New dat whiteboard policy

[Adamsswag]

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I just registered for my DAT for January and I received the following in my email:

"Important Note: Previously two erasable note boards, two low-odor fine tip dry erase markers, and an eraser were provided to you by test center staff for your examination. However, sites are in the process of receiving new markers. These new markers are of better quality but they cannot be erased with an eraser. Therefore, sites will not be supplying you with an eraser. If you fill the two note boards and require additional note boards, please raise your hand and inform the test center administrator. The test center administrator will exchange one of your used note boards with a new note board. This change has not occurred at all sites yet but will be implemented within the next few months."

Has anyone experienced this new policy? I use the whiteboard frequently and I feel that requesting additional note boards would be a pain and not time-efficient.

 

[Dusk]

yep, i had two laminated papers with non erasable fine tipped markers with no eraser.

I am so glad I got this. There is a lot of room on the paper, front and back, especially with a fine tipped marker. And you can look back at your work b/c you can't erase.

I only had to exchange one of the papers during my 15 min break. Trust me, this new policy won't trip you up.

 

[DrRoyal Pains]

Are you kidding me? That's BS. Im wearing an old sweatshirt and I'll spit clean that ish! (unsanitary, I know ha)

 

[Babyblue57]

Are you kidding me? That's BS. Im wearing an old sweatshirt and I'll spit clean that ish! (unsanitary, I know ha)

I didn't know about the new policy, so it surprised me when i showed up to take the DAT. put it worked out well. I think it saves you time because you don't have to deal with erasing.

 

[herkulease]

I think this would be an inconvenience. The staff would have to be spot on and ready to go the minute you raise of your board. Maybe its prometrics way of getting the proctors to work rather than sit their and do nothing most of the time.

I guess its the balance they are trying to find. the markers were junk, tried ott way to fast and erasing was crap before. 1st time taking it I spit on my board to get to erase. wore white shirt and all.

2nd time they gave me an eraser that was shaped like a computer mouse, at times I would grab it instead of the actual mouse and go WTF my mouse stopped working

 

[jefff]

i also liked these new pens. they write well, you have plenty of room

you can use it to block off 4x4 squares on the grid side of the laminated sheet, since the pens fine and the grid is symmetric it can really help for pat hole punching

 

[grb2sos]

Yes, I took my DAT in August and was not informed of the new policy before hand. Either way, The markers do write well, but make sure you write small enough so you don't run out of room while taking the QR section. I did not even know I was allowed to exchange them, so I fit it all on the two sheets, but I cut it close. Good luck to you.

 

[journeybegins]

My advice is to try to figure out what your Prometric center has. Every center is different. Some are still using the old materials, some are updated to the new policy.

That policy is written for every DAT test date you register.


I actually always practiced with grid LAMINATED sheets from the start. Kaplan has them if you want to try to buy them. Perhaps online? or someone's old materials?

Then one time, I rescheduled to a Prometric center that had WHITEBOARDS, and I freaked out! I started practiced on a bigger whiteboard that I had at home. I absolutely hated erasing after every single problem and writing mega big because it didn't have grids. I heard the whiteboards that they give you have grids though? I haven't seen them so I don't know. I ended up switching to a Prometric center that had laminated sheets instead.

2 laminated sheets was all I needed for my DAT. I used up 2 for the Natural Sciences and PAT. Then, I switched for new ones during break so it was totally fine. I was also conservative in saving space when I wrote down chemical equations for the tutorial and math equations.

It all really depends. I'd take the laminated sheets over the whiteboards any day. It's whatever you're comfortable with, I guess.

 

[larrys]

don't worry about the new policy. the 2 boards (front and back) is more than enough for each section. the markers are pretty fine tipped. it was no inconvenience for me.

 

[Adamsswag]

yep, i had two laminated papers with non erasable fine tipped markers with no eraser.

I am so glad I got this. There is a lot of room on the paper, front and back, especially with a fine tipped marker. And you can look back at your work b/c you can't erase.

I only had to exchange one of the papers during my 15 min break. Trust me, this new policy won't trip you up.

So does this mean you can only exchange boards during the 15 minute break? You cannot exchange in between sections or during sections? and roughly, how large are these new laminate boards?

 

[jefff]

you can exchange boards whenever you want by raising you hand but you'll see you wont be using them as much as you did during your practice

they are 8.5 x 11 - same as a regular sheet of paper, 1 side is graph paper and other side is blank.

 

[vwantihero]

it really isn't an inconvenience considering the circumstances, I mean you waste a bunch of time erasing junk, it worked out fine, I actually thought it was better cause
A:its the fine tip sharpies
a. they take up less room
b. won't smudge at all
c. actually works on the laminated paper
d.permanent so it doesn't get erased by accident
B.exchanging the boards is not a hassle, I exchanged one midway through and still finished before time was up

Don't freak out its not bad at all.

 

[Toothshucker]

Not a problem at all.

 

[kster]

I couldn't stand dry-erase markers and the whiteboard (always having to recap it to keep it from drying out), so was glad to hear they were using fine-tipped permanent pens instead. I practiced using regular paper and pencil, and the transition was no issue at all. This "new" policy has been in effect for a long time now, so it's hard to imagine some Prometric centers still using dry-erase markers.

 

[youknowthedrill]

This is probably a dumb question, but I'm curious. Are the boards just laminated paper? Or are they like the white boards you hang up- thicker with a raised border?
Thanks!

 

[thatflyingpan]

At my Prometric center, it was just laminated paper with grids, similar to ones that you receive for taking a Kaplan course. I also didn't find the permanent marker-pens that bad, just asked for new sheets during my break.

 

[Adamsswag]

I took my DATs a few days ago and the whiteboard policy is fine. The pen does smear however, when touched immediately after writing on the laminate paper. Besides this one minute flaw, the laminate boards are very easy to use and the fine-point pen enables test-takers to write a lot in the spaces provided.

 

[deleted397286]

The pens are very fine tipped, it's great, and if you just rub it a bit, it will erase. I used a TON of scratch paper with my practice tests, but I was ok with just the whiteboards they provided. They are front and back.