- Joined
- Oct 6, 2011
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 2
Real DAT 6/28/2012
PAT 25 99.0%
QR 24 99.0
RC 21 76.7
BIO 23 97.4
GC 22 91.8
OC 27 98.7
TS 24 99.1
AA 23 98.7
Achiever Test 1 6/6/2012
PAT 20
QR 20
RC 15
BIO 16
GC 20
OC 21
TS 19
AA 18
Achiever Test 2 6/9/2012
PAT 22
QR 18
RC 16
BIO 17
GC 18
OC 21
TS 19
AA 18
Achiever Test 3 6/11/2012
PAT 22
QR 20
RC 15
BIO 16
GC 19
OC 23
TS 19
AA 19
Achiever Test 4 6/14/2012
PAT 19
QR 17
RC 17
BIO 16
GC 17
OC 19
TS 17
AA 17
Topscore 1 6/18/2012
PAT 22
QR 21
RC 21
BIO 19
GC 20
OC 20
TS 20
AA 20
ADA 2007 6/20/2012
PAT 24
QR 24
RC 21
BIO 21
GC 21
OC 30
TS 23
AA 23
Topscore 2 6/22/2012
PAT 25
QR 22
RC 21
BIO 19
GC 19
OC 23
TS 20
AA 21
Topscore 3 6/26/2012
PAT 10 (skipped it because it is a little easy, and not as good as CDP)
QR 25
RC 19
BIO 16 (I don't know what happened here, lots of carelessness, should be 19)
GC 20
OC 25
TS 19
AA 21
Of the practice tests that I took, Topscore was definitely the most representative as far as difficulty and timing. Topscore may have even been a little harder in the Gen Chem and QR sections than the actual. Achiever was nice because it looks identical to the actual (except for the awesome feature of crossing out answer choices which I was disappointed to find out that you can't do that on the real DAT), but it is unrealistically hard. I did have 1-2 questions on the real DAT that were IDENTICAL to a couple of questions in the BIO section of the Achiever tests. So it may have been worth it just to do the bio sections of tests 5-7. The GC and OC sections of Achiever were much harder (along with all the rest of the test as you can see from my scores).
I spent the first month or so going over stuff that I know if didn't have a clue on including Gen Chem, a little QR review, and some BIO that I hadn't had since AP BIo in high school. I was lazy on the Bio and put it off b/c I found it boring which may be why my BIO scores never really improved until my actual DAT. Basically, I would get every animal classification, plant, and ecology question wrong and then tell myself, "I need to go over that" over and over until I finally did so. I literally spent around 40 hours in the last week of studying taking notes on AP Cliffs and my physiology and anatomy notes. Do this first even if it sucks. Just get the notes done and be able to review them later. I nearly killed myself to cover it all in the last week.
I Spent just over two months studying. April 25 to now. The first month was just a few hours a day, usually watching Chad's videos with a few days of more time invested. Once I had my studying "endurance" up, I bumped it up to more time. I took every Sunday off, which is HIGHLY recommend. It just keeps you sane--especially if you study for more than a couple of weeks. I also took the day before the test off and played some basketball and went golfing. That really helped as well. Just stay calm.
I really think that the DAT is just as much about timing as it is about what you know. It is critical to finish each section with your best answers chosen. If you are short on time, you probably won't do well even if you knew all of the earlier questions. Train yourself to blow through the test. I would usually take 15-20 minutes on Bio, 30 minutes (harder for me) in GC, and 15 minutes in Ochem. That usually left me with 20-25 minutes to go over anything that I marked or wanted to double check. Topscore is the most accurate for timing. Achiever I usually would barely finish with maybe a few minutes left over, so don't worry about timing here. The actual DAT I took 25 minutes on Bio (i was pretty nervous at first). After the bio section, I realized how easy it was, I calmed down and breezed through the rest. I ended up with 20 minutes left over to go over all of my marked bio and gen chem and started checking all of my work in gen chem. PAT was the same. Get really fast! Don't waste your time staring at a difficult shape, guess, mark and move on! I finished this section with 20 minutes left over, checked my marked answers and then tried to take a nap with the extra 5 minutes before my break. I really wanted to rest my brain for the RC. I had a rough start on RC (24 minutes on article 1), but pushed forward and was more time conscious for the rest. Finished with 5 minutes left to review a few marked questions. QR again, timing here is crucial! Math Destroyer was the best resource for this. I finished with 10 or so minutes left to review marked questions. The reason I had so much time is because I trained myself well to mark and skip a question that I didnt know how to solve right away. Obviously take enough time to fully understand the question and try to solve it, but don't rack your brain searching for an answer. Guess, mark it and return. Save the time for easier questions.
PAT - Easy compared to CDP and Achiever. Those two sources were probably the most helpful for this section. I am "slower" at keyholes and TFE, each usually took around 10-12 minutes on a more difficult test. Angles are very easy to get fast at. Look at the answers first. All the answer will usually have 2 options for the largest and two for the smallest angles (ie. all answer have either 2 or 4 as the largest). Compare those two angles and eliminate all answer choices that have the other angle. This should leave two choices(usually) as possible answers and they usually have two different smallest angles. Compare and you have your answer. Hole punch was a little hard for me at first as well. I used a grid method that fixed that almost instantly. Draw a 4x4 square (easy on the provided grid paper of the testing center). Mark the first punches and then started reflecting them across the folds going backwards. Be careful to watch for when a fold "erases" a hole from the grid. PM me if you want more info on how this works. Cube counting, I felt was just practice. I tried the counting method--counting all the cubes and then counting how many of each type there were, but this took too long. I was faster at just looking for the specific cube. I could check the structures twice for making sure that my answer was right for all 15 questions within 6 minutes. This and angle were huge time savers for me. Take the time to look for patterns in cubes. 5's always appear at the top with nothing around them (of course), 4's are on the ends (one adjacent cube) or in pillars (cube on top and bottom). 3's have the most variety, they can be on the top corners, edges of walls, etc, but just get good at finding them. You get the idea. Then just go through the structure starting at one end and picturing each cube, counting as you go. Do it twice to limit mistakes. Enough practice and you won't miss any in CDP. Pattern folding was another tougher one. I found it easier to go through each answer choice and eliminate each one. I found a unique shape/color on the answer and compared it to the unfolded pattern. Then you just have to look "to the right" of that unique side, or above it, etc. This is harder to describe, but PM me if interested. PAT should be cake compared to the other sections.
QR - Math Destroyer and practice! All the problems were very very easy compared to MD. Maybe even easier than Topscore. A couple of days before the test, I was rusty with math so I did 2-3 MD practice tests and had it all back. In total I did 5 MD tests along with the DAT destroyer problems. I found it extremely helpful to make a "cheat sheet" of equations and helps for the common problems (including surface area, volume eq., trig identities, etc). I might post these.
MD 1-5 scores: 38/40, 32/40, 37/40, 28/40, 32/40
RC - By far my weakest subject. I read at 200wpm. Comprehension is fine, but useless when the articles are so meaty. I used search and destroy. I read the first paragraph and then skimmed the topic sentences of each of the following. I liked to know how many paragraphs were present and from there I concentrated on creating a mental image of where each topic was located. Obviously, I would have to skim the topic sentences a few times (while looking for answers) before I remembered where the paragraph on "justice in ethics" was, but its worked for me. The biggest thing is keeping your head straight and pacing yourself. I spent 24 minutes on the first article and then started to panic. I had to keep calm and chive on to finish the other two. Once again, practice your timing and pacing. If you cant find an answer (or know where it is when you read the question) within 30-40 seconds, mark and skip. Then go back after you have S&D more of the questions and have a better idea where everything is. I always tried to collect a mental image of the layout of the paper--knowing more or less where and what each paragraph is about.
BIO - Easier than all my practice tests, but I did spend my last few days cramming like mad for this one. Cliffs AP BIO was my main source. I went through each chapter and took notes on anything that I didnt know (or wouldnt recognize if I saw it in a question), then I supplemented those notes with Kaplan Review notes. Kaplan has more on some areas and less in others so its good to go over it all if you have time. The rest of kaplan review notes is worthless unless you need the three practice reading tests like I did. I also skimmed through my physiology and anatomy notes from school (probably not necessary, but I dont have any Bio 100 notes...skipped it). If you dont have time, stick to Cliffs. I made the mistake of studying Bio last because I kept putting it off (vast and boring). I highly recommend spending a lot of time in the beginning taking lots of notes on your resources. Anything you dont write down will be forgotten in a day or two so actually take notes! Then review your notes periodically. I wish I had done this and then focused more on gen chem or reading strategy. Dat destroying is okay and will point out areas that you are weaker in, but I have to say that it has far too many "all of the following are false/true except" questions. Not like the actual test. I have heard datqvault is great.
GC - Much easier than the practice tests. I was afraid of this section and spent the beginning of my studying on this part. Chad owns the chemistry. Chad's video's were most on par. Dat Destroyer is overkill, but well worth the practice. I went once through DD and corrected my mistakes. I made a "cheat sheet" of equations for this one which really helped. I am sure that the ones that I missed were either lab based or just obscure (to me) questions that really arent worth studying for. Chad's really is a must for this section and ochem. Focus on getting the 27 easy ones and forget about studying for the 3 odd ones out. Extra studying for those random questions would just weaken your memory for other questions and sections.
OC - I just took ochem and did very well. I didnt prep too much for this one. Obviously Chads is best. Dat destroyer isnt bad, but a lot of it is overkill. Masteringorganicchemistry.com has some awesome print outs that overview most of the reactions and key consepts. The ones I missed were lab based or obscure again. Again, get the 27 easy ones right and forget the rest. DD has a little too many reactions and "facts" to remember. The reactions on the actual DAT are straight forward. I felt that my test had few reactions and more conceptual questions--where Chad's really came in handy. Chad is simple and will get you 90% of the answers here.
Overall, it was sooo much easier than I had anticipated. Focus your efforts where you are weakest. I spent a lot in gen chem, RC and bio. You'll see in my p tests that I improved a lot (except for Bio because I put off studying a lot of topics for the end)
Materials:
Must haves:
Topscore $70ish
Cliffs AP $10 (or similar, and I really found it helpful to use my own class notes and wikipedia for anything more specific)
Chad's Videos $40 for all videos and quizzes
DAT Destroyer (while it was harder than the real thing, it offers the most practice and variety in Gen Chem, Ochem, and QR. The bio questions were Okay, but the solutions in the back for BIO is great. I went through it all once and review each problem I got wrong. I kept track of the subject in which I was missing the most and review those areas. I broke it up into section of equal length to the DAT and practiced timing. $150
Math Destroyer - I say it is a must for timing practice and variety of questions. After DAT Dest, you should be able to do all of theses problems. Timing is key for this section. Look for shortcuts in a lot of the common problems that you run into. DAT Dest and Math Dest combo is $200
Crack DAT PAT $120ish for 10 test version, I used 5 tests though--really depends on how much practice you need.
ADA 2007 just because it's free.
Recommended:
Achiever (probably 3 test version unless you really want more practice and questions) As I said, I only did 4 tests. I think $140ish
DAT q vault (I only took the first free Bio section, but it seemed like a great deal for the prices on their website. $100 for all sections, $30 per section
In the end, I spent around $700 for materials and I had more than enough to do well.
PAT 25 99.0%
QR 24 99.0
RC 21 76.7
BIO 23 97.4
GC 22 91.8
OC 27 98.7
TS 24 99.1
AA 23 98.7
Achiever Test 1 6/6/2012
PAT 20
QR 20
RC 15
BIO 16
GC 20
OC 21
TS 19
AA 18
Achiever Test 2 6/9/2012
PAT 22
QR 18
RC 16
BIO 17
GC 18
OC 21
TS 19
AA 18
Achiever Test 3 6/11/2012
PAT 22
QR 20
RC 15
BIO 16
GC 19
OC 23
TS 19
AA 19
Achiever Test 4 6/14/2012
PAT 19
QR 17
RC 17
BIO 16
GC 17
OC 19
TS 17
AA 17
Topscore 1 6/18/2012
PAT 22
QR 21
RC 21
BIO 19
GC 20
OC 20
TS 20
AA 20
ADA 2007 6/20/2012
PAT 24
QR 24
RC 21
BIO 21
GC 21
OC 30
TS 23
AA 23
Topscore 2 6/22/2012
PAT 25
QR 22
RC 21
BIO 19
GC 19
OC 23
TS 20
AA 21
Topscore 3 6/26/2012
PAT 10 (skipped it because it is a little easy, and not as good as CDP)
QR 25
RC 19
BIO 16 (I don't know what happened here, lots of carelessness, should be 19)
GC 20
OC 25
TS 19
AA 21
Of the practice tests that I took, Topscore was definitely the most representative as far as difficulty and timing. Topscore may have even been a little harder in the Gen Chem and QR sections than the actual. Achiever was nice because it looks identical to the actual (except for the awesome feature of crossing out answer choices which I was disappointed to find out that you can't do that on the real DAT), but it is unrealistically hard. I did have 1-2 questions on the real DAT that were IDENTICAL to a couple of questions in the BIO section of the Achiever tests. So it may have been worth it just to do the bio sections of tests 5-7. The GC and OC sections of Achiever were much harder (along with all the rest of the test as you can see from my scores).
I spent the first month or so going over stuff that I know if didn't have a clue on including Gen Chem, a little QR review, and some BIO that I hadn't had since AP BIo in high school. I was lazy on the Bio and put it off b/c I found it boring which may be why my BIO scores never really improved until my actual DAT. Basically, I would get every animal classification, plant, and ecology question wrong and then tell myself, "I need to go over that" over and over until I finally did so. I literally spent around 40 hours in the last week of studying taking notes on AP Cliffs and my physiology and anatomy notes. Do this first even if it sucks. Just get the notes done and be able to review them later. I nearly killed myself to cover it all in the last week.
I Spent just over two months studying. April 25 to now. The first month was just a few hours a day, usually watching Chad's videos with a few days of more time invested. Once I had my studying "endurance" up, I bumped it up to more time. I took every Sunday off, which is HIGHLY recommend. It just keeps you sane--especially if you study for more than a couple of weeks. I also took the day before the test off and played some basketball and went golfing. That really helped as well. Just stay calm.
I really think that the DAT is just as much about timing as it is about what you know. It is critical to finish each section with your best answers chosen. If you are short on time, you probably won't do well even if you knew all of the earlier questions. Train yourself to blow through the test. I would usually take 15-20 minutes on Bio, 30 minutes (harder for me) in GC, and 15 minutes in Ochem. That usually left me with 20-25 minutes to go over anything that I marked or wanted to double check. Topscore is the most accurate for timing. Achiever I usually would barely finish with maybe a few minutes left over, so don't worry about timing here. The actual DAT I took 25 minutes on Bio (i was pretty nervous at first). After the bio section, I realized how easy it was, I calmed down and breezed through the rest. I ended up with 20 minutes left over to go over all of my marked bio and gen chem and started checking all of my work in gen chem. PAT was the same. Get really fast! Don't waste your time staring at a difficult shape, guess, mark and move on! I finished this section with 20 minutes left over, checked my marked answers and then tried to take a nap with the extra 5 minutes before my break. I really wanted to rest my brain for the RC. I had a rough start on RC (24 minutes on article 1), but pushed forward and was more time conscious for the rest. Finished with 5 minutes left to review a few marked questions. QR again, timing here is crucial! Math Destroyer was the best resource for this. I finished with 10 or so minutes left to review marked questions. The reason I had so much time is because I trained myself well to mark and skip a question that I didnt know how to solve right away. Obviously take enough time to fully understand the question and try to solve it, but don't rack your brain searching for an answer. Guess, mark it and return. Save the time for easier questions.
PAT - Easy compared to CDP and Achiever. Those two sources were probably the most helpful for this section. I am "slower" at keyholes and TFE, each usually took around 10-12 minutes on a more difficult test. Angles are very easy to get fast at. Look at the answers first. All the answer will usually have 2 options for the largest and two for the smallest angles (ie. all answer have either 2 or 4 as the largest). Compare those two angles and eliminate all answer choices that have the other angle. This should leave two choices(usually) as possible answers and they usually have two different smallest angles. Compare and you have your answer. Hole punch was a little hard for me at first as well. I used a grid method that fixed that almost instantly. Draw a 4x4 square (easy on the provided grid paper of the testing center). Mark the first punches and then started reflecting them across the folds going backwards. Be careful to watch for when a fold "erases" a hole from the grid. PM me if you want more info on how this works. Cube counting, I felt was just practice. I tried the counting method--counting all the cubes and then counting how many of each type there were, but this took too long. I was faster at just looking for the specific cube. I could check the structures twice for making sure that my answer was right for all 15 questions within 6 minutes. This and angle were huge time savers for me. Take the time to look for patterns in cubes. 5's always appear at the top with nothing around them (of course), 4's are on the ends (one adjacent cube) or in pillars (cube on top and bottom). 3's have the most variety, they can be on the top corners, edges of walls, etc, but just get good at finding them. You get the idea. Then just go through the structure starting at one end and picturing each cube, counting as you go. Do it twice to limit mistakes. Enough practice and you won't miss any in CDP. Pattern folding was another tougher one. I found it easier to go through each answer choice and eliminate each one. I found a unique shape/color on the answer and compared it to the unfolded pattern. Then you just have to look "to the right" of that unique side, or above it, etc. This is harder to describe, but PM me if interested. PAT should be cake compared to the other sections.
QR - Math Destroyer and practice! All the problems were very very easy compared to MD. Maybe even easier than Topscore. A couple of days before the test, I was rusty with math so I did 2-3 MD practice tests and had it all back. In total I did 5 MD tests along with the DAT destroyer problems. I found it extremely helpful to make a "cheat sheet" of equations and helps for the common problems (including surface area, volume eq., trig identities, etc). I might post these.
MD 1-5 scores: 38/40, 32/40, 37/40, 28/40, 32/40
RC - By far my weakest subject. I read at 200wpm. Comprehension is fine, but useless when the articles are so meaty. I used search and destroy. I read the first paragraph and then skimmed the topic sentences of each of the following. I liked to know how many paragraphs were present and from there I concentrated on creating a mental image of where each topic was located. Obviously, I would have to skim the topic sentences a few times (while looking for answers) before I remembered where the paragraph on "justice in ethics" was, but its worked for me. The biggest thing is keeping your head straight and pacing yourself. I spent 24 minutes on the first article and then started to panic. I had to keep calm and chive on to finish the other two. Once again, practice your timing and pacing. If you cant find an answer (or know where it is when you read the question) within 30-40 seconds, mark and skip. Then go back after you have S&D more of the questions and have a better idea where everything is. I always tried to collect a mental image of the layout of the paper--knowing more or less where and what each paragraph is about.
BIO - Easier than all my practice tests, but I did spend my last few days cramming like mad for this one. Cliffs AP BIO was my main source. I went through each chapter and took notes on anything that I didnt know (or wouldnt recognize if I saw it in a question), then I supplemented those notes with Kaplan Review notes. Kaplan has more on some areas and less in others so its good to go over it all if you have time. The rest of kaplan review notes is worthless unless you need the three practice reading tests like I did. I also skimmed through my physiology and anatomy notes from school (probably not necessary, but I dont have any Bio 100 notes...skipped it). If you dont have time, stick to Cliffs. I made the mistake of studying Bio last because I kept putting it off (vast and boring). I highly recommend spending a lot of time in the beginning taking lots of notes on your resources. Anything you dont write down will be forgotten in a day or two so actually take notes! Then review your notes periodically. I wish I had done this and then focused more on gen chem or reading strategy. Dat destroying is okay and will point out areas that you are weaker in, but I have to say that it has far too many "all of the following are false/true except" questions. Not like the actual test. I have heard datqvault is great.
GC - Much easier than the practice tests. I was afraid of this section and spent the beginning of my studying on this part. Chad owns the chemistry. Chad's video's were most on par. Dat Destroyer is overkill, but well worth the practice. I went once through DD and corrected my mistakes. I made a "cheat sheet" of equations for this one which really helped. I am sure that the ones that I missed were either lab based or just obscure (to me) questions that really arent worth studying for. Chad's really is a must for this section and ochem. Focus on getting the 27 easy ones and forget about studying for the 3 odd ones out. Extra studying for those random questions would just weaken your memory for other questions and sections.
OC - I just took ochem and did very well. I didnt prep too much for this one. Obviously Chads is best. Dat destroyer isnt bad, but a lot of it is overkill. Masteringorganicchemistry.com has some awesome print outs that overview most of the reactions and key consepts. The ones I missed were lab based or obscure again. Again, get the 27 easy ones right and forget the rest. DD has a little too many reactions and "facts" to remember. The reactions on the actual DAT are straight forward. I felt that my test had few reactions and more conceptual questions--where Chad's really came in handy. Chad is simple and will get you 90% of the answers here.
Overall, it was sooo much easier than I had anticipated. Focus your efforts where you are weakest. I spent a lot in gen chem, RC and bio. You'll see in my p tests that I improved a lot (except for Bio because I put off studying a lot of topics for the end)
Materials:
Must haves:
Topscore $70ish
Cliffs AP $10 (or similar, and I really found it helpful to use my own class notes and wikipedia for anything more specific)
Chad's Videos $40 for all videos and quizzes
DAT Destroyer (while it was harder than the real thing, it offers the most practice and variety in Gen Chem, Ochem, and QR. The bio questions were Okay, but the solutions in the back for BIO is great. I went through it all once and review each problem I got wrong. I kept track of the subject in which I was missing the most and review those areas. I broke it up into section of equal length to the DAT and practiced timing. $150
Math Destroyer - I say it is a must for timing practice and variety of questions. After DAT Dest, you should be able to do all of theses problems. Timing is key for this section. Look for shortcuts in a lot of the common problems that you run into. DAT Dest and Math Dest combo is $200
Crack DAT PAT $120ish for 10 test version, I used 5 tests though--really depends on how much practice you need.
ADA 2007 just because it's free.
Recommended:
Achiever (probably 3 test version unless you really want more practice and questions) As I said, I only did 4 tests. I think $140ish
DAT q vault (I only took the first free Bio section, but it seemed like a great deal for the prices on their website. $100 for all sections, $30 per section
In the end, I spent around $700 for materials and I had more than enough to do well.
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