stay calm, but figure out how.
What really helped me out last night was (well taking an ambien for one, haha) and just realizing that this is a stupid test.
And whats even better about this test, than ANY other test that you have ever taken (except the SATs) is that its alright if you mess it up the first time. Unlike college, where one bad test score determines everything, here you get a chance to take it as many times as you want until you get the score you want.
And also remember, this is an easy test. It test not only your aptitude, but your ability to work under pressure. Lets be real here, we're all smart ass kids. We got accredited degrees from great schools, we worked our asses off to get where we are today. People taking this test, for the most part, we're on level playing fields. But really distinguishes the great scores, are people who were able to focus, relax and just work methodically through the questions. The knowledge is all there and for those of you taking it soon, I know you guys all have the ability to do a great job.
One last pearl (I am just gonna keep dragging this post out...haha), this test is also dumb ****ing luck. You may know Campbell's front to back, have been a nuclear scientist and lived in a 2D world, but if its not your day, its just not your day. And there is nothing to be done about that. So just do the best you can (which I know is way more than enough for a lot of you) and just let the DAT gods decide the rest.
If you have any other questions (which I can't imagine you would since this is so stupidly long), just PM me.
Good luck to all of you guys!!!!!!!
