Dat Done!!! 6/19 =)

[p0lkad0t]

I finally took my DATs today...here's my scores:

PAT: 23
QR: 20
RC: 27
BIO: 23
GC: 20
OC: 22
TS: 21
AA: 22

BIO~ the q's were really random...a lot of anatomy and just a little bit of everything. All the q's were from subjects that I expected to have (i.e. anatomy/physiology, development, stuff about animals and the env....juss study it all) I used destroyer for this section, and I read like 2 or 3 chaps from schaum's. I'm a biochem major, so I've taken a lot of bio courses so I didn't really study too much for this section (i never scored over like a 16 on Achiever bio...don't let it scare you!!)

GC~ always my worst subject...for this the highest i scored on a practice test was like 18. I used destroyer, but mostly KAPLAN!! kaplan online stuff is so helpful i went thru it like 3 times. there were some calculations, most were set-ups, and then a lot of juss the basic conceptual stuff...periodic trends, etc.

OC ~ juss a few reaction q's, mostly concepts (like mp, bp, dispersion forces, that kind of stuff...) nothing too surprising. I wasn't very sure of myself on this section either. Destoroyer is great for this...and the Kaplan online stuff too!!! they go over the conceptual stuff better than destroyer i think.

RC~ I got really easy passages, (imho) but i didnt study for this section at all. I've always loved to read and I always read a lot...so this section was easy for me because I'm good at reading things quickly. I just used the search and destroy method (If you don't have a decent memory when you read things fast, i would maybe use Kaplan's method where u juss jot down a few key words so u can go back to it quickly)

QR~ just really basic stuff...a lot of trig and algebra and geometry, a LOT of word problems, but most of them were simple (maybe liek 4 or 5 longer ones that I skipped over)...I think the key to this section is to round off and estimate. Make sure you're really good with using short cuts for %'s and the exponents!!!! and fractions...lots of those

PAT ~ CRACK PAT is great for this... the real thing was easier for everything, except on my test I actually thought the angles were pretty comparable to crack's, and that's usually the easiest part of PAT for me. kaplan is crap for this...it won't challenge u or push u to get better.

I didn't have the FRAP test...so I think that helped. I was so nervous while I was taking the test, I literally thought I was failing it during the science sections. I was just super nervous the whole time i was taking it.
After PAT I was a lot more calm, and RC has always been my strongest subject, so I just flew through the q's (I used search and destroy) and finished almost 15 mins early.
QR was pure luck...I just skipped all of the long word problems and juss guessed an answer, and did all the ones I could. I ran out of time for the last q.

=)

yay! I'M DONEEEE~ good luck to everybody else!!

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[Bruinlove]

Good job!

It really looks like everyone is doing well!

 

[gogobruin]

How did u study for reading??? thanks

 

[harrygt]

can you give us a brief description for the level of difficulty and also the type of questions of each part. That would be so helpful. I would appreciate it.

 

[Mstoothlady2012]

Congrats! Nice score

For RC - what type of questions you had? more on topics, main idea type or just straight from the passage? Thanks!

 

[p0lkad0t]

sure...i updated my post...

 

[STACM]

what exactly is the search and destroy method?

 

[allstardentist]

nice work

 

[p0lkad0t]

what exactly is the search and destroy method?

search and destroy is juss read the question and read thru the passage until u find the answer...mind you I think this method is most effective if u can read fast and can remember things that u read while you're looking for ur answer. That way maybe you can answer other questions without having to search/refer to the passage again =) for the last passage the answer I was looking for was at liek teh bottom of the passage, so for a lot of teh q's I didn't have to read thru it again cuz I juss knew the answers from reading it before.
at least...that's my search and destroy method hehe

 

[harrygt]

search and destroy is juss read the question and read thru the passage until u find the answer...mind you I think this method is most effective if u can read fast and can remember things that u read while you're looking for ur answer. That way maybe you can answer other questions without having to search/refer to the passage again =) for the last passage the answer I was looking for was at liek teh bottom of the passage, so for a lot of teh q's I didn't have to read thru it again cuz I juss knew the answers from reading it before.

Polkadot, I did not get it. Do you read all the 17 questions at the begining and then start reading the passage? or you read the qustions one by one and look in the passage? THanks

 

[p0lkad0t]

--oops...i tried to delete this post >.<;; --

 

[p0lkad0t]

Polkadot, I did not get it. Do you read all the 17 questions at the begining and then start reading the passage? or you read the qustions one by one and look in the passage? THanks

I would juss read a question and skim thru the passage until I found the answer, then move on to the next question, repeat. so basically juss read teh question and literally search for the answer, go to the next q...
If you have a hard time remembering things after u skim a passage, take quick notes, they will make answering later q's/future skimming much faster =)
I'm a pretty fast reader though, and I was able to remember a lot of what I read after the first time through it. I finished the section with ~15 mins to spare

 

[p0lkad0t]

Congrats! Nice score

For RC - what type of questions you had? more on topics, main idea type or just straight from the passage? Thanks!

I had all of those kinds of q's...one passage was more heavily focused on details from the passage, another was more main idea/tone/inference, and the last was kind of a mix of both but more details right from the passage i think =)

 

[rszam]

how long did you study for?

 

[harrygt]

I would juss read a question and skim thru the passage until I found the answer, then move on to the next question, repeat. so basically juss read teh question and literally search for the answer, go to the next q...
If you have a hard time remembering things after u skim a passage, take quick notes, they will make answering later q's/future skimming much faster =)
I'm a pretty fast reader though, and I was able to remember a lot of what I read after the first time through it. I finished the section with ~15 mins to spare

polkadot, what you did would really work well if the questions are sequential. But what if the 1st question is in the first paragraph, second one in 4th, third one in 2nd and ...
That would make a mess. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[p0lkad0t]

polkadot, what you did would really work well if the questions are sequential. But what if the 1st question is in the first paragraph, second one in 4th, third one in 2nd and ...
That would make a mess. Correct me if I'm wrong.

well that's why I said that if you don't have a good memory for stuff that you read quickly, then I don't think this is the method for you, or take notes. You shouldn't have to literally read thru the passage for every question because you SHOULD remember a lot from reading however far u had to read for the first q...for one of my passages, the answer to the first q was in the very last paragraph, so I had to skim all the wayt to the bottom, but I picked up a lot of info on my way to the end, so a lot of the later q's i didn't have to go back to the passage to know teh answer cuz i could remember it.

 

[harrygt]

well that's why I said that if you don't have a good memory for stuff that you read quickly, then I don't think this is the method for you, or take notes. You shouldn't have to literally read thru the passage for every question because you SHOULD remember a lot from reading however far u had to read for the first q...for one of my passages, the answer to the first q was in the very last paragraph, so I had to skim all the wayt to the bottom, but I picked up a lot of info on my way to the end, so a lot of the later q's i didn't have to go back to the passage to know teh answer cuz i could remember it.

Nice, I kinda got what you mean. Basically, you read the first question, and skim through the passage till you find the answer. Let's say you find the answer to the first question at the end of the second paragraph. Then you read the second Q and start skimming from the third paragraph, if you have not already seen the answer in the first two paraphs.
But how do you skim? I assume that you read fast, but you still try to understand what the passage is talking about.
Sorry for asking too many Qs.
I'm gonna get topscore and achiever these days. I'm definitely gonna try your method. It might not work for me, but it is worth giving it a try.
THx

 

[gogobruin]

u did a such good job, and where are u going to apply?