DAT done 07/18/15, review of study materials

[momomoz]

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I would like to thank Ari and the DAT Bootcamp team, Chad, Dr. Jim Romano and Nancy, and FeralisExtremum. I also would like to thank those who have shared their DAT experiences on this site. I will try to make mine as useful as theirs.

Scores: AA 26 PAT 27
Score report

Resources used:

Biology

Feralis notes – 5/5​

-covers Cliffs AP Bio + everything else that’s very likely to appear on the test
-well-structured, easy to process​

DAT Destroyer – 5/5​

-I would’ve flunked the bio section without this​

Chad’s quizzes – 5/5​

-only cover major topics in the bio section but cover them well​

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

-has the real DAT question style​

CliffsAP-- AP Biology 3rd edition – 4/5​

-covers all the basics
-but wording not intuitive​

The Princeton Review - Cracking the DAT (2012) – 4/5​

-quite detailed in anatomy and physiology --> useful for studying Destroyer problems
-would recommend as a reference only (too detailed)​

What I did: read the entire Cliffs and took notes --> did Chad’s quizzes and took notes --> did Destroyer and took notes --> did Bootcamp and took notes --> (read my own notes) x n --> read Feralis notes --> day before the exam: went over some problems that I got wrong, taxonomy, and random facts


GC & OC & QR

Chad’s videos + quizzes – 5/5​

-provide the best sense of what’s essential to learn for these 3 sections
-all about how to think efficiently
-come with clear and concise outlines of GC topics and OC rxns​

DAT Destroyer – 5/5​

-excellent practice problems
-good OC rxn roadmaps
-good overview of important OC chemical lab tests
​

Math Destroyer -- 5/5

-recommend understanding all the formulas on the first few pages
-only did test 1 but concluded it's a good math drill​

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

- real DAT question style​

What I did:
GC & OC: did all Chad’s videos and took notes --> did Chad’s quizzes and took notes --> did Destroyer and took notes --> (referring back to my notes) x n & added rxns from Destroyer to Chad’s OC rxn list and (reviewed this final list) x n --> did Bootcamp --> day before the exam: went over some problems that I got wrong + chemical lab tests
QR: Chad's videos on probability --> some Chad's quizzes --> DAT Destroyer QR --> Bootcamp --> Math destroyer test 1 --> day before test: all the problems I got wrong

RC

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5

-more paragraphs per reading than the actual test
-types of articles -- really similar with the actual test​

What I did: 1 RC /day a week before the real exam


PAT

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

-the best simulation of real DAT style
-effectively harder than the real DAT
-analyzes PAT problems like no other​

Crack the DAT PAT -1/5​

-keyholes way too simple (made me insensitive to proportions)
-TFE way too simple (majority of problems only require line counting)
-cube piles unnecessarily deceptive​

What I did: 1 CDP / day when it’s about 3 weeks till the test (did 8, sometimes skipped a day)--> 1 BC PAT /day (did 8)--> Day before test: nothing


Practice tests scores:

CDP:
21/21/21/22/28/25/24/-/-/-

DAT Bootcamp

Bio 26/21/23/21/23
GC 24/24/30/24/24
OC 27/21/19/30/24
RC 19/16/24/24/20
QR 23/21/24/24/20
PAT 21/22/22/21/20/22/20/23/-/-

Best of luck to everyone!

 

[pasteriori]

awesome scores O_O

I basically memorized every single thing from chad's videos. but i took two TopScore exams, and scored very low. I still have to find time to take Bootcamp tests.

How do you take bootcamp tests? the whole test at one time, or each section at a time?

 

[momomoz]

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[momomoz]

awesome scores O_O

I basically memorized every single thing from chad's videos. but i took two TopScore exams, and scored very low. I still have to find time to take Bootcamp tests.

How do you take bootcamp tests? the whole test at one time, or each section at a time?

I took tests 1-5 from each category in the exact order as the real DAT as sets

 

[DAT Destroyer]

I would like to thank Ari and the DAT Bootcamp team, Chad, Dr. Jim Romano and Nancy, and FeralisExtremum. I also would like to thank those who have shared their DAT experiences on this site. I will try to make mine as useful as theirs.

Scores: AA 26 PAT 27
Score report

Resources used:

Biology

Feralis notes – 5/5​

-covers Cliffs AP Bio + everything else that’s very likely to appear on the test
-well-structured, easy to process​

DAT Destroyer – 5/5​

-I would’ve flunked the bio section without this​

Chad’s quizzes – 5/5​

-only cover major topics in the bio section but cover them well​

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

-has the real DAT question style​

CliffsAP-- AP Biology 3rd edition – 4/5​

-covers all the basics
-but wording not intuitive​

The Princeton Review - Cracking the DAT (2012) – 4/5​

-quite detailed in anatomy and physiology --> useful for studying Destroyer problems
-would recommend as a reference only (too detailed)​

What I did: read the entire Cliffs and took notes --> did Chad’s quizzes and took notes --> did Destroyer and took notes --> did Bootcamp and took notes --> (read my own notes) x n --> read Feralis notes --> day before the exam: went over some problems that I got wrong, taxonomy, and random facts


GC & OC & QR

Chad’s videos + quizzes – 5/5​

-provide the best sense of what’s essential to learn for these 3 sections
-all about how to think efficiently
-come with clear and concise outlines of GC topics and OC rxns​

DAT Destroyer – 5/5​

-excellent practice problems
-good OC rxn roadmaps
-good overview of important OC chemical lab tests
​

Math Destroyer -- 5/5

-recommend understanding all the formulas on the first few pages
-only did test 1 but concluded it's a good math drill​

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

- real DAT question style​

What I did:
GC & OC: did all Chad’s videos and took notes --> did Chad’s quizzes and took notes --> did Destroyer and took notes --> (referring back to my notes) x n & added rxns from Destroyer to Chad’s OC rxn list and (reviewed this final list) x n --> did Bootcamp --> day before the exam: went over some problems that I got wrong + chemical lab tests
QR: Chad's videos on probability --> some Chad's quizzes --> DAT Destroyer QR --> Bootcamp --> Math destroyer test 1 --> day before test: all the problems I got wrong

RC

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5

-more paragraphs per reading than the actual test
-types of articles -- really similar with the actual test​

What I did: 1 RC /day a week before the real exam


PAT

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

-the best simulation of real DAT style
-effectively harder than the real DAT
-analyzes PAT problems like no other​

Crack the DAT PAT -1/5​

-keyholes way too simple (made me insensitive to proportions)
-TFE way too simple (majority of problems only require line counting)
-cube piles unnecessarily deceptive​

What I did: 1 CDP / day when it’s about 3 weeks till the test (did 8, sometimes skipped a day)--> 1 BC PAT /day (did 8)--> Day before test: nothing


Practice tests scores:

CDP:
21/21/21/22/28/25/24/-/-/-

DAT Bootcamp

Bio 26/21/23/21/23
GC 24/24/30/24/24
OC 27/21/19/30/24
RC 19/16/24/24/20
QR 23/21/24/24/20
PAT 21/22/22/21/20/22/20/23/-/-

Sidenote: I bought DAT Bootcamp on May 10th, so there’s like 3 weeks of life left in it. Also, my Math Destroyer (ver. 2012, 13 tests) only have markings on the pages of test 1. Anyone interested can message me and have them.

Best of luck to everyone!

Congratulations momomoz !

Wow, those scores are blazing!

Thank you for the shout out and glad our materials were part of the study tools that helped you achieve your goal.

Your scores should easily get you into an Ivy League school if that is on your list.

Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed breakdown to help other students that are still studying to slay the DAT Beast..

Wishing you the best!

Dr. Romano and Nancy

 

[ns718]

Very solid scores. Congrats

 

[510586]

Great scores! I noticed that your rc score jumped from 16 to 24s between test two and three of Bootcamp. Did you change any strategies? How did you approach rc?

 

[momomoz]

Congratulations momomoz !

Wow, those scores are blazing!

Thank you for the shout out and glad our materials were part of the study tools that helped you achieve your goal.

Your scores should easily get you into an Ivy League school if that is on your list.

Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed breakdown to help other students that are still studying to slay the DAT Beast..

Wishing you the best!

Dr. Romano and Nancy

Thank you! The scores are advertising my review, making what's true look more appealing : )

 

[momomoz]

Great scores! I noticed that your rc score jumped from 16 to 24s between test two and three of Bootcamp. Did you change any strategies? How did you approach rc?

Thank you for reminding me. I meant to write about this.
I did change strategy after panicking over my 2nd reading score. What I did from the third test on:
1. read all the questions and had an idea of

-the numbers appeared in the questions: years, temperatures, bacterial growth rates, etc.
-keywords: names of people, country, techniques, discoveries...
-how many tone questions​

2. read the entire passage. For each paragraph, I wrote down its number, its main ideas / any keywords that I remembered from the questions, so when I finished reading I'd have a list about what each paragraph was about.
3. answered the questions. If I saw any question that I couldn't answer right off the bat, I'd refer to my list and find the correct paragraph to help me.

Usually, it took me less than 2 minutes to do step 1, ~8-9 minutes to do step 2, and ~4 minutes step 3. You can see that I was not a fast reader, but when I read I made sure I understood, so the questions would look cute when I greeted them again.
The 16 resulted when I tried S&D; clearly that method and I dislike each other.

 

[HuskyUC]

I would like to thank Ari and the DAT Bootcamp team, Chad, Dr. Jim Romano and Nancy, and FeralisExtremum. I also would like to thank those who have shared their DAT experiences on this site. I will try to make mine as useful as theirs.

Scores: AA 26 PAT 27
Score report

Resources used:

Biology

Feralis notes – 5/5​

-covers Cliffs AP Bio + everything else that’s very likely to appear on the test
-well-structured, easy to process​

DAT Destroyer – 5/5​

-I would’ve flunked the bio section without this​

Chad’s quizzes – 5/5​

-only cover major topics in the bio section but cover them well​

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

-has the real DAT question style​

CliffsAP-- AP Biology 3rd edition – 4/5​

-covers all the basics
-but wording not intuitive​

The Princeton Review - Cracking the DAT (2012) – 4/5​

-quite detailed in anatomy and physiology --> useful for studying Destroyer problems
-would recommend as a reference only (too detailed)​

What I did: read the entire Cliffs and took notes --> did Chad’s quizzes and took notes --> did Destroyer and took notes --> did Bootcamp and took notes --> (read my own notes) x n --> read Feralis notes --> day before the exam: went over some problems that I got wrong, taxonomy, and random facts


GC & OC & QR

Chad’s videos + quizzes – 5/5​

-provide the best sense of what’s essential to learn for these 3 sections
-all about how to think efficiently
-come with clear and concise outlines of GC topics and OC rxns​

DAT Destroyer – 5/5​

-excellent practice problems
-good OC rxn roadmaps
-good overview of important OC chemical lab tests
​

Math Destroyer -- 5/5

-recommend understanding all the formulas on the first few pages
-only did test 1 but concluded it's a good math drill​

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

- real DAT question style​

What I did:
GC & OC: did all Chad’s videos and took notes --> did Chad’s quizzes and took notes --> did Destroyer and took notes --> (referring back to my notes) x n & added rxns from Destroyer to Chad’s OC rxn list and (reviewed this final list) x n --> did Bootcamp --> day before the exam: went over some problems that I got wrong + chemical lab tests
QR: Chad's videos on probability --> some Chad's quizzes --> DAT Destroyer QR --> Bootcamp --> Math destroyer test 1 --> day before test: all the problems I got wrong

RC

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5

-more paragraphs per reading than the actual test
-types of articles -- really similar with the actual test​

What I did: 1 RC /day a week before the real exam


PAT

DAT Bootcamp – 5/5​

-the best simulation of real DAT style
-effectively harder than the real DAT
-analyzes PAT problems like no other​

Crack the DAT PAT -1/5​

-keyholes way too simple (made me insensitive to proportions)
-TFE way too simple (majority of problems only require line counting)
-cube piles unnecessarily deceptive​

What I did: 1 CDP / day when it’s about 3 weeks till the test (did 8, sometimes skipped a day)--> 1 BC PAT /day (did 8)--> Day before test: nothing


Practice tests scores:

CDP:
21/21/21/22/28/25/24/-/-/-

DAT Bootcamp

Bio 26/21/23/21/23
GC 24/24/30/24/24
OC 27/21/19/30/24
RC 19/16/24/24/20
QR 23/21/24/24/20
PAT 21/22/22/21/20/22/20/23/-/-

Sidenote: I bought DAT Bootcamp on May 10th, so there’s like 3 weeks of life left in it. Also, my Math Destroyer (ver. 2012, 13 tests) only have markings on the pages of test 1. Anyone interested can message me and have them.

Best of luck to everyone!

Would you say the line counting method worked to eliminate some wrong answer choices on the real DAT? I'm having a lot of trouble with TFE.

 

[510586]

Thank you for reminding me. I meant to write about this.
I did change strategy after panicking over my 2nd reading score. What I did from the third test on:
1. read all the questions and had an idea of

-the numbers appeared in the questions: years, temperatures, bacterial growth rates, etc.
-keywords: names of people, country, techniques, discoveries...
-how many tone questions​

2. read the entire passage. For each paragraph, I wrote down its number, its main ideas / any keywords that I remembered from the questions, so when I finished reading I'd have a list about what each paragraph was about.
3. answered the questions. If I saw any question that I couldn't answer right off the bat, I'd refer to my list and find the correct paragraph to help me.

Usually, it took me less than 2 minutes to do step 1, ~8-9 minutes to do step 2, and ~4 minutes step 3. You can see that I was not a fast reader, but when I read I made sure I understood, so the questions would look cute when I greeted them again.
The 16 resulted when I tried S&D; clearly that method and I dislike each other.

Might try this if my rc score becomes stagnant or isn't where I want it. Thanks a bunch!

 

[momomoz]

Would you say the line counting method worked to eliminate some wrong answer choices on the real DAT? I'm having a lot of trouble with TFE.

There was only 1 question that I relied on line counting because it's totally about line counting. Other questions all required some other sorts of logical reasoning or 3D visualization. Therefore, I highly recommend trying to visualize the 3D shapes. If you like to look at lines, I'd suggest looking at how the lines interact with the edges of the faces while knowing how they align.

 

[okiedokeartichoke]

Those scores are amazing! How long did you study for and how many hours per day? Also, did you focus on each section in chunks like biology first for a few weeks, then chem, etc. or did you study a couple subjects each day?

 

[momomoz]

Those scores are amazing! How long did you study for and how many hours per day? Also, did you focus on each section in chunks like biology first for a few weeks, then chem, etc. or did you study a couple subjects each day?

Hapharzard studying from mid-May (~3 hours /day) --> serious studying from mid-June (~7 hours / day)
About 1/2 month in chunks and then a bit of everything each day

I felt comfortable with such a schedule only because I'm a bio major who finished anatomy and physiology just 3 months ago and had higher GC and OC grades than anything I got from bio classes. I think it's most effective when we have study schedules tailor-made for ourselves : )