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- Jan 13, 2010
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Hey guys,
As promised, I'm posting a breakdown of my DAT experience from earlier today. Here are my scores:
AA: 21 (97.2)
TS: 21 (96.2%)
BIO: 20 (91.8%)
GC: 21 (91.6%)
OC: 24 (97.9%)
RC: 18 (52.2% meh...I was expecting this. Not great, but not horrible.)
QR: 21 (97.6%)
PAT: 25 (99.1%
)
Materials Used
KBB: Good "primer" for the DAT subjects, but definitely not the "complete package" as far as what you need for the DAT. I used this for the first month and made intense notes from the book. I also used the two practice tests that come with the book.
Cliff's AP Biology: An absolute must for biology. Kaplan biology just isn't thorough enough for the questions you'll be asked. If you study this book really well, then you should be good to go. For biology, I'd take notes from Kaplan first, and then I'd skim the corresponding chapter in Cliff's in order to write down anything that Kaplan may have missed. This was quite effective.
Chad's Videos: A Godsend, this man. Used him for GC and QR.
DAT Destroyer: VERY hard, but extremely valuable. I ended up working through destroyer once before I watched Chad's videos...it was a big confidence killer, but I'm also EXTREMELY glad I did this. By going through destroyer once, I was able to see which areas I needed help with. So when I began to watch Chad's videos, I knew what to focus on. I then went through destroyer two more times after watching Chad's videos, and I ended up doing MUCH better on it.
Math Destroyer: Great source. Prepares you VERY well for the QR section. It is harder than the actual QR, so if you can master Math Destroyer, then the actual QR should be a breeze for you.
Crack DAT PAT: Again, excellent source. I made a 25 on PAT, and I give most of the credit to CDP. Just buy it...seriously, you won't be sorry.
Topscore: Best practice test simulator out there for the DAT. It was very close to the actual conditions of the DAT (except it doesn't have a calculator for QR). Its level of difficulty was also very comparable to the actual DAT. See my practice scores below.
Method of Study (Schedule)
Studied for a total of three whole months....
Month 1: I basically followed dentalWorks' study schedule for the first month to the letter (the Kaplan version, not the Chad's videos version). Basically, I went through a chapter from each subject (bio, GC, OC, Math) every day from Kaplan and Cliff's and made notes on everything. This month was my "relearning" month, where I basically just retaught myself all the material from bio, chem, and orgo. I also did PAT, as dentalWorks suggested.
Month 2: During the first 10 days, I did all of DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer. Boy was that a wake up call. There was so much that I didn't know. So, during the second 10 days, I went through all of Chad's videos for GC and QR (I was ok with my Orgo, so I didn't really bother with that). His quizzes at the end of each video are GREAT and very helpful. Overall, I feel like I would not have made a great score on GC had it not been for Chad. Highly recommended. During the last 10 days of month 2, I redid destroyer....with much more success.
Month 3: I reserved this month JUST for practice tests. I had 7 practice tests (see results below). I did one practice test every three days. The two days after a practice test, I'd review all the problems I got wrong. Then I'd work on destroyer again (doing this allowed me to get through destroyer a third time by the end of Month 3). I would also sprinkle the occasional CDP test during my non-practice-test days.
Practice Test Results
If the following image doesn't work, just click on the attachment at the bottom....
Section Breakdown
BIO (20): As everybody has said before, it was random as can be. Some questions came out of left field...I had never seen some of those concepts before. But for the most part, you could reason out what the answer should be if you just use logic. The difficulty of the actual DAT was about the same as Topscore. Topscore is a good representation for this section.
GC (21): Easy. After being taken aback by the randomness of the bio section, my confidence was restored after I started working on the GC section. It's not too bad. Again, topscore is a good representative of the actual DAT...maybe a SLIGHT bit harder...but not by much. But, hands down, the BEST source of study for this section is Chad's videos. I would pay $30/month JUST for GC. It was very helpful, very clear, and very concise...he only focused on the info that commonly shows up on the DAT, and he leaves out all that extra fluff info. His videos are invaluable.
OC (24): To be honest, I was lucky enough to have a good professor in Organic, so I really spent a minimal amount of time studying for this section. It wasn't too bad. DAT Destroyer is overkill for this section, so if you can do destroyer OC, then you should breeze through this section.
PAT (25): CDP all the way. Keyholes, TFE, and Angles were on par with the difficulty of the actual DAT. Hole punching and cube counting were easier on the actual DAT. Pattern folding was slightly harder on the actual DAT (but not by much). The Topscore PAT is actually slightly easier than the actual PAT, but still comparable (and good practice). I scored 25 on the PAT section of the first topscore test, and ended up with a 25 on the real thing.
RC (18): ....yeahhh, I expected this (I mean, look at my practice scores for RC). It was never my strong subject. One bit of warning though, Topscore RC is much easier than the actual RC. I averaged around 21 on the Topscore RC, but only made 18 on the real thing.
QR (21): I hadn't seen any of this material in about 9 years. As a matter of fact, the last time I had a math course was freshmen year of college in 2003. So I had to relearn all of this from scratch. Kaplan was actually a great source for this. Their QR section in KBB teaches you everything you need to know. I also did Math Destroyer...which was crazy hard, but really helped you master the problem types. If you do all 10 tests in Math Destroyer (I didn't do 11 or 12), then you should be good to go. By the time you get to this part of the test, you're quite tired and just ready to quit...but keep your chin up and just chug through it.
And Last But Not Least....
Thank you to the SDN community and to everybody who answered my (sometimes dumb) questions. You guys are an incredible resource, and I don't think I could have gotten through this without your help.
Also, I'm a very bad test taker. So if I can do well on this test, so can you! This test CAN be conquered. It just takes hard work and dedication. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. Good luck to all you guys, and feel free to ask any questions!
As promised, I'm posting a breakdown of my DAT experience from earlier today. Here are my scores:
AA: 21 (97.2)
TS: 21 (96.2%)
BIO: 20 (91.8%)
GC: 21 (91.6%)
OC: 24 (97.9%)
RC: 18 (52.2% meh...I was expecting this. Not great, but not horrible.)
QR: 21 (97.6%)
PAT: 25 (99.1%
)Materials Used
KBB: Good "primer" for the DAT subjects, but definitely not the "complete package" as far as what you need for the DAT. I used this for the first month and made intense notes from the book. I also used the two practice tests that come with the book.
Cliff's AP Biology: An absolute must for biology. Kaplan biology just isn't thorough enough for the questions you'll be asked. If you study this book really well, then you should be good to go. For biology, I'd take notes from Kaplan first, and then I'd skim the corresponding chapter in Cliff's in order to write down anything that Kaplan may have missed. This was quite effective.
Chad's Videos: A Godsend, this man. Used him for GC and QR.
DAT Destroyer: VERY hard, but extremely valuable. I ended up working through destroyer once before I watched Chad's videos...it was a big confidence killer, but I'm also EXTREMELY glad I did this. By going through destroyer once, I was able to see which areas I needed help with. So when I began to watch Chad's videos, I knew what to focus on. I then went through destroyer two more times after watching Chad's videos, and I ended up doing MUCH better on it.
Math Destroyer: Great source. Prepares you VERY well for the QR section. It is harder than the actual QR, so if you can master Math Destroyer, then the actual QR should be a breeze for you.
Crack DAT PAT: Again, excellent source. I made a 25 on PAT, and I give most of the credit to CDP. Just buy it...seriously, you won't be sorry.
Topscore: Best practice test simulator out there for the DAT. It was very close to the actual conditions of the DAT (except it doesn't have a calculator for QR). Its level of difficulty was also very comparable to the actual DAT. See my practice scores below.
Method of Study (Schedule)
Studied for a total of three whole months....
Month 1: I basically followed dentalWorks' study schedule for the first month to the letter (the Kaplan version, not the Chad's videos version). Basically, I went through a chapter from each subject (bio, GC, OC, Math) every day from Kaplan and Cliff's and made notes on everything. This month was my "relearning" month, where I basically just retaught myself all the material from bio, chem, and orgo. I also did PAT, as dentalWorks suggested.
Month 2: During the first 10 days, I did all of DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer. Boy was that a wake up call. There was so much that I didn't know. So, during the second 10 days, I went through all of Chad's videos for GC and QR (I was ok with my Orgo, so I didn't really bother with that). His quizzes at the end of each video are GREAT and very helpful. Overall, I feel like I would not have made a great score on GC had it not been for Chad. Highly recommended. During the last 10 days of month 2, I redid destroyer....with much more success.
Month 3: I reserved this month JUST for practice tests. I had 7 practice tests (see results below). I did one practice test every three days. The two days after a practice test, I'd review all the problems I got wrong. Then I'd work on destroyer again (doing this allowed me to get through destroyer a third time by the end of Month 3). I would also sprinkle the occasional CDP test during my non-practice-test days.
Practice Test Results
If the following image doesn't work, just click on the attachment at the bottom....
Section Breakdown
BIO (20): As everybody has said before, it was random as can be. Some questions came out of left field...I had never seen some of those concepts before. But for the most part, you could reason out what the answer should be if you just use logic. The difficulty of the actual DAT was about the same as Topscore. Topscore is a good representation for this section.
GC (21): Easy. After being taken aback by the randomness of the bio section, my confidence was restored after I started working on the GC section. It's not too bad. Again, topscore is a good representative of the actual DAT...maybe a SLIGHT bit harder...but not by much. But, hands down, the BEST source of study for this section is Chad's videos. I would pay $30/month JUST for GC. It was very helpful, very clear, and very concise...he only focused on the info that commonly shows up on the DAT, and he leaves out all that extra fluff info. His videos are invaluable.
OC (24): To be honest, I was lucky enough to have a good professor in Organic, so I really spent a minimal amount of time studying for this section. It wasn't too bad. DAT Destroyer is overkill for this section, so if you can do destroyer OC, then you should breeze through this section.
PAT (25): CDP all the way. Keyholes, TFE, and Angles were on par with the difficulty of the actual DAT. Hole punching and cube counting were easier on the actual DAT. Pattern folding was slightly harder on the actual DAT (but not by much). The Topscore PAT is actually slightly easier than the actual PAT, but still comparable (and good practice). I scored 25 on the PAT section of the first topscore test, and ended up with a 25 on the real thing.
RC (18): ....yeahhh, I expected this (I mean, look at my practice scores for RC). It was never my strong subject. One bit of warning though, Topscore RC is much easier than the actual RC. I averaged around 21 on the Topscore RC, but only made 18 on the real thing.
QR (21): I hadn't seen any of this material in about 9 years. As a matter of fact, the last time I had a math course was freshmen year of college in 2003. So I had to relearn all of this from scratch. Kaplan was actually a great source for this. Their QR section in KBB teaches you everything you need to know. I also did Math Destroyer...which was crazy hard, but really helped you master the problem types. If you do all 10 tests in Math Destroyer (I didn't do 11 or 12), then you should be good to go. By the time you get to this part of the test, you're quite tired and just ready to quit...but keep your chin up and just chug through it.
And Last But Not Least....
Thank you to the SDN community and to everybody who answered my (sometimes dumb) questions. You guys are an incredible resource, and I don't think I could have gotten through this without your help.
Also, I'm a very bad test taker. So if I can do well on this test, so can you! This test CAN be conquered. It just takes hard work and dedication. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. Good luck to all you guys, and feel free to ask any questions!
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it's a compliment because when I studied, I was literally all over the place, did some things out of order, and it drove me crazy.
