Bittersweet Baby! Dat Done 7/31/08

[flycd05]

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OHHH MAN! i never thought i would be the one to write this thread after reading sooo many posts like this all summer. So this was my 2nd time taking the exam and I'm happy with my scores but at the same time, i was expecting better. so its bittersweet i guess lol.

overall, i used acheiver, topscore, destroyer, shaums, lots of wiki, cdp and obviously SDN. i can't begin to tell u taht i prolly wouldnt have gotten this score if it wasnt for sdn - discussing things/concepts and whatever HELPS OUT SOOOOO MUCH cuz ur actively studying, and not just sitting there and reading. so for all u who answered my questions and posted questions - THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

So here are the scores:

1st take/2nd take
PAT - 17/20 (+2)
QR - 18/19 (+1)
RC - 21/19 (-2) 😡( i got the stupid piano passage!)
BIO - 16/19 (+3) wish i would've at least 20 man
GC - 18/24 (+6)
OC - 18/22 (+4)
TS - 17/21 (+4)
AA - 18/21 (+3)

here's a quick breakdown of test for you guys:

BIO - ok so i studied my butt off for this section just like last time but for some reason, i got some pretty random wierd questions like application/situational based ones where i was tearing my hair out b/c i was stuck between 2 answer choices! that really pissed me off lol. but overall, this section is not bad if u really know ur stuff...and i mean not just memorize it but literally, wiki google, go thru campbell shaums whatever u need to know the concepts and details surrounding the word/topic u don't know about. THAT MAKES A HUGE DIFF! the first time i studied for bio, i used shaums, topscore and achiever but going thru that is not enough - this time i used destroyer with that and mannnnn, did that make a difference so def. get it! also, u gotta go thru shaum's at least 3-4 times to grab the details. my questions are fairly straightforward which really suprised me but it was the stupid application q's that make u go from a 19 to a 22 or whatnot. wanted better but o wells

GC - totally was not expecting a 24 on this! really pleased with this and i think destroyer totally just justice on this! not many calculations - very conceptual so know them inside/out. don't really know what i got wrong this either hmm...

OC - ok for those of you u have had this test version where there were 2-3 spectra questions. WTF MAN! those graphs were totally missing stuff and how teh hell were u supposed to differentiate between 5 amines that were so close together! arghhh im so pissed off b/c i kinda wanna get my test audited so i know that it wasn't a mistake on ADA's part cuz i swear, there was a peak missing for the C13 NMR. anyone who knows what i'm talking please tell me u know what im talking about haha? make sure u know destroyer road maps inside and out for this.

PAT - CDP ALL THE WAY! i was scoring between 20-22 on the tests so wanted a bit higher. holepunching and cubes were soo much easier. keyholes same, angles same, tfe a bit harder and oh man the pattern folding was insane! it was all based on shapes and hardly any shading. i think thats what threw me off along with the angles. practice is key - i suggest get eht 10 test package, it'll really help

QR - soo i studied the least for this section alogn with rc b/c i had a good foundation for math and reading from my last test - got 3-4 probability questions which threw me off - had to guess on 5-8 word probs b/c i didn't have too much time to finish them - i guess i guessed correctly on 1/2 lol. but i say def. know ur formulas, and timinng is key here. i did all the short probs first adn then went back and did the word ones until time ran out. use topscore, achiever for this, i didnt use destroyer cuz i thought it was a bit too easy, i dunno that's just my opinion.

RC - got the stupid piano passage!!!!! i was going thru the first passage and was like yesss i didnt frapped and the piano passage but then as soon as my 2nd one started, i was like crap, im screwed lol. i did the 2 passages first and then did the piano one last - i didnt think it all that bad as pple make it sound however, it was really confusing while reading. so make sure u read over the stuff a few times to answer questions. i used achiever and topscore to study for this - but i say know ur strategy, work on timing (15ish minutes/passage).

So now here's my dilemma: I have a gpa 3.2/sgpa 3.0, 1000 dental assisting with x-ray certification (soo lots of experience) and now a 21/21/20 dat score. WILL THIS GET ME INTERVIEWS?! my first choices are temple, umaryland, bu, nyu, tufts so hopefully this dat score will help??? In a way, I want to take the test again but I know it's prolly gonna be too late in the application process since the earliest i can take them is Nov 1st! ANY SUGGESTIONS/OPINIONS?!!


thanks guys 🙂

 

[Neuro178]

Nice scores!! Way to improve!

Question related to the piano passage.... Do you play the piano (or any other musical instrument)? If so, did that make it easier or would it have made it easier if you played?

 

[flycd05]

nope but i did play teh violin for years and have been surrounded by friends who are crazy at hte piano soo maybe that helped but i doubt it haha. its really not that bad though, u just have to re-read stuff a lot to understand it.

 

[Albuterol]

nice scores! hopefully i can pull of these great scores like u...
i have a similar gpa so i hope we get in somewhere! good luck with the application process!

 

[TheGreenWave]

solid scores 👍!!!

 

[Neuro178]

nope but i did play teh violin for years and have been surrounded by friends who are crazy at hte piano soo maybe that helped but i doubt it haha. its really not that bad though, u just have to re-read stuff a lot to understand it.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm secretly hoping that my 15+ years of piano will help if I get this passage... but I pretty much know zero about the inner workings! haha

 

[hoss19]

those are some fine scores indeed...great job the second time around!

 

[dentworld]

nice score, congrats. I may be being stupid here but have a question on RC section. I am new with DAT stuff and I don't know how RC works on real exam. Is it like a passage given first and after you finish reading a passage, you can then go on to take the questions? or there is a passage on the right side and questions on the left side of the screen? And when you "mark" a question, how do you go back to answer them? can you read the passage again while answering marked questions? Thanks.

 

[DRHOYA]

Nice scores! Btw, I believe I had this version of the test, and I know what you are talking about on that C13NMR, and the 4 amines in the IR. I sat there for a few minutes just starring that the screen like "huhhhh??".

 

[msavaya]

Those are great scores... Good Job! Just out of curiousity...what prepared you best for Gen Chem..because I am doing the Destroyer problems but I'm pretty much not getting any of them right... They are pretty difficult..How do you rate them in comparison to the actual DAT?...Thanks!​

 

[Danny289]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm secretly hoping that my 15+ years of piano will help if I get this passage... but I pretty much know zero about the inner workings! haha

No, your 15+ years playing of piano is not going to help, I can not explain why just read your post again it will help 🙂
good luck

 

[Florida premed]

HI!
DO the RC piano and frap passages have detailed questions - meaning those that you can go back directly to the passage and find the answers?

Great job on your DAT, congrats!

 

[flycd05]

HI!
DO the RC piano and frap passages have detailed questions - meaning those that you can go back directly to the passage and find the answers?

Great job on your DAT, congrats!

all the rc passages IMO have detailed questions where u have to go back and find the answers, however, the answers are not word for word like they are in topscore and achiever - which makes this section a bit harder than practice tests - however, they are close enough that if u go back carefully, u should def find them wiht not too much of a problem.

hope that helps! good luck 🙂

 

[flycd05]

Those are great scores... Good Job! Just out of curiousity...what prepared you best for Gen Chem..because I am doing the Destroyer problems but I'm pretty much not getting any of them right... They are pretty difficult..How do you rate them in comparison to the actual DAT?...Thanks!​

DEF KNOW DESTROYER IN AND OUT! i know its hard in teh beginning esp. those acid/base ph calculations. whatever sections in gchem i had trouble with, i went back to a textbook and re-read and understood it and then went back to destroyer and figured them out. but yeah, go back to a textbook to help you out and then def. go over destroyer like whoa.

 

[flycd05]

nice score, congrats. I may be being stupid here but have a question on RC section. I am new with DAT stuff and I don't know how RC works on real exam. Is it like a passage given first and after you finish reading a passage, you can then go on to take the questions? or there is a passage on the right side and questions on the left side of the screen? And when you "mark" a question, how do you go back to answer them? can you read the passage again while answering marked questions? Thanks.

the passage is in on the bottom and the questions up top. i think the setup is closest to achiever

 

[klutzy1987]

Nice scores! Btw, I believe I had this version of the test, and I know what you are talking about on that C13NMR, and the 4 amines in the IR. I sat there for a few minutes just starring that the screen like "huhhhh??".

My test too and that IR was absurd. and there was a mistake in the NMR. What can i do though.