DAT PAT: Angle Ranking and TFE struggles. Hitting a plateau sos

[smiledoc1]

Hi everyone, so I know AR and TFE are pretty notorious for being some of the more difficult PAT sections to master. With angle ranking I've been doing practice everyday for the past few months (mainly using bootcamp generators) but I've seemed to hit a plateau recently and cant ever get more than about 10/15 correct.

Tbh, I think I'm going crazy after practicing so much- I'm starting to notice uneven surfaces EVERYWHERE. Has anyone else experienced this?! For instance: yesterday I couldn't help but notice the door opening to my room on the left side is slightly more acute than the right side. This PAT section is taking over my life. Any specific advice or strategies for AR and TFE? My test is in 2 weeks and I really need to prioritize studying so any helpful strategies would be appreciated.

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[IdleKoala]

Let me be honest with you, I hate angle ranking with all my heart. I can't tell you how many times while studying for my DAT I wanted to put my fist through the screen cause of those stupid angles. I ended up in a similar situation as yourself with angle ranking, I couldn't seem to get past 10/15 on a good day. So my attitude for this probably wasn't the best, but you know what I did? I just stopped caring and focused on other sections. I made sure I was scoring around 13/15-15/15 on the other sections and just mentally excepted that I was gunna lose a few point in AR. Now I only got a 21PAT so maybe I should have worked harder, but I'm happy with my score. I personally feel like for some of the PAT stuff, either you got it or you don't. So all this to say, just keep working hard and make sure you get all the points in easy sections like CC to make up for any questions you may miss. Best of luck!

 

[ForgottenDreams]

For TFE imagine the object in 3D and "rotate it" around. All questions right or wrong I would look at the 3D model provided by BC. On the actual DAT I started my test with angle ranking because my eyes were the 'freshest.' Angle ranking is like playing russian roulette, I hoped I got the 'right' combo only to be shot in the face for incorrectly choosing the smallest or the largest. Personally, I would focus on TFE and put less emphasis in angle ranking. I think the last 3 PAT tests I took in BC, I only got 2/15 angles correct (LOL).

 

[gudetamasan]

For angle ranking, trust your gut feeling! If I stare at two angles for too long they will start to look similar 🙁
On the test, use the review button to jump straight to Question 31 and start on angle ranking first. That way your eyes are still sharp and not tired after keyhole and TFE.
For TFE, I usually look at the two faces first before looking at the answer choices. Try to imagine what it might look like then match with the answers. You should be able to recognize features such as a tunnel, a step, a cut-out corner, etc.
I just had my dat this morning and got a 23PAT.
Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

[smiledoc1]

For angle ranking, trust your gut feeling! If I stare at two angles for too long they will start to look similar 🙁
On the test, use the review button to jump straight to Question 31 and start on angle ranking first. That way your eyes are still sharp and not tired after keyhole and TFE.
For TFE, I usually look at the two faces first before looking at the answer choices. Try to imagine what it might look like then match with the answers. You should be able to recognize features such as a tunnel, a step, a cut-out corner, etc.
I just had my dat this morning and got a 23PAT.
Hope this helps and best of luck!

Thanks for the reply and congratulations on your great PAT score! Did you use bootcamp generators for practice and if so were they similar in difficulty to the actual test?

 

[gudetamasan]

Thanks for the reply and congratulations on your great PAT score! Did you use bootcamp generators for practice and if so were they similar in difficulty to the actual test?

Thank you!
Yes, I used bootcamp generators for practicing. I only had time to complete 5 PAT practice tests on BC, but you should definitely go through as many as possible because practice tests give you more detailed explanations than the generator.
On the actual test, keyhole, TFE, and hole punching were easier than bootcamp, but angle ranking, pattern folding, and cube counting were similar. I got one rock keyhole on the test and I've heard that some people got 4!