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Scores: PAT= 20
QR = 17
RC = 18
BIO = 21
GC = 19
OC = 19
TS = 20
AA =19
GPA = 3.88
Science GPA =3.79
I was extremely nervous going into this test after reading some of the posts in this forum...Many people claimed to have studied in excess of 6 hrs per day for 1-2 months! Besides being a full time student, I also have a part-time job during school and a full-time job during the summer with constantly changing hours. Therefore, I studied for approximately 2 hours a day for 1 month (6 hours a day for the last few days). I was literally still cramming in the parking lot outside of the testing center. After becoming so nervous that I was ready to puke, I put down the books and headed to meet my fate. I simply felt that I did not study enough and would have to retake it. Anyway, after taking the test with positive results, I learned that the key is to study until you are competent with the material...Quality>Quantity
Here are my thoughts and advice.
Bio- I am a biology major which has allowed me to retain most of the material required for this section. I used the Kaplan Blue book and my college bio book. IMHO, using Kaplan alone is not enough for this section. After finishing this section (I was frapped, by the way), I felt like I had completely guessed on at least 10-12 questions. As most of the other posts have said, this section is EXTREMELY random. Not only should you know broad concepts, but you should also know the fine details. Basically, EVERYTHING is fair game. Study Study Study.
GChem- I have always done well in chemistry, but I have also hated it at the same time. I used the Kaplan Blue book, my college general chem book, and my notes. On my test, the majority of questions were calculations (my least favorite aspect of chemistry). Again, I felt as if I was failing miserably by the time I reached the organic section.
OChem- My university has a top ranked pharmacy school, so I was lucky (or was I) to have gone through the same grueling organic classes as the pharmacists. Therefore, I studied only for a few hours for this section. Most questions were simple, but at other times it felt as if there were two correct answers. I ended up running short on time so I guessed on ~2-3.
PAT- For almost a month, I have used the problems out of the Kaplan Blue book to study for the PAT...BIG MISTAKE! The level of difficulty on the actual exam was much harder than most of Kaplan's questions. However, TFE and cube count were similar. 5 days before test-time, I made up my mind to get Crack DAT PAT that so many people on this forum have been talking about. I bought the 70$ version (the cheapest). It was some of the best money I have ever spent. The DAT questions were nearly identical to those in Crack DAT PAT. When I first began practicing with Crack DAT PAT, I was consistently getting between 6-8 on the angle ranking sections (horrible). After practicing for a total of ~10 hours, I was repeatedly able to get between 12-14. For many of the problems, the angles are only 3 degrees apart. The strategy that I found to be the most effective was to turn each angle into a "hill" and imagine riding a bike down that hill. For a set of similar acute angles, the steeper, scarier-to-ride-down hill was the larger angle. For a set of obtuse angles, the steeper hill correlated to the smaller angle. This method allowed me to easily breeze through the angle ranking section. When it comes to hole punching, be sure to look for symmetry across the line of the first fold. This almost always eliminated answer choices and, in some cases, I was able to find the answer without ever looking at the question. The bottom line is get Crack DAT PAT so you can go into this section feeling confident and prepared.
RC- As I said before, I was frapped. As soon as I realized I was being frapped, my confidence went even lower due to all the negative posts on this forum regarding it. Ironically, I found the "frap" article to be the easiest to understand out of the three. I knew that many people had mentioned the search and destroy method not working for this particular 22-paragraph essay, so I decided to read the entire thing first. This worked and allowed me to get most of the answers correct (I think), but it also caused me to run short on time. I spent nearly 30 minutes on this essay alone, so I had to rush through the next two. Still, I would highly recommend reading this essay in its entirety if you do get frapped.
QR- By far, the most difficult section. I am great in math and have never gotten less then an A+ or 4.0 in any math I have ever taken. So of course this confidence went to my head and I decided not to study that much for this section...Another big mistake. By the time I was on question 20, I had only ten minutes left. I ended up completely guessing on ~10-15. My advice on this section ...=No matter how good you are at math or how prepared you feel, skip to the easy questions first. There are some questions that can be answered in 20 seconds and some that take much more time to conceptualize or work out. I know there were some easy ones that I couldn't get to because I took too much time on the more difficult ones, so take my advice on this section!
So after feeling that I did horrible on all sections other than the PAT, I was very pleasantly surprised by my scores. So even if you feel like you're guessing on every other question, never give up! The test is a standardized test, so it's not meant to be impossible...but it will test what you know and if you can apply those ideas. Sorry for the long post, but I really wanted to give those who haven't taken their test yet a good idea of what to expect. I'd be happy to answer any questions!
I am applying to Temple, by the way. I'm in a 3+4 program, so I just finished up my sophomore year of undergrad.
QR = 17
RC = 18
BIO = 21
GC = 19
OC = 19
TS = 20
AA =19
GPA = 3.88
Science GPA =3.79
I was extremely nervous going into this test after reading some of the posts in this forum...Many people claimed to have studied in excess of 6 hrs per day for 1-2 months! Besides being a full time student, I also have a part-time job during school and a full-time job during the summer with constantly changing hours. Therefore, I studied for approximately 2 hours a day for 1 month (6 hours a day for the last few days). I was literally still cramming in the parking lot outside of the testing center. After becoming so nervous that I was ready to puke, I put down the books and headed to meet my fate. I simply felt that I did not study enough and would have to retake it. Anyway, after taking the test with positive results, I learned that the key is to study until you are competent with the material...Quality>Quantity
Here are my thoughts and advice.
Bio- I am a biology major which has allowed me to retain most of the material required for this section. I used the Kaplan Blue book and my college bio book. IMHO, using Kaplan alone is not enough for this section. After finishing this section (I was frapped, by the way), I felt like I had completely guessed on at least 10-12 questions. As most of the other posts have said, this section is EXTREMELY random. Not only should you know broad concepts, but you should also know the fine details. Basically, EVERYTHING is fair game. Study Study Study.
GChem- I have always done well in chemistry, but I have also hated it at the same time. I used the Kaplan Blue book, my college general chem book, and my notes. On my test, the majority of questions were calculations (my least favorite aspect of chemistry). Again, I felt as if I was failing miserably by the time I reached the organic section.
OChem- My university has a top ranked pharmacy school, so I was lucky (or was I) to have gone through the same grueling organic classes as the pharmacists. Therefore, I studied only for a few hours for this section. Most questions were simple, but at other times it felt as if there were two correct answers. I ended up running short on time so I guessed on ~2-3.
PAT- For almost a month, I have used the problems out of the Kaplan Blue book to study for the PAT...BIG MISTAKE! The level of difficulty on the actual exam was much harder than most of Kaplan's questions. However, TFE and cube count were similar. 5 days before test-time, I made up my mind to get Crack DAT PAT that so many people on this forum have been talking about. I bought the 70$ version (the cheapest). It was some of the best money I have ever spent. The DAT questions were nearly identical to those in Crack DAT PAT. When I first began practicing with Crack DAT PAT, I was consistently getting between 6-8 on the angle ranking sections (horrible). After practicing for a total of ~10 hours, I was repeatedly able to get between 12-14. For many of the problems, the angles are only 3 degrees apart. The strategy that I found to be the most effective was to turn each angle into a "hill" and imagine riding a bike down that hill. For a set of similar acute angles, the steeper, scarier-to-ride-down hill was the larger angle. For a set of obtuse angles, the steeper hill correlated to the smaller angle. This method allowed me to easily breeze through the angle ranking section. When it comes to hole punching, be sure to look for symmetry across the line of the first fold. This almost always eliminated answer choices and, in some cases, I was able to find the answer without ever looking at the question. The bottom line is get Crack DAT PAT so you can go into this section feeling confident and prepared.
RC- As I said before, I was frapped. As soon as I realized I was being frapped, my confidence went even lower due to all the negative posts on this forum regarding it. Ironically, I found the "frap" article to be the easiest to understand out of the three. I knew that many people had mentioned the search and destroy method not working for this particular 22-paragraph essay, so I decided to read the entire thing first. This worked and allowed me to get most of the answers correct (I think), but it also caused me to run short on time. I spent nearly 30 minutes on this essay alone, so I had to rush through the next two. Still, I would highly recommend reading this essay in its entirety if you do get frapped.
QR- By far, the most difficult section. I am great in math and have never gotten less then an A+ or 4.0 in any math I have ever taken. So of course this confidence went to my head and I decided not to study that much for this section...Another big mistake. By the time I was on question 20, I had only ten minutes left. I ended up completely guessing on ~10-15. My advice on this section ...=No matter how good you are at math or how prepared you feel, skip to the easy questions first. There are some questions that can be answered in 20 seconds and some that take much more time to conceptualize or work out. I know there were some easy ones that I couldn't get to because I took too much time on the more difficult ones, so take my advice on this section!
So after feeling that I did horrible on all sections other than the PAT, I was very pleasantly surprised by my scores. So even if you feel like you're guessing on every other question, never give up! The test is a standardized test, so it's not meant to be impossible...but it will test what you know and if you can apply those ideas. Sorry for the long post, but I really wanted to give those who haven't taken their test yet a good idea of what to expect. I'd be happy to answer any questions!
I am applying to Temple, by the way. I'm in a 3+4 program, so I just finished up my sophomore year of undergrad.
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