DAT PAT strategies

[JAMA0295]

I'm wondering what the best approach is to study for the PAT section of the DAT. I have purchased Crack DAT PAT (CDP) and tried to complete a sample test. I was able to solve most of the problems but I was very slow. I'm wondering if I should be trying to devise my own strategies to solve these problems or if there is some literature out there that describes in detail how to handle each type of question. Please let me know if you taught yourself how to solve these questions or if you had a strategy guide for each section.

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[mbishara]

JUST PRACTICE! and dont stop. eventually you will develop your own strategies.

Something that some told me to really help on the counting block section was to mark a paper 1-5. then for each set of blocks observe each block and mark it on your list 1-5. After you finish the set of blocks you will be able to awnser the next three questions.

On the hole punching section try to work backwards. I observed the paper in the end and unfoleded it one step at a time backwards that wroked pretty well.

The angle section was just pure practice and observation.

The folding section also just required a lot of practice

 

[JAMA0295]

Are there 90 questions for PAT and 60min to answer them like the CDP tests? Also, which questions should be tackled first and how long for each, etc..?

 

[full]

In mid-june 08 I took the perceptual abilities workshop at UCLA and that was the begining of my PAT studying.

We took ADA PAT tests and they were EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING for me. After 2-3 hrs I still couldn't finish, I had no idea what many of the answers were..and this was the case even after being explained the instructions.

I was easily the lowest scoring, slowest person in the class.

For the next 6 weeks I still sucked really bad despite studying everyday for an hour for the PAT. I was EXTREMELY SLOW. After about 3-4 weeks I could finish in 1.5-2 hrs and probably scored 16-18. At 6 weeks I could score 18-20 but it would take me 1 hr 15 min - 1 hr 30 min.

Howver, after 6 weeks I started using crack the DAT PAT everyday for an hour. This was SOOO HARD at first because the hole punches were much much harder than anything I'd seen. I was doing well on all the other sections and would have finished at 1 hr - 1 hr 10 min if not for the super hard hole punches alone that would take me 20-30 minutes (now theyonly take 5- 10 minutes on crack and less than 5 min on the ADAs and top scores). So I did this for like a month. Then I got better. now I was able to score in the low 20s (but this was taking tests that I had seen before...however I had a strong intuitive feel that I was improving sigficantly in general)

So I kept doing this 1 test per day, and after another month ( 8 weeks total on crack dat pat) I was doing really well, going realy fast. I did the barrons tests and the ADA tests that I had done months ago in the perceptual ability workshop and I did really well on them and finished in time at this point. I also did crack dat pat 8-10 for the first time ever ( I had saved those) and I did between 21-23...only bad part was the angles which I still suck on and also the illusion cube counting.

I've continued to do 1 test a day. I usually finish with 10-20 minutes left, and although I've seen the tests before, I force myself to do them honestly by visualizing all the lines and proving to myself the answer in my head. Even on my first top score test, I had like 15 minutes left or something when finishing the cube counting and hole punches are breeze on all the resources except for crack...but its really easy to fly through them and make a stupid little mistake by mis counting.

In summary I studied the PAT section for average of 1-1.5 hrs per day for the last 6 months. consistency, I found, was the most important thing. I felt like it "worked out" that part of my brain. Now I'm better at perceptual ability in general. I also purposely practiced rotating objects that I'd see in my day to day activities and also visualizing what a projection of them would be. So I basically saturated my mind with this stuff on a consistent basis and now it comes more naturally.

At first PAT was my biggest sticking point, now I think its the easiest section and RC and BIO are my biggest weakenesses.

I'm hoping to get at least 22 on the real PAT which I take in a week.

Anyway just posting this to give you hope.

 

[chessxwizard]

Crack DAT Pat is very indicative of what to expect on the real test. If you can consistently score 22 on CDP, you should get 21-23 on the actual thing. I felt that angles and folding were a little harder on the real test than on CDP, so you might want to try out different techniques for those sections. Try the hill method/laptop method/sharpness method for angles and just practice alot for the folding part. You should tackle the PAT one section after another, without skipping sections and wasting valuable time. The time limits are identical to CDP. Although most people give Barrons a bad rap for the sciences, their PAT review was quite valuable... you might want to pick that book up and give it a read through.

 

[Oralfixation]

The best studyguide for PAT is without a doubt "Topscore Pro" It has sample DAT's but you can skip to just doing the PAT's and that works. Just do them over and over, they are dead on what you will do on the DAT. If you do twenty of them you will go from a 13 to a 22. I did.

 

[Albuterol]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643&highlight=wicked+pat+tutorial

thats a good thread to start with. Also which CDP did u buy? I got the one with the extra practice problems and those helped me. Start by doing the first 3 untimed so you get the hang of it, the next 3-4 timed, and the final 3 with 55minutes so you are finishing ahead of time but with the same accuracy. I started with 17s and ended up getting 20-21 toward the end. On test day i got a 19. Just keep practicing and eventually you will get the hang of it. Also make sure you keep practicing, I'm almost positive because I hadn't practiced for a few days that I had lost a little confidence in some PAT sections. Good luck.

 

[JAMA0295]

Thanks for the helpful info. It's impressive that full showed that level of commitment to studying the PAT section and it obviously will pay off.

I have been studying crack dat pat for 4 days and I have been reading posts on PAT strategies also. I have only been using the first two sample tests on cdp to learn how to solve the problems and become familiar with the types. Today I took the 3rd test for the first time and scored 18 but I did not have time to finish more than two questions on hole punching. I should also say that I have a slight advantage with the PAT section because I learned how to solve the 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5 rubik's cube this summer and I think that it really carries over to the PAT. I'm going to write a breakdown of what I am experiencing in each section of the PAT and maybe people will have helpful comments. I might refer to specific problem types and for those I'll be looking for specific answers on how to solve them. Thank you for your help.

Cubes: I use the method of making a two column chart with 1-5 on the left and then count the total number of cubes that have the corresponding number of faces painted. This seems to be the most effective method although you must be careful to not rush too much because it is easy to make a mistake.

Angles: I look at the answers and usually there are two of answers that each have a different angle as the smallest. These are the first two I try to compare and then I go from there. I don’t have a lot of strategy for this section, so any advice would be nice.

Keyhole: I just make sure that the keyhole and the object have all the same shapes and angles, this usually eliminates 1 or 2 answers immediately. I usually do very well in this section.

Folding: I usually compare the answers to the unfolded object and try to eliminate that way. For the most part these are easy except for one kind of question. I find the 1x1x1 cubes difficult when they have patterns that go from corner to corner or lines that have different orientations. If anyone knows a good way to tackle the single cubes I would appreciate it.

TFE: I use the line counting technique to eliminate answers and then I just try to piece the object together in my mind and rotate views to see which option works.

Holes: This is my worst section. I use the grid system and try to work backwards. It just takes me a long time to do it without being able to draw on the actual figures. If I can improve on this section I should be able to get over 20.

That is just a brief explanation, but let me know if you have any good tips.

I’m thinking about getting topscore, how many sample DATs come with it?

 

[littlemango]

In mid-june 08 I took the perceptual abilities workshop at UCLA and that was the begining of my PAT studying.

We took ADA PAT tests and they were EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING for me. After 2-3 hrs I still couldn't finish, I had no idea what many of the answers were..and this was the case even after being explained the instructions.

I was easily the lowest scoring, slowest person in the class.

For the next 6 weeks I still sucked really bad despite studying everyday for an hour for the PAT. I was EXTREMELY SLOW. After about 3-4 weeks I could finish in 1.5-2 hrs and probably scored 16-18. At 6 weeks I could score 18-20 but it would take me 1 hr 15 min - 1 hr 30 min.

Howver, after 6 weeks I started using crack the DAT PAT everyday for an hour. This was SOOO HARD at first because the hole punches were much much harder than anything I'd seen. I was doing well on all the other sections and would have finished at 1 hr - 1 hr 10 min if not for the super hard hole punches alone that would take me 20-30 minutes (now theyonly take 5- 10 minutes on crack and less than 5 min on the ADAs and top scores). So I did this for like a month. Then I got better. now I was able to score in the low 20s (but this was taking tests that I had seen before...however I had a strong intuitive feel that I was improving sigficantly in general)

So I kept doing this 1 test per day, and after another month ( 8 weeks total on crack dat pat) I was doing really well, going realy fast. I did the barrons tests and the ADA tests that I had done months ago in the perceptual ability workshop and I did really well on them and finished in time at this point. I also did crack dat pat 8-10 for the first time ever ( I had saved those) and I did between 21-23...only bad part was the angles which I still suck on and also the illusion cube counting.

I've continued to do 1 test a day. I usually finish with 10-20 minutes left, and although I've seen the tests before, I force myself to do them honestly by visualizing all the lines and proving to myself the answer in my head. Even on my first top score test, I had like 15 minutes left or something when finishing the cube counting and hole punches are breeze on all the resources except for crack...but its really easy to fly through them and make a stupid little mistake by mis counting.

In summary I studied the PAT section for average of 1-1.5 hrs per day for the last 6 months. consistency, I found, was the most important thing. I felt like it "worked out" that part of my brain. Now I'm better at perceptual ability in general. I also purposely practiced rotating objects that I'd see in my day to day activities and also visualizing what a projection of them would be. So I basically saturated my mind with this stuff on a consistent basis and now it comes more naturally.

At first PAT was my biggest sticking point, now I think its the easiest section and RC and BIO are my biggest weakenesses.

I'm hoping to get at least 22 on the real PAT which I take in a week.

Anyway just posting this to give you hope.

This is inspiring. thank you very much.

 

[lostundergrad]

I'm wondering what the best approach is to study for the PAT section of the DAT. I have purchased Crack DAT PAT (CDP) and tried to complete a sample test. I was able to solve most of the problems but I was very slow. I'm wondering if I should be trying to devise my own strategies to solve these problems or if there is some literature out there that describes in detail how to handle each type of question. Please let me know if you taught yourself how to solve these questions or if you had a strategy guide for each section.

Don't use crack DAT PAT. It's outdated and the questions are too easy. For example, TFE questions can not be answered with the line counting method.

 

[Bingwen]

Don't use crack DAT PAT. It's outdated and the questions are too easy. For example, TFE questions can not be answered with the line counting method.

This thread was from 2008. I'm not sure most of the stuff in this thread is relevant anymore.

 

[lostundergrad]

This thread was from 2008. I'm not sure most of the stuff in this thread is relevant anymore.

you right. I don't really know how to use this website