Dat done - 1/23/10

[Jeanie]

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I'm so happy I'm finally done. I studied probably for about 4 weeks total but the last week I really did not study at all because I got distracted. This was my first time taking the DATs and I am planning to apply for the entering 2011 class.

PAT - 18
QR - 16
RC - 21
BIO - 20
GCHEM - 20
OCHEM - 22
TS - 21
AA - 20

I know my scores aren't ridiculous, but I'm pretty satisfied. Thank you to all you SDNers for your advice and help! This forum really does push you to study! A great motivation device if you ask me. 🙂 Good luck!

 

[prsndwg]

I'm so happy I'm finally done. I studied probably for about 4 weeks total but the last week I really did not study at all because I got distracted. This was my first time taking the DATs and I am planning to apply for the entering 2011 class.

PAT - 18
QR - 16
RC - 21
BIO - 20
GCHEM - 20
OCHEM - 22
TS - 21
AA - 20

I know my scores aren't ridiculous, but I'm pretty satisfied. Thank you to all you SDNers for your advice and help! This forum really does push you to study! A great motivation device if you ask me. 🙂 Good luck!

great scores congrats. you did pretty good. apply early and you ll be fine. how was RC? what was it about?

 

[Jeanie]

I had one passage over language and the brain, one over second messengers and the last one was about microarray. I didnt really study for this section unless it was during a practice test and personally, I thought the actual DAT was much less complicated and a lighter reading.

There were several inference/application questions but they weren't anything too complicated.

I used search and destroy for all three passages and obviously it was not a bad idea. I was afraid I was going to need to use Kaplan's note-taking method for longer readings, but luckily all my passages were pretty short compared to those of Kaplan and Top Score. I was so relieved I did not get the piano reading. Thank goodness!

 

[angel dust]

Congrats on being done! I was wondering what did you use to study? and While you were studying how many hrs a day of studying did you avg?

 

[sarora11]

I had the same RC articles as you did. congrats on the scores their nearly exact as mine, although i studied alot longer than you did haha. I got 1 pt higher on the PAT but 3 pts higher on the RC, and the same on everything else, yet i still got a 20 like you did haha interesting how that works

 

[azar87]

congrats on a great scores.....what resources did you use and how effective were they?

 

[Jeanie]

Congrats on being done! I was wondering what did you use to study? and While you were studying how many hrs a day of studying did you avg?

General Study Aids
Cliff Notes AP Bio Book
DAT Destroyer (I only really used this for the Bio section - I didn't really use it for ochem or gchem)
Campbell's Biology textbook (great reference source)
Kaplan BB
Barron's AP chemistry
Princeton Review AP Chemistry book (great resource!)
Kaplan flashcards
Supplemental Math Destroyer (these math problems are more difficult compared to the normal math section in DAT Destroyer)

Practice Tests:
Achiever (averaged around 17)
Top Score (averaged around 19)
Kaplan (averaged 19)

In terms of studying, like I said I studied roughly for about 3 weeks. I finished my finals December 18th and did nothing for about 4 days. So I started studying around December 22nd up til January 16th. The first two weeks I studied around 8-10 hours a day. The third week, I was doing more practice tests and was averaging more like 5 hours a day. The fourth week I started school so I basically was reviewing my Kaplan flashcards. I kind of freaked out because I felt like I should have been studying more but in the end, I knew I was not going to learn anything new days before the test so I went out to dinner with some friends and relaxed.

I was nervous during the test because I was second-guessing myself in the science section, but in the end the test was not bad at all. If I had studied longer I feel like I could have done better - but I am definitely not complaining. I am so glad its all over now and I wish the best of luck to the rest of you guys.

My advice to those who are still studying - work hard, keep your mind focused and just remember that even though you will have no life for a month or so - it is all definitely worth it in the end when you get your scores.

Good luck!

 

[Jeanie]

congrats on a great scores.....what resources did you use and how effective were they?

In terms of effectiveness, I would say AP Cliff Notes Biology was a great resource so is the Kaplan BB. I don't know- I read around here that many people got random biology questions on their tests, but I felt like I knew something about each question that was given to me.

Honestly, I think using Kaplan BB by itself is not a bad resource either. Im just the type of person that likes to see how everything connects instead of having random facts being thrown at me - I learn better this way. So that is why I picked up AP Cliff Notes as a supplement.

I did not study for PAT very much - only during practice tests. The actual PAT section was not bad, I felt every section excluding the angles section was fair game. I'm pretty sure the angles section is what threw my score down. I was averaging 21-23 on PAT on Kaplan tests.

Hope that helps!