Customer Reviews

Kaplan DAT with CD-ROM, Second Edition (Kaplan DAT (W/CD))

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book will be 70% of your study in regards to the DAT. However, this book is not without it's weaknesses. The PAT section is weak. The PAT problems are far too easy in this book. I would encourage you to purchase Barrons book for its PAT review. And I would also encourage you to purchase Topscore to get a realistic simulation. The organic chemistry and general chemistry sections are adequate. I would still refer to a text book to get better examples of problems. THe biology section is good but the real DAT focuses on a lot of ecology, genetics, intervertebrate biology and evolution. This book doesn't cover those topics in enough depth. The math problems in this book are really easy. Purchase a GRE math book to acquire practice on more difficult problems. The Reading section in this book is more difficult than the real DAT. Nonetheless, be aware of those who act like this book is a lifesave because it is clearly not one. This book offers a starting point in your quest to score well on the DAT. But by no means you should you only use this source.

I bought this book along with TopScore CD. I looked at the reviews and thought this is a wonderful book for preparation for DAT. Well, it is not even close. The content in this book is not enough for the real DAT, especially the biology part. Fortunately I found this out before the test and I had to postpone the test one week later than I scheduled. I bought the Schaum's Outline for Biology and Chemsitry (two review books) and studied those two books intensively in the last week before DAT. Here is my scores: Bio 22, Gen 28, Org 25. I do think the Schaum's Outlines saved me from a big failure. I am glad that I didn't trust this book. And Schaum's books are amazingly inexpensive. That can save you about 20 bucks. And I am not selling my used Kaplan book here because I don't think it's that useful. Good luck with your test!

According to the guide at dentalschooladmission.com the biology section is weak and I agree since I have the Kaplan book! You need another guide for biology. Also, the CD test is not too representive of the DAT format but our choices are limited in software products.

Michael

This book is plain genius. i just took the DAT and got very good scores thanks to this book. The CD was helpful, although the PAT is harder on the exam. You guys will not regret paying 50 buckaroos for this one.

This book is a good solid core reference for study. The practice tests on the CD are good, as well as the TopScore CD. I was frustrated to see that most of what I studied hard for on the biology portion, was not on the test. I guess that is just the luck of the draw in the world of testing. The keyhole problems were harder on the actual DAT, and the angles were very close and hard to discern. Fortunately, I did well despite the challenges. Really utilize the practice tests to get used to working fast. I am an older returning student - 11 years since graduating from Dental Hygiene school - and really needed a good reference book, since I had no texts from which to study. This was it.

Its a good review for chemistry, PAT and Reading Comprehension. The PAT is a bit easier than what you'll see on the exam but for Chem and PAT you dont really need anything else, unless you want more practice.
But please, dont make the mistake i did and use this as your Bio study book, it wasnt even close to what was on the DAT.
So good for everything other than the bio

The Kaplan DAT book was a good study guide to use to prepare for the DAT - especially when compared to other brands. By studying mainly the review book, a few textbooks for reference, and the TopScore CD, I was able to perform very well on the exam.

The Science section was very thorough and helped prepare me for what showed up on the exam. The Biology was heavy in detail which actually posed to be a problem - many of the areas which I spent time studying did not show up in great detail on the exam. But hey, better safe than sorry.

The reading section was very accurate in mimicing the reading section on the exam. The math was close as well - TopScore did a better job with math questions however. The Kaplan book did cover some great math skills.

The PAT is the only area where I wish the book worked more with. The DAT was much more difficult than I had expected - especially for angle ranking. I would suggest the more practice the better.

Aside from the PAT (which still helped greatly), the book is a great buy. I recommend it for anyone willing to work hard for this exam.

An added note, I performed much better on the DAT than the Kaplan exams. The book helps with keeping motivation high.