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Hey I took the DAT last fri, but i was too tired and took an extended break. But here is my breakdown:
BIO 26
GCHEM 23
ORGO 23
PAT 21
RC 24
QR 24
TS 24
AA 24
I didn't expect these scores at all, i wouldve been very happy if i had gotten a 21AA! I don't even kno how i got a 24 in QR since i didnt get more than a 22 on any mock.
i used Kaplan (including online subject tests and flashcards), cliffs ap bio, topscore, KSF Review (Canadian edition) (datpat.com), and a skim thru of my old orgo textbook. I also majored in human bio and minored in chem, so im sure that helped me a little.
overall i studied for almost 2 months, averaging about 3-4 hours/day. The first 6 weeks i just tried to get a really solid background on everything. I started with the kaplan BB. on my first run through i read everything fairly quickly to see what i was up against. it also gave me a very basic understanding from front to end before trying to understand more specific details. I felt it was really important to get a thorough understanding on everything before trying to memorize random facts. Then i would read the kaplan BB again and again and after each subsequent reading, more information was remembered. I think I went through the kaplan BB about 4-5 times. Then after reading on SDN about the random bio section, i decided to buy cliffs ap bio. It generally covered all the topics that kaplan did plus a little more detail. i thought the plant section in cliffs was far beyond what is actually needed on the dat. i didnt get to read ecology, and animal behaviour in cliffs, but i think kaplan did a throrough enough job on that.
I didn't really like KSF Review. The program was glitchy and it didn't keep track of older scores. the keyholes were very different and very abstract. It was good for extra questions, but i thought the sciences were easier than the actual dat.
BIO: kaplan BB, cliffs ap bio. i thought the test was really fair. i dont think it was too specific on details, but it did require a very good understanding on all the bio topics. I had one really basic PCR question (which of these techniques is used to increase the amount of DNA.. or something like that).
GCHEM: kaplan BB, online subject tests, ksf review. i dont remember much about the gchem section. it was really straight forward and fair. i think 40% of the questions required calculations and the rest had more to do with understanding concepts. most of the calculation answers were not in the format of final value, but rather HOW to get the final value (ie. (100/42)(373/254)(2)).
ORGO: kaplan bb, mcmurrays organic chemistry textbook. there were a couple trickier questions i found, but i think if you kno your reagents well and understand the mechanisms (i dont think its necessary to memorize each step of every mechanism), then you should be fine.
PAT: kaplan, ksf, topscore. i didnt really practice much in this section (shows because its my lowest score) but it always came to me a little easier than the other sections. i think angles really killed my mark, but everyone else is in the same boat so i cant complain.
RC: kaplan bb, topscore. i didnt really do much prep for this section either because i never had a problem with it. i didnt use any strategy in particular. I read the passage first and then answered the questions. While doing my mocks i thought that the time limit for RC was 50 min, so i always did them in this time frame. I felt a little rushed, but i was still getting between 20-22. I did the first 2 topscores in 50 min (because i thought topscore was screwed up or sumthing?) and then i checked the ADA website and realized it was indeed a 60min test. I did the 3rd topscore in 60min and i felt much more relaxed and thorough while doing my readings. For the actual DAT i got DNA microarrays, language/aphasia, and calcium.
QR: kaplan subject tests, topscore. i thought the subject tests were an amazing resource. they were impossible to finish on time (some had 30 min time limits and i'd finish in just over an hour), but it was a really good way to learn how to do multistep word problems quickly and efficiently. I took kumon (extracurricular math program) as a kid, so i can do basic calculations very quickly. during the actual test, i'd kno right away if i knew how to do a problem or not just by reading it. If i didnt kno then i'd mark it and move onto the next question before even attempting it. After finish al lthe problems i knew i could do, i went back and tried to finish the rest of the questions (making sure i at least put an answer for every question).
I think that my most valuable resource was the kaplan subject tests. i did each of those 2x and made sure i wasnt repeating any stupid mistakes. I also redid the sciences and QR for topscore to make sure i understood everything well.
My mocks are as follows:
Test--------------BIO---CHEM---ORGO---PAT----RC-----QR---TS----AA
KAPLAN_MIDTERM--21-----18-----21------25-----/------18----20----21
KAPLANFINAL------21------19-----21-----22-----20-----20----20----20
TOPSCORE1-------18------21-----18-----22-----21-----22----19----20
TOPSCORE2-------20------19-----20-----22-----22-----21----20----20
TOPSCORE3-------21------20-----25-----23-----23-----22----22----22
so i think doing well on the DAT involves understanding and solidifying basic concepts in all areas and just going over and redoing a lot of questions to iron out any wrinkles. Hope that helps!
BIO 26
GCHEM 23
ORGO 23
PAT 21
RC 24
QR 24
TS 24
AA 24
I didn't expect these scores at all, i wouldve been very happy if i had gotten a 21AA! I don't even kno how i got a 24 in QR since i didnt get more than a 22 on any mock.
i used Kaplan (including online subject tests and flashcards), cliffs ap bio, topscore, KSF Review (Canadian edition) (datpat.com), and a skim thru of my old orgo textbook. I also majored in human bio and minored in chem, so im sure that helped me a little.
overall i studied for almost 2 months, averaging about 3-4 hours/day. The first 6 weeks i just tried to get a really solid background on everything. I started with the kaplan BB. on my first run through i read everything fairly quickly to see what i was up against. it also gave me a very basic understanding from front to end before trying to understand more specific details. I felt it was really important to get a thorough understanding on everything before trying to memorize random facts. Then i would read the kaplan BB again and again and after each subsequent reading, more information was remembered. I think I went through the kaplan BB about 4-5 times. Then after reading on SDN about the random bio section, i decided to buy cliffs ap bio. It generally covered all the topics that kaplan did plus a little more detail. i thought the plant section in cliffs was far beyond what is actually needed on the dat. i didnt get to read ecology, and animal behaviour in cliffs, but i think kaplan did a throrough enough job on that.
I didn't really like KSF Review. The program was glitchy and it didn't keep track of older scores. the keyholes were very different and very abstract. It was good for extra questions, but i thought the sciences were easier than the actual dat.
BIO: kaplan BB, cliffs ap bio. i thought the test was really fair. i dont think it was too specific on details, but it did require a very good understanding on all the bio topics. I had one really basic PCR question (which of these techniques is used to increase the amount of DNA.. or something like that).
GCHEM: kaplan BB, online subject tests, ksf review. i dont remember much about the gchem section. it was really straight forward and fair. i think 40% of the questions required calculations and the rest had more to do with understanding concepts. most of the calculation answers were not in the format of final value, but rather HOW to get the final value (ie. (100/42)(373/254)(2)).
ORGO: kaplan bb, mcmurrays organic chemistry textbook. there were a couple trickier questions i found, but i think if you kno your reagents well and understand the mechanisms (i dont think its necessary to memorize each step of every mechanism), then you should be fine.
PAT: kaplan, ksf, topscore. i didnt really practice much in this section (shows because its my lowest score) but it always came to me a little easier than the other sections. i think angles really killed my mark, but everyone else is in the same boat so i cant complain.
RC: kaplan bb, topscore. i didnt really do much prep for this section either because i never had a problem with it. i didnt use any strategy in particular. I read the passage first and then answered the questions. While doing my mocks i thought that the time limit for RC was 50 min, so i always did them in this time frame. I felt a little rushed, but i was still getting between 20-22. I did the first 2 topscores in 50 min (because i thought topscore was screwed up or sumthing?) and then i checked the ADA website and realized it was indeed a 60min test. I did the 3rd topscore in 60min and i felt much more relaxed and thorough while doing my readings. For the actual DAT i got DNA microarrays, language/aphasia, and calcium.
QR: kaplan subject tests, topscore. i thought the subject tests were an amazing resource. they were impossible to finish on time (some had 30 min time limits and i'd finish in just over an hour), but it was a really good way to learn how to do multistep word problems quickly and efficiently. I took kumon (extracurricular math program) as a kid, so i can do basic calculations very quickly. during the actual test, i'd kno right away if i knew how to do a problem or not just by reading it. If i didnt kno then i'd mark it and move onto the next question before even attempting it. After finish al lthe problems i knew i could do, i went back and tried to finish the rest of the questions (making sure i at least put an answer for every question).
I think that my most valuable resource was the kaplan subject tests. i did each of those 2x and made sure i wasnt repeating any stupid mistakes. I also redid the sciences and QR for topscore to make sure i understood everything well.
My mocks are as follows:
Test--------------BIO---CHEM---ORGO---PAT----RC-----QR---TS----AA
KAPLAN_MIDTERM--21-----18-----21------25-----/------18----20----21
KAPLANFINAL------21------19-----21-----22-----20-----20----20----20
TOPSCORE1-------18------21-----18-----22-----21-----22----19----20
TOPSCORE2-------20------19-----20-----22-----22-----21----20----20
TOPSCORE3-------21------20-----25-----23-----23-----22----22----22
so i think doing well on the DAT involves understanding and solidifying basic concepts in all areas and just going over and redoing a lot of questions to iron out any wrinkles. Hope that helps!
