Wooohooo!!! Dat Done...

[PSU SHC 414]

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i'm done... I'm Done... I'M DONE!!!!

First and foremost, I just wanted to start off by saying a wholehearted THANKS to all you SDNers for all of your help and advice. This forum was an invaluable resource during my studying...

Without further ado, here are the scores (percentiles are in parentheses):

BIO - 20 (85.5...boo)
GCHEM - 20 (79.4... boooo)
OCHEM - 26 (97.7)
RC - 24 (96.1)
QR - 25 (97.4)

TS - 21 (91.3)
AA - 23 (97.9)
PAT - 20 (87.0)

Most of you are probably thinking "these are great scores, why the hell is he complaining about the BIO and GCHEM scores"? I don't want to sound pompous when I say that I AM disappointed with those scores, but I was a biochem major, so logically, I would've thought I'd do better on those sections.

Before I talk about what I thought on each section, I (like 90% of the people on this forum) and going to 150% endorse DESTROYER and ACHIEVER. If you don't use anything else to study for this exam, AT LEAST get these two... they were phenomenal... Destroyer to build (and expand upon) general knowledge for all the sciences and QR, and Achiever was a near perfect model of what the actual exam was like on the computer.

I used Kaplan MCAT books for BIO, GCHEM, and OCHEM (these were the individual subject review books from the classroom course... NOT the giant MCAT blue review book that you can get in the bookstores... the MCAT blue book isn't much different than the Kaplan DAT blue book, so don't waste your money).

 

[PSU SHC 414]

damn... accidentally hit the submit button, and then typed out the rest of it in a reply and SDN didn't post it!!

Bottom line... Destroyer and Achiever were PHENOMENAL for all sections. When you use Destroyer and Achiever, don't just do the problems... you need to be able to understand every aspect of each question and understand why all choices are correct/incorrect. I used Kaplan MCAT as a base, then Destroyer (read ALL of the answer explanations and take notes), and then took Achiever exams (same thing applies for Achiever... review each test in detail to understand each question).

PAT - was actually easier than I thought it would be. Everyone on SDN has said that angle ranking was harder on the real thing, but I thought it was pretty comparable to Achiever. This is from someone who was barely averaging 17 on the Achiever PAT sections.

RC - Just know the format of this section. I think strategy is everything. Achiever was PERFECT in providing an accurate model for the real thing. You're either good at reading quickly and abstracting necessary info or you're not (I don't think you can really improve this within a few months), but you CAN alter your strategy. As others have said before, DONT read the full passage on the first screen... I didn't even read through the passages in full. Click through the first screen that has the full passage, and go to the questions. The passage will be displayed on the bottome 3/4 of the screen, and you'll get an idea of what the passage is about as you search for answers to the question. If your first or second question is a main idea or tone question, mark it for later.. . you'll be able to answer these by the end of the series of questions for that passage.

QR - In contrast to many other SDNers, I thought this section was exceptionally easy. But I've always been really good at math, but Destroyer and Achiever were really good approximations of what to expect (they were actually more difficult than the real thing). I've just always been really good at knowing how to calculate things quickly without using a calculator, thanks to my MOM... she never allowed us to use calculators for simple calculations when we were young.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

didn't want to risk losing the post again, so here's part III:

Intangibles - Make sure you're staying in good health. Studying will put you under a tremendous amount of stress, and it could negatively impact your test taking ability if you don't manage it well. Take vitamins to keep your brain sharp, EXERCISE (I didn't exercise at ALL for about 2 months, and started up again about 2 weeks before the exam and I'm glad I did!). Also, I would highly recommend making a MORNING test appointment with Prometric. Don't overlook the fact that Prometric also administers many other tests, and you'll be sitting in a room with many other people that most likely aren't taking the DAT. When I got there for my 9:30 AM appointment, only a few other people were taking exams (no one else was taking the DAT), so registration was quick. When I finished my exam at 2 PM, there was a line out the door of people waiting to take their exam. IMO, just having all these other people in the same room adds to the stress, so avoid it by scheduling an AM test.


Also, I should note that I did all my prep for the DAT while working full-time. For 2-3 months, I would wake up at 5:30 AM each day, go to work until 4:30 PM, and then come home and study until I went to sleep at 10:30 PM. I seriously eliminated the words "fun" and "relax" for those 3 months, but when you know what you want, you set your goals, make some (many) sacrifices, and work, work, work until you accomplish what you set out to do. So for those of you in the same situation, IT IS DOABLE.

THANKS again to SDN...

For you veterans, I was curious as to what my chances for getting accepted to these schools are (3.6 overall, 3.5 BCP, extensive undergrad research experience with a couple publications, tons of extracurriculars, volunteering, and ~40 hrs of dental shadowing):

Penn, Pitt, Maryland, UNC, Columbia, Case, Ohio State, Temple...

 

[PSU SHC 414]

One more thing... why was my TS score a 21, and not a 22 when my individual science scores were (BIO 20, GCHEM 20, OCHEM 26)???

I've read other posts where people scored a 20, 20, and 22 (or something like that) and also got a TS score of 21...

 

[DDSelin2mori]

wow, good job. With those scores and your good cv you would probably get accepted to every school. Would u please post your achiever scores?

 

[doc3232]

One more thing... why was my TS score a 21, and not a 22 when my individual science scores were (BIO 20, GCHEM 20, OCHEM 26)???

I've read other posts where people scored a 20, 20, and 22 (or something like that) and also got a TS score of 21...

GREAT JOB
and to answer that it is NOT an average of the 3 sciences, someone who got a 20 20 22 was 1 question away from a 21 on both of the 20s, so when you add up the total questions right etc etc etc,
Someone who gets a 30 30 2 will have a TS of about a 12 and not a 20.

 

[Crew07]

When you talk about Achiever, what exactly do you mean? I have taken top score 17/19/18 AA and my achievers 18/17/18 AA. Are you saying that your scores were similar to the real DAT or that achiever was similar because of the computer program? I know that sounds confusing but with a RC 24 you;ll understand.LOL great job.
Was the BIO like achiever? The bio in achiever has been very hard for me. I score 20+ on Kaplan and top score but 17- on Achiever. Thanks

 

[eatkabab]

I second Crew07. I think what he meant by "Achiever was a near perfect model..." was that the actual way the test is administered is the same, not so much the questions. Achiever is difficult... my AA all the way through was 19 with a 18/20/19 PAT. I just completed topscore and my god is my bio suffering for some REALLY odd reason. 18/19/17!!. but I'm not gonna let the 17 bother me because topscore seems more garbagey to me... (I'd like to think the test is garbage rather than I'm doing poorly, because I know that I know my stuff...)

 

[PSU SHC 414]

To answer all of your questions about achiever...

Achiever was definitely harder than the real thing IMO (as was Destroyer). As some of you pointed out, what I meant was that the Achiever software was very similar (in design) to the actual DAT. Achiever BIO was definitely harder than the actual thing, but I wouldn't take that for granted and use it as an excuse to slack off.

Here were my Achiever scores, but they come with a disclaimer that I'll explain below:

Achiever 1: AA-21/TS-20
Achiever 2: AA-18/TS-17
Achiever 3: AA-20/TS-17

Now I have no idea what happened with Achiever 2 and 3 but I know that I had a lot (too many) distractions when I took those two tests. Either way, I'm glad that those scores came out the way they did because it scared the **** out of me, and it made me buckle down even more with the studying.

If you go in with the mindset that the real thing is similar in difficulty to Achiever (like I did), you'll be better off.

Hope this helps...

 

[sads786]

👍i think you can get into harvard

 

[SanOnofre2002]

The TS score is your grade from all 100 science questions. So it's weighted more towards bio since there's more questions in it.
I think you have a great chance at all of the schools you listed. For Case I'd say you have a 99.999% chance of acceptance.

 

[midiland]

do dental schools put more empahsis on TS or AA?

 

[nhasifuture]

great scores! congrats...

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Very well done! From looking at your other stats and your DAT I see no reason why you won't get an interview at any of those places unless you write an awful personal statement, which probably won't be the case! Are you applying to your state school as well?

 

[smile101]

Nice scores...I also have a full time job and trying to do the same thing as you did with my time..."eliminating relaxing and fun" from my life. Your situation def encourages me. Thanks!

 

[heatwheat]

Sweet scores man!

 

[unikko87]

congratulations on your scores. You seemed apply the necessary effort and succeeded.
I'm not sure if you remember or not, but when while you were taking the organic or the gen-chem, were the questions more theory based or practical? I know the exams vary so I am just curious on what type of exam you had?

 

[Ghettob1aster]

OP: I'm guessing by your name that you are the result of chem38 with Maslak? How would you compare the ochem section with his exams?

 

[maclover]

Congratulations to you..
Wow.. i'm impressed.. fulltime job and DAT? wow...
I'm a postback pre-dent student in california, planning to take DAT at the end of july.. So i'm starting preparation right now..
This quarter will end earth June.. So I have about one and half months of full free time.
Here is the question.

Did you consider taking Kaplan classes?
Will it help?
How did you get the kaplan books?

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Very well done! From looking at your other stats and your DAT I see no reason why you won't get an interview at any of those places unless you write an awful personal statement, which probably won't be the case! Are you applying to your state school as well?

Appreciate the comments... yes, I do plan on applying to my "state school(s)" which are essentially Pitt and Temple.

Any opinion on either of those schools?

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Congratulations to you..
Wow.. i'm impressed.. fulltime job and DAT? wow...
I'm a postback pre-dent student in california, planning to take DAT at the end of july.. So i'm starting preparation right now..
This quarter will end earth June.. So I have about one and half months of full free time.
Here is the question.

Did you consider taking Kaplan classes?
Will it help?
How did you get the kaplan books?

I'll try to answer multiple questions in this one post...

For the person who asked if my Gchem and ochem sections were more theory or practical. On both sections, I'd say it was an even balance between the two, with a slightly greater emphasis on theory. I had plenty of calculation questions in Gchem and plenty of sequence reactions (where you have to predict the end-product) in ochem. But... don't use this as an excuse to slack off with your studying of one or the other... IMO they go together hand-in-hand... without firm knowledge of theory, I don't think you can perform practical calculations with absolute confidence. Yes, you can memorize every possible calculation that you might have and hope that you can recall those sequence(s) of calculations when you're under high pressure/high stress testing situation, but I'd highly recommend against that. If you're really strapped for time, just go to the DAT section of the ADA website and look up the test specifications - the ADA basically breaks down the number of each question type/topic you should expect on the actual exam.

now to maclover's question(s):

1.5 months of prep - I hope that you already have a pretty firm base of knowledge for all the science sections. It's definitely doable in that amount of time, but I hope you're ready to put in a serious amount of studying each and every day of that 90 days.

With 1.5 months left, I would NOT take the Kaplan course... I've heard from many others that it was a huge waste of time. I took the Kaplan course for the MCAT (I was accepted to medical school and decided that I didn't want to pursue a career as a physician for a myriad of reasons... I think most people on this forum would empathize with those same reasons), which is where I got the Kaplan subject books for Bio, Ochem, and GChem, and I thought it was a gigantic waste of time and money. I don't think there's any way to buy those books from Kaplan unless you enroll in their courses. I also don't know how Kaplan's DAT review books for the classroom course compare to the MCAT course... like I said, I've heard it's a big waste of time and money.

Hope this helps...

 

[PSU SHC 414]

[

 

[eatkabab]

I too am one of those that decided not to peruse medicine after having it all said and done and laid out in front of me...

from MCAT studying, I also agree that kaplan is a total and utter waste of time and money. for DAT I've heard they're online courses are a good review, but thats all. oh and the Ochem subject tests are good. but those can easily be gotten from another kaplan student. I personally don't think they're all too great though.

these review courses are really for those students that NEED their hand held through the process and still end up confused in the end. the ones that do well don't really need any of that stuff

 

[allstardentist]

awesome score!

 

[kema]

So your saying that the Achiever and Destroyer are the best books to use? How about an average student, do you think an average student can use the same methods and achieve similar if not the same results?

 

[hoss19]

I have to agree with most everyone contributing to this thread that kaplan is not the only means to an end, and, that it perhaps might be a "gigantic waste of time"...

however, i do really like their bio book (if you can get your hands on one...i was lucky enough to mootch their MCAT biological sciences one off of a friend...). The reason being is that it covers the nuts and bolts of human systems in easy to read, condensed form. ADA acknowldeges that 9/40 questions are from human systems...that is 1/4 of the entire section so you;ve got to know this stuff cold! Maybe it was just me, without having an extensive courseload in bio (no anatomy either!), but this book has helped me in preparing for the DAT based on the improvements in my mock-test scores (started at 15 1 month ago, now around landing 19,20's).

destroyer is by far the best bang for the buck though....

 

[tamkhan]

tight scores! 👍👍

 

[PSU SHC 414]

So your saying that the Achiever and Destroyer are the best books to use? How about an average student, do you think an average student can use the same methods and achieve similar if not the same results?

Achiever and Destroyer, if used correctly, will give ANYONE the best "bang for the buck" as some others have said. If you don't have a firm base of background knowledge (I'm assuming this is what you mean when you say "about an average student"), I still think Destroyer is a good idea. It'll be frustrating at first since you'll be getting a lot of questions incorrect, but it'll definitely help to really direct your studying.

Truthfully, I felt like I had a really good understanding of all the material covered in the Kaplan MCAT review books, but you'd be amazed what you actually know as compared to what you think you know when you have to answer questions that are in the format that Destroyer questions are in.

I wouldn't get Achiever until you're ready to simulate actual testing conditions, though, but based on all the posts I've read, I think you'll be much better off using Achiever rather than Topscore, which I believe gives people a false sense of security. When you're studying, go in with the mindset that nothing is ever enough - and I think Destroyer and Achiever really keep you on your toes right up until "D-Day".

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Appreciate the comments... yes, I do plan on applying to my "state school(s)" which are essentially Pitt and Temple.

Any opinion on either of those schools?

I liked Pitt more than most schools I saw! Not a fan of Temple.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

I liked Pitt more than most schools I saw! Not a fan of Temple.

Thanks for the input Wired...

One of the periodontists I shadowed was an admin at Temple, and I asked him his opinion about schools. To my surprise, he told me that Penn is no longer as good as it was years ago (still good for specialties though) and definitely not worth the extra $$ you'll be paying. Is there any validity to this?

Also, he mentioned UNC as one of the most underrated dental schools in the nation right now. He said they have phenomenal facilities, great faculty, and will give you a good all-around education (i.e. a good balance of didactics and clinical training). Anyone have any opinions about UNC?

 

[jigabodo]

i'm done... I'm Done... I'M DONE!!!!

First and foremost, I just wanted to start off by saying a wholehearted THANKS to all you SDNers for all of your help and advice. This forum was an invaluable resource during my studying...

Without further ado, here are the scores (percentiles are in parentheses):

BIO - 20 (85.5...boo)
GCHEM - 20 (79.4... boooo)
OCHEM - 26 (97.7)
RC - 24 (96.1)
QR - 25 (97.4)

TS - 21 (91.3)
AA - 23 (97.9)
PAT - 20 (87.0)

Most of you are probably thinking "these are great scores, why the hell is he complaining about the BIO and GCHEM scores"? I don't want to sound pompous when I say that I AM disappointed with those scores, but I was a biochem major, so logically, I would've thought I'd do better on those sections.

Before I talk about what I thought on each section, I (like 90% of the people on this forum) and going to 150% endorse DESTROYER and ACHIEVER. If you don't use anything else to study for this exam, AT LEAST get these two... they were phenomenal... Destroyer to build (and expand upon) general knowledge for all the sciences and QR, and Achiever was a near perfect model of what the actual exam was like on the computer.

I used Kaplan MCAT books for BIO, GCHEM, and OCHEM (these were the individual subject review books from the classroom course... NOT the giant MCAT blue review book that you can get in the bookstores... the MCAT blue book isn't much different than the Kaplan DAT blue book, so don't waste your money).

Big congrats. Nice score! 👍

 

[Orgodox]

Great scores. Congrats hard work with the right study tools paid off great job

 

[klutzy1987]

Well done great job.

About how long did you study for the DAT and were there any surprises on any of the sections.

 

[pudz]

hey!
your scores are amazing - congrats!!!
you really killed it!!!
pudz

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Well done great job.

About how long did you study for the DAT and were there any surprises on any of the sections.

Appreciate the congratulations...

To answer your question, I studied for about 3-4 months, and while this might seem like a long time, as I mentioned previously, I was studying for the DAT while working full-time.

Nothing surprised me really (besides my "low" bio and gchem scores) - and I can't emphasize again how much using Destroyer and Achiever helped to keep those "surprises" to a minimum. I finished nearly every section with about 10 minutes to spare. One surprise I can recall - as others on SDN have said before, there was a question in the bio section that required you to identify what was depicted in a diagram/picture. To preserve the integrity of the exam, that's about all I can say about that. Don't know if you can really study that - I just used the information I've acquired through coursework to answer that question (which, based on my score, I probably got wrong...).

Hope this helps... PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[klutzy1987]

What type of reading passages did you get were they real boring and long like alot of people have been getting or did you get some interesting ones.

 

[siba]

I know this must sound very stupid, but how do you PM someone?

Thanks! 😛

 

[PSU SHC 414]

What type of reading passages did you get were they real boring and long like alot of people have been getting or did you get some interesting ones.

The reading passages were all science-related, and surprisingly I don't recall having any passages that were related to dentistry. Honestly, the only passage I can remember was one that dealt with alligators/crocodiles - that's about as much as I'm willing to disclose.

I'm used to reading very technical articles from scientific journals, so I guess anything that the DAT would've thrown at me would have seemed "interesting" to me. Length-wise, I'd say there were comparable to what I saw in Achiever.

Regardless of how boring, long, or uninteresting these passages might be, you need to establish a strategy and apply it to ANY passage with consistency and confidence - you're there to answer questions and score well, not to enjoy what you're reading, so I'm not sure what you're trying to get out of this question?

 

[PSU SHC 414]

I know this must sound very stupid, but how do you PM someone?

Thanks! 😛

Easiest way that I know of is to sign in, then go to a thread where the person has posted, click on their name, and it should open up a small screen that gives you the option to PM that person. Note that this only works if you've signed in as a member.

 

[vert]

Hello,

I was wondering if you found the DAT Destroyer to cover enough organic chem? Or did you use the "Ultimate" DAT Destroyer, including the extra Organic Chemistry book?

Thanks 🙂

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Hello,

I was wondering if you found the DAT Destroyer to cover enough organic chem? Or did you use the "Ultimate" DAT Destroyer, including the extra Organic Chemistry book?

Thanks 🙂

Destroyer was definitely PLENTY enough for ochem... don't waste your money on the "ultimate" destroyer - this is coming from someone for whom ochem wasn't exactly the best subject, and well... I think my score speaks for itself. Memorize all the reactions in Kaplan like the back of your hand (I reviewed and re-reviewed all the reactions over and over again... I had reactions going through my head even when I didn't want them to be), and then use Destroyer. Make a booklet of reactions that you've either never seen before (there were a few reactions covered in Destroyer that weren't in Kaplan), and ones that you think are important. This was great for me the day before the exam because I didn't have to page through the gazillion pages in Destroyer trying to find the problems I wanted to review.

Good luck!

 

[PSU SHC 414]

I'll try to answer multiple questions in this one post...


With 1.5 months left, I would NOT take the Kaplan course... I've heard from many others that it was a huge waste of time. I took the Kaplan course for the MCAT (I was accepted to medical school and decided that I didn't want to pursue a career as a physician for a myriad of reasons... I think most people on this forum would empathize with those same reasons), which is where I got the Kaplan subject books for Bio, Ochem, and GChem, and I thought it was a gigantic waste of time and money. I don't think there's any way to buy those books from Kaplan unless you enroll in their courses. I also don't know how Kaplan's DAT review books for the classroom course compare to the MCAT course... like I said, I've heard it's a big waste of time and money.

Hope this helps...

Just a point of clarification on this point... I was reading another SDNer's post (BalooTheBear) and he/she mentioned that it is possible to get the Kaplan MCAT subject books from Kaplan WITHOUT enrolling in the MCAT classroom course by contacting Kaplan directly.

I don't know if Kaplan's policy on this has changed, but if you are able to get these books from them (in particular, the Biological Sciences subject review book), it will be WELL worth the $$ for the amount of time you'll save (not having to go through review books like Schaum's to supplement the pi$$-poor review material in Kaplan's DAT blue book)... believe me when I say that the Bio material (particularly for human physiology) is covered in much greater detail. It's important to note, however, that you'll need to study plant physiology and taxonomy using another source (i.e. Wikipedia)

 

[doc3232]

So your saying that the Achiever and Destroyer are the best books to use? How about an average student, do you think an average student can use the same methods and achieve similar if not the same results?

Average... Average???
I thought you were the perfect international student that is much smarter than all Americans.... 😉

 

[userah]

from destroyer, for the ochem sections, did you find the road maps useful or did you primarily just use the kaplan book and memorize all the reactions. I scanned in the roadmaps and made wallpapers out of them since I'm practically always on the computer. I am a little less than a month away from my 2nd attempt at the exam. Currently going over destroyer, going over all the ones i was unsure of and trying to be more familiar with the road maps for orgo. For bio, I recently ordered schaum's outlines and hope that will be of much greater help than the kaplan book. I really got screwed over the first time for bio because i relied only on kaplan. This time i'm using all the sources at my disposal. Any advice besides achiever and destroyer? I'm just about done with finals so i'll have a good 2 and half weeks to spend on the dat's. How do you think I can best utilize that time?

btw, congrats on the phenomenal scores...i could only dream of scoring that high...

 

[Dmitry Malayev]

Great scores, congrats! Quick question, for the PAT did you only use Achiever?

Thanks!

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Great scores, congrats! Quick question, for the PAT did you only use Achiever?

Thanks!

Wow, I was surprised to see this thread surface again! Achiever was great for PAT since it had 3D animation for the answer explanations that allows you to rotate objects so you can see things from every angle - this from especially useful for TFE questions.

I also did problems in Barron's (it offers some pretty good strategies for the PAT section) and in the Kaplan DAT blue book. I think that was about it. I almost bought CrackDAT, but it was too expensive so I decided not to.

Just get your hands on as many problems as you can (within reason and obviously within your budget constraints)...

 

[hl11]

do dental schools put more empahsis on TS or AA?

can anyone tell me what TS and AA stand for? i am confused w/ all the abreviations...thanks

 

[Dmitry Malayev]

Wow, I was surprised to see this thread surface again! Achiever was great for PAT since it had 3D animation for the answer explanations that allows you to rotate objects so you can see things from every angle - this from especially useful for TFE questions.

I also did problems in Barron's (it offers some pretty good strategies for the PAT section) and in the Kaplan DAT blue book. I think that was about it. I almost bought CrackDAT, but it was too expensive so I decided not to.

Just get your hands on as many problems as you can (within reason and obviously within your budget constraints)...

Thanks! I guess i did purchase the correct products. I bought DAT Destroyer and DAT Achiever. I also purchased TopScore and Kaplan Bluebook.

can anyone tell me what TS and AA stand for? i am confused w/ all the abreviations...thanks

TS = Total Science
AA = Average not counting PAT (I'm not sure with this one though)