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- Aug 13, 2008
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Hey fellow SDNers,
So after 2.5 months of a love-hate relationship with the DAT, I'm done :]
Not proud of my score, was actually hoping for a bit higher to be more competitive...so I might consider retaking..but I really don't think I have time to invest studying during the school year (UC Quarter System)
Anyways..
PAT 23 (98.7)
QR 21 (91.2)
RC 19 (53.3)
Bio 21 (90.4)
GC 20 (79.4)
OC 19 (71.7)
TS 20 (84.4)
AA 20 (84.4)
Full Breakdown below
Review materials:
Bio: Kaplan BB, Cliffs AP Bio, Destroyer, Kaplan Sample Tests
I felt like I studied a lot just because there was so much material. Cliffs AP Bio definitely a resource. I'd say knowing the information in this depth prepares you well for it, and then doing extra problems from Destroyer, TopScore, etc to build on the foundation. On my test, it was pretty straightforward in most parts, and the few tough ones. No plants q, very basic taxonomy q.
GChem: Kaplan BB, Kaplan AP Chemistry, Destroyer
Usually my stronger subject, been getting 20-23 on TS in this section. I'd recommend doing Destroyer and Kaplan Subject Tests just because it exposes you to a lot of questions and keeps reminding you of your weak areas.
OChem: Kaplan BB, Destroyer
I was slightly disappointed with this, mainly because I knew this should've been the most straightforward section. But I was only mildly surprised with my score since I scored around this on 3x TS. Like many people have said, study the concepts.
PAT: Kaplan BB, Barrons DAT, CDP (5 tests)
I did Kaplan first, then learned the strategies from Barrons and did CDP 2 weeks before my test. Decided to take one each day, here are my scores on CDP: 20,21,20,20,24. Don't get discouraged from CDP b/c I got so pissed at their angles and crazy holes, but in the end it makes you extra comfortable with it on the real DAT since those 2 sections are much more simple.
T/F/E: Once you get the hang of visuallizing, it's really easy to pick out the correct answer. I find this section to be one of the simplest with practice. Read SAMA's guide for this part.
Holes: Man, once you see CDP, every other hole punch is a cinch.
Angles: Very comparable to TopScore, 1 tricky one @ CDP level. Refer to laptop/hill method and own's judgement. I marked one and went back to get a different perspective just cuz I spent too long staring at it the first time around.
Cubes: Just use the table method, nothing surprising.
RC (crocs!)
I'm actually disappointed on how slow I was on the RC today. I was taking ~23mins for 1st passage, and ~20mins second passage and having to rush my 3rd...No ethics/piano but definitely A Lot of tone on my 1st passage (>5). When I was down to last 3 mins and 6 questions, I just made educated guesses even though I didn't read the passage -.-. Definitely surprised with my 19 but could def. do better.
QR
I took my first practice QR with the ADA sample test and man I got a reality check when I ran out of time with a handful unanswered. From then, I did the 7 QR from Kaplan Subject Tests and each gave me a whooping under the time restraint. I didn't go over destroyer math since it's not any more different than what I had. Finished with 5 mins spare to go over on real DAT.
Final remarks, maybe I shouldn't have worked 10hrs/week + 2 summer classes during entire August. I was able to study ~5 hrs/day during July, ~5 hrs/day in Aug, and from Sept 6 (after summer school) - 29 I pretty much lived and breathed DAT.
I saved the 3 TopScore tests for each day before my test (20,21,20) so I was in test-taking mode, I actually wore myself out by being up at 8am so I fell asleep easily at 1130pm night before. Woke up at 730, drank some tea, ate a PBJ and a banana and went to take the test at 9. Oh and don't worry about the dry-erase papers, it's not bad.
Not fully satisfied with my score, was hoping was 21/20+. Applying next cycle 3.5 GPA. I'm just glad i'm done with this so I can get my life back...now that school has started.
So after 2.5 months of a love-hate relationship with the DAT, I'm done :]
Not proud of my score, was actually hoping for a bit higher to be more competitive...so I might consider retaking..but I really don't think I have time to invest studying during the school year (UC Quarter System)
Anyways..
PAT 23 (98.7)
QR 21 (91.2)
RC 19 (53.3)
Bio 21 (90.4)
GC 20 (79.4)
OC 19 (71.7)
TS 20 (84.4)
AA 20 (84.4)
Full Breakdown below
Review materials:
Bio: Kaplan BB, Cliffs AP Bio, Destroyer, Kaplan Sample Tests
I felt like I studied a lot just because there was so much material. Cliffs AP Bio definitely a resource. I'd say knowing the information in this depth prepares you well for it, and then doing extra problems from Destroyer, TopScore, etc to build on the foundation. On my test, it was pretty straightforward in most parts, and the few tough ones. No plants q, very basic taxonomy q.
GChem: Kaplan BB, Kaplan AP Chemistry, Destroyer
Usually my stronger subject, been getting 20-23 on TS in this section. I'd recommend doing Destroyer and Kaplan Subject Tests just because it exposes you to a lot of questions and keeps reminding you of your weak areas.
OChem: Kaplan BB, Destroyer
I was slightly disappointed with this, mainly because I knew this should've been the most straightforward section. But I was only mildly surprised with my score since I scored around this on 3x TS. Like many people have said, study the concepts.
PAT: Kaplan BB, Barrons DAT, CDP (5 tests)
I did Kaplan first, then learned the strategies from Barrons and did CDP 2 weeks before my test. Decided to take one each day, here are my scores on CDP: 20,21,20,20,24. Don't get discouraged from CDP b/c I got so pissed at their angles and crazy holes, but in the end it makes you extra comfortable with it on the real DAT since those 2 sections are much more simple.
T/F/E: Once you get the hang of visuallizing, it's really easy to pick out the correct answer. I find this section to be one of the simplest with practice. Read SAMA's guide for this part.
Holes: Man, once you see CDP, every other hole punch is a cinch.
Angles: Very comparable to TopScore, 1 tricky one @ CDP level. Refer to laptop/hill method and own's judgement. I marked one and went back to get a different perspective just cuz I spent too long staring at it the first time around.
Cubes: Just use the table method, nothing surprising.
RC (crocs!)
I'm actually disappointed on how slow I was on the RC today. I was taking ~23mins for 1st passage, and ~20mins second passage and having to rush my 3rd...No ethics/piano but definitely A Lot of tone on my 1st passage (>5). When I was down to last 3 mins and 6 questions, I just made educated guesses even though I didn't read the passage -.-. Definitely surprised with my 19 but could def. do better.
QR
I took my first practice QR with the ADA sample test and man I got a reality check when I ran out of time with a handful unanswered. From then, I did the 7 QR from Kaplan Subject Tests and each gave me a whooping under the time restraint. I didn't go over destroyer math since it's not any more different than what I had. Finished with 5 mins spare to go over on real DAT.
Final remarks, maybe I shouldn't have worked 10hrs/week + 2 summer classes during entire August. I was able to study ~5 hrs/day during July, ~5 hrs/day in Aug, and from Sept 6 (after summer school) - 29 I pretty much lived and breathed DAT.
I saved the 3 TopScore tests for each day before my test (20,21,20) so I was in test-taking mode, I actually wore myself out by being up at 8am so I fell asleep easily at 1130pm night before. Woke up at 730, drank some tea, ate a PBJ and a banana and went to take the test at 9. Oh and don't worry about the dry-erase papers, it's not bad.
Not fully satisfied with my score, was hoping was 21/20+. Applying next cycle 3.5 GPA. I'm just glad i'm done with this so I can get my life back...now that school has started.
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