DAT breakdown - 5/30

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

kmcw

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
67
Reaction score
0
I used SDN to figure out what materials to buy and different methods that worked. I am glad to finally say I took the DAT for the first, and hopefully last, time. Taking people's advice was definitely helpful, as you will be able to see. Here is my breakdown:

PAT 20
QR 20
RC 19
BIO 22
GC 22
OC 22
TS 22
AA 21


Overall / Science GPA: 4.00

Applied: 3
Interviewed: 3
Accepted on Dec 3rd: 3
________________________________
I also thought I could add a little encouragement to the people who have not taken it yet by showing my embarrassing first practice test from a year ago (mind you this was from the middle of my second semester of college when I had not yet taken organic chemistry and was only halfway through general chemistry and general biology).
Kaplan Practice Test:
PAT: 18 QR: 11 RC: 12 BIO: 12 GC: 15 OC: 10 TS: 12 AA: 12

So here is how I raised my score by almost 10 points (somewhat artificially):

I started studying 2 weeks before my test day. I picked my day in advance and stuck to my guns. I decided to not let myself off easy by pushing it back.

PAT: I used Crack the DAT PAT Ace Edition. It was very similar to the actual PAT section. Kaplan was not an accurate representation of the material. I only completed 3 of the practice tests in this time period. The Ace edition was not necessary and easily would have been fine with the cheaper version.

QR: I took algebra in 8th grade and geometry my freshman year in high school. I reviewed the Kaplan material to refresh my memory and this was sufficient. I did all the math on the test in my head and on the board. It is a lot easier and faster this way and you don't risk messing up on the calculator.

RC: This was my worst score. I have always been sucker punched by timed reading. I think the biggest thing is to keep calm and don't panic halfway through. I did not practice for this section and I don't believe practicing would have helped.

BIO: I reviewed the AP Biology Cliff Notes. I read one chapter everyday. This section is mostly memorization. There were 1-2 questions that were not covered in the AP Biology Cliff Notes, but overall it was an excellent study source. I used the DAT Destroyer for practice and was consistently scoring a 20 towards the last week of studying.

GC/OC: Chad's Videos. I can not thank everyone enough for telling me about these. I was not able to finish all the videos in this time, but they were an enormous help. I can not stress it enough.

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
I used SDN to figure out what materials to buy and different methods that worked. I am glad to finally say I took the DAT for the first, and hopefully last, time. Taking people's advice was definitely helpful, as you will be able to see. Here is my breakdown:

PAT 20
QR 20
RC 19
BIO 22
GC 22
OC 22
TS 22
AA 21


Overall / Science GPA: 4.00

I also thought I could add a little encouragement to the people who have not taken it yet by showing my embarrassing first practice test from a year ago (mind you this was from the middle of my second semester of college when I had not yet taken organic chemistry and was only halfway through general chemistry and general biology).
Kaplan Practice Test:
PAT: 18 QR: 11 RC: 12 BIO: 12 GC: 15 OC: 10 TS: 12 AA: 12

So here is how I raised my score by almost 10 points (somewhat artificially):

I started studying 2 weeks before my test day. I picked my day in advance and stuck to my guns. I decided to not let myself off easy by pushing it back.

PAT: I used Crack the DAT PAT Ace Edition. It was very similar to the actual PAT section. Kaplan was not an accurate representation of the material. I only completed 3 of the practice tests in this time period. The Ace edition was not necessary and easily would have been fine with the cheaper version.

QR: I took algebra in 8th grade and geometry my freshman year in high school. I reviewed the Kaplan material to refresh my memory and this was sufficient. I did all the math on the test in my head and on the board. It is a lot easier and faster this way and you don't risk messing up on the calculator.

RC: This was my worst score. I was sucker punched. I do not have any advice for this section.

BIO: I reviewed the AP Biology Cliff Notes. I read one chapter everyday. This section is mostly memorization. There were 1-2 questions that were not covered in the AP Biology Cliff Notes, but overall it was an excellent study source. I used the DAT Destroyer for practice and was consistently scoring a 20 towards the last week of studying.

GC/OC: Chad's Videos. I can not thank everyone enough for telling me about these. I was not able to finish all the videos in this time, but they were an enormous help. I can not stress it enough.


Great scores. Just a few questions.

I have watched all of chad's gen chem videos and I have been getting about 60-70% questions correctly when doing destroyer. Do you think I am in good shape for gen chem? What else do you suggest for this section?

Also for organic chem, do you think chad's videos and destroyer is enough?

thanks.
 
I was getting around a 19 or 20 on the general chemistry destroyer section after Chad's videos. There was nothing on the DAT that he did not cover. I did not finish organic chemistry review so I never was able to time and score myself. I was probably getting about 70% right. Again I feel like he probably covered everything.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I did understand the material from class, which you can see in my GPA. Thank you! It is possible to really improve your score.
 
Nice scores! I'll be glad when I finally get mine out of the way towards the end of the summer. I appreciate the breakdown as well! I like to see what people thought helped (and didn't help) as I'm sure everyone else does. Good luck!!

Killer GPA by the way!! :thumbup:
 
It is such a relief when it is done. I am sure you will do fine. I definitely don't recommend doing it all in 2 weeks. It was a lot of material and I used a lot of retained knowledge.
 
greeat scores man! and in 2 weeks thats incredible.. i wish i could do that.... what prtice tests did u use and whatd you score on them?
 
The only practice tests I used were the DAT destroyer and Crack DAT PAT. I never took any of the sample tests at the same time either.
For the Crack PAT: 20 / 19 / 21
For Biology DAT destroyer: 17 / 20
For General Chemistry: 19 / 20
For QR: 15 / 20
I never did any practice for organic chemistry. I took a risk on it.
 
thank you! I am just hoping to hear from some schools now. Fingers crossed
 
I just wanted to update my post for people who like to compare their stats to figure their chances.

I applied to Marquette, UIC and SIU. Heard back with an acceptance from all three on December 3rd. Marquette offered an academic scholarship based on my GPA, scores, etc.
 
You have done very well. Please do not sell yourself short. Awesome job.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
 
Top