DAT Done! Rules for break before RC/QR?

[nvmember]

Hello!

I just finished taking the DAT. I've been lurking for quite some time, and this forum has greatly helped me. I used Chad Videos, DAT Bootcamp, Cliff Bio, and DAT Destroyer. I'm content with my scores except for my RC. Skip to the bottom for my scores =/

I felt like I read somewhere that I could write on my laminated sheets during my 15 min. break. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sooo during my break, I numbered my sheet 1-13 to prepare to map the RC section. On the other sheet, I spent about 5 minutes writing down useful formulas for QR. I gathered my thoughts and calmed down to tackle the rest of the DAT. With a few minutes left before my break was over, the prompter came up to me and told me that writing on my sheets was against the rules. I spent the next few minutes arguing with him, and he told me to leave my station to read the rules on his computer. I read something along the lines of "test taker may not use notes". Knowing my test was within seconds of starting, I was like "whatevs", you win.

He told me I was trying to pull a fast one, and telling his buddy I had written the whole test down. I was furious at this point, but I had to calm the * down. I attempted to attack the first passage, but I was all over the place. I eventually cooled down and got into rhythm, but ran out of time and guessed on the remaining. I was scoring 18-19 on DAT BC, so I hoped to score around that range. If he was right, sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh.

Scores:
Bio-20
GC-19
OC-26
RC-16 !@#$%^&*(*&^%$#$%^&*
QR-19
PAT-19
TS-20
AA-20

Am I good enough to apply this cycle?

I'll post a complete breakdown in the morning if requested.

Thanks for reading!

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[byahnoob]

Were you scoring 18-19s on DBC on all sections?

 

[nvmember]

Yeah, roughly around that range.

 

[byahnoob]

Surpised you did better on DBC PAT.. anyways i think you're good to go depending on your GPA..

 

[nvmember]

Yea, I stopped doing PAT for a while because I thought I had it in the bag. The angles and Keyhole bit me in the a.

 

[FloorMatt]

Contact your schools to see if they have cutoffs for reading. What was your strategy for it and what went wrong/what would you have done differently if given the chance. Also how long did you study for?

 

[dannybobanny182]

Bad luck with that guy. The testing center I took my DATs a long time ago said it was okay to write on your sheets during the break. They also allowed me to touch the screen and use the paper as a tool for angle ranking. I guess it depends on the center......unless their rules changed. But, doesn't make sense why he would think you were writing the test since you can't even take the sheets out of the center.

Can you please post a breakdown for the science section? Like your approach to learning the material and applying the concepts. I am having trouble with general chemistry.

 

[clutchfans]

Sorry to hear about what happened during your break. Yeah that would piss anybody off. But these you wrote down in the testing room. It's not like you were in the waiting area and brought the notes in with you.

 

[nvmember]

@FloorMatt I'd probably do the same strategy. For RC, I read the first two paragraphs thoroughly and then search&destroy each question. I also mapped each paragraph.

@dannybobanny182 For the OC/GC, I used chad videos for the first week to rejog all the science. Chad is a genius. He really makes it easy to understand chemistry concepts. After Chad, I attempted to run through DAT Destroyer. I highly recommend the DAT Destroyer. It's like having X-Ray Vision for the DAT. I also used DAT Bootcamp to gauge my current science skills.

For BIO, I first went through Cliff notes and then used youtube to fill in the gaps. DAT Destroyer, of course. The week before my test, I bought DAT Bootcamp and did a test everyday followed by the ADA DAT 2009.

For PAT, I just used DAT Bootcamp. This is the greatest PAT prep material. The explanations are golden. I used the generators in my spare time. I stopped after PAT 1/2 and then did PAT 5 3 days out. Should've done a few more =/

For QR, I used DAT Bootcamp. For the best QR results, I'd suggest doing Math Destroyer. I didn't really do any practice, besides taking DAT BC QR Test.

If I could do it over again, I would definitely invest a HUGE chunk of my time into DAT Destroyer. It literally destroys you, and builds you back up to become "The DAT Destroyer". I got impatient and just wanted to finish the DAT to get my application in ASAP.
I wished I utilized these materials better, but here are my ratings:

DAT Destroyer(11/10) - KING of KINGS. Great for fine-tuning
DAT Bootcamp(10/10) - Practice test are awesome. Very representational of the actual DAT
Chad Videos(10/10) - Great refresher on GC/OC
Cliffs Biology(8/10) - Easy to read and get the gist of bio concepts

Hope this was helpful. Good luck!!