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- Dec 5, 2010
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But for the breakdown, here you go:
Kaplan Course: First I took it in the summer and because I was taking physics at the same time, I didn't have as much time to put into studying so I used the higher score guarantee to take it again during the school year. I thought it was helpful because for me, I tend to be more of an auditory learner. Also, they gave you a whiteboard sheet thing to practice with when you take tests and using that gets you used to doing your scratchwork with a marker which is harder than with a pencil and paper for sure. The practice tests were probably pretty even in terms of difficulty with the actual DAT. Bio is always a hit or miss sort of thing, so that's just a matter of studying the material but at least the Kaplan coursebook gives a decent breakdown of material without being too overbearing. But I basically did all the required and optional homeworks and I actually didn't take any of the full length practice tests until the end of the course. The PAT practice questions they gave though were definitely easier than the actual, though the tips and tricks they teach you to help you get through that section still help.
DAT Destroyer: I got the math one and the regular one with ochem, gchem, and bio. I thought that this was very helpful. Probably a bit more difficult than the actual, but if you just do all the problems and study the ones you get wrong carefully, then you won't forget how to do it when a similar problem shows up on the real thing. I did the math one over my winter break as kind of casual studying/practice, and worked on the bio, gchem, ochem book throughout the beginning of my fall quarter. But again, this was always just on my breaks between classes or whenever I had a bit of time because I lightened my courseload, but still had a lot to do. But Destroyer is definitely good for extra practice and variety of problems.
DAT Achiever: This was a last minute purchase. And by last minute, I bought it maybe 2 weeks before my test was scheduled? But I took all the tests (5 total) over a matter of 3 days. I panicked because I was missing quite a few of the DAT Destroyer problems. So for the last week before my test, I took 2 practice tests every day. I was also taking my Kaplan practice tests. DAT Achiever was a good purchase I think (especially for the more challenging PAT section) because even though the scores I got were pretty discouraging, it was probably a bit more difficult than the real thing and I thought the reading comp passages were challenging which was good practice. And try to mimic the testing environment as best you can. (aka tell your family and friends to not talk to you, or go to the library where there's some traffic so you can practice blocking out any distractions and use the whiteboard, not a pen and paper)
Overall, these are the only sources I used to study. I never had the time to actually sit down and focus on just DAT studying which made it harder, but that's why I tried to remember stuff from my bio courses I'd taken which helped. And for more in depth explanations, I frequently did some googling instead of going out to buy another bio book. And honestly, in the last 2 days before my test, I didn't study. I didn't go to class because I just wanted to relax and my professor records lectures. But I pretty much sat at home and had my books in front of me, but I was only very casually going through the problems I had gotten wrong. (Especially gchem and ochem) But while I was doing this, the TV was on, music was playing and I took frequent breaks to go play piano, or cook, or just wander. Make sure to get plenty of sleep!!! I slept early the night before my test, woke up early, looked over Kaplan quicksheets and then went to the testing center a little early. Take a deep breathe before you take your test and do whatever usually relaxes you. Go in confident! And that's pretty much all the advice I have. Everybody learns and studies in different ways, so do what has worked for you in the past and for your other classes. Best of luck to everybody!
Kaplan Course: First I took it in the summer and because I was taking physics at the same time, I didn't have as much time to put into studying so I used the higher score guarantee to take it again during the school year. I thought it was helpful because for me, I tend to be more of an auditory learner. Also, they gave you a whiteboard sheet thing to practice with when you take tests and using that gets you used to doing your scratchwork with a marker which is harder than with a pencil and paper for sure. The practice tests were probably pretty even in terms of difficulty with the actual DAT. Bio is always a hit or miss sort of thing, so that's just a matter of studying the material but at least the Kaplan coursebook gives a decent breakdown of material without being too overbearing. But I basically did all the required and optional homeworks and I actually didn't take any of the full length practice tests until the end of the course. The PAT practice questions they gave though were definitely easier than the actual, though the tips and tricks they teach you to help you get through that section still help.
DAT Destroyer: I got the math one and the regular one with ochem, gchem, and bio. I thought that this was very helpful. Probably a bit more difficult than the actual, but if you just do all the problems and study the ones you get wrong carefully, then you won't forget how to do it when a similar problem shows up on the real thing. I did the math one over my winter break as kind of casual studying/practice, and worked on the bio, gchem, ochem book throughout the beginning of my fall quarter. But again, this was always just on my breaks between classes or whenever I had a bit of time because I lightened my courseload, but still had a lot to do. But Destroyer is definitely good for extra practice and variety of problems.
DAT Achiever: This was a last minute purchase. And by last minute, I bought it maybe 2 weeks before my test was scheduled? But I took all the tests (5 total) over a matter of 3 days. I panicked because I was missing quite a few of the DAT Destroyer problems. So for the last week before my test, I took 2 practice tests every day. I was also taking my Kaplan practice tests. DAT Achiever was a good purchase I think (especially for the more challenging PAT section) because even though the scores I got were pretty discouraging, it was probably a bit more difficult than the real thing and I thought the reading comp passages were challenging which was good practice. And try to mimic the testing environment as best you can. (aka tell your family and friends to not talk to you, or go to the library where there's some traffic so you can practice blocking out any distractions and use the whiteboard, not a pen and paper)
Overall, these are the only sources I used to study. I never had the time to actually sit down and focus on just DAT studying which made it harder, but that's why I tried to remember stuff from my bio courses I'd taken which helped. And for more in depth explanations, I frequently did some googling instead of going out to buy another bio book. And honestly, in the last 2 days before my test, I didn't study. I didn't go to class because I just wanted to relax and my professor records lectures. But I pretty much sat at home and had my books in front of me, but I was only very casually going through the problems I had gotten wrong. (Especially gchem and ochem) But while I was doing this, the TV was on, music was playing and I took frequent breaks to go play piano, or cook, or just wander. Make sure to get plenty of sleep!!! I slept early the night before my test, woke up early, looked over Kaplan quicksheets and then went to the testing center a little early. Take a deep breathe before you take your test and do whatever usually relaxes you. Go in confident! And that's pretty much all the advice I have. Everybody learns and studies in different ways, so do what has worked for you in the past and for your other classes. Best of luck to everybody!
