Need some inspiration Getting scared

[JohnDoeDDS]

Okay so ive been studying since June 6th (Kaplan course) Scheduled to take the DAT Aug 28th.

1st Diag I got 14/13

After studying for month and a half. I took the an online mid term and got

15.6/15!

guys I have less then a month! Can I get into the 20s. Im really worried about the PAT.

chem 17
orgo 17
bio 16
RC 16
QR 13!
PAT 15 (and thats me getting 80% of the angles right which probably wont happen on the real DAT).
Can someone give me some study advice. I started studying 6 hrs per day now. Finished the whole bio and chem section in the kaplan book. Why are my scores still so low? Do I have time to improve them by as much as I need? I mean on the PAT and QR. PAT I would get like 3 out of 15 keyholes 3/15 top/front/end, etc... Guys I need some help please!

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[Envision]

Okay so ive been studying since June 6th (Kaplan course) Scheduled to take the DAT Aug 28th.

1st Diag I got 14/13

After studying for month and a half. I took the an online mid term and got

15.6/15!

guys I have less then a month! Can I get into the 20s. Im really worried about the PAT.

chem 17
orgo 17
bio 16
RC 16
QR 13!
PAT 15 (and thats me getting 80% of the angles right which probably wont happen on the real DAT).
Can someone give me some study advice. I started studying 6 hrs per day now. Finished the whole bio and chem section in the kaplan book. Why are my scores still so low? Do I have time to improve them by as much as I need? I mean on the PAT and QR. PAT I would get like 3 out of 15 keyholes 3/15 top/front/end, etc... Guys I need some help please!

Hi Jon,
I started studying july 2nd, and on my first diagnostic got something like...13/13/12. after studying for roughly about a month, about 4-10 hrs a day using mostly kaplan my scores have risen dramatically. I believe if you have studied that much and are not pulling scores at least above 17s, then you may want to re think your studying methods. remember, studying a lot does not mean studying efficiently. have you tried using different resources? like i was terribly bad in gchem and qr so i broke out my old text books and i read up on the topics i was weak on. as for the PAT, what is your weaknesses? is it time? is it because you don't finish/finish to fast? do you use the kaplan techniques? because to get a 15 you must be doing like nearly half or more of the problems wrong, and the kaplan technique if used efficiently should get you at least above a 17 or so. anyway, gl bro, my test date is also around to corner. hopefully we will both see some high numbers.

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

yea I need some studyin advice. Iwas being really lazy. I pretty much just read the bio stuff and the gen chem stuff.
Actually I didnt practice the pat at all yet. But I didnt really understand the event counting. And yea I am getting more then half wrong on the PAT. It pretty much took me a month just to read through the bio stuff. I think I was being too lazy and I might have to skin again and take some notes on it (Im not a science major).

Can you guys that are good at studying post how you think I should study in the given month? (or at least how you studied?) please. Thanks everyone. Im gonna go over the whole thing later today and see what I got wrong and right, and then plan to take another kaplan practice test. What do you guys think I should study like to be efficient? Thank you again

 

[biocmp]

Once you read something in kaplan, go back to your textbook and reference it and read it from there. Then do it again. Then begin problems from your book and check their explanations. Then do the kaplan problems from that part.

I don't know your learning style, but I do great when i write things down. You should try and make outlines everytime you go through the kaplan book. How many times have you made it thru the kaplan book?

If you have been thru it more than twice (which you should have been in this time), can you tell me the difference between an Annelids and an Arthropods circulatory system? Without referencing the book?

Do you know what a grignard rxn is? How about a Hoffman rearrangement?

 

[HopefulPredent]

I started studying around the same time that you did and I'm taking my DATs on the 10th!!! I started reviewing the kaplan book, then taking the subject tests. After every subject test, I FULLY went over them so I know what I need to work on. Then I went over that particular topic again. Midterms and full-length exams are the same, once you take them, you should go over all the problems so you know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Outlining the kaplan book really helps too.... you have to go over it repeatedly so you drill the stuff in your head.

Your studying habits should become a routine and you seriously have to just get in the zone! If you need more inspiration, think about getting into dental school and not having to worrying about the pointless stuff you're studying now! Better yet, think about when you're finally a dentist! Think about how trashed you're gonna get right after taking the exam! lol... I know that sounded totally cheesy, but it's true! Whatever works for you.

Good luck!

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

thanks guys.

Annelids = cosed circulatory system. Gas exchange my diffusion.
Arthropods open circulatory blood goes into spiracles? whre O2 xchange occurs?

Thats what Im asking should I have already gone through the book? In a month in a half I only read through bio and general chemistry! I wasnt studying enough I guess. I would do a chapter a day and sometimes take breaks on the weekends. Do you guys think I can still get a decent score? Should I just take practice test now? I just got my topscore CD and will get DT Achiever also. So if I know and understand how to do the material on those tests I should be good right? Also the damn PAT and math sections are killing me,.

 

[abzirian]

I dunno if this is going to help anyone..

When i took the kaplan course, i did everything they had, including the "non-required supplementals," on time. That equated to a ton of work already, so i didnt have much time to go into other books while i was taking that class. All the while, i went through the books they gave and wrote out all the things i was either iffy on, or didn't happen to know at that time. For me, that was about 4 pages with relatively small handwriting for each of the sciences. After i finished the kaplan course, i took it muuuuuch easier, but i memorized everything i had on my handwritten notes. That way i could confidentally say i had memorized the kaplan book. As for PATs, math and reading, i didn't really study much for those.. Honestly, i think its kinda hard to improve math and reading (and i was already doing really well in those). For PATs... well i think thats just something some people are either good at or bad at. Kaplans advice was pretty useful for that section as well (The only advice i remembered was for angles: look at it kinda at a distance and just do it fast)

Anyway, good luck!

 

[714guy]

I am extremely nervous too. I am taking it in less than 29 hours. I've been studying for only 3 weeks, but knew alot of chem and o chem already, so mainly focusing on bio. I never took the kaplan course but have all the material. Anyhow my first test on topescore was 13s and 14s. but now it about 18 -19s. I read all of the kaplan stuff and its ok, the bio is really lacking, you have to know a lot more, at least for me. the Achiever is WOW!! really difficult but makes you study harder. Good luck.

 

[djeffreyt]

Take Topscore or Achiever practice tests. Look at the answers you got wrong and the topics they pertain too. Then go to your bio, g chem and o chem textbooks and read up on it.

You keep saying you were being lazy, but you still have a month. I started studying around the same time as you and it wasn't until a week and a half before the test that I went on full nitros...so you still have plenty of time.

Don't waste time looking at stuff you already know unless you want to read further on the topic in a textbook to supplement what you know.

PAT is tough, but certain sections shouldn't be too hard. The hole punch is methodic...just draw a giant 4 x 4 square and starting from the hole punch, work backwards and fill in where the holes should be (don't forget that sometimes when you unfold, you lose a hole you drew into place earlier.

The cube counting is easiest if you count all the cubes before doing the question. mark down how many 4 sided, 3 sided, 5 sided, etc. cubes in the shape and then answer the 2-3 questions, and do the same for the next figure.

event counting has been talked about hundreds of times in other posts, just search for "top front end" or "event counting" in the archive

 

[busdent]

I took my first practice DAT on ADA's website and scored 17.6 on AA and 15 on PAT...I wondering what is the difficulty level of that test....I am taking the exam right after labor day weekend ...i know it's late but I really don't have a choice because I just got done with organic chem. Please let me know your opinions. thanks

 

[Envision]

yea I need some studyin advice. Iwas being really lazy. I pretty much just read the bio stuff and the gen chem stuff.
Actually I didnt practice the pat at all yet. But I didnt really understand the event counting. And yea I am getting more then half wrong on the PAT. It pretty much took me a month just to read through the bio stuff. I think I was being too lazy and I might have to skin again and take some notes on it (Im not a science major).

Can you guys that are good at studying post how you think I should study in the given month? (or at least how you studied?) please. Thanks everyone. Im gonna go over the whole thing later today and see what I got wrong and right, and then plan to take another kaplan practice test. What do you guys think I should study like to be efficient? Thank you again

To study efficiently within a month, i would say about 6 chapters a day. for my studying schedule, i finished reading the entire kaplan book within 2 weeks, giving myself about 2-3 days to study each subject. this required me to read pretty much the entire time (while taking notes). Since then, ive been taking a full length exam every other day, while reviewing and practicing on my days off. however, i am a bio major so this is truly review for me and since your not, your going to have to work harder (one chp a day with breaks seems like a mightly bleak amount of time) of course, reading is only half the battle. in order for you to retain or understand what you've read, you need to do practices. for example, try doing a subject test every day prior to full length exams. from there, see what you did wrong, and go back and review those topics via text books and kaplan. as for PAT, don't take them lightly. sit there and understand the techniques kaplan devised for you. the idea is that your training yourself to use these techniques as a second nature so when you get to the test, you won't freak out. gl.

 

[dontbam]

yeah also, study kaplan's notecards every single night, before you sleep just spend 30 minutes going over the cards! work hard buddy you can do it!

 

[JohnDoeDDS]

thanks guys you are the best. Im still going over the test from yesterday and I realized I made the stupidenst mistakes on bio. I am taking ontes on every question too. You guys are awesome, I hope I end up going to dental school with some of you.

 

[KiTmAn]

"If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad."
David...something...i forget the last name...

 

[Uracil]

Hey Jon,

For the PAT you can definetely do better! This is the section on the DAT that you MUST constantly practice, even if the problems are really easy, so your mind can get used to it... By practice, I mean, ACTIVELY PRACTICING (not saying 'yeah whatever' and moving on) the problems.

and you CAN do it

 

[lovechild404]

JonDoe,
i think you're problem is your lack of drive and the fact that you've been lazy! you need to find some drive, then put in as much effort as you can. and then if your scores are still sub-par, come on SDN and ask for study advice. i'm really not trying to be rude, but it's the truth. someone (my mom)told me the same thing about a month ago when i was complaining about not wanting to study and how i was doing really poorly on my practice tests. it woke me up.
i took the dat last summer (i'm retaking on aug 17th) and i got a 19/19/18. i was scoring 17-19 on the sciences and 20+ on pat on the kaplan practice tests.
best to you.