DAT Destroyer + Math Destroyer 2020 Concept question

[2thDoc11]

Hey guys,

So I recently got the 2020 DAT destroyer + Math destroyer combo. I was surprised when I realized it only contained hundreds of questions followed by quick solutions to those questions. Although I know there are a million different concepts that can show up on the DAT, I was imagining a short intro to concepts with a couple problems and then a section to test all the concepts. I am currently in a gap year and am taking the DAT in March. To be honest, I have forgotten many of the concepts that were learned in school and sort of need a quick review. How do I do this while using the Dat destroyer books? Each question is much different from the last So I don't feel as though googling the concept for each problem will get me very far. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

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[ChemistryDentist]

Hey guys,

So I recently got the 2020 DAT destroyer + Math destroyer combo. I was surprised when I realized it only contained hundreds of questions followed by quick solutions to those questions. Although I know there are a million different concepts that can show up on the DAT, I was imagining a short intro to concepts with a couple problems and then a section to test all the concepts. I am currently in a gap year and am taking the DAT in March. To be honest, I have forgotten many of the concepts that were learned in school and sort of need a quick review. How do I do this while using the Dat destroyer books? Each question is much different from the last So I don't feel as though googling the concept for each problem will get me very far. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Don't worry, I felt the same exact way when I first got my Destroyer and Math Destroyer. You're headed in the right direction just by getting those books. They are pretty much the only thing I used to study for the DAT and I ended up doing pretty well.

I highly recommend joining the Destroyer Facebook group. There are a ton of videos posted there that address the questions in these books, in addition to more questions beyond those you could find in the Destroyer, all for free. The Orgoman YouTube page has plenty of videos discussing many of the questions as well. I personally watch the QR videos multiple times over (found in this playlist here) to help me grasp the concepts in the Math Destroyer. I ended up getting me a 30, so it worked! They have multiple other video series as well on the different subjects, and all are worth a look.

Here's a link to the Facebook group. You can ask questions on there that plenty of people will be willing to answer, including Dr. Romano. I can't say enough good things about the Destroyer and that group - they really helped me score as well as I did.

Best of luck! Feel free to ask any other questions you may have, I'd be more than happy to help!

 

[ChemistryDentist]

Hey man thanks a lot! Definitely some good news to hear. I looked at the facebook group yesterday and it said I had to submit a photo and an account number but had no idea what they meant so I just figured you had to pay for an account number type thing. Is that not the case? Free to join? Also, I saw that he had a lot of videos on YouTube. How do you suggest I go about these videos? I mean there are a ton and how do you watch them all as well as do the questions? I wish there would be like 5 questions regarding this concept and then 5 with another but each question is so much different than the last. I need to brush up on pretty much everything for each section and don't know where to start which is the most overwhelming part! Especially when each section has like 600 questions. Haha thanks again man!

If you really need some brushing up, I suggest spending a few days to just go through and watch all of the videos through. That should help you a lot with the basics. As for the Biology section, the Facebook group has a free set of biology notes on there that are an excellent source for both brushing up and nailing down concepts (also for free). It's important to get your bases covered before you hop into the Destroyer. But even if you do, expect to get, well, destroyed the first time through - that's pretty typical, happened to me too (check out my breakdown in my signature for more info there). The questions are not in order for, I think at least, good reason - you won't get that benefit on the DAT, so you should start practicing flipping between different topics now when preparing. I think the Destroyer nails that down pretty well.

As for the Facebook group, it is free to join. I think you are required to have a profile picture and a Facebook account, just to make sure people aren't going into to steal information or things like that. That group is a wealth of knowledge, so make sure to utilize it the best you can! I highly recommend answering the questions Dr. Romano posts every day, even if you get them wrong while everyone else seems to get them right. It is a really great way of learning I feel.

 

[ChemistryDentist]

Awesome! Also one more thing if thats alright! Everyone is saying they do 30 questions of these a day and 40 of that as well. So let's say I do 1-30 now. I then go back to the solutions figure out what I did right/wrong and figure it out. Do I come back to those questions again tomorrow and review or is it best to move on considering there are so many questions? And then is it best to dedicate certain days for chemistry/orgo/bio/math videos and write down notes or do you suggest watching a handful of sections a day?

You'll hear various responses to this question depending on the person. I personally did my studying in two phases (because I elongated how long I reviewed so I could do so when I was still taking classes full time). At first, I would review two subjects a day, plus reading at least one science article and doing some PAT generators online. For example, one day I might do GC and OC (plus an article and angle ranking generator), and the next I would do QR and BIO (plus an article and cube counting generator). I tried to cover every subject twice throughout the week, pairing them up in different ways, and I would end up with a day or two off depending on whether I skipped a day or not. Of course, on weeks I had exams, I didn't stick to this schedule as tightly, unfortunately.

Phase 2 was once I was out of classes and took three-ish weeks off to study for the DAT. During that time I did nothing but study, eat, and sleep, so I covered all subjects, every day. I have an exact timeline of how I did that in my breakdown (I linked it here).

Notice that I never mentioned a number of how many questions I went through. It really depends on you - I never set a question minimum or maximum, but I had an allotted time where I would answer one and then check the answer. As my exam got closer, I would do several questions in a row until I was shaky on an answer and then check all of the questions I did in the back up until that shaky question. The first time through I took notes on everything I guessed or wasn't sure on, but that was only necessary once.

Hopefully that helps some more!

 

[2thDoc11]

You'll hear various responses to this question depending on the person. I personally did my studying in two phases (because I elongated how long I reviewed so I could do so when I was still taking classes full time). At first, I would review two subjects a day, plus reading at least one science article and doing some PAT generators online. For example, one day I might do GC and OC (plus an article and angle ranking generator), and the next I would do QR and BIO (plus an article and cube counting generator). I tried to cover every subject twice throughout the week, pairing them up in different ways, and I would end up with a day or two off depending on whether I skipped a day or not. Of course, on weeks I had exams, I didn't stick to this schedule as tightly, unfortunately.

Phase 2 was once I was out of classes and took three-ish weeks off to study for the DAT. During that time I did nothing but study, eat, and sleep, so I covered all subjects, every day. I have an exact timeline of how I did that in my breakdown (I linked it here).

Notice that I never mentioned a number of how many questions I went through. It really depends on you - I never set a question minimum or maximum, but I had an allotted time where I would answer one and then check the answer. As my exam got closer, I would do several questions in a row until I was shaky on an answer and then check all of the questions I did in the back up until that shaky question. The first time through I took notes on everything I guessed or wasn't sure on, but that was only necessary once.

Hopefully that helps some more!

Thank you, I really do appreciate it! As you said studying with a full schedule is tough and I'm currently working Monday through friday 8-5 and 10-2 Saturday and sunday plus I try to workout for about an hour 5 times a week. Just trying to figure out an efficient way to maximize studying!

 

[Ladm8]

This is my opinion take it as you want, but I think you should use Bootcamp first to build a solid base on material and then move onto Destroyer and do the q’s there.

 

[Faris_]

For GC and OC only:
Destroyer is the last step you do in your preparation. Sorry to say but the books are useless until you get a solid foundation in the subject you're interested in re-learning. Doing his videos or the Facebook group will only take you deeper down the wrong path if you don't have the basics down already. The destroyer books are NOT study material, only testing! my advice is use Chad's videos which, purely an opinion, the absolute best study material in terms of teaching style and value for you money, around $10 a month I think. Mike's is comparable to Chad's but the price is too much for most. The fact there's no way for you to know the structure of the books before you buy them it or even a sample file should've raised a red flag which unfortunately I didn't adhere to and took the bait.

 

[ChemistryDentist]

I just posted this question for Faris but also would like your input. Idk if you ustilized chads videos butbif you did, would it be best to watch all the chad videos (at least the chemistrys + Biology) and then starting the dat destroyers afterwards?

I personally have no experience with Chad's videos. The ones from Dr. Romano were free, so I felt no need to buy yet another thing while preparing for the exam as they were sufficient for me. I also had my textbooks from undergrad in PDF form, as well as my notes from the classes I took. Those came in handy refreshing my mind on the vital topics. You spent probably around 4 years paying for an undergraduate degree - might as well use that information and knowledge to help on this exam!

 

[deleted988249]

If you need a general refresh on all the concepts them there is a video set out by KHAN academy and its pretty good. Dr. Romanos videos are good also. I had the 2019 version of the DAT math destroyer and it helped me so much with the hard calculations questions. If you get those down anything the DAT throws at you will be cake. One thing I personally did not like about the DAT math destroyer is that they don't have a ton of the new types of questions such as quantitative comparisons. They have a maybe around 5-10 in each test, which was not enough for me since I was pretty bad at them. DAT bootcamp has like a designated questions bank for the new types of questions and they were amazing just because there was so many I could practice from. On the real dat I kind of panicked because I had way more quantitative analysis questions than I expected, so definitely prepare!

 

[deleted988249]

Yea khan should be fine. I didnt pay for chads videos. I used his free videos for chem and orgo. He also released a website where he has a bunch of quizzes for each chapter too(DEFEAT the DAT). But yea in terms of the math section watch khan videos to get a good understanding of just math in general, and then CRUSH the dat destroyer and you will be fine. PM if you have any other questions! I would love to help you in any way possible

 

[ChemistryDentist]

I completely forgot, for those who can't find it: here is a link to the Destroyer math playlist. Helped me score as well as I did on the DAT!

 

[Faris_]

Would it be best to watch all the chad videos (at least the chemistrys + Biology) and then starting the dat destroyers afterwards?

am assuming you're talking about Coursesaver since it has a biology section which I haven't used but my experience is with his direct and most recent, chad's prep website.
The plan you suggested is ideal, studying the material through chads and testing yourself through the destroyer is the best path to take to get the most out of both.
My advice includes GC and OC... As far as Biology prep I made anki flash cards using the text book from my school, cliff's, Barron's, and DAT bootcamp Biology notes (free). after mastering my flashcards I use the destroyer to test my knowledge. Hope this helps!

 

[futureteethdriller]

I personally used Chad’s videos and found them extremely unhelpful and a waste of time. They are slow, and he doesn’t focus what is important for the DAT. I would take a look at Dr. Romano’s videos which are up to date in regards to the DAT, the link is included in a response above. If you feel you need more of a foundation, I would check out Dr. Romano’s study guide on the Facebook page and decide what resources would be best for you. Dr. Romano has free biology notes called the Dynamite Biology notes located in the DAT Destroyer Facebook page. I highly recommend using those in regards to the Biology section of the exam. Spend that 10 bucks on a drink after the exam! Best of luck!