DAT Done (6/7/10) and Breakdown!

[allidoisnguyen]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Ok, so here goes!

Bio - 17😡
Chem - 20
OChem - 2😀
PAT - 25😍
RC - 17🙁
QR - 20😎
TS - 19
AA - 19

Overall GPA - 3.76
Science GPA - 3.5
Music Major

Bio: For this section I used Kaplan and Destroyer. I knew going into it that this would probably be my weakest section, but I did not think that my score would be THAT low. I only went through destroyer once and went through all of the Kaplan material (class, online workshops, book) multiple times, but obviously it wasn't enough. There were questions on the real test that I absolutely had no clue about.

Chem: Also went through Kaplan and Destroyer for this section. Both definitely covered this topic MUCH better than for biology in my opinion. The questions were much more heavily concept based than any Kaplan practice test (only had maybe 3 calculations or questions where problems would already be set up), but I didn't feel like there were any questions that were not covered in the materials I studied.

OChem: Once again, Kaplan and Destroyer. Just like gen chem, if you go through both the entire Destroyer and Kaplan, you will have it down. The roadmaps in the Destroyer were very beneficial because it covered some reactions that Kaplan does not mention.

PAT: CrackDAT PAT! Kaplan definitely is not enough to get this section down. I only bought the 5 tests from CrackDAT, and I only used 4 of the tests. My scores were: 21/22/21/22...the tests from CrackDAT were pretty similar to the real thing, but I do think the TFE on the actual DAT is a bit tougher. I also felt that the cube counting was easier on the real thing.

RC: I have no clue what happened here...I was nearly acing this section on the Kaplan practice tests I was taking, but I guess there was some mental block during the real exam. Search and destroy was much more difficult on the real thing because the answers provided didn't match the text word for word like it did on Kaplan's tests. That ended up slowing me down, and when the timer hit halfway I had only finished 17 questions, so I also started to panic a little bit. There also seemed to be quite a few more tone questions than I was prepared for, so that kinda sucked.

QR: Man, was I lucky here. By this point, I was burned out from the earlier portions of the exam, and I was still flustered from the RC. I went at a decent pace and finished the test in time, but there were a good number of problems that I had to guess on. Definitely a lot more trig than I was prepared for too...I'm pretty sure I guessed on at least 10 problems, but still ended up with a 20, so I'm happy with it.


Overall, I was moderately happy with my score. I am still pretty nervous about applying with my biology score though...I feel like if I had just a little bit more time to study, I would have done better, but now that I'm done with it, I really don't want to have to take it again. Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[UndergradGuy7]

You didn't use cliffs ap biology to study for the bio section?
Were you just unfamiliar with the taxonomy/plant stuff in bio?

Also in organic chem, did you get questions asking about proteins/carbohydrates?

 

[herkulease]

Aren't you happy you're done? They are not bad scores. I guess that 17 stands out but you got 25 on PAT. So hang your hat on that. what's that 98/99 percentile?

really you thought cube counting was easier on cdp?

I hate it when cdp throws in cube stacks with illusions.

I have to pause a little bit to go oh there it is. Everyone seems to suggest the actual test does not have illusions and straight forward. I mentally only allocate 6-7 minutes tops for cube counting. so extra 20-30 seconds to see the illusions hurts.

How would you describe angle ranking? Is it comparable?

It is my weakest spot. I have no consistency after 6 cdp tests.😡 I've reached my goal least with CDP that the most I'll miss with TFE, key hole and pattern folding is 1 question, and perfect on cubes and hole punching. Missing 5 can really send my score tumbling.

Biology really starting to worry me with everyone's breakdown. There's so much and they can ask the broadest questions or be cruel and go for the smallest detail. Not sure what I can stuff in my head in 10 days.

Did you use any other exam sim programs like Top score or achiever? Or did you only use the kaplan's midterm, final and 3 full test?

Anyhow given your gpa and TS and AA of 19 you'll get interviews. Of course it also depends on which school you apply to also, I think you know that.

 

[allidoisnguyen]

No, I should have used cliff's...All I had been reading about was how good it was, but I read that destroyer was very helpful too, and I got it for free so I only used that. I only got a few taxonomy/plant questions, but those weren't the ones I was thrown off by. Honestly, I can't remember exactly what the actual questions that threw me off were about (I probably should). I just remember that they were very random, though I'm sure if I studied cliff's I may have done a lot better...

As for ochem, I don't recall getting questions about proteins/carbohydrates.

 

[allidoisnguyen]

herkulease:

Oops, may bad on the cube counting. I meant to put that it was easier ON the real thing. I know what you mean with the illusions; there weren't any of them on my test. The angle ranking were pretty comparable with the real thing, maybe a bit tougher on CrackDAT. From what you say, you should be fine with PAT. I think I may have gotten a bit lucky too, definitely didn't expect a 25.

With the bio, I'd suggest that you get down what you already know VERY solid, and then start studying some broader concepts. Just keep reading from whatever DAT study materials you have to pick up whatever you can. There were some questions that I knew for sure I got right when I had maybe only glanced over that detail once while studying. I think that if I had just read more materials, even just a quick read, I would have done much better. I thought I would at least do decent because I had gotten a 22 in bio on my last Kaplan FL, but the real thing had some questions I was not familiar with at all.

For practice tests, I only used Kaplan and CrackDAT for PAT. A good deal of that was due to laziness and complacency. I read from multiple people on SDN that Kaplan wasn't good enough, but I was lucky to get the Destroyer for free so I felt comfortable with just that. I feel like I would have done much better if I would have dished out some money for other materials and practice tests, but I didn't think I needed to.

 

[allidoisnguyen]

Any other opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[hova137]

Nice job on the scores! Were you able to use line counting at all on TFE to eliminate answers or did you have to visualize the image in your head?

 

[gorrillaunit18]

Nice job on the scores! Were you able to use line counting at all on TFE to eliminate answers or did you have to visualize the image in your head?

I recently took the DAT, and I was only able to use line counting on 1 stinking question...I think they know what line counting is all about and are trying to prevent it from happening...but hey, that's just me.

 

[allidoisnguyen]

I recently took the DAT, and I was only able to use line counting on 1 stinking question...I think they know what line counting is all about and are trying to prevent it from happening...but hey, that's just me.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure line counting only worked on one or two for me too. Even though you can't really use that technique, the shapes aren't too difficult or confusing to figure out so it balances out.

 

[Zakl]

good scores, good luck in applying

 

[HASassin]

on math did you you see any of those identities?
sin cose 1/sec and so on?

im trying to see if its worth learning those bc im short on time

 

[allidoisnguyen]

on math did you you see any of those identities?
sin cose 1/sec and so on?

im trying to see if its worth learning those bc im short on time

I would say definitely try your best to learn them. I didn't really get them down because my practice tests hardly had any trig so I didn't think I'd need to worry too much about it, but the real thing probably had 6 questions on it. As long as you're comfortable with the other math subjects, though, you should be fine. Good luck with your test!

 

[dentist911]

congratulations! great scores!

You're in a very good shape (especially with the high PAT score and very good GPA).

I am using CrackDATPAT as well and I can't get higher than 17 🙁

Number one issue for me is the angle ranking...do you (or anyone else who is reading this) have any techniques for this?
I "draw" an imaginary line to see how close/far it is from 90 degrees but that is not helpful.


Thank you 🙂

 

[allidoisnguyen]

congratulations! great scores!

You're in a very good shape (especially with the high PAT score and very good GPA).

I am using CrackDATPAT as well and I can't get higher than 17 🙁

Number one issue for me is the angle ranking...do you (or anyone else who is reading this) have any techniques for this?
I "draw" an imaginary line to see how close/far it is from 90 degrees but that is not helpful.


Thank you 🙂

Honestly, the only strategy I knew and used was the right angle one. My best advice for the angles is to go with your gut feeling. I thought I missed a bunch on the real thing, but I went with my gut and ended up doing well. Just keep practicing CrackDAT over and over.

 

[NewBee12]

congratulations. nice scores overall. what did you use to study fort math?

 

[allidoisnguyen]

congratulations. nice scores overall. what did you use to study fort math?

To study for QR all I did was Kaplan. I read that Math Destroyer is pretty helpful too. I thought that I was pretty set with QR so I didn't really devote much time to it, but overall I'd say Kaplan and Math Destroyer would be good resources.