Dat Taken on May 24th, 2010

[DeathNote]

Overall I am happy with my scores based on what I practiced.

Pat 21
AA 20
Math 22
RC 21
Bio 19
GC 19
OC 20


I used the Kaplan BB, CrackDAT Pat, and TopScore. I guess I should note that I used the DAT Destroyer a bit, but only to do a few test questions. I didn't do all of the problems and I didn't redo any problems, so I can't fairly assess how important it is.

BIO
I thought I did a lot better on gen chem and ochem than my scores state, but I bio was the one thing that was hard for me. KAPLANS BB is NOT sufficient to do well on this section.

PAT
If you can do well on the CrackDAT (~18-20) you will have no problem with the real test. The PAT is much easier in every section except for angle rankings. These are notoriously hard for me though--I am very bad at them. The hole punches are a joke on the real test compared to CP too so you have nothing to worry about. The top front end section (CP) is very comparable to the actual test.

Math
The math section was pretty easy. The Destroyer's questions are almost exact to the test in terms of content. Make sure you are comfortable with probability questions!! I am very good at math naturally though so this recommendation could not be accurate for you. Definitely know formulas for circles such as circumference, area, chord length etc... AND know how to do the distance formula!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This section is easier now with the on-screen calculator so you have to do that much better to get in the upper 20's. I got a 22 with 97%

Reading Comprehension
I didn't really study for this at all. I feel you can do it well or you can't. I was one of those can't do it very well so I was very happy with my score. The did the read quickly and write down keywords/ideas method instead of the search and destroy method. Each section had multiple tone or which phrase best summarizes the idea questions.



I should state that I did take 2/3 of the achiever tests but they are completely different than the real test (for the sciences). Half of the achiever questions deal with Roman Numeral questions and that does not reflect the real test. The info in the achiever is pretty accurate though to what you need to know, its just tested in a completely different way.

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[Pookahead]

Good job! I'm planning to take the DAT in a month and I'm currently using the Kaplan BB as well. I was just wondering how the RC section is organized. Is there a "control-F," find button for searching for words? Also, can the RC reading pop out on its own window?

How were your practice scores relative to the actual scores? I was just wondering if the practice you did actually reflected the DAT.

 

[DeathNote]

There is not a control-F ability on the test or else everyone would be getting 30's

Reading Comprehension was setup just like the TopScore-- 3 passages of about 14 paragraphs.

My practice scores were all over the board-- For TopScore I had 1 test where I got 20+ every section and then another test where I got 18's across the board. I didn't use practice tests to gauge my comprehension as much as help me get the timing down. I can tell you that the most important thing to do when taking an exam is to go through it afterward and understand EVERYTHING you missed and got correct. In the case of bio, you should google any topics that are fuzzy and learn all you can about it.

The PAT is pretty reflective of a watered down CrackDAT test (except for those bastardly Angle Rankings).

You said you were using the Kaplan BB, hopefully you are not going to only use that for Biology. It is nowhere near comprehensive.

 

[DeathNote]

And as for the difficulty of the Reading Comprehension--I thought it was a lot easier than all the practice tests. (I forgot to mention on all the Achiever tests I got between 15-18 in all sections.)

I was lucky with my articles on the actual test, I got three topics that I was already comfortable with. I dont think I am allowed to mention the particulars of the test so I wont, but I got the infamous "piano" and it was a joke!!!!! SO EASY! I also have years of familiarity with music including the piano, guitar, and saxophone so my opinion isn't without bias.

 

[BRoyUW]

Nice scores! You said you were getting 15-18 on Achiever Reading Comp? Did you find the RC on your real test harder than the Achiever RC?

 

[dentalWorks]

nice distribution of scores... nothing less than 19

 

[DeathNote]

Nice scores! You said you were getting 15-18 on Achiever Reading Comp? Did you find the RC on your real test harder than the Achiever RC?

Yea I was doing poorly on the Achiever RC. I didn't really give it my all because I don't really think you can study and get better at Reading Comprehension by doing a couple practice tests. I just figured out a strategy to use and it worked--I probably could have done better if I guessed better on the tone/opinion questions.

The real RC section was very easy for me to read quickly and comprehend--much easier than practice tests, but the questions were almost identical to the ones you would be asked in practice tests (just find the answer in the reading)

 

[dentdreamy]

do u recommend the 5 test package or 10 test for Crack DAT PAT? thank you and congratulations on the good scores~

 

[DeathNote]

do u recommend the 5 test package or 10 test for Crack DAT PAT? thank you and congratulations on the good scores~

Really it depends on how much work you need. I feel that the 5 tests from CrackDat are enough when combined with the practice tests I took, but I was naturally comfortable with PAT.

CcrackDAT gives you the option of taking randomly assigned tests so that there are pretty much an infinite amount of tests you can take with minimal repetition of questions.