- Joined
- Nov 7, 2012
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Finally DONE! SDN has been one of the most important sources of information and motivation over the past couple of months and I feel almost obligated to contribute back to the community of students that has helped me achieve these results. There is number of excellent breakdowns and each one has something different to offer. I had many of them bookmarked (ushaseos, glimmer1991, meddevil, aqz, justto name few) and used them frequently for reference.
My personal experience:
Materials Used: Selecting right materials took a good chunk of my time. This is where SDN was invaluable. People who do not frequent this site are probably not familiar with much more than Kaplan or Barron's (I know I wasn't). In my opinion these two are probably some of the least useful prep materials of all.
Bio: Campbell's Bio Text (9th ed.) is great and I read essentially the entire book except for units 1, 6, and 8. I used Raven Biology Text for some sections and especially for summary tables (i.e. cell transport, endocrine system, celldivision etc.). If it has been a while since your last bio class (it has been in my case) I would say this is a must. Cliff's AP Bio was a very good review after reading Campbell's and it may be enough for people who recently had bio and/or are bio majors. Cliff's didn't have a very good A&P section (very limited). In my practice tests I came across few questions that pertained to integumentary and skeletal systems which were not covered in any great detail in Campbell or Raven Bio texts (Raven was somewhat better in covering skeletal system), so those I studied from Marieb A&P.
O Chem: Chad'sreview was good and cost effective way to review Orgo. I used McMurry text for reference and DATDestroyer for practice. I made photocopies of "Road Maps" with all products whited out (only reagents were left) and used those to recreate an entire road map. I also did the opposite, whited out all the reagents (only products were left) and recreated road maps that way as well.
Gen Chem: I did go through Chad's reviews for Gen Chem as well and used Brown textbook for reference. Destroyer was a good practice. I didn't worry about calculations too much and the time it was taking, instead I made sure I knew how to set up each problem and estimate the answer. That was usually more than enough to solve most of the problems.
PAT: I essentially did tests from CDP and Achiever. This section takes practice more than any other. I used the standard snake method for cube counting and it is really the only one you should practice. LOS for hole punching is great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ud0ZX0eEFA),it may seem like a waste of time but you will develop speed with practice and it is bulletproof even on Achiever problems (video doesn't cover a special situation when there is an incomplete fold, this is a trick often used in Achiever and you must be aware of it). Angles are tough; I used quick glance method and hoped for the best. The only advice I have for angle ranking is not to spend much time on it and do not review it once you are done with it, pick the smallest and largest angles first and see if that is enough to eliminate all but one choice and if not, which will be most of the time, rank the middle two. I approached TFE problems by looking at answers and analyzing the differences. Once aware of the differences between the choices I would be looking at those features on the given projections and start eliminating. This worked very well for me, but you should do yourself a favor and practice couple of different methods until you feel comfortable with one. Keyholewas the toughest section on my real exam simply because the relative ratios of specific features/projections seemed off to me. I didn't have the specific strategy for this section. Pattern folding is the last section and by the time you get to it you will feel exhausted. Think positive and think 15 minute break that follows it. There are two types of problems on pattern folding and each one should be tackled differently: (1) shaded/marked objects (folded shapes are all the same but with different three dimensional arrangement of shaded/marked sides) – I typically look at the choices that can be quickly eliminated or selected as correct and leave the view that is the most difficult to analyze last (some views will require visualizing multiple rotations and/or folds to be analyzed, these are the once you should avoid and try to figure out the answer based on the other views. Remember there will always be one choice designed to suck up all your time, but even if it is the right choice you can determine that by eliminating the other 3), (2)unique shapes (folded shapes are different) – look for the unique side in the cutout and its location in the folded object. After practicing PAT you will be well aware of your weaknesses and strengths, this is important because it will help you manage time.
RC: The only thing that worked for me was reading the passage and then answering the questions. I am a very deliberate reader but with good memory so I stuck with my strength. My passages were interesting, easy to read, and not to long (last passage was only7 paragraphs). However, the shortest passage was the most difficult, with essentially all the questions being Achiever-like (both statement and reason are correct, reason is correct but statement is not, both statement and reason are incorrect, which experiment would support the theory presented, which experiment would not, etc.) Practice and pick the method that you are most comfortable with and then practice some more.
QR: I review MATHdestroyer and few days before the exam I wrote down all the formulas and equations that were important. I believe that everything on real DAT is covered to some extent in the MATH destroyer (at least it was on my exam). I am very good at math but slow so my main goal was to develop speed. I did use calculator because I practiced with it and it is the easiest way for me to solve percent problems. My test calculator was lagging but not to the point where it was unusable. I can solve rate problems easily by system of equations but I haven't done single one that way since backsolving is so much quicker. In fact, any problem with choices given as numerical values is a very good candidate for backsolving. You do not need to be a hero just find the right choice by quickest possible method.
Practice Materials:
DAT Destroyer: Excellent for all subjects. Went through it twice and pretty much knew the whole thing. Read through all the answers even the once you got right since there is a good bit of information in there. Harder than real test.
I was averaging about 85% on Bio, Chem, and Orgo, on myfirst try. Math was around 95% but not timed (some tests did take me well over an hour). There were only few questions that I didn't care for and that didn't make sense.
QVault: I did only Bio (25, 22, 21, 22, 20, 21, 22,23, 20, 22). There were couple of questions that I had an issue with but other than it was an excellent program and reasonably priced. Harder than real test.
Topscore: Didn't like PAT section, reading was OK, everything else was good. Amount of GenChem calculations is ridiculous if you are timing yourself but it is great in terms of testing your knowledge. Harder than real test.
Test 1: Bio 24, Chem 19, O chem 21, PAT 21, RC 20, QR 19
Test 2: Bio 19, Chem 23, O chem 23, PAT 22, RC 19, QR 20
Test 3: Bio 19, Chem 19, O chem 25, PAT X, RC X, QR 21 (X –didn't take)
Achiever: If there was a moment I didn't feelcomfortable taking DAT it was right after taking achiever tests. It is hard, it is wicked, and it will make you dream about it (if you manage to fall asleep in a first place). Anyhow, it is still a good practice especially for PAT. I had a 7 test version but didn't finish the whole set because of time and for the sake of my sanity. Much harder than the real test.
Test 1: Bio 20, Chem 20, O chem 20, PAT 18, RC 17, QR 21
Test 2: Bio 19, Chem 16, O chem 18, PAT 21, RC 17, QR 19
Test 3: Bio 19, Chem X, O chem X, PAT 21, RC 17, QR 21
Test 4: Bio 18, Chem X, O chem X, PAT 20, RC X, QR 18
Test 5: Bio 19, Chem X, O chem X, PAT 21, RC X, QR X
Test 6: Bio 22, Chem X, O chem X, PAT X, RC X, QR X
Chad's Quizzes: Chad's quizzes are a very good representation of the real test and I strongly recommend doing these if you are purchasing his videos.
DAT:
Real thing was easier than any of the practice tests.
Bio: There was one taxonomy question that was Topscore-like (very specific), one biotechnology question (covered in Campbell), and energy question that was oddly phrased, buteverything else was very straight forward and essentially covered in Cliff's AP Bio.
Chem: No serious calculations and very fundamental. There wasn't anything that has not been covered in the Chad's videos or Destroyer. I felt very good about it but must have made a careless mistake on couple of problems.
Orgo: Same as GenChem. Nothing even remotely difficult asDestroyer, Achiever, or Topscore. No bizarre reagents or reactions. Couple of simple lab technique questions and mostly rankings and simple reactions.
I was done science section with about 10 minutes to spare.
PAT: Other than the Keyhole section, I thought it was easier than CDP and definitely easier than Achiever. I had just enough time to review some of the more difficult questions.
RC: I had enough time(few minutes to spare) to read through all passages and answer questions. I believe all of my mistakes were on the last passage because I was getting exhausted by the type of questions about mere 7 paragraphs of information. Way easier than Achiever, but be mindful that the type of questions on Achiever really can come up on the real DAT.
QR: Nothing very difficult that MATH destroyer didn't cover. If I had some more time to really go over few more problems I think it would have made the difference. By the time this section came I was definitely feeling tired. If you look at my score you will notice that my scores kept dropping with each subsequent section and this is a perfect proof that DAT is not just a test of knowledge but endurance as well. I am so glad that the questionnaire after QR didn't count otherwise it would have been my only under 20 score.
I want to say thank you once again to all of those who havep osted their breakdown and took time to answer all the questions. I will try to be as helpful if anyone has any questions.
😴
My personal experience:
Materials Used: Selecting right materials took a good chunk of my time. This is where SDN was invaluable. People who do not frequent this site are probably not familiar with much more than Kaplan or Barron's (I know I wasn't). In my opinion these two are probably some of the least useful prep materials of all.
Bio: Campbell's Bio Text (9th ed.) is great and I read essentially the entire book except for units 1, 6, and 8. I used Raven Biology Text for some sections and especially for summary tables (i.e. cell transport, endocrine system, celldivision etc.). If it has been a while since your last bio class (it has been in my case) I would say this is a must. Cliff's AP Bio was a very good review after reading Campbell's and it may be enough for people who recently had bio and/or are bio majors. Cliff's didn't have a very good A&P section (very limited). In my practice tests I came across few questions that pertained to integumentary and skeletal systems which were not covered in any great detail in Campbell or Raven Bio texts (Raven was somewhat better in covering skeletal system), so those I studied from Marieb A&P.
O Chem: Chad'sreview was good and cost effective way to review Orgo. I used McMurry text for reference and DATDestroyer for practice. I made photocopies of "Road Maps" with all products whited out (only reagents were left) and used those to recreate an entire road map. I also did the opposite, whited out all the reagents (only products were left) and recreated road maps that way as well.
Gen Chem: I did go through Chad's reviews for Gen Chem as well and used Brown textbook for reference. Destroyer was a good practice. I didn't worry about calculations too much and the time it was taking, instead I made sure I knew how to set up each problem and estimate the answer. That was usually more than enough to solve most of the problems.
PAT: I essentially did tests from CDP and Achiever. This section takes practice more than any other. I used the standard snake method for cube counting and it is really the only one you should practice. LOS for hole punching is great (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ud0ZX0eEFA),it may seem like a waste of time but you will develop speed with practice and it is bulletproof even on Achiever problems (video doesn't cover a special situation when there is an incomplete fold, this is a trick often used in Achiever and you must be aware of it). Angles are tough; I used quick glance method and hoped for the best. The only advice I have for angle ranking is not to spend much time on it and do not review it once you are done with it, pick the smallest and largest angles first and see if that is enough to eliminate all but one choice and if not, which will be most of the time, rank the middle two. I approached TFE problems by looking at answers and analyzing the differences. Once aware of the differences between the choices I would be looking at those features on the given projections and start eliminating. This worked very well for me, but you should do yourself a favor and practice couple of different methods until you feel comfortable with one. Keyholewas the toughest section on my real exam simply because the relative ratios of specific features/projections seemed off to me. I didn't have the specific strategy for this section. Pattern folding is the last section and by the time you get to it you will feel exhausted. Think positive and think 15 minute break that follows it. There are two types of problems on pattern folding and each one should be tackled differently: (1) shaded/marked objects (folded shapes are all the same but with different three dimensional arrangement of shaded/marked sides) – I typically look at the choices that can be quickly eliminated or selected as correct and leave the view that is the most difficult to analyze last (some views will require visualizing multiple rotations and/or folds to be analyzed, these are the once you should avoid and try to figure out the answer based on the other views. Remember there will always be one choice designed to suck up all your time, but even if it is the right choice you can determine that by eliminating the other 3), (2)unique shapes (folded shapes are different) – look for the unique side in the cutout and its location in the folded object. After practicing PAT you will be well aware of your weaknesses and strengths, this is important because it will help you manage time.
RC: The only thing that worked for me was reading the passage and then answering the questions. I am a very deliberate reader but with good memory so I stuck with my strength. My passages were interesting, easy to read, and not to long (last passage was only7 paragraphs). However, the shortest passage was the most difficult, with essentially all the questions being Achiever-like (both statement and reason are correct, reason is correct but statement is not, both statement and reason are incorrect, which experiment would support the theory presented, which experiment would not, etc.) Practice and pick the method that you are most comfortable with and then practice some more.
QR: I review MATHdestroyer and few days before the exam I wrote down all the formulas and equations that were important. I believe that everything on real DAT is covered to some extent in the MATH destroyer (at least it was on my exam). I am very good at math but slow so my main goal was to develop speed. I did use calculator because I practiced with it and it is the easiest way for me to solve percent problems. My test calculator was lagging but not to the point where it was unusable. I can solve rate problems easily by system of equations but I haven't done single one that way since backsolving is so much quicker. In fact, any problem with choices given as numerical values is a very good candidate for backsolving. You do not need to be a hero just find the right choice by quickest possible method.
Practice Materials:
DAT Destroyer: Excellent for all subjects. Went through it twice and pretty much knew the whole thing. Read through all the answers even the once you got right since there is a good bit of information in there. Harder than real test.
I was averaging about 85% on Bio, Chem, and Orgo, on myfirst try. Math was around 95% but not timed (some tests did take me well over an hour). There were only few questions that I didn't care for and that didn't make sense.
QVault: I did only Bio (25, 22, 21, 22, 20, 21, 22,23, 20, 22). There were couple of questions that I had an issue with but other than it was an excellent program and reasonably priced. Harder than real test.
Topscore: Didn't like PAT section, reading was OK, everything else was good. Amount of GenChem calculations is ridiculous if you are timing yourself but it is great in terms of testing your knowledge. Harder than real test.
Test 1: Bio 24, Chem 19, O chem 21, PAT 21, RC 20, QR 19
Test 2: Bio 19, Chem 23, O chem 23, PAT 22, RC 19, QR 20
Test 3: Bio 19, Chem 19, O chem 25, PAT X, RC X, QR 21 (X –didn't take)
Achiever: If there was a moment I didn't feelcomfortable taking DAT it was right after taking achiever tests. It is hard, it is wicked, and it will make you dream about it (if you manage to fall asleep in a first place). Anyhow, it is still a good practice especially for PAT. I had a 7 test version but didn't finish the whole set because of time and for the sake of my sanity. Much harder than the real test.
Test 1: Bio 20, Chem 20, O chem 20, PAT 18, RC 17, QR 21
Test 2: Bio 19, Chem 16, O chem 18, PAT 21, RC 17, QR 19
Test 3: Bio 19, Chem X, O chem X, PAT 21, RC 17, QR 21
Test 4: Bio 18, Chem X, O chem X, PAT 20, RC X, QR 18
Test 5: Bio 19, Chem X, O chem X, PAT 21, RC X, QR X
Test 6: Bio 22, Chem X, O chem X, PAT X, RC X, QR X
Chad's Quizzes: Chad's quizzes are a very good representation of the real test and I strongly recommend doing these if you are purchasing his videos.
DAT:
Real thing was easier than any of the practice tests.
Bio: There was one taxonomy question that was Topscore-like (very specific), one biotechnology question (covered in Campbell), and energy question that was oddly phrased, buteverything else was very straight forward and essentially covered in Cliff's AP Bio.
Chem: No serious calculations and very fundamental. There wasn't anything that has not been covered in the Chad's videos or Destroyer. I felt very good about it but must have made a careless mistake on couple of problems.
Orgo: Same as GenChem. Nothing even remotely difficult asDestroyer, Achiever, or Topscore. No bizarre reagents or reactions. Couple of simple lab technique questions and mostly rankings and simple reactions.
I was done science section with about 10 minutes to spare.
PAT: Other than the Keyhole section, I thought it was easier than CDP and definitely easier than Achiever. I had just enough time to review some of the more difficult questions.
RC: I had enough time(few minutes to spare) to read through all passages and answer questions. I believe all of my mistakes were on the last passage because I was getting exhausted by the type of questions about mere 7 paragraphs of information. Way easier than Achiever, but be mindful that the type of questions on Achiever really can come up on the real DAT.
QR: Nothing very difficult that MATH destroyer didn't cover. If I had some more time to really go over few more problems I think it would have made the difference. By the time this section came I was definitely feeling tired. If you look at my score you will notice that my scores kept dropping with each subsequent section and this is a perfect proof that DAT is not just a test of knowledge but endurance as well. I am so glad that the questionnaire after QR didn't count otherwise it would have been my only under 20 score.
I want to say thank you once again to all of those who havep osted their breakdown and took time to answer all the questions. I will try to be as helpful if anyone has any questions.
😴
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