DAT in 5 days! BAD 2009 ADA scores, what should i do?

[dent4]

Hey guys,
I just recently got done taking the 2009 ADA sample test and I'm not happy with my scores AT ALL. I understand that there were a bunch of mistakes with the test, but I corrected all the mistakes I could find through this forum. With the corrections accounted for, my scores were:
TS: (73/100) 18
BIO: (35/40) 21 (thought this wasn't too bad, I'm sure real DAT is much tougher eh?)
GC: (18/30) 16
OC: (20/30) 17
RC: (27/50) 17 (literally wanted to throw my laptop doing this section, very difficult I thought)
QR: (27/40)19
PAT: (80/90) 22
And what I calculated for the AA was an 18. I'm shooting for the 20-20+ range on the real thing, so I'm kinda freakin out right now.
I made VERY stupid mistakes for GC and OC, which I'm hoping I won't on test day.
Just wanted to see what you guys think and how it compares to the real thing.
Thanks in advance

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[stell22]

Hey guys,
I just recently got done taking the 2009 ADA sample test and I'm not happy with my scores AT ALL. I understand that there were a bunch of mistakes with the test, but I corrected all the mistakes I could find through this forum. With the corrections accounted for, my scores were:
TS: (73/100) 18
BIO: (35/40) 21 (thought this wasn't too bad, I'm sure real DAT is much tougher eh?)
GC: (18/30) 16
OC: (20/30) 17
RC: (27/50) 17 (literally wanted to throw my laptop doing this section, very difficult I thought)
QR: (27/40)19
PAT: (80/90) 22
And what I calculated for the AA was an 18. I'm shooting for the 20-20+ range on the real thing, so I'm kinda freakin out right now.
I made VERY stupid mistakes for GC and OC, which I'm hoping I won't on test day.
Just wanted to see what you guys think and how it compares to the real thing.
Thanks in advance

Don't freak out, just keep reviewing and stay motivated. I found that the practice tests were harder than the real thing. For me, the most accurate practice tests were TopScore and I scored lower on those than the actual DAT. For example, I took a TopScore test the day before my actual DAT and here's what I got:

TopScore
Bio 21/ GenChem 19/ Ochem 18/ QR 22/ RC 21/ PAT 22

The next day on the actual DAT I got:
Bio 25/ Gen Chem 21/ Ochem 23/ QR 21/ RC 25/ TS 23/ AA 23/ PAT 21

So don't freak out!

 

[dent4]

Another thing, how difficult is the real DAT RC compared to the 2009 ADA sample?
I keep seeing people say "it's just as tough, if not harder" or "much easier". For those of you who have recently taken it, along with the 2009 sample, what would you say?

 

[drill-and-fill]

DUDE, 2009's RC made me wanna go punch a newborn baby in the face, seriously. It was by far the hardest RC ever... the passage about lightning was confusing as hell, especially the answer choices because they changed wording from the passage. I'm hoping the actual RC won't be like that, at all.

As far as preventing dumb mistakes, make sure you read each question TWICE, and go over every answer choices. I know it may take a few seconds longer doing that, but I think it will save you from making dumb mistakes. It's been working out for me so far. Gluck with your studying! we can do this!

 

[dent4]

Don't freak out, just keep reviewing and stay motivated. I found that the practice tests were harder than the real thing. For me, the most accurate practice tests were TopScore and I scored lower on those than the actual DAT. For example, I took a TopScore test the day before my actual DAT and here's what I got:

TopScore
Bio 21/ GenChem 19/ Ochem 18/ QR 22/ RC 21/ PAT 22

The next day on the actual DAT I got:
Bio 25/ Gen Chem 21/ Ochem 23/ QR 21/ RC 25/ TS 23/ AA 23/ PAT 21

So don't freak out!

Thanks for the support, really means a lot especially when I'm losing confidence.
I just hate to see that all this studying isn't paying off on these practice exams. I wish I could've bought the topscore exams but I have a mac. Did you take the 2009 ADA sample test?

 

[dent4]

DUDE, 2009's RC made me wanna go punch a newborn baby in the face, seriously. It was by far the hardest RC ever... the passage about lightning was confusing as hell, especially the answer choices because they changed wording from the passage. I'm hoping the actual RC won't be like that, at all.

As far as preventing dumb mistakes, make sure you read each question TWICE, and go over every answer choices. I know it may take a few seconds longer doing that, but I think it will save you from making dumb mistakes. It's been working out for me so far. Gluck with your studying! we can do this!

Honestly I wanted to just shut my laptop once I got to that passage about lightning haha. And good call, I NEED to read each gchem question twice after what happened lol I was flying through the science section and ended with like 35 mins left. Stupid mistakes made on gchem, but ochem I felt a little iffy about. what did you think?

 

[drill-and-fill]

Ochem... I feel like there are so many conceptual questions that they can ask you about OC... I can do reaction problems really well, but asked about vague conceptual questions, I kinda panic lol...

 

[stell22]

Thanks for the support, really means a lot especially when I'm losing confidence.
I just hate to see that all this studying isn't paying off on these practice exams. I wish I could've bought the topscore exams but I have a mac. Did you take the 2009 ADA sample test?

I didn't take the 2009 ADA sample test. Practice tests are nice because they give you an idea of how the test works and your timing for each section. But other than that, they can kill your confidence. Take them with a grain of salt and don't get discouraged. If you've studied as much as you can and put in the work and the effort, you should do well on the real DAT.

 

[dent4]

Thank you all for the support and encouragement.
I honestly just thought the passages for 2009 ADA were ridiculous. I almost fell asleep reading it and went strait to S/D, then that didn't work out by the time I got to the lightning passage so I freaked. Going back over the test, I made SEVERAL careless mistakes in OC and GC, so I'm trying my best not to get discouraged. I'm going to take the rest of the night off to relax so I don't stress too bad about it.

Have any of you guys used qvault OC or GC? If so, is it too easy?
I feel that with as many practice problems as I can get will always help.

 

[NDPitch]

I think GC is pretty good. There's definitely some left field questions on there, but who doesn't like a good "wtf" type of question? OC, I'm not sure. My scores are all over the place on it. As low as 19 and as high as 26. There's some really random reactions on there. I guess it's good practice though.

 

[Kingsta2426]

Real DAT vs 2009 DAT

Bio - Real is harder
Gen Chem - same
O Chem - 2009 is harder
PAT - Real is much harder
RC - Real is a little bit easier not much though
QR - Real is a little bit easier not much though