Bio: 19 (77.1%)
Gen Chemistry: 19 (73.0%)
Organic Chemistry: 21 (87.6%)
Reading: 23 (94.5%)
QR: 18 (75.8%)
Perceptual Ability: 20 (85.4%)
TS: 20 (86.2%)
AA: 20 (87.1%)
Materials used: Kaplan BB, Cliffs AP Bio, Topscore
Let me start off by making a few points and then I'll get to the breakdown of the test. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
1. Damn this board sure can be intimidating. Don't get me wrong, this forum was a TREMENDOUS help and my most valuable tool for gauging the difficulty of the test, but some people act like if you don't score 20+ across the board, to not even bother applying. To any future test takers, DO NOT let this board shake your confidence. If you put in the amount of work, your scores will surely show it.
2. I feel like Kaplan Blue Book is underrated (*Gasp). Kaplan gets a lot of bashing around here but I feel like it's sufficient. I think it gives you a general feel of the test and really breaks everything down effectively. I heard the hype about how great Cliff's AP Bio was, but I just didn't see it (*Gasp again). It was basically the same thing as Kaplan, just with more detail. But I'm usually against the grain on this type of stuff, so pay no attention to me 😀.
3. Don't panic at the beginning of the test like I did. I was confident heading into the test, but right when I hit the button to start, it was like the weight of the moment set in and I couldn't even comprehend the first few questions when they were really relatively easy. I think this really hurt my biology score because I felt like I knew it more than my score showed.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice. Topscore is a great tool to put people in their place (like me) when they think they know the material. Don't get discouraged by your first Topscore scores. I was getting 17's at first, but after reviewing them all, I figured out it was mostly just stupid mistakes and not reading the question carefully enough. Figure out why you're missing what you are, and re-learn it.
As for the test:
Bio: Not too bad or even as random as people say. I would say that there are about 2 completely random questions but other than that, it's pretty straight forward. One thing that I figured out about this section after the test was that most of the questions were just worded differently than I had seen them. I was just making them out to be harder than they actually were. I think the nerves that I talked about earlier really hurt me on this section, because I feel like I knew it more than my score showed.
Chemistry: Chemistry was never my strongest subject. Have a true understanding of the subject, know the formulas, and don't make the questions harder than they actually are, would be my best advice. Some of the questions just seem difficult, when they're actually easy. Practice is key here.
Organic: KNOW THE REACTIONS. Plain and simple. This was the one section where I feel like I could've done some serious damage. This section can easily be had. It was very straight forward. I'm surprised I didn't end up doing better.
PAT: The only trick here is to fine tune your skills. Practice with as many different resources as you can. Practice is the only way to do better on this section. Keyholes: Pretty easy. TFE: Easier than expected. Angle Ranking: Some tricky ones. The ADA website test was similar practice. Hole punching: They threw in a few folds that I hadn't seen, but overall nothing too hard. Cube counting: Piece of cake. Do not mess up here, these are give-away questions. Pattern Folding: I was surprised to see how many I had to just distinguish the right shape on. There were only a few where I had to differentiate between the shading patterns.
Reading: Search and Destroy, plain and simple. I had the DNA Microarrays version. Maybe I just got the luck of the draw though.
QR: Everybody is right about this. They don't give you enough time. My advice would be that if you don't know how to work it within 10 seconds, guess and move on. They have a few easier ones at the end to reward those who get through on time. Just remember that almost every question has a shortcut, you just have to find it.
Overall, I thought the test was about what I expected. Nothing too hard, but nothing too easy (Sorry if that's not much help). Just know that it's mainly about applying your knowledge to each question, not just reciting information.
Ok this is where I need you guys' help because yall know a lot more about this than me. I need to know what my chances are.
Things working for me:
1. Decent score (I think?)
2. On par GPA with the school that I'm looking at.
3. I live in Mississippi (where the matriculation scores are lower than what some of you guys are facing). The average score for last year's class was 17.4 according to Predents.com
Things working against me:
1. I haven't applied yet (which is pretty late for this board's standards)
2. I only have about 40 hours shadowing experience, but I plan on getting more
I want to thank everyone on this board who contributed to this forum. It really helped me a lot through this nightmarish experience. If you have any questions just let me know. I'll be around. Later guys
Oh, and the guy that started the thread about missing studying for the DAT is crazy
Gen Chemistry: 19 (73.0%)
Organic Chemistry: 21 (87.6%)
Reading: 23 (94.5%)
QR: 18 (75.8%)
Perceptual Ability: 20 (85.4%)
TS: 20 (86.2%)
AA: 20 (87.1%)
Materials used: Kaplan BB, Cliffs AP Bio, Topscore
Let me start off by making a few points and then I'll get to the breakdown of the test. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
1. Damn this board sure can be intimidating. Don't get me wrong, this forum was a TREMENDOUS help and my most valuable tool for gauging the difficulty of the test, but some people act like if you don't score 20+ across the board, to not even bother applying. To any future test takers, DO NOT let this board shake your confidence. If you put in the amount of work, your scores will surely show it.
2. I feel like Kaplan Blue Book is underrated (*Gasp). Kaplan gets a lot of bashing around here but I feel like it's sufficient. I think it gives you a general feel of the test and really breaks everything down effectively. I heard the hype about how great Cliff's AP Bio was, but I just didn't see it (*Gasp again). It was basically the same thing as Kaplan, just with more detail. But I'm usually against the grain on this type of stuff, so pay no attention to me 😀.
3. Don't panic at the beginning of the test like I did. I was confident heading into the test, but right when I hit the button to start, it was like the weight of the moment set in and I couldn't even comprehend the first few questions when they were really relatively easy. I think this really hurt my biology score because I felt like I knew it more than my score showed.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice. Topscore is a great tool to put people in their place (like me) when they think they know the material. Don't get discouraged by your first Topscore scores. I was getting 17's at first, but after reviewing them all, I figured out it was mostly just stupid mistakes and not reading the question carefully enough. Figure out why you're missing what you are, and re-learn it.
As for the test:
Bio: Not too bad or even as random as people say. I would say that there are about 2 completely random questions but other than that, it's pretty straight forward. One thing that I figured out about this section after the test was that most of the questions were just worded differently than I had seen them. I was just making them out to be harder than they actually were. I think the nerves that I talked about earlier really hurt me on this section, because I feel like I knew it more than my score showed.
Chemistry: Chemistry was never my strongest subject. Have a true understanding of the subject, know the formulas, and don't make the questions harder than they actually are, would be my best advice. Some of the questions just seem difficult, when they're actually easy. Practice is key here.
Organic: KNOW THE REACTIONS. Plain and simple. This was the one section where I feel like I could've done some serious damage. This section can easily be had. It was very straight forward. I'm surprised I didn't end up doing better.
PAT: The only trick here is to fine tune your skills. Practice with as many different resources as you can. Practice is the only way to do better on this section. Keyholes: Pretty easy. TFE: Easier than expected. Angle Ranking: Some tricky ones. The ADA website test was similar practice. Hole punching: They threw in a few folds that I hadn't seen, but overall nothing too hard. Cube counting: Piece of cake. Do not mess up here, these are give-away questions. Pattern Folding: I was surprised to see how many I had to just distinguish the right shape on. There were only a few where I had to differentiate between the shading patterns.
Reading: Search and Destroy, plain and simple. I had the DNA Microarrays version. Maybe I just got the luck of the draw though.
QR: Everybody is right about this. They don't give you enough time. My advice would be that if you don't know how to work it within 10 seconds, guess and move on. They have a few easier ones at the end to reward those who get through on time. Just remember that almost every question has a shortcut, you just have to find it.
Overall, I thought the test was about what I expected. Nothing too hard, but nothing too easy (Sorry if that's not much help). Just know that it's mainly about applying your knowledge to each question, not just reciting information.
Ok this is where I need you guys' help because yall know a lot more about this than me. I need to know what my chances are.
Things working for me:
1. Decent score (I think?)
2. On par GPA with the school that I'm looking at.
3. I live in Mississippi (where the matriculation scores are lower than what some of you guys are facing). The average score for last year's class was 17.4 according to Predents.com
Things working against me:
1. I haven't applied yet (which is pretty late for this board's standards)
2. I only have about 40 hours shadowing experience, but I plan on getting more
I want to thank everyone on this board who contributed to this forum. It really helped me a lot through this nightmarish experience. If you have any questions just let me know. I'll be around. Later guys
Oh, and the guy that started the thread about missing studying for the DAT is crazy
Last edited:
