Freaking out: DAT on 4/22

[dentalpath]

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So I have been actively reading this forum for a while now and following all of the awesome study tips.
I recently graduated from NYU with a Masters in Healthcare Management. But after working in management, I realized I need to go back to the clinical aspect of healthcare (administrative management is so not for me) which is where I decided to pursue dentistry.
I have a Bachelors in Biology and my overall GPA is a 3.77 with a science GPA of around a 3.7
I have been concentrating on detrsoyer and all the practice problems but I still miss about 5-6 bio questions when I attempt to do 40 (just like the real test) at one go. I feel like I am prepared for BIO and gen chem (working vigorously to get ochem in control) but when I miss these 5-6 random questions, I wonder if this level is similar to the DAT. I guess am sort of a nervous wreck right now. I seem to be doing really well in the QR section of the destroyer so am set there. And I have CDP for the PAT, so far scored 17 on three tests. Hopefully it will go up to at least a 19-20 over the next few weeks. If anyone can give me any suggestions about improving angles and improving the bio scores (I have cliffs by the way) I would be so thankful!!

 

[crew09]

Generally people who've benefited from destroyer say it helps to have a good foundation before starting the problems.

The consensus seems to be gchem destroyer and destroyer in general tends to be slightly more difficult than the actual test, but that's a good thing.

When your reading the explanations do you see the mistake right away or is it more of an issue of understanding concepts? Perhaps hitting textbooks, wikipedia etc on topics your consistently missing can help build a better foundation.

Also, I'm not trying to hijack the thread but i'm curious as to what aspects of health care management you don't like?

 

[sarora11]

Man, when I did the chem section of the dat destroyer i probably only got like 20% of it right on the first try and ended up getting a 22 chem on the real thing. Destroyer is way tougher than the real thing, and a major over kill. The real DAT does not go as in depth as the destroyer does, so if you can get those questions down your more than prepared and you'll kill it. I'd take some practice tests though. Good luck!

 

[Smiley25]

Gchem and some bio are harder IMO in Destroyer than the actual test. Orgo seems to be right along the line of the type of questions asked on the real DAT-and is just really good practice. I will say that I think DAT Destroyer QR section is really easy. When I took the DAT before I did terrible in this section and am therefore retaking at the end of this month. I have only done 60 problems out of the QR section so far(so maybe they get harder towards the end), but only come across 1 out of every 15 questions that would be something you would see on the DAT. There are definitely more word problems than just basic algebra(At least that's what I had).

I heard Math Destroyer was pretty close to the actual thing. I just finished Kaplan online and I feel like I got pretty good preparation from the workshops, quizzes and subject tests. Too late to start the course, so I would buy either Math Destroyer, CDM, or get a used ACT/SAT book off of half.com or something and work through problems on that. Also, are you timing yourself? The hardest part about the QR section is knowing the formulas for the word problems and being able to knock them out in about a minute.

Hope this helps. I wouldn't sweat about the Bio and if you're doing well in GChem, then you should be in great shape. Good Luck!

 

[dentalpath]

@ crew 09- I believe what bothers me most about healthcare management is that you dont really need a masters to do well at your work. I think had I just started working in healthcare after bachelors, I would have learned most of the stuff through experience anyways. Second, sitting behind a desk and reporting to a manager whose job you could do just as well or maybe even better is also not very inspiring. The general work hierarchy also bothers me. If there is a problem, the manager has to be informed, who in turn takes his/her time in getting back to you about the original question. Its a very inefficient process (administration) and me being a perfectionist (sort of) and very detail oriented, I just dont like it. I have worked in 2-3 different places and inefficiency is the key word in most corporate offices. Just stuff you would do out of sheer common sense, may not seem that simple to other folks (which can get annoying sometimes).

 

[dentalpath]

Gchem and some bio are harder IMO in Destroyer than the actual test. Orgo seems to be right along the line of the type of questions asked on the real DAT-and is just really good practice. I will say that I think DAT Destroyer QR section is really easy. When I took the DAT before I did terrible in this section and am therefore retaking at the end of this month. I have only done 60 problems out of the QR section so far(so maybe they get harder towards the end), but only come across 1 out of every 15 questions that would be something you would see on the DAT. There are definitely more word problems than just basic algebra(At least that's what I had).

I heard Math Destroyer was pretty close to the actual thing. I just finished Kaplan online and I feel like I got pretty good preparation from the workshops, quizzes and subject tests. Too late to start the course, so I would buy either Math Destroyer, CDM, or get a used ACT/SAT book off of half.com or something and work through problems on that. Also, are you timing yourself? The hardest part about the QR section is knowing the formulas for the word problems and being able to knock them out in about a minute.

Hope this helps. I wouldn't sweat about the Bio and if you're doing well in GChem, then you should be in great shape. Good Luck!

Thanks for those tips smiley, does anyone else seem to have an opinion about the QR section of the destroyer compared to the real DAT? (the regular destroyer not the math destroyer).

 

[dentalWorks]

DAT destroyer is not supposed to give you real-DAT test problems. Destroyer problems are designed to teach you concepts, many of the Orgo and GC questions are what I call "trick" questions that are designed for you to pick the wrong choice so that you LEARN why its wrong.

Don't use the destroyer as a measuring stick to how your going to perform on the real DAT. What I am trying to say is, if your missing problems on the destroyer, thats actually a GOOD thing, cause that means your going to learn from these mistakes....

Destroyer OC = the best thing destroyer has. If you master this section, you WILL do good on DAT's orgo, cause its very similar to the real DAT.

Destroyer GC = this on the other hand, is way harder than DAT's GC but its a great resource to do difficult practice problems. I hit this section of the destroyer pretty heavily, and it showed in my score (24 in GC)

Destroyer Bio = in my opinion, its not as helpful as OC and GC. You see the destroyer bio has alot of "factual" information, you either have the fact memorized or you don't. But on the real DAT, the questions don't test your memorization skills, but rather they test your logic/reasoning skills.

Destroyer QR = (not MATH Destroyer book) is, in my opinion, not helpfull at all. But MATH destroyer I found to be MUCH more helpful.

 

[crew09]

dentalpath,

Thanks for the reply.

A more appropriate tool to test actual DAT performance are practice tests, specifically Topscore. http://www.scholarware.com/products-dat.htm

It's more representative of the exam while a lot of DAT prep material is geared more towards building concepts rather than imitating the actual DAT exam.

Good luck!