Tuesday DAT AHH

[CaliPreDent]

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Greetings to my fellow DAT brothers and sisters,

I along with several of you are taking the DAT for the first time on Tuesday....so a few things

1) If your a rotten bitch who wants to make others feel stupid please don't post...the world would be much more pleasant without your confidence shattering opinions

2) To all of you who have taken the DAT....any tips for the day before, the day of, what was your experience like taking the DAT...you don't have to give scores just how did you feel as you were taking each section when did you get tired hungry...frustrated...did you get to use material (how was the calc for the math test/the dry erase makerboards or notepaper?)

Peace

 

[farinx]

the day of my DAT was absolutely terrible until i actually got to the testing center. i was soooo nervous and completely miserable because of all of the stuff i'd read on SDN about how hard the DAT is, how crappy the pens are, how terrible the calculator is etc..... i really wish i wouldnt have stressed so much, because it wasn't a big deal AT ALL. I got to the testing center 20 minutes early, and they let me start my test early (you dont have to if you dont want to, but i'd recommend it). the testing center was super nice, the pens worked fine (just test them out when they give them to you...and write a little bigger than usual since the tips are kind of thick... things tend to blur together). the calculator wasn't bad either. yeah, it sucked that you had to click the buttons instead of using the number pad on the keyboard, but there was no lag at all like i expected. so anyway... i was completely freaked out for no reason at all. as soon as i sat down my mind was absolutely clear, and my stress/nervousness went away. i finished the science section like 20 minutes early and used that time to draw some graphs for the hole punching. i finished the RC early as well. I used maybe 5 minutes of my 15 minute break, just for a quick trip to the bathroom and a quick stretch. the whole test went by super fast. it seriously felt like an hour or two. Make sure you wear comfortable clothes, and bring a hoodie or something. it was kinda cold. try not to freak out too much! its really not that hard of a test!

 

[hoylematt]

I took the DAT last Christmas break for the first time and I had some experiences that I wish i would have known before I got there.

1) You should know that you will be in a room with a bunch of other people taking random placement tests and stuff. At my testing center they had these horrible noise reducing headphone things. They didn't fit my head at all. What made matters worse there was this kid behind me taking some sort of English exam that was being super loud. I made the unfortunate mistake of not bringing earplugs. If you are sensitive to sounds, bring some of the orange ones!

2) The scratch paper is awkward if you are not use to it. For my test they handed me 2 laminated pieces of graph paper with 2 dry erase board markers. I had always practiced with pencil and paper and never erased and so this really took up a lot of my time having to erase everything. Now you may have to check on the day of the test but I heard from someone on these forums that if you raise your hand during the test, the proctor will come in with clean scratch paper. This would be ideal--either way, practice using the paper, it will help for the day of.

3) Use your breaks to your advantage. Instead of going outside and staring at your bag of prezels my advice would be to prep your scratch paper for the final sections during your 15 minute break. Make sure you pee, but that should only take 5 minutes, the remaining 10 minutes do something with it to re-focus yourself. A good example a lot of people on here say they do is number the scratch paper 1-50 for the Reading comp section so that when you are going through it you can erase the ones you answer. This actually saves a lot of time because you can jump right to the questions you haven't answered yet. A strategy I am planning on doing as well for my retake is unloading a crap ton of formulas from Q.R. onto the same scratch paper to get myself into math mode as well.

4) And most importantly stay focused! I had the hardest time by far with the Q.R. section because I was fried after a 4 hour test, and I was just scared of it. This section will own you if you start getting lazy and just hoping that you can guess the best answer on questions that you should be working. Believe that you will do well and think about how hard you studied and you will be surprised how much better you will feel on test day.

If I think of more I'll add them, but that's all I got for now. I don't wish a retake for anyone, but for me it was an eye opener for what I really needed to do to succeed on this test. Good luck everyone taking it in the next couple months.

-MRH

 

[CaliPreDent]

Great advice!! Thank-you!!! If there is anyone else with suggestions and tips/ideas that they implemented please please reply!!

 

[Tooth1]

Taking my DATs on Tuesday as well. I think that eliminating as many distractions as possible before the test is the key to this exam! I hope and I wish everyone the same to stay CALM!!!! Cause we all want to deliver information that we know. But once your nerves come into play ahhh it's annoying. So let's all stay CALM!!! What's the point to be nervous if we don't even know how things will turn out?? Let's worry, cry, go crazy and hate everyone AFTER the exam!!! But now DEEP breath! WE CAN DO IT!

 

[Div2388]

I found it helpful to remember that the correct answer is ALWAYS infront of you. That may sound stupid, but for me I had to get out of the mentality that I had to conjure up the right answer out of thin air. So even if you have no clue what the answer is, it is still one of those four little choices infront of you. Good luck!

 

[dentdin]

I wore a baggy sweatshirt and had a little of the bottom sleeves wet to help me wipe my board. That helped a lot since if I kept writing on my laminated sheets, it would like be stuck on there and I would have to take extra time to try and get it off. And the erasers suck too. During my break I just rewet it.

Also when I saw the first few questions of bio, I freaked out and said I will just take this like a practice exam and gave up. Do not do that and give up. You will think that you are doing really bad, but you will be surprised at your score. Keep going knowing you did well. I actually got a 23 in bio when I really thought I would get a 16.

 

[paras]

Close your eyes - take a deep breathe and relax. this will take you out of stress. You know everything as you have obviously worked hard. you are just going there to apply ur knowledge - thats it. its not a big deal. You will definatley achieve ur goal. dont worry. good luck. i have not taken the DAT yet, have taken the date in aug. so this is all i can tell you.
Be confident. god's blessings and ur hard work is with you. good luck again.

 

[rickblas]

Im taking the DAT tuesday with you! Go in knowing alot of people are going through the same thing you are so it isn't all that bad! Also, about nerves, I have always curled my toes/release them after a few seconds to calm me down. I don't remember where I got it from, but it does calm me down and works for me! lmao you can try it?! GOOD LUCK!

 

[CaliPreDent]

Great advice and super motivational yall! I like dent's suggestion to have your sweatshirt wet...I think I'll just bring a wet rag...I wish they just provided paper and pen!

 

[Pookahead]

I'm also taking it on Tuesday. Wow good thing I checked this because I did not know I have to click the calculator! Gl to u all taking it!

 

[KittySquared]

I took it once already.

Remember to RELAX and be CONFIDENT. You've spent a lot of studying already, so you're not going to walk into a test about astrophysics or stuff you've never dealt with before.

Rest well the previous night and don't waste time doing bull****. Relax relax relax. Walk in and know you're gonna be a champ.

 

[FreeFallin]

Also, try not to focus on what's going on around you. Like someone else had mentioned, there are about 14 other people in the room taking different tests (I think I was the only one in my room taking the DAT). Some of their tests require them to do a lot of typing, so definitely use head phones or ear plugs if noises bother you during testing. Plus, the guy administering the tests comes into the testing room about every 5 minutes to make sure everyone is ok and to inspect the room...so you'll see him walk in and out countless times. So, just focus on yourself and what you're doing.

 

[Huskk]

1) If your a rotten bitch who wants to make others feel stupid please don't post...the world would be much more pleasant without your confidence shattering opinions

haha I love it

 

[CaliPreDent]

haha I love it

haha when I wrote it I was completely serious! There are some haters on this forum! Now that I look back...it is a bit comical 😛

 

[darkwalk]

Don't drink too much water or else u'll wind up going to the bathroom during the test like I did.

The more you prepare, the more confident you will be. Before the test, I was nervous, but I was a test taking machine during it.