- Joined
- Mar 4, 2014
- Messages
- 231
- Reaction score
- 189
Biology 26
General Chemistry 22
Organic Chemistry 24
Perceptual Ability 20
Reading Comprehension 22
Quantitative Reasoning 16
Academic Average 22
Total Science 24
I wish I could have a group hug with Chad, Nancy and Dr. Romano, and @Ari Rezaei to thank them all for the awesome resources they provide. Shout out especially to @orgoman22 because DAT Destroyer was my main source of study, and by far the most helpful for me. I studied for 6 weeks, averaging 8-10 hours/day.
Biology (26)
I read the entirety of Cliffs AP Bio and I re-wrote the entire book in a google doc that ended up being 145 pages. I also combined material from my class notes within this google doc which includes pictures, notes, gifs, videos, etc. I did this because Ferralis Notes (as awesome as they are) were impossible for me to read due to how it is formatted....So yeah, I made my own version which IMO is much more clean, organized, and easier for me to read. I would be happy to share this google doc for anyone who is interested, but I know there is already so much material out there that I doubt we need another list of notes floating around.
I then made another google doc (I love google docs ok?) for DAT Destroyer Biology. I went through every question and solution thoroughly, and I typed good notes for anything that I didn't already know or have a solid understanding of. This was the best decision I made and it was more beneficial than my 150 pages from Cliffs. Because I made this doc, I didn't have to go through the 593 questions more than one time. Instead I could just open my computer or phone and read through the notes. Anything that I have a hard time remembering, I will highlight and add a comment relating it to something dumb. If that doesn't make sense, look at this for an example. I know it seems stupid but it really helps me remember some of these obscure words/topics.
Honestly, Bio was by far the hardest section of the sciences. There were some questions completely out of left field which would have been impossible to prepare for. Most of the questions were not simple regurgitation of facts...they were much more application based questions. Some advice I would give here is to not ignore anything in the destroyer (even if it seems like a stupid fact about kangaroo rats or a random protein that seems super unlikely to show up). Let me know if you have any questions about my study strategy for this section...it might be helpful if you hate flashcards as much as I do. I didn't use them once.
EDIT: For those who have asked for the google doc, here it is. I've copied it over to an alternative gmail account so that I don't release my email to the world. But I looked over it and I don't think there were any errors from moving it over. Give it some time to load up as it is a massive document. I won't be able to share my DAT Destroyer doc because the information is not mine to give away. But you should definitely buy the book and make your own if you think it will help!
General Chemistry (22)
The section that worried me the most as I began my studies. I took Gen Chem freshman year and didn't do very well, so I felt like I was starting from scratch here. I watched Chad's Videos and took extensive notes on everything. I then watched them again at 2x speed while following along in my notes. After that, I went through the DAT Destroyer section a total of three times.
The test was way easier than destroyer, about 2/3 conceptual and 1/3 calculations. There was only one problem that I wasn't sure about, so I was totally expecting a higher score. But I am definitely not complaining. The test seemed to be slightly easier than Bootcamp because it had less calculations.
Organic Chemistry (24)
I love OChem...I just finished the class and had an amazing professor. I went through Chads Videos once, and did about half of the destroyer problems. I didn't study too much here thanks to my professor preparing me so well. The test covered just about everything (nomenclature, stereo-chemistry, memorized reactions, mechanisms, IR, NMR, lab techniques, etc). The difficulty was EXACTLY on Parr with Bootcamp. No easier, no harder.
PAT (20)
Bootcamp all the way! I also purchased Crack the DAT PAT and regret it. The program is outdated and too easy. My keyholes and TFE were pretty outrageous...I couldn't even believe how hard some of them were. But hole punching, cube counting, and pattern folding were a complete joke. I am terrible at the pattern folding generator on BC (I get like 50% right) but I am confident I got 15/15 on the actual. They were so easy. I didn't study much for PAT in my 3 weeks leading up to the exam, but I usually scored around 20-21 on the bootcamp tests.
Oh! They incorporated a strike-through feature which allows you cross out answers by right clicking on them. You can use this feature for the entire test, but it was most helpful for angle ranking.
Reading Comprehension (22)
They did indeed incorporate a highlighter tool which was really awesome for this section. Once again, Bootcamp will prepare you well. My articles were much easier to read than the ones on BC. I got a 22 because I am terrible at tone questions. I would stick to bootcamp, but if you need/want more practice then you can buy 10 tests on QVault for $49. These tests were probably the most accurate as far as the articles went, but bootcamp will prepare you better for sure.
Quantitative Reasoning (16)
I suck at Math. Math Destroyer and DAT Bootcamp were both accurate representations of the actual exam. I just...suck at math. My goal was to get at least a 16 and so I'm good with it.
EDIT: Bootcamp Practice Tests
I hope looking at these scores will give you guys some hope haha (especially that Bio #2). Please realize that after making my google docs, I spent the three days leading up to my exam cramming my head full of biology... so my bootcamp bio practice tests do not reflect the amount of bio knowledge I had at the time I took them. The other scores do, however.
I am so relieved to be done and I am very happy with my scores. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing (besides maybe listening to my math teachers in High School). Thanks for all your help SDN and let me know if you have any questions... good luck to all those who are taking it soon!
General Chemistry 22
Organic Chemistry 24
Perceptual Ability 20
Reading Comprehension 22
Quantitative Reasoning 16
Academic Average 22
Total Science 24
I wish I could have a group hug with Chad, Nancy and Dr. Romano, and @Ari Rezaei to thank them all for the awesome resources they provide. Shout out especially to @orgoman22 because DAT Destroyer was my main source of study, and by far the most helpful for me. I studied for 6 weeks, averaging 8-10 hours/day.
Biology (26)
I read the entirety of Cliffs AP Bio and I re-wrote the entire book in a google doc that ended up being 145 pages. I also combined material from my class notes within this google doc which includes pictures, notes, gifs, videos, etc. I did this because Ferralis Notes (as awesome as they are) were impossible for me to read due to how it is formatted....So yeah, I made my own version which IMO is much more clean, organized, and easier for me to read. I would be happy to share this google doc for anyone who is interested, but I know there is already so much material out there that I doubt we need another list of notes floating around.
I then made another google doc (I love google docs ok?) for DAT Destroyer Biology. I went through every question and solution thoroughly, and I typed good notes for anything that I didn't already know or have a solid understanding of. This was the best decision I made and it was more beneficial than my 150 pages from Cliffs. Because I made this doc, I didn't have to go through the 593 questions more than one time. Instead I could just open my computer or phone and read through the notes. Anything that I have a hard time remembering, I will highlight and add a comment relating it to something dumb. If that doesn't make sense, look at this for an example. I know it seems stupid but it really helps me remember some of these obscure words/topics.
Honestly, Bio was by far the hardest section of the sciences. There were some questions completely out of left field which would have been impossible to prepare for. Most of the questions were not simple regurgitation of facts...they were much more application based questions. Some advice I would give here is to not ignore anything in the destroyer (even if it seems like a stupid fact about kangaroo rats or a random protein that seems super unlikely to show up). Let me know if you have any questions about my study strategy for this section...it might be helpful if you hate flashcards as much as I do. I didn't use them once.
EDIT: For those who have asked for the google doc, here it is. I've copied it over to an alternative gmail account so that I don't release my email to the world. But I looked over it and I don't think there were any errors from moving it over. Give it some time to load up as it is a massive document. I won't be able to share my DAT Destroyer doc because the information is not mine to give away. But you should definitely buy the book and make your own if you think it will help!
General Chemistry (22)
The section that worried me the most as I began my studies. I took Gen Chem freshman year and didn't do very well, so I felt like I was starting from scratch here. I watched Chad's Videos and took extensive notes on everything. I then watched them again at 2x speed while following along in my notes. After that, I went through the DAT Destroyer section a total of three times.
The test was way easier than destroyer, about 2/3 conceptual and 1/3 calculations. There was only one problem that I wasn't sure about, so I was totally expecting a higher score. But I am definitely not complaining. The test seemed to be slightly easier than Bootcamp because it had less calculations.
Organic Chemistry (24)
I love OChem...I just finished the class and had an amazing professor. I went through Chads Videos once, and did about half of the destroyer problems. I didn't study too much here thanks to my professor preparing me so well. The test covered just about everything (nomenclature, stereo-chemistry, memorized reactions, mechanisms, IR, NMR, lab techniques, etc). The difficulty was EXACTLY on Parr with Bootcamp. No easier, no harder.
PAT (20)
Bootcamp all the way! I also purchased Crack the DAT PAT and regret it. The program is outdated and too easy. My keyholes and TFE were pretty outrageous...I couldn't even believe how hard some of them were. But hole punching, cube counting, and pattern folding were a complete joke. I am terrible at the pattern folding generator on BC (I get like 50% right) but I am confident I got 15/15 on the actual. They were so easy. I didn't study much for PAT in my 3 weeks leading up to the exam, but I usually scored around 20-21 on the bootcamp tests.
Oh! They incorporated a strike-through feature which allows you cross out answers by right clicking on them. You can use this feature for the entire test, but it was most helpful for angle ranking.
Reading Comprehension (22)
They did indeed incorporate a highlighter tool which was really awesome for this section. Once again, Bootcamp will prepare you well. My articles were much easier to read than the ones on BC. I got a 22 because I am terrible at tone questions. I would stick to bootcamp, but if you need/want more practice then you can buy 10 tests on QVault for $49. These tests were probably the most accurate as far as the articles went, but bootcamp will prepare you better for sure.
Quantitative Reasoning (16)
I suck at Math. Math Destroyer and DAT Bootcamp were both accurate representations of the actual exam. I just...suck at math. My goal was to get at least a 16 and so I'm good with it.
EDIT: Bootcamp Practice Tests
I hope looking at these scores will give you guys some hope haha (especially that Bio #2). Please realize that after making my google docs, I spent the three days leading up to my exam cramming my head full of biology... so my bootcamp bio practice tests do not reflect the amount of bio knowledge I had at the time I took them. The other scores do, however.
I am so relieved to be done and I am very happy with my scores. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing (besides maybe listening to my math teachers in High School). Thanks for all your help SDN and let me know if you have any questions... good luck to all those who are taking it soon!
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