where do i begin??

[Kneecoal]

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i'm about to start studying for the DAT, but i feel like there's so much to do that i don't know where to start. i feel like i'd laugh at myself if i just settled into a chair at the library and opened up a textbook and started reading from page 1. or is that really how it happens...

any advice? how did you start? thanks!

 

[Erhatstil]

the first thing you need to do is either buy a calendar or make one. pick a date or aim for a week that you plan on taking the test. assuming you're going to take the test over the summer, sit down and make a day by day plan for studying up to the day of the dat. i spent about 5 days a week per subject, used the weekends for review, and just built from there.

read some old threads if you have questions about study resources, but for now you need a plan of attack more than anything.

 

[MaverickPreDent]

I scheduled my DAT for May 1st and I've been studying for about 2 weeks now. For me, I started of with AP Cliffs Biology, now I'm moving on to the Kaplan white book to review. Once done with that I plan on working the problems from DAT destroyer and finally finishing off with Topscore and Crack Dat Pat. Not everyone learns the same but I hope that kind of gives you an idea of where to begin.

 

[doc3232]

For starters...
which are you weakest in: bio, ochem, gchem?

Start with that. I suggest textbooks for the chems. For bio I have no advice for specific books. All books will help more or less.

 

[Kneecoal]

For starters...
which are you weakest in: bio, ochem, gchem?

Start with that. I suggest textbooks for the chems. For bio I have no advice for specific books. All books will help more or less.

thanks - i'm definitely weakest in orgo... here's a dumb question: do you think that means i need to start with gchem anyway to move on to orgo? or can i just jump in?

 

[Kneecoal]

the first thing you need to do is either buy a calendar or make one. pick a date or aim for a week that you plan on taking the test. assuming you're going to take the test over the summer, sit down and make a day by day plan for studying up to the day of the dat. i spent about 5 days a week per subject, used the weekends for review, and just built from there.

read some old threads if you have questions about study resources, but for now you need a plan of attack more than anything.

thanks, that's a really good idea - i probably would have thought of that but not until much later. to what extent did you break your "subjects" down?

 

[MaverickPreDent]

There is a guideline of things to know for each subject and it is broken down into specific topics. This comes straight form the ADA Dat manual.



http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_users_manual.pdf

The guidelines are located on pages 42-45 of the actual document.

 

[doc3232]

thanks - i'm definitely weakest in orgo... here's a dumb question: do you think that means i need to start with gchem anyway to move on to orgo? or can i just jump in?

I would jump in as long as you understand what an atom is and a few other basic things about elecrtons.
But you do need to understand/know these basic concepts before starting ochem.

 

[Broncos85]

If your weak in orgo or gchem i would recommend DAT Destroyer, it would really point out your areas of weakness in those topics. For Bio I would pair the destroyer with Cliffs A.P. Bio. For PAT and Math I would recommend Crack the DAT Pat and Math. For Verbal start reading a newspaper everyday and use Kaplan tests.

 

[Kneecoal]

If your weak in orgo or gchem i would recommend DAT Destroyer, it would really point out your areas of weakness in those topics. For Bio I would pair the destroyer with Cliffs A.P. Bio. For PAT and Math I would recommend Crack the DAT Pat and Math. For Verbal start reading a newspaper everyday and use Kaplan tests.

i looked online for Crack PAT... is it really $200??? or is there some cheaper version i'm not finding?

 

[Broncos85]

There are different packages for crack the dat pat; one has 5 tests one has 10 tests. Its up to you to decide which one you want. I believe the one with 5 different tests is $79.99