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- Mar 10, 2016
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Hello SDN!
I wanted to post my breakdown shortly after I retook the DAT back in August 2017, but I've been busy taking care of some stuff lately.
Anyway, I really want to help people that are considering to retake the DAT for the second or the third time because I know how stressful and frustrating it is to study for the DAT again. Feel free to PM me if any of you guys need more specific advice.
First off, here are my DAT scores from 2016 and 2017
AA = 21 --> 24 (+3)
TS = 22 --> 24 (+2)
Bio= 19 --> 21 (+2)
GC = 23 --> 26 (+3)
OC = 25 --> 26 (+1)
PAT = 23 --> 23 (+0)
RC = 18 --> 23 (+5)
QR = 21 --> 24 (+3)
As you can see, my scores went up in every section, except for the PAT. I know my first DAT score wasn't too bad, but I was confident that I could do better on my second attempt, so I decided to retake the DAT.
What I used to study:
Pretty much the same resources that everyone uses.
Biology - DAT Destroyer, Feralis Notes, Cliff Notes, Alan's Notes, QVault, and DAT Bootcamp
GC & OC - Chad's video, Mike's video, DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp and QVault
PAT - Only DAT Bootcamp
RC - DAT Bootcamp and QVault
QR - Math Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp, and QVault
What I did differently for my second attempt
Biology - 21 (Could have done better, but oh well)
1. Read the title
2. Check how many paragraphs are in the passage.
3. Let's say it had 14 paragraphs.
4. Start reading the passage from paragraph 1~ 7 (Halfway)
5. While reading the first half, try really hard to UNDERSTAND what the passage is about, and ABSORB/ RETAIN as much information as possible, rather than trying to do search and destroy by going straight to the question. This made the reading much easier and interesting for me. Not only I could answer tone questions from this method, but I could easily locate paragraphs that required Search and Destroy.
6. When you're halfway done, go to the questions and start answering them.
7. When you start seeing questions that you can't answer, go back to the passage and read the other half of the passage (8~14).
8. Finish the rest of the questions.
9. Each passage should take about 20 minutes. (Usually, there are 2 short passages (around 11~13 paragraphs) and 1 long passage (around 14~17 paragraphs), but it depends on the version of the test. When you see passages that are 11~13 paragraphs long, try to aim for 17~18 minutes to finish the questions. When you see a passage that's 14~17 passages, try to aim for 20~22 minutes.
*My Advice for RC*
1. Try not to waste time when you're doing RC. Focus. Focus. Focus on the passage.
2. You can't afford to re-read sentences because you weren't concentrating the first time.
3. Every SECOND matters in RC.
4. Your brain is probably going to be fried after you complete RC with my method, but it's worth it.
QR - 24
FINAL ADVICE!!
Alright. The most important advice I would give to those that are retaking the DAT is to devote all of your energy into studying for the DAT. Give your 110%. You gotta make some sacrifice to achieve a high score, and you really don't want take this test for the 3rd or 4th time. Before I started studying for my retake, I knew that there was a chance of scoring lower on my 2nd attempt because 21AA/22TS wasn't a low score. So, I spent more time and energy into studying for the DAT again because I really didn't want to score lower than 21. Anyway, if I did it, you guys can do it too. Feel free to PM for any question!! 🙂
I wanted to post my breakdown shortly after I retook the DAT back in August 2017, but I've been busy taking care of some stuff lately.
Anyway, I really want to help people that are considering to retake the DAT for the second or the third time because I know how stressful and frustrating it is to study for the DAT again. Feel free to PM me if any of you guys need more specific advice.
First off, here are my DAT scores from 2016 and 2017
AA = 21 --> 24 (+3)
TS = 22 --> 24 (+2)
Bio= 19 --> 21 (+2)
GC = 23 --> 26 (+3)
OC = 25 --> 26 (+1)
PAT = 23 --> 23 (+0)
RC = 18 --> 23 (+5)
QR = 21 --> 24 (+3)
As you can see, my scores went up in every section, except for the PAT. I know my first DAT score wasn't too bad, but I was confident that I could do better on my second attempt, so I decided to retake the DAT.
What I used to study:
Pretty much the same resources that everyone uses.
Biology - DAT Destroyer, Feralis Notes, Cliff Notes, Alan's Notes, QVault, and DAT Bootcamp
GC & OC - Chad's video, Mike's video, DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp and QVault
PAT - Only DAT Bootcamp
RC - DAT Bootcamp and QVault
QR - Math Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp, and QVault
What I did differently for my second attempt
Biology - 21 (Could have done better, but oh well)
- Rather than trying to memorize all the random facts, really take the time to study the material and UNDERSTAND the concept behind each topic. When you understand the topic, memorization becomes 10 times easier. DO NOT force yourself to memorize random facts without having a solid understanding of the material.
- Whenever you come across some of the materials that you absolutely HATE, don't think to yourself "Eh.. this topic isn't going to show up on the DAT, so I'm not gonna study this particular topic..." Trust me. It will show up on the actual DAT, and it will cost you a lot of points. When you can't learn the material by reading the explanation on Bootcamp or Destroyer, use YouTube to visually learn the concept and take your own notes. <-- This really helped.
- The only source I used differently on my second attempt was the DAT QVault. Extra practice questions didn't hurt!
- If you understand and know every material presented on Chad's videos, Destroyer and the Bootcamp, you won't have any problem getting a solid score on these sections.
- I went through Destroyer 3 times, Bootcamp 2 times, and QVault once. And I wrote down all the questions that I got wrong, and practiced them daily.
- DAT Bootcamp is all you need. Period.
- Practice. Practice. Practice. The real DAT was easier than the Bootcamp.
- Alright... RC was the scariest section for me because I scored a 18 on my first DAT.
- To be honest, I didn't prepare much for this section other than practicing RC problems on QVault. I enjoyed QVault RC more than the Bootcamp RC because it was easier haha.. I averaged 22~23 on QVault, but Bootcamp RC section demoralized me, and I felt like I was wasting 60 minutes on something that I can't really improve in a short period of time.
- BUT... I did use a different RC method for my 2nd attempt.
1. Read the title
2. Check how many paragraphs are in the passage.
3. Let's say it had 14 paragraphs.
4. Start reading the passage from paragraph 1~ 7 (Halfway)
5. While reading the first half, try really hard to UNDERSTAND what the passage is about, and ABSORB/ RETAIN as much information as possible, rather than trying to do search and destroy by going straight to the question. This made the reading much easier and interesting for me. Not only I could answer tone questions from this method, but I could easily locate paragraphs that required Search and Destroy.
6. When you're halfway done, go to the questions and start answering them.
7. When you start seeing questions that you can't answer, go back to the passage and read the other half of the passage (8~14).
8. Finish the rest of the questions.
9. Each passage should take about 20 minutes. (Usually, there are 2 short passages (around 11~13 paragraphs) and 1 long passage (around 14~17 paragraphs), but it depends on the version of the test. When you see passages that are 11~13 paragraphs long, try to aim for 17~18 minutes to finish the questions. When you see a passage that's 14~17 passages, try to aim for 20~22 minutes.
*My Advice for RC*
1. Try not to waste time when you're doing RC. Focus. Focus. Focus on the passage.
2. You can't afford to re-read sentences because you weren't concentrating the first time.
3. Every SECOND matters in RC.
4. Your brain is probably going to be fried after you complete RC with my method, but it's worth it.
QR - 24
- I had a strong math background, so QR wasn't a hard section for me.
- I used the DAT destroyer, DAT Bootcamp and QVault.
- Keep practicing questions that you missed, and try to conquer the concept behind the question as efficient as possible.
- New QR questions were something that I didn't have in my first DAT, so I had to study for that by using the Bootcamp and Orgoman's materials.
- The actual test wasn't hard at all. I kind of ran out of time to answer 2 questions, but I think it was partially because I was exhausted from the test.
FINAL ADVICE!!
Alright. The most important advice I would give to those that are retaking the DAT is to devote all of your energy into studying for the DAT. Give your 110%. You gotta make some sacrifice to achieve a high score, and you really don't want take this test for the 3rd or 4th time. Before I started studying for my retake, I knew that there was a chance of scoring lower on my 2nd attempt because 21AA/22TS wasn't a low score. So, I spent more time and energy into studying for the DAT again because I really didn't want to score lower than 21. Anyway, if I did it, you guys can do it too. Feel free to PM for any question!! 🙂
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