I've been out of school for about 3 years and plan on taking the DAT in September. That gives me ~ 5 months to review and study. I recently purchased the DAT destroyer, DAT Achiever, and Kaplan Blue Book. I already started studying by reviewing the entire general chemistry section in the KBB then doing about 20 - 30 gen. Chem. problems and reviewing the solutions per day in the Dat destroyer book. Any study tips or suggestions? Or am I on the right track? I am aiming for a perfect score.
DAT study
- Thread starter nevagivup
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I'd also recommend DAT bootcamp, and CrackDAT reading and CrackDAT PAT, I thought these three prepared me well for the test. Are you fresh on the materials? If you have been out of school for 3 years, might want to get a overview which can be achieved pretty well with Chad's videos and quizzes. Check out other breakdowns on the forums and you will get TONS of information on there.
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If you are aiming for a "perfect score", which to my knowledge has NEVER been achieved, then you are not on the right track. The fact that you think you are capable of achieving such a score makes me think that you haven't done your homework about this test.
First, check out Glimmer's breakdown list. There's tons of people who provide info on what they used and the scores they got.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/ultimate-breakdown-collection-la-datelisse.992975/.
Here is my personal breakdown: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/such-breakdown-25aa-26ts-23pat-wow.1063267/
Next, if you go on DATBootcamp.com, you can use Ari's study schedule which gives you some structure on how to go about things. I adapted this schedule to my needs so don't worry about sticking to it completely.
Personally, I think Kaplan Blue Book is not nearly enough to review for everything and a waste of time. I would use Chad's videos for GC and OC. For bio, use Cliffs 3rd edition AP bio and/or Barrons AP bio supplemented with Feralis' bio notes.
After you have completed making notes and reviewing the content (which took me about a month), go onto DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer (~2 weeks). Rinse and repeat as necessary (I've seen a lot people say they went through Destroyer 2+ times) At the same time, use Crack DAT PAT software to start PAT practice. If your reading comprehension is poor, then try to read science articles often (1 everyday if possible).
After DAT Destroyer and CDP, use DAT Bootcamp (I also recommend DAT qVault) to polish everything and get a sense of how the test will be. The main difference now is that everything is timed. Get your timing down (very important!).
I think 5 months is WAY too much time. I would say 3.5 months at the most, but usually 2-3 is enough.
Good luck!
First, check out Glimmer's breakdown list. There's tons of people who provide info on what they used and the scores they got.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/ultimate-breakdown-collection-la-datelisse.992975/.
Here is my personal breakdown: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/such-breakdown-25aa-26ts-23pat-wow.1063267/
Next, if you go on DATBootcamp.com, you can use Ari's study schedule which gives you some structure on how to go about things. I adapted this schedule to my needs so don't worry about sticking to it completely.
Personally, I think Kaplan Blue Book is not nearly enough to review for everything and a waste of time. I would use Chad's videos for GC and OC. For bio, use Cliffs 3rd edition AP bio and/or Barrons AP bio supplemented with Feralis' bio notes.
After you have completed making notes and reviewing the content (which took me about a month), go onto DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer (~2 weeks). Rinse and repeat as necessary (I've seen a lot people say they went through Destroyer 2+ times) At the same time, use Crack DAT PAT software to start PAT practice. If your reading comprehension is poor, then try to read science articles often (1 everyday if possible).
After DAT Destroyer and CDP, use DAT Bootcamp (I also recommend DAT qVault) to polish everything and get a sense of how the test will be. The main difference now is that everything is timed. Get your timing down (very important!).
I think 5 months is WAY too much time. I would say 3.5 months at the most, but usually 2-3 is enough.
Good luck!
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Definitely heed what the other folks said, but good on you, study with the goal of being perfect. When you come up short, you will have a kick ass score that will get you into school! I had the same mentality and tested very well.
Like DogeDDS said, 5 months is long. Mainly because the studying gets TIRING and you want to test when you are current in all subjects, fresh enough to not be angry from studying, mentally focussed, and confident. You have good resources, study ALL of it and know EVERY detail (you won't be able to, but if you put a lot of effort trying to, you will get 20+).
Good luck.
Like DogeDDS said, 5 months is long. Mainly because the studying gets TIRING and you want to test when you are current in all subjects, fresh enough to not be angry from studying, mentally focussed, and confident. You have good resources, study ALL of it and know EVERY detail (you won't be able to, but if you put a lot of effort trying to, you will get 20+).
Good luck.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I know realistically that a perfect score is unlikely. But I'd rather shoot for perfection and still get a great score than shoot for average scores and fall short.
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If Michael Jordan would've tried to be perfect NIKE wouldn't be what it is now. Ambition > being average
