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- Jan 25, 2010
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DAT Breakdown:
PAT 22
QR 19
RC 18
Bio 20
GC 21
OC 21
TS 21
AA 20
I did this in less than 2 months, while in classes full time, working ~20 hours a week, and with almost zero background in math. I accomplished this with self-study by synthesizing a great deal of good advice on this forum and using spaced repetition as a primary method of building memory. I studied about 30 minutes – 2 hours a day (give or take) and managed to keep my sanity the whole time. During this time my grades remained steady and I ended the semester with a 3.73 GPA. Someone with a better background in Bio and Math and a bit more time while utilizing the information here could do better than this.
I believe other methods of study do work. However, this one made the studying process relatively painless, fast, and more fun. I am positive other people have studied in less time and received higher scores. This is only technique in many, and is the best one I have tried. It also saved me a lot of money by avoiding having to pay for a DAT class. For these reasons I share this information.
Introduction
Spaced repetition is the idea that seeing a fact occasionally will develop a memory with barely any effort. Everyone has used this. Name the product:
"It just keeps going, and going, and going."
"Can you hear me now? Good!"
"The choice of a new generation."
Few of us have ever studied these, yet they can be recalled days/weeks/months/years after being exposed, with barely any effort. This same method can be applied to science, and really about any fact, to memorize it easily and quickly. Spaced repetition has been used with great success lately in the language learning realm (See: All Japanese All The Time, AntiMoon, Spanish Only), I just bridged the gap over to science.
Spaced Repetition Software (SRS) allows the creation and management of flash cards for space repetition a breeze. Anki (http://ichi2.net/anki/) is usually considered the best, and it is free. Usage of the software has many advantages over traditional flash cards. One of the most important is that it "knows" which cards are more difficult and shows them more often. The review is very quick and about 10 minutes a day to review cards is reasonable.
Note 1/27/10: An important point about SRS. The benefit of SRS comes a few days, maybe even a week, sometimes longer after the card is initially put in. The nature of the learning requires consistently looking at the cards as the SRS schedules. Again, this is less than 15 minutes a day. The SRS memories will 'feel' different because they lack the physical burden of holding onto information that is forced in using traditional methods. As Khatzumoto at All Japanese All The Time put it: "Just because it's not painful doesn't mean it's not working."
The first time I used SRS it was two days before a big biochemistry exam. I put the cards in using strange formats, looked at the cards probably twice, and then got frustrated and quit. It took me coming back many months later while learning Korean to appreciate the process of spaced learning.
Most of my method was doing practice problems and then putting into Anki any facts that I feel were less than mastery. This also includes the facts of why the incorrect answers were incorrect, if I was feeling iffy on it. Here's the basic format of making good cards:
Making Cards:
Making cards is a very quick process. In Anki, simply type the complete fact into the "Front" section and highlight the ‘gap' in memory and click the Cloze Deletion button (information on Cloze Deletion here on the Anki website: http://ichi2.net/anki/wiki/ClozeDeletion) . Cloze deletion is essential for developing good cards and speeds up the process by automatically copying the entire fact into the "Back" section and occluding it from the "Front."
Basic Facts:
Most cards will be basic facts. Shorter and simpler, the better. As a 99%-of-the-time rule, keep it to one fact per card. Here's an example:
Definitions
Interchangeable in some cases with the basic fact, the definition also makes up a significant portion of cards. I found it is better to show the definition and occlude the term. It takes a little longer, and builds a stronger memory as well.
Creating lists is very quick in Anki and other SRS, however it is a backup. It is faster to memorize (though seemingly counterintuitive) individual cards for each fact in a list. An example of when it is better to make INDIVIDUAL CARDS is the ectoderm/mesoderm/endoderm layers. Lists would be better when learning the overall steps of mitosis though.
Pictures/Diagrams
Utilization of pictures and diagrams is excellent for building memories. Google image search and MS-Paint are sufficient to create effective cards with pictures. If there is a particularly awesome picture in a book then scanning would work as well too! Creativity is encouraged and rewarded with spaced repetition. Here's an example of using a picture:
These models will last through pretty much all of Biology, a lot of Chemistry, some Organic Chemistry, and bits of QR. I am including information for each specific section as each has certain qualities that make it unique.
Biology:
The most straightforward of all the sections. Just a collection of basic/low intermediate facts. There is a lot more plant/macrobiology information than I expected and where I missed most of my questions. Someone with a better background and/or more time to study would probably get a higher score.
Biology Helpful Tools:
When reviewing a question, be sure to include all the facts concerning why a particular question was incorrect. This can lead to 4+ cards per question! This is great and means more memories will be built.
General Chemistry:
The best source of General Chemistry information I have found is the Berkeley Review (http://www.berkeley-review.com/TBR/home-study.html). It uses an MCAT format for questions, though is an invaluable source of information and understanding. Using this I went from practically zero understanding of Gen Chem to getting every question correct on a practice MCAT just before I took the real one. The explanations build a strong foundation in Gen Chem that will allow reasoning through problems.
The Gen Chem problems are really just a collection of types of problems. There are a finite number of question types and enough practice and memorization/understanding of the material the section becomes straightforward. Basic fact model and definition models can absolutely be used here.
LaTeX can be used to make effective Gen Chem cards because it allows building of reaction equilibriums and equations. This is useful for example problems such as (Note: this is without LaTeX. It would look just like a textbook/exam if LaTeX is used):
Front: B- decay
232/90Th à […]
Back: B- decay
232/90Th à e- + 232/91Pa
General Chemistry Helpful Tools:
PAT:
There are only a few very important things I did to do well in PAT:
Quantitative Reasoning (math):
Source of great concern for many people. However, I doubt anyone could have started with less background than me. I barely scraped a passing grade in math from middle school all the way up until Calculus I. I got by barely knowing anything besides SOHCAHTOA and basic simplifying. If I can get a 19, anyone can do well. Here's how I did it:
Reading Comprehension:
I did well on this using search and destroy on the practice exams, getting around 25~ on them. On the real exam though I was comparatively slammed. There are people who did a lot better who share their techniques on these forums and elsewhere – I recommend following them.
Organic Chemistry:
Best for last! Organic Chemistry is a very doable and straightforward subject. There, I said it! It is also almost entirely memorization!
I read a while ago (at this excellent article here: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/users/memorizing.htm) about how the foundation of understanding is lots of memorizing. Information must be memorized before it can be understood. A certain level of base understanding is required to make effective SRS cards, and the complex concepts are achieved quite effortlessly and naturally as the information is memorized and through doing practice problems.
I shot straight through Organic Chemistry DAT studying utilizing SRS. It was a total breeze even though I had finished Ochem II over two years before I began studying for the DAT. I wish I had known about SRS when I was taking Organic Chemistry, as I would have saved countless hours and frustration.
The basic idea is to use a program like ChemDraw (have to pay) or ChemSketch(free!) to draw a picture of an ochem reaction, and then omit the product or reagents. Simple.
Organic Chemistry: Basic Reactions:
Will likely be the most common card. If I can add pictures to this then I will be glad to share, for now I will just write it out.
Just using the basic facts model from earlier will work just fine. These will be common in SN1/SN2 and with IR/NMR information.
Organic Chemistry: Reaction with Detail:
It can be good to memorize the names of some reactions. This is also relevant with the SN1/SN2/E1/E2 reactions when memorizing the types.
I am still working out good ways to memorize reaction mechanisms. I used a simple model to learn basic reaction mechanisms:
Organic Chemistry: Stereochemistry:
Simply utilizing basic facts and some creative use of pictures of molecules will be sufficient for memorizing the information. Using SRS I was finally able to ‘get' stereochemistry, even though I had taken Ochem before and left confused on it.
· Chad's Organic Chemistry videos (http://www.coursesaver.com/showthread.php?2791-Organic-Chemistry-Review-for-DAT-MCAT#post2988) are amazing. They give great explanations and examples. I wrote down everything he wrote on the board, with extra information, and put these things into the SRS.
Practice Tests:
Thank you to one of the SDN members for sending a private message reminding me of this.
Utilization of practice tests is critical for developing a 'feel' for the exam and the endurance to take it. I found it is best to begin taking practice tests a few weeks after beginning study. Some people like to take one to feel where they are at. I waited and I found it worked well. Here are the practice tests I used:
-Official DAT free practice exam: http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_test_sampleitems.pdf
-Official DAT practice exam (costs money, worth it though) http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_sample_test_order_form.pdf
-Topscore: http://www.scholarware.com/
I took the practice exams under precisely timed and test conditions. I even went so far as to take it at the time that I would be taking the DAT exam. Every morning for two weeks I tried replicating the morning I would take the DAT. This was great because I took the exam at 8:30am in the morning and without training myself to take the 4~ hour exam during that time I would have fried something.
Well that covers how I studied for the DAT. I believe this will work for anyone who believes in themselves and their ability to learn. I used Anki for the DAT and all of my classes in the Fall '09 semester with great success. I had more free time and less stress than any time I can remember in college, even though it should have been one of my busiest semesters. Will be glad to answer any questions.
Note: The information in this post is a quick guide I put together for this forum. It was adapted from the information/examples on my blog: http://www.study-shack.com
Another note: I would love to share my Anki DAT deck. Unfortunately some of the information is pulled directly from purchased sources like DAT Destroyer and the ADA Practice test. Distributing the deck would be the equivalent of distributing a digital version of the material. I went without making any notes where the information came from so at this point all the information comes from ambiguous sources. Some people have asked for a sample deck and I will be making one and sharing it here soon. For more detailed explanations on how to make Ochem cards and Gen Chem cards check out my blog linked above for tutorials and example pictures.
Update(1/28/10): I put together a sample deck of 50 cards from the various DAT subjects. Available here: http://www.study-shack.com/DAT-anki-sample.zip
To open it:
1) Download the zip file
2) Extract it to some folder (like My Documents)
3) In Anki, go to File -> Open and navigate to the folder you extracted the .zip to. Double click the file DATsample.anki
Some of the cards contain LaTeX, and thus will give an error when viewed if LaTeX needs to be installed (will say something about a dvipeng error). To install LaTeX (some of this is Windows specific):
1) Go here (http://www.latex-project.org/ftp.html) and choose your operating system
2) Download and run the file
3) Extract the contents to some directory like C:/Latex
4) Navigate to the directory and run setup.exe
5) Scroll down and click "Click here to install MiKTEX" and "Click here to install TEXnicCenter"
6) Install both of the above components
This is a one time install and should be pretty painless. Again, only some of the cards contain LaTeX and will show an error. I highly recommend going through the steps to install it though.
The purpose of the deck is only to show various card models and some good ways to put information into Anki. All the information is found on Wikipedia or examples that I made.
PAT 22
QR 19
RC 18
Bio 20
GC 21
OC 21
TS 21
AA 20
I did this in less than 2 months, while in classes full time, working ~20 hours a week, and with almost zero background in math. I accomplished this with self-study by synthesizing a great deal of good advice on this forum and using spaced repetition as a primary method of building memory. I studied about 30 minutes – 2 hours a day (give or take) and managed to keep my sanity the whole time. During this time my grades remained steady and I ended the semester with a 3.73 GPA. Someone with a better background in Bio and Math and a bit more time while utilizing the information here could do better than this.
I believe other methods of study do work. However, this one made the studying process relatively painless, fast, and more fun. I am positive other people have studied in less time and received higher scores. This is only technique in many, and is the best one I have tried. It also saved me a lot of money by avoiding having to pay for a DAT class. For these reasons I share this information.
Introduction
Spaced repetition is the idea that seeing a fact occasionally will develop a memory with barely any effort. Everyone has used this. Name the product:
"It just keeps going, and going, and going."
"Can you hear me now? Good!"
"The choice of a new generation."
Few of us have ever studied these, yet they can be recalled days/weeks/months/years after being exposed, with barely any effort. This same method can be applied to science, and really about any fact, to memorize it easily and quickly. Spaced repetition has been used with great success lately in the language learning realm (See: All Japanese All The Time, AntiMoon, Spanish Only), I just bridged the gap over to science.
Spaced Repetition Software (SRS) allows the creation and management of flash cards for space repetition a breeze. Anki (http://ichi2.net/anki/) is usually considered the best, and it is free. Usage of the software has many advantages over traditional flash cards. One of the most important is that it "knows" which cards are more difficult and shows them more often. The review is very quick and about 10 minutes a day to review cards is reasonable.
Note 1/27/10: An important point about SRS. The benefit of SRS comes a few days, maybe even a week, sometimes longer after the card is initially put in. The nature of the learning requires consistently looking at the cards as the SRS schedules. Again, this is less than 15 minutes a day. The SRS memories will 'feel' different because they lack the physical burden of holding onto information that is forced in using traditional methods. As Khatzumoto at All Japanese All The Time put it: "Just because it's not painful doesn't mean it's not working."
The first time I used SRS it was two days before a big biochemistry exam. I put the cards in using strange formats, looked at the cards probably twice, and then got frustrated and quit. It took me coming back many months later while learning Korean to appreciate the process of spaced learning.
Most of my method was doing practice problems and then putting into Anki any facts that I feel were less than mastery. This also includes the facts of why the incorrect answers were incorrect, if I was feeling iffy on it. Here's the basic format of making good cards:
Making Cards:
Making cards is a very quick process. In Anki, simply type the complete fact into the "Front" section and highlight the ‘gap' in memory and click the Cloze Deletion button (information on Cloze Deletion here on the Anki website: http://ichi2.net/anki/wiki/ClozeDeletion) . Cloze deletion is essential for developing good cards and speeds up the process by automatically copying the entire fact into the "Back" section and occluding it from the "Front."
Basic Facts:
Most cards will be basic facts. Shorter and simpler, the better. As a 99%-of-the-time rule, keep it to one fact per card. Here's an example:
Front: Gametophyte is the […] stage
Back: Gametophyte is the haploid stage
Front: ABO blood type classification is an example of […]
Back: ABO blood type classification is an example of multiple alleles
Front: […hormone] stimulates the release of bile
Back: Choleocystokinin stimulates the release of bile
The use of the hint (how to make hints is covered on the Anki website section about cloze deletion) is important in this last one. Many things stimulate the release of bile, however in this card we are concerned only with the main hormone that does it. It is important to memorize the fact instead of fact + what the card is asking.Back: Gametophyte is the haploid stage
Front: ABO blood type classification is an example of […]
Back: ABO blood type classification is an example of multiple alleles
Front: […hormone] stimulates the release of bile
Back: Choleocystokinin stimulates the release of bile
Definitions
Interchangeable in some cases with the basic fact, the definition also makes up a significant portion of cards. I found it is better to show the definition and occlude the term. It takes a little longer, and builds a stronger memory as well.
Front: […disease]: defective lysosomal enzyme causes lipid buildup in brain
Back: Tay-Sachs Disease: defective lysosomal enzyme causes lipid buildup in brain
Front: […]: Precursor to prokaryote
Back: Protobiont: Precursor to prokaryote
Front: […]: most reactive leaving group
Back: Acid Chloride: most reactive leaving group
In the last one it may be helpful to include a picture of acid chloride in the "back" of the card. Whether to use the definition or basic fact model for a particular fact is preference.
Lists:Back: Tay-Sachs Disease: defective lysosomal enzyme causes lipid buildup in brain
Front: […]: Precursor to prokaryote
Back: Protobiont: Precursor to prokaryote
Front: […]: most reactive leaving group
Back: Acid Chloride: most reactive leaving group
In the last one it may be helpful to include a picture of acid chloride in the "back" of the card. Whether to use the definition or basic fact model for a particular fact is preference.
Creating lists is very quick in Anki and other SRS, however it is a backup. It is faster to memorize (though seemingly counterintuitive) individual cards for each fact in a list. An example of when it is better to make INDIVIDUAL CARDS is the ectoderm/mesoderm/endoderm layers. Lists would be better when learning the overall steps of mitosis though.
Front: Mitosis steps:
[…]
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
[…]
Anaphase
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
[…]
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
[…]
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: […] steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Using lists is good for basic "steps." Detailed information for each step can be added into separate cards using basic fact and definition card models.[…]
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
[…]
Anaphase
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
[…]
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
[…]
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Front: […] steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Back: Mitosis steps:
Prophase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telephase
Pictures/Diagrams
Utilization of pictures and diagrams is excellent for building memories. Google image search and MS-Paint are sufficient to create effective cards with pictures. If there is a particularly awesome picture in a book then scanning would work as well too! Creativity is encouraged and rewarded with spaced repetition. Here's an example of using a picture:
Front: (picture of a cell with the name of a structure occluded)
Back: (unaltered picture of a cell)
Sections:Back: (unaltered picture of a cell)
These models will last through pretty much all of Biology, a lot of Chemistry, some Organic Chemistry, and bits of QR. I am including information for each specific section as each has certain qualities that make it unique.
Biology:
The most straightforward of all the sections. Just a collection of basic/low intermediate facts. There is a lot more plant/macrobiology information than I expected and where I missed most of my questions. Someone with a better background and/or more time to study would probably get a higher score.
Biology Helpful Tools:
- · Wikipedia offers excellent and absolutely sufficient information about any questions that might come up.
- · DAT Destroyer has a lot of good Biology questions
- · The Campbell's AP Bio book is recommended by a lot of people. I just used Wikipedia though and saved a lot of money.
- · Practice tests are a great source of information.
When reviewing a question, be sure to include all the facts concerning why a particular question was incorrect. This can lead to 4+ cards per question! This is great and means more memories will be built.
General Chemistry:
The best source of General Chemistry information I have found is the Berkeley Review (http://www.berkeley-review.com/TBR/home-study.html). It uses an MCAT format for questions, though is an invaluable source of information and understanding. Using this I went from practically zero understanding of Gen Chem to getting every question correct on a practice MCAT just before I took the real one. The explanations build a strong foundation in Gen Chem that will allow reasoning through problems.
The Gen Chem problems are really just a collection of types of problems. There are a finite number of question types and enough practice and memorization/understanding of the material the section becomes straightforward. Basic fact model and definition models can absolutely be used here.
LaTeX can be used to make effective Gen Chem cards because it allows building of reaction equilibriums and equations. This is useful for example problems such as (Note: this is without LaTeX. It would look just like a textbook/exam if LaTeX is used):
Front: B- decay
232/90Th à […]
Back: B- decay
232/90Th à e- + 232/91Pa
Front: 50mL of .5M Ba(OH)2 is required to neutralize 5mL of citric acid. What is the molarity of the citric acid solution? note: citric acid has 3 H to deprotonate.
Back: N1V1 = N2V2
(0.5M *2)(50mL) = N2(5mL)
N2 = 10
N2 = 10/3
N2 = 0.33
The answer is shown at the bottom to help push the mind to make sure the process is correct instead of just the answer and skipping to the next question. Again note that LaTeX makes these look MUCH better. To use LaTeX just install a LaTeX package (http://www.latex-project.org/ftp.html) and play around with this cool online latex editor (http://www.codecogs.com/components/equationeditor/equationeditor.php) to get a better understanding of the code. With practice it will become fun and easy. Anki has built in LaTeX support.Back: N1V1 = N2V2
(0.5M *2)(50mL) = N2(5mL)
N2 = 10
N2 = 10/3
N2 = 0.33
General Chemistry Helpful Tools:
- · As mentioned, the Berkeley Review General Chemistry book pair is king. I recommend it to anyone studying for DAT, MCAT, PCAT, in the course currently, etc. Top notch. (http://www.berkeley-review.com/TBR/home-study.html)
- · Chad's General Chemistry videos (http://www.coursesaver.com/showthread.php?39-General-Chemistry-Review-for-DAT-MCAT) are good too. They would be good for someone against spending money on the Berkeley Review books. The Berkeley Review books have the advantage of many practice problems with excellent explanations.
- · DAT Destroyer (http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html) is an alright source for Gen Chem. It has decent practice problems, though if purchasing DAT Destroyer just for Gen Chem I channeling money elsewhere - too much money just for gen chem. The Berkeley review books and Chad's videos offer more complete explanations of concepts.
PAT:
There are only a few very important things I did to do well in PAT:
- · The Crack DAT PAT (http://www.crackdat.com) is an excellent resource if used correctly. I bought just the 5-test version and only used 3 of them. I think I only used part of the 3rd one as well. It is better to use only a few of them well than shotgunning 10 or more.
- · Study with the concept of "little and often." I split the study sessions for PAT into microbite 10-minute runs, one section at a time (usually just one per day, very rarely two.) This is easy to do with the Crack DAT PAT program. After the 10 minute sprint I carefully reviewed each question about why one was correct, and the specific reasons and "tricks" why the others were incorrect. My score started low and I ignored it, and then practically overnight my score shot up and stayed up. I spent a lot more time reviewing than taking the sections.
- · Think of the shapes in 3D instead of weird techniques to skip this. It is a skill that is developed with practice, and in a reasonable amount of time.
- · The AceDAT blog has a really cool cube counting method: http://acedat.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/cube-counting/
- This thread on SDN: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643 helped me gain initial understanding for practice. Helped me a lot, thank you to everyone that contributed to the thread.
Quantitative Reasoning (math):
Source of great concern for many people. However, I doubt anyone could have started with less background than me. I barely scraped a passing grade in math from middle school all the way up until Calculus I. I got by barely knowing anything besides SOHCAHTOA and basic simplifying. If I can get a 19, anyone can do well. Here's how I did it:
- · Immediate kudos to AceDAT blog (linked above) for recommending Barron's SAT Math Workbook (can be found on Amazon for around $10.) Excellent review of math from the ground up. Using LaTeX, I would put good examples into Anki.
- · Math Review for Standardized Tests by Jerry Bobrow (currently $5.30 on Amazon) provides more great explanations, and has some more detail, than the Barron's. Both books are extremely cheap. I just borrowed this one from the library and read it often and did practice problems.
- · Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/index.html) is a fantastic source of free online math lectures. Really drove home the probability and trig stuff for me. I knew almost none going in. I had a lot of probability problems in my DAT Anki deck. I just used the format of having the problem in the "Front" and the process of solving with the answer at the bottom of "Back."
- · DAT Destroyer is alright for understanding the level of questions that would be asked. It is practically the same as the GRE though and flipping through a friend's copy to get an idea would work just as well. The explanations in other sources are better.
- · Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks by Arthur Benjamin (found on Amazon) is tops. One of the best anythings I have ever bought. Has techniques for quickly doing math entirely in the mind, and much faster than writing down. This is what made finishing the QR possible for me and I recommend it to everyone with top honors. The greatest thing it did was remove the frustration of having to slog through calculations. For the first time in many years I was EXCITED about math! I was eating math problems for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with great joy once I learned some techniques from this book.
- Utilizing little and often and these resources will make the QR section straightforward. As with every section there is a lot of "more of this, than this" regarding content on the exam. On the official DAT website it has a manual that lists exactly which subjects are on the exam. If you wish to do well, it is necessary to master all of them. Practice problems and that really cool Mental Math book makes this stepping stone instead of a mountain.
Reading Comprehension:
I did well on this using search and destroy on the practice exams, getting around 25~ on them. On the real exam though I was comparatively slammed. There are people who did a lot better who share their techniques on these forums and elsewhere – I recommend following them.
Organic Chemistry:
Best for last! Organic Chemistry is a very doable and straightforward subject. There, I said it! It is also almost entirely memorization!
I read a while ago (at this excellent article here: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/users/memorizing.htm) about how the foundation of understanding is lots of memorizing. Information must be memorized before it can be understood. A certain level of base understanding is required to make effective SRS cards, and the complex concepts are achieved quite effortlessly and naturally as the information is memorized and through doing practice problems.
I shot straight through Organic Chemistry DAT studying utilizing SRS. It was a total breeze even though I had finished Ochem II over two years before I began studying for the DAT. I wish I had known about SRS when I was taking Organic Chemistry, as I would have saved countless hours and frustration.
The basic idea is to use a program like ChemDraw (have to pay) or ChemSketch(free!) to draw a picture of an ochem reaction, and then omit the product or reagents. Simple.
Organic Chemistry: Basic Reactions:
Will likely be the most common card. If I can add pictures to this then I will be glad to share, for now I will just write it out.
Front: [picture of reaction without product]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
Front: [picture of reaction without reagents]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
Organic Chemistry: Basic Facts:Back: [picture of complete reaction]
Front: [picture of reaction without reagents]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
Just using the basic facts model from earlier will work just fine. These will be common in SN1/SN2 and with IR/NMR information.
Organic Chemistry: Reaction with Detail:
It can be good to memorize the names of some reactions. This is also relevant with the SN1/SN2/E1/E2 reactions when memorizing the types.
Front: [picture of complete reaction]
[…]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
SN2
Front: [picture of complete reaction]
[…]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
Hydroboration
Organic Chemistry: Reaction Mechanisms:[…]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
SN2
Front: [picture of complete reaction]
[…]
Back: [picture of complete reaction]
Hydroboration
I am still working out good ways to memorize reaction mechanisms. I used a simple model to learn basic reaction mechanisms:
Front: [picture of complete reaction without reaction arrows]
Back: [picture of complete reaction with reaction arrows]
It would be best to break down the reactions into individual steps, surrounded by all of the steps or ones closely before and after. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to share. I found it only necessary to memorize extremely basic reactions for the DAT.Back: [picture of complete reaction with reaction arrows]
Organic Chemistry: Stereochemistry:
Simply utilizing basic facts and some creative use of pictures of molecules will be sufficient for memorizing the information. Using SRS I was finally able to ‘get' stereochemistry, even though I had taken Ochem before and left confused on it.
Front: [picture of molecule]
Which C is chiral?
Back: [picture of molecule pointing to chiral C]
Which C is chiral?
4 different substituents
Note the use of the extra little note there. It is helpful to do this sometimes.Which C is chiral?
Back: [picture of molecule pointing to chiral C]
Which C is chiral?
4 different substituents
Front: [picture of molecule pointing to chiral C]
[…]-Configuration
Back: [picture of molecule pointing to chiral C]
R-Configuration
H in front inverts answer.
Organic Chemistry: Helpful Tools[…]-Configuration
Back: [picture of molecule pointing to chiral C]
R-Configuration
H in front inverts answer.
· Chad's Organic Chemistry videos (http://www.coursesaver.com/showthread.php?2791-Organic-Chemistry-Review-for-DAT-MCAT#post2988) are amazing. They give great explanations and examples. I wrote down everything he wrote on the board, with extra information, and put these things into the SRS.
- · Organic Chemistry as a Second Language (found on Amazon) is good if a base information of Organic Chemistry needs to be built. I used it when initially studying and it helped a lot.
- · Using printer paper instead of lined loose-leaf paper is a surprising help. It is nice to have more ‘freedom' for some reason. It is a few dollars for several hundred sheets.
- · Lots of practice problems! DAT Destroyer is a good source for practice problems. The roadmaps are cool too. I just put the practice problems and examples into Anki, ignoring if I got it correct or incorrect. If I knew too little to reliably answer the question, I skipped it to prevent building an incorrect memory.
Practice Tests:
Thank you to one of the SDN members for sending a private message reminding me of this.
Utilization of practice tests is critical for developing a 'feel' for the exam and the endurance to take it. I found it is best to begin taking practice tests a few weeks after beginning study. Some people like to take one to feel where they are at. I waited and I found it worked well. Here are the practice tests I used:
-Official DAT free practice exam: http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_test_sampleitems.pdf
-Official DAT practice exam (costs money, worth it though) http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_sample_test_order_form.pdf
-Topscore: http://www.scholarware.com/
I took the practice exams under precisely timed and test conditions. I even went so far as to take it at the time that I would be taking the DAT exam. Every morning for two weeks I tried replicating the morning I would take the DAT. This was great because I took the exam at 8:30am in the morning and without training myself to take the 4~ hour exam during that time I would have fried something.
Well that covers how I studied for the DAT. I believe this will work for anyone who believes in themselves and their ability to learn. I used Anki for the DAT and all of my classes in the Fall '09 semester with great success. I had more free time and less stress than any time I can remember in college, even though it should have been one of my busiest semesters. Will be glad to answer any questions.
Note: The information in this post is a quick guide I put together for this forum. It was adapted from the information/examples on my blog: http://www.study-shack.com
Another note: I would love to share my Anki DAT deck. Unfortunately some of the information is pulled directly from purchased sources like DAT Destroyer and the ADA Practice test. Distributing the deck would be the equivalent of distributing a digital version of the material. I went without making any notes where the information came from so at this point all the information comes from ambiguous sources. Some people have asked for a sample deck and I will be making one and sharing it here soon. For more detailed explanations on how to make Ochem cards and Gen Chem cards check out my blog linked above for tutorials and example pictures.
Update(1/28/10): I put together a sample deck of 50 cards from the various DAT subjects. Available here: http://www.study-shack.com/DAT-anki-sample.zip
To open it:
1) Download the zip file
2) Extract it to some folder (like My Documents)
3) In Anki, go to File -> Open and navigate to the folder you extracted the .zip to. Double click the file DATsample.anki
Some of the cards contain LaTeX, and thus will give an error when viewed if LaTeX needs to be installed (will say something about a dvipeng error). To install LaTeX (some of this is Windows specific):
1) Go here (http://www.latex-project.org/ftp.html) and choose your operating system
2) Download and run the file
3) Extract the contents to some directory like C:/Latex
4) Navigate to the directory and run setup.exe
5) Scroll down and click "Click here to install MiKTEX" and "Click here to install TEXnicCenter"
6) Install both of the above components
This is a one time install and should be pretty painless. Again, only some of the cards contain LaTeX and will show an error. I highly recommend going through the steps to install it though.
The purpose of the deck is only to show various card models and some good ways to put information into Anki. All the information is found on Wikipedia or examples that I made.
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Even I do well with flashcards and needed guidance on how to make them. I really appreciate the anki link you gave. Did the the spaced learning really help you out?
