To do Achiever or not..

[Dusk]

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So I already bought the 5 test version.. But I'm wondering if time would be better spent doing something else.

I have 3 weeks left, and went over destroyer 2 times, and cliff's 2 times, math destroyer 2 times, everything 2 times..

I plan on doing topscore and 2007/2009 tests next 2 weeks.
But should I do achiever? Or is time better spent doing destroyer 1-2 more times? I also want to do some datqvault... Including the testing time and reviewing mistakes, that's around 35+ hrs I could have more to study if I don't do achiever..

What would you do? I just came back from drinks, so I can't think straight , think for me please.

Also, are there certain sections of Achiever, like PAT, that you would definitely recommend doing?

 

[Hope30]

So I already bought the 5 test version.. But I'm wondering if time would be better spent doing something else.

I have 3 weeks left, and went over destroyer 2 times, and cliff's 2 times, math destroyer 2 times, everything 2 times..

I plan on doing topscore and 2007/2009 tests next 2 weeks.
But should I do achiever? Or is time better spent doing destroyer 1-2 more times? I also want to do some datqvault... Including the testing time and reviewing mistakes, that's around 35+ hrs I could have more to study if I don't do achiever..

What would you do? I just came back from drinks, so I can't think straight , think for me please.

Do Achiever if you have time. Do other stuffs that you plan to do first. I bought 5 Achiever tests and only do one (terrible test). I'm not going to do the other 4 since my test is in one week (spending time on other things that I know will boost my score). As for you, do Achiever last. Spend your time on reviewing. In my opinion, a better deal.

 

[Vsno123]

So I already bought the 5 test version.. But I'm wondering if time would be better spent doing something else.

I have 3 weeks left, and went over destroyer 2 times, and cliff's 2 times, math destroyer 2 times, everything 2 times..

I plan on doing topscore and 2007/2009 tests next 2 weeks.
But should I do achiever? Or is time better spent doing destroyer 1-2 more times? I also want to do some datqvault... Including the testing time and reviewing mistakes, that's around 35+ hrs I could have more to study if I don't do achiever..

What would you do? I just came back from drinks, so I can't think straight , think for me please.

Also, are there certain sections of Achiever, like PAT, that you would definitely recommend doing?

lol well wait until you can think a bit clearer...but I really like Achiever! everyone says its hard & that it's an overkill blah blah...but I felt like it pointed out my weaknesses whereas Kaplan tests you on easy stuff you already know. Achiever helps with what you need to brush up on. I also like Achiever PAT because you can't line count for TFE and the explanations allow you to really see it 3-D. And it also explains why things are wrong and what it would look like otherwise.

I haven't taken my DAT yet but I have taken one Topscore test and several Kaplan tests (the online course) and I like Achiever's organization and explanations better. Although, I have found a couple questions that were worded a little weird..I think it's worth it!

NOTE: don't do Achiever last though! the questions are a little bit difficult so it might bring down your confidence a little. Do easier tests as your real DAT approaches 🙂

 

[2PacClone23]

Don't do it. Waste of time and major confidence killer.

 

[Hope30]

I think you should do one Achiever first and see how you like it (in turn of "do you learn anything from it"). If you do learn stuff, do more. If not, spend your time on others more worth while. Either way, have a taste of Achiever yourself first.

 

[indigenoustw]

If you are the kind of person who needs a TON of motivation, by all means, do them. If you think you would freak out by seeing some killer low scores, then plz avoid it. I'm the first type, so I suggest people to do them. I needed motivation and training for my timing on each section. Plus you have 3 weeks and it seems like you've done quiet a lot, plenty of time. Just take one and see where you are now and continue studying. Also, I don't recommend taking it by section because that defeats the purpose of the practice test. It's a simulation of the real test, so take it like it's the real deal.

 

[jshyun320]

I think it is always better to over-prepare than under-prepare...

 

[jmukid]

DONT do acheiver if you are close to taking your test. Its harder then the actual thing and will only get you nervous and kinda crush your confidence. Its good to do them like a month of two before the test to know what your weak spots are but if you want to do practice tests close to when you take the dat then do topscore

 

[wired202808]

So I already bought the 5 test version.. But I'm wondering if time would be better spent doing something else.

I have 3 weeks left, and went over destroyer 2 times, and cliff's 2 times, math destroyer 2 times, everything 2 times..

I plan on doing topscore and 2007/2009 tests next 2 weeks.
But should I do achiever? Or is time better spent doing destroyer 1-2 more times? I also want to do some datqvault... Including the testing time and reviewing mistakes, that's around 35+ hrs I could have more to study if I don't do achiever..

What would you do? I just came back from drinks, so I can't think straight , think for me please.

Also, are there certain sections of Achiever, like PAT, that you would definitely recommend doing?

i took the dat and used achiever and topscore. I felt that i learned things that were valuable for the dat from both of those sources. I did not use the 5 test version, but i will tell you this, one question I had on the real dat i would have not gotten right, had I not done achiever.

So its up to you. 🙂

 

[Clancyp]

I know you've heard it before, but achiever can do alot of damage to your confidence prior to taking the test. If you plan on taking them, use them for timing and a to understand the diversity of questions... Do not expect near the same scores or to feel good after taking the tests. I got atleast 4 to 5 points higher on every section on te real thing. Again, confidence is crucial for a test like this, remain humble... But confident if you plan to do the achiever tests. See and review what you miss on the tests and move on. Goodluck!

 

[Dusk]

Thanks everyone! I guess I'll suck it up and do 1-2 practice tests and see how that goes.

What order do you guys recommend taking the practice tests.. Achiever, topscore, then 2007/2009? Or am i just stupid and overthinking everything...

I def don't want to take achiever last and end up crying as I enter prometric tho🙄

 

[wired202808]

Thanks everyone! I guess I'll suck it up and do 1-2 practice tests and see how that goes.

What order do you guys recommend taking the practice tests.. Achiever, topscore, then 2007/2009? Or am i just stupid and overthinking everything...

I def don't want to take achiever last and end up crying as I enter prometric tho🙄

take achiever first then topscore then 2007 then 2009. There have been some people that had questions from the 2009 exam on the real dat, so you never know!

 

[FutureDental88]

Achievers Bio, Gchem, and QR are very Representative !! I would def to achiever just for those.

 

[nydentist32]

this is my personal opinion on achiever. It is good to learn from kinda like an online destroyer but not as hard. Its a good resource it you use it and kno your going to get a 16 or lower. My advice use it early as a challenge then really learn your mistakes then do another. I think all sections are good reps of the real test. Youll see your just gonna make simple mistakes that lower your score. Most youll probably kno if your studying hard enough. Just DONT take that the score to heart. I remember Clancyp told me that a cpl of weeks back and I took it got a 16 in all sections except chem that i got a 14 but on the real thing i got a 20 TS and 21 PAT so my advice finally is go take it especially if you bought it cause thats just a waste of ****ing money and take your score as just another result its no biggie just take and learn just like any other practice test. Some ppl that say "ooo its gonna hurt ur confidence don't take it" prob never took it so just take it i learned a lot from it.....good luck

 

[smthngintheway]

My DATs are on the 24th and I just finished all three exams for the achiever.

I can say a few things. One..... it's mega hard. Confidence killer to the core. RC is literally a foreign language. Not even a foreign language. More like a foreign language that noone speaks anymore like latin or hieroglyphics.

I've been only using Kaplan before I took achiever and W/Kaplan I've been getting consistently in the 20-23 range. With achiever I'm getting like 16-19. I don't know whether that means Kaplan is too easy or achiever is too hard but either way, it's really killer to see your grades drop 2 days before your exam 🙁

I will say that hard bio questions are always welcome because you can always learn something from them. TBH the gen chem and orgo weren't so bad. PAT literally bent me over and had its way with me.

Also, the explanations suck! Really short and not conclusive.

All in all, I say it's good in teaching you a few things. It's probably not the most representative of what you're going to get but it does show you perhaps your worst possible score.

 

[TheDentist16]

Don't do it. Waste of time and major confidence killer.

Agreed.

 

[Clancyp]

Achievers Bio, Gchem, and QR are very Representative !! I would def to achiever just for those.

The average bio/chem/ochem score achiever is 17ish, but 90% of the scores posted on here that took achiever and got those 17s end up with 20-21+. So I must disagree that this comment may be a little misleading using the word 'very'. Only thing close to it is it's QR section. I averaged 17 on Chem/Ochem and got 23s, I hardly say that's representative.

 

[Dusk]

Thank you all you wonderful people on sdn for your kind advice. If I could, I would shake each and every one of your hands and then some...

I'll do my first ever practice test, which will be the first achiever test tomorrow. Should be real fun.. I'm expecting to come out violated, but I'm hoping I won't be too demoralized. 🙄

 

[Dusk]

Well I just took Achiever 1 and got a 19AA...
I guess I'm fine with that score, but man now I feel so pooped and just want to take a nap. I don't really care that much if I score high or low on practice tests, because they mean nothing really.. Just got to do well on the real deal (20+).

I'll just keep taking the achiever tests this week, see if I can get a consistent score.

What do you all think of the sections compared to the real deal? QR was freaking hard, probably just guessed on 10+ and the RC passages were so long, I was like 😴 by the time I started QR. Are the passages as long on real dat?

And I felt like the PAT was really nothing like CDP... the keyholes and TFE were much harder. Also GC, how do you do some of those calculations without a calculator? I was so tempted to reach for my Ti83....

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

19 on Achiever 1 puts you in good shape!

I got 19 on Achiever 1.

For comparing Achiever to the real DAT (from my experience)..

Bio: Achiever a lot harder
GChem: About the same
OChem: About the same
PAT: Achiever a bit harder
RC: Achiever A LOTTTTTTTTTT harder
QR: About the same

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

For keyholes, I considered CDP easier than the actual DAT.

This is because CDP focusses on the different shapes. The real DAT (like Achiever) takes proportions into the equation too.

I'm glad I did Achiever to prepare me for the worst, so there were no surprises on the real DAT.

 

[Dusk]

Awesome, thanks! Guess I'll just keep on working and hope for the best.

 

[knugget]

Bump

For those doing achiever are you guys only running thru the tests once?

 

[Dusk]

Bump

For those doing achiever are you guys only running thru the tests once?

I went through them once. And 4 days before my test I looked through the ones I got wrong only in the sciences.

 

[xtra333]

Achiever is great practice for the BIOlogy and PAT part. I believe in overprepping for the PAT part of the test since it is very unpredictable. I now have achiever topscore, datQvault and the DAT destroyer. I like Achiever's science questions. In my opinion, if you want to score well, you should consider achiever. even though I found a couple of mistakes with Achiever.

 

[xtra333]

actually let me update my opinion. sometimes the achiever PAT is hard. especially for the keyholes section. The shapes in the keyholes are drawn poorly (unlike crack DAT) for me to see the proportions. I have scored in the lowered 20's with crack, but now I am 16-18 on PAT of achiever.

 

[TheDentist16]

actually let me update my opinion. sometimes the achiever PAT is hard. especially for the keyholes section. The shapes in the keyholes are drawn poorly (unlike crack DAT) for me to see the proportions. I have scored in the lowered 20's with crack, but now I am 16-18 on PAT of achiever.

I guess the Achiever debate is never over. Anyhow, I'll say what I said before. It does kill your confidence, but at the same time it's always good to get exposure to other DAT practice tests. Personally, I did 5 points better on the real DAT PAT versus Achiever PAT. My DAT PAT nearly matched my Crack PAT scores.

 

[xtra333]

yep, the debate is never over. To the OP, if you bought achiever, why don't you use it for the extra practice? like I do right now.
but I feel like achiever gives you the most practice for your money.