DAT Just Finished.. Feedback on Exam

[mlozano]

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Hey guys just took the DAT June 10th and wanted to leave my feedback to hopefully help people out.

Heres my results
PAT 22 96.2
QR 20 89.3
RC 19 59.7
Bio 23 98.0
GC 30 100
OC 20 81.3
TS 23 98.2
AA 22 96.4

Overall I was pretty thrown off on the actual exam. I wound up getting the piano reading passage version which was very different from a lot of the other ones I saw. So just a heads up not a bad idea to look over the kaplan notes on the different types of questions on the reading comp. As in tone, tense, style those sorts of things. And not trying to scare anyone but it's important to be prepared. I had a glaring fire alarm which was more like a missile siren going off in the room for 35 mins of the SNS section ordering evacuation procedures with the clock running and had to hear it in the hall throughout the whole time. So wasn't too thrilled.

I was usually hitting the upper 20s on PAT and QR and mid 20s on RC, but around 18-20 in the sciences so my scores were pretty different from what I've been getting. But think just with the extra stuff going it, threw me from my timing and didn't finish a few sections. But overall the scores are pretty good so I'm satisfied to the point where not going to retake.

Hang it there tho guys, I have a very low gpa even if from a top tiered school (2.8) and just put in my time on the test and got some good scores. Everything on the test were pretty broad and approachable if you put the work in on Kaplan, Crack DAT PAT, Achiever, Top Score and whatever u can get your hands on.

On a side note, anyone aware of the schools that focus more on DAT scores versus GPA. Even though I've graduated in Spring '08 I've been taking/retaking some courses to boost the GPA in the mean time but regardless, looks like I need to hope for a shot from a school that likes my DAT scores in the meantime. Advice? Questions? Be more than happy to offer advice if needed.

 

[jd399]

Hey good job, i was wondering if you were getting lower on kaplan tests and then felt the dats were somewhat easier? also what was ur opinion on the dats in general, easier then expected?

 

[GiTsticker]

UOP comes to mind when I think of good DAT scores (yours are great btw). What did you use for bio?

 

[g23armani]

Great job! Hard to say how the GPA will affect you but with those scores you should get in somewhere. Did you expect the 30 on GC?

Were the high 20s PAT mostly from Kaplan? I was scoring about 28 avg on PAT from Kaplan and got a 23 on the test.

 

[Chrono]

A rc score of 19 is 59th percentile?? That seems low....

 

[mlozano]

UOP comes to mind when I think of good DAT scores (yours are great btw). What did you use for bio?

Hey good job, i was wondering if you were getting lower on kaplan tests and then felt the dats were somewhat easier? also what was ur opinion on the dats in general, easier then expected?

thanks. For bio I definitely spent the most reading time on that. I read the Kaplan Book and then thanks to recommendations from this site I picked up the Barron's AP Bio book a week or so before the test and read the thing through. Think it helped tie everything back together after studying all the pieces from practice exams. You guys should definitely realize the best source overall from studying is the Kaplan (or whatever else you're using) explanations for the correct response and all of the reasons why the other answers are wrong. But that AP Bio book was a quick read and went through everything quick and covered all the material. For this test I think it's important to put time in but just realize you're gonna see stuff that you haven't studied but everything sticks to the broader subjects that reoccur in the exams. No need to go crazy in my opinion when you don't recognize some strange type of fern or unicellular deep water organism that you'll come across. You know what I mean. But that Bio book was cheap (think i got it for like 3 bucks used on amazon) and a solid run through for before the test.

On a side note with Bio, I put together my own kind of outline from the Kaplan Blue Book and filled it in with stuff over the weeks of practice tests and things like that with the things I was getting wrong obviously but also added those weird facts in case they come up. Eventually I keep expanding on it and gave me a good read through for the day before sort of thing and to look act every once in awhile when I needed a break from straight test taking.

As for my scores, yea i guess I was getting lower Kaplan scores. Clearly I was lower on the Gen Chem. But I would bounce in the 17-23 range probably more around 17-20. But like I said I was killing the QR and PAT in the high 20s the whole time and dropped to 22 & 20 and went up on gen chem specifically but was on the higher end on bio and prob orgo also if I had finished the section. I didnt get to I think 6-7 questions in Science, about 5 or 6 in QR and the last few in PAT so I guess they wouldve been raised in all the sciences from what I was doing.

Wish I could tell you they were definitely easier across the board. I think the actual was very easy at some points and some through me off a little but could be bc I was about to let the Prometric people have an uncensored earful about the tremendous distractions that none of you should worry about having (the fire alarm). Just put time in and know the bases of what you're studying. I definitely crossed Kaplan tests that I felt hopeless on (not to mention some of the top score and achiever stuff) and didn't feel overwhelmed by difficulty by any means on the actual, just uncomfortable I guess. Hope it helped.

Also anyone know of dental stem cell research opportunities? Or hear of anything related?

 

[Chrono]

How did you study for the QR section, which materials did u use? Any general advice?

thanks.

 

[mlozano]

How did you study for the QR section, which materials did u use? Any general advice?

thanks.

QR didn't get anything additional but used achiever kaplan top score and destroyer tests. It's going to be about timing and that's just practice tests. Know how to approach the word problems. There's not too many different models of them out there. It's going to be a speed related one, age, and change in your pocket sort of stuff. Heard a good approach is to immediately mark them and save for the end bc they take time. But you also are going to have to know a few conversions, understand very basic trig, and couldn't hurt to know the interest stuff. Even though you could figure out simple interest regardless an equation like I = Prt could save some time. But not a bad idea to mark and move on if either it's going to be a long problem or something you are not sure of. Those last 7 questions might be the easiest of the section and you'll get more points getting those right than struggling with 1 that holds you up in the middle

 

[jd399]

did u use detroyer and if yes... in each section did u see very similiar questions

 

[a1pha]

Congrats... I had the almost exactly the same AA/TS/PAT and I had the same test version. Amusingly enough, I felt just like you did with my RC, QR and PAT before my exam too. Regardless, good job.

 

[nze82]

Awesome scores! Low GPA. Hard to say🙄. You'll find out in couple of months!
Good Luck👍