Right now ive just finished the kaplan course and it went way too fast. Iven been through the kaplan thick book and almost 3/4 finished with those mini practice test. Honestly ppl, I avg 14 on my tests and I dont feel confident at all on the material. I think kaplans material is so detailed and hard. Im really nervous Im projected to take it in aug and I dont feel like studying anymore. everytime i take a mini test i get like 40-50% correct. I dont know what it is, but my question now is, do I just keep doing practice tests over and over or do i go back to the book?? And plus I need some self esteem boost from somebody out there because I am just losing it.. I feel everythings riding on this test and i got too much pressure.. Help fellow future dentists. 😡 👎 🙁
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feeling kinda down about the DATs
Started by Denro
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I dont know how hard the tests are, but I found the tests in the Kaplan Blue book was pretty easy. However, you should seriously study harder and delay the exam if you know you are not getting at least a 17 on practice exams.
Denro said:
Based on my experience there is an unlimited number of times you can draw out the inevitable... 😉
Well......I never even took bio, orc chem class, so All i study now is chemistry and so maybe i don't know whether it's easy or hard, but i should say....study over and over, if u don't understand try to understand it with all it costs. either ask here or there.
Denro said:
Yes Denro...I'm feeling down about this too- I feel like it's the last part of my application that I have control and don't want to mess it up. I don't want all the time I spent to go to waste, and I'm taking them a week from today!
I wonder how the actual test is....I'm hearing so many different things, I don't know what to believe because I'm getting scared. Good luck with your studying
yebin012 said:
this is mainly for our self esteem boosting.... this is how it went for me. i didnt take the kaplan course or anything, just studied the kaplan blue book for a month and a half or so, and knew it all really well then started taking practice tests, my scores were like 16s for bio, 17s for chem and 14s for ochem. My sciences were very weak. however, i still felt like i knew the material really well. I went ahead and moved my test date earlier, even though i got such poor scores. i ended up with a 19 bio, 21 gchem, 19 ochem. thats how it went for me however... i was confident i actually knew the material and knew the REAL dat wouldnt ask such detailed and difficult questions. i too didnt want to study anymore. if u really think u know ur material well, id say dont worry and keep taking tests and review what u get wrong. good luck
Denro said:
yes, thank you jhui for your encouragement. I didnt take any courses either- just the Kaplan blue book and DAT Achiever. I understand what you mean- I feel like I can't look at it anymore but I'm getting paranoid that I'll forget something important when I know I've been studying a lot the past months. Out of the 3 sciences, on test day which section was the most difficult? I've heard that if you study the Kaplan book, Gen Chem and OChem are not that bad on the real test. Gonna study hard for this last stretch..
Denro said:
When you say mini tests, are you referring to the subject tests for Kaplan? If so, I think those tests are ridiculously difficult. I generally get 14s or 15s on those tests, which is unusually low compared to the scores I get on Topscore. I think Topscore is a better indicator of what you will probably make on the DATs. I've taken the DATs twice(i'm not too bright, as you can tell 🙁 ) and the scores are very close to what I get in topscore. So if the mini tests are the same thing as the subject tests, I would not be so worried about the scores you receive on those particular tests. If you can't get Topscore, then I would rely more heavily on the midterm and final test that Kaplan gives to you. Just my 2 cents...
huskerslp said:
oh man, huskers that makes me feel so much better. I thought i was straight up dumb and everybody was getting this stuff but me.. So you recommend top score huh.. I'll try to get my hands on it...but thanks a million that makes feel so much better because i thought i was the only one getting low scores on the subject tests.
denro and yebin maybe yall just need a break from studying, dont study so much each day. rather, split it up and dont take days off studying, or study a lot for 2 days then take a day off etc.. you get what i mean. if you stress out so much, you wont be able to concentrate studying. be sure to take it easy the day or two before your DAT - simply review a little, dont stress out. good luck.
Yah, dont stress. Family who did well on the DAT told me to study 8 hours a day for 30 days. I was fretting because I can only do 4 hours before I go nutts, so I spent most of my time worrying if I had what it takes for the DAT. So, I just cooled down and kept studying for about 3-4 weeks every day for 4 hours a day. Eventually I took the topscore and Kaplan blue book exam and got 19's and 20's. So, dont fret and try to stay calm. This test isn't hard. Just get a cold beer(only one !! 
) and read the sections. Now that I read your post again, I think your paranoia is your major hindrance to your success, so just relax.
) and read the sections. Now that I read your post again, I think your paranoia is your major hindrance to your success, so just relax.
All this sounds very good. But remember, you want QUALITY of studying not QUANTITY. You can sit and stare at kaplan for 8 hrs a day but if you're not REALLY understanding and absorbing this material, you're just wasting your time. Study some everyday, and if you feel burned out or losing your concentration, take a break and do something you enjoy for about 30 min, then GET BACK TO IT. I studied a lot less than most people claim on SDN, but it was all QUALITY studying. I didnt leave a subject until I *felt* like I knew the material (of course I got no perfect scores). Just try not to get burned out like I almost have several times, and pace yourself. Dont try to take in too much at once, your brain doesnt like that. Steady, quality studying is what you need all the way up to your exam. If you dont feel ready, by all means postpone the exam to a REASONABLE date in the future and work toward that date. This thing can seem very overwhelming, so take it one small thing at a time and it will all come together! 
I agree wholeheartedly with the quality studying. I too, have spent hours studying, and not absorbing a single thing. Especially when I study in group, and no one in the group knows the material. Everyone would just flop about, guessing at what everything means and how significant each piece of information might be. A good study group isn't a study group -- it's one or two students who excel in the subject, and teaching rest of the group.
But, studying alone -- my biggest problem is falling asleep. The only thing that works for me when I really want to understand or remember something, is rewriting everything I study in my own words. I started a thread on how I did this, take a look if interested.
But, studying alone -- my biggest problem is falling asleep. The only thing that works for me when I really want to understand or remember something, is rewriting everything I study in my own words. I started a thread on how I did this, take a look if interested.
On the Kaplan practice tests, Gen Chem was consistently my lowest score. I even got a fifteen in GC one week before I took the test. I just took my DATs yesterday and it turned out to be my highest score (mid twenties). So there's always hope.yebin012 said:
natsipoo said:
Aww. Thanks natsipoo. Trying to stay hopeful. I am honestly the most scared about bio and what's keeping me going is that everyone says gen chem and orgo are fine if you did kaplan and I did learn it well when I took the courses in college too. Maybe cuz bio is a lot more broad in what they can ask- I see it as just memorization, in comparison to chem/orgo that is more application so doing problems helps you a lot. So if I'm aiming for mid twenties (good for you on your score! was organic chem around that score too?) maybe I can afford to not do AS well on bio but pull it up with gen chem and organic.
I'm taking it this Friday. Read and studied Kaplan, DAT Achiever, Read some of Schaum's, and I think I should take a look at the Kaplan AP Biology book, as many of you recommend that one.
don't drink too much water at the test. when you've gotta pee and staring at cube counting problems... clicking "c" for the rest of the stack starts to look awfully tempting...
the actual test is not hard in my opinion, the lowest section I had was a 19 in g chem, and I only studied off of the kaplan blue test for that section. I did NOT take a single g chem class in HS or college... I thought the kaplan blue test was decent, it allowed me to answer a lot of the questions, but there were definite questions on the actual test that the blue book did not even coem close to touching.
the actual test is not hard in my opinion, the lowest section I had was a 19 in g chem, and I only studied off of the kaplan blue test for that section. I did NOT take a single g chem class in HS or college... I thought the kaplan blue test was decent, it allowed me to answer a lot of the questions, but there were definite questions on the actual test that the blue book did not even coem close to touching.
