After getting all 20s+ on the Kaplan DAT 2008-2009 edition I recently got, I feel like I have lost brain cells. I didn't study or prepare ahead of time. I took it just to see what I would get. Some of the questions I will admit, did require me to think a bit (those were the ones I got wrong, I believe), but others were simply ridiculous. There is just no other way to put it. One of the answer choices among the other absurd choices to a particular question was communism. What the hell?! Is the real DAT this easy or is this kaplan just a joke? If that's the case, please recommend me something else....because just looking through the book, or more like booklet with pretty illustrations that seem to be for middle school students, makes me feel even dumber.
Kaplan DAT = a joke?!
- Thread starter K90
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20+ on the Kaplan DAT 2008-2009 edition. Must be a historical moment in time. Let us all remember this moment with a minute of silence please.🙄
Thank you. If you are that confident, which apparently you are, then take the test😎. The worst thing that could happen is you have a rude awakening and wind up re-taking (like alot of us) and realize that Kaplan is a joke to begin with
.Buy DAT Destroyer and if you can answer those questions without missing then you will be ready😕. If not; crack the books
.Best of luck to ya
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The book is different than the Course, I have heard repeatedly that the book is a joke and it is a horrible way to review the material as it is so brief. The course is much different, more in depth.
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Kaplan DAT=waste of time.
Way to easy and not a good epresentation of the real thing. esp PAT and Orgo
Way to easy and not a good epresentation of the real thing. esp PAT and Orgo
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I agree with you on PAT....kaplan does a horrible job of matching the difficulty of the real PA section in the DAT.
But for orgo the kaplan course was excellent. I got a 30 in orgo on the real DAT using the kaplan + destroyer combo. Kaplan does a great job going over the major reactions and gives enough subject tests to really drive key points home and really test the information.
Kaplan was great for all the sciences and the reading comp. For math and PA you need to find additional resources.
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You probably would have gotten a 30 no matter what you used. You were very well prepared, and anyways kaplan with destroyer is great but Kaplan alone is very lacking.
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Is Kaplan really that bad...I am thinking about taking it next summer...but you guys are scaring me!!
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well just the white book alone I agree its not enough.....really the practice subject tests they give for organic is great because you see alot of different concepts tested in various ways.
Reality is you need to do a HUGE volume of practice questions because the DAT loves to test genereal concepts but in unique ways the more practice questions you do the better off you will be.
For example which is more acidic ortho nitrophenol or meta nitrophenol, or phenol?
Now we all know the -NO2 group pulls electron density away thus makes the ring more acidic but its placement in the ortho vs meta position can be confusing or even the para position!!! It kills you to get a problem wrong that you knew basically everything about.
I think most of the organic questions I saw were very basic concepts with a twist...I only saw like maybe 3 harder reaction questions.
The online stuff they give you is great!!! You get a ton of practice questions and tests make sure you allow enough time to do them all!!!!
The classroom is a total crapshoot it depends on the teacher you get maybe you will get an awesome one maybe not I had an excellent teacher who taught us a couple personal tricks but again it depends on who you get.
The white book is a great resource but lacks in PA and math, find additional resources for those maybe crack PAT (I was getting like 23s on kaplan practice for PA but I got a 17 on the real DAT =/) The sciences are well covered but I advise destroyer as well to really push you over. Also get cliffs AP bio its like 15 bucks and provides a great overall outline, I loved that book I took it to the beach with me and when I tanned on my back I would read like a chapter.
and practice practice practice!!! No one resource is going to get you an ultra high score without you doing a ton of practice problems thats one of the reasons why destroyer is so great IT FORCES YOU to do practice problems. Then always find out the reason why you got something wrong OR right sometimes your reasons arn't the best.
It all seemed very easy. I feel as if I know nothing and am terribly unprepared for the real DAT when I take it in like a year or two. Seems to me that Kaplan's DAT is only a miniature scale version of the real thing judging by the questions and answers. Most of it doesn't seem conceptual at all, more like just things I happen to have memorised while paying attention in class.
PS. Why are you applying to Stony Brook with those grades and DAT?
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Stony Brook is actually one of the best schools and in terms of competition the avg AA is above a 21 and the price is amazing....
The only schools with a higher AA on DATs is harvard with a 22.4 or something and columbia with a 22..
I wouldn't knock stony brook playa...I'm applying there with a 25 its a great school
