Cliffs AP sufficient ?

[Prima Donna]

Hey Guys,

So I am just about done reading through Cliffs AP 3rd edition, and I have read on here that some people think that certain chapters in it are lacking and that you should consult other materials for those chapters. So does anyone who has taken the DAT recall what chapters they felt needed more detail than what was provided in cliffs ? I know animal behavior (ch 13) was fairly brief and overall anatomy as well. Let me know what you think.

thanks

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[baywatch123]

I didn't read through Cliffs like crazy. I only really did the first few chapters and reviewed the plants section heavily.
A good indication of where I was lacking was when I did some DAT destroyer questions. I revisited those topics in Feralis/TyJacobs notes (more or less the same) and consulted our good friend Google for additional clarification.

I think i spent a total of 5 hours studying animal behavior out of the hundreds of total hours i put in haha

def worth going in depth for anatomy and phys

 

[I-hate-alginate]

It's good enough. Start doing bio destoyer. Don't overthink this section.

 

[Bingwen]

You are right in that Animal Behavior and Anatomy were lacking quite a bit. I ended up taking anatomy this year so it filled in the blanks for me, but anything like crash course bio on youtube can help. Other than that I thought that Cliffs covered most of the topics well and Feralis notes have helped me learn it as well.

 

[Prima Donna]

I didn't read through Cliffs like crazy. I only really did the first few chapters and reviewed the plants section heavily.
A good indication of where I was lacking was when I did some DAT destroyer questions. I revisited those topics in Feralis/TyJacobs notes (more or less the same) and consulted our good friend Google for additional clarification.

I think i spent a total of 5 hours studying animal behavior out of the hundreds of total hours i put in haha

def worth going in depth for anatomy and phys

It's good enough. Start doing bio destoyer. Don't overthink this section.

You are right in that Animal Behavior and Anatomy were lacking quite a bit. I ended up taking anatomy this year so it filled in the blanks for me, but anything like crash course bio on youtube can help. Other than that I thought that Cliffs covered most of the topics well and Feralis notes have helped me learn it as well.

Alright thanks for the helpful advice guys. I appreciate it !

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Anatomy/physiology is definitely it's weakest point. It also goes a bit overkill into plants.

 

[ColdToast]

I would recommend Ferralis notes after your first pass through the book. Most of everything you need to know is in the notes. What I would say is missing are good diagrams. What i did was make a powerpoint and copy pictures from google. Heart, muscle structure, bone structure, Gi tract(with hormones), trophic levels, skin, a simple plant reproductive cycle diagram, immune system flowchart.... stuff like that. Also there are some good cheatsheets in the bootcamp downloads.

Like others have said, DAT Destroyer has great explanations but i would also recommend tests 6-10 in Bootcamp before tests 1-5 since they go into much greater detail in the explanations. I studied cliffs, then notes, then destroyer, then bootcamp. Scored a 23.

 

[Orka]

I would recommend Ferralis notes after your first pass through the book. Most of everything you need to know is in the notes. What I would say is missing are good diagrams. What i did was make a powerpoint and copy pictures from google. Heart, muscle structure, bone structure, Gi tract(with hormones), trophic levels, skin, a simple plant reproductive cycle diagram, immune system flowchart.... stuff like that. Also there are some good cheatsheets in the bootcamp downloads.

Like others have said, DAT Destroyer has great explanations but i would also recommend tests 6-10 in Bootcamp before tests 1-5 since they go into much greater detail in the explanations. I studied cliffs, then notes, then destroyer, then bootcamp. Scored a 23.

Your post sounds like it's baiting people to use/purchase Bootcamp, just thought I would let you know. And FYI, those diagrams in Ferralis notes are plagiarized /illegal content stolen by other books/resources without giving those resources proper credit.

Either way, going through Cliff's notes once and making your own notes is good enough. Just like studying for a midterm/final exam, it's better to go through the content yourself and making your own notes, then review it yourself than using someone else's notes,

 

[ColdToast]

Your post sounds like it's baiting people to use/purchase Bootcamp, just thought I would let you know. And FYI, those diagrams in Ferralis notes are plagiarized /illegal content stolen by other books/resources without giving those resources proper credit.

Either way, going through Cliff's notes once and making your own notes is good enough. Just like studying for a midterm/final exam, it's better to go through the content yourself and making your own notes, then review it yourself than using someone else's notes,

Take it however you like but I'm not the first person to score well on the DAT using Cliffs destroyer and bootcamp. Its a solid strategy. I guess they are all guilty of baiting too. For me i found it a waste of time taking notes on the whole book when ferralis(or whoevers notes) notes are just a summary of the book you already purchased. This does not mean don't read the book because it gives you a solid foundation to work with. For example, I don't think the animal sections go into enough detail or provide nearly enough diagrams. The best strategy is the one where you use your time most efficiently. Please back to constructive advice. The question was what is missing from cliffs notes...

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Take it however you like but I'm not the first person to score well on the DAT using Cliffs destroyer and bootcamp. Its a solid strategy. I guess they are all guilty of baiting too. For me i found it a waste of time taking notes on the whole book when ferralis(or whoevers notes) notes are just a summary of the book you already purchased. This does not mean don't read the book because it gives you a solid foundation to work with. For example, I don't think the animal sections go into enough detail or provide nearly enough diagrams. The best strategy is the one where you use your time most efficiently. Please back to constructive advice. The question was what is missing from cliffs notes...

I think Orka's advice is worth listening to. Sometimes you need to hear from people like him that did poorly on the DAT to know what to avoid.

 

[ColdToast]

I think Orka's advice is worth listening to. Sometimes you need to hear from people like him that did poorly on the DAT to know what to avoid.

Fair enough.

 

[Orka]

I think Orka's advice is worth listening to. Sometimes you need to hear from people like him that did poorly on the DAT to know what to avoid.

Haha, I guess you don't like getting caught stealing other peoples work.
But FYI I got a 25AA, I guess that's pretty poor. Got any advice how I can improve?

 

[Orka]

Take it however you like but I'm not the first person to score well on the DAT using Cliffs destroyer and bootcamp. Its a solid strategy. I guess they are all guilty of baiting too. For me i found it a waste of time taking notes on the whole book when ferralis(or whoevers notes) notes are just a summary of the book you already purchased. This does not mean don't read the book because it gives you a solid foundation to work with. For example, I don't think the animal sections go into enough detail or provide nearly enough diagrams. The best strategy is the one where you use your time most efficiently. Please back to constructive advice. The question was what is missing from cliffs notes...

Fair enough, everyone learns differently. If that worked for you, that's great.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Haha, I guess you don't like getting caught stealing other peoples work.
But FYI I got a 25AA, I guess that's pretty poor. Got any advice how I can improve?

I think the easiest way to improve is by being honest with yourself. You said last month you were planning to retake in August, which I doubt you'd be doing if you actually scored a 25 AA.

But hey, lying on the internet works too.

 

[Orka]

I think the easiest way to improve is by being honest with yourself. You said last month you were planning to retake in August, which I doubt you'd be doing if you actually scored a 25 AA.

But hey, lying on the internet works too.

That score expired a while ago, as you know DAT scores don't last forever. Don't jump to conclusions too fast, like I said in that post I had personal issues going on and it delayed me applying.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

That score expired a while ago, as you know DAT scores don't last forever. Don't jump to conclusions too fast, like I said in that post I had personal issues going on and it delayed me applying.

You took the Canadian DAT in November 2015, those scores wouldn't be expired anywhere - including for the upcoming cycle. Why dig the hole deeper?

 

[Achilless]

Feralis is a savage

 

[Orka]

You took the Canadian DAT in November 2015, those scores wouldn't be expired anywhere - including for the upcoming cycle. Why dig the hole deeper?

Let me be more clear since you like investigating this. I wrote the American DAT in 2013, those scores expired. And I wrote the Canadian DAT in 2015 November. But since some American schools do not accept Canadian DAT scores, I have to rewrite the American DAT for the 2nd time to apply broadly.

And I didn't apply earlier with the 2013 scores because I did not know whether I wanted to do medicine or dentistry at the moment. I hope this clarifies everything.

 

[I-hate-alginate]

Let's put this to rest! Very childish, both of you. Anyone on here can recommend any prep material.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Let me be more clear since you like investigating this. I wrote the American DAT in 2013, those scores expired. And I wrote the Canadian DAT in 2015 November. But since some American schools do not accept Canadian DAT scores, I have to rewrite the American DAT for the 2nd time to apply broadly.

And I didn't apply earlier with the 2013 scores because I did not know whether I wanted to do medicine or dentistry at the moment. I hope this clarifies this.

So you expect me to believe that as a Canadian you wrote the American DAT first but didn't take the Canadian DAT (which makes no sense, because Canadian schools won't accept the American DAT), then took the MCAT two years later, then took the Canadian DAT the year after that, and are now retaking the American DAT again, even though almost every American school that accepts Canadian applicants accepts the cDAT.

This sounds like a very believable chain of events, just like the 25 AA you definitely got.

Let's put this to rest! Very childish, both of you. Anyone on here can recommend any prep material.

I think credibility when it comes to recommendations is important. I'd certainly want to know if the person giving me advice had to lie about their DAT score to save face.

 

[Orka]

So you expect me to believe that as a Canadian you wrote the American DAT first, then took the MCAT two years later, then took the Canadian DAT the year after that, and are now retaking the American DAT again, even though almost every American school that accepts Canadian applicants accepts the cDAT.

This sounds like a very believable chain of events, just like the 25 AA you definitely got.

I think credibility when it comes to recommendations is just as important. I'd certainly want to know if the person giving me advice had to lie about their DAT score to save face.

You sure you go to Columbia? Your ethical principles are terrible and sound incredibly arrogant.

My previous post explains everything, believe what you want to believe. I wrote the American DAT instead of the Canadian DAT because the Canadian DAT isn't offered in the summer (only offered in Nov and Feb). Plus, I had personal issues going on which I would not like to disclose since it's very personal. At this point, stop digging into my personal life, you're making a clown of yourself.

Also, mind removing those illegal/plagiarized images you stole from the various books and other resources? It's copyright infringement.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

You sure you go to Columbia? Your ethical principles are terrible. My previous post explains everything, believe what you want to believe. I ahad personal issues going on which I would not like to disclose since it's very personal. At this point, stop digging into my personal life, you're making a clown of yourself.

Also, mind removing those illegal/plagiarised images you stole from the various books and other resources? It's copyright infringement.

You've definitely got personal issues, that much we can agree on.

 

[Orka]

You've definitely got personal issues, that much we can agree on.

Now you're just attacking me to avoid the fact that you stole content from different resources/books.
Anyways i'm done here.

@Prima Donna I apologize for this mess, and I wish you the best of luck.

 

[schmoob]

Let's keep it civil.

 

[Prima Donna]

Haha. Didn't mean for anything to start up here. But thanks for all the advice guys. I'll test out what feels most productive for me.