Done wit DAT

[DrTank]

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Whats up SDNer's, this site is awesome and extremely helpful. I really surprised myself. I did not expect to score nearly this high. I was just hoping for a 21 AA. But anyways I am very satisfied with my overall performance. But I am a little worried about my PAT score.

PAT 20 81%
QR 19 92.9%
RC 23 96.1%
Bio 26 99.8%
GC 29 99.9%
OC 25 98.4%
TS 27 100%
AA 24 99.9%

I studied for about 3 months total. The first two months I was only able to study about an hour or two a day because I was working full time. I realized I needed more time to study, so I decided to quit my job. The third month I was able to get in about 5-6 hours a day. I remained in isolation for the entire month. I would wake up, go for a run, and then study. It consumed my life. I even went through panic attacks towards the last two weeks of study. But I want to assure everyone here that the real DAT is easier then any practice test I have ever taken.

Breakdown

PAT: I dont know what happened here, I thought that this would be my strongest section.
Crack DAT PAT: Great source except hole punching is way harder
Barrons DAT: Good practice but tons of mistakes
topscore: OK, all three tests just recycle the same questions
Achiever: Good practice but extremely hard
Kaplan BB: not bad

QR: Lots of word problems. Im just not that great at math.
Crack DAT Math: Good in my opinion
Kaplan BB: Not bad
Barrons DAT: too easy

RC: SOOO much easier than any practice test I have ever taken. Maybe because I was familiar with the topics and I had all science related passages. (Molecular and Cell Bio Major) I would just read newspaper articles everyday to practice my speed reading.
Kaplan BB: Ok
Achiever: way too hard and long
Topscore: not bad but there were no tone questions to practice with
Barrons DAT: harder than actual DAT

BIO: Really random and I dont think I would have done this well if i had not majored in mol and cell bio.
Kaplan BB: good but not sufficient
Barrons DAT: useless
Schaum's Bio: Great and very detailed but boring. Just make sure you go over the kingdom/plant chapters and anything lacking in kap BB.
Wikipedia: Awesome

Gen Chem: Really easy. Hardly any calculations and very conceptual. Just make sure you know the basic concepts.
Kaplan BB: All you need to know
Wikipedia: I used this to clarify on any topics in Kaplan that i was unclear about
Barrons DAT: useless

Ochem: Not so bad
Kaplan BB: Again this is really all you need. Make sure you know every single reaction in this book
Barrons DAT: useless
Ochem book: great source for any unclear topics

BCP GPA: 3.89
sGPA: 3.71
oGPA: 3.67

I applied to UCSF, UCLA, UOP, USC and few other schools out of state. My application is being mailed out the 23rd. I am hoping to go to UCSF. What do you think my chances are?

 

[marymatthews]

Wow congrats... im speechless
Howd you do so well in the sciences? whats your secret?
What were your Topscore scores?

 

[nicUD]

Dude awesome scores!!

I'm taking my DAT in 20 days, whats youre advice? Im doing the kaplan online course, cliffs bio, and destroyer. Do you think I should get topscore? my last kaplan practice test score was a AA18 and PAT 21. Im freaking out hard core

 

[DrTank]

I have a good back round in the sciences due to my major. For GenChem and Ochem I just basically memorized Kaplan BB. For Bio I first read through Kaplan BB and then went through Shaum's Bio. I also did some of Kaplan's subject tests online. For bio just try to learn as much as possible because it is so broad.

 

[DrTank]

nicUD

Just try to relax. I know its easier said then done. Exercise always helped me calm down. And definitely get topscore. It is very much like the actual DAT in terms of difficulty, just a little harder. Try to get as many practice tests as possible. This will help you to grasp more concepts and work on your weaknesses.

 

[iamgosu]

congrats
you pwned the DAT.
and you mentioned for your GC you had no calculations.
On mine, I had at least 10 of the 30 questions were calculations. And it wasn't just the "set up equation" thing. It was actually a full blown calculation, especially for acid/base mixtures given Ka's and [acid] and [base]. f**k! i had like hardly any concept questions!

 

[DrTank]

iamgosu

Thanks, looks like you destroyed DAT too. I did have a few calculation problems but very simple ones that required very little time. I was really surprised at how easy my gc section was. This was the section i was really stressing about but It seemed to work out for me just fine. goo luck and im sure you will get into the schools you want.

 

[iamgosu]

iamgosu

Thanks, looks like you destroyed DAT too. I did have a few calculation problems but very simple ones that required very little time. I was really surprised at how easy my gc section was. This was the section i was really stressing about but It seemed to work out for me just fine. goo luck and im sure you will get into the schools you want.

thanks man!
actually GC was the one i was most confident about (was expecting a 24+) and i pretty much winged it lol...
i was worried most about PAT and OC but those turned out alright.

 

[Open Whyd]

That's a great score Tank. I think you should start packing👍👍.
When you get a chance breakdown your study method.