DAT studying

[teethmagnet]

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hey guys,
i just wanted to know what you should suggest i do for the reading section, my reading level is not so great. . . maybe any books that you recommend me buying??
also, hows kaplan vs another prep class.
thanks fellow dental-ers 😀

 

[4thMolar]

hey guys,
i just wanted to know what you should suggest i do for the reading section, my reading level is not so great. . . maybe any books that you recommend me buying??
also, hows kaplan vs another prep class.
thanks fellow dental-ers 😀

For RC, I used Topscore Pro to practice. It has timed tests and passages similar to the DAT.

For a prep course, I don't know of another besides Kaplan that offers a course. I thought Kaplan was good for the basic review and it provided plenty of practice material, but I didn't think it was worth the $1300 or so that it costs. However, it did provide me with a good work ethic and kept me focused. If money is an issue, you can always just buy the Kaplan bluebook and review from it, and supplement it with other material such as DAT Destroyer, CDP, Cliff's AP Bio, Schaum's Outline, etc.

 

[jdpaul14]

Buy Topscore and Achiever....just practice search and destroy, I am definitely not that great of a reader. My first practice reading section I made a 16 because I read the passage and tried to answer the questions. Now, I don't read the passage at all and I go straight to the questions...every answer is stated in the passage, guarantee if you use this method you will start getting 20+ on reading.

Gluck!

 

[jay47]

Buy Topscore and Achiever....just practice search and destroy, I am definitely not that great of a reader. My first practice reading section I made a 16 because I read the passage and tried to answer the questions. Now, I don't read the passage at all and I go straight to the questions...every answer is stated in the passage, guarantee if you use this method you will start getting 20+ on reading.

Gluck!

I don't know man, I cannot do that to save my life. I read the first 3 questions to get an idea and then go ahead and read the whole passage. I am a very fast reader though, and then I make a mental map of where things are in the passage to help me find the answers.

The key is to use what works for you. If you are going to use any methods, search and destroy, Kaplan mapping, mental roadmapping, etc.. YOU MUST PRACTICE THEM. That way when test day gets here you will be good at whatever you do.

If you want good reading for the DAT, look at Science magazine and possibly Nature, I think they are both filled with dense, but readable, material.

 

[nze82]

I was sick of reading scientific articles each night. So, I bought a book that I wanted to read anyways (It had nothing to do with science; it was some book on America's foreign policy and the Bush Administration). Every night I used a stop watch, and I tried to read as many pages as possible over 1 hour time. As I was readin, I tried to come up with a short summary of each paragraph and understand how the text is constructed (In other words, I tried to understand what different parts of the text were focusing on). After my time was up, I tried to paraphrase what I read in my own words. My score jumpped from 18 on my first DAT to 23 on my second DAT using this method, because it helped me tremendously with my time management skills. Besides, I was reading something I enjoyed, so it wasn't as painful as taking practice tests. I'm not saying this method will work for you, I'm just sharing what worked for me. So, give it a try if you want and see if you like it.

Best of luck to you👍