Practice Test Scores vs. Actual Scores

[Dentaldreams]

For those of you who have taken the DAT
(which I am going to do in 2 week!)

Need some help..I am aiming for above 20s across the board..and as of now am receiving about

18-20 on Natural Sciences Kaplan Tests
19 on PAT Kaplan Tests...

Im scared because people are saying Kaplan is easier on PAT then actual thing..so I am gonna marathon with that these next two weeks...

But when it comes to NatSci Kaplan tests...should I be worried? What were you guys scoring on kaplan and topscore, and how did it compare to your actual scores?

Any advice for my last two weeks...

Thanks to all who keep posting and helping us out. You guys are a source of strength and inspiration.


-N

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ShawnOne]

I took the test about 2 weeks ago.
I scored the same on g-chem and bio as I did at kaplan, in both cases I got 20. I actually hit a 25 on o-chem, highest score ever. I thought it was easy. On the PAT I would CONSISTENTLY score 22-23 and I got a 18 on the real thing. Folding was my best section and I was confused to put in lightly. Also, cube counting was usually easy, but man oh man. I recall that one of the cube patterns didnt even make sense, i swear i saw some trianges . I was getting 18 in quant but got 19 on the real thing. Know your trig inside out! My reading experiene sucked BTW. All I remember is that the room was FREEZING and my knuckles were hurting/cold, plus i was nervous, i could hardly write, so i abondened my reading gameplan. I was scoring 20 but didnt even come close to that. Terrible!

Also, try to stay calm. The one variable that I never successfully practiced was dealing with the darn pressure!! My adrenal medulla was going wild. There is no way around that one. Glad thats over!

 

[ShawnOne]

One more thing.

This is my most sincere tip. Dont gain a sense of false confidence. A lot of people say that your score will improve from the topscore or that the real DAT is easy. Dont let that get you too cocky. You may find your test is just as hard as topscore (or harder) on some sections, and easier on others.

 

[grettlin2]

I would like to tell you about my opinions.
For Kaplan science sections, Kaplan's exam is a little bit harder than real DAT, but if you study the missed questions, you will learn something which helps your real exam. However, real DAT would give you some questions (especially in bio) that you might never see (I mean they compile the questions in DIFFERENT ways; I don't mean they give you never heard terms...). So, it is hard to say if kaplan's exam is always harder depending how how luck you are. Generally speaking, Kaplan is a bit harder.

For PAT, I never scroe below 20 in Kaplan's exam, but end as 18. I think the first three parts of real exam are "MUCH" harder. If you could practice enough on Kaplan's exam, don't worry too much. You are ready to go.

 

[jetjesse]

Can you guys comment on your topscore scores versus your DAT results?

 

[zimaad]

I would assume the the PAT on the DAT is harder than the Kaplan and TopScore tests. On a few problems, the graphics was so small that I couldnt see if lines were solid, dotted, or what??? I suggest using the Barrons book for PAT practice. The angle ranking is more like the DAT (i.e. Kaplan/TopScore is much easier in that section).

For cube counting, the easiest way I found was to make a table of rows with 0 through 5. Make a table of all the cubes in a methodical method. Start on the bottom back left of the figure, work to the front, then up..then move to the right to the next row of blocks. Just make a mark in the row for how many sides it has. When you get done you have the answers to the next few questions done! Also, you may want to count your marks in the table and make sure it adds up to the number of blocks. Using this method, I could get through all cube counting is less than 10 minutes.

For angle ranking, always look for largest and smallest angles first to eliminate choices. If you see 3 answers that end in C, then C is probably the biggest! For angles that have a short leg, visualize the leg as longer. Typically, when you visualize it longer the angle is bigger than you thought.

For the 3 views section, get a hold of hidden lines and what is visible as hidden or not in each view. Remember, you can draw projection lines(in your head) across or down to another view..if there is no representation in the other view, it's not the right answer!

For hole punch, its all about practicing and seeing the folds. Remember, holes project perpendicular to a fold.

Thats about all I have for now, but mainly I'd suggest practice!!!

 

[swiminh2o]

I took 5 full length practice exams. Two from Kaplan and three from Topscore. My best scores per section were as follows for the practices:
Bio: 20
Gchem: 17
Ochem: 20
PAT: 22
RC: 23
QR: 14 (math kills me when the clock is on)

My actual DAT scores:
BIO: 24
Gchem: 20
Ochem: 29
PAT: 20
RC: 21
QR: 15

I can only go by my experience and that was that the actual test was much easier than all of the practice tests with the exception of the PAT. Just study study study and expect to do your best on game-day. You'll do great.

 

[ShawnOne]

since your aiming for 20's, you should be scoring 19-20 on Topscore IMO.

 

[wooju116]

I had No time to go over achiever, but I took DAT today!
TOP:TOPSCORE
OR:ORGOMAN BY DR. ROMANO
KAP: KAPLAN ONLINE PRACTICE 1,2
ACH: ACHIEVER
TEST 1BIO 2CHE 3ORG 4PAT 5RC 6QR 7AA
DAT: 20 19 26 24 17 18 20
TOP1 18 19 18 00 15 00 00
TOP2 19 19 21 00 16 00 00
TOP3 19 19 20 00 15 23 19
OR 15 14 14 00 00 00
KAP1 19 18 23 22 14 24 20
KAP2 20 19 17 23 15 23 19
ACH 00 00 00 18 15 00
ACH 00 00 00 16 00 00
ACH 00 00 00 16 00 00

ORGOMAN didn't help me a lot, orgoman is really good for BS questions, such as class of shark is Chondrichthyes. However, the test overall mainly asked basic basic and basic questions.
The math was killer, I am a typical South Korean guy who is good at math. One time, I got 30 in practice. On actual one, with bad luck, I had many questions with long word questions packed with lots of information. Wow I never got 18 for practice, but my point is, it helps if you are good at reading and understanding to solve the problem.

 

[GOLF]

hey guys, how does the practice test on the ADA site stack up to the real DAT? i just took it and here were my scores:
BIO: 19
G. CHEM: 23
O. CHEM: 30
PAT: 23
RC: 21
QR: 24

AA: 23
TS: 22

i've heard it's a snap, a joke, the cat's pajamas, etc. but i have no idea what to think. im relieved with the scores, but if this test is known to be a walk in the park im screwed. i've been studying for 2 months and got a 19AA and a 20AA on the two kaplan tests that i took a week ago. DentalDreams - i'm taking the DAT in two weeks two and im aiming at the same spot - i'm just going through destroyer and doing as many practice problems and exams as i can in these last few weeks to try and get myself stoked.

 

[wooju116]

Actually the sample test is preety close to real one in terms of questions length, difficulty, and PAT, if you do fine with those PAT on sample you are definitely ready for the real one. Thing is don't make mistake on real one, I got 5 wrong on genchem which was reallllly easy, I don't know why......
I studied orgoman in and out really well, but it would have been better if I just studied other AP bio book such cliff note instead of detroyer. Destroyer helps you for really really hard questions which are unlikely on the exam. So if you reallly have sooo much time to study and already know basic material, I would recommend you the orgoman. However, you want to get 5 easy questions rather than 1 hard questions. In addition to that, going over whole detroyer is very time consuming. Compare to destroyer, I would recommend going over AP bio (barron cliff), chem (princeton review) book.

 

[GOLF]

thanks wooju - nice scores btw crushed dat

 

[wooju116]

No problem, just well prepared with easy and medium difficulty questions b4 hard one. I thought I was getting 24+ on science when I finished the test, but the score was way lower than I expected. It is because I probably made many mistake on real easy questions! This will be how you feel on the real test if you spend too much time on harder questions. But get all easier questions and get better score! expect to panic a little bit, which is normal. I strongly recommend to rest about 15 minutes in waiting room of testing center rather than hitting the exam right away, it does help. Gooood luck with you.