DAT Retake 8.8.08

[overdrive]

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Here are my scores and next to them are deviations from the last time I took it 3 years ago:

Bio 22....0
GC 22....+1
OC 27....+6
PAT 24....+4
RC 21....+1
QR 22....-6 🙁
AA 23....+1
TS 23....+1

I don't think I'm going to repeat what everyone says about each section. I do have to disagree with them on Destroyer, though. I wouldn't say it was on the money for bio. They juxtaposed REALLY easy questions with difficult, specific scenario/application questions. It was good times. GC was a lot more conceptual than before. OC wasn't too bad. It's the same style as before. RC was harder than the first time, but I developed better techniques for this section. QR was definitely more difficult. I am humbled.

PAT--About TopScore level
Keyhole--About Crack
TFE--About Crack
Angles--Way easier than Crack
Hole Punch--Slightly easier than Crack
Cube Counting--Way easier than Crack
Pattern Folding--About Crack

As for the specifics about the test... I honestly don't remember. I am just glad I am done and over with it. Good luck everyone. Study hard. Sleep well. Eat well. Take half days off if you need them. You probably deserved them. Hard work pays off. Cheers!

I will provide the scores I received from TS, Achiever, and Kaplan tomorrow.

 

[pasionatdentist]

Great Improvement!!! congrats.... Study material???

 

[doc3232]

When you post your scores, could you tell if you had studied fully before taking the test so we know if it represents your actually capability.

 

[Bruinlove]

the last time I took it 3 years ago

Wow, you didn't get in with 22/22/20? Interesting.

 

[doc3232]

Wow, you didn't get in with 22/22/20? Interesting.

He didn't say he applied 😉 😀

 

[soopasteve]

congrats man, all of those scores are phenomenal and some are borderline-amazing. if you could answer the following questions it would help me out alot;

1)what relative courses (aside from the required gen ed science stuff) did you take?
2)what study books did you use?
3)did you do any of the review courses?
4)any hints/tips for studying for others?

your scores are right where Im shooting. Im not taking the DAT until January but I officially started studying this past week. If I can nail your scores I'll get in anywhere I want. 🙂

 

[ddstobe]

how did you develop a better RC technique? what technique did you use the first and the second time? how did you approach the questions differently? thanks.

 

[overdrive]

Great Improvement!!! congrats.... Study material???

Study materials:

Kaplan diagnostic, midterm, final
Kaplan subject tests (I didn't use their reading or pat)
Kaplan practice tests 1, 2, 3 (only the sciences)
TopScore 1, 2, 3
Achiever 1, 2, 3
Destroyer with updates
Ace the DAT (was useless. a lot of mistakes)
Crack DAT PAT (bought the pack of 10 but used only 4. Dang it!)

 

[doc3232]

Study materials:

Kaplan diagnostic, midterm, final
Kaplan subject tests (I didn't use their reading or pat)
Kaplan practice tests 1, 2, 3 (only the sciences)
TopScore 1, 2, 3
Achiever 1, 2, 3
Destroyer with updates
Ace the DAT (was useless. a lot of mistakes)
Crack DAT PAT (bought the pack of 10 but used only 4. Dang it!)

What were you Kaplan scores? and had you finished studying before taking these Kaplan tests?

 

[overdrive]

When you post your scores, could you tell if you had studied fully before taking the test so we know if it represents your actually capability.

I studied fully, but I think I may have studied the wrong things. For example, I concentrated on GC calculations because I thought the DAT GC concepts would be easy. I did well on GC for the practices so I thought I was going to get at least a 25, but I'm still happy with my 22. I studied for 1 month, 3 weeks. The first 4 weeks, I was not that productive. I would start by studying 3 hours, get exhausted, take a day off, etc. Sometimes, I took 3 days off. Couldn't resist Batman so I took a break for that too. After 4 weeks of very half-assed studying, I eventually got in the habit of studying, and I made the library my second home. I ended up staying there for about 10-14 hours a day with productive studying for about a good 8-12 hours. I made notes on OC of all the reactions and concepts I was iffy about. I did the same for GC (but not so much on concepts). After going through all practice tests, I labeled my Word documents with the test product and test number. I wrote BIO notes on my computer. So I reviewed all these notes wherever I went... to the toilet, standing in line for food, in the car making a left before the green arrow, cooking, eating, etc. I would say that I was most productive the last 3 weeks. That's when I took all the tests, reviewed them while writing notes, and rereviewed everything... even the day before my test.

I almost burned out, so make sure to take enough breaks. And my capability? Hmm. That's actually really difficult to answer. I did, but I don't think I studied the right materials. So I guess the scores do not reflect my true potential.

 

[overdrive]

Wow, you didn't get in with 22/22/20? Interesting.

He didn't say he applied 😉 😀

I'm a 3rd time reapplicant. I have a 3.0 overall and science GPA (not including post bacc GPA). Econ major. I am currently in a post baccalaureate program with a 4.0 of upper div sciences. I did all my requirements during my undergrad.

 

[overdrive]

congrats man, all of those scores are phenomenal and some are borderline-amazing. if you could answer the following questions it would help me out alot;

1)what relative courses (aside from the required gen ed science stuff) did you take?
2)what study books did you use?
3)did you do any of the review courses?
4)any hints/tips for studying for others?

your scores are right where Im shooting. Im not taking the DAT until January but I officially started studying this past week. If I can nail your scores I'll get in anywhere I want. 🙂

1) Cell Biology and Microbiology are relative courses.
2) I answered in previous post.
3) I was enrolled in Kaplan before, but I was more productive when I studied by myself. Just use their material.
4) Honestly, as I said before, Bio was random. GC is conceptual. QR more difficult with multi-step word problems and trig. You can use the previously mentioned study materials for the other sections and score high.

 

[overdrive]

What were you Kaplan scores? and had you finished studying before taking these Kaplan tests?

I used the Diagnostic just for the sciences. I read the passages for fun. I did QR for fun too.

I don't quite remember my Kaplan scores, but my midterm I think was as follows:
Bio--20
GC--2.... I need to get back to you on this one.
All I remember is I got a 28 on PAT.

And no, I did not finish studying. I did go over Destroyer and the Kaplan subject tests 1 time before taking any tests.

 

[overdrive]

Oh, how rude of me. Thank you for the congrats. I appreciate it.