BeAwesomeachan
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2022 DAT BREAKDOWN (24AA/ 26 TS/ 21 PAT)
SCORES:
PAT- 21
QC- 23
RC- 19
BIO- 27
GC- 26
OC- 26
TS- 26
AA- 24
BACKGROUND:
I am currently a senior (chemistry major) with a 3.77 GPA. I quit my dental assistant job and focused on studying DAT for 3 months and 2 weeks. I took the exam end of December. I read many DAT breakdowns throughout my study period which helped me a lot. Therefore, I have decided to share my breakdown since the holiday is over. I know I am a person who likes procrastinating so I registered for the exam before I start studying to motivate myself. I made my own schedule instead of using any schedules provided by Bootcamp and Booster. I studied for about 8 hours every day including weekends.
I recommend using both of them for studying. If I had to choose either one of them, I would prefer DAT booster because it is more representative and cheaper. Other than that, DAT Booster’s team member always answered my questions with detailed explanations on the chat box within a few hours which was very helpful.
MATERIAL USED:
1.5 months DAT Bootcamp
1.5 months DAT Booster (Most representative)
For the first two weeks, I had not paid for the membership. Many people said there are many things to study for Bio so I used the Bootcamp High-Yield Bio Notes that was free. The way I study was by retyping everything from the notes and printing them out for review. If I had anything that I did not understand, I will read the Bootcamp Academy Bio Notes for detailed explanations. Other than that, I used a lot of mnemonics and draw out diagrams like the Calvin cycle, blood circulation and etc.
After two weeks, I had the membership. I had finished gen chem, bio, o chem, and calculus in my freshmen and sophomore but I had forgotten a lot of stuff that I learned at my university. Therefore, I had to relearn everything by watching all the videos from Bootcamp.
I took the PAT practice test every other day in the morning. In between, I looked at the questions I got wrong to try to understand the reason I got them wrong and did some questions from the
generator. My weakest section was Keyholes as I always got half of them wrong although I practiced a lot. Therefore, I tried to focus more on other sections like TFE, Hole punching, Cube counting, and Pattern Folding. I tried to get all Hole punching questions correct. When I got any hole punching wrong, I used paper to cover the answer on the screen and redid the questions.
After practicing for PAT, I studied other subjects. For other subjects, I highly recommend writing down any questions you got wrong with explanations on paper. It is also very important to read the explanations even if you got the questions right because it is a good way to review and sometimes we get the right answer by guessing.
After each Bio practice test, I will review the bio topics that I was worst. I like to read out my notes loud which helped me to sharpen my focus and improve my memory. Besides that, I made sure I review my notes for at least 1 hour before I go to bed.
Out of the 3 science sections, Organic chemistry was the one that I was most worried about because I did not get good grades at my university. Therefore, I made sure I studied and reviewed O Chem every day.
I read a lot of breakdowns from Facebook and Reddit and found that many people said that Booster was more representative. Therefore, I bought Booster’s membership for extra practice, after finishing the questions banks and practice test from Bootcamp. I used the DAT booster mainly for full-length exams. I highly recommend doing at least 4-5 full-length exams to know what the real exam is like and build your stamina.
Day of exam:
BIO (27):
I was surprised that many questions on the real exam were the ones that I saw on Booster’s Practice test. I felt that the Practice test from Bootcamp was more difficult than the actual exam. The questions from the actual exam were more straightforward.
GC (26) and OC (26):
I used Dr. Mike’s videos and Booster and Bootcamp’s practice test to prepare myself. Half of my Gen Chem questions were conceptual and another half were calculations. I felt the calculations on the real exam were a lot easier compared to the ones on Bootcamp and Booster.
The questions from the OChem section was mostly involving reactions and there were only two questions that I was not familiar with. DAT Booster is very representative! The reaction sheets from DAT Bootcamp and Booster were very helpful! It is very important to understand the mechanisms instead of just memorizing them.
After I finished the natural science section, I had about 15 minutes left. I used the time to check my answers and drew the grids for hole punching.
PAT (21): In my opinion, I felt that all the sections except paper folding were easier than the questions on the practice test on Bootcamp and Booster. I had one rock keyhole on the actual exam. The only way to do good in this section is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTCE.
RC (19):
I used the Vanilla Method for this section. My first passage was the longest which had 13 paragraphs. The other two passages were shorter. The third passage had a table with some data. The first passage was very difficult to understand and I had difficulty with the last few questions, I just made some guesses for those. Another two passages were easier.
I spent most of the time studying other sections and neglected to study for RC. Please don’t do this!
QR (23):
The questions I got on the actual exam were similar to the questions I approached from DAT Booster’s practice rest.
I did not have enough time to finish every practice test but I had about 5 minutes left to check my answer on the actual exam. The only way to get a good score in this section is to keep practicing.
Advice:
- Find a study method that works for you. Don’t worry if you do not follow the same study method as others. Honestly, I am not a fan of Anki or Quizlet but many people like to use them to review for Bio.
- Find a place where you are not easily distracted to study. I like to study in the library and cafes during the day. I get distracted easily when I study in my room so I will play ‘study with me’ videos from YouTube by my favorite dentist who is also an influencer while studying if I had to study in my room. It is a great way to motivate myself to study so that I can be a great dentist like her.
- Don’t get beat down if you do not get the scores that you are expecting from the practice test. Focus more on the concepts that you need improvement on. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! YOU CAN DO IT!!
- Take a break if you feel stressed. Sometimes I felt stressed when I was studying. I worried I could not get the score on the real exam. To feel better and calm down, I called my family and friends to talk to them. It is very important to take care our mental health.
- On the actual exam, there was a 3-second lag between every question on the real exam. The time continued to tick down during the lag. It was great that the full-length exams on Booster had the option to take the exam with 2 seconds delay which helped me to get comfortable with the lag on the real exam.
I hope this breakdown helps! Good luck with your exam!! You got this!!
SCORES:
PAT- 21
QC- 23
RC- 19
BIO- 27
GC- 26
OC- 26
TS- 26
AA- 24
BACKGROUND:
I am currently a senior (chemistry major) with a 3.77 GPA. I quit my dental assistant job and focused on studying DAT for 3 months and 2 weeks. I took the exam end of December. I read many DAT breakdowns throughout my study period which helped me a lot. Therefore, I have decided to share my breakdown since the holiday is over. I know I am a person who likes procrastinating so I registered for the exam before I start studying to motivate myself. I made my own schedule instead of using any schedules provided by Bootcamp and Booster. I studied for about 8 hours every day including weekends.
I recommend using both of them for studying. If I had to choose either one of them, I would prefer DAT booster because it is more representative and cheaper. Other than that, DAT Booster’s team member always answered my questions with detailed explanations on the chat box within a few hours which was very helpful.
MATERIAL USED:
1.5 months DAT Bootcamp
1.5 months DAT Booster (Most representative)
For the first two weeks, I had not paid for the membership. Many people said there are many things to study for Bio so I used the Bootcamp High-Yield Bio Notes that was free. The way I study was by retyping everything from the notes and printing them out for review. If I had anything that I did not understand, I will read the Bootcamp Academy Bio Notes for detailed explanations. Other than that, I used a lot of mnemonics and draw out diagrams like the Calvin cycle, blood circulation and etc.
After two weeks, I had the membership. I had finished gen chem, bio, o chem, and calculus in my freshmen and sophomore but I had forgotten a lot of stuff that I learned at my university. Therefore, I had to relearn everything by watching all the videos from Bootcamp.
I took the PAT practice test every other day in the morning. In between, I looked at the questions I got wrong to try to understand the reason I got them wrong and did some questions from the
generator. My weakest section was Keyholes as I always got half of them wrong although I practiced a lot. Therefore, I tried to focus more on other sections like TFE, Hole punching, Cube counting, and Pattern Folding. I tried to get all Hole punching questions correct. When I got any hole punching wrong, I used paper to cover the answer on the screen and redid the questions.
After practicing for PAT, I studied other subjects. For other subjects, I highly recommend writing down any questions you got wrong with explanations on paper. It is also very important to read the explanations even if you got the questions right because it is a good way to review and sometimes we get the right answer by guessing.
After each Bio practice test, I will review the bio topics that I was worst. I like to read out my notes loud which helped me to sharpen my focus and improve my memory. Besides that, I made sure I review my notes for at least 1 hour before I go to bed.
Out of the 3 science sections, Organic chemistry was the one that I was most worried about because I did not get good grades at my university. Therefore, I made sure I studied and reviewed O Chem every day.
I read a lot of breakdowns from Facebook and Reddit and found that many people said that Booster was more representative. Therefore, I bought Booster’s membership for extra practice, after finishing the questions banks and practice test from Bootcamp. I used the DAT booster mainly for full-length exams. I highly recommend doing at least 4-5 full-length exams to know what the real exam is like and build your stamina.
Day of exam:
BIO (27):
I was surprised that many questions on the real exam were the ones that I saw on Booster’s Practice test. I felt that the Practice test from Bootcamp was more difficult than the actual exam. The questions from the actual exam were more straightforward.
GC (26) and OC (26):
I used Dr. Mike’s videos and Booster and Bootcamp’s practice test to prepare myself. Half of my Gen Chem questions were conceptual and another half were calculations. I felt the calculations on the real exam were a lot easier compared to the ones on Bootcamp and Booster.
The questions from the OChem section was mostly involving reactions and there were only two questions that I was not familiar with. DAT Booster is very representative! The reaction sheets from DAT Bootcamp and Booster were very helpful! It is very important to understand the mechanisms instead of just memorizing them.
After I finished the natural science section, I had about 15 minutes left. I used the time to check my answers and drew the grids for hole punching.
PAT (21): In my opinion, I felt that all the sections except paper folding were easier than the questions on the practice test on Bootcamp and Booster. I had one rock keyhole on the actual exam. The only way to do good in this section is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTCE.
RC (19):
I used the Vanilla Method for this section. My first passage was the longest which had 13 paragraphs. The other two passages were shorter. The third passage had a table with some data. The first passage was very difficult to understand and I had difficulty with the last few questions, I just made some guesses for those. Another two passages were easier.
I spent most of the time studying other sections and neglected to study for RC. Please don’t do this!
QR (23):
The questions I got on the actual exam were similar to the questions I approached from DAT Booster’s practice rest.
I did not have enough time to finish every practice test but I had about 5 minutes left to check my answer on the actual exam. The only way to get a good score in this section is to keep practicing.
Advice:
- Find a study method that works for you. Don’t worry if you do not follow the same study method as others. Honestly, I am not a fan of Anki or Quizlet but many people like to use them to review for Bio.
- Find a place where you are not easily distracted to study. I like to study in the library and cafes during the day. I get distracted easily when I study in my room so I will play ‘study with me’ videos from YouTube by my favorite dentist who is also an influencer while studying if I had to study in my room. It is a great way to motivate myself to study so that I can be a great dentist like her.
- Don’t get beat down if you do not get the scores that you are expecting from the practice test. Focus more on the concepts that you need improvement on. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! YOU CAN DO IT!!
- Take a break if you feel stressed. Sometimes I felt stressed when I was studying. I worried I could not get the score on the real exam. To feel better and calm down, I called my family and friends to talk to them. It is very important to take care our mental health.
- On the actual exam, there was a 3-second lag between every question on the real exam. The time continued to tick down during the lag. It was great that the full-length exams on Booster had the option to take the exam with 2 seconds delay which helped me to get comfortable with the lag on the real exam.
I hope this breakdown helps! Good luck with your exam!! You got this!!
