Biology 18
G chem 21
O chem 18
TS 19
PAT 17
RC 24
Math 18
AA 20
Bio I used Kaplan, AP Cliffs, and AP Barrons but the questions were so random that the studying barely helped. Some questions on the test were factual, but a lot were very conceptual, applying your knowledge. I think that just Kaplan or just Cliffs was good enough for this section.
G chem I used Kaplan for concepts and Destroyer for practice problems. If I could go back, I would just use Kaplan and Destroyer only for some conceptual and Lewis problems. Destroyer was way too detailed and pointless for this section. Calculation questions on the test were extremely basic, like the practice ADA test. They required only the basic ideal gas laws. No Raoults law, Daltons Law, or Grahams law. P(MW) = DRT is a good one to know. Know how to do the ADA question on how many moles of each atom are in a molecule, very simple pH questions, percent composition, easy balancing problems, labeling diagrams of activation energy, the definition of boiling point, what hess's law is, how to find the shape of a molecule (know all the VSEPR shapes based on AX3, AX3, AX3E, AX3E2, etc), the hybridization on an atom, the characteristics of an endothermic reaction, finding the reducing agent, etc. Basically, extremely simple. Id stick to those problems in DAT Destroyer. Topscore was good practice but still too complicated mathematically.
O chem This section was comparable in difficulty to Topscore but had almost none of the same problems on it, except maybe boiling point problems. I memorized every single reaction I came across in Destroyer and Topscore but there were still some on the real thing I didnt know. I thought this section was really hard, like the Bio, so Im surprised I got an 18. The ADA practice test was too easy for this section. I had no simple free radical questions, E2 or SN2, EAS, maybe one simple alkylation problem on the real thing. If I could go back Id study more of the conceptual stuff but I guess knowing as many reactions as possible is good. Know Dieckman condensation.
PAT I used only CDP for this and it screwed me over. I was getting 20-22s on CDP and got a 17 on the real thing because I used line counting which worked for all the questions on the TFE on CDP. Pattern folding and Keyhole also had extremely different emphases on the real test. It was nothing like CDP. In CDP there were way more complicated keyhole problems that only focused on shape. The real thing had very simple shapes with subtle differences in size. Pattern folding was really different also. CDP focused on shading and not so much on the shapes, or if it did, the shapes were simple. The real thing had super complicated shapes and very little shading problems. The cube counting was extremely simple, none of those illusions or crazy number of cubes. The hole punching was slightly different because a few of them were folded in between the 4x4 lines which was confusing. No half holes though and only one diagonal, so still pretty simple, like the last 3 CDP tests. Angles were easier than CDP. So basically use other resources also or just dont use line counting and get screwed like me!
Math I spent a couple weeks doing the 10 Crack Dat math tests and making flashcards but I found the problems were not very similar to the ones on the real test. There was too much probability on Crack Dat Math. I did use Destroyer Math which was a lot simpler and more like the real thing, but Ive heard the separate Math Destroyer is better. Id use just that if I could do it again. Topscore was way too easy. I was getting 20-23. The problems on the actual test I missed were word problems that I had no idea how to do. So I guess the more exposure to different problems the better.
RC Topscore + a little practice with tone questions from Kaplan or the ADA test is good enough for this. Although the answers were not word-for-word from the passage like Topscore, they were pretty similar. I skimmed the passages for a few mins and then just did the questions. The answers were scattered around the passage.
Good luck on your DAT!! This is definitely the hardest test Ive ever had to study for and the amount of different resources is crazy. It is a very hard test to prepare for because all the resources dont necessarily correlate with the real thing. If I could go back, Id focus more on using different resources for the PAT, and definitely take it easy on the g chem problems, just use Math Destroyer for math, maybe just Cliffs for Bio, and Destroyer for Ochem. And Topscore for practice right before. I got 18-19 science on Topscore and thats what I ended up getting. I havent used Achiever so I dont know about that. Hope this helps!
** I have my Destroyer and Kaplan books up for sale on SDN, so if anyone wants them you can check out my post in the for sale section or let me know.
G chem 21
O chem 18
TS 19
PAT 17
RC 24
Math 18
AA 20
Bio I used Kaplan, AP Cliffs, and AP Barrons but the questions were so random that the studying barely helped. Some questions on the test were factual, but a lot were very conceptual, applying your knowledge. I think that just Kaplan or just Cliffs was good enough for this section.
G chem I used Kaplan for concepts and Destroyer for practice problems. If I could go back, I would just use Kaplan and Destroyer only for some conceptual and Lewis problems. Destroyer was way too detailed and pointless for this section. Calculation questions on the test were extremely basic, like the practice ADA test. They required only the basic ideal gas laws. No Raoults law, Daltons Law, or Grahams law. P(MW) = DRT is a good one to know. Know how to do the ADA question on how many moles of each atom are in a molecule, very simple pH questions, percent composition, easy balancing problems, labeling diagrams of activation energy, the definition of boiling point, what hess's law is, how to find the shape of a molecule (know all the VSEPR shapes based on AX3, AX3, AX3E, AX3E2, etc), the hybridization on an atom, the characteristics of an endothermic reaction, finding the reducing agent, etc. Basically, extremely simple. Id stick to those problems in DAT Destroyer. Topscore was good practice but still too complicated mathematically.
O chem This section was comparable in difficulty to Topscore but had almost none of the same problems on it, except maybe boiling point problems. I memorized every single reaction I came across in Destroyer and Topscore but there were still some on the real thing I didnt know. I thought this section was really hard, like the Bio, so Im surprised I got an 18. The ADA practice test was too easy for this section. I had no simple free radical questions, E2 or SN2, EAS, maybe one simple alkylation problem on the real thing. If I could go back Id study more of the conceptual stuff but I guess knowing as many reactions as possible is good. Know Dieckman condensation.
PAT I used only CDP for this and it screwed me over. I was getting 20-22s on CDP and got a 17 on the real thing because I used line counting which worked for all the questions on the TFE on CDP. Pattern folding and Keyhole also had extremely different emphases on the real test. It was nothing like CDP. In CDP there were way more complicated keyhole problems that only focused on shape. The real thing had very simple shapes with subtle differences in size. Pattern folding was really different also. CDP focused on shading and not so much on the shapes, or if it did, the shapes were simple. The real thing had super complicated shapes and very little shading problems. The cube counting was extremely simple, none of those illusions or crazy number of cubes. The hole punching was slightly different because a few of them were folded in between the 4x4 lines which was confusing. No half holes though and only one diagonal, so still pretty simple, like the last 3 CDP tests. Angles were easier than CDP. So basically use other resources also or just dont use line counting and get screwed like me!
Math I spent a couple weeks doing the 10 Crack Dat math tests and making flashcards but I found the problems were not very similar to the ones on the real test. There was too much probability on Crack Dat Math. I did use Destroyer Math which was a lot simpler and more like the real thing, but Ive heard the separate Math Destroyer is better. Id use just that if I could do it again. Topscore was way too easy. I was getting 20-23. The problems on the actual test I missed were word problems that I had no idea how to do. So I guess the more exposure to different problems the better.
RC Topscore + a little practice with tone questions from Kaplan or the ADA test is good enough for this. Although the answers were not word-for-word from the passage like Topscore, they were pretty similar. I skimmed the passages for a few mins and then just did the questions. The answers were scattered around the passage.
Good luck on your DAT!! This is definitely the hardest test Ive ever had to study for and the amount of different resources is crazy. It is a very hard test to prepare for because all the resources dont necessarily correlate with the real thing. If I could go back, Id focus more on using different resources for the PAT, and definitely take it easy on the g chem problems, just use Math Destroyer for math, maybe just Cliffs for Bio, and Destroyer for Ochem. And Topscore for practice right before. I got 18-19 science on Topscore and thats what I ended up getting. I havent used Achiever so I dont know about that. Hope this helps!
** I have my Destroyer and Kaplan books up for sale on SDN, so if anyone wants them you can check out my post in the for sale section or let me know.
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