How to score in 20s

[dWiz]

Any generally accepted tips on how to score in the 20s on the DAT?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrTacoElf]

Any generally accepted tips on how to score in the 20s on the DAT?

Hardwork, devotion and use as much material as possible. Number of hours means nothing -- it comes down to understanding.

 

[drat]

Hardwork, devotion and use as much material as possible. Number of hours means nothing -- it comes down to understanding.

Yup, ditto.

You can study 200 hours but if you're not learning what you study, it won't matter. Take practice exams to judge how you are doing and ALWAYS go back and look at how you answered ALL of the questions...whether you got them right or wrong. Know why each question's answer is correct and why the others aren't FOR ALL QUESTIONS. This is where I learned the most -- by the practice exams. They expose your weaknesses and strengths.

 

[saman1]

Know why each question's answer is correct and why the others aren't FOR ALL QUESTIONS. This is where I learned the most -- by the practice exams. They expose your weaknesses and strengths.

That is the best tip for biology. There is so much information in the kaplan answer explanations that were not covered in the book.

oh and.....

practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, and if you have some time left....................... practice.

 

[shindrome]

in addition to what others said i have to stress time management. try to become comfortable with taking the tests on computer as opposed to paper. take as many tests as you can so you can get used to the stress of taking a 4+ hour test. hope this helps.

 

[shindrome]

here's my post if you haven't read it yet. try to also go back and look at other people's DAT experiences to get a feel for the kind of things that come up on the test. like people say, you really have no way of guessing what'll show up on the test. be prepared by studying everything you can and practice!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=154058

 

[Typo]

Take practice exams to judge how you are doing and ALWAYS go back and look at how you answered ALL of the questions...whether you got them right or wrong. Know why each question's answer is correct and why the others aren't FOR ALL QUESTIONS. This is where I learned the most -- by the practice exams. They expose your weaknesses and strengths.

CAN I GET AN AMEEEEEEN BROTHA!!!

This will help you big time. You've got to not only know facts, but be a good test taker. This will help you tons. Also, write down any facts you don't know from the explanations and study them.

 

[Sprgrover]

I agree with the other posts and would like to add something else, and that is don't get lost in the fine details. For example, the o chem section is rather easy and all of the points that you will be tested over are in Kaplan's blue book. Memorize and understand that section and don't stress over working out some obscure Wittig reaction and the like. Concentrate on the core principles and make sure you have them down for each section.

 

[eran76]

What really helped me get into the 20's was the mind set I had during the exam itself. Getting bogged down during the actual test can be even worse than not knowing the answers. I mean, at least you can guess when you don't know, right
So, what to do? I took the Kaplan course and saved all my full practice exams until the last week before I took the DAT. Then, I took the week off at the dentist and in six days I took five full length DATs (see schedule).

Sat. - Kaplan final on paper (not really a good way to judge, only practice)
Sun. - Study day, no tests.
Mon. - Full length computerized exam, timed. A little studying.
Tues. - Full length computerized exam, timed. More studying.
Wed. - Full length computerized exam, timed. Crammed for about 2.5 hours.
Thur. - Crammed 1 hr. Took the DAT 10am - 2pm.

Results:

AA 20 PAT 20 TS 20

QR 18 RC 23 Bio 23 Chem 19 Ochem 19

The point of all this is that on the day I took the test, I was so much in test mode that I totally forgot I was taking the real thing. All I cared about was answering the Qs as fast and as right as possible. I was VERY jittery before the test started (no caffeine, do yourself a favor), but all that went away as soon as I started b/c I was on test-taking autopilot. It was kind of like driving long distance, a sort of hypnotic daze which kept me from thinking about the DAT and allowed me to focus only on answering Q's.

 

[TucsonDDS]

I studied about 15-20 hrs a week for about 4 months, never trying to cram very much at one time. The last couple of weeks I did a little more like about 30 hrs/wk or so and I also took a total of 3 full length exams, 2 through Kaplan and 1 at home on the computer. I always went over the exams after I was done withing the next couple of days after taking them so the questions were still fresh in my head. I also took the Kaplan class which in itself wasn't all that great but all of the extra subject tests on the computer were great with answers and explanations. The night before the test I ate a nice dinner, drank a beer while taking a bath (first bath I have taken in 3 years) went to bed early and slept great. The next day I went on a bike ride with my kids ate some lunch and went off to the test. I didn't look at anything for at least 24 hours prior to my test. I was a little nervous going into the test but once it got started I was very relaxed. Remember, not going to dental school isn't the end of the world, it would be a bummer but it isn't anything to jump out of a window for. I ended up doing better than I could have imagined with a 24AA and a 21 PAT. I was really suprised with a 28 in QR (100 percentile, shouldn't that have been a 30 then) and a 27 in RC.
Just remember to relax going into the test and all the studying you did will pay off. Good luck.