Starting to prepare for DAT

[smile1234]

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Is this material enough?

Biology, GC, OC

Kaplan Book
Destroyer

PAT

CDP
Kaplan book

QR

Kaplan book
Destroyer

Practice tests - Topscore.

I want to get around 23-24. What do I need to add?
Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[iwannabadentist]

The average DAT for applicants is 17 and for matriculants is 19. Getting around 23-24 is WAYY easier said than done my friend! a 23 is approx in the 97th percentile - which means you can't miss more than 2 questions in every section, IF that! if you are really serious about a 23-24, you better know your biology, gchem, and ochem textbooks liek the back of your hand, be super proficient in reading comprehension, and have math skills that are off the chart. use whatever materials you think will help you gain these abilities.

 

[smile1234]

The average DAT for applicants is 17 and for matriculants is 19. Getting around 23-24 is WAYY easier said than done my friend! a 23 is approx in the 97th percentile - which means you can't miss more than 2 questions in every section, IF that! if you are really serious about a 23-24, you better know your biology, gchem, and ochem textbooks liek the back of your hand, be super proficient in reading comprehension, and have math skills that are off the chart. use whatever materials you think will help you gain these abilities.

Actually I took a topscore test without actually starting to prepare just to know where I stand and I got 20 so I thought maybe its not very hard to add a few points. Anyway, I just want to prepare well and what are the good resources that anyone can recommend? Please don't criticize.

 

[iwannabadentist]

those are all good resources that you can use to study from. And I'm not trying to criticize you, I'm just letting you know that going from an 18 to a 19 to a 20 is much easier than going from a 21 to a 22 to a 23. Since the test is graded on a bell shaped curve, once you reach a plateau its extremely hard to improve. It's good that you used topscore to see where you are, but don't let that discourage you or make you over-confident. As long as you study hard, you should be fine. Also, add Cliff's of Schaum's for Bio and maybe try to get yor hand on Kaplan Practice tests for additional practice problems

 

[smile1234]

those are all good resources that you can use to study from. And I'm not trying to criticize you, I'm just letting you know that going from an 18 to a 19 to a 20 is much easier than going from a 21 to a 22 to a 23. Since the test is graded on a bell shaped curve, once you reach a plateau its extremely hard to improve. It's good that you used topscore to see where you are, but don't let that discourage you or make you over-confident. As long as you study hard, you should be fine. Also, add Cliff's of Schaum's for Bio and maybe try to get yor hand on Kaplan Practice tests for additional practice problems

Thanks for providing me this information and sorry to misunderstand you. I have got Schaum's Bio but never got a chance to see Cliff's. Which one is better and I have got Kaplan Blue Book. Are these Kaplan Practice tests different? Sorry for being ignorant and thanks for your response again.

 

[iwannabadentist]

Kaplan blue book doesnt have practice tests for any particular subjects, except for RC. they only have questions at the back of every chapter that go over the material covered in that chapter. Subject Tests are a comprehensive overview of the entire subject and is similar in format to the sections on the actual DAT.
I have never used Schaum's, but heard it was very good and comprehensive. I personally used Cliff's and really liked it, so I decided to stick to Cliff's.

 

[BTtheman777]

Are Kaplan Practice Tests a good indicator of the real thing? Or are they just supplemental tests to help "feel" for the thing? What I mean to say is, is the score you recieve on Kaplan a good representation of what you might get on the real thing?