Destroyer, Achiever, Topsco, ?????????????????

[xDent09]

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I am taking my DAT end of may, what is the best study method for these tools?

 

[gomawum]

Topscore and Achiever are just 3 set of test. and destroyer has bunch of problem on bio,gchem,ochem,QR.

use textbooks, and study-aids to build foundation and do the topscore and ahciever to get the feel of the real test.

I just recently bought the destroyer to solidify my general knowledge.
Destroyers covers the stuff pretty in details

 

[jntruong2003]

hmm...destroyer. i'll get it if i don't do well tomorrow....hahaha. how many questions does destroyer give to each of the science parts...

 

[gomawum]

and if you are going to start destoryer, I suggest you to get if after you get the solid foundation of each topics.

I've purchased it last week and got frustrated on many questions.
(for example, one question asked what is the product of the 2-butene if reacted with peroxide and H-Cl?
since it used 'peroxide', I had strong feeling that it's anti-markovnikove, but NO!!!! and the explanation said only H-Br with peroxide result in anti-markovnikov, not with H-Cl.. and it wasn't mentioned anywhere in txtbook either.. so xxck it)

(even with reading kaplan bluebook for 4 times, reading exam kracker 2 times each, read some random stuff I got from other dental students, It was useless to do destoyer problems..), but still it's good practice if you have solid foundation... (esp. bio)


so I'm reading campbell book(god... so good), along ochem text, and cliffnotes for chem to re-solidify the concept again.

 

[jntruong2003]

awwwww man. i got my test tomorrow and NOW i find out and learn about the whole peroxide and H-Cl thing...guess i'll be buying destroyer tomorrow...haha.

 

[klutzy1987]

the DAT desroyer is the best book out there. It isnt easy bullsh-t questions like topscore or achiever which eve a high scholl student taking chem can ace, it really tests your knowledge of the material. If you are able to get all the destroyer questions right then you will get above a 25 for sure on the chems. The biology in the destroyer is also more comprehensive than any other book and it makes sure you really know your biology.

 

[rose786]

Destroyer is over-rated IMO. Search for reviews of it and you'll get a bunch of people with <10 posts, all equating it with being the bible of dat study.

Sure I used it, because I was lacking in practice problems and was curious what the hype was about. But the book itself is over-priced, cheaply made and the explanations don't really explain anything.

I thought it was good for orgo, but not at all for bio. I believe what happened was some of Dr. R's students came back from their test and reported what kind of questions they had. So for a while there, the questions reflected what you'd see on test day and people went nuts praising it.

I think the key to studying is getting your hands on as many practice problems as possible, whether it be kaplan, dd, achiever or topscore. Just expose yourself to as many diff problems as you can and don't expect miracles from any one resource.

 

[Willem]

Destroyer is over-rated IMO. Search for reviews of it and you'll get a bunch of people with <10 posts, all equating it with being the bible of dat study.

Sure I used it, because I was lacking in practice problems and was curious what the hype was about. But the book itself is over-priced, cheaply made and the explanations don't really explain anything.

I thought it was good for orgo, but not at all for bio. I believe what happened was some of Dr. R's students came back from their test and reported what kind of questions they had. So for a while there, the questions reflected what you'd see on test day and people went nuts praising it.

I think the key to studying is getting your hands on as many practice problems as possible, whether it be kaplan, dd, achiever or topscore. Just expose yourself to as many diff problems as you can and don't expect miracles from any one resource.

You have made a very good summary on how I feel as well. It is almost a waste of funds. The questions are hard, sure. But a large part of the questions are geared towards tricking you or testing you on exceptions to the rule rather than teaching you the proper way to do things and offering reasonable DATlike questions. I used some 1000 question mcat examkrackers book for gen chem which is 30 dollars or something and I feel that is better than the entire destroyer combined. I dont mind that it was disappointing, but the scam that is perpetuated here is what is annoying.

 

[BLEND]

It is basically whatever works for you in terms of studying. The Destroyer helped me the most- it was by far the closest to the actual DAT. I thought the O chem and gen chem were much easier on the actual DAT and the Bio was easier on the DAT after using the Destroyer. On the actual test, questions are random- your first question may concern the cardiovascular system, and the next will be about a worm. The destroyer follows the random question pattern, unlike Kaplan or other study aides. Whatever works for you.

I bought the book after reading posts online- happy I did because it helped me get into school.

Good Luck with your studies.