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- May 22, 2013
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So Ive been seeing threads and people are stuck on cube counting and hole punching. I got a 22 on the actual DAT and any practice ive done (Bootcamp, Topscore, CDP) I have been doing really well in these sections, so I want to share with you guys what I do and maybe itll help!
(my weaknesses are key hole and angles... so thats why my scores are flawed..)
Cube Counting:
mark your paper 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 in a column
you will usually get 5 different cube structures so you can gauge how much time you have for each...
I count up all the boxes first. then I go through and count each box per number (how many boxes have 5 sides showing, etc) once youve gone through it, count all of your mark ups to make sure it totals to the total # of boxes. If its the same number, you got them all down and answering the next 3 questions will take 2 seconds. If you think this is daunting, dont. It really is the best strategy. if you do one test, every day for 3-5 days, this will become easier and faster.
Hole punching:
I see a lot of the symmetry technique, but i have had problems on the DAT where there wasnt symmetry... or the part that was hole punched would actually move... So Tic-Tac-Toe. Seriously, easiest damn thing in the world. it takes a few practice runs, but once you get it down swiftly, this section becomes a no-brainer!
For those who dont know what this strategy is, it goes like this:
3 horizontal lines, 3 vertical lines (like tic-tac-toe)
and the first hole punch you see, mark an X there. Then unfold the first time, and mark an X in the next spot, etc.
Once this becomes second nature, the tricky ones... where the hole is on the corner of the paper, and then as it unfolds you see there is no paper underneath, so you disregard your initial X. I know this sounds weird, but once you see it, youll know how to adjust. I had a few like this on the real DAT...
I hope this helps! its just practice, I promise!!
(my weaknesses are key hole and angles... so thats why my scores are flawed..)
Cube Counting:
mark your paper 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 in a column
you will usually get 5 different cube structures so you can gauge how much time you have for each...
I count up all the boxes first. then I go through and count each box per number (how many boxes have 5 sides showing, etc) once youve gone through it, count all of your mark ups to make sure it totals to the total # of boxes. If its the same number, you got them all down and answering the next 3 questions will take 2 seconds. If you think this is daunting, dont. It really is the best strategy. if you do one test, every day for 3-5 days, this will become easier and faster.
Hole punching:
I see a lot of the symmetry technique, but i have had problems on the DAT where there wasnt symmetry... or the part that was hole punched would actually move... So Tic-Tac-Toe. Seriously, easiest damn thing in the world. it takes a few practice runs, but once you get it down swiftly, this section becomes a no-brainer!
For those who dont know what this strategy is, it goes like this:
3 horizontal lines, 3 vertical lines (like tic-tac-toe)
and the first hole punch you see, mark an X there. Then unfold the first time, and mark an X in the next spot, etc.
Once this becomes second nature, the tricky ones... where the hole is on the corner of the paper, and then as it unfolds you see there is no paper underneath, so you disregard your initial X. I know this sounds weird, but once you see it, youll know how to adjust. I had a few like this on the real DAT...
I hope this helps! its just practice, I promise!!
