Organic Odyssey or just "DAT Destroyer"?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

meeginvee

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2011
Messages
92
Reaction score
6
I am taking the DAT in 2014, and enrolled in the Kaplan course. Should I buy the Organic chem Odyssey by Jim Romano/Orgoman or just buy the "DAT Destroyer" book? Is it necessary to do his DAT bootcamp course which covers Bio also or just buy the book? I am wondering because otherwise I will be studying content and reactions from 3 sources (Chad, Kaplan, Odyssey) where there is a lot of overlap. Who do you think has the most thorough coverage of reactions and other concepts?

Members don't see this ad.
 
I found that the Destroyer was perfect for the sciences. I would recommend studying the road maps of reactions in the Destroyer and familiarizing yourself with those reactions before doing destroyer so it'll be the most effective. I used DAT Destroyer, Bootcamp, and Achiever for prep - achiever was overkill / a confidence killer. BC and Destroyer were both harder than the DAT but I found their material incredibly helpful. To sum it up - I would highly recommend Destroyer! Good luck! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So just the "DAT Destroyer" book and not the extra stuff offered on the orgoman website? What did you use for Bio and did you feel that what you used was comprehensive?
 
I would recommend just the DAT Destroyer book and not the extra stuff. For Bio, I just used Feralis Notes & Destroyer and supplemented with Cliff's Notes wherever I didn't understand Feralis. (Feralis is pretty much an outline of Cliff's AP Biology book).
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Is it necessary to get both Feralis and Cliffs? I have been going through all of the Kaplan class Bio once and it is taking me a long time the first time around so I don't want to end up overwhelming myself with stuff to study. Does Feralis cover all of Cliffs so it is only necessary to study Feralis?

Also, I heard that Cliffs comes with flashcards. Are these necessary or would Feralis cover everything?

Thanks :)
 
For Bio, Feralis and Cliffs are great. Both free. For Gen chem and Organic, Destroyer is a must. Also, Organic chemistry as a second language helps alot. Odyssey is a great book to learn Orgo. If you see that your background in Orgo is not where it should be, then consider investing in Odyssey.
 
DAT destroyer, for sure. The questions are a lot harder than the actual DAT but it will definitely prep you for the concepts you need to know. It has extensive explanations in the back of the book.
 
Is it necessary to get both Feralis and Cliffs? I have been going through all of the Kaplan class Bio once and it is taking me a long time the first time around so I don't want to end up overwhelming myself with stuff to study. Does Feralis cover all of Cliffs so it is only necessary to study Feralis?

Also, I heard that Cliffs comes with flashcards. Are these necessary or would Feralis cover everything?

Thanks :)

I believe Feralis covered everything you need to know from Cliffs - so you don't need to get both, but if you want extra info / if you're confused about something on Feralis, I would supplement with Cliffs for that section. In fact, sometimes Feralis was too in depth (but I would still recommend over-studying than under-studying). For my exam, I just studied Feralis - memorized / understood pretty much all of it. And I didn't find the flashcards necessary, I found that Feralis covered everything. I second what biomolecmed and cpapp2 say as well! Feel free to message me if you have more qs!
 
Definitely destroyer, I had Odyssey as well and I think it was well worth it
 
No problem, idk about chads I didnt use it, but destroyer will definitely prepare you enough for organic, gchem, and bio. If you can do the problems in there and keep drilling the problems in there, you will do well on the dat. Check out my breakdown.
 
I know you are taking Kaplan for the DAT, but you are also planning to use Destroyer, Cliffs, Feralis, and other resources. This may be too much considering Kaplan has its own diagnostics, workshops, exams, and quizzes. If I were you I would definitely use the other resources like Destroyer, Chads, Cliffs, Feralis, Bootcamp, etc, but I don't know how you would use that stuff with Kaplan.

I took the Kaplan class early last year and if I were to use the material I am using now to study for the DAT back then when I was studying with Kaplan alone, then it would be a huge mess for me because I would be studying from multiple things and it would be somewhat out of place for me. It would be nice to get as much practice as possible. Most of the forums say that the resources I listed above are best. Kaplan is good too, but I hope you can be able to manage everything you plan to do in the given time before your test date because some things take a while to do (i.e. Destroyer for Math, some of Kaplans workshops for Math, Destroyer, etc). I think you will be fine though. Good Luck!
 
cliffs is available for free online from some high school's website. google cliffs 3rd bths and it should show up (if you didnt buy it already)
 
I'm currently using the Destroyer and I have many friends who have taken the test and used it as well, they said to know it cold, reread it over and over again and you will destroy the DAT.
 
Use only the Chad's video and Datdestroyer for the entire study time. (3months)

The last week of my study I used the bootcamp.

24 on Gen Chem, 22 on O chem, 18 on bio (mainly because I didn't do any questions on the destroyer and chad's video, just simply go through the cliff once.)
 
Slightly off topic, but if you're doing Kaplan, I'd like to warn you not to get lulled in a false sense of security with the PAT section, as the keyholes, angles, and hole punching are 2x as hard as the stuff Kaplan gives you. For that I've heard Bootcamp is the best.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Both are great books. As you go through the Destroyer, if you see you need more help in Organic section, you might want to invest in Odyssey. First go through the Destroyer and see how you feel.
 
I used the odyssey and I really liked it. It had been a while since I had last looked at any orgo so I was lost when starting to study. But the odyssey is broken down by topic and i found it a really good review for the DAT.
 
If I were to do it over again at least for chems, I'd do chad, destroyer, review of marked destroyer problems, 2007, 2009, then DAT.

And omg PAT. I had become so adjusted to Kaplan and cdp problems, that even after I purchased and practiced a boot camp test, I refused to below the section could actually be that challenging... It was
/= haha I felt like a joke had been played on me
 
Top