- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 90
Hello everyone! I just got back home from taking my DAT and am pretty happy with my scores! Since this forum has been so helpful in my preparation, I feel it is only right to give back and help those who are still preparing to crush their DAT. Let me know if you have any questions about what I did to prep, advice, section help, etc.
Scores:
PAT- 25
QR- 22
RC- 19
Bio- 22
GC- 22
OC- 23
TS- 22
AA- 22
Study Schedule:
I think the most important thing I did was study like it was a full time job. I studied about 6-8 hours each day for six weeks, looking at each subject everyday. I also studied almost exclusively at the public library to have a physical separation between work and play. On the weekends, I would take a practice test every Saturday (Kaplan, 2007, 2009, free DAT Genius, and Barrons) and review for a half a day each Sunday. When I was done for the day though, I was done! I hung out with friends, went to the movies, hiked, and everything else that college kids enjoy.
For weeks 1 and 2 I reviewed using Chads, a Kaplan review book, and Barrons. I also did DAT destroyer everyday as well for biology and googled things when I didn't know what it meant. I wrote down what I googled as a reference for later. For weeks 3 and 4 I started really working with the material using Destroyer, Math Destroyer, predds.net, and barrons. I just worked a crap ton of problems, not timed, and tried to really focus on my weak spots. During the last two weeks, weeks 5 and 6 I continued working on math destroyer, and began reworking all of the destroyer Ochem, gen chem, and bio. Also during these weeks, I got bootcamp and used the PAT section to study. I also took 5 practice tests during these two weeks on bootcamp.
Prep Material:
Destroyer (11/10)- I can't stress the importance of destroyer enough. It is hard and you will cry or want to cry at least once. Don't treat destroyer like a practice test though. Go through each problem and understand each detail of why it is correct. If you can do destroyer, you will crush the DAT- I promise. There are a few questions (and I mean like less than 10 out of a book with like 1000 problems) that I think are worded weirdly or are not great questions, but you will deal with it, learn, and move on.
Bootcamp (11/10)- I'm 99% sure that some of the questions on my DAT were right off of bootcamp... This is also a great resource as it gets you used to the computer software. The layout is great and the questions are right on par with what your real DAT will look like. It is a good indicator of where you stand and should be used going into the last few weeks. The PAT generators are great for PAT in general though and a good way to prepare for that section.
Chad's Videos (10/10)- Very good was to review and the quizzes make sure you're paying attention. The quizzes are much more detailed that what you need to know, but they cover everything. This is a must buy!
Kaplan Review Notes (3/10)- Basic. Basic. Basic. So many fluff words and so little information. Maybe it is a good review if you haven't taken a class like OChem or something. I just thought Kaplan was way to basic on what it expected you to know. Their strategies (like the key method for reading) also took way to long.
Barron's (8/10)- I think this book is really under appreciated. It's super cheap at like $25 and amazing for the PAT. Sure, it's not destroyer or bootcamp, but it is a good place to start for early-on practice tests and PAT stratagy. The pat section is like a workbook to allow you to try new skills before going to the full blown problems. Yay Baroon's! Be cautious though- there are some errors on the practice tests though.
Feralis' Notes (9/10)- Pretty darn good for a free biology resource! It has everything you need to know for the biology section although is can be daunting at first because it is so compact. It is sometimes hard to understand the organization, but all in all a good place to go for biology.
Class Notes (10/10)- I add this as a resource because I think they're often overlooked. Remember: you have learned all of this before and you shouldn't be reteaching yourself everything! Be confident and shoot for the stars!
DAT Genius (7/10)- Okay. So here is my grievance with DAT genius... It is like a photocopy of DAT bootcamp. It looks like they're trying to make money off of the idea of offering 5 practice tests and PAT resources. Meh. Their free practice test was good though, but I still liked bootcamp better and thought that the material of DAT Bootcamp was more representative of the real exam.
Scores:
PAT- 25
QR- 22
RC- 19
Bio- 22
GC- 22
OC- 23
TS- 22
AA- 22
Study Schedule:
I think the most important thing I did was study like it was a full time job. I studied about 6-8 hours each day for six weeks, looking at each subject everyday. I also studied almost exclusively at the public library to have a physical separation between work and play. On the weekends, I would take a practice test every Saturday (Kaplan, 2007, 2009, free DAT Genius, and Barrons) and review for a half a day each Sunday. When I was done for the day though, I was done! I hung out with friends, went to the movies, hiked, and everything else that college kids enjoy.
For weeks 1 and 2 I reviewed using Chads, a Kaplan review book, and Barrons. I also did DAT destroyer everyday as well for biology and googled things when I didn't know what it meant. I wrote down what I googled as a reference for later. For weeks 3 and 4 I started really working with the material using Destroyer, Math Destroyer, predds.net, and barrons. I just worked a crap ton of problems, not timed, and tried to really focus on my weak spots. During the last two weeks, weeks 5 and 6 I continued working on math destroyer, and began reworking all of the destroyer Ochem, gen chem, and bio. Also during these weeks, I got bootcamp and used the PAT section to study. I also took 5 practice tests during these two weeks on bootcamp.
Prep Material:
Destroyer (11/10)- I can't stress the importance of destroyer enough. It is hard and you will cry or want to cry at least once. Don't treat destroyer like a practice test though. Go through each problem and understand each detail of why it is correct. If you can do destroyer, you will crush the DAT- I promise. There are a few questions (and I mean like less than 10 out of a book with like 1000 problems) that I think are worded weirdly or are not great questions, but you will deal with it, learn, and move on.
Bootcamp (11/10)- I'm 99% sure that some of the questions on my DAT were right off of bootcamp... This is also a great resource as it gets you used to the computer software. The layout is great and the questions are right on par with what your real DAT will look like. It is a good indicator of where you stand and should be used going into the last few weeks. The PAT generators are great for PAT in general though and a good way to prepare for that section.
Chad's Videos (10/10)- Very good was to review and the quizzes make sure you're paying attention. The quizzes are much more detailed that what you need to know, but they cover everything. This is a must buy!
Kaplan Review Notes (3/10)- Basic. Basic. Basic. So many fluff words and so little information. Maybe it is a good review if you haven't taken a class like OChem or something. I just thought Kaplan was way to basic on what it expected you to know. Their strategies (like the key method for reading) also took way to long.
Barron's (8/10)- I think this book is really under appreciated. It's super cheap at like $25 and amazing for the PAT. Sure, it's not destroyer or bootcamp, but it is a good place to start for early-on practice tests and PAT stratagy. The pat section is like a workbook to allow you to try new skills before going to the full blown problems. Yay Baroon's! Be cautious though- there are some errors on the practice tests though.
Feralis' Notes (9/10)- Pretty darn good for a free biology resource! It has everything you need to know for the biology section although is can be daunting at first because it is so compact. It is sometimes hard to understand the organization, but all in all a good place to go for biology.
Class Notes (10/10)- I add this as a resource because I think they're often overlooked. Remember: you have learned all of this before and you shouldn't be reteaching yourself everything! Be confident and shoot for the stars!
DAT Genius (7/10)- Okay. So here is my grievance with DAT genius... It is like a photocopy of DAT bootcamp. It looks like they're trying to make money off of the idea of offering 5 practice tests and PAT resources. Meh. Their free practice test was good though, but I still liked bootcamp better and thought that the material of DAT Bootcamp was more representative of the real exam.
Any advice on top front end for PAT? How did bootcamp pat compare to your real pat?
