First off, a HUGE thank you to all of you who have helped me either directly via my posts on this forum, or indirectly by answering the questions of others. What a terrific resource this is! I've finally finished the DAT, with a rundown posted below...
Results:
Bio: 21
GC: 19
OC: 21
PAT: 23
RC: 18
QR: 16
TS: 20
AA: 19
General Comments:
I'm moderately pleased with the results, and for the most part I thought the test material itself was fair. If you are currently using Kaplan and TopScore practice tests, you shouldn't be surprised at the content or format at all.
Preparation:
The DAT-specific review books I used were Kaplan, Destroyer, and TopScore. I also read through OChem as a 2nd Language, Schaums Bio Outline, and Cliff's Bio Outline (online) to knock some of the rust off, as I'm 12 years out of school now. I basically memorized the Kaplan book using flash cards, went through Destroyer in & out 4-5 times, and the week prior to my test ran through the TopScore and Kaplan tests daily. I think these were all terrific resources, and well worth the time and money invested in them. The Kaplan book really gave a decent base for which to prepare. The chemistry sections in Kaplan were sufficient in covering what is on the real test, but the bio was a bit light, particularly in cell biology and biochem. The Destroyer was just awesome and crammed full of great information. The questions on my test were a 60:40 mix of questions similar to Destroyer:Kaplan/TopScore ilk. If you are using both, you know what I'm referring to.
The test itself...
Bio:
The Bio portion was IMO fair....nothing too crazy. If anything was different from the practice exams, it was that the real test required you to apply concepts and think to arrive at the answer as opposed to just pulling it from memory.
Chem (O & C):
I'm not sure why my gchem dipped below 20 on the real test, as there were no surprises here either. I tested in the 20-23 range all the way through my preparations, so I'm at a loss as to why the 19. The ochem IMO was much easier than Destroyer. I knew most of the "roadmaps" in Destroyer and memorized all of the reactions in Kaplan. Really both were overkill. Again, there were more concepts on the real test, and less reactant/product than I expected.
PAT:
Lots of people seemed to think that the PAT on the real test was much harder than the prep materials, but I didn't find this to be the case. I thought the prep materials were pretty close. The only thing I thought was a bit more difficult were the hole punches. I had one completely ridiculous hole punch that frankly, I guessed at. Same deal with pattern folding...just 1 really tough one...the rest were very similar to Kaplan/TopScore.
Reading Comp:
This one threw me for a loop. I have no idea how I even managed an 18, but ok. I prepared for the reading comp by reading articles from the New England Journal of Medicine and American Family Physician every day. I'm a fairly proficient reader to begin with, was scoring 20ish on my practice exams, and still found this section difficult. Here's 1 reason why: I became used to a certain format of the passage...into/application to social situation -> definition of concepts -> [diagnosis if medical article] methods/experiments -> conclusion. I did not encounter this format on the exam, for the most part, and it really caught me off guard. It's much more difficult to pull info out of a 'monolith' type of passage.
Quantitative:
Bummer that I couldn't pull this into the 18ish frame. I was getting 18s on the practice tests, and spent a solid few days doing nothing but algebra problems, exponents, fractions, etc. to tune up. Basically I ran out of time, and in part point the finger to the dry erase markers. I was given 2 markers and both of them refused to write with any kind of consistency. I even held the marker upright with my left hand during the test so that the tip didn't dry out. Didn't matter...still nada. It's really a shame that they can't give you pencil and paper. A hurdle like this really isn't called for when you've only got ~1 minute for each problem to begin with. I digress. These questions were very similar to the practice tests as well. My advice, to keep your real scores consistent with your practice scores, is to use the same dry erase marker and plastic-coated 8.5x11 sheet that you are given during the real thing.
So that's it. What do you all think? Should I sell my prep materials, or have another go at it? I'm inclined to think that the scores are decent enough to move on and put the DAT behind me, but would love to hear your opinions.
Results:
Bio: 21
GC: 19
OC: 21
PAT: 23
RC: 18
QR: 16
TS: 20
AA: 19
General Comments:
I'm moderately pleased with the results, and for the most part I thought the test material itself was fair. If you are currently using Kaplan and TopScore practice tests, you shouldn't be surprised at the content or format at all.
Preparation:
The DAT-specific review books I used were Kaplan, Destroyer, and TopScore. I also read through OChem as a 2nd Language, Schaums Bio Outline, and Cliff's Bio Outline (online) to knock some of the rust off, as I'm 12 years out of school now. I basically memorized the Kaplan book using flash cards, went through Destroyer in & out 4-5 times, and the week prior to my test ran through the TopScore and Kaplan tests daily. I think these were all terrific resources, and well worth the time and money invested in them. The Kaplan book really gave a decent base for which to prepare. The chemistry sections in Kaplan were sufficient in covering what is on the real test, but the bio was a bit light, particularly in cell biology and biochem. The Destroyer was just awesome and crammed full of great information. The questions on my test were a 60:40 mix of questions similar to Destroyer:Kaplan/TopScore ilk. If you are using both, you know what I'm referring to.
The test itself...
Bio:
The Bio portion was IMO fair....nothing too crazy. If anything was different from the practice exams, it was that the real test required you to apply concepts and think to arrive at the answer as opposed to just pulling it from memory.
Chem (O & C):
I'm not sure why my gchem dipped below 20 on the real test, as there were no surprises here either. I tested in the 20-23 range all the way through my preparations, so I'm at a loss as to why the 19. The ochem IMO was much easier than Destroyer. I knew most of the "roadmaps" in Destroyer and memorized all of the reactions in Kaplan. Really both were overkill. Again, there were more concepts on the real test, and less reactant/product than I expected.
PAT:
Lots of people seemed to think that the PAT on the real test was much harder than the prep materials, but I didn't find this to be the case. I thought the prep materials were pretty close. The only thing I thought was a bit more difficult were the hole punches. I had one completely ridiculous hole punch that frankly, I guessed at. Same deal with pattern folding...just 1 really tough one...the rest were very similar to Kaplan/TopScore.
Reading Comp:
This one threw me for a loop. I have no idea how I even managed an 18, but ok. I prepared for the reading comp by reading articles from the New England Journal of Medicine and American Family Physician every day. I'm a fairly proficient reader to begin with, was scoring 20ish on my practice exams, and still found this section difficult. Here's 1 reason why: I became used to a certain format of the passage...into/application to social situation -> definition of concepts -> [diagnosis if medical article] methods/experiments -> conclusion. I did not encounter this format on the exam, for the most part, and it really caught me off guard. It's much more difficult to pull info out of a 'monolith' type of passage.
Quantitative:
Bummer that I couldn't pull this into the 18ish frame. I was getting 18s on the practice tests, and spent a solid few days doing nothing but algebra problems, exponents, fractions, etc. to tune up. Basically I ran out of time, and in part point the finger to the dry erase markers. I was given 2 markers and both of them refused to write with any kind of consistency. I even held the marker upright with my left hand during the test so that the tip didn't dry out. Didn't matter...still nada. It's really a shame that they can't give you pencil and paper. A hurdle like this really isn't called for when you've only got ~1 minute for each problem to begin with. I digress. These questions were very similar to the practice tests as well. My advice, to keep your real scores consistent with your practice scores, is to use the same dry erase marker and plastic-coated 8.5x11 sheet that you are given during the real thing.
So that's it. What do you all think? Should I sell my prep materials, or have another go at it? I'm inclined to think that the scores are decent enough to move on and put the DAT behind me, but would love to hear your opinions.
