DAT Preparation from now until September - Tips?

[TheMission]

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Hey everyone. I've done a good amount of research already on the SDN forums, but I'd still like some feedback on study materials. I'm on a tight budget and won't have an extensive amount of time to study for the DAT. I'm in the midst of taking summer school classes and will have a 2 month break from August to October (and have to take 2 weeks off in August for a surgery) I will probably take the DAT a week or two into October before classes pick up again. I've already graduated, but will be taking classes still for GPA boosting, and will also start post-bac in January.

What I'm thinking about getting: DAT destroyer, Math destroyer, AP Cliff's + Feralis, Kaplan Blue Book, DAT Bootcamp.

I've read plenty of breakdowns and people use CDP, qVault, and Topscore quite often. Are these necessary? And with regards to the fact that I have only about 2 months to study from August to October, is this a sufficient amount of time?

 

[tooth knockn]

First off what is your budget.

Then we talk.

 

[tooth knockn]

You should be very sorry for that long ass post, I got nothing out of it.

 

[TheMission]

$300

 

[tooth knockn]

Ahhhh, ok


Go get a pen and paper....


First get cliff ap bio3rd edition.$5

Then get Barron's ap bio book.$15

Bootcamp$120

Chads$100

Used dat destroyer. Anything after 2012.$100

Craig savage videos on YouTube. Free

Google everything . Free


Your old text books or your friends old text books, which are collecting dust.


A little over $300, but you'll be ready for all tested categories. Go to ebay.

 

[zhangtwanger]

Glimmer's Breakdown collection has a link to a free pdf of Cliffs 3rd edition!

 

[TheMission]

@tooth knockn Okay thanks. I also shortened the original thread msg haha. Did you do the entire destroyer for biology and QR?? I know most people use it for GC and OC mostly. So I'm guessing DAT bootcamp is better than CDP nowadays right?

@zhangtwanger Thanks!! Holy crap you have a 30 on the PAT

 

[tooth knockn]

I plan on studying, qr with the chads and dat destroyer.

Boot camp plus chads together work hand to hand.

Take notes, buy like 10 composition notebooks.


Destroyer math seems to be very challenging, over the dat standard. Based on how I see the reviews here on SDN.

 

[tooth knockn]

You didn't shorten nuthn.

 

[zhangtwanger]

@zhangtwanger Thanks!! Holy crap you have a 30 on the PAT

I got VERY lucky, my friend 🙂

 

[dhk2131]

^hes a modest wizard.

 

[Glimmer1991]

Also, keep in mind that if you keep your DAT Destroyer/Math Destroyer combo in like-new condition, you can sell them back on eBay for a great price! In the end, mine only cost like $60 (and that includes the cost of shipping that Orgoman has you pay).

Also, if you want to do well, you NEED to get Chad's videos. This is the most important resource of them all.

For the typical person, I'd say that 2 months of study is sufficient if you can dedicate 4-5 hours a day.

 

[FancyFloss]

I highly recommend Chad's videos. For the price, the quantity/quality of information in his videos plus his quizzes are a given when studying for the DAT. Like what @tooth knockn said, make sure to take notes to review from. Best of luck!

 

[biomolecmed]

Feralis, Destroyer, Cliffs are a must. Anything else is good too, if you can afford it.

 

[TheMission]

Thanks everyone. It seems like GC and OC are rather straightfoward, in terms of how people prepare. Chad's videos + destroyer. Bio looks like it's gonna be Cliifs, Feralis, and destroyer. However, I'm a tad concerned with QR specifically. I got two C's in undergrad from calculus, and a B-. It's not my strong suit. And yes, I know QR isn't calculus, but this really is an area of struggle and I haven't touched a math problem in a few years. I did, however, take a stats class, and it was fine. Would math destroyer be overkill?

On a separate note, because I don't have the books yet, how many questions are there in these destroyer books? Is GC, for example, a thousand questions or something? The DAT destroyer book looks pretty decent in length, but it has 4 subjects divided throughout the book. Is it all possible to do in a reasonable amount of time? The reason I ask is that I want to split my time up wisely. Although I want to finish everything, I might not even get through a math destroyer, for instance, because it's a gigantic textbook of problems, I think.

 

[Dotoday]

Thanks everyone. It seems like GC and OC are rather straightfoward, in terms of how people prepare. Chad's videos + destroyer. Bio looks like it's gonna be Cliifs, Feralis, and destroyer. However, I'm a tad concerned with QR specifically. I got two C's in undergrad from calculus, and a B-. It's not my strong suit. And yes, I know QR isn't calculus, but this really is an area of struggle and I haven't touched a math problem in a few years. I did, however, take a stats class, and it was fine. Would math destroyer be overkill?

On a separate note, because I don't have the books yet, how many questions are there in these destroyer books? Is GC, for example, a thousand questions or something? The DAT destroyer book looks pretty decent in length, but it has 4 subjects divided throughout the book. Is it all possible to do in a reasonable amount of time? The reason I ask is that I want to split my time up wisely. Although I want to finish everything, I might not even get through a math destroyer, for instance, because it's a gigantic textbook of problems, I think.

yes. You have enough time. You can do a bit of math one day, then go to science, then come back to math. That way you will not get sick of studying just one subject, lol.