- Joined
- Jun 1, 2010
- Messages
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Just came out of my exam this morning, and I am psyched!!!! SDN's advice has been tremendously helpful in the past four ultra-intense weeks,
and I just want to help chip in what I've learned.
AA: 27
TS: 26
PAT: 23
Bio: 22
Chem: 27
Orgo: 30
Reading: 30
QR: 24
First, if you can help it, do NOT do what I did-- save studying till the last month.
Prep:
Materials: Examkrackers MCAT books, DAT Destroyer (both 2008 and the 2011 version), Top Score, CRACK DAT PAT, lots of wikipedia, notes from high school Biology AP. I got the latest DAT Destroyer only last week and really wished I could have spent longer with it. (I'm looking to sell both books-- feel free to message me if you're interested!)
Week 1- Bio- using Examkrackers, Bio AP notes. I had a strong basic bio foundation, and my bio AP notes were killer, so I used that. It's really all you need. Memorize all the facts, make lots of flashcards, put things into categories. I spent 5 days reviewing and 2 days going through Destroyer questions. It's a great resource in that the answers are really comprehensive. People recommended Cliff Notes, so I looked through it at a bookstore. It's actually really good! I wouldn't waste time memorizing all the protist and fungi phylums; but know animal classifications though. Know the products of each step of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, but I don't think you need to know that specific numbers of NADPH and so forth. I also wouldn't recommend reading through the Campbell's textbook because it might just overload you with too much info.
Took first Top Scorer exam. Scored were pretty deplorably. If you read my past posts you'll see I scored something like 16 on orgo (ha!) and was getting low 20's for bio, math, and reading.
Week 2- General Chem- Used Examkrackers. It's helpful because it highlights the important equations to memorize. I think very little quantum physics stuff is on the exam so don't waste time with that. You should be really familiar with stoichiometry; converting moles from density and the like. I had two colligative properties question on my exam.
-Spent a day shopping and then did all the math Destroyer problems. Refreshed up on trig identities.
Week 3 and 4- Relearn organic chem. Two chapters a day. Hated it, especially the really superficial Examkrackers book. Made flashcards with Destroyer road maps. Lots of memorizing. Did orgo Destroyer questions three times.
Took Top Scorer Exam 2 and 3.
Two days before exam- Went through all the chem Destroyer questions again, but only setting all the answers up instead of finishing calculating them. Went through tricky biology questions. Reviewed math equations that I had made a list of.
Yesterday- I originally wasn't planning on studying at all, and I caught up on three episodes of House. But then I felt guilty and started reviewing all the orgo questions again. Advice-- Don't do this-- It's 11 p.m. eve of your exam and you freak out because you can't remember benzene substitutions and spend an hour reviewing it again. :]
The actual exam:
Bio- Much easier than Destroyer, with two, three tricky questions thrown in there. I didn't encounter any plant bio/photosynthesis/cell respiration questions at all! (Phew). Very little physiology questions too (boo wasted all that time memorizing digestive enzymes and lymphatic system) The questions were surprisingly basic and straightforward, such as what hormone does this function, what's an example of this behavior, and where does this process take place in the cell.
Chem- Several questions had answers left in the algebraic expression format, which was nice because you didn't have to calculate it. Also nice is that they gave you the molecular weight for all the compounds so you didn't have to waste time adding them up. I didn't get any electrochemistry and questions, for some reason. There was one simple acid-base titration question. DAT destroyer really helps for this section. Know how to do logs in your head.
Orgo- Now, orgo is my weakest category because I actually didn't learn anything when I took it last year, so this was the section I was really scared for. The real exam questions were so much simpler than Destroyer questions! Very straightforward, one step reactions. There was one really obvious mechanism question. Memorize Destroyer roadmaps and you'll be all set. When you are studying, you should really make an attempt to understand the reaction mechanisms because it helps you memorize it. Plus, if you see something unfamiliar, you can reason through it too.
PAT- Seriously, this section made me angry. Crack PAT does a great job preparing you, but nothing can prepare you for sloppily drawn diagrams. In the hole-fitting section, two of the answer choices for at least two questions were literally the same thing, but rotated. The TFE questions are also more difficult than Crack DAT because you can't rely on the line-counting trick for at least half the questions. What I mean is, you can narrow down to two answer choices that are identical except one has a dashed line across corner where the other has solid line. I find that visualizing rotating my head around the object helps to determine if you actually see the edge or not.
Angles were okay (as in, hard), pretty similar to Crack DAT. One tricky thing to expect is that the angles are often all rotated at different angles. I remember while practicing from Crack PAT to expect angles to have one leg parallel to the other so you could just compare the other legs. Can't rely on that as much! Cube-counting was good; no illusions.
Hole punching was the worst. Let me count the ways
1) Pictures were much smaller than in Crack DAT.
2) The holes weren't round, more like jagged ovals.
3) The "square" paper was more like a rectangle.
4) The holes aren't perfectly centered in their spot. Like, it was hard to tell which sixteenth of the paper the hole actually landed on.
5) The worst part-- the folds didn't produce symmetrical shapes on both sides.
I think this part resembled Top Scorer the most, and you just have to get used to poorly drawn, and stretched out pictures.
Pattern folding was pretty normal, except for this one question where I swear the shape was meant to have 6 sides but for some reason there were only five sides drawn in. If you took the test today, did you encounter this? One trick is to examine for "enantiomers" of some shapes to eliminate some choices.
Timing is a really big deal. On Crack DAT, I was finishing with 5-8 minutes leftover, but I actually finished on the clock. Do not get stuck on one problem longer than you think you should! It's not worth wasting time on a poorly drawn questions, and miss the easier questions later.
(Took the 15 minute break. Read an Oprah magazine laying in the lobby and ate chips. Your brain runs on glucose, so give it refined sugar 🙂)
Reading wasn't too bad. I got three science passages. Lots of search and destroy type questions. The third passage was on micro-arrays, and one question, no joke, asked you to put the three steps of the Central Dogma in order. It was so easy I almost thought that I was taking the wrong exam. My method was to spend 2 minutes reading the passage up front, answering any easy questions, then going back and skimming for answers. One tricky thing, I noticed, is that the correct answer was a reworded form of the passage. There were two relatively straightforward questions on why the author chose to include so-and-so example.
Math- I didn't buy the Math Destroyer, and now I wish I had. This has been emphasized before, but timing IS so important for this section. I fell into the trap and spent 4 minutes on question 3 (still didn't figure it out), and was rushed at the end. You should be familiar with binomial theorem, calculating interest, volumes of spheres and cylinders, taking numbers to a fractional power, and mixture problems.
Calculator usage- It definitely helped in some arithmetic questions, but for others, it's actually distracting. We've all been conditioned to immediately clicking in the large numbers rather than simplifying the expression on paper.
One nice strategy is to eyeball the answer before you start calculating (helpful for Chem too). Sometimes the answer is really obvious from the answer choices.
Basically, I went from not knowing any orgo to getting a 30 on that section (I still can't believe it). I'm still walking on clouds!
thank you everyone again, for the encouragement and tips! If you work really hard and truly focus for 8 hours a day for 4 weeks, it IS possible to rock the DATs!
and I just want to help chip in what I've learned.
AA: 27
TS: 26
PAT: 23
Bio: 22
Chem: 27
Orgo: 30
Reading: 30
QR: 24
First, if you can help it, do NOT do what I did-- save studying till the last month.
Prep:
Materials: Examkrackers MCAT books, DAT Destroyer (both 2008 and the 2011 version), Top Score, CRACK DAT PAT, lots of wikipedia, notes from high school Biology AP. I got the latest DAT Destroyer only last week and really wished I could have spent longer with it. (I'm looking to sell both books-- feel free to message me if you're interested!)
Week 1- Bio- using Examkrackers, Bio AP notes. I had a strong basic bio foundation, and my bio AP notes were killer, so I used that. It's really all you need. Memorize all the facts, make lots of flashcards, put things into categories. I spent 5 days reviewing and 2 days going through Destroyer questions. It's a great resource in that the answers are really comprehensive. People recommended Cliff Notes, so I looked through it at a bookstore. It's actually really good! I wouldn't waste time memorizing all the protist and fungi phylums; but know animal classifications though. Know the products of each step of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, but I don't think you need to know that specific numbers of NADPH and so forth. I also wouldn't recommend reading through the Campbell's textbook because it might just overload you with too much info.
Took first Top Scorer exam. Scored were pretty deplorably. If you read my past posts you'll see I scored something like 16 on orgo (ha!) and was getting low 20's for bio, math, and reading.
Week 2- General Chem- Used Examkrackers. It's helpful because it highlights the important equations to memorize. I think very little quantum physics stuff is on the exam so don't waste time with that. You should be really familiar with stoichiometry; converting moles from density and the like. I had two colligative properties question on my exam.
-Spent a day shopping and then did all the math Destroyer problems. Refreshed up on trig identities.
Week 3 and 4- Relearn organic chem. Two chapters a day. Hated it, especially the really superficial Examkrackers book. Made flashcards with Destroyer road maps. Lots of memorizing. Did orgo Destroyer questions three times.
Took Top Scorer Exam 2 and 3.
Two days before exam- Went through all the chem Destroyer questions again, but only setting all the answers up instead of finishing calculating them. Went through tricky biology questions. Reviewed math equations that I had made a list of.
Yesterday- I originally wasn't planning on studying at all, and I caught up on three episodes of House. But then I felt guilty and started reviewing all the orgo questions again. Advice-- Don't do this-- It's 11 p.m. eve of your exam and you freak out because you can't remember benzene substitutions and spend an hour reviewing it again. :]
The actual exam:
Bio- Much easier than Destroyer, with two, three tricky questions thrown in there. I didn't encounter any plant bio/photosynthesis/cell respiration questions at all! (Phew). Very little physiology questions too (boo wasted all that time memorizing digestive enzymes and lymphatic system) The questions were surprisingly basic and straightforward, such as what hormone does this function, what's an example of this behavior, and where does this process take place in the cell.
Chem- Several questions had answers left in the algebraic expression format, which was nice because you didn't have to calculate it. Also nice is that they gave you the molecular weight for all the compounds so you didn't have to waste time adding them up. I didn't get any electrochemistry and questions, for some reason. There was one simple acid-base titration question. DAT destroyer really helps for this section. Know how to do logs in your head.
Orgo- Now, orgo is my weakest category because I actually didn't learn anything when I took it last year, so this was the section I was really scared for. The real exam questions were so much simpler than Destroyer questions! Very straightforward, one step reactions. There was one really obvious mechanism question. Memorize Destroyer roadmaps and you'll be all set. When you are studying, you should really make an attempt to understand the reaction mechanisms because it helps you memorize it. Plus, if you see something unfamiliar, you can reason through it too.
PAT- Seriously, this section made me angry. Crack PAT does a great job preparing you, but nothing can prepare you for sloppily drawn diagrams. In the hole-fitting section, two of the answer choices for at least two questions were literally the same thing, but rotated. The TFE questions are also more difficult than Crack DAT because you can't rely on the line-counting trick for at least half the questions. What I mean is, you can narrow down to two answer choices that are identical except one has a dashed line across corner where the other has solid line. I find that visualizing rotating my head around the object helps to determine if you actually see the edge or not.
Angles were okay (as in, hard), pretty similar to Crack DAT. One tricky thing to expect is that the angles are often all rotated at different angles. I remember while practicing from Crack PAT to expect angles to have one leg parallel to the other so you could just compare the other legs. Can't rely on that as much! Cube-counting was good; no illusions.
Hole punching was the worst. Let me count the ways
1) Pictures were much smaller than in Crack DAT.
2) The holes weren't round, more like jagged ovals.
3) The "square" paper was more like a rectangle.
4) The holes aren't perfectly centered in their spot. Like, it was hard to tell which sixteenth of the paper the hole actually landed on.
5) The worst part-- the folds didn't produce symmetrical shapes on both sides.
I think this part resembled Top Scorer the most, and you just have to get used to poorly drawn, and stretched out pictures.
Pattern folding was pretty normal, except for this one question where I swear the shape was meant to have 6 sides but for some reason there were only five sides drawn in. If you took the test today, did you encounter this? One trick is to examine for "enantiomers" of some shapes to eliminate some choices.
Timing is a really big deal. On Crack DAT, I was finishing with 5-8 minutes leftover, but I actually finished on the clock. Do not get stuck on one problem longer than you think you should! It's not worth wasting time on a poorly drawn questions, and miss the easier questions later.
(Took the 15 minute break. Read an Oprah magazine laying in the lobby and ate chips. Your brain runs on glucose, so give it refined sugar 🙂)
Reading wasn't too bad. I got three science passages. Lots of search and destroy type questions. The third passage was on micro-arrays, and one question, no joke, asked you to put the three steps of the Central Dogma in order. It was so easy I almost thought that I was taking the wrong exam. My method was to spend 2 minutes reading the passage up front, answering any easy questions, then going back and skimming for answers. One tricky thing, I noticed, is that the correct answer was a reworded form of the passage. There were two relatively straightforward questions on why the author chose to include so-and-so example.
Math- I didn't buy the Math Destroyer, and now I wish I had. This has been emphasized before, but timing IS so important for this section. I fell into the trap and spent 4 minutes on question 3 (still didn't figure it out), and was rushed at the end. You should be familiar with binomial theorem, calculating interest, volumes of spheres and cylinders, taking numbers to a fractional power, and mixture problems.
Calculator usage- It definitely helped in some arithmetic questions, but for others, it's actually distracting. We've all been conditioned to immediately clicking in the large numbers rather than simplifying the expression on paper.
One nice strategy is to eyeball the answer before you start calculating (helpful for Chem too). Sometimes the answer is really obvious from the answer choices.
Basically, I went from not knowing any orgo to getting a 30 on that section (I still can't believe it). I'm still walking on clouds!
thank you everyone again, for the encouragement and tips! If you work really hard and truly focus for 8 hours a day for 4 weeks, it IS possible to rock the DATs!
