PAT 20 (81)
QR 19 (92.9)
RC 18 (52.2)
Bio 20 (91.8)
GC 21 (91.6)
OC 21 (89.7)
TS 21 (96.2)
AA 20 (93.4)
Done about couple of hours ago, so want to write it before I forget things, even though can't really remember anything.. 🙂 I'm just going to write, so excuse the typos, grammar and etc...
a bit of background. I worked ~32hrs/week and studied about 4 hours/day for 6 (9) month... I was a zombie, and so stressed...i was all over the place, and was getting really nervous at the end because of Achiever... IGNORE achiever! I never went beyond 18 (except got 21 on ochem once)!! so if you are doing low, don't be discouraged.
I started studying Bio, GC, and OC early. I started bio like 9 month ago, i had this idea that I could learn and remember everything... 🙂 Which i'm not complaining, I think I was pretty confident with bio. But I started GC and OC 6 month before the test. GC level was zero, I remembered nothing. OC, like 30% of the stuff. then i started with with math, and PAT the last 3 month. It was really hard for me to retain stuff. I'm writing all these because you might relate.
I'm happy with what I got, so don't give up, just do it. And go in there with the right attitude.
But I think if you do 3-4 month of focused 8hr/day studying, you would definitely get you 21+.
here are the products I used:
Achiever
TopScore
DAT destroyer (GC and OC only) and Math destroyer
Student Study Guide for Campbell / and a bit of Cliff/ Google
Chad: chem, math, ochem
DAT qValt
CDP
Over all, I felt I could have done better!!! I knew some of the stuff, but couldn't pull it together, froze on couple of questions, and couldn't remember, especially for GC and Math. And I think part of it was because my studying spam was over 6 month, I kept forgetting stuff. But I know, "could of" means nothing, I got what I got, based on my situation and wouldn't have been any different. Being nervous, and etc is part of the test, that's one of the things you are being tested. Try to stay CALM, FOCUSED, and SKIP. Trust me, there are more down the road that you can answer with blink of an eye, but if you waste time on the ones that freaks you out, you will loose the easy points. In fact, when your brain has started functioning and you are more comfortable, when you go back, you seem to somehow figure it out... there is a delay and nervousness when you start, don't let it ruin your score...
Also, I suggest do not use more than 2 resources for each section, instead MASTER the resources, know them cold... they will get you the high score..
GC- Chad and Destroyer
Chad's videos. Did the quizes once, did mistakes second time. used chad's notes for reviewing the last couple of days. Did destroyer twice, plus mistakes the third time.
Chad and Destroyer is ALL you need. Actually I think Destroyer is More than what you need. Even though I got 21, I could have done better! My main problem was calculation problems, there were couple of questions I should have got because I seen it in destroyer and chads... I was so angry.. lol i couldn't remember a simple formula! Hmm I don't think there was anything that I haven't seen, except one conceptual question...
OC-
Again Chad's Videos, and Destroyer. And again Destroyer is over kill, but definitely saw couple of questions right out of destroyer. I used chad's notes and destroyer road maps for last review. I don't know why I can't remember much about this section...
Bio--
Qvault, Study guide for campbell.
Well, I didn't want to use Cliff, because even it is very concise, I thought it wouldn't prepare me for the randomness. I didn't want to read the whole Campbell, so I chose the study guide. And used campbell as reference and for figures. And I knew so much... I think qvualt is good source, and cliff should be enough, and use Campbell for weak areas. the thing about this section is that the wording is different, the way questions are asked, and yes there were things that I didn't see before. Qvault prepares you for these questions. There are not that many straight forward questions... But I didn't get any weird phyla questions that people complained about
QR
Did math destoyer, qvault, and chads video. I started with destroyer and panicked. I was a precalulus tutor, so I got cocky. I thought lower math would be easy. But man, I didn't remember any of that permutation/comb, probablity, word problems.....
So I went over chads videos, which I think is not necessary. Use the videos only for sections that you are weak, like permutation/combination... I still really didn't get it, there was just so many different ways to ask it 🙂. I definetly needed to spend a lot more on this section, i just felt i didn't have time. I only did destroyer 1-9, and 5 of qvualt. If I did this all over again, i would have started on math early, instead of ochem.
qvault and destroyer is enough, just be quick, duh! I know, can't really say more..just know speed comes from you doing problems over and over again.. there was two questions, not a word problems that I didn't know how to do. but again keep in mind, you don't have to know everything! remember this for all sections. Know 90% of the stuff, make educated guess on the rest.. this should be your goal... this also allows you not to stress too much during the test...I went into the test knowing I had to think smart and make the best guess on some questions...
PAT--
Something about PAT. This sections is just different, different people might be good at different sections. For example you might be great at cube counting (i sucked at it, couldn't focus, i kept loosing track), but another person might be good at holes and TFE (like me🙂). So if I tell you holes were easy, then it might actually be hard for you...
anyways, but you can still make comparison to other products. I think Topsocre is closest to this sections, except key hole.
Over all, I recommend CDP.
Holes - very easy, nothing crazy like achiever, some where a so easy that I kept doubting myself, am I making a mistake??? it is more like topscore and CDP. I think even CDP was a bit harder. you should go with harder product, so you are ready for the real thing.
TFE - I had hard time with this section in the beginning, but it slowly came to me.
Here are my tips:
select 9 questions from any product. 3 from each type of TFE. meaning 3 that is showing only Top - end, 3 showing only top - front, and 3 from End-front
Spend as much time needed to figure out the relationships, and how you would eliminate the wrong answers on small clues, There are always small clues that can tell you which ones are wrong. you can get those clues from the answer keys.
look at the question, don't try to visualise the object, it might be easy on some, but don't. just get a sense of it, is there some unusually?
then look at the answer keys and see what is different about them, and keep comparing them to the question, I usually could easily eliminate 2 answers right ways, then work on the rest, like why there is a dotted line in C over there, but no dotted line in D? why there is solid line out here, but not there?
Spend as much time as you need on these problems, and come up with your own strategy.
The real thing is not as hard as achiever, comparible to topscore and CDP
Angles-
like every one says, don't waste time on this section. I spent more time on hole, tfe, and punch, and would rush through this sections. Just go with your gut, really, your first judgment is the correct one. start with the answer choices.
punch-
It was hard. it went even to five folds, like on 3 questions. It was as hard as Achiever. This was one of my weak sections, which i got better by using the CDP's strategy. I have strategy for this one too, but wow, i wrote so much.. just want to finish it..
Cube counting--
I kept loosing track of where I was, doubting myself, I definitely needed more work on this sections, even this can be the easiest one! I knew it going into the test, but used the tally method. The good thing was I had 10 minutes extra at the end, so I quickly went back, and yes I did make mistakes on couple, which I fixed!! 🙂
Folds -
Not as crazy as achiever, again topscore and cdp will do. I think I made mistakes mostly on this section and the punch.
Reading comprehension-
didn't prepare much on this section.
I read the first paragraph first, just to know whats about. Then I would read the questions, and try to read quickly through pragraphs.. I try to keep track of time, so I would give each passage 20 min of time.
There were at least 2 tone questions for each passage, and couple of inference questions. But I ended of up not having enough time for the last section. that's why i got the low score....
Topscore scores:
just did 1 & 2. straight 19s, and once 16 on my GC.
Achiever- I had 5 test, did only 1-4. All below 18.
qvault-
bio- average around 20s
math- 20s
CDP - didn't do all - had 10 test
test 1: 18
Test 2: 19
Test 3:19
test 5: 21
Test 6: 19
Test 9: 20
QR 19 (92.9)
RC 18 (52.2)
Bio 20 (91.8)
GC 21 (91.6)
OC 21 (89.7)
TS 21 (96.2)
AA 20 (93.4)
Done about couple of hours ago, so want to write it before I forget things, even though can't really remember anything.. 🙂 I'm just going to write, so excuse the typos, grammar and etc...
a bit of background. I worked ~32hrs/week and studied about 4 hours/day for 6 (9) month... I was a zombie, and so stressed...i was all over the place, and was getting really nervous at the end because of Achiever... IGNORE achiever! I never went beyond 18 (except got 21 on ochem once)!! so if you are doing low, don't be discouraged.
I started studying Bio, GC, and OC early. I started bio like 9 month ago, i had this idea that I could learn and remember everything... 🙂 Which i'm not complaining, I think I was pretty confident with bio. But I started GC and OC 6 month before the test. GC level was zero, I remembered nothing. OC, like 30% of the stuff. then i started with with math, and PAT the last 3 month. It was really hard for me to retain stuff. I'm writing all these because you might relate.
I'm happy with what I got, so don't give up, just do it. And go in there with the right attitude.
But I think if you do 3-4 month of focused 8hr/day studying, you would definitely get you 21+.
here are the products I used:
Achiever
TopScore
DAT destroyer (GC and OC only) and Math destroyer
Student Study Guide for Campbell / and a bit of Cliff/ Google
Chad: chem, math, ochem
DAT qValt
CDP
Over all, I felt I could have done better!!! I knew some of the stuff, but couldn't pull it together, froze on couple of questions, and couldn't remember, especially for GC and Math. And I think part of it was because my studying spam was over 6 month, I kept forgetting stuff. But I know, "could of" means nothing, I got what I got, based on my situation and wouldn't have been any different. Being nervous, and etc is part of the test, that's one of the things you are being tested. Try to stay CALM, FOCUSED, and SKIP. Trust me, there are more down the road that you can answer with blink of an eye, but if you waste time on the ones that freaks you out, you will loose the easy points. In fact, when your brain has started functioning and you are more comfortable, when you go back, you seem to somehow figure it out... there is a delay and nervousness when you start, don't let it ruin your score...
Also, I suggest do not use more than 2 resources for each section, instead MASTER the resources, know them cold... they will get you the high score..
GC- Chad and Destroyer
Chad's videos. Did the quizes once, did mistakes second time. used chad's notes for reviewing the last couple of days. Did destroyer twice, plus mistakes the third time.
Chad and Destroyer is ALL you need. Actually I think Destroyer is More than what you need. Even though I got 21, I could have done better! My main problem was calculation problems, there were couple of questions I should have got because I seen it in destroyer and chads... I was so angry.. lol i couldn't remember a simple formula! Hmm I don't think there was anything that I haven't seen, except one conceptual question...
OC-
Again Chad's Videos, and Destroyer. And again Destroyer is over kill, but definitely saw couple of questions right out of destroyer. I used chad's notes and destroyer road maps for last review. I don't know why I can't remember much about this section...
Bio--
Qvault, Study guide for campbell.
Well, I didn't want to use Cliff, because even it is very concise, I thought it wouldn't prepare me for the randomness. I didn't want to read the whole Campbell, so I chose the study guide. And used campbell as reference and for figures. And I knew so much... I think qvualt is good source, and cliff should be enough, and use Campbell for weak areas. the thing about this section is that the wording is different, the way questions are asked, and yes there were things that I didn't see before. Qvault prepares you for these questions. There are not that many straight forward questions... But I didn't get any weird phyla questions that people complained about
QR
Did math destoyer, qvault, and chads video. I started with destroyer and panicked. I was a precalulus tutor, so I got cocky. I thought lower math would be easy. But man, I didn't remember any of that permutation/comb, probablity, word problems.....
So I went over chads videos, which I think is not necessary. Use the videos only for sections that you are weak, like permutation/combination... I still really didn't get it, there was just so many different ways to ask it 🙂. I definetly needed to spend a lot more on this section, i just felt i didn't have time. I only did destroyer 1-9, and 5 of qvualt. If I did this all over again, i would have started on math early, instead of ochem.
qvault and destroyer is enough, just be quick, duh! I know, can't really say more..just know speed comes from you doing problems over and over again.. there was two questions, not a word problems that I didn't know how to do. but again keep in mind, you don't have to know everything! remember this for all sections. Know 90% of the stuff, make educated guess on the rest.. this should be your goal... this also allows you not to stress too much during the test...I went into the test knowing I had to think smart and make the best guess on some questions...
PAT--
Something about PAT. This sections is just different, different people might be good at different sections. For example you might be great at cube counting (i sucked at it, couldn't focus, i kept loosing track), but another person might be good at holes and TFE (like me🙂). So if I tell you holes were easy, then it might actually be hard for you...
anyways, but you can still make comparison to other products. I think Topsocre is closest to this sections, except key hole.
Over all, I recommend CDP.
Holes - very easy, nothing crazy like achiever, some where a so easy that I kept doubting myself, am I making a mistake??? it is more like topscore and CDP. I think even CDP was a bit harder. you should go with harder product, so you are ready for the real thing.
TFE - I had hard time with this section in the beginning, but it slowly came to me.
Here are my tips:
select 9 questions from any product. 3 from each type of TFE. meaning 3 that is showing only Top - end, 3 showing only top - front, and 3 from End-front
Spend as much time needed to figure out the relationships, and how you would eliminate the wrong answers on small clues, There are always small clues that can tell you which ones are wrong. you can get those clues from the answer keys.
look at the question, don't try to visualise the object, it might be easy on some, but don't. just get a sense of it, is there some unusually?
then look at the answer keys and see what is different about them, and keep comparing them to the question, I usually could easily eliminate 2 answers right ways, then work on the rest, like why there is a dotted line in C over there, but no dotted line in D? why there is solid line out here, but not there?
Spend as much time as you need on these problems, and come up with your own strategy.
The real thing is not as hard as achiever, comparible to topscore and CDP
Angles-
like every one says, don't waste time on this section. I spent more time on hole, tfe, and punch, and would rush through this sections. Just go with your gut, really, your first judgment is the correct one. start with the answer choices.
punch-
It was hard. it went even to five folds, like on 3 questions. It was as hard as Achiever. This was one of my weak sections, which i got better by using the CDP's strategy. I have strategy for this one too, but wow, i wrote so much.. just want to finish it..
Cube counting--
I kept loosing track of where I was, doubting myself, I definitely needed more work on this sections, even this can be the easiest one! I knew it going into the test, but used the tally method. The good thing was I had 10 minutes extra at the end, so I quickly went back, and yes I did make mistakes on couple, which I fixed!! 🙂
Folds -
Not as crazy as achiever, again topscore and cdp will do. I think I made mistakes mostly on this section and the punch.
Reading comprehension-
didn't prepare much on this section.
I read the first paragraph first, just to know whats about. Then I would read the questions, and try to read quickly through pragraphs.. I try to keep track of time, so I would give each passage 20 min of time.
There were at least 2 tone questions for each passage, and couple of inference questions. But I ended of up not having enough time for the last section. that's why i got the low score....
Topscore scores:
just did 1 & 2. straight 19s, and once 16 on my GC.
Achiever- I had 5 test, did only 1-4. All below 18.
qvault-
bio- average around 20s
math- 20s
CDP - didn't do all - had 10 test
test 1: 18
Test 2: 19
Test 3:19
test 5: 21
Test 6: 19
Test 9: 20
