Done w/ DAT June 30th

[cvirtue]

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Took the DAT today in Indianapolis. The set up of the test as far as appearance on screen is very similar to Dat Achiever and Topscore.
Here are the scores:

Percerptual Ability 22 97%
Quantitative Reasoning 22 94%
Reading Comprehension 17 26%
Biology 18 69%
General Chemistry 16 44%
Organic Chemistry 17 55%
Total Science 17 56&
Academic Average 18 64%

Well there are some average scores for you.

For Biology I was a little disappointed b/c I felt it was a little harder than most practice tests for me. I felt pretty strong in biology and had been getting 20 and 21's on practice tests. Gen Chem was disappointing, felt I did better than that but that is about where my practice test scores where. Organic I thought was not too hard but I did rush through it so I could go over some Biology again, if I took my time I prolly would have gotten an 18 or 19. I had the Sea Urchin question on Bio along with some stuff I had not seen in either Kaplan Blue or Barrons. Gen Chem is a blur to me, a lot of setting up equations not actually computing them, less conceptual questions then I thought there was gonna be. Organic I had a few multi step rxn's, identifying acids and bases, 1 aromatic question, but mostly rxn synthesis for me.
PAT comes natural to me but I had been practicing at a 20 on DAT Achiever and ended up with 22. 2 things I suggest to do is...For the exam I was given dry erase sheets for my scrap paper and it was in grid style, so outline a square surrounding 8 grid squares, draw dot for initial holes punched, then draw holes as you unfold the image in your head. For cube counting write the #'s 5,4,3,2,1 on your scrap paper and one level at a time count sides of cubes and mark them on your scrap paper, then after all cubes are counted answer the questions asked.

Not much more to say, RC had Comet/Asteroid, Brain Imaging, and Neural Receptor passages. Thought I did a lot better on this section but oh well, I didn't study for it at all.

I used Kaplan Blue Book, Barrons, Topscore, and Dat Achiever. studied for 3 weeks at 4 hrs per weeknight and about 8 on the weekends. I didn't leave myself that much time to study gen chem and especially organic b/c I got caught up with studying the biology. I suggest study biology for about a week and thats it, I spent too much time studying Bio. Kaplan and Barrons are alright for Bio but I suggest using something else for Bio as well.

 

[zackyfarms]

hey thanks for the feedback. Sorry to hear about the bio. Like ive posted in other threads, what types of QR problems did u see and how did they compare to kaplans? did u get any complex trig/anything worth mentioning?

thanks in advance

 

[ddsnp]

PAT comes natural to me but I had been practicing at a 20 on DAT Achiever and ended up with 22. 2 things I suggest to do is...For the exam I was given dry erase sheets for my scrap paper and it was in grid style, so outline a square surrounding 8 grid squares, draw dot for initial holes punched, then draw holes as you unfold the image in your head. For cube counting write the #'s 5,4,3,2,1 on your scrap paper and one level at a time count sides of cubes and mark them on your scrap paper, then after all cubes are counted answer the questions asked.


Thats new....i took it last week and was given paper...

 

[Blackstars]

Took the DAT today in Indianapolis. The set up of the test as far as appearance on screen is very similar to Dat Achiever and Topscore.
Here are the scores:

Percerptual Ability 22 97%
Quantitative Reasoning 22 94%
Reading Comprehension 17 26%
Biology 18 69%
General Chemistry 16 44%
Organic Chemistry 17 55%
Total Science 17 56&
Academic Average 18 64%

Well there are some average scores for you.

For Biology I was a little disappointed b/c I felt it was a little harder than most practice tests for me. I felt pretty strong in biology and had been getting 20 and 21's on practice tests. Gen Chem was disappointing, felt I did better than that but that is about where my practice test scores where. Organic I thought was not too hard but I did rush through it so I could go over some Biology again, if I took my time I prolly would have gotten an 18 or 19. I had the Sea Urchin question on Bio along with some stuff I had not seen in either Kaplan Blue or Barrons. Gen Chem is a blur to me, a lot of setting up equations not actually computing them, less conceptual questions then I thought there was gonna be. Organic I had a few multi step rxn's, identifying acids and bases, 1 aromatic question, but mostly rxn synthesis for me.
PAT comes natural to me but I had been practicing at a 20 on DAT Achiever and ended up with 22. 2 things I suggest to do is...For the exam I was given dry erase sheets for my scrap paper and it was in grid style, so outline a square surrounding 8 grid squares, draw dot for initial holes punched, then draw holes as you unfold the image in your head. For cube counting write the #'s 5,4,3,2,1 on your scrap paper and one level at a time count sides of cubes and mark them on your scrap paper, then after all cubes are counted answer the questions asked.

Not much more to say, RC had Comet/Asteroid, Brain Imaging, and Neural Receptor passages. Thought I did a lot better on this section but oh well, I didn't study for it at all.

I used Kaplan Blue Book, Barrons, Topscore, and Dat Achiever. studied for 3 weeks at 4 hrs per weeknight and about 8 on the weekends. I didn't leave myself that much time to study gen chem and especially organic b/c I got caught up with studying the biology. I suggest study biology for about a week and thats it, I spent too much time studying Bio. Kaplan and Barrons are alright for Bio but I suggest using something else for Bio as well.

Good work on the DAT. Can you give us some examples of some of the general or biology questions.

Thanks

 

[Amber81]

Congrats on being done with the DAT, and thank you for posting your scores cvirtue. How many versions of the DAT are there? And what is the sea urchin question....if you don't mind me asking.

 

[PERFECT3435]

congrats and good luck to you.

 

[Divineimpetus]

Not much more to say, RC had Comet/Asteroid, Brain Imaging, and Neural Receptor passages. Thought I did a lot better on this section but oh well, I didn't study for it at all.

This is the second time I've seen this. How many times does the DAT change up their reading passages? If I found similiar articles, and I had just one of those passages on my DAT that would give me a huge advantage.

Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[BigJ77]

I too took the DAT today and achieved almost identical scores!! I took the test in San Antonio. I think that we had different DATs because our reading comps were totally different! I would like to congratulate you and encourage you to keep the faith! Apply and let the schools decide! You have done your part!

This post just might be a little long......

First and for most, I would like to thank SDNers for their help. 4 of my biology questions were exactly what others had on their test! I too had the Sea Urchin and the what is glucose first converted to in the glycolytic pathway (ans: glucose 6 phosphate, and what is the first irreversible step in glycoysis (ans: fructose 6 phosphate to fructose 1,6 biphospate) questions. Again, SDN saved me on 4 questions in bio alone.

I would like to encourage everyone to stay focused and stay determined! A little background on moi! ( I think that it helps if everyone provides a little background since every applicant is different and everyone is on a different path.... I am a non-traditional student that is in the military and that has served in Iraq and quite a few other overseas deployments. I graduated from West Point 4 years ago. There are no organic chemistry or chemistry classes in Iraq, so the DAT was all about Amazon.com (which took over a month for me to get one book) for me and whatever book that I could order to teach myself in between missions and getting mortared!!!

I would like to say that the biology section was definitely harder than anything that I had seen during the preparation phase. As I mentioned above, thanks to SDN my score is at least average! I downloaded topscore, dat achiever, used dat professor, and had Kaplan online (internet in Iraq is just a little slow for the online classes though!). I also had Barrons which was decent for the PAT!


Chem: I took the class 8 years ago....it really wasn't that bad! Dat Achiever was the best prep! My Dat consisted of plenty of titration and PH problems. i expected a few problems on the periodic table and had like 1!

Organic Chem: Never took the class and was definitely challenged!

PAT: Used Dat achiever and Ace the Dat. I scored a 21 on kaplan and 18 on Ace the Dat and did drop two points on the actual DAT!

Reading Comp: I didn't even read the passage! I just used the keyword and search method on 2 out of 3 passages and did well! My second passage required me to read though!


Last but not least, never give up on your dreams! SDN is a great asset, but then again SDNers can get rather negative at times! Remember that SDN offers both incredible advice as well as off the wall opinions! Also, keep in mind that very few applicants are SDNers and there are some high scores on this site! Agan, every applicant is unique! If you have a 24/24 and a good GPA you just might be lacking somewhere else! Every school is looking for something a little different!

Oh, I applied everywhere! I took my Iraq savings and just threw my net out! We will see which school gives me chance!

Good luck and God bless,

J

 

[Divineimpetus]

I too took the DAT today and achieved almost identical scores!! I took the test in San Antonio. I think that we had different DATs because our reading comps were totally different! I would like to congratulate you and encourage you to keep the faith! Apply and let the schools decide! You have done your part!

This post just might be a little long......

First and for most, I would like to thank SDNers for their help. 4 of my biology questions were exactly what others had on their test! I too had the Sea Urchin and the what is glucose first converted to in the glycolytic pathway (ans: glucose 6 phosphate, and what is the first irreversible step in glycoysis (ans: fructose 6 phosphate to fructose 1,6 biphospate) questions. Again, SDN saved me on 4 questions in bio alone.

I would like to encourage everyone to stay focused and stay determined! A little background on moi! ( I think that it helps if everyone provides a little background since every applicant is different and everyone is on a different path.... I am a non-traditional student that is in the military and that has served in Iraq and quite a few other overseas deployments. I graduated from West Point 4 years ago. There are no organic chemistry or chemistry classes in Iraq, so the DAT was all about Amazon.com (which took over a month for me to get one book) for me and whatever book that I could order to teach myself in between missions and getting mortared!!!

I would like to say that the biology section was definitely harder than anything that I had seen during the preparation phase. As I mentioned above, thanks to SDN my score is at least average! I downloaded topscore, dat achiever, used dat professor, and had Kaplan online (internet in Iraq is just a little slow for the online classes though!). I also had Barrons which was decent for the PAT!


Chem: I took the class 8 years ago....it really wasn't that bad! Dat Achiever was the best prep! My Dat consisted of plenty of titration and PH problems. i expected a few problems on the periodic table and had like 1!

Organic Chem: Never took the class and was definitely challenged!

PAT: Used Dat achiever and Ace the Dat. I scored a 21 on kaplan and 18 on Ace the Dat and did drop two points on the actual DAT!

Reading Comp: I didn't even read the passage! I just used the keyword and search method on 2 out of 3 passages and did well! My second passage required me to read though!


Last but not least, never give up on your dreams! SDN is a great asset, but then again SDNers can get rather negative at times! Remember that SDN offers both incredible advice as well as off the wall opinions! Also, keep in mind that very few applicants are SDNers and there are some high scores on this site! Agan, every applicant is unique! If you have a 24/24 and a good GPA you just might be lacking somewhere else! Every school is looking for something a little different!

Oh, I applied everywhere! I took my Iraq savings and just threw my net out! We will see which school gives me chance!

Good luck and God bless,

J

Right on. Sounds like you had an interesting time studying for the DAT. =)

Can you tell me what exactly is the sea urchin's answer then? I know it is someting like "What is the function of the extracellular membrane of sea urchin" ... Something to do with fertilization, but i can't find the answer.

Also, what were you reading comprehension tests about?

Thanks

 

[elz787]

i would also like to know the sea urchin question if you don't mind.... 🙂

 

[Blackstars]

I too took the DAT today and achieved almost identical scores!! I took the test in San Antonio. I think that we had different DATs because our reading comps were totally different! I would like to congratulate you and encourage you to keep the faith! Apply and let the schools decide! You have done your part!

This post just might be a little long......

First and for most, I would like to thank SDNers for their help. 4 of my biology questions were exactly what others had on their test! I too had the Sea Urchin and the what is glucose first converted to in the glycolytic pathway (ans: glucose 6 phosphate, and what is the first irreversible step in glycoysis (ans: fructose 6 phosphate to fructose 1,6 biphospate) questions. Again, SDN saved me on 4 questions in bio alone.

I would like to encourage everyone to stay focused and stay determined! A little background on moi! ( I think that it helps if everyone provides a little background since every applicant is different and everyone is on a different path.... I am a non-traditional student that is in the military and that has served in Iraq and quite a few other overseas deployments. I graduated from West Point 4 years ago. There are no organic chemistry or chemistry classes in Iraq, so the DAT was all about Amazon.com (which took over a month for me to get one book) for me and whatever book that I could order to teach myself in between missions and getting mortared!!!

I would like to say that the biology section was definitely harder than anything that I had seen during the preparation phase. As I mentioned above, thanks to SDN my score is at least average! I downloaded topscore, dat achiever, used dat professor, and had Kaplan online (internet in Iraq is just a little slow for the online classes though!). I also had Barrons which was decent for the PAT!


Chem: I took the class 8 years ago....it really wasn't that bad! Dat Achiever was the best prep! My Dat consisted of plenty of titration and PH problems. i expected a few problems on the periodic table and had like 1!

Organic Chem: Never took the class and was definitely challenged!

PAT: Used Dat achiever and Ace the Dat. I scored a 21 on kaplan and 18 on Ace the Dat and did drop two points on the actual DAT!

Reading Comp: I didn't even read the passage! I just used the keyword and search method on 2 out of 3 passages and did well! My second passage required me to read though!


Last but not least, never give up on your dreams! SDN is a great asset, but then again SDNers can get rather negative at times! Remember that SDN offers both incredible advice as well as off the wall opinions! Also, keep in mind that very few applicants are SDNers and there are some high scores on this site! Agan, every applicant is unique! If you have a 24/24 and a good GPA you just might be lacking somewhere else! Every school is looking for something a little different!

Oh, I applied everywhere! I took my Iraq savings and just threw my net out! We will see which school gives me chance!

Good luck and God bless,

J

Can you give us a couple of the biology or chemistry questions on the DAT. Thanks

 

[cvirtue]

"What is the purpose/function of the fertilization membrane in a Sea Urchin"

For Gen Chem like I said mine was less conceptual and more rxn's. I had to to figure empirical formulas, couple entropy, couple rate laws, 1 acid base pH, a lot of setting up equations. Like I said for some reason I was pressed for time so its hard to remember exact questions.
In bio I remember having to do a test cross and had to determine the correct genotype/phenotypes (e.g. GGRr x GgRR). I'm sorry but right now I can't remember much, i'm just glad to finally start summer, as I remember questions I will post them.

QR: Maybe 2 or 3 trig questions, a lot of adding/subtracting/multiplying fractions, mary is X times older than susan, what is mary's age in 20 years, _X__ is 56 cents a pound and _Y_ is 32 cents a pound...how many pounds of Y is 200 pounds sold at 80 cents a pound, in all prolly 6 or 7 word problems, etc.. These #'s are not exactly what I had but these were the general questions. If you are having specific problems with QR I could prolly help or explain it to you, i've always been good at math. QR to me seemed similar in difficulty to Barrons.

I would say that the gen chem and org sections were similar DAT Achiever in difficulty except for one key diffence. I didn't really have any questions, especially in bio, that gave me 3 or 4 characteristics and had to match them to the question (example of answers...A)I only B)I, II,&IV C) I,II,&III etc.)

I may retake but i'm not sure yet. My AA is at or above almost all the mean AA for the schools I applied to and my PAT is well above all of them. Right now my bad semester way back in freshman year brings my GPA down from the average a little but since my GPA has been an upward trend with my last semester being my most difficult and my highest GPA. I just want some interviews b/c I have great interview and people skills, my predent advisor and shadowing dentist along with others knowledgable in the process think I have a great chance once i'm in the interview. I'm gonna see where I get interview then call them and ask if they'd like me to raise my gen chem that way I could maybe walk into an interview with a second set of improved scores. Right now i'm not too worried about it.

If anyone has anymore questions feel free to ask, i'll try and help the best I can. May take a while to respond this weekend though, i'm heading home for the Mellencamp concert and maybe going to see my beloved White Sox!!!



Study hard and good luck y'all!

 

[drengineer]

I'm very happy for you cvirtue, your summer has finally started!!! Have fun man, because the next 4 years of our lives will be pretty tough!

 

[Comet208]

RC had Comet/Asteroid, Brain Imaging, and Neural Receptor passages.

I had this 3 years ago ... seems they have limited supply of articles.

 

[Comet208]

4 of my biology questions were exactly what others had on their test! I too had the Sea Urchin and the what is glucose first converted to in the glycolytic pathway (ans: glucose 6 phosphate, and what is the first irreversible step in glycoysis (ans: fructose 6 phosphate to fructose 1,6 biphospate) questions. Again, SDN saved me on 4 questions in bio alone.

Great comments on staying focused. Wish you the best and more power to you. what was the 4th question btw??

 

[BigJ77]

Sorry, about the late response! I was traveling back overseas and did not have access or enough time (in Airport) to respond to. Many of you were interested in the last question of Bio....the question wasn't actually that bad but here it is : In which stage of interphase are centrioles replicated and proteins necessary for cell division? ANS: G2 phase.

I hope this helps! The question might have been phrased just a little different but that was what it was about!

Good luck!

 

[SunnyD0119]

does anyone know if there really is a keyword search on the real thing and is it legit to use it???
is it like control F on a document

 

[cowsgomoo]

does anyone know if there really is a keyword search on the real thing and is it legit to use it???
is it like control F on a document

No way you can really do that?

 

[SunnyD0119]

Reading Comp: I didn't even read the passage! I just used the keyword and search method on 2 out of 3 passages and did well! My second passage required me to read though!


thast what i want to know......it could make life alot easier
does anyone know if this is legit and if so how do you do it??

 

[cowsgomoo]

Reading Comp: I didn't even read the passage! I just used the keyword and search method on 2 out of 3 passages and did well! My second passage required me to read though!


thast what i want to know......it could make life alot easier
does anyone know if this is legit and if so how do you do it??

Yeah I don’t know if the software allows you to use ctrl-f to do word searches.

 

[zackyfarms]

im taking the dat on the 11th (monday), ill try the ctrl F theory, heh

 

[dat_student]

im taking the dat on the 11th (monday), ill try the ctrl F theory, heh

ctrl F won't work for the intended purpose. It'll terminate/cancel your test.

 

[SunnyD0119]

seriously??? it'll terminate the test?

 

[Tooth Fixer]

Wait a minute if that terminates the test then if u think u sucked on the test u hit that and ur test wont get counted. Just say it was an accident i didn't mean to hit those keys. LOL this would be great if test gets terminated.

 

[dat_student]

seriously??? it'll terminate the test?

I was just kidding... 😉
It probably won't do anything but if you want to give it a try make sure you try it in the 1st few seconds of your test...I personally won't try new commands in the middle of my test. Pressing a bunch of keys can have dangerous side effects...

 

[dat_student]

Wait a minute if that terminates the test then if u think u sucked on the test u hit that and ur test wont get counted. Just say it was an accident i didn't mean to hit those keys. LOL this would be great if test gets terminated.

Did you know that they have written their program such that every time you press ctrl-F the questions become harder? They have designed it that way to prevent accidents from happening

 

[Bonkers29]

Great comments on staying focused. Wish you the best and more power to you. what was the 4th question btw??

Yeah I would also like to know what the 4th question was on the Bio that you knew from SDN and also does ANYONE know the correct answer to the "sea urchin" question?

"What is the purpose/function of the fertilization membrane in a Sea Urchin?"

 

[elz787]

I would also like to know the answer........any takers?

 

[cowsgomoo]

Yeah I would also like to know what the 4th question was on the Bio that you knew from SDN and also does ANYONE know the correct answer to the "sea urchin" question?

"What is the purpose/function of the fertilization membrane in a Sea Urchin?"

To stop polyspermy.

 

[VegasBabyVegas]

Why is everyone telling everyone else all these answers to the test when that is completety CHEATING!? Whatever happend to people just studying and figuring this crap out themselves?! Listen, the difference between getting a 18 and a 22 on these sections is 3-4 missed questions and you guys are giving everyone those answers to the questions people are supposed to miss so adcom can figure out who went the extra mile in their preparation. Are you people here so lame you're trying to make friends on this site when all youre really doing is helping everyone else get higher scores so they can take your position and make you wait a year? Go right ahead, who cares about ethics. You can kick plenty of butt on the DAT w/o begging everyone here for tips and answers. I bet every book on comets, neurotransmitters and d@%* sea urchins in this entire country is checked out right now.

 

[cvirtue]

Why is everyone telling everyone else all these answers to the test when that is completety CHEATING!? Whatever happend to people just studying and figuring this crap out themselves?! Listen, the difference between getting a 18 and a 22 on these sections is 3-4 missed questions and you guys are giving everyone those answers to the questions people are supposed to miss so adcom can figure out who went the extra mile in their preparation. Are you people here so lame you're trying to make friends on this site when all youre really doing is helping everyone else get higher scores so they can take your position and make you wait a year? Go right ahead, who cares about ethics. You can kick plenty of butt on the DAT w/o begging everyone here for tips and answers. I bet every book on comets, neurotransmitters and d@%* sea urchins in this entire country is checked out right now.

There is nothing wrong with helping people who are trying to attain the same goal as you. You should always help people on the way, not withhold information and hope others do worse than you. So they're getting help on maybe 5 questions, they still have to study all the rest of the stuff on the 4 hr test. Just b/c they know the sea urchin question doesn't mean their score is gonna jump from an 18 to a 25. Calm down my friend. Why are you a registered user on here if you're not here to get help?

 

[Noroozi]

I bet every book on comets, neurotransmitters and d@%* sea urchins in this entire country is checked out right now.

LOL

 

[Bonkers29]

To stop polyspermy.

thanks cowsgomoo! i really like your avatar by the way 😀