- Joined
- Apr 16, 2009
- Messages
- 39
- Reaction score
- 0
PAT 20
RC 25
QR 19
BIO 24
GCHEM 24
OCHEM 23
TS 24 (99.3%)
AA 23 (98.3%)
I took my DAT two days ago. I didn't update earlier because I've been away from sdn and out enjoying my life since I was studying miserably for the past 11 weeks. Honestly, the whole test is a blur and I didnt know what scores to except. The testing conditions were good. I guess the only problem had was that I wanted more dry erase sheets so that I wouldnt waste any time erasing but they said the rule is two max. I asked twice but they said no.
Everyone told me that I shouldnt study the day before my exam but I felt uneasy so I went over the whole destroyer except for math. For me, the last week of studying was the most important especially for bio. I would just go over all my materials and have a better firm on the more shaky areas. My time was spent reviewing not learning new things. I did not feel prepared and I actually wanted to postpone but theres the whole two business days thing and it was too late.
BIO: Honestly, this section was much easier than I thought it would be. It was very straightforward and not tricky at all. I think there were three questions that I wasnt too sure about because it required me to combine something I already knew and apply it. One of those were just insane and I couldnt really figure it out. I dont think I ran into anything that I hadnt learned about or already knew. Im a bio major so Im sure that helped. Like everyone says, the questions are random. It was random in the sense that I didnt think that they would test on those concepts but it wasnt unfamiliar. I first read Cliffs AP biology and filled in the holes with my Campbell Bio book. Then I did the destroyer but I felt that Cliffs wasnt sufficient for me to answer all the destroyer questions. Then I read Schuams. I think Schuams filled in the holes and clarified a lot for me. The week before my DAT I just read through Cliffs one more time and typed out anything I didnt know clearly. I just went over the list everyday. One of the members on SDN suggested the outline and it really helped. People think Schuams is an overshoot but for me if helped me have a better understanding of what was going on.
CHEM: I really cant remember much about this section. The calculations are really easy though because everything is set up for you. I had about half calculations and half conceptual. I used Kaplan Review Notes, those video lectures thats floating around on sdn, Destroyer, and Kaplan Subject tests (I didnt take the Kaplan class. I just got my friends materials from the course.) I felt that Destroyer gchem calculations in general were a way overshoot for the actual exam. But the conceptual stuff in Destroyer is good. I think Kaplan is a great overview as well. I read over this section in Kaplan the week before my test. I would say Kaplan is the best resource.
OCHEM: This section was much easier than I imagined as well. Also for each reaction they tell you what reaction it is. Ex) what is the product of the aldol condensation reaction. I didnt have any nmr. I used destroyer, ochem odyssesy, Kaplan. Most people say that the odyssesy is an overshoot and I wouldnt recommend going over it unless you are weak in ochem and have the time to review it. But it had been two years since I took ochem so I needed something that went in depth. It helped me but I didnt master everything in the book. There were a lot of similar questions that I remembered from the Destroyer. And Kaplan is good for overview.
PAT: The last three Crack Pat I got 23-22-22. So I expected to do better than this. The pattern folding was not more difficult but there were folds I had never seen before so it took me a while. Cubes easier than crack. Angles easier than crack. Holes comparable to crack but there was just one really weird fold. TFE and key holes harder than crack.
Math: I didnt do as well as I wanted on this section either. Im not a person who is naturally good at math but Im a quick worker. For my time is not as much of an issue as much as knowing how to do the problems. I didnt know how to do like 6 of them. I did four out of the ten math destroyer practice tests. I usually got 20-21 for topscore and achiever math. I think if you do topscore, achiever, the whole destroyer book and actually understand the problems you missed. Then you should be set for the real thing. The math portion was harder than topscore.
Reading: Im not really sure how I did so well. The second passage questions were really weird. I had to interpret and predict results for certain cases. I think it the passage was about cancer and I had to read a graph and determine what it means based on what I inferred from the passage. There wasnt really a direct, obvious correlation so I just chose the best answer. The other two passages were easy. Mine were all science based. The tone/inference were really obvious and easy so dont worry. The highest I ever scored on a practice test for this section was 23 so I was surprised with my 25. I didnt prepare for this section other than practice tests. Oh, whenever I took practice tests I made sure I allotted 20 minutes per passage. I always scan the first 1-2 paragraphs and then try to answer the questions. I skip the question if I cant find it and go back to it later.
I did topscore, achiever, and Kaplan practice tests (for sciences). Do NOT use your test results as a measure of how you are actually going to do. This will only stress you out. Just be sure to understand the problems you missed. Two days before my test I took a topscore and my ts was 19. The actual thing I got a 24 on science.
Best of luck to all of you. Oh, if you would like to buy any of my materials please let me know
RC 25
QR 19
BIO 24
GCHEM 24
OCHEM 23
TS 24 (99.3%)
AA 23 (98.3%)
I took my DAT two days ago. I didn't update earlier because I've been away from sdn and out enjoying my life since I was studying miserably for the past 11 weeks. Honestly, the whole test is a blur and I didnt know what scores to except. The testing conditions were good. I guess the only problem had was that I wanted more dry erase sheets so that I wouldnt waste any time erasing but they said the rule is two max. I asked twice but they said no.
Everyone told me that I shouldnt study the day before my exam but I felt uneasy so I went over the whole destroyer except for math. For me, the last week of studying was the most important especially for bio. I would just go over all my materials and have a better firm on the more shaky areas. My time was spent reviewing not learning new things. I did not feel prepared and I actually wanted to postpone but theres the whole two business days thing and it was too late.
BIO: Honestly, this section was much easier than I thought it would be. It was very straightforward and not tricky at all. I think there were three questions that I wasnt too sure about because it required me to combine something I already knew and apply it. One of those were just insane and I couldnt really figure it out. I dont think I ran into anything that I hadnt learned about or already knew. Im a bio major so Im sure that helped. Like everyone says, the questions are random. It was random in the sense that I didnt think that they would test on those concepts but it wasnt unfamiliar. I first read Cliffs AP biology and filled in the holes with my Campbell Bio book. Then I did the destroyer but I felt that Cliffs wasnt sufficient for me to answer all the destroyer questions. Then I read Schuams. I think Schuams filled in the holes and clarified a lot for me. The week before my DAT I just read through Cliffs one more time and typed out anything I didnt know clearly. I just went over the list everyday. One of the members on SDN suggested the outline and it really helped. People think Schuams is an overshoot but for me if helped me have a better understanding of what was going on.
CHEM: I really cant remember much about this section. The calculations are really easy though because everything is set up for you. I had about half calculations and half conceptual. I used Kaplan Review Notes, those video lectures thats floating around on sdn, Destroyer, and Kaplan Subject tests (I didnt take the Kaplan class. I just got my friends materials from the course.) I felt that Destroyer gchem calculations in general were a way overshoot for the actual exam. But the conceptual stuff in Destroyer is good. I think Kaplan is a great overview as well. I read over this section in Kaplan the week before my test. I would say Kaplan is the best resource.
OCHEM: This section was much easier than I imagined as well. Also for each reaction they tell you what reaction it is. Ex) what is the product of the aldol condensation reaction. I didnt have any nmr. I used destroyer, ochem odyssesy, Kaplan. Most people say that the odyssesy is an overshoot and I wouldnt recommend going over it unless you are weak in ochem and have the time to review it. But it had been two years since I took ochem so I needed something that went in depth. It helped me but I didnt master everything in the book. There were a lot of similar questions that I remembered from the Destroyer. And Kaplan is good for overview.
PAT: The last three Crack Pat I got 23-22-22. So I expected to do better than this. The pattern folding was not more difficult but there were folds I had never seen before so it took me a while. Cubes easier than crack. Angles easier than crack. Holes comparable to crack but there was just one really weird fold. TFE and key holes harder than crack.
Math: I didnt do as well as I wanted on this section either. Im not a person who is naturally good at math but Im a quick worker. For my time is not as much of an issue as much as knowing how to do the problems. I didnt know how to do like 6 of them. I did four out of the ten math destroyer practice tests. I usually got 20-21 for topscore and achiever math. I think if you do topscore, achiever, the whole destroyer book and actually understand the problems you missed. Then you should be set for the real thing. The math portion was harder than topscore.
Reading: Im not really sure how I did so well. The second passage questions were really weird. I had to interpret and predict results for certain cases. I think it the passage was about cancer and I had to read a graph and determine what it means based on what I inferred from the passage. There wasnt really a direct, obvious correlation so I just chose the best answer. The other two passages were easy. Mine were all science based. The tone/inference were really obvious and easy so dont worry. The highest I ever scored on a practice test for this section was 23 so I was surprised with my 25. I didnt prepare for this section other than practice tests. Oh, whenever I took practice tests I made sure I allotted 20 minutes per passage. I always scan the first 1-2 paragraphs and then try to answer the questions. I skip the question if I cant find it and go back to it later.
I did topscore, achiever, and Kaplan practice tests (for sciences). Do NOT use your test results as a measure of how you are actually going to do. This will only stress you out. Just be sure to understand the problems you missed. Two days before my test I took a topscore and my ts was 19. The actual thing I got a 24 on science.
Best of luck to all of you. Oh, if you would like to buy any of my materials please let me know
