I just took a practice test on TopScore (just the Chemistry section). I just finished General Chemistry over the summer and now in Organic. I got a miserable 40% on it. Is this normal or did I get by G-Chem with a prayer? I plan on taking Kaplan, but this worries me A LOT.
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General Chemisty on DAT
- Thread starter PreDentJennifer
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40% ? is that the percentile? What was your score on the scale of 1-30?
Also don't worry Jennifer the actual test is easier because it doesn't have calculations.
Browse the forum for some great info on how to study for G-Chem.
Also don't worry Jennifer the actual test is easier because it doesn't have calculations.
Browse the forum for some great info on how to study for G-Chem.
By 40%, I mean 12/30 yikes!
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PERFECT3434
i think one of the most common misunderstanding is that everyone thinks all the DAT test will be the same.
i have to disagree with Balki. you never know who gets out on the DAT. my whol sci section was a piece of cake and had very little calculations to fo. my RC was an absolute killer.
i know a few people who had the complete opposite experience. my advice is to study and study good. don't listen to who got what. just be ready for everything.
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PERFECT3434
jennifer,
don't get worried about getting that 12. you haven't completely studied for the DAT yet. once you take the kaplan course and find out exactly what you need to know, your scores will go much higher.
keep up your studying and i know kaplan will help a lot.
don't get worried about getting that 12. you haven't completely studied for the DAT yet. once you take the kaplan course and find out exactly what you need to know, your scores will go much higher.
keep up your studying and i know kaplan will help a lot.
Thank you for all the support... it's truly appreciated and invaluable 🙂 
personally, i am not sure if kaplan alone will get things done. dont rely on kaplan, but read your textbook and understand the concepts. dat tests u on how to solve the chem problems. knowing the kaplan instructors, i m not sure if they helped me at all. this is my own opinion.
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PERFECT3434
ecdoesit is totally right. i wasn't suggesting that kaplan will teach you everything that you need to know for the DAT.
in fact, it is sad that many go to kaplan thinking that they will be thaught what they need to know. besides the PAT and RC, kaplan won't teach you anything.
what kaplan will do is that it'll point out what you need to know. i think that kaplan should be nothing but a review course and after you know what sections you need to know and complete all the sample exams/workshops they give you you should be able to do well.
in fact, it is sad that many go to kaplan thinking that they will be thaught what they need to know. besides the PAT and RC, kaplan won't teach you anything.
what kaplan will do is that it'll point out what you need to know. i think that kaplan should be nothing but a review course and after you know what sections you need to know and complete all the sample exams/workshops they give you you should be able to do well.
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You have absolutely nothing to worry about with a diagnostic score like that, IF you are ready to work hard for a good month ro two...
my diagnostic scored were really really low too...but after two months of hard core studying my scores are coming out a lot better...im aiming for 20s..we will see what happens..
I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Feel free to PM me for help..also people in this forum are amazingly helpful!
my diagnostic scored were really really low too...but after two months of hard core studying my scores are coming out a lot better...im aiming for 20s..we will see what happens..
I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Feel free to PM me for help..also people in this forum are amazingly helpful!
i think all topscore does is scare you into studying more at least for the science part. Thats what it did for me and i did ok on the sciene eventhough i was getting low grades on topscore.
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Topscore and Kaplan comments.
I held off on taking topscore until the week leading up to the DAT. I studied for a week with Kaplan's guide and paid to access their test questions and solutions. When I took the DAT I scored almost exactly what I scored on all three Topscore tests. I did not see one question on the real DAT in regards to the Chem and Bio section that was not covered in the Kaplan review book. Some of the questions on the real DAT were in the Kaplan tests and Topscore tests.
Don't take this to the bank for a lack of a better word. Each test from the ADA is different. They have a huge bank of questions they pull from. So one person may have 1 or 2 questions on trig or 1 or two questions on cellular respiration and someone else may have 5-6 questions. It is impossible to tell.
However, with that being said it does not mean you cannot or will not do well on the real thing. You will significanlty increase your chances on test day by the amount of effort and studying you put in. There is no secret to doing well. Just consistant effort on a daily basis. Work on the areas you feel are weak. The best way to determine that is by taking practice tests. The great thing about the kaplan tests is that they have the solutions for each test question. It explains why the correct answer is correct and why all the others are not correct. This is a great resource to learn and improve. Good Luck!!!
I held off on taking topscore until the week leading up to the DAT. I studied for a week with Kaplan's guide and paid to access their test questions and solutions. When I took the DAT I scored almost exactly what I scored on all three Topscore tests. I did not see one question on the real DAT in regards to the Chem and Bio section that was not covered in the Kaplan review book. Some of the questions on the real DAT were in the Kaplan tests and Topscore tests.
Don't take this to the bank for a lack of a better word. Each test from the ADA is different. They have a huge bank of questions they pull from. So one person may have 1 or 2 questions on trig or 1 or two questions on cellular respiration and someone else may have 5-6 questions. It is impossible to tell.
However, with that being said it does not mean you cannot or will not do well on the real thing. You will significanlty increase your chances on test day by the amount of effort and studying you put in. There is no secret to doing well. Just consistant effort on a daily basis. Work on the areas you feel are weak. The best way to determine that is by taking practice tests. The great thing about the kaplan tests is that they have the solutions for each test question. It explains why the correct answer is correct and why all the others are not correct. This is a great resource to learn and improve. Good Luck!!!
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PERFECT3434
agaian, don't worry about what you are scoring right now. worry about what you need to do to get you where you want to be.
and oh by the way, i don't believe in the word "luck". please don't let anyone say if you are lucky you'll get an easier test. if you study 2 months 8 hrs a day (including sat, sun, your brother's wedding, your mom's birthday, new year's day etc etc) and review all your stuff well, luck will have nothing to do with you. you'll answer them right and get your 20.
you just have to be determined and mature enough to say to yourself that you will dedicate all your time for the dat for 2 months and then go and do it. 2 months isn't hard to do. if you say to yourself during these 2 months that there is only one thing that matter (that being DAT) i don't see why anyone can't be ready.
good luck!
p.s you could probably be studying for your DAT instead of spending sooooo many hrs on SDN.
and oh by the way, i don't believe in the word "luck". please don't let anyone say if you are lucky you'll get an easier test. if you study 2 months 8 hrs a day (including sat, sun, your brother's wedding, your mom's birthday, new year's day etc etc) and review all your stuff well, luck will have nothing to do with you. you'll answer them right and get your 20.
you just have to be determined and mature enough to say to yourself that you will dedicate all your time for the dat for 2 months and then go and do it. 2 months isn't hard to do. if you say to yourself during these 2 months that there is only one thing that matter (that being DAT) i don't see why anyone can't be ready.
good luck!
p.s you could probably be studying for your DAT instead of spending sooooo many hrs on SDN.
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PERFECT3434
btw,
my last post is referring to anyone who is planning on taking the DAT and no one in particular!🙂
my last post is referring to anyone who is planning on taking the DAT and no one in particular!🙂
You're all wonderful people. And that last quote should be taken into consideration, especially by me (even though I am not planning on taking the DAT until August 2004).
Well off to study some Organic Chemistry. We're doing stereochemistry right now in my class, not fun! Nite.
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PERFECT3434
omg you are taking the DAT next aug?
ok now its totally diff. i personally think that its useless to study soooooo many weeks. by the time you get to jan, you won't remember what you learned this week. i think that you should start studying aroung end of feb and study hardcore.
its ok to start with practicing PAT, QR, and RC now but bio, chem, sci is not gonna help much to study now.
just my opinion!!
ok now its totally diff. i personally think that its useless to study soooooo many weeks. by the time you get to jan, you won't remember what you learned this week. i think that you should start studying aroung end of feb and study hardcore.
its ok to start with practicing PAT, QR, and RC now but bio, chem, sci is not gonna help much to study now.
just my opinion!!
I would start studying the PAT portion of the DAT. Although perfects point is well taken, I believe that if you are able to understand how to approach this portion of the test, then this will save you countless hours that you can focus your studies elsewhere. He is correct however on the science sections. I do not think anyone will remember that arthropods contain Malpighian Tubules a couple months down the road. I personally recommend that you study the sciences three months prior to the test. I only studied for a month, but if your GPA is not very good, three months should solidify the sciences.
Really? I guess you have a major point about that. Sciences do tend to drift away that far down the road. I bought the Barron's book as everybody says it's such good prep for the PAT section and I'll leave the sciences for Kaplan and my textbooks in Feb. Thanks again... I wish I could offer you some advice but you all know what I know x 10... 
