- Joined
- May 28, 2011
- Messages
- 315
- Reaction score
- 41
First of all I want to sincerely thank everyone on SDN that has posted a breakdown of their DAT. I would not have been able to get near the 21+ range without all of the helpful posts. I never thought the day would come where I would be posting my own breakdown! I know that my scores are not crazy like some of the recent ones on here (24+) but I am actually pretty content with them. My only worry is RC, which I thought I actually did really well in! I had very interesting articles and had no problem reading and comprehending them. I did start to run out of time towards the end of that section though, that's probably what caught me.
Well anyways, I hope that the breakdown I am about to write is helpful to some of you soon-to-be DAT takers out there. Please let me know what your thoughts are! My cumulative GPA is 3.5, Science 3.6. My study time frame was from June 1st to present. (about 2 1/2 months)
In case the image didn't work:
Score Percentile
PAT 21 89.2
QR 18 😳 86.6
RC 19 😳 67.6
Bio 21 95.5
GC 22 95.2
OC 23 97.1
TS 22 😎 98.3
AA 21 😎 97.2
Topscore 1,2,3
PAT 20,22,23
QR 18,18,20
RC 25,20,19
BIO 20,20,17
GC 19,19,20
OC 19,,23,19
TS 20,21,19
AA 20,20,19
DAT Qvault
Bio 20,18,18,20,18,19,19,19,20,23
GC 19,20,20,24,22,X,X,X,X,X
OC 18,18,20,19,21,X,X,X,X,X
RC 45/50, (only took 1)
QR 20,18,20,19,X,X,X,X,X,X
CPAT (1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
17,22,20,22,22,22,19,23,24,23,23,X,X
Materials
Cliffs AP Biology $10
DAT Destroyer (bundled with MATH Destroyer for 200$)
Math Destroyer
Kaplan Blue Book (40$)
Chads Video's (GC/OC/QR) (50$)
DAT QVault Practice Tests (100$)
Topscore Pro Practice Tests
Crack DAT PAT Practice Tests
Study Methods
BIO 21: (Cliffs AP, KBB, Wikipedia, Destroyer, DAT Qvault, Topscore)
I definitely spent the most time preparing for this section. My whole first two weeks of studying were spent reading Cliffs and KBB bio. At first I tried outlining each chapter, but about 3/4 way through each book I realized that it was pretty inefficient since KBB and Cliffs were both already shortened summaries of the information. Towards the last couple chapters of KBB and Cliffs I began studying for the other sciences as well. After I finished reading I did Qvault, which I highly recommend!! It is so great for pointing out weaknesses and the the format of their biology questions are very similar to the DAT. I also highly recommend destroyer. There were some questions on the DAT that were EXACTLY from destroyer - like those oddball questions that you wouldn't think you actually need to remember from destroyer. Make a note card for any Q you get wrong in destroyer and Qvault. Both of those sources are very representative of the actual DAT. Topscore was a nice review, but the type of questions were a little different on the real DAT. Topscore focused wayyy to much on taxonomy. Just memorize the chart on Qvault for taxonomy and that should be enough, don't let Topscore scare you! It is good for getting the timing down and finding some weaknesses, but it is harder than the real test for the science sections.
Background: Bio 1 and 2, A&P, Biochemistry.
GC 22: (CHAD, DAT Destroyer, DAT Qvault)
All you need is Chad!! He is "the man" as others have said before. Seriously just make sure you remember everything Chad says and you will be fine. Personally I thought destroyer was overkill for this section, I only went through it 1.5 times. There was one instance during the test when I thanked destroyer though so it is worth going through once for practice. DAT Qvault was good practice but I didn't have time to finish it. Really though I owe my GC score to Chad. I am very straight, but I would run up and kiss that man if I ever saw him walking down the street. Watch Chad's videos, period. I watched his videos once and took really thorough notes; I reviewed them 3x and did the quizzes twice.
OC 23(CHAD, Destroyer, Qvault)
Chad is the man!! 🙂 Same as GC, except I do highly recommend destroyer for the Ochem section more-so than for GC. Destroyer is great practice for the DAT and combined with Chad will get you a 20+ easily. The roadmaps are definitely golden! Dat Qvault was decent but again I didn't have time to finish taking the tests on there. I used it mostly for biology. (destroyer 1.5x, watched chad once and reviewed notes 3x.)
QR 18: (Math destroyer, Qvault, Destroyer)
I went through destroyer once timing myself on each test. I recommend going back through it again because it is very representative of the test. I am not bad at math, but I put this section off until the very end and had to rush studying for it, so I am pretty happy with an 18. Dat qvault was decent too, but it was a little easier than the real thing. I would say that the real DAT is somewhere in between Qvault and Math destroyer in terms of difficulty. The regular "Destroyer" math section was a little bit too easy.
RC 19: Ahh I am so mad about this section!! I was doing so well in the beginning but time caught up with me at the end 🙁. I had extremely interesting articles! They were on gene therapy, telomerase and aging. Very cool articles in my case, but again, timing is everything. I only practiced on topscore and once on Qvault. English is my first language so I should have done better...I really hope this section doesn't hold me back. I used a method similar to kaplans but altered it. I wrote down the first five questions and read the article until I answered those 5 (writing notes on each paragraph) and then did search and destroy. I was supposed to stick to this method but my articles were intersting so I attempted to read the whole thing before answering and time caught up with me. I don't recommend changing methods mid-test. Choose a method for the test and stick to it!
PAT 21: (CPAT, KBB, Topscore)
I used KBB to get the hang of it, but after that it was CDP all of the way. I started CPAT by doing the first 3 untimed, and then redid them timed and continued doing one every day up until D-day. I only had time to get to exam 8.
My exam was similar in difficulty to CPAT.
KEY: Much like CPAT. A lot more focus on proportions though so be ready for that. Overall though this section was not bad.
TFE: Line counting thankfully worked for mine! My TFE was so much easier than CDP! I guess I lucked out there, but there was only a couple that I had to really think about. Very basic.
Angle: Unfortunately this section was just as hard as CPAT. I marked like 4 or 5 of them to go back and review, but overall it wasn't toooo bad. Maybe a little bit easier than CPAT.
Hole: Not bad. A lot like CPAT, minus a couple odd folds. Some of the punches didn't line up with the grids that I drew which made it difficult, i.e. they weren't always proportional to the paper like on CPAT. I only had 2 like this though so it wasn't a huge deal.
Cube Counting: Easier than CPAT. No illusions!
Pattern: On par with CPAT.
Master CPAT and you should be golden! I thought I did better than a 21 on this section but oh well, I am not complaining.
Final Thoughts:
This has been the worst summer of my life! (until now 🙂) All I did was study on the weekdays and I worked 20+ hours a week. The rest of my time was spent studying. However, I did take breaks! I would always allow myself at least one day a week to just hang out with friends and do something fun, maybe have a few beers to take my mind off of studying. However most of my time was spent studying and I guess it paid off. It gets hard and you are going to just want to quit but you just have to keep telling yourself that you can do this! Picture yourself walking out of the testing center with a huge smile on your face from all of the hard work paying off. The DAT is very broad but it is not the hardest test in the world. It is also a test of nerves. When I sat down to take the test I took a minute to close my eyes and think of all of the hours and frustration put into studying, and it motivated me to stay relaxed and show this test who's boss. I am not a genius by any means, so if I can get a 20+ on this test so can you!! Let me know what you guys think please; and feel free to ask me any questions. 🙂
Well anyways, I hope that the breakdown I am about to write is helpful to some of you soon-to-be DAT takers out there. Please let me know what your thoughts are! My cumulative GPA is 3.5, Science 3.6. My study time frame was from June 1st to present. (about 2 1/2 months)
In case the image didn't work:
Score Percentile
PAT 21 89.2
QR 18 😳 86.6
RC 19 😳 67.6
Bio 21 95.5
GC 22 95.2
OC 23 97.1
TS 22 😎 98.3
AA 21 😎 97.2
Topscore 1,2,3
PAT 20,22,23
QR 18,18,20
RC 25,20,19
BIO 20,20,17
GC 19,19,20
OC 19,,23,19
TS 20,21,19
AA 20,20,19
DAT Qvault
Bio 20,18,18,20,18,19,19,19,20,23
GC 19,20,20,24,22,X,X,X,X,X
OC 18,18,20,19,21,X,X,X,X,X
RC 45/50, (only took 1)
QR 20,18,20,19,X,X,X,X,X,X
CPAT (1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10)
17,22,20,22,22,22,19,23,24,23,23,X,X
Materials
Cliffs AP Biology $10
DAT Destroyer (bundled with MATH Destroyer for 200$)
Math Destroyer
Kaplan Blue Book (40$)
Chads Video's (GC/OC/QR) (50$)
DAT QVault Practice Tests (100$)
Topscore Pro Practice Tests
Crack DAT PAT Practice Tests
Study Methods
BIO 21: (Cliffs AP, KBB, Wikipedia, Destroyer, DAT Qvault, Topscore)
I definitely spent the most time preparing for this section. My whole first two weeks of studying were spent reading Cliffs and KBB bio. At first I tried outlining each chapter, but about 3/4 way through each book I realized that it was pretty inefficient since KBB and Cliffs were both already shortened summaries of the information. Towards the last couple chapters of KBB and Cliffs I began studying for the other sciences as well. After I finished reading I did Qvault, which I highly recommend!! It is so great for pointing out weaknesses and the the format of their biology questions are very similar to the DAT. I also highly recommend destroyer. There were some questions on the DAT that were EXACTLY from destroyer - like those oddball questions that you wouldn't think you actually need to remember from destroyer. Make a note card for any Q you get wrong in destroyer and Qvault. Both of those sources are very representative of the actual DAT. Topscore was a nice review, but the type of questions were a little different on the real DAT. Topscore focused wayyy to much on taxonomy. Just memorize the chart on Qvault for taxonomy and that should be enough, don't let Topscore scare you! It is good for getting the timing down and finding some weaknesses, but it is harder than the real test for the science sections.
Background: Bio 1 and 2, A&P, Biochemistry.
GC 22: (CHAD, DAT Destroyer, DAT Qvault)
All you need is Chad!! He is "the man" as others have said before. Seriously just make sure you remember everything Chad says and you will be fine. Personally I thought destroyer was overkill for this section, I only went through it 1.5 times. There was one instance during the test when I thanked destroyer though so it is worth going through once for practice. DAT Qvault was good practice but I didn't have time to finish it. Really though I owe my GC score to Chad. I am very straight, but I would run up and kiss that man if I ever saw him walking down the street. Watch Chad's videos, period. I watched his videos once and took really thorough notes; I reviewed them 3x and did the quizzes twice.
OC 23(CHAD, Destroyer, Qvault)
Chad is the man!! 🙂 Same as GC, except I do highly recommend destroyer for the Ochem section more-so than for GC. Destroyer is great practice for the DAT and combined with Chad will get you a 20+ easily. The roadmaps are definitely golden! Dat Qvault was decent but again I didn't have time to finish taking the tests on there. I used it mostly for biology. (destroyer 1.5x, watched chad once and reviewed notes 3x.)
QR 18: (Math destroyer, Qvault, Destroyer)
I went through destroyer once timing myself on each test. I recommend going back through it again because it is very representative of the test. I am not bad at math, but I put this section off until the very end and had to rush studying for it, so I am pretty happy with an 18. Dat qvault was decent too, but it was a little easier than the real thing. I would say that the real DAT is somewhere in between Qvault and Math destroyer in terms of difficulty. The regular "Destroyer" math section was a little bit too easy.
RC 19: Ahh I am so mad about this section!! I was doing so well in the beginning but time caught up with me at the end 🙁. I had extremely interesting articles! They were on gene therapy, telomerase and aging. Very cool articles in my case, but again, timing is everything. I only practiced on topscore and once on Qvault. English is my first language so I should have done better...I really hope this section doesn't hold me back. I used a method similar to kaplans but altered it. I wrote down the first five questions and read the article until I answered those 5 (writing notes on each paragraph) and then did search and destroy. I was supposed to stick to this method but my articles were intersting so I attempted to read the whole thing before answering and time caught up with me. I don't recommend changing methods mid-test. Choose a method for the test and stick to it!
PAT 21: (CPAT, KBB, Topscore)
I used KBB to get the hang of it, but after that it was CDP all of the way. I started CPAT by doing the first 3 untimed, and then redid them timed and continued doing one every day up until D-day. I only had time to get to exam 8.
My exam was similar in difficulty to CPAT.
KEY: Much like CPAT. A lot more focus on proportions though so be ready for that. Overall though this section was not bad.
TFE: Line counting thankfully worked for mine! My TFE was so much easier than CDP! I guess I lucked out there, but there was only a couple that I had to really think about. Very basic.
Angle: Unfortunately this section was just as hard as CPAT. I marked like 4 or 5 of them to go back and review, but overall it wasn't toooo bad. Maybe a little bit easier than CPAT.
Hole: Not bad. A lot like CPAT, minus a couple odd folds. Some of the punches didn't line up with the grids that I drew which made it difficult, i.e. they weren't always proportional to the paper like on CPAT. I only had 2 like this though so it wasn't a huge deal.
Cube Counting: Easier than CPAT. No illusions!
Pattern: On par with CPAT.
Master CPAT and you should be golden! I thought I did better than a 21 on this section but oh well, I am not complaining.
Final Thoughts:
This has been the worst summer of my life! (until now 🙂) All I did was study on the weekdays and I worked 20+ hours a week. The rest of my time was spent studying. However, I did take breaks! I would always allow myself at least one day a week to just hang out with friends and do something fun, maybe have a few beers to take my mind off of studying. However most of my time was spent studying and I guess it paid off. It gets hard and you are going to just want to quit but you just have to keep telling yourself that you can do this! Picture yourself walking out of the testing center with a huge smile on your face from all of the hard work paying off. The DAT is very broad but it is not the hardest test in the world. It is also a test of nerves. When I sat down to take the test I took a minute to close my eyes and think of all of the hours and frustration put into studying, and it motivated me to stay relaxed and show this test who's boss. I am not a genius by any means, so if I can get a 20+ on this test so can you!! Let me know what you guys think please; and feel free to ask me any questions. 🙂
Last edited:
