I am retaking DAT for second time sometime in June. I have been studying since mid Feb with a full-time job. I have expanded my study materials a great deal this time around and feel like I know much more stuff than I did the first time around. But when I am taking the Kaplan online tests (have taken only 3 sciences so far), I can't seem to be doing any better. My overall scores fall in the same range as they did on my original DAT(academic avg 18 and science avg 19). I just wish there was some way I could get pass that stage and have enough confidence to take the DAT. Now...kaplan online tests are definitely not the ideal tests because they do not focus on half the material thats outlined by DAT guidelines or whatever. I seem to be doing good with destroyer and those questions actually make much more sense to me than some of the Kaplan ones, but its a study source nonetheless and I want to do good on them.
I am open to any suggestions that could be helpful. Please help!!!
DON'T LOSE HOPE!!! especially not at this stage in the game! I also had a full-time job when I was studying for the DAT, and it was definitely tough to know that the end of the workday for my co-workers was just the beginning of mine, but I forced myself to be disciplined. I studied for about 3-4 months - during the week, I worked from 6:30 AM - 4 PM, and then would come home and study until I went to bed; on the weekends, it would be constant studying to make up for time I'd lost during the week due to work. Although I was disappointed with my scores on a few sections, I think all the studying and sacrifices paid off in the end.
You're right... beyond serving as a good base for your preliminary studying, I don't think that Kaplan is a good resource when it comes to practice tests. I would HIGHLY recommend DAT Achiever - $50 for 3 full-length DAT practice tests was ABSOLUTELY worth every penny. The answer explanations were great, and the software for the PAT section was awesome (the answers are presented in 3D, and you can rotate the entire object to see what it would look like from different angles - this was especially useful for the TFE section).
It's great that you're using Destroyer - I'm sure you're well aware of the fact that simply memorizing loads and loads of material is not going to work for 8 out of 10 people out there. You need to
challenge your knowledge base with questions (like what you see in Destroyer) and through practice tests.
I've said this multiple times to others, and you may be strapped for time at this point, but I still stand by this strategy - make sure that you fully understand each question you do (i.e. why the correct answer is correct and why all the incorrect choices are incorrect).
If there are certain sections you're repeatedly not doing as well as you'd like on, keep on doing practice questions and tests JUST for those sections; don't just keep on pumping out full-length exams and frustrating yourself in the process.
GOOD LUCK, and feel free to PM me with any questions.