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OK...this is gonna be a quick post. I promise you a more indepth breakdown will follow, I just have a huge P-Chem test tomorrow, and still haven't stopped with the books.
So before I start, I am definitely retaking. My scores were OK, but I definitely let my nerves get to me.
Everything on my exam I knew, I wasnt thrown any curveballs that I have never seen before, so I really do not now how to explain my lower than expecting scores haha. Anyway
Bio-19
GChem- 20
Orgo- 19
Reading- 19
Math-17
PAT-- hold on to your hats... 14 =(
TS-19
AA-19
My study materials were Destroyer, Cliffs AP, Campbells, Wade for orgo, and Zuhmdahl for Gchem, cdp.
For my PAT, I totally lost track of time. I answered my last 20 questions all C. So that really killed me. My comp also froze when the 5 minute warning came up, which did not help at all.
For gchem, orgo, and bio - destroyer is on the mark. Definitely a bit more challenging but every problem I encountered on the exam, including bio, was addressed somewhere in the destroyer. Some questions were almost word for word. I think the trick to using the destroyer to its full potential would be making sure you don't always go through just the right answers, but read the explanations of the incorrect ones as well. that really helped me, and you would be surprised how familiar some of the questions looked. Math in the destroyer is also a great start, and contains every formula and situation you may encounter. however i would definitely recommend using some other math source as well for timing. some questions in destroyer are very short like sin(66)=....blahhh There were a couple questions on my exam that were similiar in conciseness, but you def. need to work on timing. ALOT of questions are lengthy to read with a lot of information that needs to be pulled out.
Cliffs AP bio i think is a fantastic study source. Its great for reviewing everything in a concise way, while still getting information you need. I do think that you should use a reference book like campbells with it as well.
Alot of people have said that bio is very random. I agree, and disagree. Yea there are those weird questions where you're like how the heck am i supposed to know, that was never in my reading. but i think you just need to reason them out.
ok well i seem to be on a role, so ill just lay it out by section and just give you the breakdown ha.
Bio- Mixture of straightforward, regurgitation problems where theyre just looking for definitions or general knowledge. and then questions where you need to apply your knowledge to a given situation. I was hoping for a 19 or 20, so i was pleased in this section.
Chem- I say i had a 50/50 mix of conceptual questions, and calculations. A couple calculations actually wanted a specific answer, ie .5moles. others just wanted the setup. Destroyer had everything you need i think. There were no questions on this part where i was like...no clue, skip. I was disappointed with the score. Honestly, i do not even know what i may have gotten wrong. I think i just rushed too much. I was hoping for 23 ballpark. Next time, i think i could nail it. oh and a couple of questions really took a good chunk of time to figure out unfortunately, so practice nailing out setups quickly.
Orgo- pretty straightforward. there were a couple questions i was really torn between two possible answers. I really did not have too many give the product questions. MAYBE two. mostly other orgo stuff. Which stunk cause i knew the roadmaps forwards and backwards. so considering there were only maybe 3 or 4 i was torn between answers, i think a 21 would have been my goal.
Reading- got pianoed. really didnt find it too difficult to be honest. obviously i cant give specifics but, if you just dont freak out about it when you see it, i think its pretty simple. I think alot of the hype makes it harder than it really is.
Math- straightforward. Many (MANY) word problems. know your triangles. i would probably say CDMATH isnt a bad purchase. Ill probably give it a try in december for my next exam. again destroyer is a good start. doesnt get any harder really, but you def. need the timing practice.
OK now to my Achilles heel apparently.
PAT - I used CDP and did pretty well. Had no score below 18, until i approached the DAT ha.
Cube counting was easier than CDP. No illusions. No hidden cubes.
Hole punching - easier for the most part. there were a couple tricky ones, but overall easier.
Angles- Probably easier, but it was never my strong point. they are bigger on the dat which makes it a little better. but a couple were still 4 degrees in difference id say.
apertures- easier than cdp. usually do very well on these. didnt really think it was too difficult.
......now to the good stuff.
TFE- for those of you who are a fan of line counting, start practicing visualization skills. I spent way too much time on this section counting lines, trying to eliminate choices. best case scenario, i eliminated one. so really practice visualizing, cause the line counting and events wont work great.
Pattern folding- the one pattern fold i actually got to wasnt bad. again i ran completely out of time.
If anyone has any questions i would really be happy to answer them. I think SDN is a great source of information. I am 20 years old, a senior, and am astonished that kids are so nice to help each other out. especially when you think about it, your helping you competition. But i think its great and shows that the future may be bright hahaha.
So the ADA allows a retake 90days after your exam, so Dec. 21st i will be rescheduling. I know what i am in for, and i think i will show a strong improvement...i hope haha.
gl in everyones studies.
So before I start, I am definitely retaking. My scores were OK, but I definitely let my nerves get to me.
Everything on my exam I knew, I wasnt thrown any curveballs that I have never seen before, so I really do not now how to explain my lower than expecting scores haha. Anyway
Bio-19
GChem- 20
Orgo- 19
Reading- 19
Math-17
PAT-- hold on to your hats... 14 =(
TS-19
AA-19
My study materials were Destroyer, Cliffs AP, Campbells, Wade for orgo, and Zuhmdahl for Gchem, cdp.
For my PAT, I totally lost track of time. I answered my last 20 questions all C. So that really killed me. My comp also froze when the 5 minute warning came up, which did not help at all.
For gchem, orgo, and bio - destroyer is on the mark. Definitely a bit more challenging but every problem I encountered on the exam, including bio, was addressed somewhere in the destroyer. Some questions were almost word for word. I think the trick to using the destroyer to its full potential would be making sure you don't always go through just the right answers, but read the explanations of the incorrect ones as well. that really helped me, and you would be surprised how familiar some of the questions looked. Math in the destroyer is also a great start, and contains every formula and situation you may encounter. however i would definitely recommend using some other math source as well for timing. some questions in destroyer are very short like sin(66)=....blahhh There were a couple questions on my exam that were similiar in conciseness, but you def. need to work on timing. ALOT of questions are lengthy to read with a lot of information that needs to be pulled out.
Cliffs AP bio i think is a fantastic study source. Its great for reviewing everything in a concise way, while still getting information you need. I do think that you should use a reference book like campbells with it as well.
Alot of people have said that bio is very random. I agree, and disagree. Yea there are those weird questions where you're like how the heck am i supposed to know, that was never in my reading. but i think you just need to reason them out.
ok well i seem to be on a role, so ill just lay it out by section and just give you the breakdown ha.
Bio- Mixture of straightforward, regurgitation problems where theyre just looking for definitions or general knowledge. and then questions where you need to apply your knowledge to a given situation. I was hoping for a 19 or 20, so i was pleased in this section.
Chem- I say i had a 50/50 mix of conceptual questions, and calculations. A couple calculations actually wanted a specific answer, ie .5moles. others just wanted the setup. Destroyer had everything you need i think. There were no questions on this part where i was like...no clue, skip. I was disappointed with the score. Honestly, i do not even know what i may have gotten wrong. I think i just rushed too much. I was hoping for 23 ballpark. Next time, i think i could nail it. oh and a couple of questions really took a good chunk of time to figure out unfortunately, so practice nailing out setups quickly.
Orgo- pretty straightforward. there were a couple questions i was really torn between two possible answers. I really did not have too many give the product questions. MAYBE two. mostly other orgo stuff. Which stunk cause i knew the roadmaps forwards and backwards. so considering there were only maybe 3 or 4 i was torn between answers, i think a 21 would have been my goal.
Reading- got pianoed. really didnt find it too difficult to be honest. obviously i cant give specifics but, if you just dont freak out about it when you see it, i think its pretty simple. I think alot of the hype makes it harder than it really is.
Math- straightforward. Many (MANY) word problems. know your triangles. i would probably say CDMATH isnt a bad purchase. Ill probably give it a try in december for my next exam. again destroyer is a good start. doesnt get any harder really, but you def. need the timing practice.
OK now to my Achilles heel apparently.
PAT - I used CDP and did pretty well. Had no score below 18, until i approached the DAT ha.
Cube counting was easier than CDP. No illusions. No hidden cubes.
Hole punching - easier for the most part. there were a couple tricky ones, but overall easier.
Angles- Probably easier, but it was never my strong point. they are bigger on the dat which makes it a little better. but a couple were still 4 degrees in difference id say.
apertures- easier than cdp. usually do very well on these. didnt really think it was too difficult.
......now to the good stuff.
TFE- for those of you who are a fan of line counting, start practicing visualization skills. I spent way too much time on this section counting lines, trying to eliminate choices. best case scenario, i eliminated one. so really practice visualizing, cause the line counting and events wont work great.
Pattern folding- the one pattern fold i actually got to wasnt bad. again i ran completely out of time.
If anyone has any questions i would really be happy to answer them. I think SDN is a great source of information. I am 20 years old, a senior, and am astonished that kids are so nice to help each other out. especially when you think about it, your helping you competition. But i think its great and shows that the future may be bright hahaha.
So the ADA allows a retake 90days after your exam, so Dec. 21st i will be rescheduling. I know what i am in for, and i think i will show a strong improvement...i hope haha.
gl in everyones studies.
