DAT done 07/26/09

[ttran9229]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I took the exam this morning and quite disappointed in the scores, but it was a good first time experience. The head congestion I had was not very helpful either. I ran-out of time studying, but took the risk of going ahead with the exam. Here are my scores:

QR 16
RC 17
BIO 18
GC 20
OC 24
PAT 19
TS 20
AA 19

QR: There were a lot of word problems (around 70%). I did not have time to study for this section other than mocks. Average scores on the mocks were 20.
RC: SAD was not a good option on my version. It was ok on the first passage, but the last two passages had >50% inference/tone questions. I'm a slow reader, so essentially, I ran-out of time. I did not study for this section other than the mocks (average 19 using SAD).
BIO: This was an interesting section and what people have written about it have been true (random). More conceptual than just facts. There were 3 questions on plants and 1 histology. 80% of my time was spent studying for this section. In no particular order, I used Barrons AP, TPR MCAT Bio, Schaum's, and Kaplan. Did not finish TPR. Average mock was 20.
GC: >70% calculations. I was expecting more on conceptual. 5% of my studying was on this section using Kaplan. Average mock was 22.
OC: For the most part, it was straight forward. 50/50 between conceptual and synthesis. 3-4 spectroscopy. 10% of my studying time was spent on this section using Kaplan and TPR MCAT. 26 on mocks.
PAT: I thought that this section was easier than CDP and mocks. I can only assume that the scaling is different than the prep materials. I consistently scored 21 on CDP and 22 on mocks. The remaining part of my studies was spent on this section

I should've practiced a little more on my stamina. I felt pretty drained during the RC section and it shows. I'm debating on whether to take the exam again to become competitive. My cGPA is 3.34 and sGPA is 3.43. 40+ hrs shadowing and a few publications. Any recommendations?

 

[Chrono]

thanks for the breakdown.

Do u have any advice for studying for the bio section? What would u do if u had restudy for that section having taken the exam? What books helped u most for this section in your opinion?

thanks a lot.

 

[ttran9229]

thanks for the breakdown.

Do u have any advice for studying for the bio section? What would u do if u had restudy for that section having taken the exam? What books helped u most for this section in your opinion?

thanks a lot.

Textbooks would be good resources. Although the prep materials have a lot of overlap, they do have complementary material on a factual basis and is lacking on the conceptual basis. For me, I do not have a biology background, so textbooks and aspirin (which I did not take this morning) would've worked. I hope that helps.

 

[ttran9229]

Bump. Anyone have any constructive recommendations?

 

[dev9036]

Bump. Anyone have any constructive recommendations?

Well ur scores do not look that bad.I would say..depends on where u are applying? I am sure if u are applying to somewhere in like Temple Nyu..u have very good chances of getting in.

But if you hv decided to go to particular school and ur scores do not match with their requirement..pull up ur sleeves..start again.

 

[ttran9229]

Thanks for the info. I'm not too selective in the schools, but was hoping it could be in-state. Out-of state ones that I was thinking about are NYU, Temple, MidW, Western, BU and maybe Howard (but I don't think my chances are good there since I'm not a URM).