Arrgghh! Confused About What Study Guides To Get.

[Artful Dodger]

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I've been trying to find the perfect book (or books) to effectively & efficiently prepare for the DAT, and people on here list soooo many different study guides. one person says "get blah blah for biology, etc etc". I want to get to the bottomline here folks...what are the perfect study guide books, PERFECT for each subject covered on the DAT.

For example,

Biology = "blah blah" is a great study guide b/c...
gchem = ....
ochem = ...
RC = ...
etc..

You know the drill

 

[midiland]

These are the materials i used when i was preparing for the DAT.
Bio-I used DAT destroyer, Schaum's outline, Kaplan book, and Cliffs
Chemistry-DAT destroyer, Kaplan book
Organic chemistry-DAT destroyer, Kaplan book
Also, for practice tests, i used DAT achiever and topscore. The key to success is practice , practice, and practice. I went over bio books listed above so many times and made notes several times and went over many many times. I can't eve remember how many times i went over.
I hope u rock the DAT like i did

 

[BLEND]

Gen Chem: Destroyer, Kaplan
O Chem: Destroyer, Kaplan
PAT: Kaplan
QR- I have yet to determine the best way for this section
Reading Comp: Start reading difficult science journals- I did not study for this section and got a 21 simply because I read a bunch of random stuff
Bio: Destroyer and AP Bio Book or Kaplan

Happy studying!

 

[gogiantsss]

Bio - Kaplan, Schaums
Gchem - Kaplan, (Topscore + Achiever for practice)
Ochem - Kaplan, (Topscore + Achiever for practice)
PAT - Barrons, Achiever
RC - PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE, read scientific articles
QR - SAT math

I didnt use destroyer or crack the pat but have heard good things about them. I would give it a shot.

 

[dentaldentist]

Unfortunately, there is no perfect book for the DAT - thats why you get so many different answers. You really need a variety of books to best prepare for the exam. I believe kaplan is the best all around book and the book you should start with. It gives you a good foundation for each of the subjects. Biology is the one area this book is weak in, so I would get either schaum's outline of biology or Cliff's AP biology. Both are good - just get one, no need to get both. For RC, you just need to work on your reading skills and focus on paying attention to the details in the passages you read rather than skimming through. Destroyer I did not use - it sounds like a great resource though, but you will want to have reviewed the science material before doing destroyer because destroyer is more of a set of test questions with detailed answers. I also recommend getting the Topscore CD to get some experience taking some full length tough sample tests on the computer.

I scored 22/22/22 using the following resources:

Kaplan DAT
Schaum's Outline of Biology
Topscore DAT
And ocassionally used my old college textbooks.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

bio: ap cliff's, bio text, classes
gchem: kaplan, destroyer
ochem: See gchem
QR: SAT world problem books
PAT: Achiever + Crack DAT PAT
RC: Practice tests
Remember to practice getting use to the format of the test so take the Topscore, Achiever and Kaplan (if you have it) practice tests. Best of luck.

 

[Artful Dodger]

Thanks everyone...looks like I'm going to have to invest my money in a few books.

So far, Kaplan seems like the center piece...I have the MCAT version & it's pretty basic stuff.

again, thanks!

 

[sl2obel2ts]

same situation.

this is what i am gonna do.

I already bought kaplan book and bio book off half.com. signed up for free kaplan test next week. i am gonna study for the test for 2 days (since it has been 3 years since i took ochem).

After evaluating my scores, I am gonnna study Kaplan, Princeton review MCAT book, sch bio book. Order Time Magazine for RC. Then I am gonna order destroyer, crack pat, topscore, achiever. finish all the practice exams. then gonna take a test.

thinking about spending about 6 months (with full time work) 🙂