DAT finished! 10/21/13

[Aliengod3]

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Hey everyone 🙂

21 Bio
19 GC
23 OC
23 RC
18 QR
23 PAT
21 TS
21 AA

My breakdown will be pretty short so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Bio: I used the kaplan blue book (KBB) and Barron's AP Bio book. Barron's was better than KBB overall. KBB was a bit vague and Barron's filled in alot of details. I just read through each book and anything that was difficult for me to grasp I took notes on and did my best to master. I'm a big fan of flash cards for bio. Flip through flash cards enough times and you'll memorize anything.

GC: KBB, DAT destroyer, Chad's videos. DAT destroyer was great because it had a nice range of problems to play with and really helped solidify how to work through some of the tougher math problems. I must have gone through that book 6 times. KBB was good for concepts but not problems. Alot of the example problems they give cannot be asked on the DAT since no calculators are allowed. Chad's videos were amazing because he clarified all necessary concepts and also broke down how to do fast exponential math for pH type problems.

OC: KBB, DAT destroyer, Chad's videos. KBB was good for this. All the conceptual stuff was explained well. Very straight to the point and no fluff. I don't like when books pad their pages with a bunch of unnecessary words and KBB is very direct with its explanations. DAT destroyer was perfect for this! All the tricky problems that I got on the DAT were similar to the ones in Destroyer so it the perfect tool for practice. Chad's videos are great too because he breaks down all the reagents and how they affect a molecule.

QR: DAT destroyer. Great for practice problems. I just got a tough set of problems on my test that I have never seen in my life so my score was a bit low but Destroyer will definitely help build up math skills.

PAT: I didn't study for this aside from just taking a couple practice tests. I guess these types of problems are something I just have a knack for.

RC: I didn't study for this either aside from a couple practice tests and it was the section I was the most concerned about because I wasn't scoring very high. My strategy for this section was to write down a couple of big words from each paragraph to create a map of the article so that when I start answering questions I know which paragraph to look over.

If you have any questions about study habits, don't ask. I am the wrong person to ask. I like to have movies playing on the TV for background noise. I probably spent more time watching Japanese Godzilla films and Pacific Rim than actually studying (no attention span).

 

[Pillowcases]

hey good job buddy, especially on 23 PAT and RC \(^-^)/

 

[paymaant]

Congrats on your scores! Are you applying this cycle?

 

[Aliengod3]

I am applying this cycle. I applied to 10 schools but I haven't heard back from any of them 🙁 I admit that this is my second time taking the DAT and the scores from my first take are being used for my Fall 2014 application. I didn't want to wait until now to have my applications completed which is why I used the scores from my first attempt.

My first take was as follows:

20 Bio
20 GC
17 OC
16 RC
22 QR
22 PAT
19 TS
19 AA

You can see why I retook the test. 16 in RC is just too low. Thankfully my score in that section became one of my top scores so hopefully schools will see the improvement when they look at my retake. I know that schools put alot of emphasis on RC. Overall everything improved which I'm very happy about. QR went down but 18 isn't abysmal. I think my new scores definitely improve my chances of getting interviews for Fall 2015 and they also opened up the opportunity to apply to some schools that I would not have considered applying to before so I'm excited to see how things work out. For Fall 2015 I plan on applying to at least 20 schools. Time to start saving my $$$ 🙂

 

[Riz0791]

Congrats👍

 

[paymaant]

I am applying this cycle. I applied to 10 schools but I haven't heard back from any of them 🙁 I admit that this is my second time taking the DAT and the scores from my first take are being used for my Fall 2014 application. I didn't want to wait until now to have my applications completed which is why I used the scores from my first attempt.

My first take was as follows:

20 Bio
20 GC
17 OC
16 RC
22 QR
22 PAT
19 TS
19 AA

You can see why I retook the test. 16 in RC is just too low. Thankfully my score in that section became one of my top scores so hopefully schools will see the improvement when they look at my retake. I know that schools put alot of emphasis on RC. Overall everything improved which I'm very happy about. QR went down but 18 isn't abysmal. I think my new scores definitely improve my chances of getting interviews for Fall 2015 and they also opened up the opportunity to apply to some schools that I would not have considered applying to before so I'm excited to see how things work out. For Fall 2015 I plan on applying to at least 20 schools. Time to start saving my $$$ 🙂

Your scores for your 2nd attempt are solid. I would be surprised if you don't earn an acceptance this cycle. So then you wouldn't have to spend all your precious money for the next application cycle!

 

[LazyP]

Congrats! Great improvement btw! Random note: I watched Breaking Bad twice when I studied. Good Luck on hearing back!

 

[biomolecmed]

Solid scores. Great job.

 

[Dotoday]

Good job. Nice scores. Congratulations.

 

[Dotoday]

I believe it is too soon for them to respond with anything. Give it until March at least. With your scores, I think, you should be accepted somewhere.

 

[biomolecmed]

What do you think is the best way to practice solving Gen Chen and math problems with good speed?

 

[Aliengod3]

Good question! When I studied for gen chem problems all I did was go through all 300 gen chem questions in DAT destroyer at once. I must have done this about 5 or 6 times. I got to the point where I could do all 300 and answer most right in about 90 minutes. The first time I did the problems I wrote down what I thought the answer was and then if I got it wrong I would figure out why so I would not make the same mistakes. I got to the point where I answered the problems so many times that the problem mechanics became pure muscle memory and my hand would just write out the problems without any thought. This is where speed comes into play. When you acclimate yourself to the point where you can read the first couple words of a problem and know what is being asked for and your muscle memory for that particular type of problem kicks in then you can finish the problem in a couple of seconds, it just takes practice and repetition. There are also some basic ideas that can be applied to problems if you get stuck; knowing what units you are starting with and what units you need to end up with, knowing to convert everything into moles and working from there to solve a problem, being able to do log, anti-log, and exponential math in your head quickly (covered well by Chad's videos). I know my gen chem score wasn't the highest so my method may be a bit faulty so take this advice with a grain of salt and use it in conjunction with other strategies to see what works best for you 🙂

I know it's common for people to time themselves to see if they can accomplish 30 problems in under 30 minutes, which is a good strategy, but for me I would rather be able to answer at least 60 questions in 30 minutes. Being able to accomplish this means that by the time you finish a section you will have plenty of time to go back and check any answers that are marked. When I finished by science section I still had 15 minutes left to go over marked problems.

 

[SollertiaSomniu]

Well done with improving your scores, nice kick up in that RC section 🙂. Good luck.

 

[Faux]

How was your Destroyer math scores?

 

[ToBeDDSS]

Great Job. 18 in QR is awesome.

 

[berrydenta]

Congrats on the score! Must feel great to be done with it 🙂
How did you prep for OC in more detail? Did you take both OC semesters already?

 

[Aliengod3]

Well when I took the DAT the first time I had not taken any OC classes. I taught myself. However I had 2 semesters of OC prior to my second take which helped fill in alot of gaps in my understanding of the reagents and concepts. I have also been working in my school's OC lab doing research for almost 2 years so application has really helped my OC understanding.

As for my actual OC prep, I used Chad's videos, Achiever, DAT destroyer, Kaplan Blue Book, and Ochem Odyseesy (a workbook that can be purchased with DAT destroyer). When I first started studying, I watched all of Chad's videos and took notes. This helped me refresh my memory on some obscure reagents and concepts. Chad is very direct and when he goes over certain reaction types (SN1, E1, etc), he hits all the important details and anything tricky that could be a potential question on the DAT. These "tricks" I made sure to highlight in my notes so that I focused on them a bit more to keep them fresh in my head. He also discusses reagents well and breaks down how they affect a molecule (markovinov, syn, etc.).
Kaplan Blue book was not something I spent much time reading for OC. I mainly used it to get textbook definitions for some common reaction types (aldol condensation, claisen condensation, etc.) just in case a definition question popped up on the test. For this it was useful but nothing else.
DAT destroyer was my preferred study material for OC. The multistep reaction problems I had on the DAT were similar to the ones in this book. I think I went through to OC section of destroyer about 5 or 6 times, start to finish. Any problems I got wrong I wrote down, and why I missed them, and did further research on the problem to make sure I understood my mistakes so I did not make them again. Any further assistance in this process was supplemented with wikipedia info.
OC Odyssey is another awesome workbook like destroyer except it has reaction and concept problems for every type of reaction. If there is a specific type of reaction you struggle with (for instance E2 reactions), OC odyssey will have numerous problems to work with to really help you familiarize yourself with the reaction in general, the concepts behind the reactions, and the reagents that participate in them. There are also a large amount of multistep synthesis problems to play with. By the time you finish working through this book, multistep synthesis will be something to can do in seconds in your head.
I took 3 achiever practice tests. The OC sections were alot tougher than the DAT but I learned alot from those tests. Personally I would recommend practicing with achiever because it is so hard. If you can score 18+ on all the sections of achiever, in my opinion, that is equivalent to 20+ on the DAT.
I also did not time myself when I went over the OC problems. I just went through the workbooks several times and each time my ability to finish all the questions quickly improved. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions feel free to ask 🙂