Took Mine Yesterday.

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jleefe

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  1. Pre-Dental
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I wrote the DAT on Friday, July 27, 2007.

PAT - 22 (97.6%)
QR - 20 (87.3%)
RC - 24 (96.1%)
Biology - 26 (99.6%)
GChem - 25 (97.5%)
OChem - 29 (100.0%)
TS - 27 (99.9%)
AA - 25 (99.8.%)


GPA: Overall ~3.4 Science ~3.4


PAT - Achiever's PAT is at least twice as difficult. Struggling with Achiever's PAT sections had me depressed and worried, but the actual PAT was considerably easier. I started off by doing the sections I was most confident in: Angle Ranking, Cube Counting, and Hole Punching, then worked on the rest.

Quantitative - There were at least 5 questions that I didn't know how to solve, even if I were given all the time I needed. If I couldn't solve the problem after 1-2 minutes, I just marked it and moved on. Later, as time was running out, I came back and chose C-C-C-C-C for all the ones I couldn't do. I was very happy to see that I got a 20.

Reading Comprehension - Level of difficulty was about what I expected based on what I saw on Achiever and Kaplan. The reading passages were maybe a tad bit more difficult. People seem to approach this section in different ways; I start off by quickly (but carefully) reading the whold passage through, then do one question at a time, referring back to the passage each time unless I was absolutely sure of the answer.

Biology - Biology is basically one big memorization game, and I think this section took the most time to prepare. The Kaplan's Lesson Book and Schaum's Bio are good background materials; After that, doing and redoing questions from Kaplan, Achiever, and Destroyer should put you in a good posistion.

Gen Chem - Kaplan Lesson Book background, and questions from Kaplan, Achiever, and Destroyer. I knew how to do most of the questions except for some very specific questions on laboratory techniques.

Organic - Starting off, I was least confident about Orgo, as I did not do well in college orgo and never fully understood the concepts. But writing notes on every Kaplan orgo chapter, then preparing with Destroyer really put me in a more confident situation. Know your fundamentals (nucleophilicity, SN1/2, E1/2, Markovnikov, etc) and memorize ALL the reactions and you'll be fine. 🙂

The Study Materials I used were: Kaplan Lesson Book, Kaplan Online Resources, Schaum's Biology, DAT Achiever, and DAT Destroyer. The Lesson Book and Schaum's Bio will lay the foundations; doing the questions from Achiever and Destroyer, and going over the solutions will cement your knowledge as well as expose you to many questions that are similar to the ones on the actual test. For those squeezed for time, Destroyer in my opinion was pound for pound the most efficient source for the sciences...
I took extensive notes on both the background material as well as on any questions I got wrong, sometimes two or three times.
 
I wrote the DAT on Friday, July 27, 2007.

PAT - 22 (97.6%)
QR - 20 (87.3%)
RC - 24 (96.1%)
Biology - 26 (99.6%)
GChem - 25 (97.5%)
OChem - 29 (100.0%)
TS - 27 (99.9%)
AA - 25 (99.8.%)


GPA: Overall ~3.4 Science ~3.4


PAT - Achiever's PAT is at least twice as difficult. Struggling with Achiever's PAT sections had me depressed and worried, but the actual PAT was considerably easier. I started off by doing the sections I was most confident in: Angle Ranking, Cube Counting, and Hole Punching, then worked on the rest.

Quantitative - There were at least 5 questions that I didn't know how to solve, even if I were given all the time I needed. If I couldn't solve the problem after 1-2 minutes, I just marked it and moved on. Later, as time was running out, I came back and chose C-C-C-C-C for all the ones I couldn't do. I was very happy to see that I got a 20.

Reading Comprehension - Level of difficulty was about what I expected based on what I saw on Achiever and Kaplan. The reading passages were maybe a tad bit more difficult. People seem to approach this section in different ways; I start off by quickly (but carefully) reading the whold passage through, then do one question at a time, referring back to the passage each time unless I was absolutely sure of the answer.

Biology - Biology is basically one big memorization game, and I think this section took the most time to prepare. The Kaplan's Lesson Book and Schaum's Bio are good background materials; After that, doing and redoing questions from Kaplan, Achiever, and Destroyer should put you in a good posistion.

Gen Chem - Kaplan Lesson Book background, and questions from Kaplan, Achiever, and Destroyer. I knew how to do most of the questions except for some very specific questions on laboratory techniques.

Organic - Starting off, I was least confident about Orgo, as I did not do well in college orgo and never fully understood the concepts. But writing notes on every Kaplan orgo chapter, then preparing with Destroyer really put me in a more confident situation. Know your fundamentals (nucleophilicity, SN1/2, E1/2, Markovnikov, etc) and memorize ALL the reactions and you'll be fine. 🙂

The Study Materials I used were: Kaplan Lesson Book, Kaplan Online Resources, Schaum's Biology, DAT Achiever, and DAT Destroyer. The Lesson Book and Schaum's Bio will lay the foundations; doing the questions from Achiever and Destroyer, and going over the solutions will cement your knowledge as well as expose you to many questions that are similar to the ones on the actual test. For those squeezed for time, Destroyer in my opinion was pound for pound the most efficient source for the sciences...
I took extensive notes on both the background material as well as on any questions I got wrong, sometimes two or three times.

Would you have posted your scores for everyone had your scores been sucky? Just curious
 
Would you have posted your scores for everyone had your scores been sucky? Just curious

Come on dude, that was uncalled for. Heck if I had those kind of scores I'd want to tattoo them on my forehead. :idea:
 
Congratulations, I really want to thank u for ur advice I will do the Destroyer at least 3 times. Nice job. U got ur self a nice ticket to any dental school.
 
ISRAEL, omg, lol, me too, thank God someone finally told me the praises of the destroyer, i almost took my dat without it.....
 
Job well done!! Those are uniformly high scores and very very impressive.Great advice on Ochem - was beginning to get worried about it- didnt know what more to do other than go over n over the reactions and destroyer many times.
 
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Great scores!! Was achiever any help for the Sciences, specifically bio and gen chem?
 
Would you have posted your scores for everyone had your scores been sucky? Just curious

haha. I kinda know what you mean. I'll be curious to see if I post my scores if I bomb it. I didn't really take this comment as hating at all...

to the OP. some of the best scores I've ever seen. You should be proud of yourself.
 
Holy sh!!!!!

Amazing scores. I can't believe that your GPA is only 3.4 with such great DAT scores! You are in!
 
Great scores!! Was achiever any help for the Sciences, specifically bio and gen chem?

For Bio and Gen Chem, Achiever was definitely a help since they approximate very closely the type of questions asked on the DAT. But the Destroyer is significantly harder than the Achiever in the sciences, so I'd recommend it in addition to the Achiever. I believe the way to get maximum utility from either material is to fully understand the concepts behind the questions. Try to repeat the problems until you get a near perfect to perfect score, and take notes on any questions you had difficulty with.

The Achiever is basically software containing 3 full tests. Out of all the materials I used, it simulated most closely the actual test, being Computer Based, having a countdown clock run down once you start the test, and generating standard scores. Once you're done with a section you can go over each question and there is a solution tab that you can click for explanations.

The disadvantages are that you cannot repeat any section you've already completed (in terms of blanking out the answers to try fresh), but that's not such a big issue since you can still review the questions. Another is that officially, the software expires in 30 days; but I used mine for well over a month without any problems. I was afraid that the software would definitely terminate once I finished all the sections, so I left the last Reading Comp section untouched.

What I appreciated the Achiever the most for was the PAT section. It is excruciating, and I never completed an entire section on time. Take your time reviewing each problem. The solution tab is a big help, with 3 dimensional representations of the TFE and Pattern Folding problems. After working with the Achiever's PAT problems, you'll find the actual DAT's PAT significantly easier.
 
For Bio and Gen Chem, Achiever was definitely a help since they approximate very closely the type of questions asked on the DAT. But the Destroyer is significantly harder than the Achiever in the sciences, so I'd recommend it in addition to the Achiever. I believe the way to get maximum utility from either material is to fully understand the concepts behind the questions. Try to repeat the problems until you get a near perfect to perfect score, and take notes on any questions you had difficulty with.

The Achiever is basically software containing 3 full tests. Out of all the materials I used, it simulated most closely the actual test, being Computer Based, having a countdown clock run down once you start the test, and generating standard scores. Once you're done with a section you can go over each question and there is a solution tab that you can click for explanations.

The disadvantages are that you cannot repeat any section you've already completed (in terms of blanking out the answers to try fresh), but that's not such a big issue since you can still review the questions. Another is that officially, the software expires in 30 days; but I used mine for well over a month without any problems. I was afraid that the software would definitely terminate once I finished all the sections, so I left the last Reading Comp section untouched.

What I appreciated the Achiever the most for was the PAT section. It is excruciating, and I never completed an entire section on time. Take your time reviewing each problem. The solution tab is a big help, with 3 dimensional representations of the TFE and Pattern Folding problems. After working with the Achiever's PAT problems, you'll find the actual DAT's PAT significantly easier.

Thanks a lot for the in depth advice👍, which is the last thing I needed to complete my study plan.

I've gone through the destroyer and kaplan blue book many times, along with some of Barron's, and CliffsTestPrep.

It's now time to thoroughly understand the various concepts of Achiever and some of Top Score, and hope for the best results at the end of August.
 
I am not sure whether this is what you want, but it seems like you will be attending Columbia Dental school.
 
WOW! Great Job! 🙂🙂🙂
How long did you study for??


I officially started studying from the Kaplan Lesson Book starting December of 05, but at least 80% of all studying was done during the hardcore months of May, June and July of this year. After school ended in May, I still had 4 days a week of work, so I felt really squeezed for time. Everything came together (just barely) right at the end.
 
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congrats on those scores..
i see people are doing really well on DAT's lately
hope i get same (similar) scores..

nice job!! enjoy the rest of the summer
 
i realize enough people congratulated you. what the heck, heres one more.
have fun in teeth school
 
sick scores man...makes me wanna retake...gonna be nice to be in the drivers seat during all your interviews. Great job
 
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