I would really like to thank SDN, especially everyone who answered all my random questions for the past year! I initially took the DAT in August of 2011 and received the following scores:
August 2011 (FIRST ATTEMPT)
PAT - 19.....69.4%
QR - 15.....48.9%
RC - 19.....67.6%
BIO - 16.....41.0%
GC - 17.....53.4%
OC - 17.....51.8%
TS - 17.....55.8%
AA - 17.....55.8%
I just took the DAT again last Friday, July 13th! Here are my scores!
July 2012
PAT - 21..... 89.2%
QR - 18..... 86.6%
RC - 20..... 78.5%
BIO - 21..... 95.5%
GC - 29..... 99.9%
OC - 25..... 98.4%
TS - 23..... 99.3%
AA - 23..... 99.7%
Heres my breakdown of the individual sections:
Biology: I was most worried about this section because I'm art major and I don't have as great of a science background as a lot of people. I read Cliff's and made notecards (I probably have about 2000 from bio alone.) I also purchased Cliff's 5 complete biology exams, you can find it online for really cheap. The questions in it are similar to the questions at the end of each chapter in Cliff's and they really helped me see where I was weak. I also used DATqvault. I think the random facts definitely are helpful to know, I made a notecard of the ones I was continually getting wrong. My scores for qvault are below and I would say its pretty on par with the real DAT. The questions on the real DAT were so simple. There were a few that I wasn't 100% on but I knew I did well after I saw all the questions the first time through. Topscore was good for bio. I scored about 2 points higher on the real thing. The DAT asks you simple questions but they're really testing if you know the topic. I watched A LOT of youtube videos on action potentials, the renal system, etc. Knowing how the system works and not just the answers to practice questions will really help you. I also listened to audio osmosis for the past month. They definitely helped to nail easy concepts into my head. As annoying as it is to listen to that in your car and not music, its so worth it and I definitely recommend it. The 2009 ADA was very simular to the actual DAT as well. I actually got a question on my test that was taken directly from the practice exam and it was one of the ones I got wrong when I took it for practice.
General Chemistry: So similar to destroyer! I only had one question that I couldn't figure out and that's probably the only one I got wrong. Destroyer is harder but I definitely caught myself once or twice saying during the real test saying, "This is just like that destroyer problem! Thats how you do it!" I did destroyer 4 times. By the fourth time, I could go through it so quick and thats exactly what I wanted. Chad's is essential; I watched his videos once and went through the quizzes twice. If you do destroyer without him, you're basically memorizing problems and its not worth it. I got C's in Gchem 1 and 2...and improved from a 17 to a 29 on the DAT, all thanks to Chad! It really is the best $30 dollars you could ever spend. Make sure to continually look over your notes while you study other sections so you don't forget.
Organic Chemistry: I only had one question about IR and none about spec or carbs. Destroyer and Chad's will prepare you very well for this section. I barely passed Ochem 2 and I improved from a 17 to a 25. I ran out of time to recheck Ochem but it was pretty straightforward. There were a few tricky ones that I guessed on. On the real DAT, Ochem is so much less time consuming than Gchem so account for that. I went through Destroyer 4 times and Chad's quizzes twice.
Science Overall: I finished with like 10 minutes left and checked my marked Bio and Gchem questions. I didn't end up changing anything though, go with your first instinct!
PAT: I was actually surprised how much harder than CDP this was! I was averaging around 24 on CDP. The angles were a little easier. I usually look at the answer choices for angles and narrow it down from there. Keyholes and TFE were difficult. Make sure you really practice these on CDP. In cube counting, I had structures with like 20 cubes and there actually was one with illusions like in CDP. I had been practicing CDP full lengths with a 55 minute timer so I could get used to the time limit of 60 minutes. I acually had about 10 minutes left over so I definitely recommend practicing with less time. It really makes you learn that the key to this section is timing.
RC: This section was so hard and I was so drained by this point in the test even though I had an energy drink during my break. I had passages on telomeres, cancer, and I can't remember the last one. Search and destroy was not possible. Luckily, I studied about telomeres for the natural science section so a lot of the questions I acutally just answered from my own knowledge because they were no where to be found in the passage.
QR: This section was very tough. I had A LOT of wordy problems. I skipped them due to time and just guessed but this was nothing like what I practiced. Not a lot of trig or area or volume questions unfortunately because I knew all those equations.
Here is what I used to to study:
Biology: Cliff's AP Biology, Cliff's AP Biology 5 Practice Exams, DATqvault (2x), Destroyer (3x)
General Chemistry: Chad's with quizzes (2x), Destroyer (4x)
Organic Chemistry: Chad's with quizzes (2x), Destroyer (4x)
Here are my scores from Topscore and ADA 2009:
(I took one topscore exam every sunday leading up to my exam. Topscore #1 is from 3 weeks before my exam; #2 is two weeks before; and #3 and ADA 2009 are one week before.)
Topscore #1: Bio 18, Chem 21, Ochem 16, PAT 21, QR 20, RC 22, TS 18 AA 19
Topscore #2: Bio 17, Chem 19, Ochem 21, PAT 20, QR 22, RC 22, TS 19 AA 20
Topscore #3: Bio 18, Chem 19, Ochem 21, PAT 20, QR 21, RC 22, TS 20 AA 20
ADA 2009: Bio 22, Chem 23, Ochem 20, PAT -, QR -, RC -, TS 22 AA -
DATqvault Bio: 22, 21, 19, 18, 20, 19, 18, 20, 17, 20
DATqvault GChem: 19, 22, 19, 24, 24, 19, 22, 24, 22 (didn't take test #10)
DATqvault OChem: 20, 22, 21, 19, 17, 18, 18, 18, 17, 17
I studied for 2 months full-time. I took off from my job and made this test my absolute priority. I studied for about 8 hours a day on average and about 12 a day for the last week. I did take about 7 days off though about halfway through my two months because I was starting to feel burnt out. I started studying by following DentalWork's 8 week study schedule. At about the halfway point when I had completed watching all of Chad's ochem, gchem, and math videos and read cliffs, I decided to modify the schedule and make my own. I alternated between destroyer ochem and destroyer gchem until I got through them once. Then I started to do a math destroyer test about every other day untimed. I am awful at math and I knew I needed to get used to the questions before I worked on timing. I made a notecard for every destroyer gchem, ochem, and math destroyer question I wasn't confident in. Everyday I reviewed my growing notecard pile. For some reason for me making my own notecards and studying them allowed me to remember things so much easier. It allowed me to focus on the concepts and questions I was struggling with. When I looked at the questions in destroyer, its was hard for me to see just the one question because there were so many on the page so writing them on a notecard really helped me. By the third and fourth time thru destroyer chems, I could finish each of them in a few hours. I can't stress how much destroyer helped me. I didn't even know of destroyer my first time taking this test.
Relaxation is the key to doing well on this test. By the time you get to the testing center, you will have done all the hard work and you just need to prove that you did. The first time I took this test, my nerves were killing me. The day before my test the second time, I got a massage, got my nails done, and went to the gym. You seriously need to relax the day before and not study or you will be so burnt out. My last week of studying I was beginning to feel burnt out and thats the last thing I wanted to happen on test day. Relaxing the day before is essential.
I have a 3.5 science and a 3.6 overall so I knew I needed to kill this test to be competitive this year. When my scores popped up on the screen, I seriously could not believe it!
If I can do it as an art major, so can you! This test is about how hard you work for it and how determined you are! Put in the hard work and you will see results! Good luck to everyone!!! PM if you have any questions!!
August 2011 (FIRST ATTEMPT)
PAT - 19.....69.4%
QR - 15.....48.9%
RC - 19.....67.6%
BIO - 16.....41.0%
GC - 17.....53.4%
OC - 17.....51.8%
TS - 17.....55.8%
AA - 17.....55.8%
I just took the DAT again last Friday, July 13th! Here are my scores!
July 2012
PAT - 21..... 89.2%
QR - 18..... 86.6%
RC - 20..... 78.5%
BIO - 21..... 95.5%
GC - 29..... 99.9%
OC - 25..... 98.4%
TS - 23..... 99.3%
AA - 23..... 99.7%
Heres my breakdown of the individual sections:
Biology: I was most worried about this section because I'm art major and I don't have as great of a science background as a lot of people. I read Cliff's and made notecards (I probably have about 2000 from bio alone.) I also purchased Cliff's 5 complete biology exams, you can find it online for really cheap. The questions in it are similar to the questions at the end of each chapter in Cliff's and they really helped me see where I was weak. I also used DATqvault. I think the random facts definitely are helpful to know, I made a notecard of the ones I was continually getting wrong. My scores for qvault are below and I would say its pretty on par with the real DAT. The questions on the real DAT were so simple. There were a few that I wasn't 100% on but I knew I did well after I saw all the questions the first time through. Topscore was good for bio. I scored about 2 points higher on the real thing. The DAT asks you simple questions but they're really testing if you know the topic. I watched A LOT of youtube videos on action potentials, the renal system, etc. Knowing how the system works and not just the answers to practice questions will really help you. I also listened to audio osmosis for the past month. They definitely helped to nail easy concepts into my head. As annoying as it is to listen to that in your car and not music, its so worth it and I definitely recommend it. The 2009 ADA was very simular to the actual DAT as well. I actually got a question on my test that was taken directly from the practice exam and it was one of the ones I got wrong when I took it for practice.
General Chemistry: So similar to destroyer! I only had one question that I couldn't figure out and that's probably the only one I got wrong. Destroyer is harder but I definitely caught myself once or twice saying during the real test saying, "This is just like that destroyer problem! Thats how you do it!" I did destroyer 4 times. By the fourth time, I could go through it so quick and thats exactly what I wanted. Chad's is essential; I watched his videos once and went through the quizzes twice. If you do destroyer without him, you're basically memorizing problems and its not worth it. I got C's in Gchem 1 and 2...and improved from a 17 to a 29 on the DAT, all thanks to Chad! It really is the best $30 dollars you could ever spend. Make sure to continually look over your notes while you study other sections so you don't forget.
Organic Chemistry: I only had one question about IR and none about spec or carbs. Destroyer and Chad's will prepare you very well for this section. I barely passed Ochem 2 and I improved from a 17 to a 25. I ran out of time to recheck Ochem but it was pretty straightforward. There were a few tricky ones that I guessed on. On the real DAT, Ochem is so much less time consuming than Gchem so account for that. I went through Destroyer 4 times and Chad's quizzes twice.
Science Overall: I finished with like 10 minutes left and checked my marked Bio and Gchem questions. I didn't end up changing anything though, go with your first instinct!
PAT: I was actually surprised how much harder than CDP this was! I was averaging around 24 on CDP. The angles were a little easier. I usually look at the answer choices for angles and narrow it down from there. Keyholes and TFE were difficult. Make sure you really practice these on CDP. In cube counting, I had structures with like 20 cubes and there actually was one with illusions like in CDP. I had been practicing CDP full lengths with a 55 minute timer so I could get used to the time limit of 60 minutes. I acually had about 10 minutes left over so I definitely recommend practicing with less time. It really makes you learn that the key to this section is timing.
RC: This section was so hard and I was so drained by this point in the test even though I had an energy drink during my break. I had passages on telomeres, cancer, and I can't remember the last one. Search and destroy was not possible. Luckily, I studied about telomeres for the natural science section so a lot of the questions I acutally just answered from my own knowledge because they were no where to be found in the passage.
QR: This section was very tough. I had A LOT of wordy problems. I skipped them due to time and just guessed but this was nothing like what I practiced. Not a lot of trig or area or volume questions unfortunately because I knew all those equations.
Here is what I used to to study:
Biology: Cliff's AP Biology, Cliff's AP Biology 5 Practice Exams, DATqvault (2x), Destroyer (3x)
General Chemistry: Chad's with quizzes (2x), Destroyer (4x)
Organic Chemistry: Chad's with quizzes (2x), Destroyer (4x)
Here are my scores from Topscore and ADA 2009:
(I took one topscore exam every sunday leading up to my exam. Topscore #1 is from 3 weeks before my exam; #2 is two weeks before; and #3 and ADA 2009 are one week before.)
Topscore #1: Bio 18, Chem 21, Ochem 16, PAT 21, QR 20, RC 22, TS 18 AA 19
Topscore #2: Bio 17, Chem 19, Ochem 21, PAT 20, QR 22, RC 22, TS 19 AA 20
Topscore #3: Bio 18, Chem 19, Ochem 21, PAT 20, QR 21, RC 22, TS 20 AA 20
ADA 2009: Bio 22, Chem 23, Ochem 20, PAT -, QR -, RC -, TS 22 AA -
DATqvault Bio: 22, 21, 19, 18, 20, 19, 18, 20, 17, 20
DATqvault GChem: 19, 22, 19, 24, 24, 19, 22, 24, 22 (didn't take test #10)
DATqvault OChem: 20, 22, 21, 19, 17, 18, 18, 18, 17, 17
I studied for 2 months full-time. I took off from my job and made this test my absolute priority. I studied for about 8 hours a day on average and about 12 a day for the last week. I did take about 7 days off though about halfway through my two months because I was starting to feel burnt out. I started studying by following DentalWork's 8 week study schedule. At about the halfway point when I had completed watching all of Chad's ochem, gchem, and math videos and read cliffs, I decided to modify the schedule and make my own. I alternated between destroyer ochem and destroyer gchem until I got through them once. Then I started to do a math destroyer test about every other day untimed. I am awful at math and I knew I needed to get used to the questions before I worked on timing. I made a notecard for every destroyer gchem, ochem, and math destroyer question I wasn't confident in. Everyday I reviewed my growing notecard pile. For some reason for me making my own notecards and studying them allowed me to remember things so much easier. It allowed me to focus on the concepts and questions I was struggling with. When I looked at the questions in destroyer, its was hard for me to see just the one question because there were so many on the page so writing them on a notecard really helped me. By the third and fourth time thru destroyer chems, I could finish each of them in a few hours. I can't stress how much destroyer helped me. I didn't even know of destroyer my first time taking this test.
Relaxation is the key to doing well on this test. By the time you get to the testing center, you will have done all the hard work and you just need to prove that you did. The first time I took this test, my nerves were killing me. The day before my test the second time, I got a massage, got my nails done, and went to the gym. You seriously need to relax the day before and not study or you will be so burnt out. My last week of studying I was beginning to feel burnt out and thats the last thing I wanted to happen on test day. Relaxing the day before is essential.
I have a 3.5 science and a 3.6 overall so I knew I needed to kill this test to be competitive this year. When my scores popped up on the screen, I seriously could not believe it!
If I can do it as an art major, so can you! This test is about how hard you work for it and how determined you are! Put in the hard work and you will see results! Good luck to everyone!!! PM if you have any questions!!
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