One month to Prepare for DAT... Study Tools.. Advice?

[abr]

Well, starting in two weeks, I will have approximately 1 month to study for my DAT.. Then, I am taking it at the beginning of February....

I went through several threads and compiled a list of what seemed to be useful study materials.

I am going to purchase my books within the next few days...

Any other suggestions?
What order should I study these materials / test myself?
Which did you find most useful? Am I forgetting anything? Or should I add something?

Destroyer

Cliffs AP Bio (for review)

Crack DAT PAT

Kaplan BB

Topscore (mixed reviews on Topscore vs. Achiever... Both or just Topscore?)

Also read Princeton HyperLearning MCAT was a good study tool. Also heard that the ACS Organic Study Guide might be useful as well..

I would love suggestions from those who have taken the DAT.

Thanks in advance!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Zubnaya Feya]

Well, starting in two weeks, I will have approximately 1 month to study for my DAT.. Then, I am taking it at the beginning of February....

I went through several threads and compiled a list of what seemed to be useful study materials.

I am going to purchase my books within the next few days...

Any other suggestions?
What order should I study these materials / test myself?
Which did you find most useful? Am I forgetting anything? Or should I add something?

Destroyer

Cliffs AP Bio (for review)

Crack DAT PAT

Kaplan BB

Topscore (mixed reviews on Topscore vs. Achiever... Both or just Topscore?)

Also read Princeton HyperLearning MCAT was a good study tool. Also heard that the ACS Organic Study Guide might be useful as well..

I would love suggestions from those who have taken the DAT.

Thanks in advance!

Besides those listed above : your chem, ochem and bio textbooks.

 

[lhtran07]

I'd start with AP Bio, Kaplan BB, and Princeton Review Hyperlearning just to refresh and get an understanding of the basics.

Then Crack Dat Pat and Destroyer

And finally similate actual test sessions with Achiever/Topscore

If you're already familiar with the info...dont spend the bulk of your time reading/reviewing. Maybe a wk reading over info but then move onto practicing questions.

Doesn't seem like you're giving yourself much time to make a high score on the DAT by studying in one month. I basically did that and only ended up with an 18AA. But that's because I had to re-learn most of the material since I hadn't touched them in 5 yrs. So I did spend most of my time reviewing...ideally I'd like to have spent more time practicing questions. I didn't even have time for Destroyer and only took 1 CDP test and 1 Topscore test.

 

[abr]

Thank you both for the responses! I would love to hear more opinions!

zubnaya -- Thanks for the input! My school allows us to rent textbooks, so I don't have any of my texts in my possesion, but I do have thorough notes, and I'm going to try to talk to someone in textbook services to see if I can rent the text books for my winter break.

lhtran - Thanks for the advice. Yes, I agree, a month is not long, but I am planning on studying 8-10 hours a day. I do think I will need to refresh some material, as well, but I do not know when else I would have the time to study. This upcoming semester, I am taking several classes, including Biochem and Physics II. I won't have too much extra time to study, and then if I wait until summer, I will be behind. If it doesn't go well, I can always take it again in the summer, if need be, but I would rather not be taking my first test in the summer. I would hope one month of hard-core cramming would work. If I drag out my studying, chances are I will forget some of the material and I just don't think I will get much studying done during the semester. Also, I do better studying under pressure/time constraints..

 

[lhtran07]

You should be good to go then. I did the bare minimum...3-4 hrs a day for about a month and a half because I was working full-time and shadowing as well. I only looked at Kaplan BB and Princeton Review Hyperlearning books, and like I said above only practiced about 2 tests and was still able to pull 18/18/18 so with more hours and resources you should be able to get much better.

 

[abr]

You should be good to go then. I did the bare minimum...3-4 hrs a day for about a month and a half because I was working full-time and shadowing as well. I only looked at Kaplan BB and Princeton Review Hyperlearning books, and like I said above only practiced about 2 tests and was still able to pull 18/18/18 so with more hours and resources you should be able to get much better.

One can only hope.. I am scared already!

 

[allstardentist]

check out my blog on my signature

 

[ramforte]

for my DAT I used :

Kaplan book ( read it three times cover to cover)

Kaplan online material (very helpful for me)

DAT destroyer

DAT Achiever

Top score

My own Bio/Chem books

DAT: AA 20, TS: 21, PAT:22, RC:21, GC:22, OC:21, Bio:20

 

[beastmode]

One month is plenty of time for certain people who work better under pressure (myself).

I studied for 3 weeks straight, for at least 10 hours a day. I honestly didn't leave my house for 3 weeks but it payed off. You can do it in a month. Just don't get overwhelmed at first, you will be surprised at how exponential your learning curve is.

Oh and I hadnt taken orgo or chem in 3 years (and I actually got C's in them in undergrad).

I used Kaplan's classroom course. But, I was taking it over the summer and I was working 55 hours a week and shadowing so I really didnt have time to study during the course. The actual classroom portion of the course was a waste for me. But, when it came time to study the material that I had from it was very helpful (online + book).

My advice:

I dont have advice on what material to use, I really liked Kaplan but it is the only material that I used so my opinion is biased. But here is some general advice...

study what you need to study. Take some reading comprehension practice tests to work on you timing, and then forget about it so you can focus on subjects that can be more efficiently studied. Use PAT practice as a study break (thats what I did although Kaplan was very bad for PAT). If you are reading for an hour about orgo you begin to look forward to those PAT study breaks and it becomes almost fun and ultimately very effecient.

Do not neglect QR, this section can really kill your AA and it can be studied for. This section is all about speed and recognition. There are question types that consistantly show up in this section and you should recognize them and know the quick way to solve for them.

Also, do not get too much study material for a 1 month study session, you will not be able to get through it all and you will begin to get stressed.



good luck.

 

[TheGreenWave]

If you read my breakdown (which appears in my signature) you can read what I used as well as my actual study plan. Scroll down to the middle of the thread and you'll see it. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[buzpuck11]

I started studying on Wednesday and my test is scheduled for January 21st which will give me 6 weeks to study. The first 4 weeks will be over break and I will have nothing to do but study 8 to 10 hours/day, the last 2 weeks I will be simultaneously studying while taking classes. My plan is(in order):

Kaplan BB
Review class notes
Destroyer
Crack DAT PAT/Math
Topscore and other practice exams

I feel like after the 6 weeks I will be prepared to nail the DAT!

 

[bustedgrill]

Thank you both for the responses! I would love to hear more opinions!



I agree, a month is not long, but I am planning on studying 8-10 hours a day. I do think I will need to refresh some material, as well, but I do not know when else I would have the time to study. This upcoming semester, I am taking several classes, including Biochem and Physics II. I won't have too much extra time to study, and then if I wait until summer, I will be behind. If it doesn't go well, I can always take it again in the summer, if need be, but I would rather not be taking my first test in the summer. I would hope one month of hard-core cramming would work. If I drag out my studying, chances are I will forget some of the material and I just don't think I will get much studying done during the semester. Also, I do better studying under pressure/time constraints..

We're in the same boat. Taking biochem and a bunch of sciences next semester so I won't have time to study. I was planing to take the dat in Jan but I have to go out of town over the break for 2 weeks.. So now I am just going to take 2 classes in the summer and study for the dat then. I was wanted to apply this summer but I want to have the dat finished by the time I submit. I'll see what I can do I guess. Anyhow, I have already got all my study materials, destroyer, Kaplan BB, topscore, and cliffs bio. I've looked over them somewhat and I think I should have my hands full. Good luck to you.