So after all of the help that I have been given from visiting this site I thought I would impart some wisdom on those that have not taken this test yet. To reemphasize what someone already said about the DAT .... it is somewhat different than any practice test that I have taken. I took all topscore tests and I took the first two DAT tests, and I just found those tests to be different than the actual DAT. Not necessarily in a bad way but just different.
Before I continue, I want to warn you to start sleeping earlier a week or two PRIOR to taking the DAT. I usually do not fall asleep until 11-12 at night and the night before the DAT I tried to go to bed at 9, and 12:30 a.m. rolls around and I am still not asleep! I luckily found 3 tylenol P.M. and took them and finally went to sleep around 1:00 a.m., but this only left me with 6 hours of sleep. I have never had a problem sleeping in my life and without an alarm I could easily sleep until 12 or 1 in the afternoon, but the nerves of this test and altered circadain rhythms can come into effect. Do not make the mistake I did because the tylenol PM definitely left me groggy this morning taking the test.
Scores:
Perceptual Ability................20......85.4%
Quantitative Reasoning........20.......89.3%
Reading Comprehension........23.......94.5%
Biology..............................22.......95.7%
General Chemistry...............23.......95.0%
Organic Chemistry...............21.......87.6%
Total Science.....................22.......96.0%
Academic Average...............22.......96.4%
The first Dat Achiever test I used as my diagnostic and scored 15s and 16s. That was after 3 weeks of studying so that was a confidence killer. The second test I scored 17s and a couple 18s, So after this test I purchased topscore for more representative scores. I used the third Achiever test as just a review, and just looked at solutions to answers. Achiever is great at developing your timing, but is very difficult, especially QR and PA. I would still recommend it though because it had a positive effect on my commitment to studying and timing.
On the topscore tests I scored 19s and 20s on first and around 20s and 21s on the second and third....nothing above a 22 on any section, so yes like many people say you will most likely do better on the actual exam than topscore also.
Biology: Cliff's AP Biology is absolutely GOLDEN....I am pretty sure that I was only given maybe one or two questions that couldn't have been answered by this book. I used my roommate's Kaplan Book (I think it is the white version you get with the Kaplan class he took), but in honesty Cliff's is much more in depth. I also read through Campbell's Bio once, but just the important points of each chapter, not word for word. I would highly recommend reading Chapters 19, 20, and 21 like someone mentioned in an earlier post. The questions in the bio section were very general and most were relatively easy, but some questions made you think broader about the subject, much unlike the practice tests where there was more of just regurgitating facts and the 3 or 4 random questions. There were no questions on the actual DAT that I considered random like on Achiever and a couple on Topscore.
......22
Chemistry: This was my worst section going in to this test and I somehow scored better than any other science on this section. Chad's videos and the Chemistry section out of the Kaplan (white?) book is all I used for this section. Chad's videos and all of the supplemental problems are ABSOLUTELY perfect for this section, and I highly recommend them. I also tried to work out every problem that I missed in topscore and achiever and understand why I did them wrong. Achiever was overkill but it is very good in setting your pace...If you understand the questions and answers in Achiever then it will help you, but will not be as hard. Topscore was pretty much spot on, but maybe a few less calculations on the real thing. This section was very straightforward.
.......23
Organic Chemistry: The weird thing about this section is that it was so easy that I thought I came out with almost a perfect score in this section, but somehow it was my worst science section! This in all my tests was my best section. Very general stuff for the most part on the actual test and Kaplan's book and Chad's videos were completely sufficient for this test. I might have made a couple careless errors that dropped my score, but I thought that this section was very straightforward. Again Chad's videos are perfect! I would also just go over every solution in Topscore and Achiever and learn every reaction in these two tests. They cover every reaction type that you need to know.
.......21
Reading Comprehension: VicViper's http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=615852&highlight=vicviper RC strategy all the way!!! This strategy is perfect and definitely improved my scores. During the 15 minute break I wrote the numbers 1-50 on the white board, and then just erased numbers subsequently after I finished them. If you get tone questions then by this strategy you end up reading the whole passage anyway so it kills two birds with one stone. I was very nervous though because I did not quite finish in time and guessed on the last question and rushed through the last three, but I only practiced this on two practice tests. If you practice this strategy and timing then you should be fine.
.......23
Quantitative Reasoning: This was the most different by far from any practice test that I have taken....and more difficult than topscore. I consider myself a very good math student and took statistics, calc II, calc III, and differential equations in college, but I was not prepared for some of the obscure geometry questions and a couple random questions that were given for this section. I was disappointed but I did not prepare for this section much at all compared to others. I always scored around 22 on top score on this section but thought that I could do better because the last week I prepared a lot for this section. Do not take this section too lightly.
........20
Perceptual Ability: WOW talk about a complete turnaround on difficulty level of questions...angle ranking and hole punching were much harder than topscore, and aperture passing and top front end were easier! Overall this section was still much easier than Achiever, but my timing on this section was all based on me speeding through the angle ranking, hole punching and cube counting, and I was not able to do this. I had to guess on the last two pattern foldings as I ran out of time. The pattern folding was almost identical to Topscore though....not too bad. I practically got a 100% on all the cube counting, angle ranking and hole punching in my topscore tests, but this probably dropped....especially in angle ranking. Overall I am pleased with my score 🙂
........20
Cliff's AP Bio, A thorough skim through Campbell's, Chad's Videos and his supplemental questions for Chem and Orgo, Kaplan's Book ,Topscore and Achiever were pretty much all I used for this test. I also used george wolfe for detailed Biology videos on this website http://www.5min.com/Tag/george wolfe?CategoryID=0 , especially immune response and plants for me. If I had more time I would have watched more of his videos, and I consider him the chad of bio.
I did not take the Kaplan course, did not do DAT Destroyer, and only studied for six weeks, with the last four weeks being the more focused weeks averaging about 4 to 5 hours a day. During the last two weeks I took the last two topscore tests and then just studied Chad's videos, did his supplemental problems, read Cliff's and reworked every problem from Achiever and Topscore. I also studied QR a lot the final week. To get the 26+ scores it will almost assuredly take more studying than I put into this test, especially in the PA and QR section where I did not study very much.
I am mentioning all of this so that it might help you gauge what it takes to get certain scores on this test.....and that DAT Destroyer, the Kaplan Course, and studying 8+ hour days for months are not absolutely necessary to do well on this test for everyone, especially if you have done well in your science courses. You should however try very hard to work on your discipline and focus and eliminate distractions during these study hours! It is very hard but extremely worth it! Give yourself goals and treats for studying in the middle maybe and at the end of your study session....and try to not let yourself get constantly distracted with facebook, tv, etc. throughout your whole study session. This divides your attention which is counterproductive in establishing long-term memory. I am very pleased with my scores and am so thankful for all the helpful tips that this site has given me and I hope that I was able to help out some of you that have not taken this test in return!
My Overall GPA is a 3.77 and science GPA a 3.67, but after my subpar first semester with a C in a 5 hour Physics course and two B's, both GPAs are around 3.91 (don't know if they look at upward trends much but have been told by some they do). I am applying to Tennessee, UF, Nova, Louisville, BU, UAB, and VCU and am crossing my fingers that I am accepted somewhere!
Before I continue, I want to warn you to start sleeping earlier a week or two PRIOR to taking the DAT. I usually do not fall asleep until 11-12 at night and the night before the DAT I tried to go to bed at 9, and 12:30 a.m. rolls around and I am still not asleep! I luckily found 3 tylenol P.M. and took them and finally went to sleep around 1:00 a.m., but this only left me with 6 hours of sleep. I have never had a problem sleeping in my life and without an alarm I could easily sleep until 12 or 1 in the afternoon, but the nerves of this test and altered circadain rhythms can come into effect. Do not make the mistake I did because the tylenol PM definitely left me groggy this morning taking the test.
Scores:
Perceptual Ability................20......85.4%
Quantitative Reasoning........20.......89.3%
Reading Comprehension........23.......94.5%
Biology..............................22.......95.7%
General Chemistry...............23.......95.0%
Organic Chemistry...............21.......87.6%
Total Science.....................22.......96.0%
Academic Average...............22.......96.4%
The first Dat Achiever test I used as my diagnostic and scored 15s and 16s. That was after 3 weeks of studying so that was a confidence killer. The second test I scored 17s and a couple 18s, So after this test I purchased topscore for more representative scores. I used the third Achiever test as just a review, and just looked at solutions to answers. Achiever is great at developing your timing, but is very difficult, especially QR and PA. I would still recommend it though because it had a positive effect on my commitment to studying and timing.
On the topscore tests I scored 19s and 20s on first and around 20s and 21s on the second and third....nothing above a 22 on any section, so yes like many people say you will most likely do better on the actual exam than topscore also.
Biology: Cliff's AP Biology is absolutely GOLDEN....I am pretty sure that I was only given maybe one or two questions that couldn't have been answered by this book. I used my roommate's Kaplan Book (I think it is the white version you get with the Kaplan class he took), but in honesty Cliff's is much more in depth. I also read through Campbell's Bio once, but just the important points of each chapter, not word for word. I would highly recommend reading Chapters 19, 20, and 21 like someone mentioned in an earlier post. The questions in the bio section were very general and most were relatively easy, but some questions made you think broader about the subject, much unlike the practice tests where there was more of just regurgitating facts and the 3 or 4 random questions. There were no questions on the actual DAT that I considered random like on Achiever and a couple on Topscore.
......22
Chemistry: This was my worst section going in to this test and I somehow scored better than any other science on this section. Chad's videos and the Chemistry section out of the Kaplan (white?) book is all I used for this section. Chad's videos and all of the supplemental problems are ABSOLUTELY perfect for this section, and I highly recommend them. I also tried to work out every problem that I missed in topscore and achiever and understand why I did them wrong. Achiever was overkill but it is very good in setting your pace...If you understand the questions and answers in Achiever then it will help you, but will not be as hard. Topscore was pretty much spot on, but maybe a few less calculations on the real thing. This section was very straightforward.
.......23
Organic Chemistry: The weird thing about this section is that it was so easy that I thought I came out with almost a perfect score in this section, but somehow it was my worst science section! This in all my tests was my best section. Very general stuff for the most part on the actual test and Kaplan's book and Chad's videos were completely sufficient for this test. I might have made a couple careless errors that dropped my score, but I thought that this section was very straightforward. Again Chad's videos are perfect! I would also just go over every solution in Topscore and Achiever and learn every reaction in these two tests. They cover every reaction type that you need to know.
.......21
Reading Comprehension: VicViper's http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=615852&highlight=vicviper RC strategy all the way!!! This strategy is perfect and definitely improved my scores. During the 15 minute break I wrote the numbers 1-50 on the white board, and then just erased numbers subsequently after I finished them. If you get tone questions then by this strategy you end up reading the whole passage anyway so it kills two birds with one stone. I was very nervous though because I did not quite finish in time and guessed on the last question and rushed through the last three, but I only practiced this on two practice tests. If you practice this strategy and timing then you should be fine.
.......23
Quantitative Reasoning: This was the most different by far from any practice test that I have taken....and more difficult than topscore. I consider myself a very good math student and took statistics, calc II, calc III, and differential equations in college, but I was not prepared for some of the obscure geometry questions and a couple random questions that were given for this section. I was disappointed but I did not prepare for this section much at all compared to others. I always scored around 22 on top score on this section but thought that I could do better because the last week I prepared a lot for this section. Do not take this section too lightly.
........20
Perceptual Ability: WOW talk about a complete turnaround on difficulty level of questions...angle ranking and hole punching were much harder than topscore, and aperture passing and top front end were easier! Overall this section was still much easier than Achiever, but my timing on this section was all based on me speeding through the angle ranking, hole punching and cube counting, and I was not able to do this. I had to guess on the last two pattern foldings as I ran out of time. The pattern folding was almost identical to Topscore though....not too bad. I practically got a 100% on all the cube counting, angle ranking and hole punching in my topscore tests, but this probably dropped....especially in angle ranking. Overall I am pleased with my score 🙂
........20
Cliff's AP Bio, A thorough skim through Campbell's, Chad's Videos and his supplemental questions for Chem and Orgo, Kaplan's Book ,Topscore and Achiever were pretty much all I used for this test. I also used george wolfe for detailed Biology videos on this website http://www.5min.com/Tag/george wolfe?CategoryID=0 , especially immune response and plants for me. If I had more time I would have watched more of his videos, and I consider him the chad of bio.
I did not take the Kaplan course, did not do DAT Destroyer, and only studied for six weeks, with the last four weeks being the more focused weeks averaging about 4 to 5 hours a day. During the last two weeks I took the last two topscore tests and then just studied Chad's videos, did his supplemental problems, read Cliff's and reworked every problem from Achiever and Topscore. I also studied QR a lot the final week. To get the 26+ scores it will almost assuredly take more studying than I put into this test, especially in the PA and QR section where I did not study very much.
I am mentioning all of this so that it might help you gauge what it takes to get certain scores on this test.....and that DAT Destroyer, the Kaplan Course, and studying 8+ hour days for months are not absolutely necessary to do well on this test for everyone, especially if you have done well in your science courses. You should however try very hard to work on your discipline and focus and eliminate distractions during these study hours! It is very hard but extremely worth it! Give yourself goals and treats for studying in the middle maybe and at the end of your study session....and try to not let yourself get constantly distracted with facebook, tv, etc. throughout your whole study session. This divides your attention which is counterproductive in establishing long-term memory. I am very pleased with my scores and am so thankful for all the helpful tips that this site has given me and I hope that I was able to help out some of you that have not taken this test in return!
My Overall GPA is a 3.77 and science GPA a 3.67, but after my subpar first semester with a C in a 5 hour Physics course and two B's, both GPAs are around 3.91 (don't know if they look at upward trends much but have been told by some they do). I am applying to Tennessee, UF, Nova, Louisville, BU, UAB, and VCU and am crossing my fingers that I am accepted somewhere!
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