Quesiton about BIO section of DAT

[awef]

I am not going to take DAT until next June (2011) but I went go ahead and started to study with Barron's AP bio and Kaplan's DAT Guide.

Question: What section did you guys (someone who has taken DAT or planning on taking, or whomever) focus more on than the other. Has it worked?

Sections are: Biochem, cells, cell respiration, photosynthesis, cell division, genetics (heredity and inheritance), classification, evolution, plants, animal physiology, immune system, animal reproduction and development, ecology, animal behavior (I went through every section by taking notes for review it one year and making flash cards for each section to memorize it)

In my opinion, I felt that classification, evolution, plants, ecology and animal behavior shouldn't be studied in depth but to read through it and know basic material (for example: classification = know the major kingdom, phylum, evolution of animalia but not in detail)

I understands that there are no best way to know what will be on or what will but in people's opinion, what did work or how did YOU studied for bio section of DAT?

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[dentalWorks]

I just read Kaplan Blue book biology 1 time. 1 time is enough cause this isn't the book you wanna focus on. However I did Cliffs AP bio multiple times. and also, I didn't cover the classification very heavily, just the basics, it was enough.

I also got a copy of DAT Destroyer and went through the biology section multiple times.

Ended up with 21 in biology

 

[JBarr29]

I got a 22 in biology. I focused on Cliffs and Destroyer as my 2 sources. The kaplan book does not go into enough detail at all to get an above average biology score. Go through cliffs several times, then try destroyer. Make sure you focus on the answers, wrong answers, and explanations in the destroyer. questions on the real thing were often covered in explanations of wrong and right answers in the destroyer

 

[uclaDDS101]

Got a 30. Didn't use Cliffs or Destroyer.. I read the Kaplan book. Others were correct that it wasn't terribly detailed. Thus, if I came across a topic that I wasn't totally sure about, I would look it up on wikipedia. I studied these wiki pages fervently. While I do acknowledge that wiki does contain some errors, for the most part (and for the purpose of studying for the DAT) it was very useful as a detailed resource. I also did the online Kaplan subject and section tests. I reviewed the explanation for every answer (even for the questions I got correct) and likewise cross-referenced with wiki. I might be a rare case, since I didn't use Cliffs or Destroyer and still did well on bio. But I think I've shown that you don't need every resource to do well on this section.

 

[Vokalyzd]

Got a 23 in my Bio section. I did Kaplan's review book and Cliff's AP Bio. IMO Cliff's has much more information about bio except for the human body. The human body in Cliff's consisted of one chapter while Kaplan split it up into about 3-4 heavy dense sections. I'd focus on how to distinguish different animals of classifications (how they adapt to their environment in terms of solute concentration etc. or mode of digestion) If you have all the time in the world (which you do) why not know everything? One more question correct on the DAT is the difference between a 21 and a 22.

 

[awef]

Thanks for the comment. It seems like everyone is using Cliff's instead of Barron's AP Bio book. When I was at bookstore, I was reading both but I felt that Barron was much more easy to follow. I know there is thread regarding Cliff's vs. Barron's and everyone has their own opinion but is information that much different? I am sure basics are same but one book may cover one part deeper than the other. Study both? What do you think? haha

 

[dentalWorks]

Thanks for the comment. It seems like everyone is using Cliff's instead of Barron's AP Bio book. When I was at bookstore, I was reading both but I felt that Barron was much more easy to follow. I know there is thread regarding Cliff's vs. Barron's and everyone has their own opinion but is information that much different? I am sure basics are same but one book may cover one part deeper than the other. Study both? What do you think? haha

only reason why most of us say cliffs ap bio over barrons AP is becuase its more "popular"..... but not better.

there are a few folks around SDN who have both cliffs ap bio AND barrons ap bio and they said the same thing. That Barrons is the better book. I have never seen it so I can't comment