To hell with DAT! (7/27/10)

[DoctreDrey]

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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED TO BEGIN SUMMER!

My scores:

PAT: 20 (85.4%) 🙁 was scoring 21/22 on CDP
QR: 18 (75.8%) 😀 I DONT CARE!
RC: 25 (98.5%) 😀 totally unexpected
Bio: 24 (98.7%) 😀 again, totally unexpected
GC: 30 (100%) yea, it was rly easy
OC: 23 (94.3%) again, rly easy
TS: 26 (99.9%)
AA: 24 (99.4%) 😀

I'm so worried that my "official" scores will be lower. Are there ever any discrepencies?

Materials used:
- KBB: went through 3 times
- DAT Destroyer: Did all the GC and OC problems twice and took notes; skipped the last 3/4 of the bio questions
- MATH Destroyer: Did 8/11 tests without timing myself.
- Cliff's AP Bio: went through 3 times; skipped the plant section
- Topscore
- CDP 10 test version but ended up only doing 3: Test 1) 21, Test 2) 21, Test 10) 22. -- I probably should've done more but was overconfident because i've always thought I'm naturally artistically/perceptually inclined. guess i'm wrong...

Topscore scores:
Bio/GC/OC/QR/RC
1: 19/17/18/20/21 (a week before test day--I did the science sections individually for this one, not realizing you can choose the "natural sciences" option)
2: 21/19/23/skipped/21 (3 days before test day)
3: 19/21/23/skipped/skipped (2 days before test day)

Thoughts:

Bio: I thought it was harder than any topscore test I did mainly because it asked a lot of embryology and genetics stuff and so I was unsure about 8 or 9 questions (but I didn't have to blind guess anything). After finishing this section, I thought I would get around 19 or 20. I think the scale is more generous than topscore or something OR my educated guesses were all correct.

GC: WAY easier than topscore. Less calculations and they give you all the molar masses = LOTS of time saved.

OC: Easier than topscore. I felt certain about all my answers.

PAT: felt slightly harder than CDP. I was probably psyched out for this section bc I was expecting it to be easier than CDP like everyone here says...

RC: I had 2 straight science passages that were easier/same difficulty as topscore but 1 weird passage with a lot of inference questions (similar to the MCAT). I got really nervous during this section because by the time I finished the first 15 questions (of the weird passage), about 20 minutes had passed but luckily the next 2 passages had a couple biochem questions I could answer without reading. Right after, I felt I would get 20 or 21 tops so I'm uber happy about the 25.

QR: Similar to topscore and MATH destroyer.

 

[MatthewLeeDDS]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED TO BEGIN SUMMER!

My scores:

PAT: 20 (85.4%) 🙁 was scoring 21/22 on CDP
QR: 18 (75.8%) 😀 I DONT CARE!
RC: 25 (98.5%) 😀 totally unexpected
Bio: 24 (98.7%) 😀 again, totally unexpected
GC: 30 (100%) yea, it was rly easy
OC: 23 (94.3%) again, rly easy
TS: 26 (99.9%)
AA: 24 (99.4%) 😀

I'm so worried that my "official" scores will be lower. Are there ever any discrepencies?

No.


Good job!!

 

[nyr201]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED TO BEGIN SUMMER!

My scores:

PAT: 20 (85.4%) 🙁 was scoring 21/22 on CDP
QR: 18 (75.8%) 😀 I DONT CARE!
RC: 25 (98.5%) 😀 totally unexpected
Bio: 24 (98.7%) 😀 again, totally unexpected
GC: 30 (100%) yea, it was rly easy
OC: 23 (94.3%) again, rly easy
TS: 26 (99.9%)
AA: 24 (99.4%) 😀

I'm so worried that my "official" scores will be lower. Are there ever any discrepencies?

Materials used:
- KBB: went through 3 times
- DAT Destroyer: Did all the GC and OC problems twice and took notes; skipped the last 3/4 of the bio questions
- MATH Destroyer: Did 8/11 tests without timing myself.
- Cliff's AP Bio: went through 3 times; skipped the plant section
- Topscore
- CDP 10 test version but ended up only doing 3: Test 1) 21, Test 2) 21, Test 10) 22. -- I probably should've done more but was overconfident because i've always thought I'm naturally artistically/perceptually inclined. guess i'm wrong...

Topscore scores:
Bio/GC/OC/QR/RC
1: 19/17/18/20/21 (a week before test day--I did the science sections individually for this one, not realizing you can choose the "natural sciences" option)
2: 21/19/23/skipped/21 (3 days before test day)
3: 19/21/23/skipped/skipped (2 days before test day)

Thoughts:

Bio: I thought it was harder than any topscore test I did mainly because it asked a lot of embryology and genetics stuff and so I was unsure about 8 or 9 questions (but I didn't have to blind guess anything). After finishing this section, I thought I would get around 19 or 20. I think the scale is more generous than topscore or something OR my educated guesses were all correct.

GC: WAY easier than topscore. Less calculations and they give you all the molar masses = LOTS of time saved.

OC: Easier than topscore. I felt certain about all my answers.

PAT: felt slightly harder than CDP.

RC: I had 2 straight science passages that were easier/same difficulty as topscore but 1 weird passage with a lot of inference questions (similar to the MCAT). I got really nervous during this section because by the time I finished the first 15 questions (of the weird passage), about 20 minutes had passed but luckily the next 2 passages had a couple biochem questions I could answer without reading. Right after, I felt I would get 20 or 21 tops so I'm uber happy about the 25.

QR: similar to topscore and MATH destroyer.

LOL at ur "I DONT CARE" abt QR....awesome job man u murdered it. what was the hardest problem u saw on OC if u remember.

 

[Baylor2011]

what was the hardest problem u saw on OC if u remember.

😱😱

No.

 

[DoctreDrey]

😱😱

No.

Agreed.

But like I said, I was certain about all my answers so I'm not sure which ones I got wrong. There were no "hard" questions.

 

[nyr201]

Agreed.

But like I said, I was certain about all my answers so I'm not sure which ones I got wrong. There were no "hard" questions.

sorry didnt know that was taboo lol

 

[rpatel8]

What would you recommend studying most for organic? My test is just about 2.5 weeks away and I feel like I don't know anything. It has always been my worst subject even in college courses and I just cant get a conceptual grasp on it.

Also, I have seen a lot of gen chem problems on here lately that require me to put quite alot of thought into where to start. Are the questions on the real thing simple enough to where you know what to do first and what formula to use? Thanks

 

[Veloce]

What would you recommend studying most for organic? My test is just about 2.5 weeks away and I feel like I don't know anything. It has always been my worst subject even in college courses and I just cant get a conceptual grasp on it.

Also, I have seen a lot of gen chem problems on here lately that require me to put quite alot of thought into where to start. Are the questions on the real thing simple enough to where you know what to do first and what formula to use? Thanks

I haven't taken the DAT yet, but i'm getting 20 on OC on topscore, and I have to say, Dr. Romano's Organic Chemistry Odyssey really helps!! I literally remembered no organic chemistry, and the book really helped!

 

[DoctreDrey]

What would you recommend studying most for organic? My test is just about 2.5 weeks away and I feel like I don't know anything. It has always been my worst subject even in college courses and I just cant get a conceptual grasp on it.

Also, I have seen a lot of gen chem problems on here lately that require me to put quite alot of thought into where to start. Are the questions on the real thing simple enough to where you know what to do first and what formula to use? Thanks

For OC, in my opinion, its really important that you understand the key concepts rather than just memorize reactions (ie. when and why things do e2/e1/sn2/sn1, mechanisms for reactions, etc.) I think KBB does a decent job of going through everything but you might want to try Chad's videos, which I heard were good if you're completely lost.

Also, DAT Destroyer Roadmaps--VERY HELPFUL. If you can memorize and understand how each of these reactions work, you're set for almost any reaction question.

For GC, everything was rly basic. It was either an easy conceptual question or plug-and-NOT chug (most just required you to plug and rearrange the formula).

 

[cjw7475]

Haha Great Job!

You got exactly the same score as mine 😉

 

[sfoksn]

Great job, DoctorDrey!

Too many beasts in this forum 😀

Where are you applying to?!

 

[DoctreDrey]

Great job, DoctorDrey!

Too many beasts in this forum 😀

Where are you applying to?!

lol u asked me this before: all cali minus LL, most big name privates, and a few others.

I'm debating whether I should apply to Harvard just for kicks.

EDIT: actually, I doubt I will. After looking at your predents profile I was reminded of how weak my PA and QR scores are :S

 

[lippy104]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED TO BEGIN SUMMER!

My scores:

AA: 24 (99.4%) 😀

[

Huh thats weird. I got a 23 AA but somehow I was in the 99.7%. I understand their scoring system and everything and how they have different tests, but does anybody know why I could have a lower score with a higher percentile?

 

[newmexomfs]

Congratulations buddy! did u look at chs 19,20 and 21 in campbells? and were their tons of molecular genetics and/or lab technique problems?

 

[DoctreDrey]

Congratulations buddy! did u look at chs 19,20 and 21 in campbells? and were their tons of molecular genetics and/or lab technique problems?

Nah, I bought the book off amazon but never found the time to go over it. I think it would've helped on 1 question AT MOST.

There were a few molecular genetics but no lab technique problems. Cliffs and KBB should be enough. I did have one taxonomy question that wasn't covered in Cliff's or KBB but remembered from an animal diversity class I took. I guess this question would fall under the category of what some SDNers refer to as "random" questions.

 

[cookie13]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!! I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED TO BEGIN SUMMER!

My scores:

PAT: 20 (85.4%) 🙁 was scoring 21/22 on CDP
QR: 18 (75.8%) 😀 I DONT CARE!
RC: 25 (98.5%) 😀 totally unexpected
Bio: 24 (98.7%) 😀 again, totally unexpected
GC: 30 (100%) yea, it was rly easy
OC: 23 (94.3%) again, rly easy
TS: 26 (99.9%)
AA: 24 (99.4%) 😀

Topscore scores:
Bio/GC/OC/QR/RC
1: 19/17/18/20/21 (a week before test day--I did the science sections individually for this one, not realizing you can choose the "natural sciences" option)
2: 21/19/23/skipped/21 (3 days before test day)
3: 19/21/23/skipped/skipped (2 days before test day).

First of all CONGRATS!! I've been scoring very similar to your TopScore test... do you think I can pull it off?

 

[DoctreDrey]

First of all CONGRATS!! I've been scoring very similar to your TopScore test... do you think I can pull it off?

Yes, definitely!!! I went into the test not expecting too much, hoping for a 20 or 21 AA (based on my topscore) and even during the test I thought "Aww man, I really would've liked to kill this test but I'll prolly just end up with a 20" and then 😱😱😱 when my scores popped up on the screen.

I'm still on cloud 9, so freakin happy. Just work hard and keep reviewing up to the day of your test and never get discouraged during the test. Good luck!

 

[Veloce]

Great Job!!

Man everytime my motivation starts to slow down, posts like this make me want to study more! DAT in 2 days!!