PRINCETON PREP COURSE FOR DAT, YAY or NAY???

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crossbonnez

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I got a 22 (RC), 19 (PAT), 19 (Gen Chem), 18 (Org Chem), 16 (Math), 20 (Bio). I used DAT Destroyer, Math Destroyer, www.coursesaver.com, DAT Bootcamp, Cliffs Notes and Feralis Notes. I applied this cycle but didn't make it anywhere. (GPA 3.77 Science and 3.69 Cumulative)

So, I am going to retake the DAT. Is the Princeton Prep Course going to be helpful? Any other suggestions for me to increase my score? Thank you guys
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saw your post and thought i'd share a little bit of encouragement as i have been in a similar situation to yours before...and wish someone could have shared some insight with me! (totally aside from your decision to retake the DAT-which i think is a personal decision and is different for everyone based on other strengths/weaknesses of your application)

i applied june 2013 after taking the DAT in january 2013...and had VERY similar scores to yours. my GPAs were also very similar, with my science a little weaker and my cumulative a little stronger. as of winter break 2013 (which was my senior year of undergrad), i didn't have any interviews, let alone any offers of admission. right after winter break, i was offered an interview, but on the day of the interview we were told we were interviewing for waiting list seats. bummer, but still glad i had the chance to interview. for a handful of reasons, i ended up getting a full-time job because by the time i graduated, i was still wait-listed and assumed that wasn't going to change after may. low and behold, i got a call from a school the MORNING that classes started in august (i'm not kidding...like 8:30am and orientation started at noon) that somebody dropped and i was next on the waiting list. again, for a whole bunch of reasons, i turned down the offer...and here i am, 2 years later, getting ready to re-take my DAT in 2 days because my test scores expired and i'm planning on reapplying.

i know it's obviously not possible (or at least not very wise) to hold off on retaking the DAT until august, but i just like to remind other predents that literally ANYTHING is possible...and also, no matter the situation, say yes to the offer of admission and figure out the details after 🙂 i know we all need a little bit of encouragement sometimes!

in terms of the DAT itself, i am retaking in 2 days, and i pretty much used the same resources as you. i would also recommend qVault (which someone recommended to me). there are 10 subject tests for all subjects with the exception of RC that has 7 tests, and they provide really good comprehension analysis. i also really like that i have an internet-accessible bank of questions when i don't have the destroyers with me, and also i'm not being exposed to bootcamp questions before the full-length tests. for brushing up on material/focusing on topics that were more difficult for me to grasp, i really liked the biology crash course videos on youtube that are perfect short reviews of pretty much every single topic in feralis, as well as the khan videos for orgo. i hope this helps!
 
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crossbonnez said:
I got a 22 (RC), 19 (PAT), 19 (Gen Chem), 18 (Org Chem), 16 (Math), 20 (Bio). I used DAT Destroyer, Math Destroyer, www.coursesaver.com, DAT Bootcamp, Cliffs Notes and Feralis Notes. I applied this cycle but didn't make it anywhere. (GPA 3.77 Science and 3.69 Cumulative)

So, I am going to retake the DAT. Is the Princeton Prep Course going to be helpful? Any other suggestions for me to increase my score? Thank you guys
Click to expand...

How many times did you go through Destroyer and Math Destroyer? How long did you study for? RC is the toughest score to increase and you have a great score in that. All the other subjects just takes working problems and learning content to improve upon. Most people that do well on the DAT never took Princeton.

Double down on the resources you have and retake the DAT by late May and you'll be in the first wave of application batches.

You have a great GPA, if you get 20/21+ on the DAT you'll have a ton of opportunities.
 
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I don't know if the Princeton course is good, but I LOVED Princeton's Cracking the DAT book. I read this book 4 times, wrote notes, and flashcards from my notes. I felt that it covered maybe 90% of what you need to know for general chemistry and organic chemistry, and 75% of what you need to know for biology. It was lacking a few concepts and weak in biodiversity and no mention of plant biology, but other than that it was pretty solid. I also used Cliff's AP biology book and feralis notes for biodiversity, plant biology, animal behavior, and those random lab biology techniques you need to know. I also used DAT bootcamp for practice tests and PAT (DAT bootcamp also pretty much taught me the math section, since I forgot all my math skills), and the DAT destroyer mainly for biology, but also for some general and organic. I also reviewed all of the DAT bootcamp previous tests solutions 3 times before I took my DAT (I only had time to run through bio in dat destroyer once and ochem and gen chem only finished half of the questions). I ended up getting a 23AA 23TS. A few of my friends at my school also use the princeton cracking dat book and liked it too.
 
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Quinque said:
I don't know if the Princeton course is good, but I LOVED Princeton's Cracking the DAT book. I read this book 4 times, wrote notes, and flashcards from my notes. I felt that it covered maybe 90% of what you need to know for general chemistry and organic chemistry, and 75% of what you need to know for biology. It was lacking a few concepts and weak in biodiversity and no mention of plant biology, but other than that it was pretty solid. I also used Cliff's AP biology book and feralis notes for biodiversity, plant biology, animal behavior, and those random lab biology techniques you need to know. I also used DAT bootcamp for practice tests and PAT (DAT bootcamp also pretty much taught me the math section, since I forgot all my math skills), and the DAT destroyer mainly for biology, but also for some general and organic. I also reviewed all of the DAT bootcamp previous tests solutions 3 times before I took my DAT (I only had time to run through bio in dat destroyer once and ochem and gen chem only finished half of the questions). I ended up getting a 23AA 23TS. A few of my friends at my school also use the princeton cracking dat book and liked it too.
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The prep course costs like $1500. And I wasn't sure if I should spend that money. But now it seems like I shouldn't and just practice more. Thank you.
 
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w4nt2baDDS said:
How many times did you go through Destroyer and Math Destroyer? How long did you study for? RC is the toughest score to increase and you have a great score in that. All the other subjects just takes working problems and learning content to improve upon. Most people that do well on the DAT never took Princeton.

Double down on the resources you have and retake the DAT by late May and you'll be in the first wave of application batches.

You have a great GPA, if you get 20/21+ on the DAT you'll have a ton of opportunities.
Click to expand...
I studied 2 twice from the Destroyer (Math too). Ironically, I took the RC completely unprepared. Like I didn't read or practice for it at all. Just took it lol. I studied for the rest of the subjects for 3 months. Math has never been my strongest suit.
 
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tinydancer510 said:
saw your post and thought i'd share a little bit of encouragement as i have been in a similar situation to yours before...and wish someone could have shared some insight with me! (totally aside from your decision to retake the DAT-which i think is a personal decision and is different for everyone based on other strengths/weaknesses of your application)

i applied june 2013 after taking the DAT in january 2013...and had VERY similar scores to yours. my GPAs were also very similar, with my science a little weaker and my cumulative a little stronger. as of winter break 2013 (which was my senior year of undergrad), i didn't have any interviews, let alone any offers of admission. right after winter break, i was offered an interview, but on the day of the interview we were told we were interviewing for waiting list seats. bummer, but still glad i had the chance to interview. for a handful of reasons, i ended up getting a full-time job because by the time i graduated, i was still wait-listed and assumed that wasn't going to change after may. low and behold, i got a call from a school the MORNING that classes started in august (i'm not kidding...like 8:30am and orientation started at noon) that somebody dropped and i was next on the waiting list. again, for a whole bunch of reasons, i turned down the offer...and here i am, 2 years later, getting ready to re-take my DAT in 2 days because my test scores expired and i'm planning on reapplying.

i know it's obviously not possible (or at least not very wise) to hold off on retaking the DAT until august, but i just like to remind other predents that literally ANYTHING is possible...and also, no matter the situation, say yes to the offer of admission and figure out the details after 🙂 i know we all need a little bit of encouragement sometimes!

in terms of the DAT itself, i am retaking in 2 days, and i pretty much used the same resources as you. i would also recommend qVault (which someone recommended to me). there are 10 subject tests for all subjects with the exception of RC that has 7 tests, and they provide really good comprehension analysis. i also really like that i have an internet-accessible bank of questions when i don't have the destroyers with me, and also i'm not being exposed to bootcamp questions before the full-length tests. for brushing up on material/focusing on topics that were more difficult for me to grasp, i really liked the biology crash course videos on youtube that are perfect short reviews of pretty much every single topic in feralis, as well as the khan videos for orgo. i hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Unfortunately for me, I have gotten denied from everywhere. I did not even make it to their waitlist.
 
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While I cannot comment on the Princeton course, my wife spent the money for the Kaplan course before her retake and she is thankful that she did. She tried to self study the first time and did OK but she struggled to stay focused and fell behind on her schedule. The course with the instructor online, plus the money she spent, helped to keep her on track and if she didn't understand something instead of just nodding her head at the answer and moving on, she was able to ask questions and they gave her some tips for how to handle questions. Just something from the other side of the argument. 🙂
 
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Quinque said:
I don't know if the Princeton course is good, but I LOVED Princeton's Cracking the DAT book. I read this book 4 times, wrote notes, and flashcards from my notes. I felt that it covered maybe 90% of what you need to know for general chemistry and organic chemistry, and 75% of what you need to know for biology. It was lacking a few concepts and weak in biodiversity and no mention of plant biology, but other than that it was pretty solid. I also used Cliff's AP biology book and feralis notes for biodiversity, plant biology, animal behavior, and those random lab biology techniques you need to know. I also used DAT bootcamp for practice tests and PAT (DAT bootcamp also pretty much taught me the math section, since I forgot all my math skills), and the DAT destroyer mainly for biology, but also for some general and organic. I also reviewed all of the DAT bootcamp previous tests solutions 3 times before I took my DAT (I only had time to run through bio in dat destroyer once and ochem and gen chem only finished half of the questions). I ended up getting a 23AA 23TS. A few of my friends at my school also use the princeton cracking dat book and liked it too.
Click to expand...

Hiya! So I am low on money. I haven't really seen the Princeton book being recommended much on the forums but it seems to cover a plentiful amount (looking at the table of contents). The book costs about ~$40. I have a choice between this book and chad's videos. What would you recommend? Other resources I currently have: feralis bio notes, Cliff's 3rd bio, Math destroyer, and DAT destroyer.

Op, I think your GPA is great! Like others said, re-taking the DAT is the best bet. Score 20+ and you should be golden. Best of luck!

edit:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0375427562/ref=olp_f_freeShipping?ie=UTF8&f_new=true

edit 2:
How did you know that the book covered about 90% of gen chem and orgo? Is there a specific list of things covered on the DAT? I certainly don't want to be missing anything. I do have some orgo notes, but I do not know what constitutes the other 10% you are referring to. I understand that feralis' notes and cliff's ap bio should fill in the gap for the missing 25% in bio.
 
Last edited:
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placebooooo said:
Hiya! So I am low on money. I haven't really seen the Princeton book being recommended much on the forums but it seems to cover a plentiful amount (looking at the table of contents). The book costs about ~$40. I have a choice between this book and chad's videos. What would you recommend? Other resources I currently have: feralis bio notes, Cliff's 3rd bio, Math destroyer, and DAT destroyer.

Op, I think your GPA is great! Like others said, re-taking the DAT is the best bet. Score 20+ and you should be golden. Best of luck!

edit:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0375427562/ref=olp_f_freeShipping?ie=UTF8&f_new=true

edit 2:
How did you know that the book covered about 90% of gen chem and orgo? Is there a specific list of things covered on the DAT? I certainly don't want to be missing anything. I do have some orgo notes, but I do not know what constitutes the other 10% you are referring to. I understand that feralis' notes and cliff's ap bio should fill in the gap for the missing 25% in bio.
Click to expand...

This is from the ADA website and should have the content tested by all the Subjects.

http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Education and Careers/Files/dat_examinee_guide.ashx
 
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crossbonnez said:
I got a 22 (RC), 19 (PAT), 19 (Gen Chem), 18 (Org Chem), 16 (Math), 20 (Bio). I used DAT Destroyer, Math Destroyer, www.coursesaver.com, DAT Bootcamp, Cliffs Notes and Feralis Notes. I applied this cycle but didn't make it anywhere. (GPA 3.77 Science and 3.69 Cumulative)

So, I am going to retake the DAT. Is the Princeton Prep Course going to be helpful? Any other suggestions for me to increase my score? Thank you guys
Click to expand...

DONT BUY THR PRINCETON , its not worth it at all, the teacher that teaches it is just worthless, I took it and it wasn't worth it at all,
 
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crossbonnez said:
I got a 22 (RC), 19 (PAT), 19 (Gen Chem), 18 (Org Chem), 16 (Math), 20 (Bio). I used DAT Destroyer, Math Destroyer, www.coursesaver.com, DAT Bootcamp, Cliffs Notes and Feralis Notes. I applied this cycle but didn't make it anywhere. (GPA 3.77 Science and 3.69 Cumulative)

So, I am going to retake the DAT. Is the Princeton Prep Course going to be helpful? Any other suggestions for me to increase my score? Thank you guys
Click to expand...
That’s crazy, you have better GPA’s than me and similar DAT to me but with me a 21 in OC, 18 RC, and 15 in QR. I already received 4 interviews.
 
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