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osimsDDS

osimsDDS

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Has anyone taking Kaplan online or the actual course and compared the subject tests to the real DAT, primarily to the biology section...? thanks
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yeah, i found the subject tests to be a bit harder then the actual, but the full lengths to be a bit easier (for bio).
 
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I know this opinion may not be a popular one on this forum, but I'm a firm believer in Kaplan. I took their course last summer before the DAT and I actually think it prepared me really well and that even if some of the subject tests / practice tests were harder, there was good material. From my practice tests, almost all of my scores went up on actual test day....except RC. That's where Kaplan is really lacking because they target getting those detail questions which I did, but my RC (I don't know about everyone else) had A LOT of questions, maybe even half, asking about tone, mood, main idea, and crap like that. So my RC was about a point or so lower than my Kaplan practices, but everything else worked for me (including bio)

Hope that helps.
 
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topdent1 said:
Does it help to take the Kaplan subject tests over and over again?
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For me it didn't help. I actually never looked at the same subject test more than once. What I did was after taking a ST, I would go through the wrong (and some right :)) answers in a 5 subject spiral and take notes from the section. So questions I got wrong, I would paraphrase or summarize and make a note of what it is, and what it isn't (based on my wrong answer). For example, if for some reason I got a question wrong that said...I don't know...that the mitochondria is the site of transcription. In my notes I would write, "the nucleus is the site of transcription, NOT the mitochondria. Mitochondria is where aerobic respiration occurs."

That way I had the important stuff written down and by the end of my Kaplan studying, I had a sprial full of concepts to review for each section, and for me that was really helpful. It seems like a long and arduous process and it really was. But that way, I learned from the material instead of taking the test again and using my memory of the question to get the right answer.

But I've also been told by many that my studying techniques are completely illogical. :oops:

Hope this helps.
 
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DCRedskinsRule said:
For me it didn't help. I actually never looked at the same subject test more than once. What I did was after taking a ST, I would go through the wrong (and some right :)) answers in a 5 subject spiral and take notes from the section. So questions I got wrong, I would paraphrase or summarize and make a note of what it is, and what it isn't (based on my wrong answer). For example, if for some reason I got a question wrong that said...I don't know...that the mitochondria is the site of transcription. In my notes I would write, "the nucleus is the site of transcription, NOT the mitochondria. Mitochondria is where aerobic respiration occurs."

That way I had the important stuff written down and by the end of my Kaplan studying, I had a sprial full of concepts to review for each section, and for me that was really helpful. It seems like a long and arduous process and it really was. But that way, I learned from the material instead of taking the test again and using my memory of the question to get the right answer.

But I've also been told by many that my studying techniques are completely illogical. :oops:

Hope this helps.
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how long did u study? I bought the kaplan online course as well. Its been a month and I am still not done with 50% of the material....its a lot of stuff!!!
 
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Mstoothlady2012 said:
how long did u study? I bought the kaplan online course as well. Its been a month and I am still not done with 50% of the material....its a lot of stuff!!!
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Yea iam also doing that, I have taken all the subject bio tests, what have you been scoring on them if you dont mind me asking?? I am curious to see if ppl find it hard or not, I find some of the bio subject tests pretty tough specially #5...
 
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osimsDDS said:
Yea iam also doing that, I have taken all the subject bio tests, what have you been scoring on them if you dont mind me asking?? I am curious to see if ppl find it hard or not, I find some of the bio subject tests pretty tough specially #5...
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I read thru all the bio chapters from the review notes, watched both lectures online, did all workshops & its quizzes and then I took bio subject test 1 (75%) & test 2 (78%). I reviewed the questions that I missed and tried to understand why I got that particular question wrong. I wasn't happy with those scores so I went back and read all the chapters from review book again, did all the workshops & its quizzes again. Now I am taking subject tests 1 & 2 again and then later on tonite I will be taking subject test 3 for the first time...will let you know how I did. I am doing the same thing for chem & orgo. how are you doing?
 
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I didnt read over their notes for bio cuz iam a firm believer that kaplan sucks at bio buuuut they are good at gchem and ochem. So took subject test #1 first to see where i was standing, got an 80%...then read schaum's and then took subject test #2, got an 85%...then read cliffs ap bio and took test 3 and 4 and got both 88%...

but yea their questions are pretty tough i would have to say, i was expecting to get higher scores but w/e i heard the real test is easier than the subject for bio...
 
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I just finished taking Natural Sciences Subject Test A and got 72%. I have no idea what that means. How have you guys been doing?
 
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topdent1 said:
I just finished taking Natural Sciences Subject Test A and got 72%. I have no idea what that means. How have you guys been doing?
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just look at wht # out of 100 you got correct and then follow it on the chart (barron's has one) and it will tell you what you got. Since you got 72% = 72/100 = 18
 
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osimsDDS said:
I didnt read over their notes for bio cuz iam a firm believer that kaplan sucks at bio buuuut they are good at gchem and ochem. So took subject test #1 first to see where i was standing, got an 80%...then read schaum's and then took subject test #2, got an 85%...then read cliffs ap bio and took test 3 and 4 and got both 88%...

but yea their questions are pretty tough i would have to say, i was expecting to get higher scores but w/e i heard the real test is easier than the subject for bio...
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yeaa I didn't wanna waste subject tests, that's why I stopped taking the subject tests since I was doing so poorly. After subject test # 3 I am going to start reading schaums/cliffs ( I have both which one do you recommend?). I don't remember which one I read last year, but I do remember that I didn't put much emphasis on it. After reading that I will take more subject tests.
 
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IMHO, Kaplan for bio is kind of general. I can read through all the biology chapters in the big-note-book in 1 day. It is great to read to get started, then after that I read Schaums, then do questions in Destroyer. Hope that helps.
 
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DRHOYA said:
IMHO, Kaplan for bio is kind of general. I can read through all the biology chapters in the big-note-book in 1 day. It is great to read to get started, then after that I read Schaums, then do questions in Destroyer. Hope that helps.
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tru tru, but i wont discredit kaplan on gchem and ochem...those sections are fairly good
 
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osimsDDS said:
tru tru, but i wont discredit kaplan on gchem and ochem...those sections are fairly good
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Oh without doubt. There are 16 good o-chem chapters that give you great background, and its easy to read. Now, combine that info from Kaplan, and then go on with destroyer for o-chem, and its a pretty good combo. Kaplan is better for "reading" ochem, where as destroyer is good "practice" on the most random rxn's you can have thrown at you.
 
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yea ur right but out of all the sciences iam pretty sure ochem is the easiest, the reactions that they give you are not bad, usually 1 or 2 stepers...destroyer makes you memorize useless info for ochem imo...u just need to know the basics and then you can figure things out
 
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osimsDDS said:
yea ur right but out of all the sciences iam pretty sure ochem is the easiest, the reactions that they give you are not bad, usually 1 or 2 stepers...destroyer makes you memorize useless info for ochem imo...u just need to know the basics and then you can figure things out
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yea agreed...ochem on the real thing is very basic. I would rather focus on the basic stuff that can very well trick you...rather than memorizing all the crazy rxns
 
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topdent1 said:
Do you know where I can get a copy of this chart?
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do you have barrons? or I believe the kaplan blue book (not the one that comes with the course) has one as well. If you don't have one then let me know...i can scan it and email it to you if you like.
 
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