DAT in approx. 24hrs--Advice anyone?

[Kkae]

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So i'm really trying to relax n take it easy...any additional advice?

 

[polarmolar]

I would drive to the testing center to check it out, but other than that get some sleep and rock it!!

 

[iSmile5]

1.Relax 🙂
2. Get lots of sleep
3. Make sure you know where the test center is, mine was really hard to find and luckily a friend of mine was awake who had been there before!
4. Eat a good breakfast tomorrow, like oatmeal (the real kind not instant) and orange juice! You dont want to get hunger pains in the middle of the exam, but be careful not to eat anything that might upset your stomach either!
5. Take a light snack with you if you want, Kaplan suggested nuts or granola and some gatorade to my class.

 

[Albuterol]

good luck!

 

[achilles2]

I played rockband right before mine.....just sayin

 

[151AND8TH]

good luck -- let us know how u do.. watch 300! 😀

 

[2thDMD]

I agree with almost all of what iSmile5 said.
I remember the first time I took the DAT and didn't take a snack...at brake time I was famished. Not good to go into RC (ugh) and QR with your stomach (and therefore, mind) screaming Feed Me!....real concentration breaker.

So, iSmile5 is right...Real Oatmeal is a really good breakfast. It'll sustain you for hours.
Also, as recommended, take some nuts or trailmix.
I would advise against anything really fat-laden, lest you get sleepy right after your break.
Also, I would advise against Gatorade or anything similar. They taste great and all, but it could put you on the Carbo roller coaster where you're feeling really good and energetic while you're drinking it during break, then comes the sugar crash...not good during your test.
Water is the universal hydrator...stick with it.

Oh, one really important thing....relax.
Do not put any kind of expectation on yourself, score-wise. Just go in there, sit down, start the 15min tutorial and let it run while you get centered, focused and peaceful. Then attack the test.
The last thing you want to do is put the "I have to get 29's on everything or its the end of the world" pressure on yourself. If people go in with that "it's got to be perfect" mentality, when they get a curveball question (and there will be a couple), then their mind starts focusing on how badly they might wind up doing, instead of focusing on how well they are doing and all the questions they've answered correctly already. It's part of human nature. I call it the "Winestain on the tablecloth" scenario. Imagine a huge table with a bright, white tablecloth on it. Imagine that somebody has dripped a single drop of red wine on the tablecloth. Although the tablecloth is 99% perfect and white, what do we as humans focus on?....that 1% that isn't perfect, and it drives us crazy. So, if you get a curveball question or two, and we've all had them, don't focus on the winespot. Focus on how well you're crushing the other 99% of the questions you've had so far.

One thing that has helped ME whenever I have a task that is either daunting and/or a little bit scary (but needs to be done anyway), I ask myself this (and I'll use the DAT as my example topic):

• If I get into the DAT and my mind goes to the zoo, what is the worst possible thing that could happen to me?
  • Am I going to be permanently maimed? No.
  • Am I literally going to die? No.
  • Are my family and friends going to stop loving me and talking to me? No.
  • Will my ego be bruised? Maybe.
  • Will I be better prepared to take it again and kill it next time? Absolutely.

Now some of you might read the first couple of questions above and think, that's ridiculous to ask yourself those questions about maiming and death....but it's not. Whether it is a test like the DAT, asking a girl out that you think is the most beautiful girl in the world (and are thus nervous about), or giving a speech in public...our "Fight or Flight" mechanisms have been trained to make everything that we place value or importance on a "do or die" kind of scenario....but in reality, they aren't.
Important, YES.
Life or death hanging in the balance on the outcome, NO.

Yes, the DAT is important.
Yes, you should study your *ss off and do well on it.
But don't put unreasonable pressures (of perfection) on yourself that will screw with your mind and possibly prevent you from doing well on the test.

So:

1. Oatmeal for breakfast (preferably within 2 hours of starting the exam).
2. Arrive early. The check-in procedure is pretty simple. You provide ID to the front-desk person and sign in there to kind of let them make a notation that you arrived. They tell you to put ALL of your personal stuff (except ID) in a locker (locks provided). You then go into another room and they look at your ID again, take your picture, fingerprint you (just thumb), and have you sign the log-in book. Make sure you go to the bathroom and get a drink of water before you enter the actual computer testing area.
3. Take Nuts/Trailmix and water for your break.
4. Relax, put the test in perspective mentally, and let the information pour forth from your brain.

Lastly, one thing I wish I had remembered to do was take QR flashcards to quickly refresh during break (since QR is after and there aren't any rules prohibiting you from reviewing on your break). Obviously you should know this stuff before you get there, but it's always good (at least for me) to see a couple of algebra, word, geo/trig problems worked out with my little shortcut notations, and when I actually start the QR part of the exam, it's not my first exposure to math that day.

Hope this helps.
You're probably already in bed and might not even see this before heading our for your test, but it'll be here for anybody else that's interested.

Let us know how you do.

 

[nk137s]

VERY well written 24 hr prep thanks!!! the qr idea is also great I'm just gonna be sooo tired after the 1st part I'm not sure if anything will be absorbed!

 

[DROCKINDAHOUSE]

Miller light

 

[Versati1ity]

I agree with almost all of what iSmile5 said.
I remember the first time I took the DAT and didn't take a snack...at brake time I was famished. Not good to go into RC (ugh) and QR with your stomach (and therefore, mind) screaming Feed Me!....real concentration breaker.

So, iSmile5 is right...Real Oatmeal is a really good breakfast. It'll sustain you for hours.
Also, as recommended, take some nuts or trailmix.
I would advise against anything really fat-laden, lest you get sleepy right after your break.
Also, I would advise against Gatorade or anything similar. They taste great and all, but it could put you on the Carbo roller coaster where you're feeling really good and energetic while you're drinking it during break, then comes the sugar crash...not good during your test.
Water is the universal hydrator...stick with it.

Oh, one really important thing....relax.
Do not put any kind of expectation on yourself, score-wise. Just go in there, sit down, start the 15min tutorial and let it run while you get centered, focused and peaceful. Then attack the test.
The last thing you want to do is put the "I have to get 29's on everything or its the end of the world" pressure on yourself. If people go in with that "it's got to be perfect" mentality, when they get a curveball question (and there will be a couple), then their mind starts focusing on how badly they might wind up doing, instead of focusing on how well they are doing and all the questions they've answered correctly already. It's part of human nature. I call it the "Winestain on the tablecloth" scenario. Imagine a huge table with a bright, white tablecloth on it. Imagine that somebody has dripped a single drop of red wine on the tablecloth. Although the tablecloth is 99% perfect and white, what do we as humans focus on?....that 1% that isn't perfect, and it drives us crazy. So, if you get a curveball question or two, and we've all had them, don't focus on the winespot. Focus on how well you're crushing the other 99% of the questions you've had so far.

One thing that has helped ME whenever I have a task that is either daunting and/or a little bit scary (but needs to be done anyway), I ask myself this (and I'll use the DAT as my example topic):

• If I get into the DAT and my mind goes to the zoo, what is the worst possible thing that could happen to me?
  • Am I going to be permanently maimed? No.
  • Am I literally going to die? No.
  • Are my family and friends going to stop loving me and talking to me? No.
  • Will my ego be bruised? Maybe.
  • Will I be better prepared to take it again and kill it next time? Absolutely.

Now some of you might read the first couple of questions above and think, that's ridiculous to ask yourself those questions about maiming and death....but it's not. Whether it is a test like the DAT, asking a girl out that you think is the most beautiful girl in the world (and are thus nervous about), or giving a speech in public...our "Fight or Flight" mechanisms have been trained to make everything that we place value or importance on a "do or die" kind of scenario....but in reality, they aren't.
Important, YES.
Life or death hanging in the balance on the outcome, NO.

Yes, the DAT is important.
Yes, you should study your *ss off and do well on it.
But don't put unreasonable pressures (of perfection) on yourself that will screw with your mind and possibly prevent you from doing well on the test.

So:

1. Oatmeal for breakfast (preferably within 2 hours of starting the exam).
2. Arrive early. The check-in procedure is pretty simple. You provide ID to the front-desk person and sign in there to kind of let them make a notation that you arrived. They tell you to put ALL of your personal stuff (except ID) in a locker (locks provided). You then go into another room and they look at your ID again, take your picture, fingerprint you (just thumb), and have you sign the log-in book. Make sure you go to the bathroom and get a drink of water before you enter the actual computer testing area.
3. Take Nuts/Trailmix and water for your break.
4. Relax, put the test in perspective mentally, and let the information pour forth from your brain.

Lastly, one thing I wish I had remembered to do was take QR flashcards to quickly refresh during break (since QR is after and there aren't any rules prohibiting you from reviewing on your break). Obviously you should know this stuff before you get there, but it's always good (at least for me) to see a couple of algebra, word, geo/trig problems worked out with my little shortcut notations, and when I actually start the QR part of the exam, it's not my first exposure to math that day.

Hope this helps.
You're probably already in bed and might not even see this before heading our for your test, but it'll be here for anybody else that's interested.

Let us know how you do.

Very well written. I agree with all of your points. 👍

 

[Kkae]

Thank u soooo much!! all the points (those i saw b4 my test 🙂) were very useful in the 24hr prep. process. I'm done with the DATs that post is coming up!