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- Jun 21, 2012
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I never thought that I would be taking the DAT. Is it weird that taking this exam is a dream come true for me? Especially scoring well on it. I'm so greatful to have had this learning experience, but specially to be DONE with it! Haha
I started studying mid-may until the first week of august (about 2.5 months). I studied everyday for an average of 6-8 hours, while TAing, lab, and volunteering. (Oh and planning my wedding which is in 4 days.. lol) I knew I had to put in a lot of work for this test because my gpa is average. I needed to put myself in a position where I would have a good chance of getting in.
PAT 20 (81.0%)
BIO 24 (99.6%)
GC 21 (91.6%)
OC 22 (94.0%)
RC 22 (93.2%)
QR 22 (98.7%)
TS 22 (98.3%)
AA 22 (98.9%)
(sorry I realized I didn't post the scores lol I wanted to take the picture and post it but I don't know how)
Study Materials:
Kaplan Course/KBB (not worth it… however I did all their practice exams and online material)
Chad's Videos
Destroyer (including Math Destroyer)
Cliff's AP Biology
Flashcard Machine (made my own)
Crack DAT PAT
DAT Qvault
Topscore
Youtube/Khan Academy
PAT (20): Even though I did CDP and was scoring 21-23 consistently, I found the actual DAT to be kind of weird in the way that it was formatted and how things looked like compared to CDP. I did my best but honestly I think the formatting tripped me up a little. CDP is great practice though and I would definitely recommend it. PAT is an acquired skill and you have to find your own tricks for it.
QR (22): I was sooooo worried about this section. I'm good at math but studying for a standardized test is a skill. You have to be able to identify the types of problems that they are going to ask over and over. I took the GRE last summer for a master's program and did really well on it on the math portion. I would find the things you're not strong in and work on problems over and over. For me it was trig (I was good once upon a time lol) and I just practiced the concepts until I felt comfortable (which included up to the morning before the test lol).
I honestly thought this section was not as hard as I was expecting. I always finished QR sections right on time and that was even skipping and guessing on some questions. For the real DAT, I still had 6 min left!
RC(22): Not much here, search and destroy (although I did sit there and read one of my passages because it was kind of interesting lol). It wasn't too bad overall. I took 8 practice tests so that was my "studying" for RC. I always scored 21-23. Again, reading for standardized tests is an acquired skill. Practice!
Overall I think QR and RC are VERY important towards your overall score so make sure you do well and focus on getting better on those too.
BIO (24): I love bio so this was a good thing that it is my highest score. I'm pretty happy about that. But I was definitely over prepared for this section. I thought it was really simple, common knowledge questions. I don't understand how a 99.6 percentile is a 24 but whatevs. Pretty much when I got bored studying the other sciences my "break" was to study bio. Cliff's has everything you need to know. I read it and made notecards on concepts I wasn't strong with. I didn't find the test as random as some people say.
GC (21): This was the section I was most worried about of the whole test. I literally swear to you I came in with ZERO gen chem knowledge (someone I'm sure taught me this stuff but I never learned which is sad). I watched Chad's videos. Do I need to say more? I wrote good notes and then tackled destroyer. Omg I didn't know how to do a single question the first time. I did destroyer again. Got a little better but still there were gaps in my knowledge. I bought DAT Qvault, did 8 tests the week before my test really focusing on the topics that I was struggling with. I rewatched some of Chad's videos again and things started making more sense.
If I had to do it again, I would watch Chad's, then do DAT Qvault and work on my weaknesses, THEN Destroyer. Same with Ochem.
I honestly though GC on the actual exam was soooo easy. Every single practice test I took previously was so hard compared to the actual thing. They even freaking give you the molecular weights of everything what the heck! I was laughing the whole time while doing this section (mainly because I had been SO worried about it).
OC (22): I was a little more comfortable with OC than GC but still had very little knowledge. Every single study material I have listed over prepares you for OC (and pretty much all the sciences section). People are not kidding when they say Destroyer is overkill. However, I had like two long (3 steps) synthesis reactions, which Destroyer definitely helped me with. The real DAT wasn't trying to trick you or asking anything overly complicated. As long as you practice a lot you will do fine.
Practice Tests:
Kaplan Diag—Mid—Final—Test#1—Test#2—Test#3
Bio 17—21—19—21—18—26
GC 15—14—18—17—18—16
OC 17—18—18—16—20—17
RC 19—18—21—21—21—27
QR 19—17—20—18—22—20
PAT 17—20—19—22—22—21
TS 16—18—18—18—19—20
AA 17—18—19—19—20—21
Topscore: Test#1—Test#2—Test#3
Bio 21—18—22
GC 19—23—20
OC 19—21—23
RC 23—23—23
QR 21—18—24
PAT 23—22—22
TS 20—20—22
AA 21—21—22
This test is honestly about being confident in yourself and knowing that you have prepared well. I know if you haven't taken it yet you are freaking out a lot about it. I was too. I'm not by any mean a genius, but I'm willing to put the time in and enjoy the learning process. I think that's what matters most. This sounds weird but have fun studying, don't make it a chore. This is information you have to know anyways, someday. It will make you a more well-rounded person. So, don't freak out. I was shaking and really nervous all during my test (even a while after I finished).
I was so nervous before the test I ate like two pieces of toast (I also had coffee in the morning because I'm dependent…I admit it I have a problem haha). But I'd recommend to eat more than that because I got a headache right before I took my break (thank goodness I brought advil). Once I ate my snack I was fine. Also to calm my nerves I jumped rope for like 10 min at home to the song "the final countdown" hahaha. It actually made me feel awesome.
Preparing for this test is like preparing for a sports event. You have to eat well and exercise and practice everyday (says the nutrition major lol). People don't realize how much food affects the way their body functions. I sacrificed a lot during the past two months, but I am so happy I did. All your hard work does pay off.
Now off to get married! <3
I started studying mid-may until the first week of august (about 2.5 months). I studied everyday for an average of 6-8 hours, while TAing, lab, and volunteering. (Oh and planning my wedding which is in 4 days.. lol) I knew I had to put in a lot of work for this test because my gpa is average. I needed to put myself in a position where I would have a good chance of getting in.
PAT 20 (81.0%)
BIO 24 (99.6%)
GC 21 (91.6%)
OC 22 (94.0%)
RC 22 (93.2%)
QR 22 (98.7%)
TS 22 (98.3%)
AA 22 (98.9%)
(sorry I realized I didn't post the scores lol I wanted to take the picture and post it but I don't know how)
Study Materials:
Kaplan Course/KBB (not worth it… however I did all their practice exams and online material)
Chad's Videos
Destroyer (including Math Destroyer)
Cliff's AP Biology
Flashcard Machine (made my own)
Crack DAT PAT
DAT Qvault
Topscore
Youtube/Khan Academy
PAT (20): Even though I did CDP and was scoring 21-23 consistently, I found the actual DAT to be kind of weird in the way that it was formatted and how things looked like compared to CDP. I did my best but honestly I think the formatting tripped me up a little. CDP is great practice though and I would definitely recommend it. PAT is an acquired skill and you have to find your own tricks for it.
QR (22): I was sooooo worried about this section. I'm good at math but studying for a standardized test is a skill. You have to be able to identify the types of problems that they are going to ask over and over. I took the GRE last summer for a master's program and did really well on it on the math portion. I would find the things you're not strong in and work on problems over and over. For me it was trig (I was good once upon a time lol) and I just practiced the concepts until I felt comfortable (which included up to the morning before the test lol).
I honestly thought this section was not as hard as I was expecting. I always finished QR sections right on time and that was even skipping and guessing on some questions. For the real DAT, I still had 6 min left!
RC(22): Not much here, search and destroy (although I did sit there and read one of my passages because it was kind of interesting lol). It wasn't too bad overall. I took 8 practice tests so that was my "studying" for RC. I always scored 21-23. Again, reading for standardized tests is an acquired skill. Practice!
Overall I think QR and RC are VERY important towards your overall score so make sure you do well and focus on getting better on those too.
BIO (24): I love bio so this was a good thing that it is my highest score. I'm pretty happy about that. But I was definitely over prepared for this section. I thought it was really simple, common knowledge questions. I don't understand how a 99.6 percentile is a 24 but whatevs. Pretty much when I got bored studying the other sciences my "break" was to study bio. Cliff's has everything you need to know. I read it and made notecards on concepts I wasn't strong with. I didn't find the test as random as some people say.
GC (21): This was the section I was most worried about of the whole test. I literally swear to you I came in with ZERO gen chem knowledge (someone I'm sure taught me this stuff but I never learned which is sad). I watched Chad's videos. Do I need to say more? I wrote good notes and then tackled destroyer. Omg I didn't know how to do a single question the first time. I did destroyer again. Got a little better but still there were gaps in my knowledge. I bought DAT Qvault, did 8 tests the week before my test really focusing on the topics that I was struggling with. I rewatched some of Chad's videos again and things started making more sense.
If I had to do it again, I would watch Chad's, then do DAT Qvault and work on my weaknesses, THEN Destroyer. Same with Ochem.
I honestly though GC on the actual exam was soooo easy. Every single practice test I took previously was so hard compared to the actual thing. They even freaking give you the molecular weights of everything what the heck! I was laughing the whole time while doing this section (mainly because I had been SO worried about it).
OC (22): I was a little more comfortable with OC than GC but still had very little knowledge. Every single study material I have listed over prepares you for OC (and pretty much all the sciences section). People are not kidding when they say Destroyer is overkill. However, I had like two long (3 steps) synthesis reactions, which Destroyer definitely helped me with. The real DAT wasn't trying to trick you or asking anything overly complicated. As long as you practice a lot you will do fine.
Practice Tests:
Kaplan Diag—Mid—Final—Test#1—Test#2—Test#3
Bio 17—21—19—21—18—26
GC 15—14—18—17—18—16
OC 17—18—18—16—20—17
RC 19—18—21—21—21—27
QR 19—17—20—18—22—20
PAT 17—20—19—22—22—21
TS 16—18—18—18—19—20
AA 17—18—19—19—20—21
Topscore: Test#1—Test#2—Test#3
Bio 21—18—22
GC 19—23—20
OC 19—21—23
RC 23—23—23
QR 21—18—24
PAT 23—22—22
TS 20—20—22
AA 21—21—22
This test is honestly about being confident in yourself and knowing that you have prepared well. I know if you haven't taken it yet you are freaking out a lot about it. I was too. I'm not by any mean a genius, but I'm willing to put the time in and enjoy the learning process. I think that's what matters most. This sounds weird but have fun studying, don't make it a chore. This is information you have to know anyways, someday. It will make you a more well-rounded person. So, don't freak out. I was shaking and really nervous all during my test (even a while after I finished).
I was so nervous before the test I ate like two pieces of toast (I also had coffee in the morning because I'm dependent…I admit it I have a problem haha). But I'd recommend to eat more than that because I got a headache right before I took my break (thank goodness I brought advil). Once I ate my snack I was fine. Also to calm my nerves I jumped rope for like 10 min at home to the song "the final countdown" hahaha. It actually made me feel awesome.
Preparing for this test is like preparing for a sports event. You have to eat well and exercise and practice everyday (says the nutrition major lol). People don't realize how much food affects the way their body functions. I sacrificed a lot during the past two months, but I am so happy I did. All your hard work does pay off.
Now off to get married! <3
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