Hi so I was planning on taking the DAT sometime in September and I wanted to use the summer to study. I have friends who are premed who are using Princeton Review for the MCAT and they say its great! Princeton Review also has a online summer course for the DAT have any of you guys have experience with this?
Is the Princeton Review online DAT course good???
- Thread starter Janil411
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Mmmm I don't have any experience with Princeton's online course, but I think most people on SDN will say not to take it–reason being that there are numerous self-study tools you can use for a much cheaper price.
How much would it cost for the Princeton course?
How much would it cost for the Princeton course?
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I would agree with your friend as well. Check out the link in my signature for a list of DAT resources to use!
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The Princeton review books are a great way to study the content. But I wouldn't rely on doing practice questions to LEARN the material, that's suicide. Imagine writing an exam in undergrad and just using old practice tests to do well... same concept on the DAT.
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Feralis notes are good but not detailed enough. it's like memorising a bunch of facts instead of understanding the content = setting yourself to fail. And Cliff's AP Biol also has a lot of stuff that you don't need to know.
I personally think Chad's videos + Princeton books are the best.
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I'm sure by now you have taken the DAT, but I wanted to add my two cents in case others in the future are planning to pursue Princeton Review to prepare for the exam. PR (Princeton Review) did not ask for any feedback at the conclusion of the course, which is probably part of the reason why their program is, in my opinion, substandard. I chose PR to prepare for the DAT because, like you, I had heard that it was a great program for those taking the MCAT. But that is the problem with PR in my opinion- they put all of their effort into making a strong program to prep students for the MCAT because way more people take the MCAT than DAT (just as an example- MCAT prep = 12 full length practice exams, DAT = 4 full length practice exams). I attended the Live Online Class, and overall I would rate it pretty poorly (~6/10). For example, the general chemistry teacher each class would laugh and complain at how poor the quality of the powerpoint slides were and how much of the material was downright incorrect. This literally happened every class- not exaggerating. If the slides are so bad, do something about it! And it always seemed as if he hadn't reviewed the slides before class as if he was just winging it. I'm sure he's very knowledgeable in chemistry, but you should still review your slides.
Once I grasped the basic strategies for PAT, QR, and RC from the first class (these are all taught together), I found that the rest of these classes were a waste of time. This class was basically just practicing questions with the teacher, but the math solutions he gave sucked, the PAT explanations were pathetic because they don't use video (it's all slides and voice), and the reading comp you just really need to practice on your own (and "search and destroy" is much better than their method because DAT RC is not like the SAT RC, plus you can highlight on the exam). I found that the biology that was on the exam was so different from the biology content they provided. The organic was fine.
I did not like that you did not have access to any powerpoint slides before each class. I would have to take notes on paper and then add a lot of information to the slides that I could only print out after class. With PR, Most of the practice is in a book, which in 2017 is obsolete considering that you take your exam online. You should be practicing as much as you can on the computer, trust me.
So having said all of this, I would like to mention that after about 2 months of review with Princeton Review, I took the ADEA 2009 DAT practice exam and my scores were subpar (averaging at about 17) and mind you I studied my brains out and did well in my undergrad. I needed to make a change and fast because I had about a month and a half before I was going to take my exam. I decided to go ahead and relearn as much Gen Chem with Chad's videos, learned Biology from Cliff's AP Biology (free online) and QR from Chad's videos as well. I then ordered Bootcamp, which was great! Their tests are super similar to the real DAT (phsycially the look/ feel of the tests, and the questions). I learned a ton from taking these tests. After a month and a half of preparing with Bootcamp and everything else, I felt much stronger than I had prior in every section. In the end my AA: 18.5 (rounds to 19), PAT: 21. And I'll tell you right now that if I hadn't wasted my time with Princeton Review for 2 months, that AA would have been higher. PR = $800+ tax vs. Cliff's AP Bio (free online PDF) + Chad's Videos for all science sections for 2 months ($100) + Bootcamp ($250) = $350 and much better quality prep overall = No Brainer! Do not take Princeton Review, period.
