My take on the DAT

[beannaithe]

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I took the DAT this morning and I figured I'd post some thoughts on it to help out any of you guys who are taking it soon.

Science - This section was better then any of the practices that I had taken. For bio, most of the questions were straightforward and relatively easy. There were about 6-7 questions on enzymes, one on a hormone, some on locations of various organs / what make up what system and one on what dervies from the endoderm and ectoderm. No classifications, no ecology.

Gen Chem - Not that much calculations. More about overall trends in periodic table. A few calculations on % weight and PV = nRT.

Organic Chem - Sorry...don't remember anything about this one except for it asking what the one amino acid looked like in pH of 1.

PAT - Much harder then Kaplan's or Barron's. Watch your time and make sure you keep on top of all of the questions. Your time will run out really fast if you don't watch. Some of the holes seem off on the hole punching section and they look like they have some weird folds not in any of the books that I looked at. Angles hurt, some of them looked exactly the same. So make sure you're really good on that stuff.

Reading Comprehension - Those sections are *long*!! All of mine had 20 paragraphs and one of them was on the stock market instead of biology related stuff. Questions are not as straightforward as in the pracitce exams. So watch yourself. I did the "road map method" and it really, really helped a lot!

Quantitatie Reasoning - This section isn't too bad. It's a lot of percent calculations and algebra. I also had a few strange ones about counting minutes between days and fractions. Hard, but not as difficult as Kaplan's.

My advice for test day is to get as much sleep as you can before the exam. Take the break (this will save your sanity). Bring something to eat during your break. And just remember that you know it and your score should go up a few points! 😀

Any other questions...let me know! 🙂

Good luck if you're taking it soon!

 

[KCHANG418]

congradulations!!!!
sounds like you did a good job on ur DAT.
only thing to do now is sit back and wait for reply lo...

 

[Tooth Fixer]

I took the DAT this morning and I figured I'd post some thoughts on it to help out any of you guys who are taking it soon.

Science - This section was better then any of the practices that I had taken. For bio, most of the questions were straightforward and relatively easy. There were about 6-7 questions on enzymes, one on a hormone, some on locations of various organs / what make up what system and one on what dervies from the endoderm and ectoderm. No classifications, no ecology.

Gen Chem - Not that much calculations. More about overall trends in periodic table. A few calculations on % weight and PV = nRT.

Organic Chem - Sorry...don't remember anything about this one except for it asking what the one amino acid looked like in pH of 1.

PAT - Much harder then Kaplan's or Barron's. Watch your time and make sure you keep on top of all of the questions. Your time will run out really fast if you don't watch. Some of the holes seem off on the hole punching section and they look like they have some weird folds not in any of the books that I looked at. Angles hurt, some of them looked exactly the same. So make sure you're really good on that stuff.

Reading Comprehension - Those sections are *long*!! All of mine had 20 paragraphs and one of them was on the stock market instead of biology related stuff. Questions are not as straightforward as in the pracitce exams. So watch yourself. I did the "road map method" and it really, really helped a lot!

Quantitatie Reasoning - This section isn't too bad. It's a lot of percent calculations and algebra. I also had a few strange ones about counting minutes between days and fractions. Hard, but not as difficult as Kaplan's.

My advice for test day is to get as much sleep as you can before the exam. Take the break (this will save your sanity). Bring something to eat during your break. And just remember that you know it and your score should go up a few points! 😀

Any other questions...let me know! 🙂

Good luck if you're taking it soon!

Sounds like you rocked the DAT what were your scores by the way. PM if you don't feel like posting on this thread.

thanks for the advice as well.

 

[bryan45876]

I took the DAT this morning and I figured I'd post some thoughts on it to help out any of you guys who are taking it soon.

Science - This section was better then any of the practices that I had taken. For bio, most of the questions were straightforward and relatively easy. There were about 6-7 questions on enzymes, one on a hormone, some on locations of various organs / what make up what system and one on what dervies from the endoderm and ectoderm. No classifications, no ecology.

Gen Chem - Not that much calculations. More about overall trends in periodic table. A few calculations on % weight and PV = nRT.

Organic Chem - Sorry...don't remember anything about this one except for it asking what the one amino acid looked like in pH of 1.

PAT - Much harder then Kaplan's or Barron's. Watch your time and make sure you keep on top of all of the questions. Your time will run out really fast if you don't watch. Some of the holes seem off on the hole punching section and they look like they have some weird folds not in any of the books that I looked at. Angles hurt, some of them looked exactly the same. So make sure you're really good on that stuff.

Reading Comprehension - Those sections are *long*!! All of mine had 20 paragraphs and one of them was on the stock market instead of biology related stuff. Questions are not as straightforward as in the pracitce exams. So watch yourself. I did the "road map method" and it really, really helped a lot!

Quantitatie Reasoning - This section isn't too bad. It's a lot of percent calculations and algebra. I also had a few strange ones about counting minutes between days and fractions. Hard, but not as difficult as Kaplan's.

My advice for test day is to get as much sleep as you can before the exam. Take the break (this will save your sanity). Bring something to eat during your break. And just remember that you know it and your score should go up a few points! 😀

Any other questions...let me know! 🙂

Good luck if you're taking it soon!

Could you elaborate more on biology? What type of enzyme questions did you get? organ locations?

Thanks.

 

[dWiz]

ok bro, your take seems fine, but how about posting your scores damn it

 

[xylashellx]

thanks for posting...taking my test on the 1st...hoping its as good as yours...thanks again

 

[heyitscyndi]

Congrats! 🙂

Could someone explain the road map method? Thanx a bunch!!

 

[beannaithe]

Scores - AA - 21 TS - 21, OC - 19, GC - 23, Bio - 22, RC - 19, QR - 20, PAT - 18.

bryan45876 - The bio section was very conceptual based questions. One asked me about the types of characteristics were in early chordates. One listed a bunch of bones and asked me which one wasn't in the arm. One asked me what type of structures di-sulfide bonds appeared in. The enzyme questions asked about types of enzyme bondings (ie - what kind of inhibitor binds to the active site in place of the actual enzyme? - something about what makes an enzyme function better.) One asked me what stage of development the 3 layers of tissues come out. Those kind of questions...pretty basic if you read your stuff. Hope that helps.


xylashellx - Good luck! You're going to rock that test! 😀

heyitscyndi - Thank you! Road map mathod is where you write down key words from the paragraphs and then when you get questions relating to different stuff, you just look back over the info you wrote down to remember where everything is in relation to everything else.

 

[Tooth Fixer]

Scores - AA - 21 TS - 21, OC - 19, GC - 23, Bio - 22, RC - 19, QR - 20, PAT - 18.

bryan45876 - The bio section was very conceptual based questions. One asked me about the types of characteristics were in early chordates. One listed a bunch of bones and asked me which one wasn't in the arm. One asked me what type of structures di-sulfide bonds appeared in. The enzyme questions asked about types of enzyme bondings (ie - what kind of inhibitor binds to the active site in place of the actual enzyme? - something about what makes an enzyme function better.) One asked me what stage of development the 3 layers of tissues come out. Those kind of questions...pretty basic if you read your stuff. Hope that helps.


xylashellx - Good luck! You're going to rock that test! 😀

heyitscyndi - Thank you! Road map mathod is where you write down key words from the paragraphs and then when you get questions relating to different stuff, you just look back over the info you wrote down to remember where everything is in relation to everything else.

Bones in the Arm? WTF where I never saw anything about bones except the ear maybe in the blue book. What tools did you use to study? And congrats those are some nice scores. How long did you study?

 

[Gurl21]

beannaithe, Hey I just took mine today, I think you and I had the same questions!

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

I was sooo happy w/ the rest of my scores and then look at my PAT score!! 🙁

 

[bryan45876]

beannaithe, Hey I just took mine today, I think you and I had the same questions!

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

I was sooo happy w/ the rest of my scores and then look at my PAT score!! 🙁

If you don't mind could you share what type of questions your biology section contained?

I think your scores are great. Your PAT score generally won't matter that much unless you want to go to UOP or some other school where they like high PAT scores. Either way, you're golden, congrads.

 

[beannaithe]

beannaithe, Hey I just took mine today, I think you and I had the same questions!

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

I was sooo happy w/ the rest of my scores and then look at my PAT score!! 🙁

Gurl, I really don't think you need to retake it! The PAT is a little low, but call the schools that you're considering and see where their cutoff. Most are at 14 or 15 so you should be fine! Your scores are *stellar*!

Tooth Fixer - I used Kaplan's blue book and Barron's. I studied for an average of about an hour to 2 hours a day over the course of 4 months (while I was taking 12 credits). Then 8 hours a day the week before the test. Just depends on what works for you and how well you absorb information. I'm a little slow at absorbing lots of stuff so that's why I took so long. 😛

 

[DMD_hopeful]

beannaithe, Hey I just took mine today, I think you and I had the same questions!

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

I was sooo happy w/ the rest of my scores and then look at my PAT score!! 🙁

Awesome scores! NO need to retake, you'll get tons of interviews and acceptances -- assuming your GPA is as stellar as your scores.

Great Job!!! 👍

 

[Utes]

excellent scores. Did you guys do the TopScore exams? If so, what were your scores?

 

[Gurl21]

Would it change your opinion if I said my GPA is a 3.1 and science gpa slightly lower?

 

[Gurl21]

excellent scores. Did you guys do the TopScore exams? If so, what were your scores?

Hey, yea I used Topscore. I don't remem my scores from the practice tests but they were around an average 21 AA and 20TS... the real test is easier than Topscore... except for PAT!

 

[butterfly82]

Hey, yea I used Topscore. I don't remem my scores from the practice tests but they were around an average 21 AA and 20TS... the real test is easier than Topscore... except for PAT!

Gurl 21, how long did you study for the DAT? Your scores are awesome!

 

[SpikeyMike83]

Lets discuss general chemistry. I CANNOT for the life of me get a decent score on that test. It makes me really nervous. Anything you remember would be appreciated.

 

[ddsnp]

👎 gen chem is kicking my butt too!

 

[beannaithe]

Lets discuss general chemistry. I CANNOT for the life of me get a decent score on that test. It makes me really nervous. Anything you remember would be appreciated.

Gen Chem was my worst subject hwen I was studying. I got 14's on Kaplan's and 17's on Barrons. The actual test is soooooooooo much easier then the practices. It's hardly any calculations and really more just general concepts.

 

[Gurl21]

Gurl 21, how long did you study for the DAT? Your scores are awesome!

Thanks! I took Kaplan which lasted about 7 weeks, then I studied off and on for about 2 and a half months after that.. there were some weeks where i couldnt do any Dat because of schoolwork! But since it's summer now, I think that 2 months or so is enough preparation.

 

[Missserica]

Beannaithe! Good scores and thanks for the advice! You seem really cool 🙂

I took the DAT this morning and I figured I'd post some thoughts on it to help out any of you guys who are taking it soon.

Science - This section was better then any of the practices that I had taken. For bio, most of the questions were straightforward and relatively easy. There were about 6-7 questions on enzymes, one on a hormone, some on locations of various organs / what make up what system and one on what dervies from the endoderm and ectoderm. No classifications, no ecology.

Gen Chem - Not that much calculations. More about overall trends in periodic table. A few calculations on % weight and PV = nRT.

Organic Chem - Sorry...don't remember anything about this one except for it asking what the one amino acid looked like in pH of 1.

PAT - Much harder then Kaplan's or Barron's. Watch your time and make sure you keep on top of all of the questions. Your time will run out really fast if you don't watch. Some of the holes seem off on the hole punching section and they look like they have some weird folds not in any of the books that I looked at. Angles hurt, some of them looked exactly the same. So make sure you're really good on that stuff.

Reading Comprehension - Those sections are *long*!! All of mine had 20 paragraphs and one of them was on the stock market instead of biology related stuff. Questions are not as straightforward as in the pracitce exams. So watch yourself. I did the "road map method" and it really, really helped a lot!

Quantitatie Reasoning - This section isn't too bad. It's a lot of percent calculations and algebra. I also had a few strange ones about counting minutes between days and fractions. Hard, but not as difficult as Kaplan's.

My advice for test day is to get as much sleep as you can before the exam. Take the break (this will save your sanity). Bring something to eat during your break. And just remember that you know it and your score should go up a few points! 😀

Any other questions...let me know! 🙂

Good luck if you're taking it soon!

 

[Say_Cheese]

Gen Chem was my worst subject hwen I was studying. I got 14's on Kaplan's and 17's on Barrons. The actual test is soooooooooo much easier then the practices. It's hardly any calculations and really more just general concepts.

Did you feel that the kaplan flash cards helped at all?

 

[Tooth Fixer]

Benne you know how u said there is that bone in the arm question. How did u know the answer to that i don't remember seeing or reading anything in blue book about bones that much except for the basic structure of bone itself. Could you elaborate. Thanks

 

[JMJRDH1]

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

You can't be serious

 

[dentwannabe]

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

You can't be serious

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN.

i dont know wat to say

 

[beannaithe]

Benne you know how u said there is that bone in the arm question. How did u know the answer to that i don't remember seeing or reading anything in blue book about bones that much except for the basic structure of bone itself. Could you elaborate. Thanks

The bones in the arm question, the choices were humerus, radius, fibula, carpals or phalanx. I knew that humerus, radius and carpals were in the arm, not sure about the phalanx, but was 100% sure that the fibula was in the leg.

I learned those in my anatomy class in high school. I think Barron's has a list of all of the bones inthe body. A little too detailed, but helpful to learn the major bones.

 

[Babi3Ducki3]

Thanks! I took Kaplan which lasted about 7 weeks, then I studied off and on for about 2 and a half months after that.. there were some weeks where i couldnt do any Dat because of schoolwork! But since it's summer now, I think that 2 months or so is enough preparation.

How were the online tests and all the subject tests? Were they like the real DAT? I'm worried about Gen Chem, O Chem and Quant. I take to long on Quant. Any advice on these sections??

 

[Gurl21]

How were the online tests and all the subject tests? Were they like the real DAT? I'm worried about Gen Chem, O Chem and Quant. I take to long on Quant. Any advice on these sections??

The online tests and subject tests are helpful b/c they provide you with a strong background on the info you need to know.. they are harder than the actual DAT though.. But on QR, there are some pretty lengthy calculatiosn so try to improve your speed on those.

 

[Babi3Ducki3]

The online tests and subject tests are helpful b/c they provide you with a strong background on the info you need to know.. they are harder than the actual DAT though.. But on QR, there are some pretty lengthy calculatiosn so try to improve your speed on those.

Can I ask what scores you were getting on the online tests and such before you took the DAT?

 

[Gurl21]

Can I ask what scores you were getting on the online tests and such before you took the DAT?

I dont remember exact scores from the pract. tests but they were ~21AA and 20TS

 

[bouncy_ball]

beannaithe, Hey I just took mine today, I think you and I had the same questions!

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

I was sooo happy w/ the rest of my scores and then look at my PAT score!! 🙁

great job, those are stellar scores! don't worry about that pat score. relax and enjoy the moment!

 

[Gurl21]

I want peoples opinion on whether I should retake:

AA: 24
TS: 24
Bio: 21
GC: 27
OC: 25
RC: 24
QR: 22
PAT: 16 🙁

You can't be serious

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like a gunner or anything. I just wanted some opinions because of the low PAT score.. and I have a low GPA.