Question: Strategies for the current, changing DAT

[chrisvocker]

Hey all, I take the test in 2 weeks. A significant amount of recent threads have discussed how some of the sections on the DAT are changing (biology in particular) and are more conceptual in nature that the direct questions that nearly all of the study materials use (Kaplan, destroyer, topscore...etc). Those three materials are what I have been using.

To those who have recently taken the DAT, what do you think about this? Did you feel that the actual DAT questions were more conceptual; if so, on which sections?

Also, if you did feel that there were more conceptual questions, do you feel that your study materials still prepared you well? And, which materials did you use?

Lastly, any particular strategies to tackling conceptual questions? Or is it that you can reason through it or not?

Thanks for the help.

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[hokie4life]

yea everyone seems to be saying it's changing and is more conceptual. I'm worried more about RC esp. because all the practice stuff I have and have done thus far require you to just find that word or topic in the paragraphs and the answer is one or three sentences away usually. I'ts just doing this fast enough is what I feel like the strategy is with the practice ones because when I did try to get the main concept I ran out of time more than I already do now. So AH I dunno, I feel like the practice RCs are jus tmaking me modify my strategy to something that wont' be as great for this new RC that is more conceptual...

what do you recent DATers think about this? continue perfecting strategies with practice material? any suggestions on how to prep for different types of questions on RC at least?

 

[SirShagaLot]

i dont know about this biology changing stuff, but if it is changing, they are not changing the material being tested....it sounds like they are just making you know more details for each question...or perhaps more round about all-encompassing questions......according to the ADA and KAplan people, the DAT has not been changed...i dunno....those reporting this change,,,have they taken the DAT before? or is this just based off of practice material vs. the real DAT...i took the DAT 2 yrs ago and even then the Biology section seemed quite a bit more conceptual than the practice tests like KAplan and TopScore.

 

[chrisvocker]

Shoeler wrote about his recent DAT:
"BIO-FREAK! I never saw a practice test like this in my life. I expected a ton of stuff on Glycolysis and Cell Biology, embryology etc., but it seemes like there was nothing like that! I am glad I just took a Medical Physiology class and had a tough teacher that tested us on a lot of conceptual stuff. It seemed like this Bio test was a lot of application."
--his thread is http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=408399

Others have made comments in their "I just took the DAT" threads, and it just seems like the number of straight-forward questions has decreased, and that bio and RC sections particularly have more inference/'knowledge encompassing' type questions.

I dunno....am personally a little worried, but I think that in the end, if you have a grasp on the material then you should be able to answer the questions. I also feel that for some of the "far out there" questions, as someone described, the trick is going to be figuring out what they are really asking and not letting the crazy context of the question throw you off.

We'll see....I take the test in 2 weeks.

Any thoughts from those who recently took the test?

 

[poc91nc]

Hey guys...I know the stress is mounting...but you gotta stay cool. The "conceptual" stuff is no big deal. The roots of such problems are always timeless.

I think half of the people who are screaming about the difficulty of the "new" DAT are just getting kicks and trying to intimidate you (after having taken the test...that's how I feel).

If you want an idea of really difficult free standing conceptual questions...get your hands on some MCAT material (preferably a real MCAT). Take a look at those questions....then compare it to the DAT...you'll breath a sigh of relief!!!

 

[SirShagaLot]

so none of these reports of the DAT changing are coming from people who have actually taken the DAT before? The real DAT has always been more conceptual in the RC and BIO sections than that of practice DAT's.....this is nothing new...

 

[cabbagebrain]

I just took it for the first time Monday, so I can't speak as to whether or not it has gotten any more difficult. I would agree that yes, there were less straightforward questions. The best thing you can do is know how things work and how they work together.

I used Kaplan's blue book (3rd ed.) and corresponding practice tests, Destroyer, Achiever, and Schaum's. If I could do it again, I would spend less time redoing the practice tests and more time with my nose in Schaum's. My weakness was that I learned from my mistakes while drilling questions, sure, but I did not learn as thoroughly as I thought. A big chunk of that was simply memorizing answers in context of the question, even though I thought I was doing otherwise.

I got a 20, so I didn't do that bad, but I didn't do as well as I thought I would either. Still, I was faced with things I just plain didn't know. When in that situation, your best bet is to use what you do know and reason it out as best as you can. Things in biology work pretty logically, and even if you don't know the exact answer, you may be able to get close enough to get it right.

Use the MARK tool! Anything you're not sure of, mark it and come back. You may see something in a later question that clues you in, or simply not trying to rush may help it come to you. That goes for any section. It helps so much!

For RC, I was able to highlight passages on my computer. That was SO helpful! It really helped focus just on the paragraph I was looking at. I could never do that on any practice tests, so I don't know if it's a standard thing or varies. If you can highlight, do it. It made a huge difference.

Scan the paragraph first. Just let your eyes pick up the first sentence of each paragraph so you know where to go. Then move to the questions and dig for the specific answer. As you look for each one, you will absorb more and more of the passage. I got a 22 on RC, so that worked pretty well for me.

Biggest advice? If you feel like you bombed the first part, don't flip out. Take deep breaths, take your full break, and concentrate on doing well on the other sections. I thought I totally crapped out on the bio section, and I was very disappointed with myself. When my score report was generated, I just about cried in relief (I'm a girl, so I'm allowed to say that) when I saw a 20. So don't write it off and give up in the middle. You get the hardest part out of the way first, so if you think you underperformed in that section, make up for it in the others!

Sorry this was so long. Hope it helps someone.

 

[SoCalDent]

Hey cabbage, when you say that you could highlight, do you mean you could highlight several parts of the passage, or that you could click and drag your cursor on only one part. Also where did you take your test? Thanks

 

[cabbagebrain]

I mean I could highlight my text by clicking and dragging over the whole section, just as you can here on this text. It's not like there was a little highlighter icon that you could use to highlight sections. It was just the ability to select and area of the passage and make the background blue/text white. It helped make what you're looking for stand out.

I took my test in Raleigh, NC.

 

[SoCalDent]

interesting, that does seem helpful. Thanks for your imput.

 

[hokie4life]

all this advice def. helps esp. to regroup my thoughts and not freak out so much about this.

Cabbage- when you said take full breaks - does that mean the 15 min one your allowed half way through? Are there any other breaks we get to take? I know with the online practice test I took yetsrday from the kaplan cd it asked me if i was ready to go to the next section so I could take a mintue and stretch and then start, is it like that one the real test or does it automatically start the next section right away?

and thank you for the great advice!

 

[cabbagebrain]

You can take a break any time you need to, but the clock keeps ticking. You're basically on a 4 1/2 hour countdown from the time you sit down, including the little tutorial at the beginning.

Take your full 15 minutes when it is offered to you. Just getting out of the room and regrouping will help you start your RC section fresh.

When you finish a section, it gives you a prompt asking if you are ready to end it and move on to the next (or something like that), and the next countdown starts immediately. The only section that used up all my time was QR, so I don't know what happens if the time runs out. Not sure if it says, "Time's up," and starts the next section or what.

Watch out for QR on time. I got hung up on some problems that I just should have marked and skipped and ran out of time at the end. I was getting killer practice test scores, so I was too stubborn to skip problems I thought I should have been able to figure out. Big mistake!

 

[shoeler]

Shoeler wrote about his recent DAT:
"BIO-FREAK! I never saw a practice test like this in my life. I expected a ton of stuff on Glycolysis and Cell Biology, embryology etc., but it seemes like there was nothing like that! I am glad I just took a Medical Physiology class and had a tough teacher that tested us on a lot of conceptual stuff. It seemed like this Bio test was a lot of application."
--his thread is http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=408399

Others have made comments in their "I just took the DAT" threads, and it just seems like the number of straight-forward questions has decreased, and that bio and RC sections particularly have more inference/'knowledge encompassing' type questions.

I dunno....am personally a little worried, but I think that in the end, if you have a grasp on the material then you should be able to answer the questions. I also feel that for some of the "far out there" questions, as someone described, the trick is going to be figuring out what they are really asking and not letting the crazy context of the question throw you off.

We'll see....I take the test in 2 weeks.

Any thoughts from those who recently took the test?

I think you guys need to take a moment to go outside and play a game of ball or something. I realize that this test is a huge stress maker, but just relax and you'll be ok. If your foundations of BIO are good you should be able to come out just fine. I stand on my original statement, the BIO section (besides math) was my hardest. I don't feel like I ever took a practice test like it. AS FOR THE CHANGING OF THE DAT!?! I don't know if it has changed, that is the first and only time I took it and will take it. Stop worrying, and express some faith in yourselves. If you are doubting in yourself then it's hard to demonstrate faith. Good luck!

 

[shoeler]

You can take a break any time you need to, but the clock keeps ticking. You're basically on a 4 1/2 hour countdown from the time you sit down, including the little tutorial at the beginning.

Take your full 15 minutes when it is offered to you. Just getting out of the room and regrouping will help you start your RC section fresh.

When you finish a section, it gives you a prompt asking if you are ready to end it and move on to the next (or something like that), and the next countdown starts immediately. The only section that used up all my time was QR, so I don't know what happens if the time runs out. Not sure if it says, "Time's up," and starts the next section or what.

Watch out for QR on time. I got hung up on some problems that I just should have marked and skipped and ran out of time at the end. I was getting killer practice test scores, so I was too stubborn to skip problems I thought I should have been able to figure out. Big mistake!

Let me say this as well, even though I felt like the BIO section was tough I finished all the natural sciences and still had 30 mins left to do whatever. So I definetly used that time to look over the Bio section. If you take plenty of practice test and learn to pace yourself you will be able to have enough time for the whole test.

PS This is some great advice on the Math section. The test makers have put in a few problems that are TIME TRAPS! You know, the ones that are do-able but they require more time. They, the test makers, know that some people will get stuck in those problems and won't stop doing them until they figure it out. Remeber you only have like 45 mins to get all 40 probs done so if it looks like a time consuming problem or your taking too long, mark the fetching question and move onto the next. Also I noticed a trend, there seemed to be a lot of easy, freebie points on algebra questions towards the end. So for myself I marked and skipped all the story problem type questions because I thought they were time consuming, I did all the easy algebra questions and then went back and finished a lot of the story probs..

 

[hokie4life]

thanks for replying and yea i do the same thing with my QR on practice tests - I feel like i know how to do it and feel silly for skipping it but in the end it hurts me because I end up not being able to finish because I get hung up on a few problems...very bad i know I gotta fix that in my strategy as well.

I will def. take that 15 min break like you said cabbagebrian, I wish we had more cuz I know just taking a second to take a deep breath and stretch makes a difference for me so I hope we can to take a break between the first two as well. Does anyone else know if it automatically starts or if you get to click proceed or something like that when the time runs out on the first section?