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- Apr 24, 2011
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Hi everyone! I took my DAT on 9/9/11 and wanted to contribute to SDN by sharing my thoughts/advice and to motivate everyone out there preparing for this exam.
PAT: 30 (100.0)
QR: 23 (98.8)
RC: 23 (89.8)
Bio: 26 (99.5)
GC: 29 (99.7)
OC: 29 (98.9)
TS: 28 (100.0)
AA: 26 (100.0)
PAT [Kaplan + Crack DAT PAT + Topscore + Condogs PAT videos]
Keyholes: I wasnt sure what people meant by proportions on this section since all the keyholes I had matched the figure pretty well. This section was comparable to CDP but the ones on the Kaplan practice tests were good in preparing you to reorient the figure and deciding which keyholes is the best.
TFE: CDP was a good representation of this section. I visualized what the object would look like and determined the answer.
Angles: I found this section surprisingly easy compared to CDP. I always struggled with this section the most on CDP because I honestly could not tell the difference between some angles on those practice tests. The angles on the DAT was much more discernable! Plus, boxes surrounded each angle so that mightve helped with orienting the angles to do the hill method.
Hole Punch: Much easier than CDP. I used the grid method to keep track of the holes. A lot of the hole punches were doable in my head after practicing with CDP.
Cube Counting: A lot easier than CDP! The figure was huge on the screen and there are way fewer cubes to count. I kept track of my cubes by making tallies for each figure.
Pattern Folding: Everyone is right in saying there were fewer patterns/shading and more complicated shapes. CDP was good for folding with patterns, but Kaplan practice tests and Topscore were good for folding with more complex shapes. I shouldnt have spent too much time double checking my answers for this section. By the time I got to the last few questions for pattern folding, I was pressed for time and had to quickly figure out the correct answer by going with my gut. So if you confidently determined an answer to be right, then it is 100% right and all the other choices are completely wrong!
QR [Kaplan Book + Chads QR Videos + Math Destroyer + Practice Tests]
The DAT QR section was much easier than Math Destroyer. Time is money on this section so you want to be able to go through all the easy problems (they definitely appear around questions 35-40 so dont dwell on the earlier problems; this is how they get you!). If you see a problem that is time consuming or simply do not know what to do; pick an answer, mark it, and move on! I think I had about 5 or so questions that Ive guessed on and marked, so with 2 minutes left I just made educated guesses before time ran out. Know your conversions (lbs, oz, kg; ft, mi, km). Know how to do those rate problems, Distance = Velocity *Time problems, and probability problems stone cold! Keep in mind that the calculator lags. Try clicking hard since it seemed to help with registering my inputs. Youll be able to test out how reliable the calculator is during the tutorial before the exam.
RC [Kaplan + Crack DAT Reading + Practice Tests]
The RC on the DAT was much easier than any of the practice material I used. The passages I got were antibiotics, herbal medicine, and bone fractures. They were all 14 paragraphs each. The first passage I read all the way through and answered the questions accordingly in the order they came up on the test. This method took me longer than expected but I continued using this method for the second passage as well.
This left me with ~15 minutes for the last passage. I had to change up my strategy here so I could finish on time. So what I did was read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs. This was usually sufficient to tackle the tone/inference questions (there arent too many overall and they were fairly easy to answer). And then I skimmed through the middle paragraphs taking note of the topics in my head. I had to haul ass with the 5 or so questions left since time was ticking by now. I read each question quickly, determined where in the reading it referred to, skimmed for the answer, and answered the question hoping it would be the correct answer. I did this for the remaining questions and had 10 seconds to spare. I didnt have time to go over any marked questions so I just hoped that the answers I picked were good enough and hopefully Id get at least a 20 in RC.
Somehow I scored a lot better than any of the practice reading Ive done since I could only manage to get as high as 22 if I was lucky. Just to add on, I was never able to finish any practice reading on time and was always rushed to answer the last few questions.
Bio [Kaplan Book + Cliffs AP Bio + Wikipedia + Alans Notes+ Destroyer + DATQvault]
The questions that appeared on the DAT were a bit easier than Kaplan practice tests and Topscore. After going through Destroyer, DATQvault, and practice tests, the majority of the questions on the DAT were mentioned in those resources in some shape or form (which is why I think the more exposure to bio problems, the better). I was so happy to have Destroyer because some of the random facts from it actually appeared on the DAT and saved me!
GC [Chads Videos + Destroyer]
The questions were pretty much straightforward. No tricks or surprises. Chads + Destroyer were sufficient in preparation for this section.
OC [Chads Videos + Destroyer]
The questions asked on the DAT were very basic and straightforward. Destroyer + Chads was more than sufficient for this section.
I did the Kaplan Diagnostic in mid-June, then the Midterm sometime mid-July. A week before my exam, I did 7 practice tests everyday at the same time as my actual DAT to build up my testing endurance and to get used to doing a full length exam. I did the following 7 in order: Kaplan Final, Kaplan Practice Test 1, Kaplan Practice Test 2, Kaplan Practice Test 3, Topscore 1, Topscore 2, Topscore 3. Here are all my practice test results:
Test---------PAT--QR--RC--Bio--GC--OC--TS--AA
KapDia------17---20---19--18---17---17--17--18
KapMid------25---16---17--18---18---16--17--17
KapFin-------25---24---21--19---18---25--21--21
Kap1---------24---22---22--20---21---25--22--22
Kap2---------25---25---21--20---20---21--20--21
Kap3---------22---24---20--26---18---20--22--22
Top1---------26---25---21--29---28---30--30--27
Top2---------25---22---20--26---25---28--27--24
Top3---------25---30---20--29---28---30--30--27
CDP: 21, 23, 23, 22, 24, 23, 25, 23, 25, 22
CDR: 18, 20, 19, 19, 20
The day before, I looked over Alans Notes w/ the notes I added on and looked over Destroyers Roadmaps.
Thoughts/Advice
-Take a day off or two if you need a break from studying. I personally ended up watching a movie every Friday during the month of July.
-Keep track of your break time. It takes a while to check in/out. By the time I returned, there was a pop up that said my break was already over. Fortunately it didnt start the RC until I sat down. I guess I got pretty lucky there.
-Bring ear plugs if you have them
-Work hard, stay positive, and stay motivated!
-Try to stay calm during test day and during the test. It helped me to imagine how good it will feel once I finish.
I want to thank the SDN community for everything in helping me prepare for the DAT. It definitely helped me to work hard and do my best. Its becoming apparent that if you put in the time and effort, youll see results. Good luck!
PAT: 30 (100.0)
QR: 23 (98.8)
RC: 23 (89.8)
Bio: 26 (99.5)
GC: 29 (99.7)
OC: 29 (98.9)
TS: 28 (100.0)
AA: 26 (100.0)
PAT [Kaplan + Crack DAT PAT + Topscore + Condogs PAT videos]
Keyholes: I wasnt sure what people meant by proportions on this section since all the keyholes I had matched the figure pretty well. This section was comparable to CDP but the ones on the Kaplan practice tests were good in preparing you to reorient the figure and deciding which keyholes is the best.
TFE: CDP was a good representation of this section. I visualized what the object would look like and determined the answer.
Angles: I found this section surprisingly easy compared to CDP. I always struggled with this section the most on CDP because I honestly could not tell the difference between some angles on those practice tests. The angles on the DAT was much more discernable! Plus, boxes surrounded each angle so that mightve helped with orienting the angles to do the hill method.
Hole Punch: Much easier than CDP. I used the grid method to keep track of the holes. A lot of the hole punches were doable in my head after practicing with CDP.
Cube Counting: A lot easier than CDP! The figure was huge on the screen and there are way fewer cubes to count. I kept track of my cubes by making tallies for each figure.
Pattern Folding: Everyone is right in saying there were fewer patterns/shading and more complicated shapes. CDP was good for folding with patterns, but Kaplan practice tests and Topscore were good for folding with more complex shapes. I shouldnt have spent too much time double checking my answers for this section. By the time I got to the last few questions for pattern folding, I was pressed for time and had to quickly figure out the correct answer by going with my gut. So if you confidently determined an answer to be right, then it is 100% right and all the other choices are completely wrong!
QR [Kaplan Book + Chads QR Videos + Math Destroyer + Practice Tests]
The DAT QR section was much easier than Math Destroyer. Time is money on this section so you want to be able to go through all the easy problems (they definitely appear around questions 35-40 so dont dwell on the earlier problems; this is how they get you!). If you see a problem that is time consuming or simply do not know what to do; pick an answer, mark it, and move on! I think I had about 5 or so questions that Ive guessed on and marked, so with 2 minutes left I just made educated guesses before time ran out. Know your conversions (lbs, oz, kg; ft, mi, km). Know how to do those rate problems, Distance = Velocity *Time problems, and probability problems stone cold! Keep in mind that the calculator lags. Try clicking hard since it seemed to help with registering my inputs. Youll be able to test out how reliable the calculator is during the tutorial before the exam.
RC [Kaplan + Crack DAT Reading + Practice Tests]
The RC on the DAT was much easier than any of the practice material I used. The passages I got were antibiotics, herbal medicine, and bone fractures. They were all 14 paragraphs each. The first passage I read all the way through and answered the questions accordingly in the order they came up on the test. This method took me longer than expected but I continued using this method for the second passage as well.
This left me with ~15 minutes for the last passage. I had to change up my strategy here so I could finish on time. So what I did was read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs. This was usually sufficient to tackle the tone/inference questions (there arent too many overall and they were fairly easy to answer). And then I skimmed through the middle paragraphs taking note of the topics in my head. I had to haul ass with the 5 or so questions left since time was ticking by now. I read each question quickly, determined where in the reading it referred to, skimmed for the answer, and answered the question hoping it would be the correct answer. I did this for the remaining questions and had 10 seconds to spare. I didnt have time to go over any marked questions so I just hoped that the answers I picked were good enough and hopefully Id get at least a 20 in RC.
Somehow I scored a lot better than any of the practice reading Ive done since I could only manage to get as high as 22 if I was lucky. Just to add on, I was never able to finish any practice reading on time and was always rushed to answer the last few questions.
Bio [Kaplan Book + Cliffs AP Bio + Wikipedia + Alans Notes+ Destroyer + DATQvault]
The questions that appeared on the DAT were a bit easier than Kaplan practice tests and Topscore. After going through Destroyer, DATQvault, and practice tests, the majority of the questions on the DAT were mentioned in those resources in some shape or form (which is why I think the more exposure to bio problems, the better). I was so happy to have Destroyer because some of the random facts from it actually appeared on the DAT and saved me!
GC [Chads Videos + Destroyer]
The questions were pretty much straightforward. No tricks or surprises. Chads + Destroyer were sufficient in preparation for this section.
OC [Chads Videos + Destroyer]
The questions asked on the DAT were very basic and straightforward. Destroyer + Chads was more than sufficient for this section.
I did the Kaplan Diagnostic in mid-June, then the Midterm sometime mid-July. A week before my exam, I did 7 practice tests everyday at the same time as my actual DAT to build up my testing endurance and to get used to doing a full length exam. I did the following 7 in order: Kaplan Final, Kaplan Practice Test 1, Kaplan Practice Test 2, Kaplan Practice Test 3, Topscore 1, Topscore 2, Topscore 3. Here are all my practice test results:
Test---------PAT--QR--RC--Bio--GC--OC--TS--AA
KapDia------17---20---19--18---17---17--17--18
KapMid------25---16---17--18---18---16--17--17
KapFin-------25---24---21--19---18---25--21--21
Kap1---------24---22---22--20---21---25--22--22
Kap2---------25---25---21--20---20---21--20--21
Kap3---------22---24---20--26---18---20--22--22
Top1---------26---25---21--29---28---30--30--27
Top2---------25---22---20--26---25---28--27--24
Top3---------25---30---20--29---28---30--30--27
CDP: 21, 23, 23, 22, 24, 23, 25, 23, 25, 22
CDR: 18, 20, 19, 19, 20
The day before, I looked over Alans Notes w/ the notes I added on and looked over Destroyers Roadmaps.
Thoughts/Advice
-Take a day off or two if you need a break from studying. I personally ended up watching a movie every Friday during the month of July.
-Keep track of your break time. It takes a while to check in/out. By the time I returned, there was a pop up that said my break was already over. Fortunately it didnt start the RC until I sat down. I guess I got pretty lucky there.
-Bring ear plugs if you have them
-Work hard, stay positive, and stay motivated!
-Try to stay calm during test day and during the test. It helped me to imagine how good it will feel once I finish.
I want to thank the SDN community for everything in helping me prepare for the DAT. It definitely helped me to work hard and do my best. Its becoming apparent that if you put in the time and effort, youll see results. Good luck!
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