DAT Advice???

[anm2495]

I need some advice.
I have my DAT in 5 days! YES 5 days!!!
I feel pretty good about my sciences and everything else for the most part except for QR. honestly, I feel like I'm going to get like a 10 on it. I have no clue what to do.. I don't wanna focus all of my time on QR because I feel like I'm going to forget everything else. I'm getting very discouraged and depressed at this point ☹️ I don't feel ready but I have already applied and the school is waiting for my DAT score... Also, I start my senior year of college in a week so I can't postpone the exam any further.
If I get a really bad score on my DAT, should I cancel my application? Will that look bad on my next cycle? I AM FREAKING OUT!
Please help me... Any advice? Thank you in advance....

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[Pugmom]

Hey there,

Try not to freak out, it's going to be okay! I felt the same way about QR. I could only get a 15/16 on bootcamp so I thought I was going to fail in on the real test. Have you been reviewing the basics and doing practice problems? If you do those and feel comfortable you should be fine so after that I would focus on your timing! The last week before my exam I spent most of my time practicing math problems and such and then I would flip through my science stuff, and a little PAT. I ended up with a 17 on the real test and I was very pleased because I had only reviewed for about a week! You can do it! If you're ready in the other sections just focus on math and get ready to destroy the DAT! confidence it key!

 

[anm2495]

Hey there,

Try not to freak out, it's going to be okay! I felt the same way about QR. I could only get a 15/16 on bootcamp so I thought I was going to fail in on the real test. Have you been reviewing the basics and doing practice problems? If you do those and feel comfortable you should be fine so after that I would focus on your timing! The last week before my exam I spent most of my time practicing math problems and such and then I would flip through my science stuff, and a little PAT. I ended up with a 17 on the real test and I was very pleased because I had only reviewed for about a week! You can do it! If you're ready in the other sections just focus on math and get ready to destroy the DAT! confidence it key!

Thank you so much for your reply!
I have always sucked at math, I'm just not good at it, also I have only had College Algebra which was about 2 years ago so I'm not familiar with any of the trig at all. Which practice exams should I take? Which were the most similar to the DAT? Thank you once again.

 

[Frankenstein777]

Thank you so much for your reply!
I have always sucked at math, I'm just not good at it, also I have only had College Algebra which was about 2 years ago so I'm not familiar with any of the trig at all. Which practice exams should I take? Which were the most similar to the DAT? Thank you once again.

Try to stay calm and get good rest/excerise leading up to the test. I am a non-traditional student and was far removed from just about all my college-level math, which only went through pre-calc. I did all the bootcamp QR tests and never broke 18. I was just as nervous as you. I went through the QR portion of the DAT destroyer a couple of days before the test and was able to score a 21 on the QR section, which was a huge reason I pulled a 20 AA. I thought it was going to be my worst section too. Memorize all the equations in the front of Math Destroyer and have the ability to solve DAT destroyer-level questions and you should be solid!

 

[Pugmom]

I used DAT bootcamp practice exams as well as DAT destroyer math problems. The are lots of other sources out there! I don't think there was any trig on mine, but it's been about a month now so I can't really remember it. Definitely work on you weak areas and know the basics of fractions, unit conversions ( at least 3 on my test), scientific notation, easy stuff but important to know how to do quickly. The questions from each source are all very different..the key is to see and become familiar with the different types of questions and common things that will most likely show up on your test!

 

[anm2495]

Try to stay calm and get good rest/excerise leading up to the test. I am a non-traditional student and was far removed from just about all my college-level math, which only went through pre-calc. I did all the bootcamp QR tests and never broke 18. I was just as nervous as you. I went through the QR portion of the DAT destroyer a couple of days before the test and was able to score a 21 on the QR section, which was a huge reason I pulled a 20 AA. I thought it was going to be my worst section too. Memorize all the equations in the front of Math Destroyer and have the ability to solve DAT destroyer-level questions and you should be solid!

Thank you so much. Made me feel a little better

 

[anm2495]

I used DAT bootcamp practice exams as well as DAT destroyer math problems. The are lots of other sources out there! I don't think there was any trig on mine, but it's been about a month now so I can't really remember it. Definitely work on you weak areas and know the basics of fractions, unit conversions ( at least 3 on my test), scientific notation, easy stuff but important to know how to do quickly. The questions from each source are all very different..the key is to see and become familiar with the different types of questions and common things that will most likely show up on your test!

Thank you so much for your reply

 

[Rand627]

If it makes you feel better, I felt pretty dang similar. I was somewhat freaking out about QR. Ended up getting a 22 on it and was expected 20 or below. It is the least important section (pretty universally accepted here on SDN). People with 16's get accepted somewhat readily!

 

[anm2495]

If it makes you feel better, I felt pretty dang similar. I was somewhat freaking out about QR. Ended up getting a 22 on it and was expected 20 or below. It is the least important section (pretty universally accepted here on SDN). People with 16's get accepted somewhat readily!

Did you do any practice exams?
I have the DAT destroyer, if I practice it, will it be enough? Please tell me more about your experience.

 

[Polkadotfan]

So many memories...of just a month ago when I too was on the brink of tears over QR.
I could notttttt do well. Like...15s. I went over Chad's, did my BC and Destroyer. I don't think I ever broke 16.
During my test I did the strategy that you do the problems that you KNOW you can do. I would see a problem on some parts and be like "What? What does this want?!" And just mark C and mark it. Finished what I knew, then went back to the marked. That problem I had no idea on? Sometimes it would click and I'd be able to solve it. If not, just skip. Anddd repeat until I finished most of what I knew.
Got an 18.

Now, don't go to the real thing without trying this first! Try it for some practice tests if you can and see if it works. If it doesn't that's fine!
I think the most important thing is to not freak out. Go in knowing you'll destroy it regardless!

 

[anm2495]

So many memories...of just a month ago when I too was on the brink of tears over QR.
I could notttttt do well. Like...15s. I went over Chad's, did my BC and Destroyer. I don't think I ever broke 16.
During my test I did the strategy that you do the problems that you KNOW you can do. I would see a problem on some parts and be like "What? What does this want?!" And just mark C and mark it. Finished what I knew, then went back to the marked. That problem I had no idea on? Sometimes it would click and I'd be able to solve it. If not, just skip. Anddd repeat until I finished most of what I knew.
Got an 18.

Now, don't go to the real thing without trying this first! Try it for some practice tests if you can and see if it works. If it doesn't that's fine!
I think the most important thing is to not freak out. Go in knowing you'll destroy it regardless!

Thank you so much for your feedback!!!
Did you have a lot of trig problems? Because I'm so lost... I have never had trig before...

 

[Rand627]

Did you do any practice exams?
I have the DAT destroyer, if I practice it, will it be enough? Please tell me more about your experience.

My math prep was as follows. I watched Chad's QR videos and did the practice problems about 4 months before the test. Then, when the semester I was at ended, I did all my other prep (bio, o/gchem, etc) whilst also mixing in some QR practice. The extra QR practice came from bootcamp and from 2015 DAT destroyer QR section.

So I definitely had more QR practice than just the DAT destroyer, but not a ton!

 

[Polkadotfan]

I already had trig in pre-cal so I understood a lot of it already. Geometry is my weakest point I even had a dentist try to explain a surface area problem and I just looked at him like:
Each test is different but I will say BC and Chads really helped me.

 

[anm2495]

Try to stay calm and get good rest/excerise leading up to the test. I am a non-traditional student and was far removed from just about all my college-level math, which only went through pre-calc. I did all the bootcamp QR tests and never broke 18. I was just as nervous as you. I went through the QR portion of the DAT destroyer a couple of days before the test and was able to score a 21 on the QR section, which was a huge reason I pulled a 20 AA. I thought it was going to be my worst section too. Memorize all the equations in the front of Math Destroyer and have the ability to solve DAT destroyer-level questions and you should be solid!

Thank you for your reply! Is that the only source you used to practice? I'm able to do/ understand most of dat destroyer problems but I'm honestly at my breaking point Please give me more advice on how you did it.

 

[Softballchic11]

I saw this thread is about DAT advice, so I thought I would ask this question here. So I have been practicing for the PAT everyday and I was wondering how the real PAT compares to the software of Crack the DAT or DAT Bootcamp. I feel as though DAT Bootcamp has been easier on some sections of the PAT versus Crack the DAT PAT. Does anyone have advice as to which one is more similar to the PAT on the exam?