Hey everyone!
Finally it is oveeeerrrrr!! So I've mainly been a lurker here for the past few months but boy did I learn a lot from all the posts I read! So THANK YOU so much everyone for all of the helpful advice.
Here are my scores:
PAT: 19 (69.4)
QR: 22 (98.7)
RC: 22 (93.2)
Bio: 26 (99.8)
GC: 21 (91.6)
OC: 23 (97.1)
TS: 23 (99.3)
AA: 23 (99.7)
Favorite Resources: Crack DAT for PAT, Math and Sciences. Achiever 7 test edition. Cliffnotes AP BIO and the man CHAD.
PAT: Well, sort of disappointed since on my last practice test I scored a 23 but no biggie. I mainly used CDP for prep and started practicing about two weeks ago, so I probably deserve less than 20. I also tried Achiever but it made me so mad that I decided to ignore it (probably a bad idea). Angle ranking I thought was SOO EASY. Keyhole was horrendous. As people say, its all about proportions. Some of the answers looked pretty identical. I marked probably 8 no joke. TFE was not too difficult. Comparable to CDP. Cube counting is easy, keyholes was 80% easy and shape folding is nigh on impossible. My opinion at least. I ran out of time and had to LITERALLY (parks and rec anyone?) guess on probably 7 questions.
QR: MATH! I honestly love the subject and is the only class in college that I have been able to get an A+ in so I wasn't too worried about this test. I used both Achiever and Crack DAT and they were both really helpful. The real DAT was pretty close to both I thought. Nothing impossible. The only things that really tripped me up was some log questions and a question about p-values. Gross.
RC: This section was so easy to read. I had the same subjects as a few other people (Aging, Telomerase and Gene Therapy) and I actually thought I would do best on this since I didn't even mark a single question. Only time I practiced was on the 2009 ADA test.
Bio: May or may not have punched the air excitedly when I saw this. Very happy since I have read countless reports about how random this section can be. Was ECSTATIC that not a single plant question came up. I honestly thought it was very non-random actually. Almost all were subjects I remembered quite well from classes as well as my study prep. Only thing random for me were some ecology questions. I marked I think 4 questions from the bio section. For prep, I read all of Cliffnotes AP Bio. Book is GOLDEN. It's a rare day when I find a question that can not be answered with it. Also used Crack DAT sciences and Achiever. Most people said that Crack DAT is horrible for the sciences but I actually thought it was pretty useful. Achiever definitely was useful as well.
GC: Totally pleased with this! I started studying last month and didn't remember a DAMN thing. Seriously, I almost wanted to give up right away due to how little I could remember. Allow me to take a moment to BRAG ABOUT CHAD. Abso-fricking-lutely the best resource I found/used. He pretty much just retaught me an entire year of GC in about 3 weeks.
OC: Kind of surprising. Haven't been the best Ochem student but I worked hard on it. Again, CHAD. 'Nuff said. Achiever and Crack were also very useful. I thought the test was kind of ridiculously easy. I mean, I usually mark about 10 questions. I marked maybe 3. Mostly what I got stuck on was ranking stability, so definitely know stabilities of alkenes, radicals, carbocations, etc etc.
Hope this was SOMEWHAT helpful for anyone who is planning on taking the DAT soon. I studied the first 3 weeks pretty intensely and found myself getting burnt out QUICK. The last week before my test, I maybe studied once or twice for a couple of hours. I suggest if you feel overwhelmed, go play some sports, draw, play music or whatever it is that lets the stress melt off. Those were key for helping me relax and do well. I was getting so stressed I was leaving things in the most random places, including losing my ID which resulted in me having to get a replacement YESTERDAY so I could take the test.
School GPAs:
cGPA-3.85
sGPA-3.75
TL;DR- My best suggestions, as outlined by many before me, is to use Chad's videos, get practice tests and know what you know. And don't neglect PAT. It's all about practice. Also, don't forget to relax and allow yourself time to destress! If you've made it this far, don't give up!
And for all of you that have taken it and are applying this cycle, good luck!
If there are any questions feel free to ask!
Finally it is oveeeerrrrr!! So I've mainly been a lurker here for the past few months but boy did I learn a lot from all the posts I read! So THANK YOU so much everyone for all of the helpful advice.
Here are my scores:
PAT: 19 (69.4)
QR: 22 (98.7)
RC: 22 (93.2)
Bio: 26 (99.8)
GC: 21 (91.6)
OC: 23 (97.1)
TS: 23 (99.3)
AA: 23 (99.7)
Favorite Resources: Crack DAT for PAT, Math and Sciences. Achiever 7 test edition. Cliffnotes AP BIO and the man CHAD.
PAT: Well, sort of disappointed since on my last practice test I scored a 23 but no biggie. I mainly used CDP for prep and started practicing about two weeks ago, so I probably deserve less than 20. I also tried Achiever but it made me so mad that I decided to ignore it (probably a bad idea). Angle ranking I thought was SOO EASY. Keyhole was horrendous. As people say, its all about proportions. Some of the answers looked pretty identical. I marked probably 8 no joke. TFE was not too difficult. Comparable to CDP. Cube counting is easy, keyholes was 80% easy and shape folding is nigh on impossible. My opinion at least. I ran out of time and had to LITERALLY (parks and rec anyone?) guess on probably 7 questions.
QR: MATH! I honestly love the subject and is the only class in college that I have been able to get an A+ in so I wasn't too worried about this test. I used both Achiever and Crack DAT and they were both really helpful. The real DAT was pretty close to both I thought. Nothing impossible. The only things that really tripped me up was some log questions and a question about p-values. Gross.
RC: This section was so easy to read. I had the same subjects as a few other people (Aging, Telomerase and Gene Therapy) and I actually thought I would do best on this since I didn't even mark a single question. Only time I practiced was on the 2009 ADA test.
Bio: May or may not have punched the air excitedly when I saw this. Very happy since I have read countless reports about how random this section can be. Was ECSTATIC that not a single plant question came up. I honestly thought it was very non-random actually. Almost all were subjects I remembered quite well from classes as well as my study prep. Only thing random for me were some ecology questions. I marked I think 4 questions from the bio section. For prep, I read all of Cliffnotes AP Bio. Book is GOLDEN. It's a rare day when I find a question that can not be answered with it. Also used Crack DAT sciences and Achiever. Most people said that Crack DAT is horrible for the sciences but I actually thought it was pretty useful. Achiever definitely was useful as well.
GC: Totally pleased with this! I started studying last month and didn't remember a DAMN thing. Seriously, I almost wanted to give up right away due to how little I could remember. Allow me to take a moment to BRAG ABOUT CHAD. Abso-fricking-lutely the best resource I found/used. He pretty much just retaught me an entire year of GC in about 3 weeks.
OC: Kind of surprising. Haven't been the best Ochem student but I worked hard on it. Again, CHAD. 'Nuff said. Achiever and Crack were also very useful. I thought the test was kind of ridiculously easy. I mean, I usually mark about 10 questions. I marked maybe 3. Mostly what I got stuck on was ranking stability, so definitely know stabilities of alkenes, radicals, carbocations, etc etc.
Hope this was SOMEWHAT helpful for anyone who is planning on taking the DAT soon. I studied the first 3 weeks pretty intensely and found myself getting burnt out QUICK. The last week before my test, I maybe studied once or twice for a couple of hours. I suggest if you feel overwhelmed, go play some sports, draw, play music or whatever it is that lets the stress melt off. Those were key for helping me relax and do well. I was getting so stressed I was leaving things in the most random places, including losing my ID which resulted in me having to get a replacement YESTERDAY so I could take the test.
School GPAs:
cGPA-3.85
sGPA-3.75
TL;DR- My best suggestions, as outlined by many before me, is to use Chad's videos, get practice tests and know what you know. And don't neglect PAT. It's all about practice. Also, don't forget to relax and allow yourself time to destress! If you've made it this far, don't give up!
And for all of you that have taken it and are applying this cycle, good luck!
If there are any questions feel free to ask!
