- Joined
- Jun 30, 2013
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 9
I wrote the DAT one week ago following about 9 or 10 weeks of study. Hard work paid off:
25 AA
26 PAT
21 QR
26 RC
26 TS (26/25/29)
For what its worth, here is my loose breakdown and what I found to be most and least helpful:
Chads videos: I absorbed orgo, chem and qr videos 1x within the first two weeks and took copious notes throughout. When I did problems I would reference those notes frequently. As I got nearer to the exam and still hadnt mastered certain concepts I would re-watch select topics. I skipped his quizes but I think they would have been a good idea.
Cliffs Bio: Read it and outlined/took notes, focusing on weak areas. Essential.
KBB Bio: Same as Cliffs. I think to leave out one or the other would have been a mistake. I threw in wikipedia when reviewing missed bio problems because it was usually faster and just as good as referencing KBB or Cliffs.
DAT Destroyer: I went through this once over 3 or 4 weeks after watching Chads. I found it to be time consuming and frustrating and decided not to go over it a 2nd time. Maybe it helped make Qvault seem easy though, which was good. If I were to do it again I would approach Destroyer as a reference instead of like an untimed test. If you dont know the problem read the answer and then work it out until you understand. Spending 30 minutes gritting out tough Destroyer problems isnt time well spent. The bio section is even more of a reference because one question can cover 5 different topics, which isnt how actual DAT questions go. Destroyer Bio is a million fun facts that you should probably know.
Math Destroyer: I worked my way through 7 or 8 tests and it was helpful. This was my most difficult area because Ive been out of practice for so long. If youre still good at math you may not need the volume of problems in Math Destroyer, but I did.
DAT Qvault: I found this only 2 weeks before the exam and wish I had it all along the way. I did as much as I could in the science sections plus a little bit of math, rc, and pat. I found this resource suuuper helpful because you can study things topically or take a test and either way the feedback/corrections are immediately at your fingertips. That makes this resource very time-efficient. The rc sections were way long and frustrating but it was still good practice.
Crack DAT PAT: Worked through 8 of the 10 tests. I had to do some sections untimed at first such as pattern folding and hole punch. The difficulty was on par with the actual PAT or maybe Crack was slightly easier on some things like keyhole or hole punch. Crack didnt have any ⅓ folds, which I learned about in Qvault. Crack was definitely worth it and a nice break from doing problems.
Topscore Pro: My test scores ranged from 18 to 21. I took these around the middle of my study, so before hitting Qvault. This resource was worthwhile in terms of simulating a real test. You could do this with Destroyer (not recommended) or Qvault (recommended), its just not as realistic.
In summary, If I were to go back and choose between Qvault and Destroyer I would choose Qvault. It honed my basic skills on the sciences and gave straightforward and simple explanations. It was well worth my time. I would definitely utilize Chad for orgo, chem and math and go to Cliffs, KBB and wikipedia for bio. Crack DAT PAT was solid prep for PAT. I probably averaged about 40 hrs/week or more. I wanted to study more but things came up occasionally and I was concurrently in a condensed orgo 2 class. I thought I wouldnt do very well so I just studied as much as I could. I was hugely surprised and relieved when scores came on screen!
I hope this is help to anyone who reads and good luck! Check classifieds if you want my study materials.
25 AA
26 PAT
21 QR
26 RC
26 TS (26/25/29)
For what its worth, here is my loose breakdown and what I found to be most and least helpful:
Chads videos: I absorbed orgo, chem and qr videos 1x within the first two weeks and took copious notes throughout. When I did problems I would reference those notes frequently. As I got nearer to the exam and still hadnt mastered certain concepts I would re-watch select topics. I skipped his quizes but I think they would have been a good idea.
Cliffs Bio: Read it and outlined/took notes, focusing on weak areas. Essential.
KBB Bio: Same as Cliffs. I think to leave out one or the other would have been a mistake. I threw in wikipedia when reviewing missed bio problems because it was usually faster and just as good as referencing KBB or Cliffs.
DAT Destroyer: I went through this once over 3 or 4 weeks after watching Chads. I found it to be time consuming and frustrating and decided not to go over it a 2nd time. Maybe it helped make Qvault seem easy though, which was good. If I were to do it again I would approach Destroyer as a reference instead of like an untimed test. If you dont know the problem read the answer and then work it out until you understand. Spending 30 minutes gritting out tough Destroyer problems isnt time well spent. The bio section is even more of a reference because one question can cover 5 different topics, which isnt how actual DAT questions go. Destroyer Bio is a million fun facts that you should probably know.
Math Destroyer: I worked my way through 7 or 8 tests and it was helpful. This was my most difficult area because Ive been out of practice for so long. If youre still good at math you may not need the volume of problems in Math Destroyer, but I did.
DAT Qvault: I found this only 2 weeks before the exam and wish I had it all along the way. I did as much as I could in the science sections plus a little bit of math, rc, and pat. I found this resource suuuper helpful because you can study things topically or take a test and either way the feedback/corrections are immediately at your fingertips. That makes this resource very time-efficient. The rc sections were way long and frustrating but it was still good practice.
Crack DAT PAT: Worked through 8 of the 10 tests. I had to do some sections untimed at first such as pattern folding and hole punch. The difficulty was on par with the actual PAT or maybe Crack was slightly easier on some things like keyhole or hole punch. Crack didnt have any ⅓ folds, which I learned about in Qvault. Crack was definitely worth it and a nice break from doing problems.
Topscore Pro: My test scores ranged from 18 to 21. I took these around the middle of my study, so before hitting Qvault. This resource was worthwhile in terms of simulating a real test. You could do this with Destroyer (not recommended) or Qvault (recommended), its just not as realistic.
In summary, If I were to go back and choose between Qvault and Destroyer I would choose Qvault. It honed my basic skills on the sciences and gave straightforward and simple explanations. It was well worth my time. I would definitely utilize Chad for orgo, chem and math and go to Cliffs, KBB and wikipedia for bio. Crack DAT PAT was solid prep for PAT. I probably averaged about 40 hrs/week or more. I wanted to study more but things came up occasionally and I was concurrently in a condensed orgo 2 class. I thought I wouldnt do very well so I just studied as much as I could. I was hugely surprised and relieved when scores came on screen!
I hope this is help to anyone who reads and good luck! Check classifieds if you want my study materials.
