- Joined
- Aug 11, 2013
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Hey everyone 
I've been a long time lurker on SDN and I think I may finally have something worthy to share with you all! I hope I can help pass on some of the knowledge I've gained about myself and the DAT process over the past 9 gruelling weeks...so please feel free to ask any questions!
First things first...my scores from the DAT:
PAT: 25 (99.1%)
QR: 20 (95.1%)
RC: 21 (88.9%)
Biology: 30 (100.0%)
General Chem: 29 (99.9%)
Organic Chem: 28 (99.5%)
Total Science: 30 (100%)
Academic Average: 26 (100%)
Needless to say, I am pretty over the moon with those scores! Especially with my GPA history...but I'll get there in a second.
Some background information on myself:
I'm a microbiology major in my 4th year at a Canadian univeristy and after converting my GPA according to ADEA standards, I'm sitting at around a 3.30 cGPA and 3.2 sGPA. Not steller to say the least, right? Then how in the world did I manage to score a 100th percentile AA?! Honestly I'm still having troubles believing my scores after almost a week and I definitely spent a few hours after my test staring at my unofficial score report making sure I wasn't dreaming. To be honest, what I'm really hoping from posting this thread is that my story can help inspire at least one person to say "Hey, I don't need a 3.7+ GPA to do well on the DAT if I give it all I've got."
The preparation:
First of all, you need to know there are way more resources out there focused on the DAT than you could possibly get through or would need to go through to get a good score. Pick your resources wisely, and know your materials inside out. The most important tip I have to give is that you need to know your learning style. Know what type of learning works most effectively for yourself and don't be pressured into sticking with a certain method that you know won't work for you. For me, I'm a visual learner. I can't sit there for hours at a time reading plain words on a white page hoping somehow the material will diffuse into my brain. So for myself, I chose a combination of materials that appealed to my learning style, which are listed below. The second most important thing is to make a study plan and stick to it. Seriously. I followed the 8-week plan stickied in this discussion and added the materials I needed to cover each day as a calender event on Google Calenders. For the first 4 weeks, I was working full-time at my local dentist's office but still managed to do all the required readings/videos when I got home at 4pm. I would set the task on my Google Calender for 4:30pm so that I could get a breather before I digged into the material. It would take me about 4-5 hours to finish everything and I was usually in bed around 11pm. For the 4-weeks before my DAT exam date, I decided to take a leave of absence from work to fully concentrate on studying and I think it was a smart move on my part. I had more time to hammer out the harder concepts...especially organic chemistry (*groannn*). I took an odd day off here and there just to give my mind a break but if I did, I would revise my studying schedule so that I would not fall behind.
My studying materials:
Chad's videos: I was pretty suspicious of the amount of praise Chad got from his videos but after a 2-month subscription I have to admit how wrong I was. Chad presented his topics in a way that they'll stick with you like an annoying ex-boyfriend that you can't shake off. I made paper flashcards for every topic under organic chemistry and general chemistry and flipped through at least once a day 2 weeks before my exam. Like I said, I'm a visual learner and I like colours so every flashcard is composed with at least 2 differently coloured pens. Recalling information is just so much easier for me that way for some reason.
Cliff's AP Biology: WARNING! I made the mistake of getting the 4th edition and only realized quite late into my studying schedule that this was the wrong edition for the DAT...Get the 3rd one. The 4th one has absolutely nothing on phylogenies or plant reproduction and doing the DAT destroyer for the first time absolutely freaked me out.
Kaplan's Blue Book: Like many people have said on the forums, it's a sucky book with lots of holes and should only be paired with another source of information. But the reason I liked the Kaplan book is because....it has so many pretty colours. Have I said I liked colours yet? This book also has some cute mnemonics for memorizing biology stuff. For example, the path of sperm is "SEVEn UP" (Seminiferous tubules, Epididymis, Vas deferens, Ejacatory duct, "n"othing, Urethra, Penis). I took electronic flashcards using AP biology and KBB and reviewed them on my iPhone/iPad whenever I had some time to chill. Plus, I always pretty much have my phone on me so there was no excuse to go on Reddit when my flashcard app was right beside it. Again, technology is your friend. Use it!
DAT Destroyer 2013: I reluctantly shelled out the money for the new version but I can definitely say that this book was the most worthy investment for the DAT. I pretty much exclusively used this book the last 4 weeks before my exam and divided each section up with roughly equal numbers of questions per day for each of the 3 science sections. The first time going through this book was hellish. Organic chemistry was a gong show for me because I had only taken one semester of it and ended up with a C+...but I'll get to it in the organic chemistry section. General chemistry was okay because I took AP chemistry in high school and my teacher was a rock star. Biology was also heartbreaking because I only realized when I got there that apparently I needed to know crocodiles had 4-chamber hearts. Okay, so the DAT biology actually didn't end up asking that question but knowing that others have found biology to be generally over-kill was a tad comforting. Going through it the 2nd time turned out harder than I anticipated but I knew I was running out of time before my test so I circled the questions that were still difficult the 2nd time around and reviewed them one last time 3 days before my exam.
DAT Math Destroyer: Math was pretty much the one section I felt comfortable with besides general chemistry so this was probably the section of the DAT I spent the least time on. I guess you can probably see this reflected in my scores. I went through only 7 tests and really should've done more if I weren't freaking out about organic chem and biology. Other than that, I think it's a really good resource and worth it's price and I'd say the difficulty was on par with the QR section.
Crack DAT PAT: I bought the 10 test deluxe version because I was honestly scared to my soul about the PAT. Turned out the regular 10 test version probably would've sufficed. I ended up doing about 7 practice tests only during the 4 week period before my exam and consistently scored around a 20-22. Turns out this is the section where visual learners have the edge and I picked up all the sections fairly quickly. My two weakest sections turned out to be hole-punching and angle ranking...which are supposedly the two easiest sections. This just goes to say everyone's unique so don't be discouraged and practice, practice, practice. I ended up doing a few rounds of hole punching on practice mode when I got bored of doing Destroyer questions and my scores started improving drastically.
Princeton Review Cracking the DAT: I bought this book in a panic at my local Chapter's when I realized I had zero knowledge about ferns, mosses, plant reproduction, and the different phylums, classes, and whatnot. Turns out this book also had really good visuals and I'd actually recommend you add it to your arsenal of resources. The evolutionary relationships were well-covered and the tips regarding the PAT were very helpful. The organic chemistry section was beautifully done and I used it to supplement my flashcards.
Alright, enough boring stuff. Onto the sections on actual exam day!
Biology:
Holy baby cheesus I really think I lucked out in this section. It seemed like every question was taken directly off the flashcards I read the day before my exam and there was absolutely no unexpected-clown-in-your-cereal type questions. Ironcially, all that reproductive cycle of ferns and mosses I crammed in 3 weeks before my exam were nonexistent, along with questions about phylogenies. But I guess I don't any complaints. I'd say the topic with the most questions was probably general cell biology. There were some technology/drug/application questions that may have seemed obscure but when you break it down, it's really just testing your understanding of a certain biological process. So my advice would be: Don't freak out. It's the first section of the test and you need to stay confident for the rest 4 hours. If you don't know the answer, mark it, acknowledge it, but don't let it get to your head. When you're studying, the vast amount of material will freak you out. What I found was helpful was to visualize the concept and make it make sense to you. For example, the platyhelminthes are the flat worms. "Platy-" reminds me of platypuses. And they have flat beaks. Nematodes are round worms and the "o" in "nematOdes" reminds me of that fact. Osteoblasts build bones and osteoclasts collapse bones. Calcitonin lowers calcium blood levels, or "calci - non" as in "no calcium". Etc...etc...I have so many of these in my head that I suspect will stay with me for many years to come just because I personalized the material to make it work for me.
General chemistry:
I really wasn't expecting this section to be difficult and it wasn't. The Destroyer prepares you well for the types of questions tested and don't worry about the questions that seems to require you to be a math genius. They list the answers like how you would do dimensional analysis. A heads up to my fellow Canadians or international pre-dents, what be up with "colligative properties", eh? That was never part of our high school or even first-year chemistry class but it's an important one to know.
Organic chemistry:
Buckle down, folks, cause here's a little story. I took my first organic chemistry for the biological sciences in the summer of my first year because I thought it would be a great way to lighten up my load for second year. It wasn't. In between juggling 30 hours of extracurriculars a week and trying to keep up with an accelerated summer course was a nightmare. I ended up with a 64% in the class, a C+. To be honest, I did do 4% higher than the class average but it's still no excuse not to take your organic chemistry seriously. By the time I started studying for the DAT I had no idea how to even draw resonance structures properly. So how did I end up with a 28? You just suck it up and do it. At least that's what I told myself every day when I started watching Chad's videos. I guess my poor mark in class became my motivation to do well in this section on the DAT. I thought to myself, if I can manage to do well in this section, I can prove to the admissions committee that I CAN handle organic chemistry, and they won't be able to use my poor chemistry mark as justification for rejecting me. I probably managed to cram 2 semester's worth of org chem in 8 weeks so there's definitely hope for mechanism-challenged folks like me! I would definitely not recommend it, but it is feasible. Again, I'd probably say the mechanisms and roadmaps on the Destroyer are overkill, especially regarding benzene reations. But the best preparation is being over prepared. The 3 or 4 mechanism questions I did get on the DAT were one-step or asking for the reagent so don't freak out at the the 3-4 step questions on the Destroyer, just treat it as one-by-one step synthesis. Draw your products from the first set of reagents, make sure you're on track, then do the next step. I also constructed my own road-map from my flashcards as a final review and pretty much used that instead of my flashcards the final few days before my DAT. Again, I would really like to reassure you that the mechanisms are not the most important concept even though it's the hardest. It all boils down to chemical properties in the end. Unstable things want to mix together to become more stable. That's it.
Perceptual Ability:
Phew, I was feeling pretty good after my science section and was totally pumped to start the PAT. I'd say generally every section ended up being easier than Crack DAT PAT. Like others have said, the hole punching ended up being done with smaller holes than what the software used but the folds were much easier. I didn't get lucky on my cube section and ended up with wonky structures that were all over 22+ cubes large and I definitely started second guessing myself. I wanted to come back to this section but eventually ran out of time because pattern folding took longer than I expected. I had about 5 questions that were purely dice folding (which are the hardest for me because you have to turn the damn thing in your head to eliminate each choice at a time) so I'd definitely suggest spending time on dice folding/techniques just to be safe. I had about 2 minutes left when I finished the last pattern folding and spent all my time reviewing top/end/front because I knew this section was my strongest and it was easy to determine if I had made any silly mistakes.
Reading Comp:
To be honest I was hoping to get a better score than I did because all my passages seemed fairly easy. They were all biology-based so it wasn't hard to comprehend. I was probably too focused on the science sections to practice reading comprehension properly so the only practice I did get was from the Princeton Review and the 2009 DAT sample test. I did get 5-6 questions asking about tone, asking me to select a sentence to end/start the passage, and whether 2 statements were correct/related so maybe that's where those marks went. Oh well, the reading was a nice break from the rush but I'd still suggest managing your time well in this section because it will tick by fast.
Quantitative Reasoning:
I know it's not possible, but I felt like the DAT Gods had to restore some kind of balance after the science and PAT sections and decided to make the QR section the section from hell. Seriously, there was probably 5 questions that I completely just guessed on and marked the first time through. There was a question that I'm sure required you to memorize the law of cosines in order to solve which I just did not have time to memorize because I was too busy using my memory for useless metric:imperial conversions...no offense to my fellow Americans but wouldn't you agree life would be so much easier if instead we could go by orders of 10 like everything in the metric system instead of random numbers like 3 feet in a yard, 16 ounces in a lb, or 12 inches in a feet? Also I'd like to say a word of caution about the calculator. Do not rely on it. It will let you down like a failing elevator. I don't know if my test center computer was just garbage or the system just refused to cooperate but I had to wait a good 1.5 seconds before I could press another number on the calculator and let it register. If I knew this I definitely would've practiced the math without a calculator to start and simplifying it as much as I can before I had to use it.
Alright, I realize this got a little longer than I had planned but I just want to make a last point. Your state of mind before you enter that exam room is VERY important. You NEED to feel ready even if you're not. Just remember no one is probably ever ready when they go in but you can still walk out like a champion to victory music playing in your head if you just remember: all the CORRECT answers are there. They're not hiding it from you to make you purposely fail. You have prepared to the best of your abilities for this test, and you WILL do well. I did miss out on a bit of the sun this summer and a few BBQ's held by friends but dedicating time to studying will pay off, I promise. Also, sleep to a schedule you can stick with and make sure you eat well. I truly believe the mind cannot function 100% without the body so it's important to get your nutrition and enough excerise during this stressful period. I was still playing ultimate firsbee at least once a week with my summer league and I really think being with other people once in a while helped me not go mentally insane. There was definitely days where I wanted to break down and cry because I was just not registering a concept but you need to remember when things seem just way too daunting, break it down into chewable sizes. So what if you suck at all of organic chemistry? Today I will learn SN2 mechanisms and only SN2 mechanisms. That is all I have to do in this moment. And tomorrow I will suck a little less at organic chemistry. Take studying one day at a time and only focus on your task for that day. It does pay off, really.
Like I said, I am more than happy to help out by answering questions. I guess I'm a little late for the application cycle but I really wanted to focus on doing well on my DAT. If you're a fellow Canadian I would also appreciate any form of advice you could offer me since this would by my first cycle of applications because I haven't had the confidence to apply until this year. Also, shameless plug: if anyone had some time to kill, I'd love a second, third or fourth opinion on my PS. I've probably re-written it 3 times now and it still doesn't read nicely :/ Goodluck to everyone applying this cycle and I hope to be more active around the forums this upcoming year so I can help pay it forward
I've been a long time lurker on SDN and I think I may finally have something worthy to share with you all! I hope I can help pass on some of the knowledge I've gained about myself and the DAT process over the past 9 gruelling weeks...so please feel free to ask any questions!
First things first...my scores from the DAT:
PAT: 25 (99.1%)
QR: 20 (95.1%)
RC: 21 (88.9%)
Biology: 30 (100.0%)
General Chem: 29 (99.9%)
Organic Chem: 28 (99.5%)
Total Science: 30 (100%)
Academic Average: 26 (100%)
Needless to say, I am pretty over the moon with those scores! Especially with my GPA history...but I'll get there in a second.
Some background information on myself:
I'm a microbiology major in my 4th year at a Canadian univeristy and after converting my GPA according to ADEA standards, I'm sitting at around a 3.30 cGPA and 3.2 sGPA. Not steller to say the least, right? Then how in the world did I manage to score a 100th percentile AA?! Honestly I'm still having troubles believing my scores after almost a week and I definitely spent a few hours after my test staring at my unofficial score report making sure I wasn't dreaming. To be honest, what I'm really hoping from posting this thread is that my story can help inspire at least one person to say "Hey, I don't need a 3.7+ GPA to do well on the DAT if I give it all I've got."
The preparation:
First of all, you need to know there are way more resources out there focused on the DAT than you could possibly get through or would need to go through to get a good score. Pick your resources wisely, and know your materials inside out. The most important tip I have to give is that you need to know your learning style. Know what type of learning works most effectively for yourself and don't be pressured into sticking with a certain method that you know won't work for you. For me, I'm a visual learner. I can't sit there for hours at a time reading plain words on a white page hoping somehow the material will diffuse into my brain. So for myself, I chose a combination of materials that appealed to my learning style, which are listed below. The second most important thing is to make a study plan and stick to it. Seriously. I followed the 8-week plan stickied in this discussion and added the materials I needed to cover each day as a calender event on Google Calenders. For the first 4 weeks, I was working full-time at my local dentist's office but still managed to do all the required readings/videos when I got home at 4pm. I would set the task on my Google Calender for 4:30pm so that I could get a breather before I digged into the material. It would take me about 4-5 hours to finish everything and I was usually in bed around 11pm. For the 4-weeks before my DAT exam date, I decided to take a leave of absence from work to fully concentrate on studying and I think it was a smart move on my part. I had more time to hammer out the harder concepts...especially organic chemistry (*groannn*). I took an odd day off here and there just to give my mind a break but if I did, I would revise my studying schedule so that I would not fall behind.
My studying materials:
Chad's videos: I was pretty suspicious of the amount of praise Chad got from his videos but after a 2-month subscription I have to admit how wrong I was. Chad presented his topics in a way that they'll stick with you like an annoying ex-boyfriend that you can't shake off. I made paper flashcards for every topic under organic chemistry and general chemistry and flipped through at least once a day 2 weeks before my exam. Like I said, I'm a visual learner and I like colours so every flashcard is composed with at least 2 differently coloured pens. Recalling information is just so much easier for me that way for some reason.
Cliff's AP Biology: WARNING! I made the mistake of getting the 4th edition and only realized quite late into my studying schedule that this was the wrong edition for the DAT...Get the 3rd one. The 4th one has absolutely nothing on phylogenies or plant reproduction and doing the DAT destroyer for the first time absolutely freaked me out.
Kaplan's Blue Book: Like many people have said on the forums, it's a sucky book with lots of holes and should only be paired with another source of information. But the reason I liked the Kaplan book is because....it has so many pretty colours. Have I said I liked colours yet? This book also has some cute mnemonics for memorizing biology stuff. For example, the path of sperm is "SEVEn UP" (Seminiferous tubules, Epididymis, Vas deferens, Ejacatory duct, "n"othing, Urethra, Penis). I took electronic flashcards using AP biology and KBB and reviewed them on my iPhone/iPad whenever I had some time to chill. Plus, I always pretty much have my phone on me so there was no excuse to go on Reddit when my flashcard app was right beside it. Again, technology is your friend. Use it!
DAT Destroyer 2013: I reluctantly shelled out the money for the new version but I can definitely say that this book was the most worthy investment for the DAT. I pretty much exclusively used this book the last 4 weeks before my exam and divided each section up with roughly equal numbers of questions per day for each of the 3 science sections. The first time going through this book was hellish. Organic chemistry was a gong show for me because I had only taken one semester of it and ended up with a C+...but I'll get to it in the organic chemistry section. General chemistry was okay because I took AP chemistry in high school and my teacher was a rock star. Biology was also heartbreaking because I only realized when I got there that apparently I needed to know crocodiles had 4-chamber hearts. Okay, so the DAT biology actually didn't end up asking that question but knowing that others have found biology to be generally over-kill was a tad comforting. Going through it the 2nd time turned out harder than I anticipated but I knew I was running out of time before my test so I circled the questions that were still difficult the 2nd time around and reviewed them one last time 3 days before my exam.
DAT Math Destroyer: Math was pretty much the one section I felt comfortable with besides general chemistry so this was probably the section of the DAT I spent the least time on. I guess you can probably see this reflected in my scores. I went through only 7 tests and really should've done more if I weren't freaking out about organic chem and biology. Other than that, I think it's a really good resource and worth it's price and I'd say the difficulty was on par with the QR section.
Crack DAT PAT: I bought the 10 test deluxe version because I was honestly scared to my soul about the PAT. Turned out the regular 10 test version probably would've sufficed. I ended up doing about 7 practice tests only during the 4 week period before my exam and consistently scored around a 20-22. Turns out this is the section where visual learners have the edge and I picked up all the sections fairly quickly. My two weakest sections turned out to be hole-punching and angle ranking...which are supposedly the two easiest sections. This just goes to say everyone's unique so don't be discouraged and practice, practice, practice. I ended up doing a few rounds of hole punching on practice mode when I got bored of doing Destroyer questions and my scores started improving drastically.
Princeton Review Cracking the DAT: I bought this book in a panic at my local Chapter's when I realized I had zero knowledge about ferns, mosses, plant reproduction, and the different phylums, classes, and whatnot. Turns out this book also had really good visuals and I'd actually recommend you add it to your arsenal of resources. The evolutionary relationships were well-covered and the tips regarding the PAT were very helpful. The organic chemistry section was beautifully done and I used it to supplement my flashcards.
Alright, enough boring stuff. Onto the sections on actual exam day!
Biology:
Holy baby cheesus I really think I lucked out in this section. It seemed like every question was taken directly off the flashcards I read the day before my exam and there was absolutely no unexpected-clown-in-your-cereal type questions. Ironcially, all that reproductive cycle of ferns and mosses I crammed in 3 weeks before my exam were nonexistent, along with questions about phylogenies. But I guess I don't any complaints. I'd say the topic with the most questions was probably general cell biology. There were some technology/drug/application questions that may have seemed obscure but when you break it down, it's really just testing your understanding of a certain biological process. So my advice would be: Don't freak out. It's the first section of the test and you need to stay confident for the rest 4 hours. If you don't know the answer, mark it, acknowledge it, but don't let it get to your head. When you're studying, the vast amount of material will freak you out. What I found was helpful was to visualize the concept and make it make sense to you. For example, the platyhelminthes are the flat worms. "Platy-" reminds me of platypuses. And they have flat beaks. Nematodes are round worms and the "o" in "nematOdes" reminds me of that fact. Osteoblasts build bones and osteoclasts collapse bones. Calcitonin lowers calcium blood levels, or "calci - non" as in "no calcium". Etc...etc...I have so many of these in my head that I suspect will stay with me for many years to come just because I personalized the material to make it work for me.
General chemistry:
I really wasn't expecting this section to be difficult and it wasn't. The Destroyer prepares you well for the types of questions tested and don't worry about the questions that seems to require you to be a math genius. They list the answers like how you would do dimensional analysis. A heads up to my fellow Canadians or international pre-dents, what be up with "colligative properties", eh? That was never part of our high school or even first-year chemistry class but it's an important one to know.
Organic chemistry:
Buckle down, folks, cause here's a little story. I took my first organic chemistry for the biological sciences in the summer of my first year because I thought it would be a great way to lighten up my load for second year. It wasn't. In between juggling 30 hours of extracurriculars a week and trying to keep up with an accelerated summer course was a nightmare. I ended up with a 64% in the class, a C+. To be honest, I did do 4% higher than the class average but it's still no excuse not to take your organic chemistry seriously. By the time I started studying for the DAT I had no idea how to even draw resonance structures properly. So how did I end up with a 28? You just suck it up and do it. At least that's what I told myself every day when I started watching Chad's videos. I guess my poor mark in class became my motivation to do well in this section on the DAT. I thought to myself, if I can manage to do well in this section, I can prove to the admissions committee that I CAN handle organic chemistry, and they won't be able to use my poor chemistry mark as justification for rejecting me. I probably managed to cram 2 semester's worth of org chem in 8 weeks so there's definitely hope for mechanism-challenged folks like me! I would definitely not recommend it, but it is feasible. Again, I'd probably say the mechanisms and roadmaps on the Destroyer are overkill, especially regarding benzene reations. But the best preparation is being over prepared. The 3 or 4 mechanism questions I did get on the DAT were one-step or asking for the reagent so don't freak out at the the 3-4 step questions on the Destroyer, just treat it as one-by-one step synthesis. Draw your products from the first set of reagents, make sure you're on track, then do the next step. I also constructed my own road-map from my flashcards as a final review and pretty much used that instead of my flashcards the final few days before my DAT. Again, I would really like to reassure you that the mechanisms are not the most important concept even though it's the hardest. It all boils down to chemical properties in the end. Unstable things want to mix together to become more stable. That's it.
Perceptual Ability:
Phew, I was feeling pretty good after my science section and was totally pumped to start the PAT. I'd say generally every section ended up being easier than Crack DAT PAT. Like others have said, the hole punching ended up being done with smaller holes than what the software used but the folds were much easier. I didn't get lucky on my cube section and ended up with wonky structures that were all over 22+ cubes large and I definitely started second guessing myself. I wanted to come back to this section but eventually ran out of time because pattern folding took longer than I expected. I had about 5 questions that were purely dice folding (which are the hardest for me because you have to turn the damn thing in your head to eliminate each choice at a time) so I'd definitely suggest spending time on dice folding/techniques just to be safe. I had about 2 minutes left when I finished the last pattern folding and spent all my time reviewing top/end/front because I knew this section was my strongest and it was easy to determine if I had made any silly mistakes.
Reading Comp:
To be honest I was hoping to get a better score than I did because all my passages seemed fairly easy. They were all biology-based so it wasn't hard to comprehend. I was probably too focused on the science sections to practice reading comprehension properly so the only practice I did get was from the Princeton Review and the 2009 DAT sample test. I did get 5-6 questions asking about tone, asking me to select a sentence to end/start the passage, and whether 2 statements were correct/related so maybe that's where those marks went. Oh well, the reading was a nice break from the rush but I'd still suggest managing your time well in this section because it will tick by fast.
Quantitative Reasoning:
I know it's not possible, but I felt like the DAT Gods had to restore some kind of balance after the science and PAT sections and decided to make the QR section the section from hell. Seriously, there was probably 5 questions that I completely just guessed on and marked the first time through. There was a question that I'm sure required you to memorize the law of cosines in order to solve which I just did not have time to memorize because I was too busy using my memory for useless metric:imperial conversions...no offense to my fellow Americans but wouldn't you agree life would be so much easier if instead we could go by orders of 10 like everything in the metric system instead of random numbers like 3 feet in a yard, 16 ounces in a lb, or 12 inches in a feet? Also I'd like to say a word of caution about the calculator. Do not rely on it. It will let you down like a failing elevator. I don't know if my test center computer was just garbage or the system just refused to cooperate but I had to wait a good 1.5 seconds before I could press another number on the calculator and let it register. If I knew this I definitely would've practiced the math without a calculator to start and simplifying it as much as I can before I had to use it.
Alright, I realize this got a little longer than I had planned but I just want to make a last point. Your state of mind before you enter that exam room is VERY important. You NEED to feel ready even if you're not. Just remember no one is probably ever ready when they go in but you can still walk out like a champion to victory music playing in your head if you just remember: all the CORRECT answers are there. They're not hiding it from you to make you purposely fail. You have prepared to the best of your abilities for this test, and you WILL do well. I did miss out on a bit of the sun this summer and a few BBQ's held by friends but dedicating time to studying will pay off, I promise. Also, sleep to a schedule you can stick with and make sure you eat well. I truly believe the mind cannot function 100% without the body so it's important to get your nutrition and enough excerise during this stressful period. I was still playing ultimate firsbee at least once a week with my summer league and I really think being with other people once in a while helped me not go mentally insane. There was definitely days where I wanted to break down and cry because I was just not registering a concept but you need to remember when things seem just way too daunting, break it down into chewable sizes. So what if you suck at all of organic chemistry? Today I will learn SN2 mechanisms and only SN2 mechanisms. That is all I have to do in this moment. And tomorrow I will suck a little less at organic chemistry. Take studying one day at a time and only focus on your task for that day. It does pay off, really
.Like I said, I am more than happy to help out by answering questions. I guess I'm a little late for the application cycle but I really wanted to focus on doing well on my DAT. If you're a fellow Canadian I would also appreciate any form of advice you could offer me since this would by my first cycle of applications because I haven't had the confidence to apply until this year. Also, shameless plug: if anyone had some time to kill, I'd love a second, third or fourth opinion on my PS. I've probably re-written it 3 times now and it still doesn't read nicely :/ Goodluck to everyone applying this cycle and I hope to be more active around the forums this upcoming year so I can help pay it forward
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Can I just say "WOW"! How did you manage to get a 30 on TT!!!
