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Hey, so this is my first post and I'd just like to give back to this amazing community. I was probably on this site more than I was studying and it basically became my new facebook haha. Before this site, I was a bit lost on what materials to buy for DAT studying, but after discovering SDN I felt more confident and secure. So I took my test last week and here are my scores:
BIO: 26
CHEM: 30
ORGO: 22
PAT: 21
READING: 25
MATH: 18
TS: 26
AA:24
I studied for about 2.5-3 months. I found it helpful to study both at the library and at home because I needed a change of location. I couldn't wait to take the test because studying consumed my summer and I just wanted my life back. After my scores popped on the screen, I couldn't help but dance out of the room, and the lady at the front desk probably thought I had lost my mind, but its okay 😉.
Anyways here is a complete breakdown:
BIO- this section wasn't too horrible. I think what makes this section difficult is how random it could be, but if you know the material the actual questions aren't too hard. Basically for bio I read AP Cliffs for a general background. I then read a few chapters in Campbell (a few physio chapters and plant chapters) to learn subjects I didn't know well. I have taken a few upper level bio courses so I didn't focus on those subjects too much (ex: genetics). I then went through Destroyer Bio 3 times reading both the question and the explanation (I didn't really focus on the question but rather found it extremely helpful to understand every single explanation). The explanations are filled with extra info so if you go through Destroyer bio, I believe you will be pretty set for the DAT. It really fills in all the gaps.
CHEM- Destroyer, destroyer, destroyer!! I was honestly a bit scared of chem because I didn't really know what to expect. I kept making silly mistakes in the destroyer even after going through it 3 times. But honestly, after doing the destroyer, I felt as if the DAT chem was pretty straight forward. There was maybe one question that required a calculation, the rest were all set ups. Just make sure to also focus on the conceptual questions when practicing. I used my old AP chem prep book to read up on a few topics I wasn't comfortable with.
ORGO: Once again destroyer! The road maps are a golden gift to human kind! If you know all the reactions on the road maps you will be a reaction pro. My test had a few reaction questions and they were all simple. Also, the orgo destroyer prepares you for the worst so when you get to the actual exam, it doesn't seem too bad. I went through the destroyer 3 times and made sure I understood how to solve each type of problem. I supplemented the destroyer with my old orgo class notes and the ACS orgo book to make sure I understood a few mechanisms.
PAT: CRACK DAT PAT. If you can do this, you can do the PAT. I sucked at PAT and my first CRACK score was around a 16 eek-it then went up to a 22. I practiced, practiced, practiced until I fully understood what the heck this PAT thing really was all about. Hole punching and cube counting were definitely 10 times easier than crack dat pat (more similar to topscore) I had NO half holes. Angle ranking was also easier. TFE and pattern folding were on par. I found the keyholes to be more difficult. To me, the keyholes resembled topscore keyholes, which I found more challenging than crack dat pat keyholes-but once again that could just be me.
READING-Thankfully I didn't get PIANO'd. All my passages were scientific based. I practiced both with CRACK DAT READING (did around 3 exams) and topscore. I wanted to practice both inference type questions and straight forward type questions. I actually found my exam to be more similar to topscore, although I did get a few inference questions (maybe around 4). My strategy was basically do write down keywords and then search and destroy. I skipped the inference questions and made an educated guess when I had two minutes left.
MATH- Yeah, math. My exam had so many word problems, I was going crazy. I basically skipped them all and just focused on the simple algebra, area, and trig problems. I used Math destroyer, which was probably the best preparation for the math section. I didn't get to finish the book, but the math destroyer basically covers all the types of questions on the exam. If you allot enough study time for math, and do the destroyer, I think you will be fine. However, if you need to understand how to do the problems, I would also use another book. I actually used an SAT II book to review algebra, geometry and trig so I would better understand the examples from the destroyer. Also, I would recommend practicing using a white board. I am the type of person who needs 10 sheets of paper and a pencil for math. Using the whiteboard for math was annoying. The eraser didn't work well and I felt like my math calculations were all over the place.
So this ended up to be a pretty long breakdown, woops. I really wish everyone the best of luck with studying. Keep confident! If you don't understand a question, just mark and move on! There will be other questions you do understand. Don't allow yourself to get worked up. When I saw the first reading passage, I automatically panicked for some reason and couldn't answer any of the questions. So I decided to move onto the next passage! It calmed my nerves and when I went back to the first, I regained confidence and found the passage less challenging. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask 🙂. Good Luck once again!
BIO: 26
CHEM: 30
ORGO: 22
PAT: 21
READING: 25
MATH: 18
TS: 26
AA:24
I studied for about 2.5-3 months. I found it helpful to study both at the library and at home because I needed a change of location. I couldn't wait to take the test because studying consumed my summer and I just wanted my life back. After my scores popped on the screen, I couldn't help but dance out of the room, and the lady at the front desk probably thought I had lost my mind, but its okay 😉.
Anyways here is a complete breakdown:
BIO- this section wasn't too horrible. I think what makes this section difficult is how random it could be, but if you know the material the actual questions aren't too hard. Basically for bio I read AP Cliffs for a general background. I then read a few chapters in Campbell (a few physio chapters and plant chapters) to learn subjects I didn't know well. I have taken a few upper level bio courses so I didn't focus on those subjects too much (ex: genetics). I then went through Destroyer Bio 3 times reading both the question and the explanation (I didn't really focus on the question but rather found it extremely helpful to understand every single explanation). The explanations are filled with extra info so if you go through Destroyer bio, I believe you will be pretty set for the DAT. It really fills in all the gaps.
CHEM- Destroyer, destroyer, destroyer!! I was honestly a bit scared of chem because I didn't really know what to expect. I kept making silly mistakes in the destroyer even after going through it 3 times. But honestly, after doing the destroyer, I felt as if the DAT chem was pretty straight forward. There was maybe one question that required a calculation, the rest were all set ups. Just make sure to also focus on the conceptual questions when practicing. I used my old AP chem prep book to read up on a few topics I wasn't comfortable with.
ORGO: Once again destroyer! The road maps are a golden gift to human kind! If you know all the reactions on the road maps you will be a reaction pro. My test had a few reaction questions and they were all simple. Also, the orgo destroyer prepares you for the worst so when you get to the actual exam, it doesn't seem too bad. I went through the destroyer 3 times and made sure I understood how to solve each type of problem. I supplemented the destroyer with my old orgo class notes and the ACS orgo book to make sure I understood a few mechanisms.
PAT: CRACK DAT PAT. If you can do this, you can do the PAT. I sucked at PAT and my first CRACK score was around a 16 eek-it then went up to a 22. I practiced, practiced, practiced until I fully understood what the heck this PAT thing really was all about. Hole punching and cube counting were definitely 10 times easier than crack dat pat (more similar to topscore) I had NO half holes. Angle ranking was also easier. TFE and pattern folding were on par. I found the keyholes to be more difficult. To me, the keyholes resembled topscore keyholes, which I found more challenging than crack dat pat keyholes-but once again that could just be me.
READING-Thankfully I didn't get PIANO'd. All my passages were scientific based. I practiced both with CRACK DAT READING (did around 3 exams) and topscore. I wanted to practice both inference type questions and straight forward type questions. I actually found my exam to be more similar to topscore, although I did get a few inference questions (maybe around 4). My strategy was basically do write down keywords and then search and destroy. I skipped the inference questions and made an educated guess when I had two minutes left.
MATH- Yeah, math. My exam had so many word problems, I was going crazy. I basically skipped them all and just focused on the simple algebra, area, and trig problems. I used Math destroyer, which was probably the best preparation for the math section. I didn't get to finish the book, but the math destroyer basically covers all the types of questions on the exam. If you allot enough study time for math, and do the destroyer, I think you will be fine. However, if you need to understand how to do the problems, I would also use another book. I actually used an SAT II book to review algebra, geometry and trig so I would better understand the examples from the destroyer. Also, I would recommend practicing using a white board. I am the type of person who needs 10 sheets of paper and a pencil for math. Using the whiteboard for math was annoying. The eraser didn't work well and I felt like my math calculations were all over the place.
So this ended up to be a pretty long breakdown, woops. I really wish everyone the best of luck with studying. Keep confident! If you don't understand a question, just mark and move on! There will be other questions you do understand. Don't allow yourself to get worked up. When I saw the first reading passage, I automatically panicked for some reason and couldn't answer any of the questions. So I decided to move onto the next passage! It calmed my nerves and when I went back to the first, I regained confidence and found the passage less challenging. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask 🙂. Good Luck once again!
