- Joined
- Dec 31, 2016
- Messages
- 231
- Reaction score
- 123
Hi there everyone, I have been reading a lot of DAT breakdown posts in the last 2-3 weeks and have gotten some good tips for how to raise my score. However, I'm feeling a little concerned about RC. It seems to be a hard section to improve in.
Right now I am using Bootcamp as my primary prep resource, but aside from the tests the only thing they give you for practice is the daily articles they select. My gripe with the articles that they pull is that they are journalistic- written to entertain and inform- short and not exactly the fare IMO of what you will encounter on the DAT which will be more detailed and drier. I'm not sure how reading the same type of articles that I've been reading forever (I subscribe to Scientific American & Nat Geo) is going help, especially when there are no follow up questions at the end.
I pulled out my Kaplan blue book and read their strategy which is mapping and also purchased just the RC section of QVault. I read one passage from QVault daily and do the associated questions, so it takes about 3 days to do one timed test. I got an estimated score of 20 on my first completed test (36 correct out of 50 questions).
I have noticed that one passage tends to be really hard and detail heavy, requiring a lot of recall, one tends to be pretty easy and one is somewhere in between the two levels of difficulty. I'm wondering if doing the two easy passages first is a better strategy and how easy it is to skip around between passages on the actual DAT.
I don't think that search and destroy is going to be a good strategy for me. Reading other posts makes me think that this method doesn't work that well for a lot of people.
Other than just going out and finding additional practice materials and practicing, practicing, practicing I don't have any ideas on how to get this section score up. The Kaplan BB only has one full practice test, so any other resources out there besides DAT Bootcamp, QVault would be helpful if anyone has any suggestion.
Right now I am using Bootcamp as my primary prep resource, but aside from the tests the only thing they give you for practice is the daily articles they select. My gripe with the articles that they pull is that they are journalistic- written to entertain and inform- short and not exactly the fare IMO of what you will encounter on the DAT which will be more detailed and drier. I'm not sure how reading the same type of articles that I've been reading forever (I subscribe to Scientific American & Nat Geo) is going help, especially when there are no follow up questions at the end.
I pulled out my Kaplan blue book and read their strategy which is mapping and also purchased just the RC section of QVault. I read one passage from QVault daily and do the associated questions, so it takes about 3 days to do one timed test. I got an estimated score of 20 on my first completed test (36 correct out of 50 questions).
I have noticed that one passage tends to be really hard and detail heavy, requiring a lot of recall, one tends to be pretty easy and one is somewhere in between the two levels of difficulty. I'm wondering if doing the two easy passages first is a better strategy and how easy it is to skip around between passages on the actual DAT.
I don't think that search and destroy is going to be a good strategy for me. Reading other posts makes me think that this method doesn't work that well for a lot of people.
Other than just going out and finding additional practice materials and practicing, practicing, practicing I don't have any ideas on how to get this section score up. The Kaplan BB only has one full practice test, so any other resources out there besides DAT Bootcamp, QVault would be helpful if anyone has any suggestion.