In need for some studying advice :(

[shakenbaik]

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Hey guys, my test is in about 2 weeks now and I feel pretty ok with bio, qr, gen chem, and pat. However, I've been pushing aside ochem until recently. I have gone through chad's ochem videos twice and took good notes. I started to get confident in ochem after chads but then I did around 100 questions on DAT destroyer for ochem and I got destroyed (pretty much getting 90% incorrect). I know that dat destroyer is known to be overkill but I am getting a bit scared now that I have about 2 weeks left. I have gotten A's on both my ochem classes at ucla. However, my ochem classes did not really go too in depth for the mechanisms and all the different reactions that I saw in both Chad's videos as well as the DAT destroyer.
I was wondering if you guys had any advice for what I should do regarding ochem for the next two weeks. Should I just continue learning from dat destroyer and chad's notes? Or should I try to learn the basics by reading other sources such as "Organic chemistry as a second language"?
Also, I hear people do practice tests such as qvault or topscore. Would it be recommended that I take a practice test before the exam?

Any help would be appreciated 🙁

 

[Jordwin]

Hey guys, my test is in about 2 weeks now and I feel pretty ok with bio, qr, gen chem, and pat. However, I've been pushing aside ochem until recently. I have gone through chad's ochem videos twice and took good notes. I started to get confident in ochem after chads but then I did around 100 questions on DAT destroyer for ochem and I got destroyed (pretty much getting 90% incorrect). I know that dat destroyer is known to be overkill but I am getting a bit scared now that I have about 2 weeks left. I have gotten A's on both my ochem classes at ucla. However, my ochem classes did not really go too in depth for the mechanisms and all the different reactions that I saw in both Chad's videos as well as the DAT destroyer.
I was wondering if you guys had any advice for what I should do regarding ochem for the next two weeks. Should I just continue learning from dat destroyer and chad's notes? Or should I try to learn the basics by reading other sources such as "Organic chemistry as a second language"?
Also, I hear people do practice tests such as qvault or topscore. Would it be recommended that I take a practice test before the exam?

Any help would be appreciated 🙁

Look at my ochem breakdown. I think it is the best way to get the destroyer in your head in a week if you work hard at it. I was probably scoring 30% on destroyer before I used my method. It's tough but works and I got a 29 on the real deal. Bootcamp is good to get a better idea of the types of questions although it's a little hard too. Let me know if you have any questions though I'd be glad to help more in depth.

 

[shakenbaik]

I will definitely look at your breakdown. Thank you so much for putting in the time to create that word document 🙂
Also, out of all the practice tests, would you recommend the Bootcamp?

 

[Jordwin]

I will definitely look at your breakdown. Thank you so much for putting in the time to create that word document 🙂
Also, out of all the practice tests, would you recommend the Bootcamp?

No problem at all, I'm glad to help as much as I can! Bootcamp is solid. If you do well on it, you will definitely do well on the test, hands down. It can be tough, but it's the most representative of the real deal.

 

[shakenbaik]

I am just worried about the lack of time I have. I am now starting to follow your advice in going through the roadmaps and will eventually go through your word document
(Btw, how would you recommend I follow your word document. I currently did 100 DAT destroyer questions so far. Should I just stop and instead attack the DAT destroyer by category based on your word document?)
On top of studying ochem, I was planning to do every test on math destroyer again as well as cdp. I hope I will have time to reach bootcamp before my test 🙁

Just saw your scores for your DAT btw. Congratulations!!! You are definitely an inspiration 🙂

 

[Jordwin]

I am just worried about the lack of time I have. I am now starting to follow your advice in going through the roadmaps and will eventually go through your word document
(Btw, how would you recommend I follow your word document. I currently did 100 DAT destroyer questions so far. Should I just stop and instead attack the DAT destroyer by category based on your word document?)
On top of studying ochem, I was planning to do every test on math destroyer again as well as cdp. I hope I will have time to reach bootcamp before my test 🙁

Just saw your scores for your DAT btw. Congratulations!!! You are definitely an inspiration 🙂

I know how you feel. I think I did 120 questions in the ochem section and felt awful. Think about it like this: do you feel like you are learning as much as you should be after those 100 problems? For me, I wasn't, so I needed this method. Also, I think this is probably the most efficient way to go about learning ochem in the destroyer, even if you've already done some of it. Like I did, I would recommend first going through each roadmap reaction, step by step and write them down on separate notecards. Put a decent amount of focus on these when you are writing them, don't just blindly write them down. After you do this, you will likely have a decent understanding of most of the reactions that you will need to know. This shouldn't take you too long to do, provided you put the effort in for a couple of days (maybe).

Now use the document I have provided and you should be golden. I went through the reactions I knew the best first and wrote notecards for them and did the harder ones later. This whole process didnt take me longer than a week and I didn't only study for ochem. I would say I studied bio, Gchem, and ochem pretty equally my last 2 weeks.

You definitely have time. What are your scores like and what are you aiming for on ochem, qr, and pat? And other sections if you're interested in advice.

 

[starnova]

srry wrong post :L

 

[shakenbaik]

I haven't taken any practice tests yet so I do not know yet of how my scores are. I just redid some of the tests on the math destroyer and have been getting on average -1 or -2 (I timed myself during these tests as well). I have also finished DAT destroyer for gen chem 2x and I feel pretty confident in gen chem. As for pat, I have been getting on average 23 according to CDP. As for bio, I am hoping being a physiology major helps.. haha. For bio, however, I have read cliffnotes, kbb, campbell lecture slides (provided by Klee), and dat destroyer. Do you have any advice on what I should do to prepare for these sections?

 

[Jordwin]

I haven't taken any practice tests yet so I do not know yet of how my scores are. I just redid some of the tests on the math destroyer and have been getting on average -1 or -2 (I timed myself during these tests as well). I have also finished DAT destroyer for gen chem 2x and I feel pretty confident in gen chem. As for pat, I have been getting on average 23 according to CDP. As for bio, I am hoping being a physiology major helps.. haha. For bio, however, I have read cliffnotes, kbb, campbell lecture slides (provided by Klee), and dat destroyer. Do you have any advice on what I should do to prepare for these sections?

Fair enough. You are only missing 1 to 2 questions on math destroyer? If that's true, I don't see why you would put any extra time in on math. I was missing around 9 for the first 4 tests untimed and was cool with it and stopped to focus on the sciences. But I mean I also didn't get a 30 in math, which is what looks like you are shooting for in this section.
That's good that you feel good with gchem, although it would be nice to take at least one practice test (ada 2007 would be a good start-its easier than the real thing, but still nice) to see if you are as good as you think you are, you know? You can find that on the ADA website for free if you haven't already.
I guess my question for you is, what do you want to score on the PAT? I hit a 25 on my 5th PAT test and was cool with it because a 25 is solid and I wanted to spend more time on other sections. I maybe did do 4 Kaplan tests within the last 2.5 weeks, so my mind was relatively fresh on it I suppose. Unless you are trying to get above a 25, I wouldn't spend any extra time on this section because at the LEAST I see you getting a 21. The real deal isn't hard, its just the fact that you have to have a bit of test endurance. I think it helped me that I got done with the sciences with 36 odd minutes left, so I relaxed a bit before the PAT started. Its all about the mindset, level thoughts, and FOCUS.

For bio, cliff's is solid and if you feel like you have a good grasp of it, you should definitely look into the topics that you are having more difficulty in with Ferali's notes. They are concise and provide the information you need to know for the majority of the test. The rest of the test is mainly interpretation and showing that you understand concepts. I would still say skim over the physiology section in ferali's. If you know it as well as you seem, it shouldn't take you very long. I didn't use the lecture slides so I can't really say much to how well they help.

If you have any questions, let me know! I'm more than happy to help!

 

[shakenbaik]

I am hoping to "perfect" my math skills to make sure I get around 28-29 by not making stupid mistakes xD haha. But you do make sense in that I should focus more on other sections than math.
As for the ADA test, I will be sure to do the free ADA test and dat bootcamp test as soon as I feel ready.
Also, for the CDP, I am pretty good with the top-front-end. However, I use the line method where I can eliminate at least 1 or 2 choices. Do you know if the PAT on the real DAT disallows you to use the line method? Or will I have to heavily depend on my visual perception ability?
As for bio, where would you find Ferali's notes? This is the first time hearing about this resource xD.

Once again, thanks so much for taking the time to help me out. I was definitely panicking before, but now I am feeling more at ease with your help 🙂

 

[Jordwin]

I am hoping to "perfect" my math skills to make sure I get around 28-29 by not making stupid mistakes xD haha. But you do make sense in that I should focus more on other sections than math.
As for the ADA test, I will be sure to do the free ADA test and dat bootcamp test as soon as I feel ready.
Also, for the CDP, I am pretty good with the top-front-end. However, I use the line method where I can eliminate at least 1 or 2 choices. Do you know if the PAT on the real DAT disallows you to use the line method? Or will I have to heavily depend on my visual perception ability?
As for bio, where would you find Ferali's notes? This is the first time hearing about this resource xD.

Once again, thanks so much for taking the time to help me out. I was definitely panicking before, but now I am feeling more at ease with your help 🙂

Yeah, no problem. I'm here to help! Obviously those high math scores would be nice, but if you work quickly and efficiently which you obviously have been doing in the math destroyer, you should have ample time to review any you may have breezed to quickly over. Seriously, though, the math section had some tough questions, but overall was very easy on the real deal.

Unfortunately the line counting method wouldn't have worked for me today. You have to visualize everything that is going on. It's really not that bad. I think people just get overwhelmed by there being 90 questions on the thing. Plus after the sciences! Thats another thing. I have a theory that you can improve your pat score my studying and improving your speed through the science section. Don't get me wrong, I used the full time for the sciences to check my answers, but I got done with it more or less with 36 minutes left. After that, I cooled down, calmly checked over my answers, and mentally prepared myself for the pat. Weird, but it worked for me.

Feralis notes are linked on the bootcamp site, idk if they are specifically under biology or not, but you will find them.

No problem at all and there is no need to panic. You sound prepared to conquer the DAT to me! Don't be overconfident either though, especially in your physiology. You never know the weird types of questions they may throw out. That being said, you are probably good in that section if you are a phys major ;-p But don't stop reviewing bio at any point, the breadth of knowledge in this section is immense. Good luck!

 

[shakenbaik]

darn.. I might take a bit longer on the pat now that the line counting method doesnt work.. 🙁 haha

 

[Jordwin]

darn.. I might take a bit longer on the pat now that the line counting method doesnt work.. 🙁 haha

It's really not that bad, don't get discouraged!

 

[Shinan Guo]

Suck it up and learn the DAT Destroyer. Go over it at least twice in this two weeks and you will be fine. In your case there's no time to go back and learn the basics. Don't panic and use your limited time wisely.

 

[emitpeels]

Watch chad's videos and go over the quizzes for a day.

 

[shakenbaik]

Jordwin, thanks for all your help. Doing the roadmaps on the dat destroyer definitely helped. I actually think ochem has become one of my strongest subjects on DAT now xD

I was wondering if I could get some final advice. My test will be in 3-4 days. I have just finished doing all the DAT bootcamp tests. Here are my results:

bio/gchem/ochem/pat/rc/qr

-23/22/27/18/19/22
-23/22/26/20/19/21
-22/24/25/20/20/23
-22/30/29/19/23/22
-23/23/23/20/23/20

I was wondering, what should I be doing during these three days? I have gone over all of Chad's again and I am currently slowly reading Feralis notes. Any advice on what other things I should be doing?
Also, should I be cramming and studying hard (like 6 hours) every day until the test or should I be a relaxing a little bit? I know this is very subjective but I would like to know what you guys think 🙂