Finally Done! (7/5/12)

[David1991]

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I just finished taking my DAT today a few hours ago
PAT: 22
QR: 21
RC: 22
BIO: 24
GC: 29
OC: 23
TS: 25
AA:24

I was going to do a big write up but now I'm super lazy lol but essentially I followed this guide almost exactly http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=719365 so I definitely recommend it. I liked how you get the base knowledge the first 4 weeks from Cliff's and KBB then test and continue to improve knowledge from Destroyer. Honestly though without the Destroyer actually applying the concepts with real questions I don't think the prior info would have been that helpful. So Destroyer would be my #1 recommendation.

I was pleasantly surprised with the sciences and not so pleasantly surprised with QR. When I did the Math Destroyer problems they almost all seemed easy to me. I was getting almost everything right and was wondering how anyone wasn't getting a high score lol, so I didn't bother taking them timed which apparently was a mistake. Everything else was better than expected. I was originally shooting for a 20, then after seeing more scores on here I figured I'd set 22 as my goal, not that whatever my goal was would have an impact on how much I studied. I studied a lot. Since my finals ended in may all I've really done is study and workout.

PAT I just used the 5 test version of CDP. The tic-tac-toe method for hole punching is awesome. Angles were kind of annoying. Pattern folding I thought was pretty easy in CDP, much harder on the real thing, for me anyway.

I didn't really study at all for reading comprehension. I didn't really feel like it and it wasn't incorporated into the study guide. I feel like there's only so much you can do for it, which mostly involves practicing. Which I didn't do lol.

So happy to be done 😀

 

[DAT12]

Congrats. Great scores man!
Where do you think of applying?

 

[David1991]

Congrats. Great scores man!
Where do you think of applying?

Thanks, I definitely studied a ton....I'm kind of OCD with this type of stuff, I can't go into a test unless I feel like I have really done all I can to prepare. I'm just glad I didn't spend $1500 on a kaplan course 😀 and I really don't think anyone needs to. I know people say it's important to do well in the actual courses at one's college as well, and of course that is critical, but to be honest even with getting all A's most of the information I studied for the DAT was stuff I forgot anyway. I guess I picked it up faster than if I had never seen it before but for the most part it wasn't like I knew the material that well ahead of time. E.g. my first practice test with no studying at all was an 18.

I plan on applying to UMDNJ, Maryland, Pitt, UNC, Penn, Harvard and Temple. I like Pitt's and UNC's campus a lot. I would like to see if I can get into Penn and Harvard for the sake of it, but don't know if I would actually go there. I might have a decent shot with my gpa and these scores but it's almost twice as expensive as other schools and unless I want to be a top specialist it doesn't seem worth it.

 

[MuskieMan33]

Killer scores!!

If you don't mind me asking, how did you fair with destroyer the first time through?

I'm on the third day of problems and I'm doing so-so in OC and GC (between 50-60%) and absolutely HORRIBLE in the bio department (<50%) it's so frustrating. 🙁 Although I have showed a tiny bit of improvement since day 1, it could be a fluke though. I thought I had a decent grasp of things until I opened up destroyer.

 

[EpicDentist]

Great scores congratulations buddy!!

 

[David1991]

Killer scores!!

If you don't mind me asking, how did you fair with destroyer the first time through?

I'm on the third day of problems and I'm doing so-so in OC and GC (between 50-60%) and absolutely HORRIBLE in the bio department (<50%) it's so frustrating. 🙁 Although I have showed a tiny bit of improvement since day 1, it could be a fluke though. I thought I had a decent grasp of things until I opened up destroyer.

When I first started doing the destroyer my thought was "Wtf? I don't know any of these" but when I checked through I was actually doing ok. Some days were bad others were pretty good, on average I'd say I averaged about 70-75% or so (I have it all written down somewhere) overall the first time through. 2nd time through I only got a few things here and there wrong. If anyone is interested I'm selling my MATH+DAT Destroyer with my notes in it 😀 (no answers selected).

GC and OC was so much easier on the DAT than Destroyer, if you have Destroyer down for those I can't see you not doing well. Bio was helpful, but less relevant. Phylogeny was always a weak point for me so I was happy to really improve it through my studying, and then there ended up being on 1 question on it lol.

Oh and I forgot to add, I've had "ExamKrackers MCAT Audio Osmosis" playing in my headphones pretty much constantly since December. Probably got through it 6+ times. It was pretty good imo, constantly reminding you of some of the smaller details or even the basic stuff you might otherwise forget.

Great scores congratulations buddy!!

Thanks 🙂

 

[MuskieMan33]

I appreciate the feedback! I'll have to look into audio osmosis. I've seen a few posts about it and it might be worth my time. I'll see how destroyer goes, hopefuly things will all come together! haha. Thanks again!

 

[Dotoday]

Excellent job on those scores. Congratulations.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[ushaseos]

Very nicely done! Congrats!

As for the colleges, for folks like me in California, the private schools and in-state schools don't have that much of a difference in tuition. I applied to Penn and Harvard too. Hopefully I get in somewhere decent even if not Penn and Harvard.