3 months paid off

[EyeAmCommi]

Hey guys,

I haven't posted here in a while. Just wanted to let everyone know how my experience taking the DAT went yesterday. Here are my scores:

AA 22
TS 22
B 20
GC 26
OC 24
RC 20
QR 21
PA 23

I have a few thoughts on the test.
1) The Biology is much much harder on the real thing. Like everyone says, Kaplan and Topscore aren't enough to touch all bases which was what I used. I found a couple of ecology questions that I did not understand. And a question pertained to the nerves in the cranium and the endocrine system, a physiology question that I also didn't delve too deeply in.
2) Ochem and Gchem was waaay easier on the real thing than on the practice exams. Just don't make any mistakes! Carelessness is the only thing that will get you. For me, I didn't get any colligative properties. Everything was MV=MV or V/T=V/T plug-n-chug type things. Everyone should get 23+ in these sections. Ochem had several Sn1/Sn2/E1/E2 and fewer reactions. Just use Kaplan/Topscore.
3) Reading wasn't bad. My score of 20 only puts me into the 71 percentile. I was shocked because all my other scores of 20 put me at 90+ on the percentile. I guess EVERYONE does well in RC...
4) QR is easy. I made the mistake of not reviewing trig functions and polar coordinates etc so I missed about 4 questions pertaining to them. It's pretty bad. Only 2 probability questions for me, my hardest subject.
5) PAT. The angle rankings were extremely hard. It seemed like one of the questions had 3 angles that were each 1 degree apart! (Which is possible on the DAT btw). Be prepared to spend twice the amount of time that you usually spend on the angle rankings. Keyholes were easier than practice questions from Kaplan/Topscore (Topscore by the way has really bad keyhole questions, the shapes aren't drawn perfectly to scale). Hole punching was a lot harder. On practice exams, I only saw paper being folded into 4s. But on the real exam, they had folded them into 3s, if u don't understand just ask me to clarify.

Overall, I felt the DAT was good experience. I didn't find the majority of the test too difficult so good luck to anyone who still has to take it this late into the year. Just beware of Bio and the Angle rankings.

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[emthichrangdep]

wow, congrads on your great score! what schools did u apply to?

 

[EyeAmCommi]

wow, congrads on your great score! what schools did u apply to?

Thanks. I haven't applied to any schools yet. I'm still working on my personal statement. This summer has been too busy.

My top choices would have to be either UCSF or UoP though but anywhere in California would be great. You think I still have a shot?

 

[eapleitez]

I think you need to put in your app ASAP. Finish up your personal essay. It took me a week or so to finalize my draft. People are getting and going to interviews right now, and AADSAS takes about 4-6 weeks to mail out your application AFTER they recieve everything they need. The California schools are great, but don't rely on getting into them. Apply to some other schools you think you will like, and then apply to a safety school (cough* NYU *cough - not saying it is a bad school, but it is the most expensive) and some other schools.

Great scores, by the way.

 

[nickatina]

Hey guys,

I haven't posted here in a while. Just wanted to let everyone know how my experience taking the DAT went yesterday. Here are my scores:

AA 22
NS 22
B 20
GC 26
OC 24
RC 20
QR 21
PA 23

I have a few thoughts on the test.
1) The Biology is much much harder on the real thing. Like everyone says, Kaplan and Topscore aren't enough to touch all bases which was what I used. I found a couple of ecology questions that I did not understand. And a question pertained to the nerves in the cranium and the endocrine system, a physiology question that I also didn't delve too deeply in.
2) Ochem and Gchem was waaay easier on the real thing than on the practice exams. Just don't make any mistakes! Carelessness is the only thing that will get you. For me, I didn't get any colligative properties. Everything was MV=MV or V/T=V/T plug-n-chug type things. Everyone should get 23+ in these sections. Ochem had several Sn1/Sn2/E1/E2 and fewer reactions. Just use Kaplan/Topscore.
3) Reading wasn't bad. My score of 20 only puts me into the 71 percentile. I was shocked because all my other scores of 20 put me at 90+ on the percentile. I guess EVERYONE does well in RC...
4) QR is easy. I made the mistake of not reviewing trig functions and polar coordinates etc so I missed about 4 questions pertaining to them. It's pretty bad. Only 2 probability questions for me, my hardest subject.
5) PAT. The angle rankings were extremely hard. It seemed like one of the questions had 3 angles that were each 1 degree apart! (Which is possible on the DAT btw). Be prepared to spend twice the amount of time that you usually spend on the angle rankings. Keyholes were easier than practice questions from Kaplan/Topscore (Topscore by the way has really bad keyhole questions, the shapes aren't drawn perfectly to scale). Hole punching was a lot harder. On practice exams, I only saw paper being folded into 4s. But on the real exam, they had folded them into 3s, if u don't understand just ask me to clarify.

Overall, I felt the DAT was good experience. I didn't find the majority of the test too difficult so good luck to anyone who still has to take it this late into the year. Just beware of Bio and the Angle rankings.

good to hear. im taking mine on tues and was worried for a bit, but after another hard day of studying i feel like im ready... and your comments help ease the anxiety...

 

[EyeAmCommi]

I think you need to put in your app ASAP. Finish up your personal essay. It took me a week or so to finalize my draft. People are getting and going to interviews right now, and AADSAS takes about 4-6 weeks to mail out your application AFTER they recieve everything they need. The California schools are great, but don't rely on getting into them. Apply to some other schools you think you will like, and then apply to a safety school (cough* NYU *cough - not saying it is a bad school, but it is the most expensive) and some other schools.

Great scores, by the way.

Thanks, I'm definitely working on my personal statement. I hope this year's app pool isn't as competitive as everyone says it is. It would be nice to stay in Cali but really anywhere would be fine. I just wanna get in somewhere! I'm gonna try to get my app in by mid-Oct, you think that's still too late though?

 

[eapleitez]

No, I don't think you'll be to late and you have a good chance of getting in somewhere with your scores, but you might be put on waiting lists for a while, which I imagine can be nerve-racking. But by all means, apply this cycle.

 

[burton117]

Congratulations on your score.

Good thread.

 

[johnjoseph]

The ADA standard score to raw score chart is either different that the charts in the kaplans and barrons or people are posting BS scores. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in chemistry. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in O chem. In bio, 23 and 25 are not attainable. Are people full of it or are the conversion charts different?

 

[burton117]

The ADA standard score to raw score chart is either different that the charts in the kaplans and barrons or people are posting BS scores. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in chemistry. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in O chem. In bio, 23 and 25 are not attainable. Are people full of it or are the conversion charts different?

Which conversion charts are you referring to?

 

[luder98]

The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in chemistry. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in O chem.

That is not true.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

The ADA standard score to raw score chart is either different that the charts in the kaplans and barrons or people are posting BS scores. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in chemistry. The scores of 22, 24, 26, and 27 are NOT attainable in O chem. In bio, 23 and 25 are not attainable. Are people full of it or are the conversion charts different?

I don't understand why these scores are not attainable. I can guarantee that these are my scores...

 

[johnjoseph]

I believe that they are your scores but I wanted to point out that the charts in the kaplans and barrons books do not have those scores.....for instance, according to the barrons chart, if you got 27 questions right in g chem then your score would be a 21....if you got 28 questions right then your score would be and 23....if you got 29 questions right then your score would be a 25. These charts are probably not accuarate....does anyone know where an "official conversion chart" can be obtained???? I am interested to know if this is a reason why people do better on the real DAT.

 

[teefRcool]

I believe that they are your scores but I wanted to point out that the charts in the kaplans and barrons books do not have those scores.....for instance, according to the barrons chart, if you got 27 questions right in g chem then your score would be a 21....if you got 28 questions right then your score would be and 23....if you got 29 questions right then your score would be a 25. These charts are probably not accuarate....does anyone know where an "official conversion chart" can be obtained???? I am interested to know if this is a reason why people do better on the real DAT.

This is a very good question

 

[issa]

i believe that barron's chart is wrong. ada updated the chart, so i am sure its wrong. i don't know about kaplan's chart, so check ada website.

 

[Richnator]

I believe that they are your scores but I wanted to point out that the charts in the kaplans and barrons books do not have those scores.....for instance, according to the barrons chart, if you got 27 questions right in g chem then your score would be a 21....if you got 28 questions right then your score would be and 23....if you got 29 questions right then your score would be a 25. These charts are probably not accuarate....does anyone know where an "official conversion chart" can be obtained???? I am interested to know if this is a reason why people do better on the real DAT.

That is definitely wrong. I got a 27 in chemistry and I did not lie. Go take the DAT and see if it is true. Don't post calling people liars when you do not know what the system for grading.

 

[johnjoseph]

That is definitely wrong. I got a 27 in chemistry and I did not lie. Go take the DAT and see if it is true. Don't post calling people liars when you do not know what the system for grading.

I didn't call anyone a liar, I pointed out that the charts in the review books may not be accuarate. Show me the quote where I specifically called someone a liar. I'm suprised you did ok on the reading comprehension.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

I didn't call anyone a liar, I pointed out that the charts in the review books may not be accuarate. Show me the quote where I specifically called someone a liar. I'm suprised you did ok on the reading comprehension.

I agree that the scoring seems a little confusing because I have this example...

On another thread, I forgot which one but I asked the OP about it (maybe you can search it), the guy posted his Biology score and he got a 19 and that put him in the 91st percentile or something. I asked him and he replied that there is no mistakes. Well, I scored a 20 and that put me in the 90.0 percentile exactly! I don't get it. We took the test maybe a month apart from each other. Maybe ADA changes the scoring scale every month? week? But something doesn't match up and I don't know if anyone can give you a straight answer about the grading scale.

Hope that helps to solidify the fact that the DAT is messed up and its not the people on SDN...hopefully!

 

[luder98]

I agree that the scoring seems a little confusing because I have this example...

On another thread, I forgot which one but I asked the OP about it (maybe you can search it), the guy posted his Biology score and he got a 19 and that put him in the 91st percentile or something. I asked him and he replied that there is no mistakes. Well, I scored a 20 and that put me in the 90.0 percentile exactly! I don't get it. We took the test maybe a month apart from each other. Maybe ADA changes the scoring scale every month? week? But something doesn't match up and I don't know if anyone can give you a straight answer about the grading scale.

Hope that helps to solidify the fact that the DAT is messed up and its not the people on SDN...hopefully!

Percentiles are used to compare you with people who took that same test you took. I took the test a week before you and got identical numbers as your chems. So your scores are valid : ) However, my percentiles are lower than those I got from last year when I had 23 and 25. That just indicates that more people are well prepared this year.

Just out of curiosity, did you see the below question? If you did, then we had the same test.

What is the major product for the following reaction?
2-methyl-2-bromobutane (KOH/Ethanol Reflux)

 

[EyeAmCommi]

Percentiles are used to compare you with people who took that same test you took. I took the test a week before you and got identical numbers as your chems. So your scores are valid : ) However, my percentiles are lower than those I got from last year when I had 23 and 25. That just indicates that more people are well prepared this year.

Just out of curiosity, did you see the below question? If you did, then we had the same test.

What is the major product for the following reaction?
2-methyl-2-bromobutane (KOH/Ethanol Reflux)

This explains a lot.

But I don't remember if I saw that question...sorry

 

[54807]

As far as I know, this is my understanding of why you can't get those scores on various practice tests. Those tests are "easier" questions in comparison to other tests. If you receive a test with the easiest of questions, I think you are given a score that reflects that. If you get them all correct, you'll still peaked at 23 or whatever. However, if you get the hardest test possible, you can miss a few without a huge impact on your score. The real DAT doesn't vary much at all but there is still that factor of easy test vs. hard test.

No one at ADA or Kaplan told me this, I was just reading something one day and thought, O that might be how the DAT is scaled.

Any opinions out there?

 

[EyeAmCommi]

As far as I know, this is my understanding of why you can't get those scores on various practice tests. Those tests are "easier" questions in comparison to other tests. If you receive a test with the easiest of questions, I think you are given a score that reflects that. If you get them all correct, you'll still peaked at 23 or whatever. However, if you get the hardest test possible, you can miss a few without a huge impact on your score. The real DAT doesn't vary much at all but there is still that factor of easy test vs. hard test.

No one at ADA or Kaplan told me this, I was just reading something one day and thought, O that might be how the DAT is scaled.

Any opinions out there?

Naw. The test is not based on difficulty; that is a fact. But each test is scaled based on how well people did on it. So a "harder" test would produce a scale that is different than an "easier" one.

I think what you were saying was that the scale is created based on the difficulty of the test, not on how well people do on it, that's the difference between what I said and what you said...make any sense?

Correct me if I'm wrong. Pat me on the back if I'm right.