Everyone Always Says "Read AP Cliffs For Bio"...

[Double Bonded]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I don't really have a lot of time to type this up so I'll say it with all the rough edges...


I've been looking for some more bio problems and I forgot that AP Cliffs has 2 practice tests at the end of the book. I found the book to be pretty good and from filliping through the practice tests it seems like the questions in them are on the same level of difficulty as kaplan and a little bit less difficult than destroyer.

I'm a little bit skeptical about how representative it actually can be for the DAT. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to work all 200 problems, but it is a test for high school students so I'm not sure whether it's representative of the actual DAT.

Are the practice tests in AP Cliffs representative of the difficulty level on the DAT?

 

[PhansterZ]

I don't really have a lot of time to type this up so I'll say it with all the rough edges...


I've been looking for some more bio problems and I forgot that AP Cliffs has 2 practice tests at the end of the book. I found the book to be pretty good and from filliping through the practice tests it seems like the questions in them are on the same level of difficulty as kaplan and a little bit less difficult than destroyer.

I'm a little bit skeptical about how representative it actually can be for the DAT. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to work all 200 problems, but it is a test for high school students so I'm not sure whether it's representative of the actual DAT.

Are the practice tests in AP Cliffs representative of the difficulty level on the DAT?

The DAT is actually easier than Cliff's. Take that!

But you get some really random questions on the DAT though, where the questions are more broad. If you memorize Cliff's from front to back, you're pretty much guaranteed a 22 (37/40). Then there are some random random questions that all you can do is chuckle because you've never seen them before.

 

[dentalWorks]

The DAT is actually easier than Cliff's. Take that!

But you get some really random questions on the DAT though, where the questions are more broad. If you memorize Cliff's from front to back, you're pretty much guaranteed a 22 (37/40). Then there are some random random questions that all you can do is chuckle because you've never seen them before.

I respectfully disagree
Cliffs is an amazing resource, and should prep you for a 19-20 bio score. But beyond that and your either (a) very lucky or (b) you need a heavier resource (Campbell)

to OP... I don't remember doing the Cliff's tests, but I used to do the end-of-chapter questions. Those are great.

 

[PhansterZ]

I respectfully disagree
Cliffs is an amazing resource, and should prep you for a 19-20 bio score. But beyond that and your either (a) very lucky or (b) you need a heavier resource (Campbell)

to OP... I don't remember doing the Cliff's tests, but I used to do the end-of-chapter questions. Those are great.

I've only written the DAT once so it was bad for me to judge from that sample size.

Either case, you can get a passable score on Bio with Cliff's as a main resource.

 

[Logs]

I used mostly kaplan resources but i also had cliffs notes and i felt that both resources covered the same things. The DAT just throws out some random questions but if you have a general understand of a little bit of everything, you will be fine. Wow, that sounded so vague. Sorry about that. Bio is just so wide spread but it really isnt impossible. I strongly recommend just going through all the practice problems in the bio sections and studying those really well.

 

[reely989]

I don't really have a lot of time to type this up so I'll say it with all the rough edges...


I've been looking for some more bio problems and I forgot that AP Cliffs has 2 practice tests at the end of the book. I found the book to be pretty good and from filliping through the practice tests it seems like the questions in them are on the same level of difficulty as kaplan and a little bit less difficult than destroyer.

I'm a little bit skeptical about how representative it actually can be for the DAT. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to work all 200 problems, but it is a test for high school students so I'm not sure whether it's representative of the actual DAT.

Are the practice tests in AP Cliffs representative of the difficulty level on the DAT?

I would agree with someone else on here saying the DAT bio was easier than Cliff's. It just covers more. Cliff's won't teach you everything you need. I got a 20, and I knew Cliff's, and I knew outside information. It's tough for me to say Bio is even worth shooting for a 21+ honestly.

 

[Double Bonded]

Cliff's won't teach you everything you need. I got a 20, and I knew Cliff's, and I knew outside information. It's tough for me to say Bio is even worth shooting for a 21+ honestly.

Would you mind expanding on what it's missing?

 

[reely989]

Would you mind expanding on what it's missing?

It's been a few weeks, but best I remember it has nothing on endocrinology, and it is missing some physiology and anatomy. There is some other, random assorted stuff that it doesn't cover as well. I know I had quite a few questions on my DAT that weren't in cliffs, and I honestly have no idea where to tell you to find them unless you want to read through Schaum's and Campbells.

I realize I'm not being extremely helpful here, but like I said, it's been a few weeks since I've studied. I just know that I felt very good about the material in Cliff's, and the Kaplan book, and there were still probably about 8 on my Bio section that I marked.

If you are taking the DAT soonish, I'd just advise you to try and know Cliff's/Kaplan/ and probably DATqvault (I hear it is good), and work on Chem and Organic until you can guarantee awesome scores on those. If you know those sections well, you can pretty much consistently do well. There is only so much they can throw at you.

 

[Double Bonded]

haha no it's good. I'll expand my resources, maybe read a couple chapters of campbell that I feel really weak on.

 

[baseballplayer9]

I use Barrons AP bio and I really like it. I have never taken the DAT before but as long as you have a little bit of a bio background I think it is a really good resource. There are three 90 question exams and also 20-35ish questions at the end of each chapter. I havent used Cliff's, so I cant compare it to that.. but it is about 500 pages which include the quizzes, but its a quick read (took me 3 days which included reading the explanations for every answer after each quiz)

 

[MichaelTrann]

I use Barrons AP bio and I really like it. ...

I agree. I've seen lots of ppl mention about Cliffs but, in my own opinion, I think Barron's AP Bio is still just as good as Cliffs. It has better diagrams and pictures anyway. Then, it would be even better if both sources are paralleled. 🙂