Per my title, I am a non-traditional student. I had a lot of apprehension studying for the DAT as it had been nearly seven years since I took general biology and the first semesters of general chemistry and physics. I currently work as an RN, but also have a BS in Computer Science. More on my background later...
PAT 21 (92.2)
QR 22 (95.7)
RC 21 (84.5)
BIO 20 (86.9)
GC 21 (87.4)
OC 20 (81.3)
TS 20 (86.2)
AA 21 (93.0)
PAT: I used the five-test version of CDP with the following scores: 21, 22, 20, 21, 25. I thought the DAT was easier overall than CDP -- especially the hole punching and cube counting. I did read a few of the tips and tricks posted here on SDN and found them very helpful early on.
QR: My score was a little bit of a surprise to me. I have always been good at math, but per previous breakdowns, proficiency at math does not always equate with a good QR score. I prepared by using DAT Destroyer Math. I took 9 of the 11 exams and was averaging between 24-31/40 while being timed (45 minutes). The key to success in this section is to skip every question you do not know the answer to within 10 seconds, mark it, and come back later. This strategy proved to be successful in helping me quickly solve all of the "easy" problems. The section was a lot easier than DAT Destroyer Math, but if you know DDM inside and out you'll score high on QR.
RC: I started the section and the first word I saw on the screen was Piano. My heart sank as I thought I would be screwed. I am not musical at all. I was going to SnD, but decided to skim the passage and then SnD after that. I definitely think skimming this passage first helped. SnD is not very effective here and probably why so many people have trouble with it. The remaining two sections were easy reads and I used purely SnD.
BIO: By far the biggest surprise for me on the DAT. As previously mentioned, I have not taken general biology for seven years. However, some of my background and training as an RN (pathophysiology, A&P, microbiology, etc...) helped me on a few of these questions. I did go through Cliff's AP Biology twice meticulously and used Alan's notes and the Cliff outline notes as a template for the notes I took. I felt Cliff's AP Bio was great preparation and helped me understand the bulk of the questions. I started with KBB, but stopped after chapter 10 as I felt the information was too basic and not detailed enough. I had several easy genetics questions, a couple taxonomy, at least one plant, several ecology, and several physiology questions.
GC and OC: CHAD IS THE MAN!!! The best money I spent in my preparation was the $30 I spent to watch the Chad videos. I was very pleased with my GC score, but thought I would have scored higher in OC. I recently completed OC and scored 93rd percentile nationally on the ACS exam. Also, my OC Topscore results ranged from 19 - 28. I got into trouble by spending too much time on Bio and GC and ended up with just under 20 minutes to complete OC. I felt rushed and think I probably made several errors that cost me a couple points in OC on the exam. I also completed DAT Destroyer x1 for OC, and 1.5x for GC. The questions are much harder on Destroyer, but understanding the principles are important. The questions on Chad's quizzes are similar to what you might expect on the real DAT.
CDP: 21, 22, 20, 21, 25
Topscore:
BIO/GC/OC QR/RC
1: 17/19/19 21/23 (two weeks before test)
2: 17/18/21 21/-- (10 days before test)
3: 19/19/28 21/-- (one week before test)
Overall, I am very happy with my scores! Thanks to all of you here on SDN who have posted information that helped me in preparation. Also, it was awesome having a buddy to study with. We spent a lot of hours studying, playing ping-pong (definitely recommend), and bouncing questions off of each other. In all I studied about 8 weeks. Only an average of 10-15 hours a week the first four weeks, and then an average of 30-40 hours a week the past four weeks!
I have a 3.58 oGPA, 3.59 bcpGPA, 3.48 sGPA and will be applying to my state school. Good luck to all of you who have yet to take the DAT!
PAT 21 (92.2)
QR 22 (95.7)
RC 21 (84.5)
BIO 20 (86.9)
GC 21 (87.4)
OC 20 (81.3)
TS 20 (86.2)
AA 21 (93.0)
PAT: I used the five-test version of CDP with the following scores: 21, 22, 20, 21, 25. I thought the DAT was easier overall than CDP -- especially the hole punching and cube counting. I did read a few of the tips and tricks posted here on SDN and found them very helpful early on.
QR: My score was a little bit of a surprise to me. I have always been good at math, but per previous breakdowns, proficiency at math does not always equate with a good QR score. I prepared by using DAT Destroyer Math. I took 9 of the 11 exams and was averaging between 24-31/40 while being timed (45 minutes). The key to success in this section is to skip every question you do not know the answer to within 10 seconds, mark it, and come back later. This strategy proved to be successful in helping me quickly solve all of the "easy" problems. The section was a lot easier than DAT Destroyer Math, but if you know DDM inside and out you'll score high on QR.
RC: I started the section and the first word I saw on the screen was Piano. My heart sank as I thought I would be screwed. I am not musical at all. I was going to SnD, but decided to skim the passage and then SnD after that. I definitely think skimming this passage first helped. SnD is not very effective here and probably why so many people have trouble with it. The remaining two sections were easy reads and I used purely SnD.
BIO: By far the biggest surprise for me on the DAT. As previously mentioned, I have not taken general biology for seven years. However, some of my background and training as an RN (pathophysiology, A&P, microbiology, etc...) helped me on a few of these questions. I did go through Cliff's AP Biology twice meticulously and used Alan's notes and the Cliff outline notes as a template for the notes I took. I felt Cliff's AP Bio was great preparation and helped me understand the bulk of the questions. I started with KBB, but stopped after chapter 10 as I felt the information was too basic and not detailed enough. I had several easy genetics questions, a couple taxonomy, at least one plant, several ecology, and several physiology questions.
GC and OC: CHAD IS THE MAN!!! The best money I spent in my preparation was the $30 I spent to watch the Chad videos. I was very pleased with my GC score, but thought I would have scored higher in OC. I recently completed OC and scored 93rd percentile nationally on the ACS exam. Also, my OC Topscore results ranged from 19 - 28. I got into trouble by spending too much time on Bio and GC and ended up with just under 20 minutes to complete OC. I felt rushed and think I probably made several errors that cost me a couple points in OC on the exam. I also completed DAT Destroyer x1 for OC, and 1.5x for GC. The questions are much harder on Destroyer, but understanding the principles are important. The questions on Chad's quizzes are similar to what you might expect on the real DAT.
CDP: 21, 22, 20, 21, 25
Topscore:
BIO/GC/OC QR/RC
1: 17/19/19 21/23 (two weeks before test)
2: 17/18/21 21/-- (10 days before test)
3: 19/19/28 21/-- (one week before test)
Overall, I am very happy with my scores! Thanks to all of you here on SDN who have posted information that helped me in preparation. Also, it was awesome having a buddy to study with. We spent a lot of hours studying, playing ping-pong (definitely recommend), and bouncing questions off of each other. In all I studied about 8 weeks. Only an average of 10-15 hours a week the first four weeks, and then an average of 30-40 hours a week the past four weeks!
I have a 3.58 oGPA, 3.59 bcpGPA, 3.48 sGPA and will be applying to my state school. Good luck to all of you who have yet to take the DAT!
