I need advise on DAT

[prsndwg]

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Hi,

I am a new member and have got some major questions to ask.

I will be taking my DAT during the month of August so it will give me about 2-3 months to study for it. From the previous posts, I learned that some prep books work better than the other ones. So, I ll be buying the Kaplan BB, Acheiver, Destroyer and Crack the DATand I already have the cliffnotes for bio. I am finishing up my Organic Chemistry in 5 weeks and I have not taken biology for 2 yrs. More or less forgot the whole thing. I am good at gchem and ochem. I forgot a lot of math too, but i was always a math guy and the last class after calculus was Statistic that i took and it was a yr ago.
I have taken a Kaplan practice test randomly last summer before taking ochem and I got 14's on about everything including ochem. that was just to see what to expect.
Right now i am finishing my ecology, Ochem II and Genetics
My AA goal is 24-25

So here are my Questions:
1. How should i start studying? How many hrs per day? how many days a week and how should i break down to study for each section?
ie. should i just focus on one at a time or do couple or more at a time?

2.what prep book should i start with 1st and after reviewing it several times, which one should i attack next?

3. how often should I take practice tests?

4. Let me know some techniques on how to attack problems in different sections, specially RC and PAT,etc.?

5. Is 2.5-3 months enough or should I wait couple weeks extra?

6. where should i buy the books that might cost a bit cheaper?

I would really appreciate all your help and hints.

Thanks in advance,

-prsndwg

 

[water88]

To get a 24 AA (which was 99.9% in 2007), you are going need to put in some serious time, unless you have a ridiculously strong background in the sciences. I'd think 3 months would be enough, but it really depends on your work ethic.

 

[doc toothache]

Right now i am finishing my ecology, Ochem II and Genetics
My AA goal is 24-25

You shoot for 30 and settle for whatever you get.

 

[Ryltar]

I would look into the American Chemical Society (ACS) Gen Chem and O chem books. They are great for polishing your o chem and g chem skills, and they're cheap compared to other study materials.

 

[marscole]

Hi,

I am a new member and have got some major questions to ask.

I will be taking my DAT during the month of August so it will give me about 2-3 months to study for it. From the previous posts, I learned that some prep books work better than the other ones. So, I ll be buying the Kaplan BB, Acheiver, Destroyer and Crack the DATand I already have the cliffnotes for bio. I am finishing up my Organic Chemistry in 5 weeks and I have not taken biology for 2 yrs. More or less forgot the whole thing. I am good at gchem and ochem. I forgot a lot of math too, but i was always a math guy and the last class after calculus was Statistic that i took and it was a yr ago.
I have taken a Kaplan practice test randomly last summer before taking ochem and I got 14's on about everything including ochem. that was just to see what to expect.
Right now i am finishing my ecology, Ochem II and Genetics
My AA goal is 24-25

So here are my Questions:
1. How should i start studying? How many hrs per day? how many days a week and how should i break down to study for each section?
ie. should i just focus on one at a time or do couple or more at a time?
you should know what your limitation is... like i cant study non-stop for 5 hours since after the 3rd hours of continuous studying, my brain will get locked out. so, i would suggest, 2-3 hours reviewing and then start to do practice tests...

2.what prep book should i start with 1st and after reviewing it several times, which one should i attack next?
in my opinion, i would suggest to start kaplan review notes or kaplan bb... this is a very good resource to start to overview, like the whole idea...

3. how often should I take practice tests?
as much as you can, but always remember dont repeat your mistakes, and strengthen your weaknesses and maintain your strong parts...

4. Let me know some techniques on how to attack problems in different sections, specially RC and PAT,etc.?
for RC, you can look at the questions and go to find the answers in the part may work for some passages, but depends on your luck on the test day!!! i would suggest to read once and when you answer the questions, you know where to find the answers... for PAT, i use crack dat pat... really helps me alot in the pace and skill


5. Is 2.5-3 months enough or should I wait couple weeks extra?
Nah... i dont see any difference... i used to have such thoughts before, but the longer i postponed, the less confident i am...

6. where should i buy the books that might cost a bit cheaper?
you can find it from ebay, for those who had finished dat, half dot com, amazon dot com or local bookstores... also, if you dont want to carry thick books, you can always get ebooks online... which is in pdf form

I would really appreciate all your help and hints.

Thanks in advance,

-prsndwg

i hope these info help you to build your confident... remember, DAT is just like a practice to 5k marathon.... you build your stamina before that not just like 1 or 2 days practices, and perform the best during the day...

also, get one or two study partners and then study together... he/she may be good at something... always ask and answer between each others... then you will find where you're and where you need to improve... also, maybe you could help him/her on something that you're really good at...

Overall, TRUST God!!!😉

 

[prsndwg]

i hope these info help you to build your confident... remember, DAT is just like a practice to 5k marathon.... you build your stamina before that not just like 1 or 2 days practices, and perform the best during the day...

also, get one or two study partners and then study together... he/she may be good at something... always ask and answer between each others... then you will find where you're and where you need to improve... also, maybe you could help him/her on something that you're really good at...

Overall, TRUST God!!!😉

Thanks for the hint.. I do have a really good friend who is on the same boat as me.. our level of education is more or less the same. He is retaking bio for refreshment as of now and he should be waaay more ready in bio than i am.

Would you please answer some of my specific Q's?

 

[doc3232]

Thanks for the hint.. I do have a really good friend who is on the same boat as me.. our level of education is more or less the same. He is retaking bio for refreshment as of now and he should be waaay more ready in bio than i am.

Would you please answer some of my specific Q's?

He did...look at his post again. Read the words in the gray box called quoted. He answered each of your questions in BOLD.

So, you got some good info from above posters. I would say you need to really understand the sciences. And you better hope you are a math and reading guy because you can't study much for those two sections.
good luck

 

[prsndwg]

thanks for your responses and help

anybody else want to answer my Q's and help me out please.

 

[doc3232]

thanks for your responses and help

anybody else want to answer my Q's and help me out please.

For some, 2 weeks studying can guarantee a 23+. For others, studying 3 months won't guarantee an 18.

Some pointers:
1. It depends on the person's ability to memorize and understand.
2. It depends how much background you received from your school, which depends on the difficulty of your school.
3. Some study 5 hours a day and can't do more, others do 10 but don't focus.

What I am trying to say is that some of your questions are pointless...and cannot be answered realistically.

For resources, here are the common ones:
Topscore, Achiever, Crack DAT PAT/math, Cliffs bio, barrons bio, Destroyer, Princeton Hyperlearning (personal favorite), Kaplan Bluebook.

Start with anything you are weak in.

 

[prsndwg]

For some, 2 weeks studying can guarantee a 23+. For others, studying 3 months won't guarantee an 18.

Some pointers:
1. It depends on the person's ability to memorize and understand.
2. It depends how much background you received from your school, which depends on the difficulty of your school.
3. Some study 5 hours a day and can't do more, others do 10 but don't focus.

What I am trying to say is that some of your questions are pointless...and cannot be answered realistically.

For resources, here are the common ones:
Topscore, Achiever, Crack DAT PAT/math, Cliffs bio, barrons bio, Destroyer, Princeton Hyperlearning (personal favorite), Kaplan Bluebook.

Start with anything you are weak in.

thanks for responding.
the book sources you mentioned, do all of them focuses on all subjects? beside the obvious ones with bio name in front?

 

[doc3232]

thanks for responding.
the book sources you mentioned, do all of them focuses on all subjects? beside the obvious ones with bio name in front?

Google them. 😀

 

[HossIX949]

doc, which princeton hyperlearning did you get? There is the $200 one and the $40 one...


Also, after doing a bit of searching on the forums i hear that a couple of the DAT prepares aren't so good in their explanation for the QR section. Is there any books you recommend for that. I have gone up to Calc1 but i aced those classes mostly due to a very easy and careless professor.

 

[doc3232]

doc, which princeton hyperlearning did you get? There is the $200 one and the $40 one...


Also, after doing a bit of searching on the forums i hear that a couple of the DAT prepares aren't so good in their explanation for the QR section. Is there any books you recommend for that. I have gone up to Calc1 but i aced those classes mostly due to a very easy and careless professor.

MCAT Hyperlearning, probably the expensive one, It comes with MCAT class.

I don't know any good sources for QR. Kaplan, Achiever, Topscore, and Destroyer QR was enough for me, but it depends on the person. If you are weak in math, then you will need more sources. I am told SAT books are good.

 

[allstardentist]

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