Real DAT compare to TOPSCORE ???

[Vietgirl]

Hi everyone,

I would like to know your opinion between a real DAT and TOPSCORE.

To me, I thought TOPSCORE is a lot harder b/c eventhough I know the material, their questions required too much calculations (general chem..), and much more complicated thinking for other subjects (biology, quan..).

I got discouraged when I see my score on topscore.

Please tell me what you think. Is the real tests about the same.

Sincerely,
Aivy

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[vixen]

I'm interested in the answer to this question also, so I'm bumping it up

 

[ItsGavinC]

The short answer is that the two exams are similar.

I found the Bio section on the DAT to be easier than I had anticipated, minus 3-4 questions that seemed to be coming from way out in left field. Having said that, I also found the TopScore Bio questions to be relatively simple.

The TopScore General Chem was a bit more difficult than than the Chem I had on the DAT. The DAT Gen. Chem has quite a few more "periodic trend" questions and other questions that required no calculations than did the TopScore.

Organic chemistry was fairly similar, although TopScore included many more questions which required numerous reactions in order to arrive at a final produce (A-->B-->C-->D: what is D?). My DAT only had two questions which required knowledge of two or more reactions in a single question.

My Math section was far easier than the TopScore section.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't put any stock in anything I have said for the following reason: you are trying to achieve the highest score possible!! Your DAT may not have tons of calculations in the general chem section, but you need to know how to do them. A difference of three questions on the general chem section could be the difference between a score of 19 or a score of 21.

Generally your scores on the real DAT will probably improve compared to TopScore -- but don't leave anything to chance! Review the questions that you have missed on TopScore, and plan on your Gen Chem having lots of calculations and your O-Chem requiring you to know lots of rxns. If your DAT has these things then you'll be able to do well, if it doesn't then you'll do even better. Don't get depressed because of your TopScore scores -- use them as motivation and as study aids!

-G

 

[vixen]

thanks gavin. So I guess what I'm asking is, if I have a limited amount of $$$, should I spend it on topscore? I'm using the kaplan review book, and I just wanted to make sure topscore was worth it.

 

[NYNOLE2]

I think that investing in Top Score is well worth the moneya nd very helpfull. The comp format helps you get used to it for the test and the questions are very good for preparing you. I found that overall my scores on the DAT were higher than my Topscores, I would rather this than the other way around.

 

[ItsGavinC]

TopScore is a good investment for the reasons mentioned above. TopScore helped me to understand areas of study that needed improvement. One TopScore question really ticked me off because I swore there was nothing even remotely similar in the Kaplan book. I went back to the Kaplan book and saw that there *was* a small paragraph containing the answer to the TopScore question. I'm glad I studied that small paragraph because one of my real DAT bio questions came from that paragraph!

Not only will you become more familiar with the testing environment, but perhaps you'll pick up on things you missed. Above all, use it to gauge your studying!

-G (with a TopScore for sale!)

 

[babohead]

Topscore questions are much harder, but just science questions. So, dont be discouraged if you did bad on Topscore(science part).
I took DAT but i found that PAT questions on Topscore are much easier than real PAt on DAT. For example, I got like 20's on PAT (topscore) but on real DAt, i only got 18.

 

[tinker bell]

I'm bumping this up to see if any one can post some numbers. I get so discouraged seeing my Topscore DAT. Especially the science section. So, if anyone has a specific numbers, please post
Thanks
T

 

[hazelmei]

YES ! Buy topscore! I was getting 19 and 20 on topscore but on the real DAT my academic average was 26! so don't get discouraged! just review all you can and take your DAT! you'll do fine! BUT like ricely stated, PAT is harder on the real DAT ! I got a 21 with topscore but a 19 on the real DAT! well good luck with your tests! bye :wink:

 

[fannian]

My topscore results for the first round of the sciences,

Biology: 17
Gen Chem: 17
Org Chem: 19

 

[kato999]

I scored a little worse on the real DAT than I did on topscore in a few sections. I can't remember the exact scores but overall I went from a 25/26 on my last topscore to a 23/23.

Despite my score dropping, I thought the topscore questions were harder. I must have missed a few questions that were easier on the real thing or there is a slightly different DAT curve now.

 

[tom3]

from my experience in regards to the real DAT:

science overall was much easier - the questions were very straight forward and it was very possible to make an educated guess on the off-the-wall questions.

PAT was harder - angles were tough and overall it was more time consuming. i swear they made mistakes on two of the hole-punch questions too

RH was just a bit harder - more inference-type questions

QR was much easier - it was a breeze, no strange formulas and whatnot


i don't have my topscore numbers onhand right now, but these were generally my scores:

BIO: 14-20 (big range, i know)
GC: 17-19
OC: 16-18
PAT: 25
RH: 22
QR: 22

these are my scores from the DAT:

BIO: 22
GC: 25
OC: 19
PAT: 22
RH: 22
QR: 25

hope that helps!

 

[adr12]

Don't exactly remember topscore numbers, but here's a rough idea:

Topscore:
Bio 16-18
GChem 19-21
OChem 19-21
PAT 20-21
RC 23
QR 17

DAT:
Bio 20
GChem 23
OChem 25
PAT 19
RC 24
QR 19

So, I thought Topscore was more difficult in every area except PAT where the angles were definately more difficult on the DAT. RC was probably a wash.