- Joined
- Jan 2, 2012
- Messages
- 224
- Reaction score
- 17
First of all, I want to give thanks to all my friends and family for all the support they have given me, without them, my DAT "journey" would've been a lot more difficult than it was. Also, huge thanks to all the support I've gotten from SDNers and all the helpful info on here!
I got so much great information from here that I feel it's only right I give back.
I originally was shooting for 18s across the board, but I was pleasantly surprised when I finished:
PAT-19
QR-20
RC-22
Bio-21
GC-19
OC-21
TS-20
AA-21
Ok, so the reason I aimed low (18s) was I felt extremely underprepared. No joke, this is how my studying for the DAT played out:
1) Summer of 2011(Just finished sophomore year and ochemII)-I bought Barron's DAT Prep Book (sucks btw) and barely got through that... was busy working and having fun (big mistake imo).
My advice:
motivate yourself and suck it up and study for the DAT during the summer when you actually have time! I finished ochem by the end of my sophomore year, so the original plan was to study during the summer and take it while ochem was still fresh in my head.. Didn't work out that way for me...BIGG Mistake.
2) Fall 2011-I told myself I would study for the DAT throughout the semester and take it at the end of winter break. Didn't work out... with classes and all your ECs, if you study intensely for the DAT like you should, it will probably be pretty difficult to maintain a good GPA. Over winter break, I had a month, and could have done it at the end. Once again, my self discipline sucked and I ended up only finishing the bio section of KBB (Took thorough notes on it though)
.
3) So Spring 2012 of my junior year starts, and I made a New Years resolution to not procrastinate on this any further and I signed up for the DAT today, March 10, the Saturday at the end of my Spring Break.
I don't know why it happens this way, but when I procrastinate on studying for tests till a few days before, my work ethic does a complete 360 and I am like in the zone...I've yet to be screwed over by procrastination on tests, and I guess that is why I resort back to the dreaded ways -.-
I vow to not procrastinate on studying for things any further (starting tomorrow, jk,)
But yeah, studying throughout this semester was also hard as balls... On top of classes, I am interning with a dentist (super fun), trying to keep my club organized (I know it might not seem like it, but I am a super organized person, I just don't make the best decisions when it comes to deciding between spending large quantities of my time in solitude vs going out), research and working out.
Doing all the aforementioned stuff, I was always tired, and if I studied it was always after 9pm when everything was done or on weekends.
As you can imagine, it was hard as hell, and I was tired as hell all the time. That is why I STRONGLY advise you guys that haven't taken the DAT to do so over the summer!
I know it's easier said than done, but seriously, it is sooo hard and soooo stressful to do get adequate prep while in school.
Honestly, I don't think I had adequate prep in most people's eyes, but I guess miracles are possible
My prep materials-KBB, DAT Destroyer, CDP, Organic Chemistry as a Second
Language
PAT
KBB is ok for review, but do NOT just use this book to prepare. The practice tests lean towards the easy side compared to the real DAT.
CDP-Amazing, I got the royal flush addition and practiced a gazillion cc, hole punch and angle problems.
The actual PAT Apertures was much harder than CDP for me. From what I remember, a lot of the figures had different proportions, that was really annoying, especially because time is a big issue.
CC was slightly harder, Angles was slightly easier (than the 3 degree difference problems on CDP), Pattern folding was slightly harder, and TFE was about the same. Hole punching was also slightly harder in the sense that the diagrams are a lot smaller than CDP's and they had a couple "orgami" folds...
My advice for prep in this: work on your timing! I almost ran out of time, because I spent way to much time on the apertures... You can definitely shave off a lot of your time (and score high) in cc and holepunching. For cc, practice a lot and get used to being able to instantly recognize how many sides are exposed, like if you see a cube sitting on the very top of the stack with only one cube beneath it, you should know it has 5 sides exposed. If you can speed through this section by being able to instantly recognize everything, the extra time is invaluable for double checking problems that require more inspection.
Also, I didn't think it was possible, but getting through the Hole punch section under 10 minutes is a must. Practice on CDP a lot! I combined CDP's "unfolding" visual with a little tool of my own: I bought post it notes and a hole puncher and worked out problems that I couldn't get. This was so helpful in adding a kinesthetic sense and a much more visual aspect to the studying.
I did 5 CDP tests, my scores were:
16/16/18/18/21
It's really all you need. The reason I didn't score as high on it was that this dumb came in right after I started, and started POUNDING on the keyboard... I put in my earplugs to no avail... I should have asked for headphones because I got them after my break and with the combination of the earplugs and their headphones, I couldn't hear her at all!
QR-
I have always been strong at math, so the only prep I did was doing 100 problems from Destroyer. I hear math destroyer is the bomb, so those of you weak in math should get that.
Also, keep in mind that the 20 I got was after I skipped virtually every trig problem (5 of them -_-). If you can get about 25-26 right, you are golden. If you get stuck, skip it because you want to see all the problems before time is up.
The calculator sucks btw. It is laggy and the same as the caclulator shown in this tutorial:
http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx
The DAT will look exactly like that btw.
RC
-I used CDR (Crack DAT Reading). Only did two tests though, got an 18/19.
The passages I had were two science, 1 non-science.
The non science was basically like a history channel documentary put into article form (it was about hurricanes)... was super easy to retain the info.
The second science was about bacteria, and it was super easy imo because some of the questions could've been answered just from knowing your bio!
The last passage was crazy for me... It took up a lot of my time... It was about some crazy chemistry experiment that exploring the theories behind lasers.... This one was like reading a piece of primary literature (little easier), but still very bland (too me). One thing is for sure, it helps a LOT if you are interested in the passage you are reading. It worked wonders for my retention in the first to passages, but when i started the 3rd passage, my initial thought was "this **** is going to be so boring"...
Search and Destroy will definitely work for a majority of the questions, but about 10 of them require you to understand the article and infer things.
This section was a big surprise for me cause I suck at reading (lowest part on SAT), but hey, I am not complaining.
I am not a fast reader, but I still did ok
I read through each passage at a moderate pace (didn't skim) and I feel like that also worked wonders for my retention rather than skimming each article and saving 5-6 mins at most.
BIO
]
-KBB for priming. I took thorough notes on the BIo section and semi-thorough notes on the chemistries, I don't think it will be near as enough prep though by itself.
-Destoryer-A-A-Amazinggggg!!
If you know this book inside and out, you will do great. I saw a lot of destroyer questions in bio verbatum almost. The thing here is that you need to know why an answer in destroyer is correct. There are great explanations in the back. Know them, and if you understand the concepts of all the ansewrs and answer choices, you will be golden.
GC
-I read the KBB part of chem earlier this semester, than just did Destroyer problems over SB. No joke, I got destroyed... I was feeling very discouraged till I learned how much harder the Destroyer chem is compared to the real DAT (IT IS A LOT HARDER). I finished all the problems, and started making note cards of all the ones where I had trouble remembering the calculations done or a concept.. unfortunately I only made 100 note cards out of 250+ that I probably needed. Was kind of surprised I didn't score higher though, I have always been strong at chem. But yeah, if you know destroyer inside and out, you will surely ace this section.
Ochem
-No joke, I thought I was screwed for this part of the test. I only had time to do and understand 50 questions of Destroyer. (I made notecards of each question though and understood it fully). I was super surprised with my OC score!
-Not gonna lie, Ochem as a 2nd language (I and II) are sooo helpful. It's been a year since I finished ochem, and I hadn't looked at it since I finished, so I was SUPER rusty... These books helped me re-understand the concepts (is that even a word?), than I memorized all the road maps in Destroyer. But like many other posters have said, if you know the questions from Destroyer inside and out, you are set! Btw, I didn't get any spec questions, but I wouldn't risk not studying it, cause you never know!
Other random tips:
-You can bring your own personal earplugs
-The headphones at the center hurt your ear after a while, but are well worth it if someone is pounding on the keyboard like the girl next to me was during my PAT
-If I had to redo this whole thing, I would definitely have taken a sleeping pill around 6 or 7 pm yesterday. I'm sure most people will be like me and be panicked (probably not to the extent I was) but yeah, I had a HARD time sleeping last night... Only got 4 and a half hours!
-The Test center was a little cold, so glad I wore an undershirt. Definitely wear something comfortable since you will be sitting for about 4 and a half hours.
-This isn't a tip, but for you nervous people that need to know everything about test day (I know I did).
When you get to the center, you sign in first on a sheet, get a locker to put all your stuff in, than you wait till the workers process other people taking tests (People will be there for all kinds of tests, GRE, MCAT, LSAT...). They call your name, you go into the office, and they take a scan of your right and left index fingers (3x each). Than they take a picture of you give you your "Scrap Paper" and you are good to go. I don't know if all centers are like this, but instead of a whiteboard, I got laminated graph paper and fine tip sharpies as my "scratch paper". You are now on your way to acing the DAT
def visit your test center in advance so you won't be in a dilemma looking for it on test day.
By the way, here is a video of what test day will be like:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5RHoCOfgpc
Last but not least, believe you can do it and keep calm. Panicking mid test will only hurt you. I seriously was feeling down after my PAT, but didn't lest that get to me and made up on the second half of the test!
Also let me reiterate NOT to procrastinate and study early!
I am happy to answer any questions you other SDNer's might have!
Also, I am going to set up a blog to help organize some of the most helpful threads on here! I probably won't get started on it just yet, but for future references, here is the URL:
http://acedat.blogspot.com/
Please send in any helpful ideas you have for categories via PM! Thanks and hope this thread helps!
I got so much great information from here that I feel it's only right I give back.
I originally was shooting for 18s across the board, but I was pleasantly surprised when I finished:
PAT-19
QR-20
RC-22
Bio-21
GC-19
OC-21
TS-20
AA-21
Ok, so the reason I aimed low (18s) was I felt extremely underprepared. No joke, this is how my studying for the DAT played out:
1) Summer of 2011(Just finished sophomore year and ochemII)-I bought Barron's DAT Prep Book (sucks btw) and barely got through that... was busy working and having fun (big mistake imo).
My advice:
motivate yourself and suck it up and study for the DAT during the summer when you actually have time! I finished ochem by the end of my sophomore year, so the original plan was to study during the summer and take it while ochem was still fresh in my head.. Didn't work out that way for me...BIGG Mistake.
2) Fall 2011-I told myself I would study for the DAT throughout the semester and take it at the end of winter break. Didn't work out... with classes and all your ECs, if you study intensely for the DAT like you should, it will probably be pretty difficult to maintain a good GPA. Over winter break, I had a month, and could have done it at the end. Once again, my self discipline sucked and I ended up only finishing the bio section of KBB (Took thorough notes on it though)
.3) So Spring 2012 of my junior year starts, and I made a New Years resolution to not procrastinate on this any further and I signed up for the DAT today, March 10, the Saturday at the end of my Spring Break.
I don't know why it happens this way, but when I procrastinate on studying for tests till a few days before, my work ethic does a complete 360 and I am like in the zone...I've yet to be screwed over by procrastination on tests, and I guess that is why I resort back to the dreaded ways -.-
I vow to not procrastinate on studying for things any further (starting tomorrow, jk,
)But yeah, studying throughout this semester was also hard as balls... On top of classes, I am interning with a dentist (super fun
), trying to keep my club organized (I know it might not seem like it, but I am a super organized person, I just don't make the best decisions when it comes to deciding between spending large quantities of my time in solitude vs going out), research and working out.Doing all the aforementioned stuff, I was always tired, and if I studied it was always after 9pm when everything was done or on weekends.
As you can imagine, it was hard as hell, and I was tired as hell all the time. That is why I STRONGLY advise you guys that haven't taken the DAT to do so over the summer!
I know it's easier said than done, but seriously, it is sooo hard and soooo stressful to do get adequate prep while in school.
Honestly, I don't think I had adequate prep in most people's eyes, but I guess miracles are possible
My prep materials-KBB, DAT Destroyer, CDP, Organic Chemistry as a Second
Language
PAT
KBB is ok for review, but do NOT just use this book to prepare. The practice tests lean towards the easy side compared to the real DAT.
CDP-Amazing, I got the royal flush addition and practiced a gazillion cc, hole punch and angle problems.
The actual PAT Apertures was much harder than CDP for me. From what I remember, a lot of the figures had different proportions, that was really annoying, especially because time is a big issue.
CC was slightly harder, Angles was slightly easier (than the 3 degree difference problems on CDP), Pattern folding was slightly harder, and TFE was about the same. Hole punching was also slightly harder in the sense that the diagrams are a lot smaller than CDP's and they had a couple "orgami" folds...
My advice for prep in this: work on your timing! I almost ran out of time, because I spent way to much time on the apertures... You can definitely shave off a lot of your time (and score high) in cc and holepunching. For cc, practice a lot and get used to being able to instantly recognize how many sides are exposed, like if you see a cube sitting on the very top of the stack with only one cube beneath it, you should know it has 5 sides exposed. If you can speed through this section by being able to instantly recognize everything, the extra time is invaluable for double checking problems that require more inspection.
Also, I didn't think it was possible, but getting through the Hole punch section under 10 minutes is a must. Practice on CDP a lot! I combined CDP's "unfolding" visual with a little tool of my own: I bought post it notes and a hole puncher and worked out problems that I couldn't get. This was so helpful in adding a kinesthetic sense and a much more visual aspect to the studying.
I did 5 CDP tests, my scores were:
16/16/18/18/21
It's really all you need. The reason I didn't score as high on it was that this dumb came in right after I started, and started POUNDING on the keyboard... I put in my earplugs to no avail... I should have asked for headphones because I got them after my break and with the combination of the earplugs and their headphones, I couldn't hear her at all!
QR-
I have always been strong at math, so the only prep I did was doing 100 problems from Destroyer. I hear math destroyer is the bomb, so those of you weak in math should get that.
Also, keep in mind that the 20 I got was after I skipped virtually every trig problem (5 of them -_-). If you can get about 25-26 right, you are golden. If you get stuck, skip it because you want to see all the problems before time is up.
The calculator sucks btw. It is laggy and the same as the caclulator shown in this tutorial:
http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx
The DAT will look exactly like that btw.
RC
-I used CDR (Crack DAT Reading). Only did two tests though, got an 18/19.
The passages I had were two science, 1 non-science.
The non science was basically like a history channel documentary put into article form (it was about hurricanes)... was super easy to retain the info.
The second science was about bacteria, and it was super easy imo because some of the questions could've been answered just from knowing your bio!
The last passage was crazy for me... It took up a lot of my time... It was about some crazy chemistry experiment that exploring the theories behind lasers.... This one was like reading a piece of primary literature (little easier), but still very bland (too me). One thing is for sure, it helps a LOT if you are interested in the passage you are reading. It worked wonders for my retention in the first to passages, but when i started the 3rd passage, my initial thought was "this **** is going to be so boring"...
Search and Destroy will definitely work for a majority of the questions, but about 10 of them require you to understand the article and infer things.
This section was a big surprise for me cause I suck at reading (lowest part on SAT), but hey, I am not complaining.
I am not a fast reader, but I still did ok
I read through each passage at a moderate pace (didn't skim) and I feel like that also worked wonders for my retention rather than skimming each article and saving 5-6 mins at most.
BIO
]
-KBB for priming. I took thorough notes on the BIo section and semi-thorough notes on the chemistries, I don't think it will be near as enough prep though by itself.
-Destoryer-A-A-Amazinggggg!!
If you know this book inside and out, you will do great. I saw a lot of destroyer questions in bio verbatum almost. The thing here is that you need to know why an answer in destroyer is correct. There are great explanations in the back. Know them, and if you understand the concepts of all the ansewrs and answer choices, you will be golden.
GC
-I read the KBB part of chem earlier this semester, than just did Destroyer problems over SB. No joke, I got destroyed... I was feeling very discouraged till I learned how much harder the Destroyer chem is compared to the real DAT (IT IS A LOT HARDER). I finished all the problems, and started making note cards of all the ones where I had trouble remembering the calculations done or a concept.. unfortunately I only made 100 note cards out of 250+ that I probably needed. Was kind of surprised I didn't score higher though, I have always been strong at chem. But yeah, if you know destroyer inside and out, you will surely ace this section.
Ochem
-No joke, I thought I was screwed for this part of the test. I only had time to do and understand 50 questions of Destroyer. (I made notecards of each question though and understood it fully). I was super surprised with my OC score!
-Not gonna lie, Ochem as a 2nd language (I and II) are sooo helpful. It's been a year since I finished ochem, and I hadn't looked at it since I finished, so I was SUPER rusty... These books helped me re-understand the concepts (is that even a word?), than I memorized all the road maps in Destroyer. But like many other posters have said, if you know the questions from Destroyer inside and out, you are set! Btw, I didn't get any spec questions, but I wouldn't risk not studying it, cause you never know!
Other random tips:
-You can bring your own personal earplugs
-The headphones at the center hurt your ear after a while, but are well worth it if someone is pounding on the keyboard like the girl next to me was during my PAT
-If I had to redo this whole thing, I would definitely have taken a sleeping pill around 6 or 7 pm yesterday. I'm sure most people will be like me and be panicked (probably not to the extent I was) but yeah, I had a HARD time sleeping last night... Only got 4 and a half hours!
-The Test center was a little cold, so glad I wore an undershirt. Definitely wear something comfortable since you will be sitting for about 4 and a half hours.
-This isn't a tip, but for you nervous people that need to know everything about test day (I know I did).
When you get to the center, you sign in first on a sheet, get a locker to put all your stuff in, than you wait till the workers process other people taking tests (People will be there for all kinds of tests, GRE, MCAT, LSAT...). They call your name, you go into the office, and they take a scan of your right and left index fingers (3x each). Than they take a picture of you give you your "Scrap Paper" and you are good to go. I don't know if all centers are like this, but instead of a whiteboard, I got laminated graph paper and fine tip sharpies as my "scratch paper". You are now on your way to acing the DAT
def visit your test center in advance so you won't be in a dilemma looking for it on test day.
By the way, here is a video of what test day will be like:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5RHoCOfgpc
Last but not least, believe you can do it and keep calm. Panicking mid test will only hurt you. I seriously was feeling down after my PAT, but didn't lest that get to me and made up on the second half of the test!
Also let me reiterate NOT to procrastinate and study early!
I am happy to answer any questions you other SDNer's might have!
Also, I am going to set up a blog to help organize some of the most helpful threads on here! I probably won't get started on it just yet, but for future references, here is the URL:
http://acedat.blogspot.com/
Please send in any helpful ideas you have for categories via PM! Thanks and hope this thread helps!
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