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Now my scores arent crazy high but believe me I am thankful to God as He was my guiding light through the hell that was DAT studying. I also want to thank SDN for the help, so Ill be giving a break down a little later with some tips that I think will help that I should have followed more closely 😀
PAT 21 89.2%
QR 19 92.9%
RC 19 67.6%
Bio 20 91.8%
GC 22 95.2%
OC 20 84.4% 😳 I really thought ochem was my best...
TS 20 91.3%
AA 20 93.4%
As a prelude to whats to come... CHADS VIDS AND HIS PROBLEMS ARE ALL YOU NEED FOR CHEMISTRY
😀 for ochem add destroyer
PAT:
Honestly I thought I was going to end up with a 25 or so on PAT when I was taking it. I kept laughing thinking some of the answers were really obvious.
TFE was much easier... as in Im sure I didn't miss a single one.
Keyholes: was the same as CDP
Angles: Overall I would say easier but there were 3 angle questions that i swear were 1 degree... they were way harder than any of the hard ones on CDP, so I think those threw me off and I feel that I must have lost the bulk of my points here.
Hole punching: was very similar to top score in aesthetics and difficulty... I guessed on 2 of them.
Cube counting: was really similar to CDP, I had the basic 5 count (but dont expect this as my friend got 6) 2 of my cube sets had semi illusions... they were a tad tricky but not difficult... i lost count once and had to start all over
Folding: is equivalent to the easier ones on CDP.
So... all in all easier than CDP but CDPs scoring is accurate as I was averaging 21.
QR:
I am VERY thankful for this score... I really believe all the prayer worked 😀 I took my first topscore last week and got a 15 on this section so I was fairly worried. I just want to state that if you are scoring low on your practice exams dont worry it doesn't mean anything... (I now wish I was scoring lower on ochem) If you are making mistakes before the test I see it as a good thing because it prepares you not to miss them.
My QR section was about 1/3 word problems and 2/3 straight up plug and chug or very simple math. I had never finished a QR on any practice tests and I finished this one with 5 minutes left, I guessed on 6 so I'm assuming i missed around 6 or so.
ITEMS USED:
CDM and Math Destroyer. CDM is an utter waste of money... DO NOT BUY IT! Math Destroyer is GOLD. I would say about 85% of my problems were VERY similar in style to the real test. Did I say VERY similar because I mean LAUGHABLY similar. Don't get distressed if Math destroyer seems hard, the real test is like a simplified math destroyer... Honestly if you want a near perfect score on this section master that book and I wont be surprised if you pull a 30. I didn't master it and was more concerned with the sciences, I did about 7 of them. When taking the test I actually thought my score would come out higher but I am very happy with the results😀
RC
I am happy with this section as I just made my cutoff 😀 didn't want anything lower than a 19.
So I have a strategy for this and I wish I would have actually practiced it better before the test.
During your break you have 2 sheets of dry erase paper. There is a front and back on both sheets. This is what I did:
1. On sheet 1 Draw your UNIT CIRCLE... (you'll need it for math) then turn it over and number 1-25 for RC.
2. On the second sheet number from 26 - 50 and save the other side incase you happen to need it... I didn't but you never know.
3. When you start the RC focus on the title of the first passage.
4. Ask yourself this question "Do I know or have any interest in the subject matter?" For me it was a resounding YES! The reason you do this because if it is a yes you automatically force your mind to focus better.
5.Go straight to the questions and start reading them... THE NEXT STEP IS KEY AND YOU MUST MOVE FAST.
6. If you notice that you get alot of questions that say "What is the opinion of the author?" you know... TONE questions... SKIP TO THE NEXT PASSAGE AS THIS IS A TRAP TO SLOW YOU DOWN. Yes its a gamble but you skip knowing that the next two passages will be easy search and destroys. Also, you have just taken a break and given your mind a rest... to jump straight into intensive reading can be slow for some... aka... ME.
7. So now you have skipped and guess what?! It a good chance the next passage if you have a good science background will be easy for you... mine was telomeres.
8. Scan through the questions for the second passage, and you will be surprised at the number of questions you can answer without reading lol. I answered 8 right away... I got too happy though and too comfortable... use this new found joy to your advantage lol. DISCLAIMER: If you do not know anything about the passage which was my 3rd passage... don't waste time reading through every question, read about the first 5 and mark down a key word from the question on that number sheet you made. EX: number 21 said something about "20 Year olds" I wrote it down on number 21 and proceeded to erase the number of my sheet when I got the correct answer.
DISCLAIMER 2 DO NOT BE WEARY IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT THE ANSWER YOU BUBBLED IN! Just mark it and continue on your merry way... chances are if you made a mistake you will catch it when looking for other answers... lol I caught 3 without looking
9. Finish the passage and move on to the next... Rinse and repeat what you did for the other search and destroy. I laughed out loud at question number 50... an elementary student could have answered it, this is why TONE passages are TRAPS.
10. Go back to the Tone passage:
11. Now mentally you are very prepared to handle this passage as you have just spent the last 40 minutes or so or in my case 47 😛 with the other 2 passages.
12. DO NOT SEARCH AND DESTROY THIS PASSAGE! Read it straight through very quickly taking it in, understand it (and you will as your mind will be fired) . As you are reading try to understand the authors tone.
13. Go through the questions, you will be surprised how much you retain.
14. FINISHED
\ITEMS USED
Achiever and Topscore
Achiever is ok... I got a 16 on the first and 17 on the second but I knew they were tone based so I read them as such
Topscore is GREAT... a tad easier but great for practice.
I got 20s on the first and second and really really wished I would have done 3 in order to get my strat down... Oh well I am still very happy
BIO
This section was hard... I am very surprised with my score. I had one plant question, one taxonomy, and on ecology... I had about 4 straight up Anatomy questions which surprised me and the rest of bio was Physiology , around 2 cell questions and genetics. I feel that this section really is based more on your bio background... A&P Neuro and my medical micro classed saved me here as I had questions that I had seen in those courses. Kind of disappointed at the plant question I had...
ITEMS USED
THinkwell vids
Audio Osmosis
Cliff's AP
Destroyer
Achiever
Topscore
And the vids of that professor from Duke University.
$ questions on my test were straight from destroyer.
I am a Texas resident so obviously im applying to all Texas schools and some out of staters. My overall science GPA is low but my post-bacc trend is high so I hope the last 2 years of sciences shows a good trend with these scores.
to be continued...
PAT 21 89.2%
QR 19 92.9%
RC 19 67.6%
Bio 20 91.8%
GC 22 95.2%
OC 20 84.4% 😳 I really thought ochem was my best...
TS 20 91.3%
AA 20 93.4%
As a prelude to whats to come... CHADS VIDS AND HIS PROBLEMS ARE ALL YOU NEED FOR CHEMISTRY
😀 for ochem add destroyerPAT:
Honestly I thought I was going to end up with a 25 or so on PAT when I was taking it. I kept laughing thinking some of the answers were really obvious.
TFE was much easier... as in Im sure I didn't miss a single one.
Keyholes: was the same as CDP
Angles: Overall I would say easier but there were 3 angle questions that i swear were 1 degree... they were way harder than any of the hard ones on CDP, so I think those threw me off and I feel that I must have lost the bulk of my points here.
Hole punching: was very similar to top score in aesthetics and difficulty... I guessed on 2 of them.
Cube counting: was really similar to CDP, I had the basic 5 count (but dont expect this as my friend got 6) 2 of my cube sets had semi illusions... they were a tad tricky but not difficult... i lost count once and had to start all over
Folding: is equivalent to the easier ones on CDP.
So... all in all easier than CDP but CDPs scoring is accurate as I was averaging 21.
QR:
I am VERY thankful for this score... I really believe all the prayer worked 😀 I took my first topscore last week and got a 15 on this section so I was fairly worried. I just want to state that if you are scoring low on your practice exams dont worry it doesn't mean anything... (I now wish I was scoring lower on ochem) If you are making mistakes before the test I see it as a good thing because it prepares you not to miss them.
My QR section was about 1/3 word problems and 2/3 straight up plug and chug or very simple math. I had never finished a QR on any practice tests and I finished this one with 5 minutes left, I guessed on 6 so I'm assuming i missed around 6 or so.
ITEMS USED:
CDM and Math Destroyer. CDM is an utter waste of money... DO NOT BUY IT! Math Destroyer is GOLD. I would say about 85% of my problems were VERY similar in style to the real test. Did I say VERY similar because I mean LAUGHABLY similar. Don't get distressed if Math destroyer seems hard, the real test is like a simplified math destroyer... Honestly if you want a near perfect score on this section master that book and I wont be surprised if you pull a 30. I didn't master it and was more concerned with the sciences, I did about 7 of them. When taking the test I actually thought my score would come out higher but I am very happy with the results😀
RC
I am happy with this section as I just made my cutoff 😀 didn't want anything lower than a 19.
So I have a strategy for this and I wish I would have actually practiced it better before the test.
During your break you have 2 sheets of dry erase paper. There is a front and back on both sheets. This is what I did:
1. On sheet 1 Draw your UNIT CIRCLE... (you'll need it for math) then turn it over and number 1-25 for RC.
2. On the second sheet number from 26 - 50 and save the other side incase you happen to need it... I didn't but you never know.
3. When you start the RC focus on the title of the first passage.
4. Ask yourself this question "Do I know or have any interest in the subject matter?" For me it was a resounding YES! The reason you do this because if it is a yes you automatically force your mind to focus better.
5.Go straight to the questions and start reading them... THE NEXT STEP IS KEY AND YOU MUST MOVE FAST.
6. If you notice that you get alot of questions that say "What is the opinion of the author?" you know... TONE questions... SKIP TO THE NEXT PASSAGE AS THIS IS A TRAP TO SLOW YOU DOWN. Yes its a gamble but you skip knowing that the next two passages will be easy search and destroys. Also, you have just taken a break and given your mind a rest... to jump straight into intensive reading can be slow for some... aka... ME.
7. So now you have skipped and guess what?! It a good chance the next passage if you have a good science background will be easy for you... mine was telomeres.
8. Scan through the questions for the second passage, and you will be surprised at the number of questions you can answer without reading lol. I answered 8 right away... I got too happy though and too comfortable... use this new found joy to your advantage lol. DISCLAIMER: If you do not know anything about the passage which was my 3rd passage... don't waste time reading through every question, read about the first 5 and mark down a key word from the question on that number sheet you made. EX: number 21 said something about "20 Year olds" I wrote it down on number 21 and proceeded to erase the number of my sheet when I got the correct answer.
DISCLAIMER 2 DO NOT BE WEARY IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT THE ANSWER YOU BUBBLED IN! Just mark it and continue on your merry way... chances are if you made a mistake you will catch it when looking for other answers... lol I caught 3 without looking
9. Finish the passage and move on to the next... Rinse and repeat what you did for the other search and destroy. I laughed out loud at question number 50... an elementary student could have answered it, this is why TONE passages are TRAPS.
10. Go back to the Tone passage:
11. Now mentally you are very prepared to handle this passage as you have just spent the last 40 minutes or so or in my case 47 😛 with the other 2 passages.
12. DO NOT SEARCH AND DESTROY THIS PASSAGE! Read it straight through very quickly taking it in, understand it (and you will as your mind will be fired) . As you are reading try to understand the authors tone.
13. Go through the questions, you will be surprised how much you retain.
14. FINISHED
\ITEMS USED
Achiever and Topscore
Achiever is ok... I got a 16 on the first and 17 on the second but I knew they were tone based so I read them as such
Topscore is GREAT... a tad easier but great for practice.
I got 20s on the first and second and really really wished I would have done 3 in order to get my strat down... Oh well I am still very happy
BIO
This section was hard... I am very surprised with my score. I had one plant question, one taxonomy, and on ecology... I had about 4 straight up Anatomy questions which surprised me and the rest of bio was Physiology , around 2 cell questions and genetics. I feel that this section really is based more on your bio background... A&P Neuro and my medical micro classed saved me here as I had questions that I had seen in those courses. Kind of disappointed at the plant question I had...
ITEMS USED
THinkwell vids
Audio Osmosis
Cliff's AP
Destroyer
Achiever
Topscore
And the vids of that professor from Duke University.
$ questions on my test were straight from destroyer.
I am a Texas resident so obviously im applying to all Texas schools and some out of staters. My overall science GPA is low but my post-bacc trend is high so I hope the last 2 years of sciences shows a good trend with these scores.
to be continued...
Last edited:
