Any tips for faster test taking? Help!

[toothfary25]

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Is anyone else having as much trouble with the speed/time aspect of taking the DAT? I'm worried. It took me about an hour to go through 30 questions of G. Chem. And I already reviewed these questions several days before! AH!

Sigh, I think with more practice & repetition, I'll be able to cut time on BIO, but the longhand math computation involved in so many of the G. Chem problems are killing me! 🙁 That, and it takes me a few seconds to absorb the question and strategize before solving the problem. Is anyone else struggling with the same thing? If so, what do you recommend to improve in this area? My current plan is to practice speed math tactics ~ I'm hoping it'll reduce both my time and simple errors. Other than that - does anyone have any advice or recommendations? I'd love to hear it!

 

[Joe70h8]

When taking the test, do the sections you are the best in first. So do bio, ochem, then gen chem. With gen chem, you should not be wasting time "absorbing" the problem or thinking of the formulas to use. This should come quickly. I would suggest studying the basics of gen chem, gain a better understanding of the principles and formulas, then continue doing practice tests. Doing the practice tests are extremely helpful, but not if you don't know the material.

I really don't think there are any tricks to doing well on gen chem besides being able to quickly determine what formula to use...and that will only come with understanding what formulas are used for what type of problems. Figure that out, should be some easy points.

 

[rals]

I finished bio in less than 20 mins. The natural sciences are one big section on the test. So if you do bio really fast, then you get lots more time for chemistry. That's how it worked for me and I had time left over.

 

[Mila]

I think it just comes with a lot of practice. When I first started taking practice tests, I'd need up to another half hour to finish the natural science section.... but by the time I took my DAT, I had a good 20-25 minutes to spare. Practicing the G Chem will get you more familiar with the questions and you'll be able to answer them faster. Good luck!

 

[SuperC]

Practice...

Then... when you have finished the subject tests from kaplan, take the practice tests TIMED. But give yourself LESS time than you are allowed. If you take this seriously you will find that your have practiced taking the test so fast that the real thing is a breeze.
-C

 

[proline]

also, for some problems, it's not necessary to do long hand calculations. since it's multiple choice and often the responses are significantly apart, try to round and approximate your answers. then chose the answer closest to the one you computed. it's not having the "precise" answer that counts on this test, its selecting the right answer from MC. And when time is essential, it's best to approximate / round. (I hate doing this, i love doing all of the work, and having the satisfaction of having the precise answer, but time is precious, so you use techniques to work quickly).

a good reference might be the examkracker books. they are for MCAT, but I think the english book might have a small section on approximation math, so if you need to brush up on that stuff, it's a great reference.