Inaccuracies of Topscore? And is the real DAT more like Topscore or Kaplan?

[MidwestDental]

hello, I've recently started using Topscore, and they seem to have a lot of mistakes and/or bad answers.

My first question, is why are they so specific ontheir questions in classification? (biology) How am i supposed to know the classifcations and functions of 5 bacterial microorganisms.

And secondly, is the real DAT more like the Kaplan exams or Topscore exams. By both level of difficulty and more importantly,the material they test over.

Topscore questions seem to test over stuff that Kaplan nor AP or GRE books test on, which is good, what is your opinion on Topscore.

I also realize Topscore is also a little harder thanthe real DAT too.

One last thing, I just did the Kaplan quant tests, and they seem IMPOSSIBLE!!!, whereas the other makers seem to have easier questions.

Thanks!

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[tinker bell]

The real DAT, is indeed much more like the released DAT that you received in your registration booklet.
Topscore has some mistakes, but it's good material to practice.
Taxonomy is sufficient enough if you use the review Kaplan book to study. And if you finish reading that book cover to cover, you will find that the Kaplan test on CD-ROM is doable.
I redid every single topscore test like 5 times. Go back and forth and find out what areas you haven't covered yet and study from there. It's very hard at first but don't get discouraged.
I used gre software to study math and english. It's just so closed (especially math).
Good luck with your studying. Remember that lots of people do well on their DAT, and so will you.
Tink

 

[ohgee]

Topscore does a good job on Bio..it's pretty much the same as the real DAT for me.

G-chem: Topscore is little bit harder. It has more calculations than the real DAT.
O-chem: I forgot, I think it's about the same.
Reading: about the same
Math: Topscore is wayy harder than the real test! But good practice, if you master those, you master the real test.
PAT: Topscore is too easy.

hope this helps

 

[ccss]

I think TopScore is good for most sections of the test except PAT. Especially the angle discrimination section of the real DAT is much more difficult than the ones on TopScore. TopScore's Math is more difficult then the real DAT.

 

[jam21]

I agree with CCSS. Topscore is good because it looks a lot like the real test. But, their biology section is too much focused on certain topics. The real DAT covers more stuff but not that specific. If you have the red kaplan book and read it twice or so, you will do fine in biology section. So, don't worry about bad answers on the topscore Cd. I took the Topscore tests and didn't even bother to look at what I missed and I did fine on the real one.
PAT is definitely harder on the real test!! The lines are not that clear on the real test, which makes is very difficult. Also, for the test, expect the worst. When i was takin DAT, my periodic table didn't show up!!.
good luck

 

[MidwestDental]

So, would you guys say that the Kaplan DAT Midterm and Final exams were more similar to the real thing, or Topscore. If you can please state by section. Bio/Chem/ Organic and Quant/Reading/ PAT.

How about the Kaplan PAT vs. the Barron's PAT?
Thanks.

 

[ItsGavinC]

TopScore is more like the real thing.

Besides, even if TopScore is a bit harder, wouldn't that just benefit the test takers? I mean, who wants to practice with simple exams? If you master the hard stuff, then the real test day will be a cake walk.

Know the stuff covered by Kaplan, and use TopScore to review areas you feel weak in.