DAT breakdown (25 AA, 25 PAT), studying and cramming

[tomriddle]

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Took the DAT today, from the unofficial score report:
PA 25, QR 24, RC 27, Bio 30, GC 23, OC 21, TS 24, AA 25

PA 25 (I got a really hard section, just like CDP so I'm glad I did that)
QR 24 (Math is my strongest section but I was really nervous/tired by the end. I felt that CDM was useless because it only had straightforward calculation problems and every test was the same, no probability etc, only good to practice timing)
RC 27 (I was lucky to get interesting topics. Passages compared to Kaplan but easier questions)
Bio 30 (No idea what happened there. I felt that I knew everything Bio but I kept bombing the practice, but when I took the real thing, BAM)
GC 23 (Felt like I knew everything, stupid mistakes I guess)
OC 21 (Really simple questions but really random stuff, either you know it or you don't)
TS 24 (5-6 pts higher than Kaplan, 4-5 pts higher than TopScore)
AA 25 (DAMN. I was afraid I would have to retake it)

Resources used: DAT Destroyer, Kaplan online, TopScore, Crack DAT PAT, Crack DAT Math, Cliff's AP Bio, my Organic Chem textbook

Of all the above, the only things I went through thoroughly were the DAT Destroyer (hand me down from my roommate's friend that was all written over) and Cliff's AP Bio, and I did not finish the other things for lack of time.

My scores from the completed practice tests:
PA 23, QR 22, RC 23, Bio 21, GC 18, OC 17, TS 19, AA 20 (Kaplan Final taken in October)
PA 23, QR 26, RC 20, Bio 18, GC 18, OC 19, TS 18, AA 20 (Kaplan 1 taken in October)
I decided to reschedule the test because I kept getting really low science scores despite doing Destroyer and some of the Kaplan stuff
PA 21, RC 19, QR 18, Bio 20, GC 21, OC 19 (Top Score1 a week before the test)
PA 25, RC 21, QR 22, Bio 18, GC 18, OC 20 (Top Score 2 two days before the test)
Bio 19, GC 19, OC 19 (TopScore 3, day before the test, really discouraging)

What I would have done same/differently:
Kaplan was fine but not necessary. DAT destroyer was really good (excellent for reactions/calculations, but the real thing had simpler problems that were a bit random). TopScore was really good (except the real DAT is graded easier I think). CDP was awesome, CDM was not necessary. Cliff's AP Bio is excellent because I learned everything in my classes a long time ago and didn't remember much until I reviewed.

Study outline: I rescheduled the test to Dec 20 because this was the absolute last day I could take it (I registered for the DAT really early, don't do that, 6 months is a short time. I had a really hard quarter and had to postpone). This only left me 4 days after finals to prepare for the DAT. I had studied a little bit (like 5 hours or less a week) starting in August, then maybe 10 hours a week for two weeks before the DAT because I also had finals, then crammed like crazy 4 days before the test.

In those 4 days, I was freaking out. All I had time to do was one TopScore test, 7 DCP (averaged about 23), 3 CDM (I was getting almost perfect), went over a few RCs, the entire Cliff's AP Bio in half a day and half a night, read through Destroyer GC, memorized OC reactions, and tried to fill major gaps in my knowledge.

I was really discouraged by my scores and I was praying to get above a 20 on the actual thing based on my practice test results but it turned out fine. I guess the moral of the story is Kaplan and TopScore will give you much lower scores than the real thing, and I do not believe I learned much in one day between my last practice test and the real thing.

Now I can go outside =)

 

[ekephant]

Amazing scores! Congrats!

 

[biomolecmed]

Awesome scores. Congratulations.

 

[Blake1e]

Impressive AA and on the perfect score for the biology section.

 

[LaughingGas]

That's awesone. Congrats on your scores. Wat topics were covered for bio and which subjects for rc?

 

[EpicDentist]

Crammed in 4 days...wow! Congrats, great scores!

 

[tomriddle]

What I forgot to add: if I had a lot more time, I would have finished CDP and the TopScore and Kaplan practice tests, done Achiever, read my OC textbook cover to cover, practiced more OC and GC problems (maybe Chad's), and for QR studied more complicated probability problems.

I took the DAT at the Prometric test center on 100 California in San Francisco. The test center exceeded my expectations; the staff were friendly and professional, the atmosphere felt laid back, the computers were new and fast, and they have lockers. There were only about 20 or so testing cubicles. They're switching to non-erasable markers, so I got two laminated noteboards and to finetip markers, and raised my hand when I needed to trade for clean ones. I could only get dropped off at 8:30 for my noon test, so I slept at The Coffee Bean a few blocks away for a couple hours, showed up at 10:30 and they let me take the test right then since they had space available. If you're in the Bay, I highly recommend this place.

 

[tomriddle]

I think the reason that crunching those 4 days leading up to the test was effective is that I actually learned a lot in my science classes at UCLA, but this was freshman or sophomore year so I really needed a good review. I also focused on getting used to the PAT, QR and RC format to make sure I could feel confident and finish on time. Also, when you're scared out of your mind, your brain can do wonderful things like plow through all of Cliffs AP Bio in half a night. I can not stress how useful it is to have that thing memorized.

As to the topics covered on the actual DAT, neither do I remember much from that day nor should I discuss the details from the test.

 

[Dotoday]

Solid scores. Awesome job.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[DAM]

Great job! Can you tell us your strategy for RC?

 

[tomriddle]

Great job! Can you tell us your strategy for RC?

I had problems with this section at first since I like to read my textbooks slowly, stopping to digest the information and referring periodically to previous paragraphs. I would have no time for that on the DAT.

What really helped me (and one of the useful things I got out of Kaplan) was to read the whole thing through very quickly (skimming over the filler and slowing down when information was mentioned) and take brief notes. Since on the real thing every paragraph is numbered, I wrote the paragraph number on my noteboard and then the important words mentioned in that paragraph, and then when I was answering the questions I would refer to my notes to find the right paragraph, then search for the answer there. This could work for every question if done correctly. By this point, I had taken maybe 4 practice RC sections in total, so I was fairly familiar with the types of questions asked, and I was watching out for names, dates, statistics, terms and lists that could be used for "all of the following except" and "which of the following" questions. In the last case, it's enough to write down just a coupe words from the list to spare time, and you can pretty much always recognize the question and the list it's referring to.

The important thing to remember that with 3 passages, there are only 20 minutes per section, and the questions do take a long time to answer even with notes. I took as little time as possible for the reading and notes, probably 5-7 minutes, I wrote the words in a column used abbreviations for the long ones, and I marked up my notes arrows and symbols as I went to make specific information easier to pick out.

Remember to stay calm, pace yourself based on how much time per passage you have left, if you can't find the answer to a question then gues, mark it and move on because you're likely to run into that information when answering later questions and then just go back and correct it. Also, read each passage actively like it's the most exciting topic you've ever seen; luckily, I actually liked the theme in every one of the passages which just made it a little less stressful.

I think I mentioned earlier, the difficulty of the passages on the DAT seemed to be similar to Kaplan's and TopScore's, but there were more easier questions and less of the harder ones.

Hope this helps. I think this is more about strategy than practice, but to each their own. If you need me to clarify anything else, ask away.

 

[Dotoday]

What classes did you take when you were postback? Did it help you in studying for DAT?

 

[Glimmer1991]

What awesome scores! Congratulations!

 

[tomriddle]

I'm an undergrad. I took lower div bio (evolution/behavior, physiology/cell bio, molecular bio, and genetics), general chem and organic chem. The bio and organic chem classes prepared me pretty well, the general chem I used more what I learned in AP Chem in high school.

 

[DenTisTry1011]

congrats, good scores.

I Took The daT recenTly and my scores were pa 20, qr 20, gc 22, oc 23, rc 17, bio 17

should I reTake.

any Tips for The rc secTion

 

[AM4EVA]

congrats, good scores.

I Took The daT recenTly and my scores were pa 20, qr 20, gc 22, oc 23, rc 17, bio 17

should I reTake.

any Tips for The rc secTion

Much much reasonable scores
I seriously have absolutely no.idea how one can get 30s in these sections let alone BIO?!?! Oh well....sigh

Sent from my SGH-T989 using SDN Mobile

 

[jaedong]

mother of god is all i have to say

 

[tomriddle]

congrats, good scores.

I Took The daT recenTly and my scores were pa 20, qr 20, gc 22, oc 23, rc 17, bio 17

should I reTake.

any Tips for The rc secTion

Your scores are pretty good from what I've seen and heard, but if you're going to retake and want my advice, here's my study/test strategy:

RC: First, I read each passage very quickly while taking brief notes. I jotted down things that stood out in each paragraph: names, dates, places, definitions, jargon, or lists. After practicing the RC section at home a few times, I had developed a sense for what kind of information the questions involved. Once I moved on to the questions, my notes would help me find which paragraph had the answer. This way, I did not spend time looking through the entire passage before answering each question, and I was never stumped by a question.

In case you didn't see this, here is my reply to somebody else's question regarding the RC section shortly after I took the test:

"I had problems with this section at first since I like to read my textbooks slowly, stopping to digest the information and referring periodically to previous paragraphs. I would have no time for that on the DAT.

What really helped me (and one of the useful things I got out of Kaplan) was to read the whole thing through very quickly (skimming over the filler and slowing down when information was mentioned) and take brief notes. Since on the real thing every paragraph is numbered, I wrote the paragraph number on my noteboard and then the important words mentioned in that paragraph, and then when I was answering the questions I would refer to my notes to find the right paragraph, then search for the answer there. This could work for every question if done correctly. By this point, I had taken maybe 4 practice RC sections in total, so I was fairly familiar with the types of questions asked, and I was watching out for names, dates, statistics, terms and lists that could be used for "all of the following except" and "which of the following" questions. In the last case, it's enough to write down just a coupe words from the list to spare time, and you can pretty much always recognize the question and the list it's referring to.

The important thing to remember that with 3 passages, there are only 20 minutes per section, and the questions do take a long time to answer even with notes. I took as little time as possible for the reading and notes, probably 5-7 minutes, I wrote the words in a column used abbreviations for the long ones, and I marked up my notes arrows and symbols as I went to make specific information easier to pick out.

Remember to stay calm, pace yourself based on how much time per passage you have left, if you can't find the answer to a question then guess, mark it and move on because you're likely to run into that information when answering later questions and then just go back and correct it. Also, read each passage actively like it's the most exciting topic you've ever seen; luckily, I actually liked the theme in every one of the passages which just made it a little less stressful.

I think I mentioned earlier, the difficulty of the passages on the DAT seemed to be similar to Kaplan's and TopScore's, but there were more easier questions and less of the harder ones."

Bio: Next time you're studying for Bio, if you haven't already done so, then make sure that you know all of Cliff's AP Bio by memory. When I got the book (a couple nights before the test), I already new about half of the information from other sources and from my classes. I spent a night memorizing all the other things I didn't know. On the real test, this helped me narrow down answer choices and make an educated guess if there was a question I wasn't sure about. Destroyer Bio provided additional material for me to study; I looked through all the questions two or three times and again memorized information I didn't know, referencing my textbooks.

PAT: In my opinion, Crack DAT PAT in both the best and sufficient source for PAT practice. The practice tests contained all new questions in each test and were about the same difficulty and scored the same as the real DAT in my case. Most questions I just kinda looked at and chose the answer, but you can search around SDN to find different strategies for each section.

QR: Destroyer is a good one to practice with. I took the practice tests focusing on speed and reviewed the topics covered, which were pretty accurate with the real DAT in my opinion.

As to your GC and OC scores, I commend you. Keep up the good work, and good luck!

 

[tomriddle]

Much much reasonable scores
I seriously have absolutely no.idea how one can get 30s in these sections let alone BIO?!?! Oh well....sigh

Sent from my SGH-T989 using SDN Mobile

I think the reason I did so well in Bio is that I actually learned a lot in my lower div Life Science classes, and reviewing Cliff's AP Bio refreshed my memory and filled in any gaps in my knowledge. I was surprised too, so I guess practice tests can't always be used to gauge preparedness.

 

[Toadesque]

What kind of Bio questions did you get? Anything obscure that you didn't recall seeing in your material?

Honestly this test has quite a bit of luck factor to it. Sometimes you just get sections that have the types of questions you studied a lot and sometimes you get stuff that you just happen to be really weak at. It's lame

I've taken the DAT twice and the first time I took it I thought it was actually really easy considering I didn't have a lot of time to study and scored higher than I thought (still bad though). Then I studied a little more the 2nd time but still rushed into it trying to do a retake to apply for the same cycle, and I thought it was the hardest exam I had ever taken. Every section was more difficult than the first time, ended up with the same score as a result even though I studied more.

 

[tomriddle]

What kind of Bio questions did you get? Anything obscure that you didn't recall seeing in your material?

Honestly this test has quite a bit of luck factor to it. Sometimes you just get sections that have the types of questions you studied a lot and sometimes you get stuff that you just happen to be really weak at. It's lame

I've taken the DAT twice and the first time I took it I thought it was actually really easy considering I didn't have a lot of time to study and scored higher than I thought (still bad though). Then I studied a little more the 2nd time but still rushed into it trying to do a retake to apply for the same cycle, and I thought it was the hardest exam I had ever taken. Every section was more difficult than the first time, ended up with the same score as a result even though I studied more.

I don't remember all the questions at this point, but based on my experience, I think that a test taker that's well-versed on the subject can make a really good guess even if he or she didn't study the exact information that's in the question. I remember using the knowledge of Latin that I got from reading Bio books over the years to figure out which Latin name for a species matches its description.

 

[andrewhntran]

That's my dream RC score right there, congrats !

 

[springlove123]

Wish that I read this post before taking my DAT! I was studying the DAT destroyer and I was super discouraged to take the DAT because I kept getting everything below a 17. Then I found out about Chad's videos and crammed everything in 6 days. lol
Hope your life as a dental student treating you well 😀