What would you do differently.....

[squints02]

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Just wondering for those of you out there who have already taken the DAT...looking back on the whole experience, if you could do it all over (not that any of us would ever want to) what would you do differently..ie study habits,materials used, time etc....

 

[tinman831]

Just wondering for those of you out there who have already taken the DAT...looking back on the whole experience, if you could do it all over (not that any of us would ever want to) what would you do differently..ie study habits,materials used, time etc....

don't procrastinate

 

[Forum Lurker]

I definitely would have spent more time studying for the QR.

 

[phraud]

I would have ignored the posts on SDN about how impossible it is to score well on the DAT. It really gave me A LOT of anxiety going into the test. It really isn't as hard as people say it is. I think it's natural for people to exagerate on their experiences with tests. I remember in school when people would say how impossible "this one class" was, and in the end it was never that hard.

 

[Streetwolf]

Taken two motrin either before the test or during the break.

 

[dental0903]

Taken two motrin either before the test or during the break.

Haha, I definitely agree with that one. I had a such a massive headache by the time the break came. But, it was probably because of the weather or something.

I don't know how much I could have done differently except study from more than 2 sources. I took the Kaplan online class and used Topscore. I thought they both helped a lot.

One piece of advice that I could give to people still needing to take the DAT is that you cannot take enough timed tests!! Working problems is good, but you need to be able to do everything probably much more quickly than you are used to. I would recommend that anyone taking the Kaplan class to save as many full length timed tests as they can for after you have already studied all the material. That gives you a much more accurate picture of what you need improvement on. Plus, it allows you to get your timing down, which is very important. Good luck everyone!

 

[fancymylotus]

I wouldve slept the nights before the test.

And listen carefully because this next one is huge:

NOT CHANGED ANSWERS AFTER I ALREADY DID QUESTIONS.

I did SNS really, really fast and wound up with a good 50 minutes to spare. So of course, being the gigantic idiot that I am, I decided to go back and look over what I'd done=changing answers around. Every answer I actually changed, I changed to a wrong answer.

DONT do it. No matter how tempting it is!

 

[Prometheous19]

-I would study QR for more than a day
-I would not buy achiever
-I would finish all of Destroyer more than once
-I would not take the kaplan classroom course
-I would eat before the test
-I would not drink so much water before the test
-During the test, I would place the cap on my marker when Im not using it 😡
-I would sleep a bit more instead of inviting my girlfriend over 😳

 

[squints02]

haha thanks for the input. I'll keep that in mind tomorrow when I take it. I should have posted this a month ago but I still thought it would be interesting to see what people had to say.
I will let you know what I think when I get home tomorrow afternoon!!!!
😀

 

[pbmason]

During the test, I would place the cap on my marker when Im not using it

What is this marker you speak of?

 

[squints02]

I think some testing centers give you a marker and dry-erase board instead of paper and pencil.
I get the paper and pencil so no marker-high for me...

 

[toothfairy85]

Amen to whoever said studying for QR more. Do not underestimate this section.

 

[rimmies]

I think some testing centers give you a marker and dry-erase board instead of paper and pencil.
I get the paper and pencil so no marker-high for me...

I just called my testing center (t-13 days!) and they said dry erase... poo 😡

 

[Prometheous19]

I just called my testing center (t-13 days!) and they said dry erase... poo 😡

Be sure to check that your markers work before starting the test. I had one that did not work at all. The other one dried up because I never replaced the cap...😡

 

[sacjumpman]

-I would study QR for more than a day
-I would not buy achiever
-I would finish all of Destroyer more than once
-I would not take the kaplan classroom course
-I would eat before the test
-I would not drink so much water before the test
-During the test, I would place the cap on my marker when Im not using it 😡
-I would sleep a bit more instead of inviting my girlfriend over 😳

Nah, that's my stress relief, right there....... 😉