DAT retake study schedule/material 2017 need help!

[jjcmac]

Hey everyone I am retaking the DAT for the 3rd time. I'm not improving as much as i want to and i was wondering maybe if i changed my study schedule or got different materials it could help? I used Chads videos for Chem and Ochem. Crack the dat pat. And half heartedly used DAT destroyer. Briefly read over Cliffs notes, and I have a background in nursing...which i thought would help but apparently not. I wrote the American before as a practice run with pretty much zero studying and scored between 14-17 on each of the sections. Then i studied a few weeks and only got
PAT 17
QR 14
RC 19
Bio 16
GC 19
OC 12
TS 16
AA 16

Then i buckled down a bit and studied using the materials listed above and got these as my Canadian DAT scores
PAT 17
RC 18
Bio 16
GC 19
TS 17
AA 18

If anyone has suggestions about materials and a study schedule/timeline i would really appreciate it. I am planning on writing it this summer.

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[DAT Destroyer]

Hey everyone I am retaking the DAT for the 3rd time. I'm not improving as much as i want to and i was wondering maybe if i changed my study schedule or got different materials it could help? I used Chads videos for Chem and Ochem. Crack the dat pat. And half heartedly used DAT destroyer. Briefly read over Cliffs notes, and I have a background in nursing...which i thought would help but apparently not. I wrote the American before as a practice run with pretty much zero studying and scored between 14-17 on each of the sections. Then i studied a few weeks and only got
PAT 17
QR 14
RC 19
Bio 16
GC 19
OC 12
TS 16
AA 16

Then i buckled down a bit and studied using the materials listed above and got these as my Canadian DAT scores
PAT 17
RC 18
Bio 16
GC 19
TS 17
AA 18

If anyone has suggestions about materials and a study schedule/timeline i would really appreciate it. I am planning on writing it this summer.

You have great study materials, you need to buckle down a lot! You have taken the test twice so you have a very good idea of the format. Will you be retaking the Canadian DAT or American?

 

[PSU_LEL]

.

 

[TrevorwestDDS]

One thing that really bumped my scores up towards the end of my studying was simulating test conditions as much as possible. Instead of just going over 100 chem questions, I would do 30 in a set amount of time to get used to the pressure. It will do wonders for your recall abilities on test day, as well as help condition you to focus for 4 to 5 hours on the real test day. Good luck! Be disciplined and you will dominate no doubt.

 

[Orka]

It's clear that your foundational knowledge is lacking. You should spend 1-2months studying several hours/day in order to get the foundations down. With those scores, no resource is going to magically pull those scores up unless you put in the work to get those scores higher.

 

[Orka]

As far as the sciences go (I got a 20TS) I would go through Destroyer multiple times. For me, it made all the difference. For Bootcamp I went through each exam 5 times memorizing both the questions, answers and answer explanations! Good luck, if I can do it you def can too!

lol memorising a practice test made by some random person not connected to the ADA is the worst advice you can give.

It's clear the OP is lacking basic knowledge of the sciences. With those scores I would start from scratch and just study non-stop. If there's time, only then would I even bother doing practice tests.

 

[deleted738762]

As far as the sciences go (I got a 20TS) I would go through Destroyer multiple times. For me, it made all the difference. For Bootcamp I went through each exam 5 times memorizing both the questions, answers and answer explanations! Good luck, if I can do it you def can too!

A 20TS is great. My question is if you went through destroyer and bootcamp MULTIPLE times I would expect you got get a higher score than that. Maybe like a 23+. What happened? (Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just curious to know why you didn't score higher with all that preparation)

 

[Orka]

A 20TS is great. My question is if you went through destroyer and bootcamp MULTIPLE times I would expect you got get a higher score than that. Maybe like a 23+. What happened? (Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just curious to know why you didn't score higher with all that preparation)

I actually LOLed at this comment. I'm calling you out for this post.

I don't know what's wrong with people in the DAT section of the SDN forums but the solution always seams to be "Just do Destroyer/Bootcamp" (which is not the solution) when people actually need help. Memorizing any prep companies information and relying on it is ludicrous. Like any exam, you have to study. If you get time, you do practice tests. Only exception is PAT where you just gotta do practice tests.

 

[deleted738762]

I actually LOLed at this comment. I'm calling you out for this post.

I don't know what's wrong with people in the DAT section of the SDN forums but the solution always seams to be "Just do Destroyer/Bootcamp" when people actually need help. Memorizing any prep companies information and relying on it is ludicrous. Like any exam, you have to study.

I hope you had a good laugh mate. That's why I'm asking, I'm asking what he/she did wrong or what advice he/she has to offer. I'm not making an assumption that he didn't study like you, rather I'm asking the person what he/she did or did not do. Plus someone who did the destroyer and boot camp multiple times, probably studied beforehand. Regardless, that's what I'm asking because I'd rather hear it from the horse's mouth than making an assumption that might be inaccurate.

 

[I-hate-alginate]

I actually LOLed at this comment. I'm calling you out for this post.

I don't know what's wrong with people in the DAT section of the SDN forums but the solution always seams to be "Just do Destroyer/Bootcamp" (which is not the solution) when people actually need help. Memorizing any prep companies information and relying on it is ludicrous. Like any exam, you have to study. If you get time, you do practice tests. Only exception is PAT where you just gotta do practice tests.

I don't agree with you! On the bio section in destroyer, if you know and understand the bio explanation in that book, you should be good for the Bio section.

 

[jjcmac]

One thing that really bumped my scores up towards the end of my studying was simulating test conditions as much as possible. Instead of just going over 100 chem questions, I would do 30 in a set amount of time to get used to the pressure. It will do wonders for your recall abilities on test day, as well as help condition you to focus for 4 to 5 hours on the real test day. Good luck! Be disciplined and you will dominate no doubt.

thanks trevor i will give that a try instead of just doing 50 questions a day! appreciate your help!

 

[jjcmac]

It's clear that your foundational knowledge is lacking. You should spend 1-2months studying several hours/day in order to get the foundations down. With those scores, no resource is going to magically pull those scores up unless you put in the work to get those scores higher.

Hey Orka thank you for your advice, I'm going to do consistent studying with my materials. I think i have the knowledge base down for chemistry, just haven't practiced it enough to bump my score of 19 to over 20. I didn't put the work for ochem, but i have heard that chads vids and ochem destroyer will prepare me thoroughly if i put in the work. I do however find biology to be the most difficult subject. Do you have any recommendations on what i could use to expand my knowledge base?

 

[jjcmac]

Read AP Cliffs Notes carefully. As far as biology goes, everything except for physiology is covered in that book.

Math Destroyer was very useful for QR when I took the American DAT, but word on the street is there have been some very minor changes to that. Check in with the more recent DAT breakdowns for test takers' feedback.

As far as the rest of the sciences go, I agree with the above poster that you need a working knowledge foundation first before using DAT Destroyer, Bootcamp, etc to review. Chad's videos are a good start, and I found David Klein's Organic Chemistry As A Second Language to be a good basis for OC if you are planning to retake the American DAT.

thank you for your advice, I'm going to do consistent studying with the destroyer and chads videos. I do however find biology to be the most difficult subject. Do you have any recommendations on what i could use to expand my knowledge base? Since Cliff's isn't fully covering everything.

 

[jjcmac]

You have great study materials, you need to buckle down a lot! You have taken the test twice so you have a very good idea of the format. Will you be retaking the Canadian DAT or American?

I am writing the American DAT on July 1st. Could you tell me more about your online tutoring?

 

[DAT Destroyer]

PM me your email address and I will contact you.

Nancy

 

[jjcmac]

You have great study materials, you need to buckle down a lot! You have taken the test twice so you have a very good idea of the format. Will you be retaking the Canadian DAT or American?

I will be taking the American DAT