Hey there folks,
First, I just want to say thank you to SDN community for thegreat advice and encouragement. Ihonestly couldnt have done it without you all. And I know what youre thinking, this chickhas only ONE post! Should I be suspicious?? Probably, but let me assure you,you shouldntIm only writing because I know how valuable a detailed post wasto me when I was studying. Alright,enough with the ramble, lets get this show on the road.
Im a non-traditional student. I started college a year early, and graduatedearly, so after college I wanted to take some time off, and that I did. I wanted to be mentally prepared before Idove into my professional career. I knewthat research, medicine, and dentistry were the careers that interested me themost, and if it werent for my time off, I wouldnt have realized thatdentistry was the right choice for me. No need to go into detail as to how I came to that conclusion, but Idid. One day, I woke and said Imtaking the DAT. I knew nothing aboutthe application cycle, the DAT, NOTHING. Too bad for me it was August. Iknew I was late in the game, but I really didnt care. I thought to myself if worse comes to worst,I would just take it again (Im in no rush), and will just get in the nextcycle.
As far as my background in college, I was a pretty solidstudent. My GPA was a 3.5, and Igraduated with cumlaude. I was active innumerous clubs, and organizations. Icompleted my undergraduate research, and my thesis was published shortly aftermy graduation. I knew going into my DAT that I was going to have to CRAM mybutt off (its been almost two years since Ive looked at any sciences!). Itwas the end of August, and I had started nothing! YIKES. It took me about 2-3 weeks to get everythingdone for my applications, and for the DAT, I would say that I studied a solid 2months (taking one week off to visit the boyfriend
). Yes, most would say that it was extreme, butI really had a lot of refreshing to do. Most people suggest not studying for such long hours, and instead, doingsmall increments a day. Well, I say dowhats BEST for YOU. You know what worksfor you, STICK to it. I didnt score as well as Id hoped, but given my timeconstraints, Im proud of myself, and I plan on taking it in 3 months andkicking the dats butt!
Materials that I used:
Dat Destroyer: (7/10) Usefulness: Undecided.
Math Destroyer: (9/10) barely used it, but I am now kickingmyself in the butt, because this was my lowest score. In fact, it was so lowthat Im still contemplating on whether or not I should post my score while Imtyping this due to extreme embarrassment!Haha Overall, the book it amazing.Wish I would have used it more.
Organic chemistry as a second language I and II:(13/10) WOW, AMAZING.
Barrons AP Bio: (9/10) good read, wish I had moretime.
Campbells: (9/10) Hey, if you have time, Im sure itsgreat. Unfortunately, I didnt have thatluxury.
MCAT hyperlearning books: (10/10)THE best book for g-chem. Period.
Chads Videos: (10/10) The best overall source forg-chem. As for o-chem ehhhh.
Crack Dat Pat: (7.5/10) Pretty solid source.
**I did not use topscore, achiever, or and any old practicetest. The only practice I used forproblems was from the hyperlearning g-chem book, questions from organic chem asa second language, chads quizzes, and destroyer chem problems. I never timedmyself, except for the PAT section.
Score: 19 aa/20 ts/20 pat
g-chem: 23
o-chem: 20
bio: 19
pat: 20
RC: 18 : -thumbdown
QR: No Comment. You dontwant to know. Really.
Bio: Alright, you all have heard it before, Bio is sorandom, yada, yada, yada Hmm I had one or two obscure questions but nothingcrazy. I do agree, however, that it ISgeneral info. Now I know telling youguys not to go into detail is difficult, because as youre studying for bio,you cant really help but to focus on detail. Please, do not focus so much of your time in bio! Focus on your chems!!Im a bio major (took classes like physio, virology, microbiology, etc.), andthought the bio section was too vast for me to master in such a short period oftimetaxonomy, eco, evolution, plants???! No, thanks. I read through barrons twice. Unfortunately, I didnt get to do thequestions after each chapter and the full-length tests at the end of the book!!Ran out of time. I highly suggest youNOT do this!!! Do as many practice questions as possible. Bio was not impossible as others havesuggested. I used campbells for the a few chapters. So detailed, I felt likethe info was leaving my brain as quickly as it was being processed into it. Ido recommend it if you have time, but if not, stick to barrons and google thestuff you dont know. DO ALL the practice problems to train your mind ondifferent wording, and it should suffice. I thought I was going to score higher in this section, but I marked afew and ran out of time at the end.
G-chem: Okay, I was most prepared for this section (or so I thought),and felt like this was the WTF? section! Yes, I did receive my highest scorein g-chem, but really?? Some of the questions were really just RANDOM! Thecalculations were fair, although very different from anything that I practicedfrom chads videos and destroyer. I probably guessed on at least 8 questions,so I have no clue how I pulled it off. Ihad no ph, or redox questions. ::thumb down:: This section really pissed me off, and took up soooo much of mytime!! I guess thats why they suggestyou time yourself, huh? I kept staring at the same question for tenminutes!!!!! Before I knew it, I HAD 11 minutes left for o-chem!! ELEVEN! I went through o-chem so fast, I barely remember the questions. Seriously. Some questions that required me todo r/s configurations, I marked and guessed bc I didnt even have time to dothose! Please do not spend so much timeon one section. What a terrible mistake on my part. DO NOT DO THIS. Chad is thebest source out there for g-chem, and when you couple that with thehyperlearning book, youre set. Do yourselfa favor and subscribe now. As fordestroyer chem, it was a great section in the book, and I learned so much but Icannot realistically say it helped me that much for my DAT.
O-chem: Like I stated, I had eleven minutes. My memory ofthe o-chem questions is vague. Everything was such a blur. No hard reactions at all. What helped me the most was organic chem Iand II as a second language by klein. These books are amazing and klein is BRILLIANT. It was such an easy read. I truly cannot recommend it enough. Chad for o-chem was not so great with theexception of his videos on lab techniques that I found to be quite useful. Unfortunately, I didnt have any lab questionson my version of the test. Destroyer o-chem was, once again, okay. Dont get mewrong, you learn A LOT but as far as usefulness for the dat? I could have donewithout. Sure, I hear all the hype about his roadmaps but If you read through klein,the road maps in destroyer are just a quick review. Destroyer is harder than the real dat, but byno means impossible. Im certain that ifI had more than 11 minutes, I would have gotten 2 or 3 points higher. Use your time wisely. This section is not hard.
Pat: Wow, what can I say? I was scoring between 20-25 oncrack Dat pat. Did each test twice. ThePat section on the dat I felt was harder than crack Dat pat. The reason why I say that it was harder isbecause it was DIFFERENT. So let merephrase, it wasnt necessarily harder, it was just a lot different than what Ihad practiced. Perhaps achiever isbetter?? Its worth a try. The cube-counting and paper-folding were onpar with crack dat pat, but TFE, angles, keyholes, and paper-folding were SOdifferent (especially paper-folding and keyhole). I wish I could have scored higher, but mynerves could have gotten the best of me. My suggestion, buy crack dat pat AND achiever. I hear achiever is quite good for thissection.
NOW, for my two worst sections:
RC: I did nothing toprepare for this section. NOTHING. Pleasedont underestimate this section. The passagesare LONG. I finished one passage andrealized that I was half way through on time! Towards the end, I literally had9 minutes left with two passages!! Guess what I did? I read the questions only,and used process of elimination. Ianswered the questions without even looking at the passage. Wow, I could be the biggest idiot in theworld. I gained a few points bc my lastpassage had questions on telomeres, so I was familiar with that. At this point, I started crying. I didnt know what to do.
QR: hahahahahahaha! Wow. First, let me just say that I am the WORST math student EVER! I hate itwith every bone in my body. I wentthrough a few tests in destroyer, and told myself that my math was not going toimprove in 3 weeks. Lets just say afterwriting this lengthy post, I have decided not to post my score (yes, its THATBAD). Just know that a 5thgrader is probably better at math than me. The only thing I suggest is math destroyer. If you master destroyer, youll be FINE.
All in all, my experience wasnt too bad. I definitely should have done some practicetest. I know it may seem impossible toyou guys right now, but this test is definitely not something you should beafraid of. I plan on retaking soon. Iknow what to expect now, and I know what to focus on. I know it was lengthy but I had to vent! Goodluck, guys!!!
First, I just want to say thank you to SDN community for thegreat advice and encouragement. Ihonestly couldnt have done it without you all. And I know what youre thinking, this chickhas only ONE post! Should I be suspicious?? Probably, but let me assure you,you shouldntIm only writing because I know how valuable a detailed post wasto me when I was studying. Alright,enough with the ramble, lets get this show on the road.
Im a non-traditional student. I started college a year early, and graduatedearly, so after college I wanted to take some time off, and that I did. I wanted to be mentally prepared before Idove into my professional career. I knewthat research, medicine, and dentistry were the careers that interested me themost, and if it werent for my time off, I wouldnt have realized thatdentistry was the right choice for me. No need to go into detail as to how I came to that conclusion, but Idid. One day, I woke and said Imtaking the DAT. I knew nothing aboutthe application cycle, the DAT, NOTHING. Too bad for me it was August. Iknew I was late in the game, but I really didnt care. I thought to myself if worse comes to worst,I would just take it again (Im in no rush), and will just get in the nextcycle.
As far as my background in college, I was a pretty solidstudent. My GPA was a 3.5, and Igraduated with cumlaude. I was active innumerous clubs, and organizations. Icompleted my undergraduate research, and my thesis was published shortly aftermy graduation. I knew going into my DAT that I was going to have to CRAM mybutt off (its been almost two years since Ive looked at any sciences!). Itwas the end of August, and I had started nothing! YIKES. It took me about 2-3 weeks to get everythingdone for my applications, and for the DAT, I would say that I studied a solid 2months (taking one week off to visit the boyfriend
). Yes, most would say that it was extreme, butI really had a lot of refreshing to do. Most people suggest not studying for such long hours, and instead, doingsmall increments a day. Well, I say dowhats BEST for YOU. You know what worksfor you, STICK to it. I didnt score as well as Id hoped, but given my timeconstraints, Im proud of myself, and I plan on taking it in 3 months andkicking the dats butt! Materials that I used:
Dat Destroyer: (7/10) Usefulness: Undecided.
Math Destroyer: (9/10) barely used it, but I am now kickingmyself in the butt, because this was my lowest score. In fact, it was so lowthat Im still contemplating on whether or not I should post my score while Imtyping this due to extreme embarrassment!
Haha Overall, the book it amazing.Wish I would have used it more. Organic chemistry as a second language I and II:(13/10) WOW, AMAZING.
Barrons AP Bio: (9/10) good read, wish I had moretime.
Campbells: (9/10) Hey, if you have time, Im sure itsgreat. Unfortunately, I didnt have thatluxury.
MCAT hyperlearning books: (10/10)THE best book for g-chem. Period.
Chads Videos: (10/10) The best overall source forg-chem. As for o-chem ehhhh.
Crack Dat Pat: (7.5/10) Pretty solid source.
**I did not use topscore, achiever, or and any old practicetest. The only practice I used forproblems was from the hyperlearning g-chem book, questions from organic chem asa second language, chads quizzes, and destroyer chem problems. I never timedmyself, except for the PAT section.
Score: 19 aa/20 ts/20 pat
g-chem: 23
o-chem: 20
bio: 19
pat: 20
RC: 18 : -
thumbdownQR: No Comment. You dontwant to know. Really.
Bio: Alright, you all have heard it before, Bio is sorandom, yada, yada, yada Hmm I had one or two obscure questions but nothingcrazy. I do agree, however, that it ISgeneral info. Now I know telling youguys not to go into detail is difficult, because as youre studying for bio,you cant really help but to focus on detail. Please, do not focus so much of your time in bio! Focus on your chems!!Im a bio major (took classes like physio, virology, microbiology, etc.), andthought the bio section was too vast for me to master in such a short period oftimetaxonomy, eco, evolution, plants???! No, thanks. I read through barrons twice. Unfortunately, I didnt get to do thequestions after each chapter and the full-length tests at the end of the book!!Ran out of time. I highly suggest youNOT do this!!! Do as many practice questions as possible. Bio was not impossible as others havesuggested. I used campbells for the a few chapters. So detailed, I felt likethe info was leaving my brain as quickly as it was being processed into it. Ido recommend it if you have time, but if not, stick to barrons and google thestuff you dont know. DO ALL the practice problems to train your mind ondifferent wording, and it should suffice. I thought I was going to score higher in this section, but I marked afew and ran out of time at the end.
G-chem: Okay, I was most prepared for this section (or so I thought),and felt like this was the WTF? section! Yes, I did receive my highest scorein g-chem, but really?? Some of the questions were really just RANDOM! Thecalculations were fair, although very different from anything that I practicedfrom chads videos and destroyer. I probably guessed on at least 8 questions,so I have no clue how I pulled it off. Ihad no ph, or redox questions. ::thumb down:: This section really pissed me off, and took up soooo much of mytime!! I guess thats why they suggestyou time yourself, huh? I kept staring at the same question for tenminutes!!!!! Before I knew it, I HAD 11 minutes left for o-chem!! ELEVEN! I went through o-chem so fast, I barely remember the questions. Seriously. Some questions that required me todo r/s configurations, I marked and guessed bc I didnt even have time to dothose! Please do not spend so much timeon one section. What a terrible mistake on my part. DO NOT DO THIS. Chad is thebest source out there for g-chem, and when you couple that with thehyperlearning book, youre set. Do yourselfa favor and subscribe now. As fordestroyer chem, it was a great section in the book, and I learned so much but Icannot realistically say it helped me that much for my DAT.
O-chem: Like I stated, I had eleven minutes. My memory ofthe o-chem questions is vague. Everything was such a blur. No hard reactions at all. What helped me the most was organic chem Iand II as a second language by klein. These books are amazing and klein is BRILLIANT. It was such an easy read. I truly cannot recommend it enough. Chad for o-chem was not so great with theexception of his videos on lab techniques that I found to be quite useful. Unfortunately, I didnt have any lab questionson my version of the test. Destroyer o-chem was, once again, okay. Dont get mewrong, you learn A LOT but as far as usefulness for the dat? I could have donewithout. Sure, I hear all the hype about his roadmaps but If you read through klein,the road maps in destroyer are just a quick review. Destroyer is harder than the real dat, but byno means impossible. Im certain that ifI had more than 11 minutes, I would have gotten 2 or 3 points higher. Use your time wisely. This section is not hard.
Pat: Wow, what can I say? I was scoring between 20-25 oncrack Dat pat. Did each test twice. ThePat section on the dat I felt was harder than crack Dat pat. The reason why I say that it was harder isbecause it was DIFFERENT. So let merephrase, it wasnt necessarily harder, it was just a lot different than what Ihad practiced. Perhaps achiever isbetter?? Its worth a try. The cube-counting and paper-folding were onpar with crack dat pat, but TFE, angles, keyholes, and paper-folding were SOdifferent (especially paper-folding and keyhole). I wish I could have scored higher, but mynerves could have gotten the best of me. My suggestion, buy crack dat pat AND achiever. I hear achiever is quite good for thissection.
NOW, for my two worst sections:
RC: I did nothing toprepare for this section. NOTHING. Pleasedont underestimate this section. The passagesare LONG. I finished one passage andrealized that I was half way through on time! Towards the end, I literally had9 minutes left with two passages!! Guess what I did? I read the questions only,and used process of elimination. Ianswered the questions without even looking at the passage. Wow, I could be the biggest idiot in theworld. I gained a few points bc my lastpassage had questions on telomeres, so I was familiar with that. At this point, I started crying.
I didnt know what to do.QR: hahahahahahaha! Wow. First, let me just say that I am the WORST math student EVER! I hate itwith every bone in my body. I wentthrough a few tests in destroyer, and told myself that my math was not going toimprove in 3 weeks. Lets just say afterwriting this lengthy post, I have decided not to post my score (yes, its THATBAD). Just know that a 5thgrader is probably better at math than me. The only thing I suggest is math destroyer. If you master destroyer, youll be FINE.
All in all, my experience wasnt too bad. I definitely should have done some practicetest. I know it may seem impossible toyou guys right now, but this test is definitely not something you should beafraid of. I plan on retaking soon. Iknow what to expect now, and I know what to focus on. I know it was lengthy but I had to vent! Goodluck, guys!!!
