how to get faster at PAT ???

[hunterx2]

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OK so I'm finally going to take the DAT at the end of the month, I just have one last section to study for, the PAT. I saved it for last because I didn't think I would have any problems with it, and as an amateur artist on the side I'd say my visual spatial skills are top notch.

But I found out that the time limit for PAT is nothing short of draconian. Only an hour for 90 questions!!! 😱 On the two practice PAT tests I've taken I've scored almost 100%, but they were un-timed and I spent like an hour and thirty miinutes on each. The section that was the toughest was TOP FRONT END. I got them all correct, but I spent about half an hour on this section alone, painstakingly reconstructing in three dimensions all the objects in my head to find the right answer.

So how can I improve my speed on the real thing? IMO spatial intelligence is not something that you can easily "rush", unlike reading or mathematical intelligence. Do people find that the time limit is their worst enemy on this section ?

Thanks.

 

[Ari Rezaei]

I think the best method is to not visualize the entire piece at once, that will slow you down big time. Rather, try to look for a distinguishing feature, and compare that feature with the answer choices. Eliminate the wrong ones and repeat until you have the correct answer. From there it's just practice to get faster.

 

[free99]

I think the best method is to not visualize the entire piece at once, that will slow you down big time. Rather, try to look for a distinguishing feature, and compare that feature with the answer choices. Eliminate the wrong ones and repeat until you have the correct answer. From there it's just practice to get faster.

Yep, I'll echo this. Most questions in TFE can quickly (I mean, within 20-30 seconds) be narrowed down to two answer choices. From there, you'll usually have to find a dotted line or solid line that doesn't belong. If you find an outlier of a question that seems far more difficult than the others you've encountered, don't fret, just skip it and move on.

 

[hunterx2]

HOLY CRAP I just took my first crack DAT PAT test today (Crack test #1) it was waaaaaaaaay harder than the tests from the Mcgraw hill book (the ones that I aced). I scored 21 but that was with unlimited time, it says I used up 64 seconds per question which is over 50% more than allowed. WTF? Plz tell me crack is much harder than the real thing.

Funny thing is that I got 100% on TFE even though subjectively I thought it was the hardest section by far. The paper folding was a real ***** with lots of half punches 😱 Also many of them did not overlap, making it tough to work backwards.

Back to the drawing board !

 

[athomas]

I just did first CDP test and got a 23 with the timer on (60 mins). I got 100% for TFE and recommend that you check out this tutorial if you haven't already http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643 you can't always just count lines, but it's definitely faster to at least eliminate a few and then only have to visualize part of the object if you need to

I also got 100% in hole punching using this technique video, I think he calls it line of symmetry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ud0ZX0eEFA i had to replay a few parts to understand what he was talking about to figure out if an x in invisible, but once you get it the technique seems to really work