PAT - Barrons/Kaplan/Topscore..which one prepares you well for the real DAT?

[LMav]

Folks -
I read in many places that Kaplan's PAT is kind of weak. Which one you guys think comes close to the real test (Barrons/Top Score/Kaplan)? Can you share your experiences/thougts please..

LMav

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[vertical bite]

Folks -
I read in many places that Kaplan's PAT is kind of weak. Which one you guys think comes close to the real test (Barrons/Top Score/Kaplan)? Can you share your experiences/thougts please..

LMav

Since I have changed my ways and am goin to be good on this site I will help.

TOPSCORE. Unfortunately, it doesnt tell you why you are wrong or right.
BARRONS was a waste for me b/c it has errors.

Kaplan was like something a little harder than what I did in kindergarden.

Who knows really?

good luck !

 

[DesiDentist]

The thing about the PAT is that the more materials you get your hands on the better. If you have no clue what the PAT is about take Kaplan, since they have video tapes on reserve which simplify the PAT. However, if you don't want to shell over a grand then i would get an old exam which can be obtainable via ada from their registration packet and figure it out.

Angle ranking is self explanatory. On the real exam I looked at pixels to see the order

Top Front End: I used legos and built a shape and drew the top, front, and end pictures.

Cube counting: I used sugar cubes and practiced w/ those counting cubes.

Paper folding: learn some oragami then unfold the paper and visualize the folds.

Key holes: This one is tricky at first, but you must make sure the main object is the same size as the aperature.

Hole punching: I used square oragami sheets and a single hole punch and as i was doing the problems i would do them as well physically.

I mean, you can do a lot of questions, but the fundamentals are important. This part is not too tough, but its the time management part which takes a while to knock down.

--DesiDentist

 

[DesiDentist]

Also, some peers of mine went as far as taking CAD classes in the engineering college to sharpen their PAT skills. Many community classes offer them and it may help you in the long run since more and more digital technology is being developed for dentistry.

DD

 

[demonicr]

what i think helps a lot with the angle ranking is to sit far from the monitor, i used this method on the PAT section and i think it helps a lot. but the most important is to practice, practice, practice. gather as many practice test as possible, topscore, barrons, kaplan, acethedat, anything you can get your hands on. do a practice test everyday, when you get somethign wrong, find out why did you to come up with the wrong answer and correct your method. keep adjusting yourself until you get your method of finding the right answer down. leave a few parctice test at the end to really test yourself. remember, all the practice tests except for acethedat is much easier than the real dat. so make sure you are getting above 20's on the practice test inorder to do well on the PAT section of the real test. personally, i think acethedat PAT is too hard, and i get frustrated trying to solve it. but the score i get on the acethedat PAT is the closes to what i get on the real PAT section. good luck

 

[DMD_hopeful]

Also, some peers of mine went as far as taking CAD classes in the engineering college to sharpen their PAT skills. Many community classes offer them and it may help you in the long run since more and more digital technology is being developed for dentistry.

DD

WOW.. That's some intense PAT prep!

I didn't put much study time into the PAT because I figured it was the least important part of the exam, for most schools at least (maybe except UOP).

To the OP:

I only used Kaplan and Topscore for my PAT prep and came down the ever so popular 3 pts on the real thing. So if you are scoring in the high 20's on Kaplan, you have nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if you are getting 18-19 on Kaplan you may want to consider some additional practice and sources (perhaps AceTheDAT).

 

[Profchaos]

Folks -
I read in many places that Kaplan's PAT is kind of weak. Which one you guys think comes close to the real test (Barrons/Top Score/Kaplan)? Can you share your experiences/thougts please..

LMav

Kaplan did a good job on having some good practices, but you have to understand them first otherwise it doesn't do any good to you. I would also suggest Topscore, because on the real thing the pictures don't look like Kaplan's but Topscore's.