crack dat pat
Started by jd399
Hey everyone, I also just took my first Crack Dat Pat test and scored a 15.. it was my second time everr taking a practice PAT (1st was the Kaplan diagnostic- scored a 12).. Is this a good start?? I honestly had no clue what I was doing.. just kind of played it out the best I could.. after reviewing my first crack pat it makes a little more sense though.. any comments?
From what I hear crack pat is equal difficult or even a bit harder than the real DAT.
Ive taken the first 7 tests so far. I do one a day.
Ive steadily progressed, I started with a 16 and 17 on random tests. Then I started doing the regular ones.
Got:
19, 18, 18, 18, 23, 21, 20.
I dont know how but I just kept jumping up and then plateau'ing then jumping up again. It definately helps though.
Ive taken the first 7 tests so far. I do one a day.
Ive steadily progressed, I started with a 16 and 17 on random tests. Then I started doing the regular ones.
Got:
19, 18, 18, 18, 23, 21, 20.
I dont know how but I just kept jumping up and then plateau'ing then jumping up again. It definately helps though.
I bought the 5 test pack. So far, I've scored the following:
Test 1 - 18
Test 2 - 20
Test 3 - 20
I've consistently made stupid mistakes, a couple on keyholes and a couple on folding patterns, but I've definitely gotten better and more comfortable.
I've taken the DAT before, and for some reason the cube counting on these seems a bit weird. For instance, I've never seen one where on the bottom row/level, there was only 1 cube, and the second row/level seemed to be hovering in air? Definitely seems trickier than the real DAT from what I remember....
For comparison's sake, I also have Topscore. The very first PAT practice test I took was Topscore Test 1 and I got a 20.
Test 1 - 18
Test 2 - 20
Test 3 - 20
I've consistently made stupid mistakes, a couple on keyholes and a couple on folding patterns, but I've definitely gotten better and more comfortable.
I've taken the DAT before, and for some reason the cube counting on these seems a bit weird. For instance, I've never seen one where on the bottom row/level, there was only 1 cube, and the second row/level seemed to be hovering in air? Definitely seems trickier than the real DAT from what I remember....
For comparison's sake, I also have Topscore. The very first PAT practice test I took was Topscore Test 1 and I got a 20.
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I would suggest planning a strategy for each sub-section; how you wanna attack each type of problem.
And take time after each test to go verrrryyy carefully over each problem you got wrong AND right. You can learn a LOT this way.
They are on par/a tiny bit more difficult than the real thing, and the real test *shouldnt* have weird mistakes like hovering cubes or weird illusions.
I scored 19-21's on the 5 I took, and ended up with a 26 on the real test.
And take time after each test to go verrrryyy carefully over each problem you got wrong AND right. You can learn a LOT this way.
They are on par/a tiny bit more difficult than the real thing, and the real test *shouldnt* have weird mistakes like hovering cubes or weird illusions.
I scored 19-21's on the 5 I took, and ended up with a 26 on the real test.
Hey theragu and everyone else,
I am having trouble with the top end, right end, front problems.. any suggestions? I know solid you can see.. dotted you can't, but what else do I need to know? I still can't figure this out.
Also, the hole-punch ones are very confusing.. any tips for these?
I am having trouble with the top end, right end, front problems.. any suggestions? I know solid you can see.. dotted you can't, but what else do I need to know? I still can't figure this out.
Also, the hole-punch ones are very confusing.. any tips for these?
I havent done this yet, but get a dry erase board and marker and practice drawing a grid (like the hole punch section) and draw in where the marks would be. (allowed on the exam btw)
CDP is great!
It was very similar to the real deal. There were however some differences.
-The holes on the hole punching are smaller on the real thing, so it did throw me off a little bit.
-The keyhole section was more difficult on the real thing
-The pattern folding was more difficult on the real thing
-TFE seemed about on par with cdp, maybe a little easier
-Hole punch and cube counting were much easier on the real thing
-angle ranking actually seemed possible compared to cdp, which I found to be impossible
Just make sure you do practice a lot, that's the key. I did all ten tests then repeated no. 1 and also repeated a few of the cube counter sections because I was having trouble mastering the 0-5 table method.
It was very similar to the real deal. There were however some differences.
-The holes on the hole punching are smaller on the real thing, so it did throw me off a little bit.
-The keyhole section was more difficult on the real thing
-The pattern folding was more difficult on the real thing
-TFE seemed about on par with cdp, maybe a little easier
-Hole punch and cube counting were much easier on the real thing
-angle ranking actually seemed possible compared to cdp, which I found to be impossible
Just make sure you do practice a lot, that's the key. I did all ten tests then repeated no. 1 and also repeated a few of the cube counter sections because I was having trouble mastering the 0-5 table method.
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In my opinion I feel like it all has to do with what the person is strongest with.
What if for some reason I can tell a 1 degree angle apart but I cant cout cubes. Or something else.
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It all depends on how much time u have and want to spend time wise and money wise
You can always upgrade your version after purchasing a lower version if you feel the need, so if doubtful, just get the 5 test version at first.
I definitely agree with Kahr - get the 5 pack and work through those as time permits, and if you have more time just upgrade to keep practice up.
I got the 5 pack and went from scoring 18 on my first to 23 on my last one. I would upgrade to the 10 pack but I'm taking my exam in 2 days and still have a Topscore PA left.
One thing I changed as I worked through the 5 was where I started in the test. The first 2 (scored 18/20) I worked through it in order. The last 3 (20, 22, 23) I started with the cube counting since this seemed to be the simplest section for me. By starting with this section it got my mind working while also eliminating the feeling of rushing through it and making stupid mistakes. Just a suggestion that worked for me...
I got the 5 pack and went from scoring 18 on my first to 23 on my last one. I would upgrade to the 10 pack but I'm taking my exam in 2 days and still have a Topscore PA left.
One thing I changed as I worked through the 5 was where I started in the test. The first 2 (scored 18/20) I worked through it in order. The last 3 (20, 22, 23) I started with the cube counting since this seemed to be the simplest section for me. By starting with this section it got my mind working while also eliminating the feeling of rushing through it and making stupid mistakes. Just a suggestion that worked for me...
I did the same thing. I started taking them in order, and noticed that I am good at pattern folding and im not as good at TFE, second worst is the angles. So why should I be time crunched for the patterns, plus I can do the angles in 5 mins or less.
Order I do is:
Keyholes
Hole Punch
Cube Count
Patterns
Angles
TFE
