I cannot beat chemistry

[alasra]

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I am SO FRUSTRATED. I took the DAT last August and got a 17 in Gen Chem, which is the best score I got on all the bootcamp exams. Chemistry is impossible for me.

I watched Chad's videos 3 times, did all those quizzes more times than I can count, completed the destroyer 2.5 times, did the bootcamp exams 1.5 times. What gives?! I am NOT stupid, but I can't do chemistry.

I'm studying for the retake right now and I feel like I understand the material. I took one of the new bootcamp tests, and got a 16! WHAT THE HELL.

Is it that horrible if I reapply with a 19 TS?

My full scores:
21 Bio
17 Gen Chem
18 Ochem
23 PAT
22 Reading
17 Math
18 AA
19 TS

 

[Typical Average Student]

When you do the destroyer problems... are you getting them right? Are you looking at the answers immediately? Are you understanding why you got it wrong, or are you just looking for the answer then moving on? It seems kinda strange to get a 17 in gen chem after doing Chads and Destroyer so many times... Your DAT scores are not bad... but they're definitely not good either. I would advocate for a retake if you have time and money to do so.

 

[Queen Beach]

Have you tried Mike's videos?
Lately, I been watching Mike's orgo videos and now I understand concepts that I never did before...
Sometimes, the way someone else explains something just gives you a better understanding.

 

[Medin2017]

I am SO FRUSTRATED. I took the DAT last August and got a 17 in Gen Chem, which is the best score I got on all the bootcamp exams. Chemistry is impossible for me.

I watched Chad's videos 3 times, did all those quizzes more times than I can count, completed the destroyer 2.5 times, did the bootcamp exams 1.5 times. What gives?! I am NOT stupid, but I can't do chemistry.

I'm studying for the retake right now and I feel like I understand the material. I took one of the new bootcamp tests, and got a 16! WHAT THE HELL.

Is it that horrible if I reapply with a 19 TS?

My full scores:
21 Bio
17 Gen Chem
18 Ochem
23 PAT
22 Reading
17 Math
18 AA
19 TS

You need to find out why you're missing the problems you're missing. IDK how you're studying, but it's possible that you are just missing questions, looking at the answers, then doing other stuff. Find out the actual hole in your knowledge on the CONCEPT the question is testing, and once you slowly start filling these holes in, your score will improve. Also it may be good to consolidate the problem types you're bad at onto flashcards or a document and review it once a day or every few days so you don't regress.

 

[alasra]

You need to find out why you're missing the problems you're missing. IDK how you're studying, but it's possible that you are just missing questions, looking at the answers, then doing other stuff. Find out the actual hole in your knowledge on the CONCEPT the question is testing, and once you slowly start filling these holes in, your score will improve. Also it may be good to consolidate the problem types you're bad at onto flashcards or a document and review it once a day or every few days so you don't regress.

Thank for the reply!

That's the thing though. I feel like I understand the concepts. I feel like I know the equations. But then when it comes to answering questions, I can't make sense of them. I don't know what they're asking for. How do I get better at this? I made notecards of all the hard questions/concepts I missed and I review them twice a day everyday. That is what frustrates me so much- I understand the concepts, but I don't understand the questions.

 

[alasra]

Have you tried Mike's videos?
Lately, I been watching Mike's orgo videos and now I understand concepts that I never did before...
Sometimes, the way someone else explains something just gives you a better understanding.

I wasn't thinking about it, but I will definitely give it a try. Thanks!

 

[Orka]

Thank for the reply!

That's the thing though. I feel like I understand the concepts. I feel like I know the equations. But then when it comes to answering questions, I can't make sense of them. I don't know what they're asking for. How do I get better at this? I made notecards of all the hard questions/concepts I missed and I review them twice a day everyday. That is what frustrates me so much- I understand the concepts, but I don't understand the questions.

If you don't know what they are asking for, then it means you need to go back to the drawing boards. Instead of memorising concepts, you need to understand the concepts and learn how to apply them to questions. The best way is to do actual questions instead of watching videos (videos are only to learn basics which you probably have it down after watching chad's videos 3 times) and DATDestroyer is probably the best at doing this.

 

[Jaa_]

There is always a pattern of what they like to ask, especially with orgo. You need to take a few steps back. When you get a question wrong, don't just try to understand the question, go back and review the entire topic. Chad's orgo notes pretty much have every reaction you need to know and the few that he doesn't have Destroyer definitely has (and more). I know a lot of people say you don't have to understand curved arrow mechanisms for the DAT but I think they help, you might want to look into them. Best of luck!

 

[Medin2017]

Thank for the reply!

That's the thing though. I feel like I understand the concepts. I feel like I know the equations. But then when it comes to answering questions, I can't make sense of them. I don't know what they're asking for. How do I get better at this? I made notecards of all the hard questions/concepts I missed and I review them twice a day everyday. That is what frustrates me so much- I understand the concepts, but I don't understand the questions.

Approach questions more systematically. Maybe write known and unknowns down to guide you to what type of question it is?

 

[woobb]

What worked for me when studying for gen chem was doing some variation of the following:

1. Identify which topic the question falls under (thermo, electro, etc.)
2. Mentally pull up the formulas that are relevant to that topic
3. Identify what the unknown of the question is
4. Write down the things that are given in the question
5. See which formulas can be used to solve for the unknown (sometimes you'll need to solve for variables using 2 or 3 different ones)

After, I just practiced doing problems (without looking at the answers right away) until I can do the above method quickly^

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Maybe walk us through a question you've gotten wrong and your thought process behind it so we can figure out where things are going bad. With all the resources you've used and time you've put into them you should definitely be doing better in these sections. My suspicion is you're memorizing content at a surface level without actually understanding it conceptually, which makes applying it a lot more difficult in question types you don't recognize.

 

[Faefly]

understanding the concepts and not understanding the questions. That means you need tons of practice
this is the deal with math, orgo, genchem
tons of practice will get you the score you want

Besides, there are 8 types of intelligence. You can be smart in some topics, and suck at others. There is no shame in that!


I would fix my math too! 17 is not ideal.

If you are retaking dat, focus on all the materials and try to make all of your scores better this time.

Best of luck!