BIOLOGY: can't figure it out

[dWiz]

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hi:
I will start studying for the DAT pretty soon, and I have a question about the Biology prep material available. Many ppl have said that kaplans pretty much "does the job". My question is for those who have used this book, what does "does the job" imply? Will it get u an 18 a 20 or what? Does the examkrackers mcat biology book help? I've heard a lot about Shcaums, but it has so much detail, more than i could retain. I would appreciate some advice, esp. from someone who did well on dat, thx.

 

[DrTacoElf]

hi:
I will start studying for the DAT pretty soon, and I have a question about the Biology prep material available. Many ppl have said that kaplans pretty much "does the job". My question is for those who have used this book, what does "does the job" imply? Will it get u an 18 a 20 or what? Does the examkrackers mcat biology book help? I've heard a lot about Shcaums, but it has so much detail, more than i could retain. I would appreciate some advice, esp. from someone who did well on dat, thx.

Kaplan is good for everything except phylogeny and ecology. Thats where schaums comes in handy 🙂.

 

[g3k]

If you have no bio background... Campbell's biologey and Schaum's gets yo good scores.
If you have done yr bio I and II prereqs then yr college textbook with a bunch of AP textbooks...
The ones who told me this scored in the range from 20 to 29!!

 

[DMD_hopeful]

hi:
I will start studying for the DAT pretty soon, and I have a question about the Biology prep material available. Many ppl have said that kaplans pretty much "does the job". My question is for those who have used this book, what does "does the job" imply? Will it get u an 18 a 20 or what? Does the examkrackers mcat biology book help? I've heard a lot about Shcaums, but it has so much detail, more than i could retain. I would appreciate some advice, esp. from someone who did well on dat, thx.

I used Kaplan and my class notes for bio (mostly kaplan).. Got a 22 in Bio. However, I remember seeing some things on the exam that I never heard of, so maybe its wise to use some additional sources.

 

[ems5184]

I used Kaplan for Bio along with the Cliff's AP Bio notes (you can skip the plant stuff) I had from high school. Combining these two together worked really well - I got a 22 and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[Bickle]

hi:
I will start studying for the DAT pretty soon, and I have a question about the Biology prep material available. Many ppl have said that kaplans pretty much "does the job". My question is for those who have used this book, what does "does the job" imply? Will it get u an 18 a 20 or what? Does the examkrackers mcat biology book help? I've heard a lot about Shcaums, but it has so much detail, more than i could retain. I would appreciate some advice, esp. from someone who did well on dat, thx.

I thought the kaplan book overprepared me for the dat, which in the end is a good thing. The detail that kaplan goes into is rarely seen on a dat exam. So in my opinion, if you know the Kaplan book inside and out, you should do very well on the bio portion of the dat.

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

I havent started studying yet because I didnt take any pre-reqs yet even thouhg im a senior 🙁 Anyway would a good way to study for the exam be just to buy like the last 20 exams and practice them after taking a Kaplan course. Wouldnt that pretty much gurantee you a decent grade? Dont they have to repeat the stuff on the test everytime?

 

[Bickle]

I havent started studying yet because I didnt take any pre-reqs yet even thouhg im a senior 🙁 Anyway would a good way to study for the exam be just to buy like the last 20 exams and practice them after taking a Kaplan course. Wouldnt that pretty much gurantee you a decent grade? Dont they have to repeat the stuff on the test everytime?

I'm not sure if they repeat their questions, but doing past exams is a great way to prepare for the dat.

 

[wimmcs]

hi:
I will start studying for the DAT pretty soon, and I have a question about the Biology prep material available. Many ppl have said that kaplans pretty much "does the job". My question is for those who have used this book, what does "does the job" imply? Will it get u an 18 a 20 or what? Does the examkrackers mcat biology book help? I've heard a lot about Shcaums, but it has so much detail, more than i could retain. I would appreciate some advice, esp. from someone who did well on dat, thx.

I heard the examkrackers for biology is not that good, this book is especially helpful for the mcat biology section which is much different than the DAT. Although, I did hear the EK Chem and Ochem were good, but not biology. HOpe this helps!

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

I'm not sure if they repeat their questions, but doing past exams is a great way to prepare for the dat.

Yea but im sure they might not repeat it word for word, but the concept should all be the same, no? Is it safe to say if Im going to be scoring around a certian area on previous tests, that that is where I'm going to score on the actual exam?

 

[dWiz]

thx for the input everyone, a question for the person who mentioned past exams; where can one get these past exams ?

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

no idea about past exams. I was just saying because I plan to study soon and that just sems like a logical thing to do. So good question, I would like ot know also.

 

[mccarth2]

I don't know if they were previously given exams, but on the ADA website they provide four sample DAT's. I haven't ordered them yet so I can't tell you much about them, but it is only $10. Here is the link:

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/preparation.asp

You can get 2 practice tests with the Barrons book, 3 full lengths on topscore, and 3 more full lengths through Ace the Dat. Hope this helps. 🙂

 

[TX Hopeful]

I don't know if they were previously given exams, but on the ADA website they provide four sample DAT's. I haven't ordered them yet so I can't tell you much about them, but it is only $10. Here is the link:

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/preparation.asp

You can get 2 practice tests with the Barrons book, 3 full lengths on topscore, and 3 more full lengths through Ace the Dat. Hope this helps. 🙂

The preparation materials that you can order from the ADA are not actually four full length exams. It is one full length exam consisting of the four exams inclusive in the DAT (1- SNS; 2- PAT; 3- RC; and 4-QR). It is still a full length DAT except there is only one RC passage instead of 3. You also don't need to pay the $10 for it either. The $10 is if you want to order the computer tutorial which familiarizes you with the computer format of the DAT. If you have TOPSCORE and take those exams, I don't think you need the $10 ADA tutorial. So just ask them for the preparation materials.

 

[Bickle]

Yea but im sure they might not repeat it word for word, but the concept should all be the same, no? Is it safe to say if Im going to be scoring around a certian area on previous tests, that that is where I'm going to score on the actual exam?

I want to agree with you, but I have no hard evidence to back it up. I would say that if you are killing past exams on a consistient basis, you should be fine for the dat, but I honestly cant say that you would get the same score, it could be higher lower or the same, depends how hard they want to make the exam.

 

[mccarth2]

The preparation materials that you can order from the ADA are not actually four full length exams. It is one full length exam consisting of the four exams inclusive in the DAT (1- SNS; 2- PAT; 3- RC; and 4-QR). It is still a full length DAT except there is only one RC passage instead of 3. You also don't need to pay the $10 for it either. The $10 is if you want to order the computer tutorial which familiarizes you with the computer format of the DAT. If you have TOPSCORE and take those exams, I don't think you need the $10 ADA tutorial. So just ask them for the preparation materials.

Thanks for the clarification. 🙂

 

[wimmcs]

Thanks for the clarification. 🙂

Here is additional clarification: When I signed up for the DAT (through the internet), I called them and asked them to send me this booklet that people were talking about. They said they weren't able to do so. I then found out from a friend that if you order or if you sign up for the DAT through the MAIL, then you get this booklet. I thought it was unfair for those of us who signed up through the internet/phone, but that's how they handle it.
Good luck!