Okay, so here's my breakdown:
I studied on and off for about 6 months (the real studying was done in the last month).
For REVIEW:
Bio: Took notes from Cliff's AP Bio and Kaplan Blue Book
GChem: Chad's Video
OChem: Chad's Video
For PRACTICE:
Bio: DAT Destroyer (went through all the problems 3 times)
GChem: DAT Destroyer (3x)
OChem: DAT Destroyer (3x)
Math: Math Destroyer (did like 10 tests)
Reading: Crack DAT Reading (more on this later)
PAT: Crack DAT PAT (more on this later)
Practice Tests (in order that I took them):
Test: Bio/GChem/OChem/Reading/Math/PAT
ADA 2007: 18/23/19/18/22/21
ADA 2009: 20/18/19/20/X/23
Topscore 1: 18/19/18/21/21/21
Topscore 2: 20/19/18/20/19/21
Topscore 3: 18/23/18/23/23/20
Some random thoughts:
1) Crack DAT Reading has very easy passages. a lot of TONE questions (was scoring 21-23 on all of them). Topscore reading passages are super dense and hard to read, but they are almost all SEARCH & DESTROY questions. It is hard to practice for this section because the real DAT is a good mix of these two. The readings are super dense like Topscore, but there also a good amount of tone questions. This was my biggest dilemma because I had 2 strategies... for Crack DAT Reading, I read the passages first, then answered questions. For Topscore, I ended up just skipping to the questions and doing search and destroy. On the REAL DAT, I ended up just skipping to the questions because there was no time to read it all and remember anything. However, the real DAT has a lot more tone questions and the answers aren't given word for word in the passage like Topscore. This is why I ran out of time and struggled in reading (compared to at home).
2) I was doing pretty well at Crack DAT PAT (towards the end) and my practice scores weren't too bad. I was actually pretty confident with PAT. However, the REAL DAT had some very hard keyhole problems to start it off. I ended up going through like 8 questions in 10 minutes. I started to panic, so I skipped the last 7 and went on. The other sections were not too bad (similar to Topscore... easier than Crack DAT PAT). I was very pressed for time, so I ended up randomly guessing on like 4 and not even answering like 3 because the time ran out.
3) Biology was harder than I thought because I studied Destroyer. Yes, you heard me right. If Destroyer has level 3 questions (I basically knew all the answers for Destroyer Bio going into the test).... the real DAT had level 1/2 questions. It might sound weird, but I felt like I didn't know the BASICS. I knew all the complicated steps and details, but I didn't understand the BIG pictures of biology. As I answered the questions, I knew they were super easy questions, but I just wasn't sure on them. Call me dumb, but that's how I felt. I'm not saying you shouldn't study Destroyer though.
4) Most of my studying/learning was done through Destroyer. By doing all the problems many times, you end up learning most of it. I definitely learned more from Destroyer than the notes I took from Cliffs/Kaplan/Chads.
5) Do what you need to do the final week/night before. I took all 5 of my practice tests the week before my test. I went over all the incorrect ones (of course). Random note: the Topscore math is way harder and time consuming than the real deal. The day before, I read all of Cliff's AP Bio and skimmed through all the Destroyer questions.
6) I used the bathroom at home (I live like 3 minutes away from the testing center), but don't make my mistake. Just go again when you get to the testing center. The sciences and PAT was torture because I had to pee so badly haha.
7) Don't get down on yourself during the test (like I did). I was so sad and mad during my test because I thought I was doing so bad. I tried to forget the previous sections, but it just put me in a bad mood the whole way through. However, I did much better on those "bad" sections than I thought. You have a good chance even if the section is hard and you skipped/guessed like me... that just means the curve will be more generous!
Good luck. Be confident!
