DAT BREAKDOWN 6/29/16 - Materials review and Thoughts

[jcatoei]

I survived!!!

Ok guys, I know my scores aren't the highest you're going to see on here, but I wanted to do a breakdown anyways. I know how I looked at a ton of breakdowns before I took my DAT and I know I got a little something different from each one, so I hope this helps!

First off, my scores:

PAT 22
QR 22
RC 26
BIO 22
GC 21
OC 22
TS 22
AA 23

So a little background about myself. I just finished my junior year and am a biochemistry major. My overall gap is 3.72 and science is 3.60. I started studying for the DAT the last two weeks of May and took it June 29th. So overall, I studied for about 6 weeks. The first 3-4 weeks, my studying was on and off (more off than on!). The last 2 weeks I buckled down, studying about 5-7 hours a day (I'm not like some of y'all who can study 8+ hours, my brain just does work like that).

Materials Used:
Cliffs AP BIO, DAT Destroyer, Chad's, DAT Bootcamp, Crack DAT PAT, Kaplan review book, Quizlet, youtube, etc.

Review:

BIO: Cliffs is the way to go! Know the book front to back and you'll set yourself up for a great score! If you don't want buy it, there a free online pdf of it. I read the book all the way through 3 separate times. I also used the kaplan review book (2015 edition I got free from a friend) because it was a little more in-depth on the different human systems (immune, circulatory, etc.). Also used youtube videos for any topics I was struggling with. I used quizlet to make and review notecards (just search for sets other people have made). This was great because I could study pretty much anywhere using the app on my phone. I went through Destroyer Bio section once just to get a feel for the types of questions. DAT Bootcamp practice tests were a pretty accurate representation of the real thing. I would suggest going through them more than once. I can recall at least 4-5 questions that were very similar to questions I had on the real thing. Overall, I think if you know Cliffs pretty well you'll do just fine.

Bootcamp Bio: 23/19/20/20/19
Actual: 22

Gen Chem: In my opinion, Chad's is the single best resource for the chemistries! I did very well in my undergrad chemistry classes so I didn't study this section as much as I probably should have. Chad does a great job of explaining the most important things to know and he gives you little tips and trick for remembering things. The quizzes also help cement the topics. I didn't have time to finish the chem section on Destroyer, but the questions I did covered some of the more tricky topics and calculations. DAT bootcamp practice test were maybe a little harder than the real thing. Overall, know chads notes and practice with the different kinds of questions you might see and you'll be fine.

Bootcamp GC: 22/19/21/18/20
Actual: 21 (Section seemed easier so I thought I would've made higher. Guessing I just made a few dumb mistakes)

Orgo Chem: Again, Chad's is the way to go! Learn the reactions he discusses! Went through Destroyer and I think that was really helpful because of some of the exceptions you see. Can think of at least 2 questions that were very similar to ones I saw in Destroyer. I thing Bootcamp was a little harder than the real thing. Like with Gen Chem, learn the key things from Chad's and know those very well and you'll be fine.

Bootcamp OC: 18/19/23/19/19
Actual: 22

RC: Didn't study for the RC section. I took 3 Bootcamp tests the week before but thats really it. I do read a bunch of scientific papers for my research at school so maybe that has something to do with. I think most people have a problem with timing. My suggestion, use the search and destroy method. It worked very well for me and with some practice, I think its the quickest way to attack this sections.

Bootcamp RC: 24/23/24
Actual: 26 (thought this section was incredibly easy and finished with 10 minutes left)

QR: I've always been pretty good with math so I didn't even worry about the QR section until the last week. I took the bootcamp tests and skimmed through chads videos. I didn't touch the destroyer for this section. Timing was the part I really had to work on. I could never finish the bootcamp test and the same held true for the real thing, didn't get to the last 5 questions.

Bootcamp QR: 19/21/20/20/19
Actual: 22

PAT: The Pat was by far my favorite section. Let me start by saying that I was a little disappointed with my score on this section. I roamed sdn for a week just reading peoples strategy post and etc. Bought Crack DAT PAT and took all 10 of the practice tests. Also took a few practice tests on Bootcamp. The key to this section is practice! For 2 weeks leading up to my exam, I took one test everyday. Then the next day, I would review all the wrong questions and take another. At the start, I had a problem with finishing in time but I discovered a tactic the worked pretty well for me. I would try to spend no more than 25 min on the keyhole and TFE questions, then I'd make a quick pass through the angle section, just going with my first instinct and spending less than 15 sec per question. The hole punch, Cube counting, and pattern folding I'd try to finish with 5+ min left so I could go back over the marked ones and then any extra time I would use to revisit the angle ranking questions. This is just what worked for me. My suggestion, take the first 3 crack test using 3 different strategies and see what feels best for you. Once you pick one, stick with it and try to perfect it! I developed a few tricks to get through the hole punch and cube counting sections pretty quick. They are kinda difficult to explain but if any of y'all want to know, feel free to ask.

Crack: 21/18/22/24/23/24/21/22/24/25
Bootcamp: 21/20/21
Actual: 22

Materials Review:
Cliffs (9/10) - Very good material, supplement it with youtube videos and notes from various other places and you should be good to go
Chad's (10/10) - If you only have a limited amount of money to spend, I'd suggest Chad's videos before anything else!
Destroyer (6/10) - For the price, I'm don't think it was worth it for me. However, I wish I could go back a make it all the way through it at least once. I think it you can go through it 2-3 times it could be a very helpful resource?
Bootcamp (9/10) - Great for practice testing! I would recommend if for nothing else but to get a feel for the timing.
Crack DAT PAT (8/10) - Great for practice. I think that keyhole and TFE were a little easier than the real thing so just keep that in mind.

Final thoughts and Advice:

When I started studying, I thought studying for this would be the death of me. I've never been a good studier. MAKE A SCHEDULE and do you best to stick to it. But don't let studying totally consume your day. Still do things you enjoy, like I played golf and went to the gym regularly. Doing these kept me from driving myself insane. The day before the test, I spent 3 hours reviewing my notes and that was it. Did I feel ready? no, but I knew that stressing about it the day before would accomplish nothing. Relax the day before. If you've studied like you should have, you'll be fine! Last piece of advice, get some sleep the night before. I didn't hardly sleep the 2 nights leading up to the test and I could definitely tell a difference on the PAT section.

I know this was kind of longer than I had planned but I hope maybe this helps someone. Feel free to ask any questions.

Also, good luck to those applying this cycle and taking the DAT soon!

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[Endoapp24]

killed it, good job man! Now you can get filthy for the 4th without regerts (shoutout snickers)

 

[roy williams II]

I'd love to hear your tricks for hole punch and cube counting!

 

[Kyle198]

For the reading section, you say you use the search and destroy method, can you explain it in detail? thanks so much

 

[jcatoei]

For the reading section, you say you use the search and destroy method, can you explain it in detail? thanks so much

Look at what the question is asking, then skim through the passage until you find the paragraph where that topic is being discussed. I didn't even read the whole passage first or anything. Just went straight to the questions.

 

[moose786]

would definitely like to hear the suggestions about hole punch and cube counting, especially hole punching lol.

Also, please please please if you could tell me how you do TFE. I did it for the first time today -- and every time I review a solution, I'm like ohhhhh wow duh. And then I go back to square one when doing a new problem (Bootcamp generator). Literally driving me insane.

 

[jcatoei]

I'd love to hear your tricks for hole punch and cube counting!

For the PAT hole punch, I started by putting an "X" down on my paper for each hole punched. The paper they give you at the testing center is kind of like graph paper so it makes it easier to make a little grid. Then just go fold by fold. If I saw that the hole "disappeared" (meaning the paper was folded in such a way that the original hole was punched on paper that wasn't folded overtop another piece. Not sure if that makes sense, kind of hard to explain) I would put a "O" over it. Practice this and you can get pretty quick and recognize the folds. Also, look on the forums for the "symmetry method" which also helps speed things up. I know it doesn't sound like much but it makes it really easy to compare whats on your paper to the answer choices, help you not to make dumb mistakes. Was making 15/15 on the practice test doing it this way

For cube counting, first realize that there are no cubes "hidden" unless they are supporting ones (i.e. under one you can see). Once you get that it helps a lot (I say that because I didn't realize that until about a week into studying lol). I would then just count and mark down how many for each number 2-4, since most of the questions for ask for those. 5 sides can be recognized easily because they are the ones not touched anywhere but the bottom. Also, it helps to realize that the ones with 4 sides painted are only touching on one side of the cube, this makes counting them pretty quick. The more I practiced like this the quicker I got.

I know these aren't "magical" strategies but they helped me. My advice, find what technique you like the best and practice practice practice!

would definitely like to hear the suggestions about hole punch and cube counting, especially hole punching lol.

Also, please please please if you could tell me how you do TFE. I did it for the first time today -- and every time I review a solution, I'm like ohhhhh wow duh. And then I go back to square one when doing a new problem (Bootcamp generator). Literally driving me insane.

First thing I always did was to look at the answer options and notice the differences between them. I found that usually, between glancing at the 2 images given and the answer choices, you could narrow it down to 2 in less than 15 seconds. For me this helped a ton because then I could just focus on the differences between those 2 and usually (at least for me) it came down to whether a line was dashed, solid, or missing all together. Find the line different, try to visualize the object in 3d and determine the answer from there. I know this doesn't work for all questions, but it helped me with a few and doing 5 or so pretty quick then allows you to spend more time on some of the difficult ones! This is just how I tackled these problems and it seemed to work pretty well for me.

TFE just takes practice more than anything. Keep doing the generators and you'll be fine come test day!

 

[ath94]

Am I the only one who worry about the RC the most? I am always run out of time on DATbootcamp RC test. With the search and destroy strategy, I feel like there are tricks that may punch you in the face if you just skim it too fast, otherwise take too long for me to do so.

I'm not really worry about Bio/ Chem / Ochem that much, since those my strongest so far, always finish the science section with 20 mins (I just wish I can use those for other sections).

For PAT, I'm trying to do a short test for PAT everyday to boost my speed. I did one on Kaplan to see what happened. It turned out easier than I thought, but I realized I managed to finish because the hole punching/ cube counting/ angle ranking save me lots of time (I tried to finished those within 20 mins, and practicing helped a lot)

10 more days

 

[Roy Williams]

Am I the only one who worry about the RC the most? I am always run out of time on DATbootcamp RC test. With the search and destroy strategy, I feel like there are tricks that may punch you in the face if you just skim it too fast, otherwise take too long for me to do so.

I'm not really worry about Bio/ Chem / Ochem that much, since those my strongest so far, always finish the science section with 20 mins (I just wish I can use those for other sections).

For PAT, I'm trying to do a short test for PAT everyday to boost my speed. I did one on Kaplan to see what happened. It turned out easier than I thought, but I realized I managed to finish because the hole punching/ cube counting/ angle ranking save me lots of time (I tried to finished those within 20 mins, and practicing helped a lot)

10 more days

Short test? Why don't you do a full length test every day. They're only one hour and I promise in ten days you can really boost up your ability in that section. For RC have you tried kinda the halfway point between search and destroy and straight up reading it? that's what I did and I never ran out of time. Tried to spend about 20 minutes per section and always ended each section with about 2-3 minutes left to go back to the questions I was unsure of. Read the first 4ish paragraphs and then go straight to the first question. Keep going through the questions until you get to one that hasn't been discussed in the passage yet. Then read until you get to it. Then read the next question. Then read until you find the answer, and so on until you're done and subsequently have read the entire passage. Obviously skip the questions about what the ending tone was and things like that until the end. Make sense sort of?

 

[ath94]

My bad, short test meant the section for it, like I am doing only PAT section of the full length (1hr like you said) so I can focus on the materials for a few hours at a time.

Short test? Why don't you do a full length test every day. They're only one hour and I promise in ten days you can really boost up your ability in that section.

Anyway, thank you about the tips, I keep getting 20 for RC in both Kaplan and Bootcamp (which is around 70th percentile depends on the test), not bad but I want to be somewhat efficient.