- Joined
- Aug 15, 2008
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 0
PAT: 17
QR: 15 =[
RC: 17
BIO: 20
CHEM: 20
ORGO: 18
TS: 19
AA: 18
GPA: 3.49
sGPA: 3.1
I'm really worried about QR being so low. My app was mailed out Aug 27th so I applied relatively late. I'm waiting on LOR which probably won't be completed until mid September. My PAT and RC aren't so good either. I'm extremely worried. What are my chances??
That being said, here's the breakdown:
Biology
Random. Know everything. Some questions required critical thinking.
I used my old bio notes. I'm a biology major and know a lot of random crap. I've also taken REALLY random upper level bio classes which helped a lot. I used destroyer which was really on point. It's definitely more of a study guide than just questions. My suggestion is to read over the solutions. Memorize it ALL, every single detail, then go over and do the Qs. Overall, not dissatisfied with a 20 which was in the 92 percentile.
Gen Chem
My worst subject. It really wasn't bad. So I am not dissatisfied with a 20 (88 percentile). It's very basic. First, I re-studied all my notes. I read Kaplan. Then, I used destroyer. I left this subject to study last and studied for it the lest. I zoomed through destroyer and paid attention to the solutions of anything I got wrong. Some people say destroyer is overkill but that's not the point. It has great explanations and really helped to point out my weak spots while giving me tough practice. If you can withstand these problems, you're good for the DATs.
Orgo
I made the mistake of starting to flip out at this section. Starting from here I was less focused and more nervous. The questions aren't too hard. I'm also not great at orgo. I studied for orgo A LOT. I re-studied all my notes from college. Did destroyer 2-3x. made over 200 flashcards of reactions and went through it about 20 times. Re-drew all my road maps from college. Practiced practiced practiced! But still, I guess maybe I let my mentality get to me. Am disappointed in a 18 considering how much I studied. 🙁
PAT
Compared to CDP I am disappointed. Was getting 18-19.
Cube counting: Easy. Got 14-15s on CDP
Hole punching: Easy. Easier compared to CDP which I was getting 12-13 right.
Aperture passing: Harder than CDP which I was getting 12-13 right. A lot of it came down to size judgment which they were VERY shady about.
TFE: MY DOOM. I already knew I was horrible at this. I was getting about 10 right every time on CDP. Its comparable to CDP.
Angles: impossible on cdp. Impossible on the real thing. It's a crapshoot.
Pattern formation: Comparable to cdp. Time is the biggest issue.
Reading
Harder than CDR. I got 19s-20s in CDR easily.
First the real RC passages are way longer, a lot more detailed, and the questions require you to have read and understood the passage. I used a skimming technique to map out the passage then moved on to Qs right away. This was problematic when it came to questions requiring me to understand the content. There were surprisingly, less tone questions then I expected. A good amount of S&R. I would have rather had those than content question.
Math
Okay. I already knew I was bad in math. I'm especially bad at word problems. I can do math well but I think slowly. I studied and practiced math all summer but in the last 2 weeks focused on the sciences. It might have been a mistake. I used math destroyer which was SPOT ON. I was getting most of the questions right but taking too much time on word problems. Here's where it all went wrong: on the real exam, I had a disproportionate amount of word problems which take me a lot of time to solve. It's my problem area and even though I practiced it to death, my timing wasn't good enough. I had 5 questions left and 1 minute. I guessed through it all. *sigh* =[
There's no use in regretting now. If I don't make it in, I'll try again but I've already applied so there's no turning back.
Any input would be great. Thanks to everyone in advance.
QR: 15 =[
RC: 17
BIO: 20
CHEM: 20
ORGO: 18
TS: 19
AA: 18
GPA: 3.49
sGPA: 3.1
I'm really worried about QR being so low. My app was mailed out Aug 27th so I applied relatively late. I'm waiting on LOR which probably won't be completed until mid September. My PAT and RC aren't so good either. I'm extremely worried. What are my chances??
That being said, here's the breakdown:
Biology
Random. Know everything. Some questions required critical thinking.
I used my old bio notes. I'm a biology major and know a lot of random crap. I've also taken REALLY random upper level bio classes which helped a lot. I used destroyer which was really on point. It's definitely more of a study guide than just questions. My suggestion is to read over the solutions. Memorize it ALL, every single detail, then go over and do the Qs. Overall, not dissatisfied with a 20 which was in the 92 percentile.
Gen Chem
My worst subject. It really wasn't bad. So I am not dissatisfied with a 20 (88 percentile). It's very basic. First, I re-studied all my notes. I read Kaplan. Then, I used destroyer. I left this subject to study last and studied for it the lest. I zoomed through destroyer and paid attention to the solutions of anything I got wrong. Some people say destroyer is overkill but that's not the point. It has great explanations and really helped to point out my weak spots while giving me tough practice. If you can withstand these problems, you're good for the DATs.
Orgo
I made the mistake of starting to flip out at this section. Starting from here I was less focused and more nervous. The questions aren't too hard. I'm also not great at orgo. I studied for orgo A LOT. I re-studied all my notes from college. Did destroyer 2-3x. made over 200 flashcards of reactions and went through it about 20 times. Re-drew all my road maps from college. Practiced practiced practiced! But still, I guess maybe I let my mentality get to me. Am disappointed in a 18 considering how much I studied. 🙁
PAT
Compared to CDP I am disappointed. Was getting 18-19.
Cube counting: Easy. Got 14-15s on CDP
Hole punching: Easy. Easier compared to CDP which I was getting 12-13 right.
Aperture passing: Harder than CDP which I was getting 12-13 right. A lot of it came down to size judgment which they were VERY shady about.
TFE: MY DOOM. I already knew I was horrible at this. I was getting about 10 right every time on CDP. Its comparable to CDP.
Angles: impossible on cdp. Impossible on the real thing. It's a crapshoot.
Pattern formation: Comparable to cdp. Time is the biggest issue.
Reading
Harder than CDR. I got 19s-20s in CDR easily.
First the real RC passages are way longer, a lot more detailed, and the questions require you to have read and understood the passage. I used a skimming technique to map out the passage then moved on to Qs right away. This was problematic when it came to questions requiring me to understand the content. There were surprisingly, less tone questions then I expected. A good amount of S&R. I would have rather had those than content question.
Math
Okay. I already knew I was bad in math. I'm especially bad at word problems. I can do math well but I think slowly. I studied and practiced math all summer but in the last 2 weeks focused on the sciences. It might have been a mistake. I used math destroyer which was SPOT ON. I was getting most of the questions right but taking too much time on word problems. Here's where it all went wrong: on the real exam, I had a disproportionate amount of word problems which take me a lot of time to solve. It's my problem area and even though I practiced it to death, my timing wasn't good enough. I had 5 questions left and 1 minute. I guessed through it all. *sigh* =[
There's no use in regretting now. If I don't make it in, I'll try again but I've already applied so there's no turning back.
Any input would be great. Thanks to everyone in advance.
