An Engineer's DAT Breakdown

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JMYilla

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Hello, this is my first post, but I read a lot on this forum while I was preparing for the DAT, so I thought I would contribute if that is helpful. I'm an engineering major with a high GPA who decided to do dentistry halfway through undergrad. Here are my scores:

Bio 20
GC 21
OC 21
QR 30
RC 27
AA 24
PAT 24

My scores seem to be a little different than a lot of the ones posted here because of my high QR and RC. It seems like most of the 24+ AA posts on here have TS scores that are 25+. I suppose that this is the nature of me being an engineer that has always excelled at math and someone who loves reading for fun.

Breakdown:
I graduated May 3rd and scheduled the exam for May 29th. I was taking 20 credits my final semester so I didn't study at all prior to May, but I was taking biochem, anatomy, and OChem II, so I counted that as preparation. I studied part-time with a lot of distractions for the first two weeks after graduation, and 7-10 hours a day for the week prior to the DAT. I have always tested well, so that was in my favor.

I really don't have much money to spend on studying materials, so I did everything as cheaply as possible. I got a used Kaplan DAT guide from a friend that took the DAT last year, used Feralis Bio notes online, and only took free practice tests except for the 2009 ADA test ($39 online I think).

Bio: This was certainly the most difficult for me because I hadn't taken a bio class since AP bio in high school. I read the entire Kaplan DAT guide and took notes, also I watched some free youtube videos on things like Meiosis/Mitosis, Kidney function, ect. My first practice tests (Kaplans) I was getting 15s, but by the time I did DATbootcamps free test I was closer to a 20. Finally I took the 2007 and 2009 ADA exams and Was also around a 19-21, so I was hopeful that I could get a 19+ on the exam. This was my lowest score, but I was happy to have it be 20.

Chemistry: I have always understood chemistry well, and I didn't study too much because I was preparing for Bio so much. I read the Kaplan guide through once and made sure I understood my mistakes in all the practice tests. I studied a little more for Gchem because it had been longer since I had taken it.

QR: I've always been pretty natural at math, so I didn't really study for this. I took the math portion of the Kaplan exam and the 2009 ADA exam. I did really poorly on the ADA one, so I was surprised on test-day when the questions seemed easier. I just stayed level headed and focused on not making mistakes.

RC: I have always liked reading, but I was concerned because on the practice tests the questions never seemed well written. Often times answers were ambiguous. I was happy that on the real exam the questions were clear with regard to the passage. For each passage I read it through completely, and took notes on each paragraph. In general it would take me ~12 minutes to read the passage and ~ 8 minutes to answer the questions. I know this method wouldn't work for everyone, but if you are a good reader it is possible to do it well.

PAT: Engineering helped this out a lot, I am used to thinking about things in 3D because of my 3D CAD experiences through engineering. I took 3 or 4 of the practice tests for PAT and always did fairly well. hole punching and cube counting were always my favorite. Angle ranking and Key-holes always seemed more difficult for me.

Well, I dont know what else to say, if people have questions I am happy to answer them. There was also a lot of prayer put towards this test, Praise the Lord.

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sick scores!!!!
I did Mechanical engineering as undergraduate, now i'm switching to Dentistry. I hope to do as well as you.
 
sick scores!!!!
I did Mechanical engineering as undergraduate, now i'm switching to Dentistry. I hope to do as well as you.
Thanks! I figured there were some engineers out there that this could be helpful for. I am also an ME. I think engineers with the right personal skills and ability to work with their hands make for great dentists. Good luck!
 
I'm mostly worried about Bio and Orgo. QR, chem and PAT should be fairly easy. as an engineer i hate memorization. That's why i'm worried about bio.
I'm just taking orgo now so we'll see.
 
QR and RC is why I gotta take this dang thing again! Sucks bc Im not dumb, I just can't tell you the tone of this reply, or what sqrt(x^2-DAT+ADA) =???? Nice scores though!
 
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