Study Guides

[kov82]

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Hi guys, a few questions....

I graduated in the summer of 05 with a degree in Bio from UCLA, but I dont have a great GPA, I have to do well on the DAT and I'm rusty with all the material, I have a real problem with reading for months and recalling stuff i studied a few months back, taking that into consideration.....


1)For the Bio, Gen Chem, and Organic Chem sections, I have a bunch of Kaplan MCAT study guides, Examcrakers 1001 questions for bio and chem, and I have the Kaplan DAT 3rd edition book, good enough?


2)For the QR section, I dont want to go back and study old math text books, I want to fully study off study guides, I had wanted to take the GRE before but decided not to, I have a GRE sample test study guide, is the math practice there good enough? and the Kaplan DAT 3rd edition has practice too, should I bother buying the SAT study book for math? please give a suggestion on a math study guide


3)For the Reading Comp section, I have GRE and MCAT verbal study books, and the Kaplan DAT 3rd edition, this doesn't seem like a section anyone can really improve on that much so I guess I wont be needing anything more unless someone has a good suggestion

4)For the PAT I know these 3 thin books that a bookstore at UCLA offers just for PAT study they are labeled A, B, C, and their pricey but I will buy those along with Kaplan DAT 3rd edition practice and topscore is there anywhere els I can get practice from?? I know everyone says that this section turns out to be surprisingly more difficult than anyone expects.

I also intend on getting the DAT software "topscore", I want to do well, but the amount of material for review seems to be a lot for only a few months of studying, because I'm really relearning things too, suggestions will be greatly appreciated by me and anyone els in my position that reads this thread......thanks.

 

[poc91nc]

Hi guys, a few questions....

I graduated in the summer of 05 with a degree in Bio from UCLA, but I dont have a great GPA, I have to do well on the DAT and I'm rusty with all the material, I have a real problem with reading for months and recalling stuff i studied a few months back, taking that into consideration.....


1)For the Bio, Gen Chem, and Organic Chem sections, I have a bunch of Kaplan MCAT study guides, Examcrakers 1001 questions for bio and chem, and I have the Kaplan DAT 3rd edition book, good enough?


2)For the QR section, I dont want to go back and study old math text books, I want to fully study off study guides, I had wanted to take the GRE before but decided not to, I have a GRE sample test study guide, is the math practice there good enough? and the Kaplan DAT 3rd edition has practice too, should I bother buying the SAT study book for math? please give a suggestion on a math study guide


3)For the Reading Comp section, I have GRE and MCAT verbal study books, and the Kaplan DAT 3rd edition, this doesn't seem like a section anyone can really improve on that much so I guess I wont be needing anything more unless someone has a good suggestion

4)For the PAT I know these 3 thin books that a bookstore at UCLA offers just for PAT study they are labeled A, B, C, and their pricey but I will buy those along with Kaplan DAT 3rd edition practice and topscore is there anywhere els I can get practice from?? I know everyone says that this section turns out to be surprisingly more difficult than anyone expects.

I also intend on getting the DAT software "topscore", I want to do well, but the amount of material for review seems to be a lot for only a few months of studying, because I'm really relearning things too, suggestions will be greatly appreciated by me and anyone els in my position that reads this thread......thanks.

1) For the sciences you NEED to go with DAT specific material. Get DAT Destroyer from orgoman.com. This is a must have if you want to do well in the sciences. The book costs $150, but is worth every penny. There is no better practice for DAT questions...master these questions/know everything in it, and you will kill the sciences.

MCAT material is nice...don't get me wrong, however, there are certain areas that aren't covered. For example...

a) Biology: MCAT biology does not cover the following; classification, ecology, plant biology, and evolution. Furthermore, a good deal of lower life form biology can be hidden within the classification topics (ie invertebrate biology).

b) I find that MCAT organic chemistry does not emphasize reactions. Yes, some people will say their DAT didn't have a lot of reaction...others will say the opposite. Bottom line...know the reactions. DAT Destroyer has roadmaps of all needed organic chemistry reactions...plus lots of other good stuff.

c) I think MCAT general chemistry does not contain nuclear chemistry. You can have several nuclear chemistry questions on your DAT. Also, I think mcat general chemistry guides have a tendency to over-emphasize thermodynamics and quantum chemistry.

Use the MCAT stuff only after you've exhausted Destroyer and other DAT material.

2) In addition to Destroyer, I would keep several textbooks handy...a good general chemistry book, orgo book, and campbells biology. An undergraduate anatomy and physiology book would also be usefull....I recommend the following:

- General Chemistry 6th edition by Charles E. Mortimer (10 dollars on amazon)

- Organic Chemistry 5th edition by John McMurry (10 dollars on amazon)

- Campbells Biology

- Anatomy and Physiology 4th edition by Elaine Marieb (very very useful)

For Practice tests...forget topscore...it's too easy and is basically garbage. It hasn't been updated since about 2001. Get DAT achiever...this is a MUCH MUCH better practice test. The pat is really really challenging too. This product is about 10x better than topscore.

 

[phamdmd]

are the dat destroyer and dat achiever both books? or are they cd roms. do you buy it online, and they give you a confirmation number so you can do the practice tests online?

 

[jigabodo]

are the dat destroyer and dat achiever both books? or are they cd roms. do you buy it online, and they give you a confirmation number so you can do the practice tests online?

Destroyer is a book, which can be bought at www.orgoman.com. Achiever is a program that you can dl online. Once installed, you would need to purchase its key in order to activate it. You can dl Achiever at www.scholarware.com.

 

[poc91nc]

are the dat destroyer and dat achiever both books? or are they cd roms. do you buy it online, and they give you a confirmation number so you can do the practice tests online?

Uh, go to the respective websites...all your questions will be answered there.

If you're looking for a review book, dat destroyer and achiever might be too much for you to handle. You need to review your textbooks or the kaplan blue book.

 

[Donjuan]

Destroyer is a book, which can be bought at www.orgoman.com. Achiever is a program that you can dl online. Once installed, you would need to purchase its key in order to activate it. You can dl Achiever at [URL="http://www.scholarware.com."]www.scholarware.com.[/URL]

That site is for topscore. Achiever's site is: www.3tquest.com

By the way, congrats on some kick-butt scores, you're my hero on this site, & a true SDN mentor 🙂!

- Donjuan

 

[jigabodo]

My bad. Achiever website indeed is www.3tquest.com

 

[kov82]

Thanks for the advice guys, just wanted to know any particular study guides (no text books please) used for math, I know a lot of people dont focus on math but for the material covered on the DAT, is an SAT math book good practice? along with a GRE math book? (are they missing anything? like geomotry or trig stuff that is on the DAT but not covered?), I will also use my Kaplan thrid edition DAT to study math but want ot know about the SAT + GRE books too, if you guys have anything else to suggest it would be a big help, thanks again to anyone who replied.

 

[rose786]

The GRE doesn't cover trig, so you'll probably need an extra book for that.