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- Nov 17, 2009
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hi guys,
just wanted to report back to the community upon completing the DAT today. thank you all, it's been truly a journey to learn and share with you guys. i am very happy with the outcome. i've been preparing for this since january and i even left my job so i could focus exclusively on preparing.
BIO 30 (100%)
GC 23 (95.4%)
OC 27 (98,7%)
PAT 24 (98.1%)
RC 22 (84.4%)
QR 19 (91.2%)
TS 26 (99.8%)
AA 24 (99.6%)
i used the kaplan course, dat destroyer, math destroyer, cliff's AP biology, chad's videos, datQvault, crack the dat PAT, crack the dat reading, achiever and topscore. the 2007 and paid ADA practice tests were also very useful. my kaplan practice tests and topscore tests were all very consistent and comparable to my actual scores. in fact, my topscore scores were more similar to my actual scores and only slightly higher than my kaplan practice test scores. achiever was considerably more difficult, only achiever test 1 sciences was somewhat comparable in terms of scores.
just to add another thing, do not underestimate kaplan course, they do provide you with good practice material and i felt that i also learned a great deal using both their books and their online resources. the actual course is only slightly useful so don't expect to learn everything from their class (their class is only there to reinforce basic concepts that become second nature to you). however, their online material is excellent. when people badmouth kaplan, i think they were focusing exclusively on the kaplan blue book. no, i am also not a kaplan rep. but if you do want to pay $1100+ for the course, then you better use everything they provide you with along with their section tests, quizzes, practice tests, etc. it is possible to do this without the course but you just need to be very disciplined and plan out your won studying plan.
i'll start with a breakdown, along with my impressions of the test.
BIO 30 (100%) - kaplan, cliff's AP biology, dat destroyer, datQvault, topscore, achiever
ok, after reading all the forum posts and what others have wrote, i now finally understand what they mean by the "randomness" of the test. however, i feel that the challenge in the test lay not in the randomness, but how varied your resources are you used to prepare. basically, the questions were not every detailed, but you had to know a bit of everything. a part of the "randomness" lays in the fact that in some questions, they really forced you to think and apply your knowledge. the most challenging questions i felt were these application types.
even with my background in biology and a master of science, i did not anticipate getting this score! it was even higher than my practice test scores. i feel that there is not a single source out there that will prepare you fully so you must use multiple resources to cover all your bases in biology. kaplan, cliff's ap biology are good places to start. destroyer and datQvault provide good practice problems and i also learned a few new things here and there using these resources, especially taxonomy.
GC 23 (95.4%) - kaplan, chad's videos, dat destroyer, topscore, achiever
i'm traditionally not very strong in general chemistry so this was one of the sections that i spent a lot of time on. i started off using the kaplan resources, and then followed up with chad's videos, after i heard how conceptual the test was. my particular test had a good combination of calculation and concept-type questions with a few weird questions here and there regarding lab stuff.
OC 27 (98.7%) - kaplan, chad's videos, dat destroyer, topscore, achiever
back in the days, i used to be a pretty decent orgo student so a lot of things came back to me once i started reviewing. again, i started off with kaplan to cover all the reactions and followed up with chad's videos to reinforce concepts learned. chad's videos showed a few reactions that neither destroyer nor kapaln covered. but if you're fresh out of orgo II, then it shouldn't really matter. destroyer was good for covering those obscure rearctions too. kaplan will have covered the bulk of the reactions, but between these three resources, you shouldn't have to worry about any random, never-seen-before reactions. they complimented each other nicely.
also, unless your background in organic is extraordinarily strong, do not try to take the short-cut by simply memorizing the destroyer road maps. you need to understand what is actually happening, like what is electrophile, what is nucleophile. if you can see the big picture, all other reactions follow the same story, more or less.
PAT 24 (98.1%) - crack the DAT PAT, kaplan, topscore, achiever
i don't know what to write for this one. i just kept practicing and practiced as varied resources as possible. i was never good at angles and i never improved at angles either so that was really hit or miss for me. crack the DAT PAT, topscore and kaplan PAT resources were pretty good to use. achiever was less useful for these, as i felt they were much more difficult.
RC 22 (84.4%) - kaplan, topscore, crack the dat reading
i did not get pianoed so i am very grateful for that. i followed the kaplan technique of mapping out the passages. search and destroy does not really work for me. i was always more comfortable going over the passage first and then answering questions. on the real test, i would read ahead the first few questions and then start mapping. there were definitely tone and inference questions. crack the dat reading is useful for practicing these tone and inference questions. topscore was all detailed type questions and kaplan had a good mix of both details and tone type questions.
QR 19 (91.2%) - kaplan, topscore, math destroyer
i always dreaded studying for math. basically, there is only so much you can do for math. memorize and/or understand the formulas and then just practice using math destroyer. i felt that the test was pretty similar to destroyer. however, i spent too much time on one question, which i still didn't get, and ended up guessing on 4-5 questions. the key is timing as everyone else has mentioned, so i'll just emphasize it again. practice away is your best resource here.
this score was lower than any of my practice test scores. kaplan and topscore are also good places to start. destroyer will probably be most useful here. make sure you know how to do every problem inside and out.
overall, the best advice i can give is to get your sleep cycles right. my test was scheduled for the morning due to lack of choice. i am not a morning person and never really woke up in mornings until the week leading up to my test. also, at my testing center, they let you put your drinks and snacks on a table so you wouldn't have to sign in and out if you just wanted a quick bite or drink (but do this only before the test and during the break as it still does use up time).
i'll post my kaplan, topscore, achiever scores if anyone is interested. with exception of achiever, everything was comparable more or less.
just wanted to report back to the community upon completing the DAT today. thank you all, it's been truly a journey to learn and share with you guys. i am very happy with the outcome. i've been preparing for this since january and i even left my job so i could focus exclusively on preparing.
BIO 30 (100%)
GC 23 (95.4%)
OC 27 (98,7%)
PAT 24 (98.1%)
RC 22 (84.4%)
QR 19 (91.2%)
TS 26 (99.8%)
AA 24 (99.6%)
i used the kaplan course, dat destroyer, math destroyer, cliff's AP biology, chad's videos, datQvault, crack the dat PAT, crack the dat reading, achiever and topscore. the 2007 and paid ADA practice tests were also very useful. my kaplan practice tests and topscore tests were all very consistent and comparable to my actual scores. in fact, my topscore scores were more similar to my actual scores and only slightly higher than my kaplan practice test scores. achiever was considerably more difficult, only achiever test 1 sciences was somewhat comparable in terms of scores.
just to add another thing, do not underestimate kaplan course, they do provide you with good practice material and i felt that i also learned a great deal using both their books and their online resources. the actual course is only slightly useful so don't expect to learn everything from their class (their class is only there to reinforce basic concepts that become second nature to you). however, their online material is excellent. when people badmouth kaplan, i think they were focusing exclusively on the kaplan blue book. no, i am also not a kaplan rep. but if you do want to pay $1100+ for the course, then you better use everything they provide you with along with their section tests, quizzes, practice tests, etc. it is possible to do this without the course but you just need to be very disciplined and plan out your won studying plan.
i'll start with a breakdown, along with my impressions of the test.
BIO 30 (100%) - kaplan, cliff's AP biology, dat destroyer, datQvault, topscore, achiever
ok, after reading all the forum posts and what others have wrote, i now finally understand what they mean by the "randomness" of the test. however, i feel that the challenge in the test lay not in the randomness, but how varied your resources are you used to prepare. basically, the questions were not every detailed, but you had to know a bit of everything. a part of the "randomness" lays in the fact that in some questions, they really forced you to think and apply your knowledge. the most challenging questions i felt were these application types.
even with my background in biology and a master of science, i did not anticipate getting this score! it was even higher than my practice test scores. i feel that there is not a single source out there that will prepare you fully so you must use multiple resources to cover all your bases in biology. kaplan, cliff's ap biology are good places to start. destroyer and datQvault provide good practice problems and i also learned a few new things here and there using these resources, especially taxonomy.
GC 23 (95.4%) - kaplan, chad's videos, dat destroyer, topscore, achiever
i'm traditionally not very strong in general chemistry so this was one of the sections that i spent a lot of time on. i started off using the kaplan resources, and then followed up with chad's videos, after i heard how conceptual the test was. my particular test had a good combination of calculation and concept-type questions with a few weird questions here and there regarding lab stuff.
OC 27 (98.7%) - kaplan, chad's videos, dat destroyer, topscore, achiever
back in the days, i used to be a pretty decent orgo student so a lot of things came back to me once i started reviewing. again, i started off with kaplan to cover all the reactions and followed up with chad's videos to reinforce concepts learned. chad's videos showed a few reactions that neither destroyer nor kapaln covered. but if you're fresh out of orgo II, then it shouldn't really matter. destroyer was good for covering those obscure rearctions too. kaplan will have covered the bulk of the reactions, but between these three resources, you shouldn't have to worry about any random, never-seen-before reactions. they complimented each other nicely.
also, unless your background in organic is extraordinarily strong, do not try to take the short-cut by simply memorizing the destroyer road maps. you need to understand what is actually happening, like what is electrophile, what is nucleophile. if you can see the big picture, all other reactions follow the same story, more or less.
PAT 24 (98.1%) - crack the DAT PAT, kaplan, topscore, achiever
i don't know what to write for this one. i just kept practicing and practiced as varied resources as possible. i was never good at angles and i never improved at angles either so that was really hit or miss for me. crack the DAT PAT, topscore and kaplan PAT resources were pretty good to use. achiever was less useful for these, as i felt they were much more difficult.
RC 22 (84.4%) - kaplan, topscore, crack the dat reading
i did not get pianoed so i am very grateful for that. i followed the kaplan technique of mapping out the passages. search and destroy does not really work for me. i was always more comfortable going over the passage first and then answering questions. on the real test, i would read ahead the first few questions and then start mapping. there were definitely tone and inference questions. crack the dat reading is useful for practicing these tone and inference questions. topscore was all detailed type questions and kaplan had a good mix of both details and tone type questions.
QR 19 (91.2%) - kaplan, topscore, math destroyer
i always dreaded studying for math. basically, there is only so much you can do for math. memorize and/or understand the formulas and then just practice using math destroyer. i felt that the test was pretty similar to destroyer. however, i spent too much time on one question, which i still didn't get, and ended up guessing on 4-5 questions. the key is timing as everyone else has mentioned, so i'll just emphasize it again. practice away is your best resource here.
this score was lower than any of my practice test scores. kaplan and topscore are also good places to start. destroyer will probably be most useful here. make sure you know how to do every problem inside and out.
overall, the best advice i can give is to get your sleep cycles right. my test was scheduled for the morning due to lack of choice. i am not a morning person and never really woke up in mornings until the week leading up to my test. also, at my testing center, they let you put your drinks and snacks on a table so you wouldn't have to sign in and out if you just wanted a quick bite or drink (but do this only before the test and during the break as it still does use up time).
i'll post my kaplan, topscore, achiever scores if anyone is interested. with exception of achiever, everything was comparable more or less.
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