DAT DONE ;((

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Ali_mr64

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Hi everybody,
DAT done, but I am not happy with result.
PAT18/QR17/RC15/BIO19/GC19/OC20/TS19/AA18
I expected more, because I did great on my science on B.C, but when I was doing my test, I was not happy at all. I thought I did well on O.C. I don't know what I should do now. I even don't know what I shoud write here.
 
oh my, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened? Did you not study effectively? Your bootcamp scores were good besides RC and QR. Did you not have a positive mindset going into the test?
 
Your total SNS scores aren't bad at all. The RC and QR is what brought your AA down. What kind of method did you use for the RC? Also, how long did you prep for the DAT? My DAT is tomorrow, is there anything you suggest I should do or don't on the day of the exam?
 
Are you applying this upcoming cycle? What's your GPA? Don't be discouraged. Many people take the DAT more than once. I'd suggest that you find out what you did wrong and re-take it again in 3 months.
 
So sorry to read this. The good news is you can repeat it. You will take it in Septemeber, not terribly late, and by that time you will be able to do well. This test experience helped you know what to expect next time.
You have 3 months to prepare. Now you know, what to do to make it right this time.
Take 1-week break and come back fresh and ready! You can do it, no time for regrets and what-ifs.

PS: Even on your breaks read 5 Scientific American articles every freaking day! Subscribe to SA magazine website I think I paid 36 dollars and got access to 4 years in their online archive, I read every day now even on my iphone. I used to read novels, but now I read articles. (Also, the economist have a good a deal 12 dollars subscription for 3 months. You can access their articles online, they even have audio with their articles if you read them on your smartphone. Very good writing and information and they have a science section. )
English is your second language and The RC section pretty hard for even some natives, so the only way to improve it is by exposure and consistency.

Math is learnable you can improve it with algebra for dummies (name of the book) and gre math books ( Manhattan books are good )

You need to subscribe to a lot of dat practice tests websites to practice timing for RC section and QR, Pat as well will get better by time.
Your science scores are ok, but you will improve them by watching Mike videos for chem and Ochem with chads again.
Bio, watch youtube videos for now and read cliff book and the notes made avaiable on Bootcamp.
Of course you need to do destroyer again after you review the materials.
 
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according to what you wrote on the actual DAT, did B.C relate to it in any form???
 
Are you applying this upcoming cycle? What's your GPA? Don't be discouraged. Many people take the DAT more than once. I'd suggest that you find out what you did wrong and re-take it again in 3 months.
I am on border. I don't think so if I get into any school. My GPA is 3.41.
 
So sorry to read this. The good news is you can repeat it. You will take it in Septemeber, not terribly late, and by that time you will be able to do well. This test experience helped you know what to expect next time.
You have 3 months to prepare. Now you know, what to do to make it right this time.
Take 1-week break and come back fresh and ready! You can do it, no time for regrets and what-ifs.

PS: Even on your breaks read 5 Scientific American articles every freaking day! Subscribe to SA magazine website I think I paid 36 dollars and go access to 4 years in their archive, I read every day now. I used to read novels, but now I read articles. (Also, the economist have a good a deal 12 dollars subscription for 3 months. You can access their articles online, they even have audio with their articles if you read them on your smartphone. Very good writing and information and they even h a science section. )
English is your second language and The RC section pretty hard for even some natives, so the only way to improve it is by exposure and consistency.

Math is learnable you can improve it with algebra for dummies (name of the book) and gre math books ( manahattan books are good )

You need to subscribe to a lot of dat practice tests websites to practice timing for RC section and QR, Pat as well will get better by time.
Your science scores are ok, but you will improve them by watching Mike videos for chem and Ochem with chads again.
Bio, watch youtube videos for now and read cliff book and the notes made avaiable on Bootcamp.
Of course you need to do destroyer again after you review the materials.
Thank you. 😉
 
oh my, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened? Did you not study effectively? Your bootcamp scores were good besides RC and QR. Did you not have a positive mindset going into the test?
Bio section was shocking for me, and it made me nervous, and I couldn't do well on rest.
 
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yes that's what I thought it would turn out to be, BC is not good indicator, probably look for other material for the next time, must you have to retake.
 
With those scores, your foundational knowledge is lacking.
Don't fall trap on these forums and believe that certain prep companies will indicate how you will perform, none of them are associated with the real DAT in any form.

I would rewrite the exam and focus on studying the core-content. If you get time, then waste your money and time on practice tests. Obviously the only exception is the PAT and RC where you need to practice.
 
Oral I must agree with you! I took the test before and I was scoring well on practice test and the dat was different so the practice test don't mean anything!


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I'll retake on august, just let me know which references is good beside destroyer.
 
Don't fall in the same mess by relying on preps. Practice + study your butt off.

I took the DAT yesterday and I have to agree with this. I wish I would have spent more time practicing problems and studying than focusing on what test prep I was using.


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I took the DAT yesterday and I have to agree with this. I wish I would have spent more time practicing problems and studying than focusing on what test prep I was using.

Can I ask how your DAT went yesterday? What resources would you say covers bio the best?

For example... would knowing all of cliffs+feralis cover everything you saw on the bio section?

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I took the DAT yesterday and I have to agree with this. I wish I would have spent more time practicing problems and studying than focusing on what test prep I was using.


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Can I ask how your DAT went yesterday? What resources would you say covers bio the best?

For example... would knowing all of cliffs+feralis cover everything you saw on the bio section?
 
Can I ask how your DAT went yesterday? What resources would you say covers bio the best?

For example... would knowing all of cliffs+feralis cover everything you saw on the bio section?

Sure! I got a 19AA. Was shooting for 20, so I might retake.

Bio was one of my low sections, so I might not be the best resource. But people aren't joking when the say it's random. I had maybe 1 or 2 questions that were simple. Most of it was being able to connect things I'd learned with broad topics, if that makes sense.

If you want to get 20+ in bio read cliffs which I found super boring but it gives a good foundation, the definitely read through feralis. I only used feralis to read topics I was struggling on, so if I do it again I will read the entire thing. Then use destroyer! There are like 600 questions and that's exactly what helps, exposure to as many kinds of questions as possible.


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but what kind of practice can we get?
Do I just google multiple answers test questions for gen chem, ochem and bio and math?
Or Do I need to use gold standard for example?
 
but what kind of practice can we get?
Do I just google multiple answers test questions for gen chem, ochem and bio and math?
Or Do I need to use gold standard for example?

Bootcamp.


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Sure! I got a 19AA. Was shooting for 20, so I might retake.

Bio was one of my low sections, so I might not be the best resource. But people aren't joking when the say it's random. I had maybe 1 or 2 questions that were simple. Most of it was being able to connect things I'd learned with broad topics, if that makes sense.

If you want to get 20+ in bio read cliffs which I found super boring but it gives a good foundation, the definitely read through feralis. I only used feralis to read topics I was struggling on, so if I do it again I will read the entire thing. Then use destroyer! There are like 600 questions and that's exactly what helps, exposure to as many kinds of questions as possible.


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what did you use for chem and ochem?
 
Thanks, I won't depend solely on bootcamp, I will use other practice tests too, but so far I like the videos available on bootcamp.

Good. Bootcamp is great, but it shouldn't be your only practice.


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what did you use for chem and ochem?

The usual. Chad's to study, destroyer and bootcamp to practice. I didn't actually study organic though because I just finished ochem at my university.


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Good. Bootcamp is great, but it shouldn't be your only practice.


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This. Bootcamp is honestly only good for PAT, the other sections are useless in my opinion. The sciences comes from studying, so doing practice tests won't help you much and Destroyer is the best at chem/orgo imo. And reading just comes from practice, no prep can save you here.
 
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This. Bootcamp is honestly only good for PAT, the other sections are useless in my opinion. The sciences comes from studying, so doing practice tests won't help you much and Destroyer is the best at chem/orgo imo. And reading just comes from practice, no prep can save you here.

Yess. Exactly.


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I would say a lot of it comes down to: how you study best, where your core knowledge level is at and time frame. How you study is an important thing to take into consideration. If you learn better by reading then cliffs and Feralis might be your best bet for studying bio. If you struggle with sitting down and reading those topics look at youtube and find videos that compliment you style of learning (i.e. crash course bio). If you feel your core knowledge for the topics is up to par then, bootcamp, destroyer, and other prep materials are useful. These get you practice on the style of questions that you will face. Use these to practice speed and accuracy. If you felt rushed on the GC, for example, then use destroyer, take sets of questions and try to do them quickly. Even then these prep materials should show you where you are weakest (taxonomy, stoichiometry, etc...) Then go back to study materials and brush up on these topics.

In the end Bootcamp is great but you cannot rely solely on bootcamp. Many people on here see a corralation between their bootcamp scores and the actual DAT. They took the time though to ensure their base knowledge was good enough to handle the questions from both. If you are solely focusing on Bootcamp to teach you the material you will struggle if the exam gives questions outside what they focused on.
 
No I didn't. What did u get on real test? I don't remember ur score

My scores were pretty high, but I have to say I'm surprised if those were your first time BC scores vs your real performance on the exam. I didn't even do close to that well on the BC exams when I took them, and I was pretty well prepared. To go from making almost no mistakes on BC to making a lot more on the (considerably easier IMO) real DAT is pretty strange.

Also, what was your content review process like? I'm assuming you didn't just start by doing BC and nothing else...
 
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My scores were pretty high, but I have to say I'm surprised if those were your first time BC scores vs your real performance on the exam. I didn't even do close to that well on the BC exams when I took them, and I was pretty well prepared. To go from making almost no mistakes on BC to making a lot more on the (considerably easier IMO) real DAT is pretty strange.

Also, what was your content review process like? I'm assuming you didn't just start by doing BC and nothing else...

I don't think he gave himself enough time to do well.
13 more days left
 
This. Bootcamp is honestly only good for PAT, the other sections are useless in my opinion. The sciences comes from studying, so doing practice tests won't help you much and Destroyer is the best at chem/orgo imo. And reading just comes from practice, no prep can save you here.
I like the way you put it, and truly BC only the PAT and destroyer the road maps, am not sure who has good g.chem practice quest's though so far only chad according to me.
 
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