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- Apr 10, 2008
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Hey guys,
So I've been lurking around these threads for the past two months and have somewhat just started posting recently. I finally took my DATs for the first time today and I got: AA 18, TS 19, PAT 20. I have been consistently studying for 5-7 hours a day for the past three months and I must say that I am pretty burned out.
Here's my break down:
Materials mainly used: Kaplan, Destroyer (3x), Cliffs AP Biology (1x), Top-Score, Achiever, Word Problems Booklet, Crack DAT PAT (Bolded is what I recommend)
BIOLOGY:
For me, I felt like the Biology section had questions where, with no matter how much you study, you would not be able to study for. I don't mean to scare, but I believe its more logic than anything. However,there were a good percentage of questions that were straightforward. As for the study materials, I felt like Achiever was a waste of time as it was way too in depth. I discussed with several other pre-dents and they also agree. Thus, if you score poorly on those tests, don't fret! Take those tests first, and then boost your confidence with Top-Score! Destroyer was an excellent resource as well as Cliffs AP Bio. For me, I made the mistake of breezing through Cliffs, which I should've went through in more detail. I regret it because Cliffs AP Bio gives all the information (in a well concise and cohesive manner) that you need that the Kaplan Blue Book doesn't go through. It also has very good explanations, charts, and graphs. I also went through all of Kaplan and their subject tests, which I believe was a very good resource.
CHEMISTRY:
For my Chemistry section, it was very conceptual. I had very few calculations, but those calculations I believe were simple. I prepared for this by looking through Destroyer and Kaplan subjects tests. The Kaplan subject tests had a lot of conceptual questions, which helped enormously. Destroyer again was a good resource.
OCHEMISTRY:
The organic chemistry was very straightfoward. I would say the only resource that you need is Destroyer even though its an overkill. It has all the concepts and the necessary reactions that you would use during the test. Road maps are the best!
PAT:
I went over Crack numerous times, obtaining consistent 20s, 23s. I thought I wiped this section clean, but I guess not!
. I had problems with angles on Crack, but the angles here were not as bad. Keyholes and TFE were probably the most difficult. Angles, Hole-Punching, Cube Counting, and Pattern Folding were all on par with Crack.
RC:
I didn't get FRAPed or PIANOed! 👍 I had the epidemiologyed, spinal corded, and floating bridged. The questions for the reading passages for very straight foward. For me, I haven't been mapping at all and getting consistent 19, 20's on other practice exams. I felt like I annihilated this section, but I was wrong, getting only a 18! I heard Kaplan reading comp was very similar to the ethics and piano passages, so if you have those, it would be worth looking at. As for the reading passages that I got, I thought top score and achiever resembled somewhat of how the questions were structured.
QR:
I dreaded this section the most and yes, this section I did worse in, most likely forcing me to retake this test! 😡. I did Destroyer math and I also have a word problems book as a supplement, which helped a bit. When I do retake this test, I will not overlook this section as I underestimated it. My gf recommends doing math everyday! I should've listened to my gf!
I'm a current full-time dental assistant xray certified, research experience, taking post-bac classes, hundreds of hours of community service.
So I've been lurking around these threads for the past two months and have somewhat just started posting recently. I finally took my DATs for the first time today and I got: AA 18, TS 19, PAT 20. I have been consistently studying for 5-7 hours a day for the past three months and I must say that I am pretty burned out.
Here's my break down:
Materials mainly used: Kaplan, Destroyer (3x), Cliffs AP Biology (1x), Top-Score, Achiever, Word Problems Booklet, Crack DAT PAT (Bolded is what I recommend)
BIOLOGY:
For me, I felt like the Biology section had questions where, with no matter how much you study, you would not be able to study for. I don't mean to scare, but I believe its more logic than anything. However,there were a good percentage of questions that were straightforward. As for the study materials, I felt like Achiever was a waste of time as it was way too in depth. I discussed with several other pre-dents and they also agree. Thus, if you score poorly on those tests, don't fret! Take those tests first, and then boost your confidence with Top-Score! Destroyer was an excellent resource as well as Cliffs AP Bio. For me, I made the mistake of breezing through Cliffs, which I should've went through in more detail. I regret it because Cliffs AP Bio gives all the information (in a well concise and cohesive manner) that you need that the Kaplan Blue Book doesn't go through. It also has very good explanations, charts, and graphs. I also went through all of Kaplan and their subject tests, which I believe was a very good resource.
CHEMISTRY:
For my Chemistry section, it was very conceptual. I had very few calculations, but those calculations I believe were simple. I prepared for this by looking through Destroyer and Kaplan subjects tests. The Kaplan subject tests had a lot of conceptual questions, which helped enormously. Destroyer again was a good resource.
OCHEMISTRY:
The organic chemistry was very straightfoward. I would say the only resource that you need is Destroyer even though its an overkill. It has all the concepts and the necessary reactions that you would use during the test. Road maps are the best!
PAT:
I went over Crack numerous times, obtaining consistent 20s, 23s. I thought I wiped this section clean, but I guess not!
. I had problems with angles on Crack, but the angles here were not as bad. Keyholes and TFE were probably the most difficult. Angles, Hole-Punching, Cube Counting, and Pattern Folding were all on par with Crack.RC:
I didn't get FRAPed or PIANOed! 👍 I had the epidemiologyed, spinal corded, and floating bridged. The questions for the reading passages for very straight foward. For me, I haven't been mapping at all and getting consistent 19, 20's on other practice exams. I felt like I annihilated this section, but I was wrong, getting only a 18! I heard Kaplan reading comp was very similar to the ethics and piano passages, so if you have those, it would be worth looking at. As for the reading passages that I got, I thought top score and achiever resembled somewhat of how the questions were structured.
QR:
I dreaded this section the most and yes, this section I did worse in, most likely forcing me to retake this test! 😡. I did Destroyer math and I also have a word problems book as a supplement, which helped a bit. When I do retake this test, I will not overlook this section as I underestimated it. My gf recommends doing math everyday! I should've listened to my gf!
I'm a current full-time dental assistant xray certified, research experience, taking post-bac classes, hundreds of hours of community service.
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