DAT done 8/1/10 Thanks fellow SDNers

[Ibraiz]

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First of all THANK YOU fellow SDNers for helping and answering questions I posted. This is the most helpful website I have been while studying for DAT (although this is the only form I been on lol) I didn't feel the need to go anywhere else because of nice people helping here regardless of any similarities or differences.

My scores:

Biology 20
General Chemistry 23
Organic Chemistry 24
PAT 18
RC 16
QR 17
TS 21
AA 20

Biology: KBB, Cliff's AP Biology, DAT Destroyer, Thinkwell videos, anki flashcard
Chemistry: KBB, DAT Destroyer, Chad videos
Organic Chemistry: KBB, DAT Destroyer, Chad videos
PAT: Crack DAT PAT (CDP)
RC: I am not surprised I got a low score on RC. On top of the reasoning that my reading is not that strong and English is my second language (I am not using that as an excuse) I got pianoed. I pretty much guess most of the answers in RC. Piano passage is not as bad as I thought it would be. If I can pull it, any one can definitely pull a better score than I did.
QR: Math Destroyer all the way.

One suggestion I can provide to people is I simulated the test almost every day. What I mean is I would get up in the morning do 40 Biology questions, 30 General Chemistry, 30 Organic Chemistry (all three sections from DAT Destroyer once I am done with Destroyer I would use kaplan subject exams. Without a break I would take a CDP test. 15 minutes break then a reading passage from CDR or one of the kaplan exams (or any other resource you can provide yourself). After I finish my RC I would take a Math Destroyer test.

After I finish I would take a break or go over the answers how ever I felt like. This helped me be ready for the actual test while I am covering every subject area in one day. This is just how I worked to amplify my study timing.

Before I started doing this I was doing things not too organized. I read KBB I think only once and took notes. I did Cliff's AP Biology several times. I did DAT Destroyer the first time and I was confused and I think I did DAT Destroyer 5-6 times. I was able to do just the Organic Chemistry part of DAT Destroyer very quickly within few hours like few days before the test.

Practice test: I did TopScore, DAT Achiever, Kaplan Test. Since I made this schedule everyday where I simulated the practice test environment, you can say I was taking a practice test pretty much everyday.

Day before the Test: I was chillyn, I did light review and since I love to laugh I was trying to watch funny videos and tv shows. I did not review anything in the morning. I didn't do much studies a day before. Just relax and let your neuron take some rest so you can spark Action Potential through them during the Test lol

 

[Bio Dental Mom]

Congrats Ibraiz! I'm happy everything worked out for you 🙂

 

[ScratchMan]

Congrat!!! Finally u took off heavy dat load. Enjoy rest of your time N good luck for tons of upcoming interviews.. 🙂

 

[DQLEUCD]

Good job dude, time to start finishing up those secondaries.

 

[Ibraiz]

Thank you people.

I am just concerned about my RC scores they are pretty low. Also my GPA is not that strong overall. I mean for the past 2 semester I took upper level science courses and I did good but before that My GPA was not that strong from back in the beginning of my college career.

So where do I stand?

 

[shahinc]

Thank you people.

I am just concerned about my RC scores they are pretty low. Also my GPA is not that strong overall. I mean for the past 2 semester I took upper level science courses and I did good but before that My GPA was not that strong from back in the beginning of my college career.

So where do I stand?

It depends how high is your GPA and where you are applying. There are some universities that average 19 or 20 in DAT is considered Competitive based on their website and statistic of their previous classes.

But at the same time, there are schools like UofP or NYU that require 21 and higher.

Also, there are some universities that do not look at your overall GPA and ignore your few early years.

 

[Ibraiz]

Thanks Shahinc, what is the best to know which schools are best. When I calculated my GPA it came out to be 3.44 over all and science 3.1 and TMDSAS (Texas application) calculated it and my over came out to be 3.17 and 3.12 Science GPA.

What are the good schools to apply to?

 

[shahinc]

Thanks Shahinc, what is the best to know which schools are best. When I calculated my GPA it came out to be 3.44 over all and science 3.1 and TMDSAS (Texas application) calculated it and my over came out to be 3.17 and 3.12 Science GPA.

What are the good schools to apply to?

Your overall is not too bad. your sciences is little low ( If I can be honest with you) but you can easily improve it this year. I still think you have a great chance.

What I did was I looked at each of the schools websites and looked at the statistics from the admitting class of the year before or ...

Some school also have special considerations for the residence of their state. I am not sure where you are from but defenitly look at the school in your state.

On top of my head, with your marks, I would apply to Temple, Oregon.

 

[mx41]

How was Math destroyer compared to real QR? How about the PAT?
What were your topscore like?
Great scores !

 

[kkim85]

But RC16 might hurt you a little...

 

[Ibraiz]

My Topscore scores I am not 100% about because I retook the test so I had to erase my scores but I can tell you they were not that great.

Test 1
Biology 18
General Chemistry 17
Organic Chemistry 19
RC 12 or may be 16
QR 13 or may be 17
PAT 18

Test 2
Biology 16 or 17
General Chemistry 17
Organic Chemistry 19 or 21
RC 21
QR 17 or 18
PAT 20 or something

Test 3
Biology 17
General Chemistry 18
Organic Chemistry 19
RC 20
QR 18 or something
PAT 18 or 20

Don't let the Topscore test get you down or too excited. It is a good representative of actual DAT but those questions are not exactly the same questions that you will be asked in the real DAT. Real DAT is much easier I think. RC section was similar to Achiever actually it was a mixture of both Topscore and Achiever.

QR was very very similar to the Math Destroyer. I didn't do anything besides Math Destroyer for RC and I think it is good enough.

PAT was similar to CDP but some of the hole punches were different. When I say different means it was folded differently. CDP hole punches is scaled accurately but in real DAT it was not scaled accurately BUT if you know how to figure out the answer in hole punches then you will be fine. I used the 4 x 4 grid method and it worked well for me. Everything else was similar to CDP.

KKim85, when you say that my RC might hurt me a little is that mean that schools may not accept me because my RC is so low?

 

[ThePreDentLife]

Absolutely Great Scores!!!! Congrats!!

I am in a similar position in regards to Top Score grades.

The only subject I'm a little worried about is Bio.

What did you feel helped you the most in Biology? Cliffs, KBB, or Destroyer?

I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me your feedback. My exam is in 1 week.

I have gone through Cliffs about 3 to 4 times, and read majority of KBB.

For Chem and Orgo, Im going through destroyer regularly. Is there anything else you would recommend for Chem and Orgo?

Thanks.

 

[Ibraiz]

You are good with Biology section. I read KBB may be once or twice and made notes which came in handy towards the end when I was reviewing stuff. I did AP Biology few times which you are doing as well. I can recall some similar questions from DAT Destroyer Biology section in the real DAT and I was happy with my self when I saw those questions because I went through DAT Destroyer Biology section as well.

For General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry: Do yourself a favor, since you only have 1 week left, keep watching Chad videos and keep on working on DAT Destroyer. This is pretty much all I used for my General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry sections and I got my highest scores in these two sections.

Anything else, please feel free to ask.

 

[ThePreDentLife]

You are good with Biology section. I read KBB may be once or twice and made notes which came in handy towards the end when I was reviewing stuff. I did AP Biology few times which you are doing as well. I can recall some similar questions from DAT Destroyer Biology section in the real DAT and I was happy with my self when I saw those questions because I went through DAT Destroyer Biology section as well.

For General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry: Do yourself a favor, since you only have 1 week left, keep watching Chad videos and keep on working on DAT Destroyer. This is pretty much all I used for my General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry sections and I got my highest scores in these two sections.

Anything else, please feel free to ask.

Thank you!!

I watched Chads Videos for Chem, back in the beginning when I started studying, about 2 months ago. I think I might go back and watch them again.

Do you feel Chads Orgo videos were beneficial? I have a pretty solid background, and am doing all my destoyer right. Im wondering if I should watch them.

 

[Ibraiz]

Definitely watch the videos again. I thought I didn't even need chad videos but towards the end I realize I needed those concepts. Listen to Chad carefully. I can recall one question in the real DAT similar to one of the examples in Chad videos. Chad videos are a MUST specially to refresh your memories.

For Organic Chemistry, DAT Destroyer is on point but some of the concept if you are unclear about you should watch Chad videos for them. I can't emphasize enough on DAT Destroyer and Chad videos.

 

[NewBee12]

congrats well done
was the bio section as random as everybody says? how about QR did destroyer help you a lot and how did you study for the qr section?
thanks in advance for any advice you can give us

 

[Ibraiz]

For QR: Math Destroyer all the way. There was some questions that were exactly the same as Math Destroyer. I didn't do anything beside Math Destroyer and I think the real DAT was easier than Math Destroyer.

Biology: I had few graph/curve questions which I never seen before in any practice exams or anywhere. I had to use my knowledge of biology and logic to figure out the answers. There were 2-3 or may be 4 questions like that. Embryology questions on Biology required logical thinking and general knowledge of how things work. Overall, I would say it was random may be because we never know what they are going to ask and there are so many topics in Biology. Also, we don't see those kind of questions before hand in any of the practice problems. I would say Biology section was similar to Topscore and DAT Achiever Tests. But again, keep in mind just because you are not doing so well in these practice exams doesn't mean you will not do good in real DAT.