DAT review materials - Textbooks or reviewers

[RICEman]

ORGANIC:
I got an "A" in my OC1 but have to study OC2 on my own because of scheduling conflict (will take oc2 @ fall07). Should I read every chapter of the second half of the OC text on my own or should I just read the Kaplan blue book? I noticed that Kaplan is way basic compared to the text (P. Bruice).

GChem:
It's been @ 3 years. I was wondering If I should grab a text and study cover to cover or scan the entire text then use the Kaplan blue book? OR JUST finished reading the Kaplan blue book and use the text if necessary?

BIO:
Similar issue here, 3-4 years ago.
Just use Kaplan? BUt somebody mentioned that Textbooks are recommended for the BIO section? Right now I'm (re)taking GEnBio2. I still need to review GenBio 1.

QR:
Is kaplan enough?

RC:
What topics or readings are essential to succeed?
Any reviewers you guys recommend for RC portion?
I just know that I'm horrible on RC stuff - English is not my primary language.




I bought the Destroyer but haven't used it since I (think) need to lay my foundations first esp OC and GC.(??).


Thanks.

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[dentaldentist]

Going through your textbooks is probably overkill for everything but the bio section. The organic chemistry section is much easier then what you will see in your organic chem class and Kaplan is definitly good enough for this section and the chemistry section. For QR, I also think kaplan is fine, but make sure you really know your formulas. Its probably been a while since you have done any geometry or trig so make sure you go through and relearn these formulas. This was a section I thought I could gloss over until I took a couple of practice tests and realized I needed to refresh my math skills quite a bit. As for the RC section, just do as many practice sections as possible to get used to reading quickly and finding the best method for you to find the details they are looking for in those passages.

In my opinion, just get the Kaplan blue book and know it cover to cover. For the bio section, you may want to supplement with your general biology textbook or get something like schaum's outline of biology or cliff's AP biology. I used Schaum's and thought it was helpful. Once you feel prepared I would use a copy of top score to take some practice tests. The top score tests are more true to the real DAT than you will see from kaplan and most other resources. I didn't use destroyer so can't comment, but as you mentioned, I think you want a good foundation layed down before going through the destroyer problems.

The only section that you wont be fully prepared for is the PAT section, as kaplan and most of the other DAT guides are much easier than the real PAT section. Kaplan does an okay job of preparing you for the basics of the PAT section, but just be warned that the kaplan practice problems are much easier - especially for angle ranking.

* Kaplan Blue book
* Schaum's outline of biology
* Topscore DAT