- Joined
- Jan 10, 2014
- Messages
- 373
- Reaction score
- 271
So I took my DAT last year, the terrible day of June 21, 2013. I ONLY used Kaplan, and I purchased the DAT Advantage Anywhere online course. It was hooooorrible. I do not recommend it to anyone...seriously...don't buy it.
My old DAT scores compared to new DAT scores:
Bio 15 --> 19
Gen chem 15 --> 18 (I know, still not great but I'm pumped!)
Orgo 17 --> 20 (almost cried when I saw this..so happy)
PAT 21 --> 22
RC 21 --> 21
QR 16 --> 17 (thought I did a lot better)
TS 16 --> 19
AA 17 --> 19
Bio: pretty straight forward, but random at times. The problem is that there is so much stuff you have to cover, so don't go too crazy with learning every single detail. I knew it was hopeless for me to memorize everything because I would've gone insane, so I learned the basics of everything, piled it on top of everything I've ever learned in school, and found a way to problem solve and think through it.
Chem: I suck at chem..so don't take any advice from me. I was surprised at how little I had to calculate, and I know I made a few stupid mistakes here and there, which lowered my score a little bit. I'm happy with an 18 though, so I hope admissions reps are too!
Orgo: Very basic. Learn Destroyer roadmaps and you're set. Know trends of colligative properties, the periodic table, etc.
PAT: I love this section. My scores were identical to what I was scoring on Crack DAT. I was always decent at this so I didn't use anything other than Crack DAT.
RC: I got some interesting passages so I thought that this section was the most relaxing. Nothing too extreme..it's kind of hard to study for this section, so I only utilized 6 of DAT Qvault's RC tests, and scored lower on all of them than I did on my actual DAT by about 2 points.
QR: I scored a lot higher on Bootcamp's math than I did on my actual test. My Bootcamp scores ranged from 20-23, so I don't know why I got a 17. I thought it was easy, too, but I guess I was wrong. I used Math Destroyer, DAT Destroyer, and Bootcamp. I recommend all of them, especially because they are harder than the actual test.
For my learning foundation and study schedule:
I studied for 67 days with the Bootcamp Study Schedule, and then continued studying for an additional month on my own. With the 67 days, you watch Chad's videos and take his quizzes, and you read through Cliff's AP Bio. These are great for simplification of difficult concepts and will give you the foundation you need. After my 67 days, I didn't feel ready, so I purchased Qvault, went through one bio, gc, and orgo test per day, while completing a math destroyer test and some DAT Destroyer problems. I think I broke it up into a two week period, which I repeated twice, the second week using Bootcamp instead of Qvault for science tests. I alternated a PAT and RC test each day, and often skipped RC if I got too tired. The week before my test, I used Feralis notes. I read through it and took my own notes, writing down what I couldn't remember or didn't understand, and ignoring what I already knew. The last week was straight review of reaction summaries for orgo (from Chad's outline and Destroyer roadmaps), and memorizing equations and trends for chemistry.
I know Bootcamp is a relatively new source, but a lot of my questions for sciences were identical to theirs in structure, wording, content, and difficulty. I HIGHLY recommend Bootcamp to those who are still on the fence about it. It will pay off. If you pair Bootcamp with the Destroyer, you WILL succeed. Follow the 67 day schedule and you're golden! I would say CDP is also good practice, but you can probably live without it. You can also live without Qvault because it goes into a crazy amount of detail.
Good luck to those who are still pushing through! If I can do it then so can you!
Stay positive people.
My old DAT scores compared to new DAT scores:
Bio 15 --> 19
Gen chem 15 --> 18 (I know, still not great but I'm pumped!)
Orgo 17 --> 20 (almost cried when I saw this..so happy)
PAT 21 --> 22
RC 21 --> 21
QR 16 --> 17 (thought I did a lot better)
TS 16 --> 19
AA 17 --> 19
Bio: pretty straight forward, but random at times. The problem is that there is so much stuff you have to cover, so don't go too crazy with learning every single detail. I knew it was hopeless for me to memorize everything because I would've gone insane, so I learned the basics of everything, piled it on top of everything I've ever learned in school, and found a way to problem solve and think through it.
Chem: I suck at chem..so don't take any advice from me. I was surprised at how little I had to calculate, and I know I made a few stupid mistakes here and there, which lowered my score a little bit. I'm happy with an 18 though, so I hope admissions reps are too!
Orgo: Very basic. Learn Destroyer roadmaps and you're set. Know trends of colligative properties, the periodic table, etc.
PAT: I love this section. My scores were identical to what I was scoring on Crack DAT. I was always decent at this so I didn't use anything other than Crack DAT.
RC: I got some interesting passages so I thought that this section was the most relaxing. Nothing too extreme..it's kind of hard to study for this section, so I only utilized 6 of DAT Qvault's RC tests, and scored lower on all of them than I did on my actual DAT by about 2 points.
QR: I scored a lot higher on Bootcamp's math than I did on my actual test. My Bootcamp scores ranged from 20-23, so I don't know why I got a 17. I thought it was easy, too, but I guess I was wrong. I used Math Destroyer, DAT Destroyer, and Bootcamp. I recommend all of them, especially because they are harder than the actual test.
For my learning foundation and study schedule:
I studied for 67 days with the Bootcamp Study Schedule, and then continued studying for an additional month on my own. With the 67 days, you watch Chad's videos and take his quizzes, and you read through Cliff's AP Bio. These are great for simplification of difficult concepts and will give you the foundation you need. After my 67 days, I didn't feel ready, so I purchased Qvault, went through one bio, gc, and orgo test per day, while completing a math destroyer test and some DAT Destroyer problems. I think I broke it up into a two week period, which I repeated twice, the second week using Bootcamp instead of Qvault for science tests. I alternated a PAT and RC test each day, and often skipped RC if I got too tired. The week before my test, I used Feralis notes. I read through it and took my own notes, writing down what I couldn't remember or didn't understand, and ignoring what I already knew. The last week was straight review of reaction summaries for orgo (from Chad's outline and Destroyer roadmaps), and memorizing equations and trends for chemistry.
I know Bootcamp is a relatively new source, but a lot of my questions for sciences were identical to theirs in structure, wording, content, and difficulty. I HIGHLY recommend Bootcamp to those who are still on the fence about it. It will pay off. If you pair Bootcamp with the Destroyer, you WILL succeed. Follow the 67 day schedule and you're golden! I would say CDP is also good practice, but you can probably live without it. You can also live without Qvault because it goes into a crazy amount of detail.
Good luck to those who are still pushing through! If I can do it then so can you!
Stay positive people.
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