PAT study material, no Crack DAT PAT?

[dental555]

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I'm planning on using the 8 week study guide commonly talked about here, condensing the first 4 weeks in to 2, and taking the DAT July 7th. I bought all the materials a couple of months ago, and when I had the time during school I would study them in a kind of unstructured way, so I've already done a little bit of studying. I have all the study materials listed in the guide except for the Crack DAT PAT software. If I could I would just buy the $100 5-test version, but I'm strapped for cash now as my summer job just announced they had their budget cut so they won't be able to start until July.

I'm a bit worried about studying without any real focused PAT problems, I know there is some studying in the KBB and such but I'm not sure thats enough. However, I have the DAT Achiever software that has 5 tests, and practice PATs are in there. Would I be fine just using the DAT Achiever PAT practice test in place of the Crack DAT PAT software? I know the Crack software has explanations and answers as well, are these really a significant improvement over the Achiever software? I've also heard the Achiever tests are significantly harder than the real DAT, does this apply to the PAT section as well? I've heard so much negativity regarding the Achiever's toughness that I'm almost worried to take a practice test because I might get discouraged by a bad score.

Anyways, what do you guys suggest? Just use the Achiever practice PAT tests? Find some way to pay for the Crack DAT PAT software? Something else maybe? Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[TheDentist16]

I also used the 8-week study schedule by dentalWorks, albeit I too modified it just like you did, and it helped me out. In general, I was highly discouraged by my results on the Achiever practice tests. I bought the basic version of Achiever, but I was so disheartened by my first exam scores that I didn't bother to do any more of them. I went to TopScore instead. So yes, Achiever is ridiculously harder than the real DAT exam 🙁 .

For PAT though, I thought Achiever was somewhat fair. I mean it was still difficult at times, but holistically it was manageable. I only say this after running through CrackDAT PAT though. So I guess to answer your question, I would strongly recommend doing Crack DAT PAT over Achiever. I see that you are cash strapped, as much of us are during the summer months, but if you can somehow manage to get your hands on the CDP software, it would truly benefit you. I think you'll do much better using Crack DAT PAT over Achiever, because like you said, it gives feedback and detailed answers. Perhaps you know someone who has the software installed on their computer. Maybe you can ask them to practice on their machine. If for whatever reason though, getting your hands on CDP is entirely out of the question, I would then recommend using TopScore's PAT sections to practice on over Achiever.

Overall though, Crack DAT PAT helped me the most to build my foundation for the PAT section because of its accessibility, which I feel is lost with the practice exams. If you're starting out with the PAT section for the first time, CDP is the way to go.

 

[Rlow04]

Yeah, I'm sorry to say that Crack the DAT PAT is hard to replace, sorry. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. Kaplan, Topscore, Achiever - none of them have as good of PAT material as Crack the DAT PAT.

You have to think of the cost this way - "What if I bomb the PAT and have to retake the DAT or re-apply next year?" That's thousands of dollars in application fees and at least $100,000+ in lost income (from delaying your dental career by 1 year = taking one year off your peak earning potential as a dentist). Paying for DAT materials and application stuff sucks, but do it right the first time, don't half-A it or it will screw you over.

 

[ijk90825]

I think it all depends how good you are in PAT. I bought the 10 test version and I used 5 so far, and I'm not planning on doing it anymore because I find it pointless. I was getting 22~25 on the first 5 and got 25 on the ADA2009 sample test. Now I wish I only had to buy 5 test version or not even at all, as long as I can get some type of practice from elsewhere - like topscore or achiever or something to time myself.

 

[Rlow04]

I think it all depends how good you are in PAT. I bought the 10 test version and I used 5 so far, and I'm not planning on doing it anymore because I find it pointless. I was getting 22~25 on the first 5 and got 25 on the ADA2009 sample test. Now I wish I only had to buy 5 test version or not even at all, as long as I can get some type of practice from elsewhere - like topscore or achiever or something to time myself.

I guess that's totally true, if you're pretty good at PAT you might not need the 10 test version. Maybe the safest way is to buy the 5 test version and then upgrade if you need more.

The real danger is when people practice with easy PAT material (Kaplan or Topscore, for example) and then get rocked on the real DAT. Crack the DAT PAT just gives you a real idea of what the test is like.

 

[kies89]

hey Rlow! hows the pictures like on DAT?
is it similar to CDP quality wise?
i got so used to good diagrams and pictures from CDP when i encountered crappy pictures from topscore i got all confused

 

[Rlow04]

hey Rlow! hows the pictures like on DAT?
is it similar to CDP quality wise?
i got so used to good diagrams and pictures from CDP when i encountered crappy pictures from topscore i got all confused

Yeah, it will be CDP quality. I don't remember any quality issues.