i want to thank everyone on sdn. I got so much help! and w/o it, i wouldn't have done it well!
ok! here's what i used and how i studied!
Bio
1) Cliff ap 4th and 3rd ed. Barrons ap --- very good for building foundation!! i prolly read like 2 or 3 times each. Cliff was very detailed (some of them, i felt unnecessary) and Barrons was easy to read with nice pics!
2) KBB - only used for some physiology and hormones
3) Feralis Note, scsc's Note - they have everything you need to know to get a higher score! i read twice especially 1 week before the test and the day before the test!
4) DAT destroyer - no need to explain. it's a MUST! try to do for 40 Qs in 30 min and go over weather you got it right or wrong. i did them twice. for second time i got 90% right
5) DATbootcamp - awesome!! the type of question is very unusual but helpful for sure! nice explanation.
my score was 26/22/26/25/25
6) DATQvault 18/20/20/22/22/21/19/23/19
7) Schaum's bio ouline - i downloaded pdf file and reviewed chapters i struggled with. If i have known this earlier, i would prolly have read it more. it was a good practice for RC as well!
8) Crack DAT Science - WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME. wayy toooo specific. it wouldn't hurt your score. but do it only if you have plenty of time. i scored like ~17~18ish for 5 tests.
Many people said bio was random. i hoped that did not happened to me but oh well, mine was very random as well. BE prepared for that (need to know everything!!). The way how they were worded was kinda weirld. It wasn't like any practice test i had ever taken. If your test seemed very random and kinda strange, don't panic. Use what you know and try to connect your knowledge with the question. Use educated guess. I marked like 15 of them. But i only missed 3 (i think i was kinda lucky!).
Ochem/Gchem
1) Chad - watch his video do his quizzes (i watched it like 5 times each at least). I highly recommend doing all his quizzes like 1 or 2 days before the test (~400 bio/~200 gchem/~150 ochem).
i only went through his bio quiz once but helpful! for gchem and ochem i got 99% and 93% (i did them all at once)
2) KBB - used only for periodic trend and rate law and so on but not that helpful!
3) Destroyer - went through 2wice. overkill but it will make you get a higher grade!
4) Qvault/bootcamp - awesome!
5) CDS - again. dont do it.
On a real one, i prolly marked like 2~3 Qs. i don't remember what they were about, but they were very simple. Ochem and Gchem are where you need to get like 1 or 2 (maximum) wrong answers to get a higher TS.
PAT
1) Crack DAT PAT - awesome for starter. but their keyhole and TFE is way tooo easy. i usually scored like 80/90 ish.
2) achiever - best material to use. YES it is very difficult. but it will prepare you for the test. My avg was about 17~19ish....
3) Bootcamp - awesome explanation. it's harder than CDP but a little easier then achiever. i got avg~ 20~21ish
on a real test, i was like WTF. especially on keyhole. Some of keyhole Qs were n but other stuffs were more like bootcamp level of difficulty. If you have practiced enough, you will get a decent score! just keep practicing.
Hole punch was more difficult than any other practice tests i took. They had strange hold (1/3). Be prepared for that.
RC
1) Qvault - easier than anything else but got like 19~20ish
2) Bootcamp - harder than qvault but easier than achiever. i got 17~18ish
3) Achiever - too difficult. i would be like WTF did i just read. i got like 16~18ish
4) onlince science news article - was helpful to speed up reading. i'm an international student so i needed to improve my reading skill. i spent about ~1 hr everyday!
on a real test, i got two 13 ph passages and 14 ph passage. 2 science, 1 non science . i knew the stuff about the passage, so i guess i was super lucky!
about 5 Qs were like "first statement is true/false reason is not blah blah...." so annoying! be prepared for this.
My strategy is to skim the passage real quick within 5 min. While skimming, i wrote down some key word, name of person, year, or things like that so when i read the question, i could easily use them as a referance shoot i can't spell it lol.
QR
1) Math destroyer!!! - the best!! it is harder than actual test. but know how to do them it will prepare for your test.
2) Chad - nice using it to recall things i'v forgotten. memorize his notes!
3) bootcamp - too hard.... but was helpful!
4) qvault - too easy... but you can sort them by topic and do the practice over and over again. ex) i sucked at trig, so i used qvault to access trig qs only and so on.
On a real test, it thought it was easy. If you can't figure out within 10 sec (on how to solve it), mark it and move on!
ADA 2007/2009 - i did them like 1week before and 4 days before my real test. The scores were very similar (mine was a little lower tho). but don't be discourage just because you got low score.
overall, i'm really happy with my score. i spent ~2.5 month. no life. no social. no fun. so whatever. but it was worth it. while you are studying, i highly recommend you to stay away from sdn (except when you want to ask questions and talk about it). i spent too much time looking at breakdown and comparing my practice scores to someone who did the same thing. Last thing, KEEP yourself confident!! You gotta say I CAN DO THIS. you know.. positive mind set. and don't get too nervous while you are taking DAT. it will slow you down with thinking and everything (i was really nervous but don't be!!)
thank again guys!
i hope this can help other ppl improving their scores!
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