As everyone else has done, I also would like to thank everyone on this board for their suggestions, encouragement, and reviews of the different materials that helped them do well on the DAT. I have taken the test a few times before and so this time around I decided to pull out all the stops and buy everything I have heard is helpful and then see for myself which were going to be the most helpful for me. The resources I found most helpful were AP Bio Cliff notes, Chad's Videos for Orgo and Chemistry, Topscore (which I thought gave the best look as to what the test is actually like), Achiever (just used for extra tests and really made me study harder because seeing the scores on those tests usually freak you out), and I think the most important material, DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer.
Scores:
PAT 22 (+2 from last test)
QR 16 (-3👎)
RC 19 (0)
Bio 20 (+4!!!)
GC 19 (+3)
OC 19 (+3)
TS 19 (+3)
AA 19 (+3)
BIOLOGY: Like I said, I felt like Cliff's AP Bio really gave you most of what you need to use. I went through it once, basically highlighting/underlining and whatnot. Then went through it again, taking my time and trying to understand everything. Finally went through it a 3rd time, basically just reviewing sections I struggled with. Destroyer was HUGE help though too, as seeing the material in question form is extremely helpful for the real thing.
ORGO: Chad's videos, enough said. He really gives you the main points you need to know and doesn't bother BS-ing you, just gets down to business. Taking good notes on his videos is essential for getting the most out of it, and studying those notes is important to really understanding the material. Just as important I thought was Destroyer and the roadmaps. Once again, seeing things in question form (as you would see them on a DAT) helped me greatly and being able to see all the reactions you probably will see on the test really helped out on the real thing.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY: Same as Orgo, except I think I found Chad's videos more useful then Destroyer for this section. I still think Destroyer helpd out a lot, but I felt like the calculations and problems that were asked on Destroyer were a lot more in depth than what I saw on the actual test.
PAT: Honestly, I didn't really study for this section at all. I feel like I can do this section pretty well just by taking a few practice tests, as I think I am pretty good at visualizing and doing the tasks that are asked on this section.
RC: I think the main thing that helped me for this section was having a strategy, and not freaking out. I think the RC is such a crapshoot and totally depends on the type of passage you get. As some people have said, you could have the best strategy and get a passage like the Physics or Piano and get screwed. But anyway, I had a mixed strategy in a way. I would read the passage through, but mainly look for key words, dates, names, places, or topic words that would describe each paragraph. I made sure that I only did this for about 8-9 minutes though as you want as much time as possible to go look for your answers rather than spending time reading in my opinion.
QR: I haven't been able to stop thinking about this stupid section since I saw my score. Words cannot describe how upset I was when I saw this score. As you could see, I got a 19 on this section the last time I took this test and got through it pretty easily without really even studying for it last time. But, just to be safe I bought Math Destroyer just to make sure I got as much practice as I could. I was consistently getting high 20s to mid 30s out of 40 on all of the Math Destroyer questions and on my practice tests never got lower than a 17 (when I took my first practice) and on my last practice i got a 21. I then even went through all the problems I got wrong and figured out how to do them. 100% was sure that I was gonna score in the 20s on this section, that was until the test. I already posted a thread Friday night about the problems I had with the test proctor for my test site so I won't get too much into it, but I am going to be submitting a formal complaint about it and really felt like the whole situation really threw me off and made me rush way too much. Like I said in the thread, I knew I wasn't going to get a 19 after the test because I just wasn't on my game but there was no reason for me to get a 16 and really feel quite upset about it. I really hope this stupid math score won't be the reason a school doesn't look at me, especially with having got a 19 the last time I took it, and the problems with the proctor.
All in all, even with my problems with the proctor, I couldn't be happier with my score. It has been a long time coming for me and this test and has really been a big cloud hanging over my head for a few years now and it feels really good to sort of get that cloud away. Thanks again to everyone on here who has given their support, suggestions and everything.
Scores:
PAT 22 (+2 from last test)
QR 16 (-3👎)
RC 19 (0)
Bio 20 (+4!!!)
GC 19 (+3)
OC 19 (+3)
TS 19 (+3)
AA 19 (+3)
BIOLOGY: Like I said, I felt like Cliff's AP Bio really gave you most of what you need to use. I went through it once, basically highlighting/underlining and whatnot. Then went through it again, taking my time and trying to understand everything. Finally went through it a 3rd time, basically just reviewing sections I struggled with. Destroyer was HUGE help though too, as seeing the material in question form is extremely helpful for the real thing.
ORGO: Chad's videos, enough said. He really gives you the main points you need to know and doesn't bother BS-ing you, just gets down to business. Taking good notes on his videos is essential for getting the most out of it, and studying those notes is important to really understanding the material. Just as important I thought was Destroyer and the roadmaps. Once again, seeing things in question form (as you would see them on a DAT) helped me greatly and being able to see all the reactions you probably will see on the test really helped out on the real thing.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY: Same as Orgo, except I think I found Chad's videos more useful then Destroyer for this section. I still think Destroyer helpd out a lot, but I felt like the calculations and problems that were asked on Destroyer were a lot more in depth than what I saw on the actual test.
PAT: Honestly, I didn't really study for this section at all. I feel like I can do this section pretty well just by taking a few practice tests, as I think I am pretty good at visualizing and doing the tasks that are asked on this section.
RC: I think the main thing that helped me for this section was having a strategy, and not freaking out. I think the RC is such a crapshoot and totally depends on the type of passage you get. As some people have said, you could have the best strategy and get a passage like the Physics or Piano and get screwed. But anyway, I had a mixed strategy in a way. I would read the passage through, but mainly look for key words, dates, names, places, or topic words that would describe each paragraph. I made sure that I only did this for about 8-9 minutes though as you want as much time as possible to go look for your answers rather than spending time reading in my opinion.
QR: I haven't been able to stop thinking about this stupid section since I saw my score. Words cannot describe how upset I was when I saw this score. As you could see, I got a 19 on this section the last time I took this test and got through it pretty easily without really even studying for it last time. But, just to be safe I bought Math Destroyer just to make sure I got as much practice as I could. I was consistently getting high 20s to mid 30s out of 40 on all of the Math Destroyer questions and on my practice tests never got lower than a 17 (when I took my first practice) and on my last practice i got a 21. I then even went through all the problems I got wrong and figured out how to do them. 100% was sure that I was gonna score in the 20s on this section, that was until the test. I already posted a thread Friday night about the problems I had with the test proctor for my test site so I won't get too much into it, but I am going to be submitting a formal complaint about it and really felt like the whole situation really threw me off and made me rush way too much. Like I said in the thread, I knew I wasn't going to get a 19 after the test because I just wasn't on my game but there was no reason for me to get a 16 and really feel quite upset about it. I really hope this stupid math score won't be the reason a school doesn't look at me, especially with having got a 19 the last time I took it, and the problems with the proctor.
All in all, even with my problems with the proctor, I couldn't be happier with my score. It has been a long time coming for me and this test and has really been a big cloud hanging over my head for a few years now and it feels really good to sort of get that cloud away. Thanks again to everyone on here who has given their support, suggestions and everything.
