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It's that time again you DAT Takers. So I know there are a lot of these threads dedicated to what are good study materials, and a lot of helpful members included their material used and a review of the source in their DAT Breakdown. However, I wrote this for a friend of mine, and figured if it's already written, why not post it on SDN. Just incase some newer members can't find the old threads, or wanted an up to date material list (although it has stayed pretty much the same). This list pretty much covers the fundamental material, and if not an overkill IMO. You don't need ALL of this, but if you want, knock yourself out. Here we go, going to Copy/Paste.
Kaplan Blue Book - This book is not enough! If you just study this, you will probably only get a 17-18 (DAT average score). However, it does cover every section and gives you a very broad knowledge of what you need to know. It's pretty useless. However, I still recommend it because it gives you a really basic overview of everything before you dive hardcore into it via the other materials. Just read over it quickly, jot down a few notes.
http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-DAT-De...TF8&qid=1368991164&sr=8-1&keywords=Kaplan+DAT
DAT Destroyer - This book is amazing! After watching Chad's video (more on this later) all I did was this book and scored over 20s on both GenChem and Orgo (not amazing, of course, but not bad at all considering I got straight Cs in both Chemistry's in college). It will, however, most certainly break your soul and morale. I would recommend doing this LAST after you've done all of Chad and KBB (Kaplan Blue Book) so then you can get maybe 45% right instead of 20% on your first try.
Note: This book is just a practice problem book and covers Organic, General Chemistry, Biology, and Quantitative Reasoning. However, it is only really useful in Organic and General Chemistry. If you have time, the Biology is not bad because you can never get enough practice for Biology (questions come from left field... depends on your luck) but if you don't have time skipping it wouldn't be detrimental. The Quantitative Reasoning (QR) I don't really remember because I had MATH Destroyer (next) so I didn't really do any of it. From what I remember, it was ok, like Biology, do it if you can, if you don't, fine.
http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html
Note: DAT Destroyer of one of those things you have to do once, review, do again, review, do it again, review, and then repeat that some more. If you don't, you won't get the maximum benefit of this book. (See last paragraph)
MATH Destroyer - This book covers JUST Math (QR). The problems are pretty hard, but using this alone for practice (and Chad for review) and you will do fine as long as you have a decent math background. Got a 22/23 (don't remember exactly) using just Chad's and MATH Destroyer, and I stopped taking math after Calculus 1 (and got a C in it as well...)
http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html
Note* You can get DAT Destroyer + MATH Destroyer as a Combo Package. You save $50 (DAT Destroyer = $150, MATH Destroyer = $100, as a combo it is $200).
CliffNotes AP Biology - Since Biology is so left-field and covers so much material, you definitely need a dedicated book. I highly recommend this book and like it a lot. It's technically for AP, but covers every TOPIC you'll need to know for the DAT. Notice I said TOPIC and not MATERIAL, because again, some questions in the Biology sections are just plain hard and random. It's cheap, and it's not a bad read. It goes by quick. This is the book I used for when I tutored. I used this as a review guide when I needed to brush up on something prior to class. Not much else to do about this. Read it, memorize it all.
I used 3rd edition, but it looks like they just came out with a 4th. Should be pretty similar knowing book publishers...
3rd Edition: http://www.amazon.com/CliffsAP-Biol...=1368991904&sr=8-2&keywords=AP+CLiffs+Biology
4th Edition: http://www.amazon.com/CliffsNotes-B...=1368991904&sr=8-1&keywords=AP+CLiffs+Biology
Barron's AP Biology - This book I did not use personally, but have heard great things. Again, just your typical AP Biology book. More reading on Biology, the better. I think the general consensus is you can do Barron's or Cliff, not necessarily both since the topics overlap so much. From my understanding, Barron's is more in depth, but is also a very dry and boring read compared to the Cliffs. Because I had a strong Biology background, I just went with CliffNotes for the study material.
Again, new edition: http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Biolo...368992097&sr=1-1&keywords=Barron's+AP+Biology
And that should be pretty much it for the books. Now, electronic material.
Chad's Video - This is God's present to mankind. He is amazing at teaching GenChem and Orgo, and again, even though I got straight C's in college, Chad + Destroyer got me over 20s. Chad is generally only really useful for GenChem and Orgo. His DAT Package, however, does cover QR and Biology. I didn't use the Biology because at the time, the Biology section was for MCAT students (if I remember correctly). That, and it didn't get great reviews. The QR (Math) section is pretty good. You have to have a basic understanding of Math for this to be helpful. He doesn't really teach you much, but does give you very useful tips on how to do the problems faster. Skimmed through this as 2x speed and slowed down at the important tips I didn't know. Highly recommend Chad's, and a MUST for GenChem and Orgo.
Note: His videos also come with Outlines, which are fantastic. Download them! Then you don't have to go to each video and look for them. End of each video there is also a QUIZ. DO THEM! Also! He has a forum where if you don't understand something, you can ask the forum and if other student's don't know, Chad will answer them for you personally. He's pretty good with keeping this up to date. I was skeptical at first, because, you know.... online videos, but it is AMAZING. This is a must.
http://www.***********.com/videos/DAT/welcome-8/
Course Saver - Link gets blocked.
CrackDATPAT - These isn't much to say for this one. PAT is all just practice, and this program is most representative of the actual test. There are 3 editions. I got the Ace Edition ($130) because it came with 10 Tests. The normal edition is only 5. I think the Royal Flush ($200) is a waste of money since all it really includes for $70 is 3 hours of PAT Tips (find these on YouTube or SDN, probably better tips anyway) and you still only get just 10 Tests. However, I've never gotten this so I can't comment for sure. Get it if you want, many who have gotten it scored very well on the PAT, many who haven't did as well.
Note: CrackDAT also offers prep-material for other subjects. I didn't get them. Again, others have, but reviews haven't been astounding. I would skip and save the money.
http://crackdat.com/get.php
TopScore - This program is just a combination of 3 full tests with every subject. General consensus is, it's pretty representative. While the questions in difficulty or material is sometimes off, the overall score is almost spot on, +/- 1 point or 2 points MAX. I would recommend maybe doing 1 before you start studying, one when you have studied for all the material, and one once you are done with everything. Whenever you plan to do the tests, I would just advice against doing them randomly and all at the same time. It's a waste because this is the only program that I know of that really gauges your true score. And we all know what happens when we do the same test more than once! We all score 29s and call it a day, walk into the test center and get a 19 instead. Don't get me wrong, if you have time do re-do the test definitely do it. Helps you get more used to the timing/pacing and just to re-review the ones you got wrong.
Note: TopScore has a "Pace-timer" where it tells you what # problem you should be on
http://www.scholarware.com/products-dat.htm
DAT ACHIEVER - I haven't heard much talk about this recently, but when I was taking the test, it was the new big thing. Pretty much like TopScore where it's just test, except like Destroyer, these are super difficult and will kill your morale. You should celebrate if you get a 14 on your first test. I got this the first time around, and it didn't really help me much. Over the top and just super hard. That's because I only used KBB though. I would recommend this product only if you are done with everything else, and have time left over and just want to learn the harder stuff just incase these type of problem comes up. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great program. Just know what you are getting into. If you are short on funds, just stay with TopScore.
http://www.3tquest.com/index.php?module=products
DATQVault - This is an online program with various problems for all the sections. I only used it for GenChem, Org, and Bio as I thought CrackDATPAT was enough for the PAT, and for QR, Math Destroyer was more than enough. Do note, this program has a decent amount of errors here and there (like Kaplan) but it's still very helpful. It's one of those, "I have nothing to do, so I will do some practice problem leisurely" programs. Personal experience is that my scores varied by a few points among tests. In terms of if it's representative of the test, maybe. Some tests are, some tests aren't (maybe easier or harder). However, the average score of all your tests should be similar.
http://www.datqvault.com
Alan's Notes - Not sure who Alan is... but his notes are good to look over. I didn't know about these notes until I was done study and knew most of the things by the time, but it was a good last minute thing. And, it's free.
http://www.***********.com/showthread.php?3870-Alan-s-Biology-Notes
Course Saver - Link gets blocked
That's pretty much all the things you'll need, if not more than you'll need. Again, this is an exhaustive list of the most basic and most bang for your buck materials. Wikipedia, Youtube, and Khan's Academy are also very helpful. I like FreeLanceTeacher (I think that's him) on YouTube.
Please note: Don't get fooled by my less than (SDN standard) stellar GenChem and Organic score. DAT Destroyer and Chad can and will help you get that 25+ you are aiming for. I ran out of time and didn't get to review and re-do DAT Destroyer as many times as I would have liked and until everything was solid in my head, and my scores were reflective of it. If you do do it until you know everything, then your DAT score will show that.
Kaplan Blue Book - This book is not enough! If you just study this, you will probably only get a 17-18 (DAT average score). However, it does cover every section and gives you a very broad knowledge of what you need to know. It's pretty useless. However, I still recommend it because it gives you a really basic overview of everything before you dive hardcore into it via the other materials. Just read over it quickly, jot down a few notes.
http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-DAT-De...TF8&qid=1368991164&sr=8-1&keywords=Kaplan+DAT
DAT Destroyer - This book is amazing! After watching Chad's video (more on this later) all I did was this book and scored over 20s on both GenChem and Orgo (not amazing, of course, but not bad at all considering I got straight Cs in both Chemistry's in college). It will, however, most certainly break your soul and morale. I would recommend doing this LAST after you've done all of Chad and KBB (Kaplan Blue Book) so then you can get maybe 45% right instead of 20% on your first try.
Note: This book is just a practice problem book and covers Organic, General Chemistry, Biology, and Quantitative Reasoning. However, it is only really useful in Organic and General Chemistry. If you have time, the Biology is not bad because you can never get enough practice for Biology (questions come from left field... depends on your luck) but if you don't have time skipping it wouldn't be detrimental. The Quantitative Reasoning (QR) I don't really remember because I had MATH Destroyer (next) so I didn't really do any of it. From what I remember, it was ok, like Biology, do it if you can, if you don't, fine.
http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html
Note: DAT Destroyer of one of those things you have to do once, review, do again, review, do it again, review, and then repeat that some more. If you don't, you won't get the maximum benefit of this book. (See last paragraph)
MATH Destroyer - This book covers JUST Math (QR). The problems are pretty hard, but using this alone for practice (and Chad for review) and you will do fine as long as you have a decent math background. Got a 22/23 (don't remember exactly) using just Chad's and MATH Destroyer, and I stopped taking math after Calculus 1 (and got a C in it as well...)
http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html
Note* You can get DAT Destroyer + MATH Destroyer as a Combo Package. You save $50 (DAT Destroyer = $150, MATH Destroyer = $100, as a combo it is $200).
CliffNotes AP Biology - Since Biology is so left-field and covers so much material, you definitely need a dedicated book. I highly recommend this book and like it a lot. It's technically for AP, but covers every TOPIC you'll need to know for the DAT. Notice I said TOPIC and not MATERIAL, because again, some questions in the Biology sections are just plain hard and random. It's cheap, and it's not a bad read. It goes by quick. This is the book I used for when I tutored. I used this as a review guide when I needed to brush up on something prior to class. Not much else to do about this. Read it, memorize it all.
I used 3rd edition, but it looks like they just came out with a 4th. Should be pretty similar knowing book publishers...
3rd Edition: http://www.amazon.com/CliffsAP-Biol...=1368991904&sr=8-2&keywords=AP+CLiffs+Biology
4th Edition: http://www.amazon.com/CliffsNotes-B...=1368991904&sr=8-1&keywords=AP+CLiffs+Biology
Barron's AP Biology - This book I did not use personally, but have heard great things. Again, just your typical AP Biology book. More reading on Biology, the better. I think the general consensus is you can do Barron's or Cliff, not necessarily both since the topics overlap so much. From my understanding, Barron's is more in depth, but is also a very dry and boring read compared to the Cliffs. Because I had a strong Biology background, I just went with CliffNotes for the study material.
Again, new edition: http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Biolo...368992097&sr=1-1&keywords=Barron's+AP+Biology
And that should be pretty much it for the books. Now, electronic material.
Chad's Video - This is God's present to mankind. He is amazing at teaching GenChem and Orgo, and again, even though I got straight C's in college, Chad + Destroyer got me over 20s. Chad is generally only really useful for GenChem and Orgo. His DAT Package, however, does cover QR and Biology. I didn't use the Biology because at the time, the Biology section was for MCAT students (if I remember correctly). That, and it didn't get great reviews. The QR (Math) section is pretty good. You have to have a basic understanding of Math for this to be helpful. He doesn't really teach you much, but does give you very useful tips on how to do the problems faster. Skimmed through this as 2x speed and slowed down at the important tips I didn't know. Highly recommend Chad's, and a MUST for GenChem and Orgo.
Note: His videos also come with Outlines, which are fantastic. Download them! Then you don't have to go to each video and look for them. End of each video there is also a QUIZ. DO THEM! Also! He has a forum where if you don't understand something, you can ask the forum and if other student's don't know, Chad will answer them for you personally. He's pretty good with keeping this up to date. I was skeptical at first, because, you know.... online videos, but it is AMAZING. This is a must.
http://www.***********.com/videos/DAT/welcome-8/
Course Saver - Link gets blocked.
CrackDATPAT - These isn't much to say for this one. PAT is all just practice, and this program is most representative of the actual test. There are 3 editions. I got the Ace Edition ($130) because it came with 10 Tests. The normal edition is only 5. I think the Royal Flush ($200) is a waste of money since all it really includes for $70 is 3 hours of PAT Tips (find these on YouTube or SDN, probably better tips anyway) and you still only get just 10 Tests. However, I've never gotten this so I can't comment for sure. Get it if you want, many who have gotten it scored very well on the PAT, many who haven't did as well.
Note: CrackDAT also offers prep-material for other subjects. I didn't get them. Again, others have, but reviews haven't been astounding. I would skip and save the money.
http://crackdat.com/get.php
TopScore - This program is just a combination of 3 full tests with every subject. General consensus is, it's pretty representative. While the questions in difficulty or material is sometimes off, the overall score is almost spot on, +/- 1 point or 2 points MAX. I would recommend maybe doing 1 before you start studying, one when you have studied for all the material, and one once you are done with everything. Whenever you plan to do the tests, I would just advice against doing them randomly and all at the same time. It's a waste because this is the only program that I know of that really gauges your true score. And we all know what happens when we do the same test more than once! We all score 29s and call it a day, walk into the test center and get a 19 instead. Don't get me wrong, if you have time do re-do the test definitely do it. Helps you get more used to the timing/pacing and just to re-review the ones you got wrong.
Note: TopScore has a "Pace-timer" where it tells you what # problem you should be on
http://www.scholarware.com/products-dat.htm
DAT ACHIEVER - I haven't heard much talk about this recently, but when I was taking the test, it was the new big thing. Pretty much like TopScore where it's just test, except like Destroyer, these are super difficult and will kill your morale. You should celebrate if you get a 14 on your first test. I got this the first time around, and it didn't really help me much. Over the top and just super hard. That's because I only used KBB though. I would recommend this product only if you are done with everything else, and have time left over and just want to learn the harder stuff just incase these type of problem comes up. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great program. Just know what you are getting into. If you are short on funds, just stay with TopScore.
http://www.3tquest.com/index.php?module=products
DATQVault - This is an online program with various problems for all the sections. I only used it for GenChem, Org, and Bio as I thought CrackDATPAT was enough for the PAT, and for QR, Math Destroyer was more than enough. Do note, this program has a decent amount of errors here and there (like Kaplan) but it's still very helpful. It's one of those, "I have nothing to do, so I will do some practice problem leisurely" programs. Personal experience is that my scores varied by a few points among tests. In terms of if it's representative of the test, maybe. Some tests are, some tests aren't (maybe easier or harder). However, the average score of all your tests should be similar.
http://www.datqvault.com
Alan's Notes - Not sure who Alan is... but his notes are good to look over. I didn't know about these notes until I was done study and knew most of the things by the time, but it was a good last minute thing. And, it's free.
http://www.***********.com/showthread.php?3870-Alan-s-Biology-Notes
Course Saver - Link gets blocked
That's pretty much all the things you'll need, if not more than you'll need. Again, this is an exhaustive list of the most basic and most bang for your buck materials. Wikipedia, Youtube, and Khan's Academy are also very helpful. I like FreeLanceTeacher (I think that's him) on YouTube.
Please note: Don't get fooled by my less than (SDN standard) stellar GenChem and Organic score. DAT Destroyer and Chad can and will help you get that 25+ you are aiming for. I ran out of time and didn't get to review and re-do DAT Destroyer as many times as I would have liked and until everything was solid in my head, and my scores were reflective of it. If you do do it until you know everything, then your DAT score will show that.
