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3 weeks of study, 12 hour days, 1 day off to reset my sleep cycle
Week 1: all bio
Week 2: genchem, ochem, some PAT
Week 3: PAT, QR/math skills and review last 3 days
I only took DATqvault practice tests on the science sections and never had time to take a full on simulated practice DAT. The first time I took the full timed test was at the testing center
I just took my test, finally done. Here is the breakdown by section on what I used and how well it helped me:
22 Biology: Kaplan Blue book, DATqvault, Cliffs AP, college textbook, old class notes. Not much of a trick here, just spent the first week studying 12 hour days reviewing the classes I had taken in general biology. I would scribe passages that I had to really remember. By the end of the first week I had a 120-page college ruled notebook full of just biology. This was my weakest science subject and I had expected to do worse.
Kaplan book was good at providing a broad overview but lacked on some key components, mainly in embryology and muscular/skeletal physiology. I didnt even bother doing the practice test out of the book or online. I had a suspicion that the Kaplan questions would be influenced by what Kaplan specifically covered, and little outside that range, after all they wouldnt want to sell a product that wouldnt cover all the question.
Cliffs AP Bio - I read the book on my free time and used it as a refresher throughout the remaining two weeks when I wasnt focusing on biology. Good breakdown of what you need to know, but again lacking in some areas like taxonomy.
DATqvault - really helpful program. I found the questions fair and challenging. I went through all 10 practice bio tests: 19 21 22 21 20 20 18 19 20 22 I would say overall, the datqvault was a bit harder than the actual DAT. I spread my exams throughout the three weeks, spending the last 3-4 days just doing all the practice problems and writing down what I had missed.
College text book and notes - I liked to use the book and notes I had saved to go into the detail where the cliffs and Kaplan had left out. Nothing beats taking good notes in class.
23 General Chemistry - Class Notes, DATqvault. I reviewed all my class notes, read chapters out of my chemistry book and also scribed about 60 pages of concepts and calculations into a fresh notebook. I spent 3 and a half days reviewing for this section because I was comfortable with the material. I refused to use Kaplan for genchem. In my opinion it was convoluted and filled with extra information, I skipped this section completely.
DATqvault: 20 21 23 24 20 21 22 21 20 19 I took these throughout the remaining 2 weeks to keep fresh, also did all of the extra problems on the last 3 days. Very useful for covering all the general chemistry bases, I would say the real DAT was easier than DATqvault.
27 Organic Chemistry - Datqvault, class notes, textbook. This section was going to be easy for me, I had aced the class and I was very comfortable with nearly all the concepts in great detail having tutored fellow students for free during the last semester. I simply spent 2 days reviewing and transcribing old notebooks and added 60 more pages to me "chemistry" notebook.
DATqvault: 22 23 24 22 21 23 24 24 22 24 the real DAT was a bit easier than what I had experienced on the DATqvault tests. I honestly didnt review ochem once after the 2 days I spend mid week 2.
19 PAT - cdp. Boy I wish I spent more time studying for this. I did maybe 3 practice tests and figured I would have time to review more at the end but just didnt expect QR to take so long. Best advice I can give for this is practice practice practice. I had done well on the 3 cdp test I had taken: 19 22 20 but I just wasnt prepared for the real DAT keyhole or TFP, which were much harder than cdp's. I would say cubes and hole punches were easier and folding/angles about the same. Kaplan PAT is garbage; I didnt even look past the first few questions, way too easy.
20 RC - Not much to say here, I did one DATqvault RC test and got a 22. I used the search and destroy method, never bothered reading the passage as a whole. I am a very very slow reader, I understand what I read very well, but I read at a snail pace. On the actual exam I had a very complicated passage about esthetics and social justice, so I rand out of time, guessing on the last 3.
22 QR - I spent the last week of my three-week binge on mainly QR and review. I used Kaplan and DATqvault. I had a decent math background but a lot of the subjects covered where very hazy.
Kaplan - gave me the basics to freshen up on arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Very useful for understanding inequalities and coordinate geometry as well. I filled about 30 pages of equations, practice problems and concepts just through Kaplan. Didnt do a Kaplan practice test, again for the same reasons as bio.
DATqvault - 22 23 23 24 22 21 24 24 22 21 as a whole, datqvault was very helpful, but slightly easier than the real DAT in my opinion. The practice problems they had online where very good at keeping me fresh, I did all of them.
Conculsion: Would I suggest a three-week study program? Absolutely not. I myself wish I had spent more time on RC and PAT review. I had restriction on the amount of free time I would have for this test, so I took what I could get. My best advise on doing well on the DAT is work hard in class. You cant learn everything in the sciences in 3 weeks, 8 weeks or 12 weeks. It all comes down to how much you are able to retain from lectures, studying, and some common sense with a good helping of luck. I would say out of the 120 pages of small print biology knowledge I have in my note book, maybe 50% of it was directly useful, the rest came from experience in the class room.
Good luck to the rest of you and I hope this information maybe be useful. Dont do like me and ignore reading comprehension and perceptual ability and study for more than 3 weeks if you can help it ☺
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