I just finished taking my DAT on Friday so I decided to post a little breakdown to help those who might be taking the exam soon. Main Resource was the Destroyer.
Bio: 22
Chem: 20
Orgo: 23
RC: 22
QR: 19
PAT: 24
TS: 22
AA: 21
My Breakdown:
Bio:
(Resources: Cliff's AP Bio, Biology DESTROYER, Wiki, Youtube videos)
I only took two intro level bio courses so I was very concerned about this section. I've been reading breakdowns on sdn for a while and people suggested using Cliff's AP Bio. That was one of my sources. My main source was the Biology Destroyer. I think this is definitely a great resource to have. Although the book might appear to be loaded with choices like "all of the above...two of the above" it is actually important to understand the concept behind all the choices. Do not get frustrated if you don't get the answer in the beginning. Understand why...and concepts behind it. I outlined the ENTIRE Bio Destroyer to pinpoint relevant information and used that as a guideline for important topics I should focus on (took a whole month...but well worth it). I also used a bit of common sense on this portion because there was A LOT of random questions. So when people say biology was random...it really is.
Chemistry:
(Destroyer, a bit of Chad's)
I did this section last because I started to realize it was not my strong point sometime between studying for this section and the day before the exam. During the exam I got even MORE nervous after the biology section because I thought I screwed up on the bio section after seeing so many oddball questions. I would suggest using the Destroyer for Chemistry. The questions in the destroyer was really good prepwork. That was my main resource. I would recommend Chad's videos if you really want to "re-learn" concepts if you took Chemistry ages ago or if you are not strong in this subject. But supplementing it with Destroyer goes a long way.
O-Chem:
(Destroyer, Chad's)
I always thought this was my stronger section and I was kind of hoping for a slightly higher score. I know for a fact that I missed 2 questions because one of them was an "odd-ball" question about a random compound I've never heard of! They didn't even draw it out for me. 🙁 I used the Destroyer for this section as my main resource. I also bought the Organic Chemistry Odyssey since I thought it was more convenient to purchase the entire bundle. I mean..more practice is always better than less. 🙄
RC:
(Achiever, TopScore RC passages)
I had very little prep work for this. I basically used search and destroy. I don't know if I got the hated "ethics" passage everyone was talking about on sdn sometime ago...but my last RC passage was on ethics! I think this test is very doable you just have to pace yourself.
PAT:
(Crack DAT PAT)
I was sort of worried going into the exam because I consistently scored somewhat lower on the CDP Exams. I think my scores were 19,18,19,19,22. So I wasn't really strong in this section. I guess I got lucky? But this section is really do-able. I had about 10 minutes left after to review everything...so pacing is important. I think the level of difficulty is on par with CDP.
QR:
(Math Destroyer)
Get the Math Destroyer because it is definitely worth it. Everyone says things like they run out of time or had too many word problems. I had tons of word problems but because I knew how to apply concepts I've learned from the Destroyer I was able to pull a 19. Luckily it wasn't any lower or it would've completely pulled down my average.
Anyway I just wanted to thank some people that have helped me achieve my goals. They are the best and I am happy to have been able to meet them (totally indebted to them). I am happy with my scores and I hope everyone else reading this would be able to do well on their exams. 🙂 I basically had no fun at all this summer. Oh and I studied for about 8-10 hours a day towards the last week before my exam. Woke at 12pm and slept at 3am. I hope this breakdown helped some of you...I am by no means a smart student...just a bit above average. DO NOT FREAK OUT ON TEST DAY! Just stay calm 😀 because you will do A LOT better if you don't freak out...I'm sure you all know this. lol. Good luck to the rest of you!
Bio: 22
Chem: 20
Orgo: 23
RC: 22
QR: 19
PAT: 24
TS: 22
AA: 21
My Breakdown:
Bio:
(Resources: Cliff's AP Bio, Biology DESTROYER, Wiki, Youtube videos)
I only took two intro level bio courses so I was very concerned about this section. I've been reading breakdowns on sdn for a while and people suggested using Cliff's AP Bio. That was one of my sources. My main source was the Biology Destroyer. I think this is definitely a great resource to have. Although the book might appear to be loaded with choices like "all of the above...two of the above" it is actually important to understand the concept behind all the choices. Do not get frustrated if you don't get the answer in the beginning. Understand why...and concepts behind it. I outlined the ENTIRE Bio Destroyer to pinpoint relevant information and used that as a guideline for important topics I should focus on (took a whole month...but well worth it). I also used a bit of common sense on this portion because there was A LOT of random questions. So when people say biology was random...it really is.
Chemistry:
(Destroyer, a bit of Chad's)
I did this section last because I started to realize it was not my strong point sometime between studying for this section and the day before the exam. During the exam I got even MORE nervous after the biology section because I thought I screwed up on the bio section after seeing so many oddball questions. I would suggest using the Destroyer for Chemistry. The questions in the destroyer was really good prepwork. That was my main resource. I would recommend Chad's videos if you really want to "re-learn" concepts if you took Chemistry ages ago or if you are not strong in this subject. But supplementing it with Destroyer goes a long way.
O-Chem:
(Destroyer, Chad's)
I always thought this was my stronger section and I was kind of hoping for a slightly higher score. I know for a fact that I missed 2 questions because one of them was an "odd-ball" question about a random compound I've never heard of! They didn't even draw it out for me. 🙁 I used the Destroyer for this section as my main resource. I also bought the Organic Chemistry Odyssey since I thought it was more convenient to purchase the entire bundle. I mean..more practice is always better than less. 🙄
RC:
(Achiever, TopScore RC passages)
I had very little prep work for this. I basically used search and destroy. I don't know if I got the hated "ethics" passage everyone was talking about on sdn sometime ago...but my last RC passage was on ethics! I think this test is very doable you just have to pace yourself.
PAT:
(Crack DAT PAT)
I was sort of worried going into the exam because I consistently scored somewhat lower on the CDP Exams. I think my scores were 19,18,19,19,22. So I wasn't really strong in this section. I guess I got lucky? But this section is really do-able. I had about 10 minutes left after to review everything...so pacing is important. I think the level of difficulty is on par with CDP.
QR:
(Math Destroyer)
Get the Math Destroyer because it is definitely worth it. Everyone says things like they run out of time or had too many word problems. I had tons of word problems but because I knew how to apply concepts I've learned from the Destroyer I was able to pull a 19. Luckily it wasn't any lower or it would've completely pulled down my average.
Anyway I just wanted to thank some people that have helped me achieve my goals. They are the best and I am happy to have been able to meet them (totally indebted to them). I am happy with my scores and I hope everyone else reading this would be able to do well on their exams. 🙂 I basically had no fun at all this summer. Oh and I studied for about 8-10 hours a day towards the last week before my exam. Woke at 12pm and slept at 3am. I hope this breakdown helped some of you...I am by no means a smart student...just a bit above average. DO NOT FREAK OUT ON TEST DAY! Just stay calm 😀 because you will do A LOT better if you don't freak out...I'm sure you all know this. lol. Good luck to the rest of you!
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