Regarding Campbell's 19-21

[Avery07]

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So everyone says read Campbell's 19-21 as a solution to random questions.. I purchased the book and have been flipping through these chapters at breakfast however most of the stuff doesn't seem very random?? I mean obviously there is stuff in there that is foreign to me but you will find that in any chapter of a biology textbook..

So I'm concerned with the idea that I need to be reading small details here and paying attention to insignificant random information?

It's either this, or the fact that I've come across the information already so It's not random to me.

I've taken practically every upper level biology course.. including genetics and microbiology (which is what these chapters cover).

During those classes, we covered PCR, gel electrophoresis, shotgun sequencing, DNA libraries, all the ways cells regulate replication/transcription/translation (methylation, inhibition, etc) , and more things I can't think of right now.

So please give your input on if you think the above stuff is random or not? Or if anyone has suggestions on a particular topic I should pay special attention to?


Thanks for the help everyone.. I'm freaking out in these final days.

 

[rejuvenatedsoul]

yeah, i've been reading these too and i've come across everything at least once before in micro or genetics. refreshing the material is nice tho.

 

[sfoksn]

You worry too much..
DAT bio is very generalized and basic, and if you have studied the general topics in few different perspectives, you should be fine.

When are you taking the exam?

 

[gigawatt]

Yeah, ditto. I have the same kind of upper division biology background, and I didn't really get a whole lot out of those chapters. Given that the DAT is much more breadth oriented than depth oriented, I'd say that you'd be okay just relying on your background knowledge to help you through any question from these chapters that would come up. My philosophy is that you need to cover all your bases once before you dig deeper into any topics that you already know reasonably well.

Also, not to knock the person that noticed the focus on these chapters in any way, but that's still only one person's experience. With a sample of just 40 questions, it's very possible that some of us will barely see a question from these chapters...so again breadth before depth.

 

[Avery07]

You worry too much..
DAT bio is very generalized and basic, and if you have studied the general topics in few different perspectives, you should be fine.

When are you taking the exam?

Monday 🙁

 

[UndergradGuy7]

Monday 🙁

I wanna know what you get, especially after that Bio book you wrote

I skimmed through the bio chapters too. Wasn't really anything in there that I didn't already know from genetics or cliffs book.

 

[rejuvenatedsoul]

I wanna know what you get, especially after that Bio book you wrote

yeah, me too! good luck 👍

 

[Avery07]

I wanna know what you get, especially after that Bio book you wrote

I skimmed through the bio chapters too. Wasn't really anything in there that I didn't already know from genetics or cliffs book.

Ugh.. You and everyone else.. so not looking forward to writing my break down. I'm not sure how everyone else feels going into their DAT but I feel so overwhelmed.

I was tutoring for biology today.. plant stuff.. I was having a rough time with it so there's definitely some areas of bio I need to review. It comes back easy enough but that worries me a little bit. I am anxious to see how bio turns out.. I mean to me, I feel as though I know pretty much everything about bio (especially in a multiple choice exam) but at the same time I feel as though there's so many things I could slip up on or forget to review one last time. I've taken intro bio, evolution, evolutionary biology, genetics, cell bio, ecology, and microbiology.. plus have taught and tutored for a couple years now.. We'll see how it goes. Again, I'm just hoping for a 19.. anything higher I will be pleasantly surprised. A&P is the only bio course I haven't taken so that is my weak spot..

That and the fact that I am beyond terrible at math..

I'm happy with Gchem right now.. Ochem still scares me.

 

[RSD2014]

So everyone says read Campbell's 19-21 as a solution to random questions.. I purchased the book and have been flipping through these chapters at breakfast however most of the stuff doesn't seem very random?? I mean obviously there is stuff in there that is foreign to me but you will find that in any chapter of a biology textbook..

So I'm concerned with the idea that I need to be reading small details here and paying attention to insignificant random information?

It's either this, or the fact that I've come across the information already so It's not random to me.

I've taken practically every upper level biology course.. including genetics and microbiology (which is what these chapters cover).

During those classes, we covered PCR, gel electrophoresis, shotgun sequencing, DNA libraries, all the ways cells regulate replication/transcription/translation (methylation, inhibition, etc) , and more things I can't think of right now.

So please give your input on if you think the above stuff is random or not? Or if anyone has suggestions on a particular topic I should pay special attention to?


Thanks for the help everyone.. I'm freaking out in these final days.

I personally did not find the Bio section of the Real DAT to be random. I went through DAT Destroyer, Kaplan, Campbell textbook and pretty much learned what I got wrong from these study material. Bio is very BROAD and basic and the people that do not take the time to expose themselves to all the possible topics and concepts find it to be random. If you have taken upper division biology classes, you already learned majority of these concepts. People freak out over stuff they didn't invest time to study and it freaks others who have not taken the DAT. Their definition of "random" may not be so random to you, so stay calm and stick to your material and trust yourself to do well. If you put in the hours, you'll see results. Until you have taken the DAT at least once to see it with your own eyes, the entire DAT is random to SOMEONE. It is not as bad as people make it to be.

Personally I think everything in the Campbell Textbook is game. CH19-21 even if you don't remember all the "facts," if you are familiar with the concept you can always eliminate choices and make an educated guess.