I did something really stupid on QR. I sucked it up hard and shouldn't have. I hadn't had a math course in over 10 years, so I studied a lot for this section. I'm fine with math, but I think unless you're fresh out of some trig or algebra, you can get a false sense of security thinking it's easy math. It's not the math that's killer. We would all ace it if we had 2 hours to work it out. It's about recognizing and attacking. This section is fast, and it's last. I used both DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer and was doing really well on timed tests in Destroyer and on practice tests. I had laminated formula and identity sheets in the shower even.
On DAT day, I go too frazzled. I had a rocky start with switching stations, knowing I didn't do too hot on sciences, and then rolling through reading can fry your brain. My mind wasn't there, and that's not awesome. For any section, you gotta move on. You can't go fix anything, so don't think about reading passages that are long gone. The 45 minutes flew by. I was upset about the rest of the test and was taking the problems personally. I was taking 2 minutes on some problems (do the math, that's pure disaster). I had NEVER used the calculator when I practiced. I'm good at estimating. For some stupid reason, I decided to break it out. That's as stupid as it gets.
I know none of you are this stupid. But I'm just sharing.
Stay cool. Mentally move on if you know you sucked on a past section. And either commit to being a calculator person, or don't touch it.
Be comfortable or at least familiar with laminate sheets and dry erase markers. Maybe even with a dull flat tip in case you get an awesome person like I had. She misplaced my eraser for a few minutes when she moved my stations too.