Hi everyone! I am FINALLY done with the DATs. I am very happy to see that the three months of misery paid off at the end. Here it is:
PAT- 20
QR- 18
RC-20
Bio-21
GC-22
OC-20
TS-21
AA-20
So, in terms of my study habits, I spent nearly 3 months studying for the DATs. It took longer for me to study because I had other priorities (lab and work) so I spent 2-3 hours studying each day. My major recommendation for future test-takers would be to be consistent in your studying. I know many people who study 6-7 hours a day, but cannot retain a lot of the information. These are the study materials that I used for each section:
PAT- Crack DAT PAT, Achiever. I thought that the angles, hole punching, and cube counting on the real DAT were easier than CDP. However, for the other sections, I strongly recommend getting Achiever. It is a tough exam, but I think that TFE, Aperture were very similar to the real DAT. As far as scores are concerned, I did not do well on either of these resources. I was getting 15-17 on the Achiever tests, and 16-18 on CDP. I did not panic, but continued to enhance my techniques. So I was very proud of my score on the real DAT.
QR- Achiever and DAT Destroyer Math section: I didnt study for this section a whole lot, and I think it reflects in my score. I will suggest that you should know conversions (C to F; in to cm, etc), trig (only got two problems), permutation/combination, and LOTS of ALGEBRA.
RC- Achiever: Again, I did not study a lot for this section, and was getting 15s on my Achiever test. The real DAT, however, is much easier than Achiever. The three passages that I got were Prions, Optical wires, and genetic engineering. I knew a lot about Prions before the test, so that knowledge definitely helped me out. The types of questions that I got were a lot of tone/inference questions, and the rest were just search and destroy types.
Bio- Cliffs, DAT Destroyer, Achiever. I definitely recommend all three for this section. Even though I am a Biology major, I felt like I learned a lot more from Cliffs and Destroyer. Absorb as much knowledge as you can from these two resources, and then gauge your understanding by using Achiever. Do not get upset by your Achiever scores. Use it as another study tool. The questions on the real DAT were broader, and covered most aspects of Biology.
GC- Chad (2X), DAT Destroyer, Achiever. I strongly recommend Chads videos for GC. He explains the materials very clearly, and the quizzes helped a lot as well. I went through his videos two times, and then I made a worksheet of ALL of the quiz questions. Then I applied that knowledge to the DAT Destroyer and Achiever. Destroyer is very detailed, but is definitely a useful tool to have.
OC- Chad (2X), Destroyer, Achiever. For this section, the Destroyer with Chad is all you need to succeed. The roadmaps were very helpful in Destroyer. On the real DAT, the questions were mainly one-step reactions. There were a couple of conceptual questions (acidity, polarity), but pretty do-able.
On a side note, I think that the reason why a lot of people perform poorly on exams is not because they dont know the material, but because of the pressure of the exam. One major advice I would give is to relax and put your problems into perspective. Everyone should be thankful that they have the basic necessities of life. My major inspiration throughout my adult life has been this quote by Steve Jobs:
Remembering that Ill be dead soon is the most important tool Ive ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Finally, I would appreciate it if someone can give me an honest feedback on my chances to get accepted. I applied to 10 schools in the Northeast. Here are my stats:
GPA: 3.60 Non-Science: 3.75 Science: 3.57 BCP: 3.52
Currently in two research groups( molecular biology and evolutionary biology)
400 hrs shadowing General dentist; 50 hrs shadowing Endodontist.
Lots of hours of volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, and other local organizations.
PAT- 20
QR- 18
RC-20
Bio-21
GC-22
OC-20
TS-21
AA-20
So, in terms of my study habits, I spent nearly 3 months studying for the DATs. It took longer for me to study because I had other priorities (lab and work) so I spent 2-3 hours studying each day. My major recommendation for future test-takers would be to be consistent in your studying. I know many people who study 6-7 hours a day, but cannot retain a lot of the information. These are the study materials that I used for each section:
PAT- Crack DAT PAT, Achiever. I thought that the angles, hole punching, and cube counting on the real DAT were easier than CDP. However, for the other sections, I strongly recommend getting Achiever. It is a tough exam, but I think that TFE, Aperture were very similar to the real DAT. As far as scores are concerned, I did not do well on either of these resources. I was getting 15-17 on the Achiever tests, and 16-18 on CDP. I did not panic, but continued to enhance my techniques. So I was very proud of my score on the real DAT.
QR- Achiever and DAT Destroyer Math section: I didnt study for this section a whole lot, and I think it reflects in my score. I will suggest that you should know conversions (C to F; in to cm, etc), trig (only got two problems), permutation/combination, and LOTS of ALGEBRA.
RC- Achiever: Again, I did not study a lot for this section, and was getting 15s on my Achiever test. The real DAT, however, is much easier than Achiever. The three passages that I got were Prions, Optical wires, and genetic engineering. I knew a lot about Prions before the test, so that knowledge definitely helped me out. The types of questions that I got were a lot of tone/inference questions, and the rest were just search and destroy types.
Bio- Cliffs, DAT Destroyer, Achiever. I definitely recommend all three for this section. Even though I am a Biology major, I felt like I learned a lot more from Cliffs and Destroyer. Absorb as much knowledge as you can from these two resources, and then gauge your understanding by using Achiever. Do not get upset by your Achiever scores. Use it as another study tool. The questions on the real DAT were broader, and covered most aspects of Biology.
GC- Chad (2X), DAT Destroyer, Achiever. I strongly recommend Chads videos for GC. He explains the materials very clearly, and the quizzes helped a lot as well. I went through his videos two times, and then I made a worksheet of ALL of the quiz questions. Then I applied that knowledge to the DAT Destroyer and Achiever. Destroyer is very detailed, but is definitely a useful tool to have.
OC- Chad (2X), Destroyer, Achiever. For this section, the Destroyer with Chad is all you need to succeed. The roadmaps were very helpful in Destroyer. On the real DAT, the questions were mainly one-step reactions. There were a couple of conceptual questions (acidity, polarity), but pretty do-able.
On a side note, I think that the reason why a lot of people perform poorly on exams is not because they dont know the material, but because of the pressure of the exam. One major advice I would give is to relax and put your problems into perspective. Everyone should be thankful that they have the basic necessities of life. My major inspiration throughout my adult life has been this quote by Steve Jobs:
Remembering that Ill be dead soon is the most important tool Ive ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Finally, I would appreciate it if someone can give me an honest feedback on my chances to get accepted. I applied to 10 schools in the Northeast. Here are my stats:
GPA: 3.60 Non-Science: 3.75 Science: 3.57 BCP: 3.52
Currently in two research groups( molecular biology and evolutionary biology)
400 hrs shadowing General dentist; 50 hrs shadowing Endodontist.
Lots of hours of volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, and other local organizations.
