Hi,
I used Kaplan as my only study resource, and I couldn't recommend it more (I took my DAT 3 years ago and got a 22-- 25 in my science part, 17 on the PAT). I am a horrible test taker, but my study strategy for the exam worked well for me and I was pleased with my score. I took the in class DAT prep course from October to the end of November (it was 2x/week for about 8 weeks I think). During the class, I just tried to keep up with the material bc i was in school at the same time. Over my winter break, I studied for the entire time (4-6weeks) pretty much nonstop, again using only the kaplan resources. I took ALL of the Kaplan practice questions in the center and (this was the best advice I got and I believe it was the key to my score) I kept a spiral notebook (actually it turned into 2 or 3 by the end) and copied down all of the questions and answers that I didn't get right or didn't understand the first time through. I reviewed these notebooks whenever possible-- at the end of the day, in between classes, etc, until I was confident that I could look at any question in my notebook and get it right. While understanding is important, for me a lot of it turned out to be how well I could memorize how to do a problem in the end. I thought the notebooks were invaluable. When I got to the test, there was not a single science or math question that I had not seen before (ie different numbers, etc, but the exact same concept). The only place where i thought kaplan failed was with the PAT-- i was scoring 22-25 on all of the kaplan tests but found the pictures on the real computer screen to be slightly different and that through me off, but i also could've just been having a bad day. Anyway, I know it is pricey, but for me taking the kaplan course-- and taking it seriously-- got me the score i wanted in the end. Hope that helps. This forum has been wonderful to me over the years, so I like to return the favor whenever possible. Let me know if you have any other questions...
