I wanna start off by thanking everyone who has posted their concerns within the crevices of this website. I've exploited every corner, so yes, people who have posted in 2007, I thank you too.
I'm gonna just give you run down on what I used and what I found most helpful. If you're only interested in my scores on the practice exams and the real DAT, it's all the way below. Be weary that questions on the DAT are completely random and come out of a question pool. Your best comparison will come from the averages of all the test material you use. Make sure you vary your sources during practices.
I've been studying for the DAT for two months using Kaplan's online class. I had to push off my date because I felt as if I wasted so many hours watching lectures, as the syllabus had stated. I wish someone told me earlier that there was such thing as Bootcamp, DAT Destroyer, and last but not least, Crack DAT PAT. Not gonna lie, Kaplan did give a good indicator of where I had to start, since I scored a 14 on their first test. I did every single test they offered (including all the subjects tests, which I took twice each), but there were not enough. I couldn't believe I paid $1200 for their course... I ended up pushing my test date from 7/24 to today (8/12). I ended up taking their last test and scored a 20 AA - 19Bio - 18 GC - 28 OC - 18 RC - 19 QR - 20 PAT
KAPLANS PAT IS A JOKE COMPARED TO THE REAL DAT..... It's great just for getting started and building confidence, if anything.
As soon as I received these scores, I went onto SDN took the best advice I'd ever gotten -I immediately bought Crack DAT PAT (10 tests), the DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer bundle, and DAT Achiever (5 tests).
Crack DAT PAT was amazing and almost exactly like the DAT (even the graphics). TFE, Angles, Cube Counting, and Pattern-folding were spot on. Keyholes were too easy, and I heard about Bootcamp's Keyholes (more on that in a little bit). I did 6/10 practice exams on CDP.
DAT Destroyer ruined my confidence during my prep, especially GC. I was getting around 17/30 questions correct and I ended up stopping 4 days before my test. I ended up getting to question 250 or something and it added a ton of points on my GC score compared to Kaplan's resources... And that was from just learning what I did wrong in my solutions. I though the answer key for the Destroyer was phenomenal, so thank you so much @orgoman22. You guys are amazing.
I already had a strong background in OC, also having taken Adv. Organic this past semester but WHOOOOO..... My God DAT Destroyer stuck it to me... Again my confidence went to poop. The questions were just full of tricks and multi-step reactions. I was kind of disappointed looking at my OC score because I thought I'd score much higher on my actual exam, but DAT Destroyer really helped with grounding the fundamentals down.
The Destroyer Biology sections was so tough, I just called it quits halfway through (about 300 questions down). Destroyer Bio was much tougher than my actual test, but I don't think you can ever be over prepared for Bio. I don't even think Feralis notes by itself is enough, rather a combination of Destroyer and Feralis notes. Kaplan's material is a joke compared to the two great resources above.
The Math Destroyer was on par with the DAT. I was scoring around 17's on the practice test without timing myself, but with time I ended up getting the same score. Had I started off with Destroyer, I would've done much better. I finished 7 of the practice exams, but I really wish I had time for more. It was the single best resource for the types of questions a student will face on the actual exam, I mean it. Nancy had even given me her contact number and advised me not to time myself, and just reason the problems out. I really wish I had more time, because that kind of advice was priceless.
Achiever was a beast and it managed to conquer my confidence. If anything good came out of the practice test, it was getting timing down (I was able to take one test the week before my test). I wish I did all of the questions after completing Destroyer and then took the Achiever test. It helped me learn where I was at and the result I got made me work a lot harder.
Just 3 days ago I bought BC. I took the first 2 Bio exams and they were much harder than my actual test. BC's tests are designed to make you think, especially when it came down to the experimental questions (I had quite a few of those). Also, @Ari Rezaei and his team do a fantastic job with the GC questions, which focuses a lot harder on concepts (a little lighter compared to DAT Destroyer, but tough nonetheless). I took 2 OC tests which really helped me solidify the concepts that I covered on DAT Destroyer. I'm beating a dead horse again, but I really wish I had an extra two weeks to fully utilize the resources offered by BC, Achiever, DAT Destroyer, and Crack DAT PAT.
Score Breakdown:
Kaplan:
FL 2 (4 weeks ago)
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
17 / 22 / 17 / 18 / 17 / 18 / 17
FL 4 (3 weeks ago)
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
20/ 20 / 19 / 18 / 19 / 18 / 28
Again, I had gotten a 14 on my diagnotic. I never took photos of my other tests and I tried to go back, but my license with Kaplan expired so I can't even view it. Sorry guys.
Crack DAT PAT:
Test 1 - 14
Test 2 - 19
Test 3 - 21
Test 4 - 21
Test 5 - 23
Test 6 - 23
Achiever:
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
17 / 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 16 / 19
Use this as a guide as to what sections and topics need focus. Understand why you didn't get the question correct by studying the answer choices, just as you should do with Bootcamp and DAT Destroyer. These people provide great explanations for a reason.
Bootcamp:
Bio 1 - 23
Bio 2 - 19
GC 1 - 21
GC 2 - 20
OC 1 - 19
OC 2 - 20
Although I never took a complete PAT exam on Bootcamp, I was able to crunch in the Keyholes sections. They're much easier that Achiever's Keyholes, but they both focus a lot on proportions. The answer choices on CDP's keyhole questions were really easy to eliminate because they focused on shapes. I think I did about 140 or so questions on BC's Keyhole generator, which was more than enough for the test. Usually I end up spent a minute each on
Keyhole questions, but with Ari's I spent about 30 seconds per questions ( 50 seconds on two rocks I was given). Ari was really kind and offered me a discount because I couldn't fully use the resources on it, it was definitely worth the money.
Actual:
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
19 / 23 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 22 / 21
I only practiced RC doing practice exams (6) and the two sections tests that Kaplan offered. I found that it was really easy to S&D on the RC passages. I had a ton of Tone/Inference for my second passage (on prions - 7 paragraphs total). The two that were easiest to S&D were on Fiber optics and Genetic engineering for diseases. My longest passage was 13 paragraphs.
I studied 8-10 hours a day for two and a half months. I outlined the ecology and evolution section of Kaplans notes and rewrote it onto a word document. GC was mainly practicing concepts, and OC was grounding concepts and practicing. Focus on PAT, it's a lot of practice but once you get the hang of it you can master a lot of the sections by developing your own tricks. I always got 100% on CC and what helped was drawing multiple columns of the cube with the most number of cubes lengthwise (ie if there is 3 columns if you imagine yourself standing on the right vs 6 column standing in front of the figure, go with the 6). I started by counting from the left to right. If there were multiple rows following the front, then I started top to bottom so that I could keep track of where I started counting. After finishing the first row, I drew a line separating the next row so that I could keep track of the number of cubes. Incase you're not so good on the CC, the hashing on the bottom helps your brain categorize where you may have messed up, and it makes the counting overall much easier Worse comes to worse, you can at least be 100% confident on this set of questions on the test.
I have a 3.3 overall. I started off rough my freshman year and had gotten a 2.1 and 2.9, but I busted my butt and had gotten a 3.3, 3.9, 3.5, and 3.7. I'm a Biology major and declared a Minor in Chemistry last semester and I've done a ton of extracurriculars- I was the President of the Health Professions Club at my school, I am an active research student in two labs, and the Volunteer Service Chair of a Fraternity that I help found at my school. Not too sure if this helps, but I've also been shadowing a dentist since my senior year in high school. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
Again, I want to thank everyone on SDN for guiding me through the DAT nightmare. It made my preparation a lot easier.
I'm gonna just give you run down on what I used and what I found most helpful. If you're only interested in my scores on the practice exams and the real DAT, it's all the way below. Be weary that questions on the DAT are completely random and come out of a question pool. Your best comparison will come from the averages of all the test material you use. Make sure you vary your sources during practices.
I've been studying for the DAT for two months using Kaplan's online class. I had to push off my date because I felt as if I wasted so many hours watching lectures, as the syllabus had stated. I wish someone told me earlier that there was such thing as Bootcamp, DAT Destroyer, and last but not least, Crack DAT PAT. Not gonna lie, Kaplan did give a good indicator of where I had to start, since I scored a 14 on their first test. I did every single test they offered (including all the subjects tests, which I took twice each), but there were not enough. I couldn't believe I paid $1200 for their course... I ended up pushing my test date from 7/24 to today (8/12). I ended up taking their last test and scored a 20 AA - 19Bio - 18 GC - 28 OC - 18 RC - 19 QR - 20 PAT
KAPLANS PAT IS A JOKE COMPARED TO THE REAL DAT..... It's great just for getting started and building confidence, if anything.
As soon as I received these scores, I went onto SDN took the best advice I'd ever gotten -I immediately bought Crack DAT PAT (10 tests), the DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer bundle, and DAT Achiever (5 tests).
Crack DAT PAT was amazing and almost exactly like the DAT (even the graphics). TFE, Angles, Cube Counting, and Pattern-folding were spot on. Keyholes were too easy, and I heard about Bootcamp's Keyholes (more on that in a little bit). I did 6/10 practice exams on CDP.
DAT Destroyer ruined my confidence during my prep, especially GC. I was getting around 17/30 questions correct and I ended up stopping 4 days before my test. I ended up getting to question 250 or something and it added a ton of points on my GC score compared to Kaplan's resources... And that was from just learning what I did wrong in my solutions. I though the answer key for the Destroyer was phenomenal, so thank you so much @orgoman22. You guys are amazing.
I already had a strong background in OC, also having taken Adv. Organic this past semester but WHOOOOO..... My God DAT Destroyer stuck it to me... Again my confidence went to poop. The questions were just full of tricks and multi-step reactions. I was kind of disappointed looking at my OC score because I thought I'd score much higher on my actual exam, but DAT Destroyer really helped with grounding the fundamentals down.
The Destroyer Biology sections was so tough, I just called it quits halfway through (about 300 questions down). Destroyer Bio was much tougher than my actual test, but I don't think you can ever be over prepared for Bio. I don't even think Feralis notes by itself is enough, rather a combination of Destroyer and Feralis notes. Kaplan's material is a joke compared to the two great resources above.
The Math Destroyer was on par with the DAT. I was scoring around 17's on the practice test without timing myself, but with time I ended up getting the same score. Had I started off with Destroyer, I would've done much better. I finished 7 of the practice exams, but I really wish I had time for more. It was the single best resource for the types of questions a student will face on the actual exam, I mean it. Nancy had even given me her contact number and advised me not to time myself, and just reason the problems out. I really wish I had more time, because that kind of advice was priceless.
Achiever was a beast and it managed to conquer my confidence. If anything good came out of the practice test, it was getting timing down (I was able to take one test the week before my test). I wish I did all of the questions after completing Destroyer and then took the Achiever test. It helped me learn where I was at and the result I got made me work a lot harder.
Just 3 days ago I bought BC. I took the first 2 Bio exams and they were much harder than my actual test. BC's tests are designed to make you think, especially when it came down to the experimental questions (I had quite a few of those). Also, @Ari Rezaei and his team do a fantastic job with the GC questions, which focuses a lot harder on concepts (a little lighter compared to DAT Destroyer, but tough nonetheless). I took 2 OC tests which really helped me solidify the concepts that I covered on DAT Destroyer. I'm beating a dead horse again, but I really wish I had an extra two weeks to fully utilize the resources offered by BC, Achiever, DAT Destroyer, and Crack DAT PAT.
Score Breakdown:
Kaplan:
FL 2 (4 weeks ago)
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
17 / 22 / 17 / 18 / 17 / 18 / 17
FL 4 (3 weeks ago)
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
20/ 20 / 19 / 18 / 19 / 18 / 28
Again, I had gotten a 14 on my diagnotic. I never took photos of my other tests and I tried to go back, but my license with Kaplan expired so I can't even view it. Sorry guys.
Crack DAT PAT:
Test 1 - 14
Test 2 - 19
Test 3 - 21
Test 4 - 21
Test 5 - 23
Test 6 - 23
Achiever:
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
17 / 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 16 / 19
Use this as a guide as to what sections and topics need focus. Understand why you didn't get the question correct by studying the answer choices, just as you should do with Bootcamp and DAT Destroyer. These people provide great explanations for a reason.
Bootcamp:
Bio 1 - 23
Bio 2 - 19
GC 1 - 21
GC 2 - 20
OC 1 - 19
OC 2 - 20
Although I never took a complete PAT exam on Bootcamp, I was able to crunch in the Keyholes sections. They're much easier that Achiever's Keyholes, but they both focus a lot on proportions. The answer choices on CDP's keyhole questions were really easy to eliminate because they focused on shapes. I think I did about 140 or so questions on BC's Keyhole generator, which was more than enough for the test. Usually I end up spent a minute each on
Keyhole questions, but with Ari's I spent about 30 seconds per questions ( 50 seconds on two rocks I was given). Ari was really kind and offered me a discount because I couldn't fully use the resources on it, it was definitely worth the money.
Actual:
AA / PAT / QR / RC / BIO / GC / OC
19 / 23 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 22 / 21
I only practiced RC doing practice exams (6) and the two sections tests that Kaplan offered. I found that it was really easy to S&D on the RC passages. I had a ton of Tone/Inference for my second passage (on prions - 7 paragraphs total). The two that were easiest to S&D were on Fiber optics and Genetic engineering for diseases. My longest passage was 13 paragraphs.
I studied 8-10 hours a day for two and a half months. I outlined the ecology and evolution section of Kaplans notes and rewrote it onto a word document. GC was mainly practicing concepts, and OC was grounding concepts and practicing. Focus on PAT, it's a lot of practice but once you get the hang of it you can master a lot of the sections by developing your own tricks. I always got 100% on CC and what helped was drawing multiple columns of the cube with the most number of cubes lengthwise (ie if there is 3 columns if you imagine yourself standing on the right vs 6 column standing in front of the figure, go with the 6). I started by counting from the left to right. If there were multiple rows following the front, then I started top to bottom so that I could keep track of where I started counting. After finishing the first row, I drew a line separating the next row so that I could keep track of the number of cubes. Incase you're not so good on the CC, the hashing on the bottom helps your brain categorize where you may have messed up, and it makes the counting overall much easier Worse comes to worse, you can at least be 100% confident on this set of questions on the test.
I have a 3.3 overall. I started off rough my freshman year and had gotten a 2.1 and 2.9, but I busted my butt and had gotten a 3.3, 3.9, 3.5, and 3.7. I'm a Biology major and declared a Minor in Chemistry last semester and I've done a ton of extracurriculars- I was the President of the Health Professions Club at my school, I am an active research student in two labs, and the Volunteer Service Chair of a Fraternity that I help found at my school. Not too sure if this helps, but I've also been shadowing a dentist since my senior year in high school. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
Again, I want to thank everyone on SDN for guiding me through the DAT nightmare. It made my preparation a lot easier.
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