Need study advice

[hope_to_match]

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So I have been looking at some of the breakdowns where people did very well on the test. I have all the resources (destroyers, ap cliffs, chad's, KBB, CDP etc..) and will be getting more (DQV, topscore/achiever). What I was wondering though is how you guys actually studied the material prior to practicing. Specifically- how did you study PAT and QR?

1. For PAT did you first do the KBB (I feel like I dont want to waste CDP now until im done going over the tests in KBB). Where did you learn the strategies?

2. For QR..I haven't had math in a very very long time and I am struggling with this section. Did you guys just use chad's and KBB and then started practicing questions? I watched about half of chad's videos and did half of all chapters for this section from KBB and looked over DAT destroyer ( didnt do questions) and almost had a panic attack 😀. What is your advice on studying and mastering this section? Should I finish videos and KBB chapters and then practice questions without timing myself first?

I will really appreciate any advice and tips on these two sections as I am struggling to find a study strategy. Thanks a lot guys!

 

[J777]

1. Went through KBB for one day to get down the basics. Then looked through some of the forums on SDN to get strategy down. You will really get your strategy down through practice. Don't worry about going through your CDP.. In going through them, you are doing a majority if the work. I recommend going through the first several tests untimed. Then really practice on your timing. When stuck between 2 answers, try to immediately pick one and move on. Then do Achiever PAT. It will help you with proportions, doing TFE without line counting, and hole punching on the weird folds,

2. I recommend doing everything you outlined above. Additionally, do Chad's math quizzes. However, the one thing you are missing is MATH DESTROYER. This is a must. Get your basics down before attempting these tests. Try to run through them in 45 min. This will be very difficult at first. Answer what you can and then thoroughly review each q after time is up. My test was very similar to math destroyer. Try not to get discouraged at first. It will come back with more practice

 

[hope_to_match]

1. Went through KBB for one day to get down the basics. Then looked through some of the forums on SDN to get strategy down. You will really get your strategy down through practice. Don't worry about going through your CDP.. In going through them, you are doing a majority if the work. I recommend going through the first several tests untimed. Then really practice on your timing. When stuck between 2 answers, try to immediately pick one and move on. Then do Achiever PAT. It will help you with proportions, doing TFE without line counting, and hole punching on the weird folds,

2. I recommend doing everything you outlined above. Additionally, do Chad's math quizzes. However, the one thing you are missing is MATH DESTROYER. This is a must. Get your basics down before attempting these tests. Try to run through them in 45 min. This will be very difficult at first. Answer what you can and then thoroughly review each q after time is up. My test was very similar to math destroyer. Try not to get discouraged at first. It will come back with more practice

I have math destroyer I forgot to mention that.
How much time did you spend on KBB math and chad's math videos/quizzes before you moved on to destroyers (both dat destroyer math section and math destroyer)?

Do you recommend going over CDP a few times? I feel like I will remember the answers to the questions so doing all those ten tests multiple times wouldnt be beneficial? What do you think?

And thanks for your suggestions.

 

[J777]

I spent half a day with kbb, one day on chads, and a few days with regular destroyer math. I also took the dqv math tests throughout my studies. It wasn't until I started taking achiever tests and doing research before I realized that the math section was tougher these days. I started taking the math destroyer tests several weeks ago. Would usually do them at night when I was very tired. If you know math destroyer well, you will do great.

I forgot to mention that datbootcamp has a few math tests that were very representative of the real thing

 

[IsaacYankem]

1. Went through KBB for one day to get down the basics. Then looked through some of the forums on SDN to get strategy down. You will really get your strategy down through practice. Don't worry about going through your CDP.. In going through them, you are doing a majority if the work. I recommend going through the first several tests untimed. Then really practice on your timing. When stuck between 2 answers, try to immediately pick one and move on. Then do Achiever PAT. It will help you with proportions, doing TFE without line counting, and hole punching on the weird folds,

2. I recommend doing everything you outlined above. Additionally, do Chad's math quizzes. However, the one thing you are missing is MATH DESTROYER. This is a must. Get your basics down before attempting these tests. Try to run through them in 45 min. This will be very difficult at first. Answer what you can and then thoroughly review each q after time is up. My test was very similar to math destroyer. Try not to get discouraged at first. It will come back with more practice

Very solid advice. Make sure you check out this epic thread regarding the PAT: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643
It will be very useful as you chug along your PAT studies.

I swear by Math Destroyer. I also played around with Khan Academy videos and random quizzes there when I need a break from the sciences. Proved very helpful IMO.

 

[hope_to_match]

Very solid advice. Make sure you check out this epic thread regarding the PAT: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=528643
It will be very useful as you chug along your PAT studies.

I swear by Math Destroyer. I also played around with Khan Academy videos and random quizzes there when I need a break from the sciences. Proved very helpful IMO.

Thank you for the link. I actually looked over it the other day it is indeed helpful.

Also, I understand that math destroyer is most representative of what the QR section on test day will look like. My question is why does everyone say 'if you know the destroyer you will be be fine' ? Does that mean knowing how to solve those problems? Why go over it multiple times? I feel as though I will remember the answers to some questions and when I go over it second or third time around it will not be very representative of how much math I know.Can you please elaborate on that? Thank you.

 

[IsaacYankem]

Thank you for the link. I actually looked over it the other day it is indeed helpful.

Also, I understand that math destroyer is most representative of what the QR section on test day will look like. My question is why does everyone say 'if you know the destroyer you will be be fine' ? Does that mean knowing how to solve those problems? Why go over it multiple times? I feel as though I will remember the answers to some questions and when I go over it second or third time around it will not be very representative of how much math I know.Can you please elaborate on that? Thank you.

I found the actual QR to be extremely similar to Math Destroyer. The question types were nearly identical, but the QR version had distilled, easier to calculate numbers. Basically, if you know how to figure out and solve the problems in Math Destroyer, you should be good for the QR.

IDK about going over it multiple times. Maybe take notes on the types of question you are habitually getting wrong and then researching those to make sure you address and resolve the weakness. Frankly I only got Math Destroyer ~3 weeks before my exam and worked 1 exam a day. The week prior I would run through them again, if I immediately recognized an answer via memory I'd skip it and only work problems I didn't remember. Just my 2 cents. I'd also check the ultimate breakdown collection to get a wider array of input regarding Math as it was my weakest portion.

 

[AM4EVA]

Do you recommend going over CDP a few times? I feel like I will remember the answers to the questions so doing all those ten tests multiple times wouldnt be beneficial? What do you think?

CAN anyone address this question, please?
thank you

 

[hope_to_match]

Also, how reliable is a calculator on Test Day? Did you guys study without using a calculator or with?

 

[IsaacYankem]

@AM4EVA

10 Crack PAT test is a lot of stuff, I'd go back and re-do earlier test stuff as I refined my technique. It was fine for angles, hole punches, and pattern folding, but for keyhole it was too easy to remember the answer. But you should see a gradual improvement as you work through the crack set. Hope that answers your question

@Eugene, I used a calculator to practice for mine. My calculator was perfectly fine at my test center - no lag, and had a square root fxn , others have reported issues, it's luck of the draw. I think the exam center now has a practice DAT option, you could explore that so you have no surprises come test day, or you can see if you can find anyone who has taken the exam at your test center.

 

[Centry]

Also, how reliable is a calculator on Test Day? Did you guys study without using a calculator or with?

Don't be surprised if your calculator sucks. Mine required 2 clicks to punch something in and was also slow to listen to my commands. Also, I found myself using the calculator alot. Maybe that was just luck of the draw, but it was sort of required for like 25 questions.