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- Nov 27, 2017
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Hi Guys!!
I started studying seriously for the DAT around the end of September and took my test on Nov 20, 2017. I am working part-time as a surgical dental assistant (W-F) and taking an advanced physiology class alongside as well, so accumulatively, I spent about 3*4*3=36 business days (roughly 288 hours) on DAT.
Here's my score: 23 PAT/ 25 QR/ 21 RC/ 21 BIO/ 22 GC/ 26 OC/ 23 TS/ 23 AA.
For some of the students who are looking for a piece of succinct advice, sorry, but this is going to be a super long post. I have benefited so much from the advice from previous DAT test takers from SDN, so I really wish to contribute back to this learning community.
Note: since I am an international student from China, I will specifically highlight some reading comprehension tips for international students, especially for those whose first language is not English.
MATERIALS USED
1) DAT Bootcamp (100% Recommended!!!!): if you are looking for ONLY ONE learning resource. I will go for DAT Bootcamp. Please don't get me wrong. I am sure other online learning resources are very good too. But DAT Bootcamp is by far the most common resource that has been recommended by many dental students and test takers who have scored super high on DAT, and the most accurate compared to my real DAT tests. FIRST OF ALL, USE THE GENERATOR Every day! YOU WON"T REGRET IT>>> Additionally, The difficulty of general chemistry and organic chemistry section is definitely similar to that of the real test. Plus, Ari has worked with Dr. Mike Christensen to create very comprehension review videos on GC and OC which tailor to the DAT. DAT Bootcamp biology has very good practice questions but is slightly harder than the real test. Bootcamp's RC is deifentely longer and harder. I always felt like I did not have enough time to finish all questions.
2) Feralis Note (100% Recommended): Feralis Note is the best of the best in preparing for biology. The biggest strength of Feralis note is that it bolds/underlines all the keywords that you will need to know for the DAT. The note is super comprehensive and covers basically everything you will need to know for the biology section. I read Feralis Note 3 times. The 1st time, I read through everything quickly and translated and underlined all the keywords that I was not familiar with. The 2nd time, I focused on reading the highlighted section. The 3rd time, I reread the highlighted section. I did not intentionally to memorize everything, but the repeatition in reading has defenitely solidify my memory for lots of biological knowledge point, which helped me recall the correct answers of the questions during the real DAT test.
3) Chad's Video (95% Recommended): Everyone should know Chad is the go-to person for Organic Chemistry. I used both Chad's Video and Dr. Christenson's videos on DAT Bootcamp to review for my chemistry because I was just paranoid about not being able to get a solid review on both. But I feel like if you have purchased DAT Bootcamp, then there's no need to watch Chad's videos again. But Chad's videos are super comprehensive and interesting. It will really solidify your knowledge in Organic Chemistry.
4) Khan Academy MCAT for biology and developmental biology (90%): I cannot stress enough the importance of utilizing online videos to review confusing concepts and materials. I am not a very strong bio person, plus I did not take ecology/ embryology/ advanced physiology back in college. But the FREE videos on Khan Academy have done WONDER for me when I encountered some very confusing concepts or biological processes/ pathways.
5) Crash Course(80%): I used this for my bio prep too. The videos are made super interactive and vivid in explaining tough anatomical structures and concepts. It's very helpful for gaining a basic understanding of a certain bio topic before going in depth. I basically watched Crash Course when I had dinner. It sounds crazy, but honestly, I found lots of fun.
6) Scientific American + The Economist (100% if you are international students, highly recommended for native speakers as well): I used these resources to practice my reading speed and continued building my vocabularies pool. Though I have graduated from a four-year college in the US, I constantly felt the need to improve my English by reading articles voraciously. And reading articles on Scientific American and The Economist has helped a lot in broadening my knowledge and improving my reading speed and reading comprehension, which are two different skills sets that build upon each other.
STUDY SCHEDULE:
1) During the 1st-4th weeks, I reviewed a chapter on GC or OC. Did 50 questions on angle ranking cube counting, and hole punching, 25 questions on paper folding, 10 questions on keyholes and TFE visualization. I took notes on all the keyholes questions, studying and analyzing the common characteristic of the distracting options (wrong options). I finished reviewing for my GC and OC during the first month.
2)During the 5th-9th week, I started to take some individual practice test on GC and OC, making notes for questions that I got wrong or I was not sure about the right answer. I took some practice test on PAT as well, analyzing reasons I got the questions wrong and making notes on them. I also started on reviewing for bio one chapter per business day. Made Anki's deck for the chapter and studied it repeatedly.
3) During the 10th-11 week, I did some more individual practice test. I started to do some full-length practice test. But TBH, I only did 2 full-length practice tests. (Scored AA20 first time and 21 second time). Wasn't really happy with the score but I was thinking retaking DAT anyway so I felt like maybe that's my limit. I also started to take some Math practice tests as well (scored 19/21/30 on each one). I did not do well on the first time because I was not expecting lots of unit conversion; I knew international unit very well because I learned Math in China but in the US for some reason, the system used US unit, so I had to memorize the new conversion rate. I stopped taking the Math practice test when I got 30, but I kept reviewing the Math concept until the day I took the test. I was always good at Math when I was back in China so I was not very nervous about this subject. But I did feel the need to review and relearn the Math in depth, especially on algebra, functions, trigonometry, and probability (permutation/ combination/ and sequence).
4) During the last week, I basically reread Feralis Note, studied my Anki's deck, reviewed my "wrong questions collection" to make sure I truly mastered the concept. I did not take a break until the day I took my test. Many test takers who did really well suggest to take a day off a day before the test. I see the benefit of doing that. But I just felt more comfortable to study before the test since that is normally what I did back in middle school and high school in China.
5) Throughout my preparation, I read Scientific American and The Economist on a regular basis to improve my reading speed and comprehension skills. I noted down the useful phrases and words that I did not recognize in a spreadsheet.
To get a high score in DAT reading comprehension, you need to have a speed of reading 3-4 paragraphs with 75-150 words on each paragraph in 1 - 1.5 minutes. A lot of time, as international students, we will underestimate our potential in reading English fast because we tend to read passages word by word horizontally. However, the key to improving reading speed is to FORCE yourself to read the passage vertically.
Here’s how you can practice reading vertically:
1. Every time you read an article, focus your attention on the middle section of the paragraph (you can even point your figure there if needed) and quickly move down each line.
2. Then, try your best to use the words that pop out to you and make a sentence that makes sense to you.
3. Next, reread the passage slowly to grasp the main idea.
4. Compare the sentence you made from pieces of words to the main idea you get by reading slowly and see how close they are.
By practicing this technique daily, you will get better at identifying essential information when reading vertically and train your brain to process information faster even when you are reading quickly.
To improve your reading comprehension, you have to be a voracious reader. I will suggest international students (non-English speakers) maintain a habit of reading English novels or magazines on a daily basis. By reading novels or magazines, you will grasp the essence of this language, such as the proper use of words and phrases in a different context or the dynamic of this language, and you will continuously build your vocabularies.
For example, I love science fiction and detective novels. So during the time I was preparing for DAT, I have completed The Complete Stories of Isaac Asimov (Vol 1), Murder on the Orient Express, and reread 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In my spare time, I also read tons of articles on Scientific American and The Economist. I would highlight all the useful phrases and words that I do not know or use very often but are used commonly by native English writers, and added them to my “English phrases and vocabs” spreadsheet. The purpose of doing this is to get your brain conditioned to English. Besides, lots of topics on these magazines have touched on the most current scientific/ technological innovations and economic phenomena that are influenced by these, and you want to broaden your knowledge as much as possible.
THE REAL TEST
1) BIO: tested on very basic knowledge. As long as you have studied Feralis Note and have done the DAT Bootcamp test (reviewed every wrong answer and studied answers choices), you can definitely score at least a 20.
2) GC: super basic. Just like Bootcamp.
3) OC: easier than I expected. Focused a lot on mechanisms and synthesis. Make sure you reviewed your OC notes several times prior to the test.
4) PAT: Got super tough keyholes and TFE visualization questions. Seriously though I thought I did so bad on my PAT when I was working on the PAT section. But I have constantly calmed myself down by telling myself that I have prepared well using Bootcamp so I will know the right answer if I calmed down. For couple super hard questions, I used elimination to land on the right answers. Just stay calm, and take a couple deep breathes if you feel like it is overwhelmed.
5) RC: Very interesting articles. Got all answers straight up from the passage. No trick questions.
6) Math: TBH I think one of the questions was wrong, but maybe I just misunderstood the question. Very very similar to DAT Bootcamp Math test. So if you are not very good at math, make sure you do all the Math Practice Tests and studied in depth of the concepts (not just how to solve the problem but the reasons/ theorems behind it).
7) Post Test Survey: 15 questions, I felt like the survey was kind of a good transition between taking the test and getting the score. My score popped up on the screen immediately when I finished the survey which scared me a little bit. But I felt so happy after receiving the grade because I knew I did not need to retake it again!!! (Sincerely wish everyone could feel this way as well!!!)
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING & THE MENTALITY FOR PREPARATION
No matter you have decided to study for the DAT test in 3 weeks, a month, three months, or even longer, make sure you plan out your study schedule reasonably before you start studying for it, and stick with your schedule. Ari’s schedule is excellent and very reasonable, and I will recommend his schedule to anyone who hates making their schedule. I revised Ari's schedule because I also worked part-time as a dental assistant. However, I made sure I would practice PAT every day and studied a chapter of general chemistry, organic chemistry, or biology during the first half of preparation stage.
Also, make sure you have a positive attitude when preparing for DAT. Everything seemed pretty daunting to me at the beginning. However, I realized that instead of panicking about potentially getting a bad score, it would be more realistic to try to master every knowledge point. I would ask myself constantly, “Do I truly understand this?” instead of “How much I can get if I only know this, this and that….” I genuinely believe that the goal of preparing for DAT is not just getting a good score (though I know that’s important for dental school application), but also developing the DISCIPLINE & GRIT to overcome challenge over time.
One last note: “Confidence comes from discipline and training.” So work hard, learn from your own mistakes, and get better! If I can do this, you can do this too!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for preparing me for this interesting DAT journey: Thank you Ari, Don Kim, Dr. Mike Christenson, Chad, Feralis for sharing their learning resources and strategies. My success is inseparable from your great help! Thank you!
I started studying seriously for the DAT around the end of September and took my test on Nov 20, 2017. I am working part-time as a surgical dental assistant (W-F) and taking an advanced physiology class alongside as well, so accumulatively, I spent about 3*4*3=36 business days (roughly 288 hours) on DAT.
Here's my score: 23 PAT/ 25 QR/ 21 RC/ 21 BIO/ 22 GC/ 26 OC/ 23 TS/ 23 AA.
For some of the students who are looking for a piece of succinct advice, sorry, but this is going to be a super long post. I have benefited so much from the advice from previous DAT test takers from SDN, so I really wish to contribute back to this learning community.
Note: since I am an international student from China, I will specifically highlight some reading comprehension tips for international students, especially for those whose first language is not English.
MATERIALS USED
1) DAT Bootcamp (100% Recommended!!!!): if you are looking for ONLY ONE learning resource. I will go for DAT Bootcamp. Please don't get me wrong. I am sure other online learning resources are very good too. But DAT Bootcamp is by far the most common resource that has been recommended by many dental students and test takers who have scored super high on DAT, and the most accurate compared to my real DAT tests. FIRST OF ALL, USE THE GENERATOR Every day! YOU WON"T REGRET IT>>> Additionally, The difficulty of general chemistry and organic chemistry section is definitely similar to that of the real test. Plus, Ari has worked with Dr. Mike Christensen to create very comprehension review videos on GC and OC which tailor to the DAT. DAT Bootcamp biology has very good practice questions but is slightly harder than the real test. Bootcamp's RC is deifentely longer and harder. I always felt like I did not have enough time to finish all questions.
2) Feralis Note (100% Recommended): Feralis Note is the best of the best in preparing for biology. The biggest strength of Feralis note is that it bolds/underlines all the keywords that you will need to know for the DAT. The note is super comprehensive and covers basically everything you will need to know for the biology section. I read Feralis Note 3 times. The 1st time, I read through everything quickly and translated and underlined all the keywords that I was not familiar with. The 2nd time, I focused on reading the highlighted section. The 3rd time, I reread the highlighted section. I did not intentionally to memorize everything, but the repeatition in reading has defenitely solidify my memory for lots of biological knowledge point, which helped me recall the correct answers of the questions during the real DAT test.
3) Chad's Video (95% Recommended): Everyone should know Chad is the go-to person for Organic Chemistry. I used both Chad's Video and Dr. Christenson's videos on DAT Bootcamp to review for my chemistry because I was just paranoid about not being able to get a solid review on both. But I feel like if you have purchased DAT Bootcamp, then there's no need to watch Chad's videos again. But Chad's videos are super comprehensive and interesting. It will really solidify your knowledge in Organic Chemistry.
4) Khan Academy MCAT for biology and developmental biology (90%): I cannot stress enough the importance of utilizing online videos to review confusing concepts and materials. I am not a very strong bio person, plus I did not take ecology/ embryology/ advanced physiology back in college. But the FREE videos on Khan Academy have done WONDER for me when I encountered some very confusing concepts or biological processes/ pathways.
5) Crash Course(80%): I used this for my bio prep too. The videos are made super interactive and vivid in explaining tough anatomical structures and concepts. It's very helpful for gaining a basic understanding of a certain bio topic before going in depth. I basically watched Crash Course when I had dinner. It sounds crazy, but honestly, I found lots of fun.
6) Scientific American + The Economist (100% if you are international students, highly recommended for native speakers as well): I used these resources to practice my reading speed and continued building my vocabularies pool. Though I have graduated from a four-year college in the US, I constantly felt the need to improve my English by reading articles voraciously. And reading articles on Scientific American and The Economist has helped a lot in broadening my knowledge and improving my reading speed and reading comprehension, which are two different skills sets that build upon each other.
STUDY SCHEDULE:
1) During the 1st-4th weeks, I reviewed a chapter on GC or OC. Did 50 questions on angle ranking cube counting, and hole punching, 25 questions on paper folding, 10 questions on keyholes and TFE visualization. I took notes on all the keyholes questions, studying and analyzing the common characteristic of the distracting options (wrong options). I finished reviewing for my GC and OC during the first month.
2)During the 5th-9th week, I started to take some individual practice test on GC and OC, making notes for questions that I got wrong or I was not sure about the right answer. I took some practice test on PAT as well, analyzing reasons I got the questions wrong and making notes on them. I also started on reviewing for bio one chapter per business day. Made Anki's deck for the chapter and studied it repeatedly.
3) During the 10th-11 week, I did some more individual practice test. I started to do some full-length practice test. But TBH, I only did 2 full-length practice tests. (Scored AA20 first time and 21 second time). Wasn't really happy with the score but I was thinking retaking DAT anyway so I felt like maybe that's my limit. I also started to take some Math practice tests as well (scored 19/21/30 on each one). I did not do well on the first time because I was not expecting lots of unit conversion; I knew international unit very well because I learned Math in China but in the US for some reason, the system used US unit, so I had to memorize the new conversion rate. I stopped taking the Math practice test when I got 30, but I kept reviewing the Math concept until the day I took the test. I was always good at Math when I was back in China so I was not very nervous about this subject. But I did feel the need to review and relearn the Math in depth, especially on algebra, functions, trigonometry, and probability (permutation/ combination/ and sequence).
4) During the last week, I basically reread Feralis Note, studied my Anki's deck, reviewed my "wrong questions collection" to make sure I truly mastered the concept. I did not take a break until the day I took my test. Many test takers who did really well suggest to take a day off a day before the test. I see the benefit of doing that. But I just felt more comfortable to study before the test since that is normally what I did back in middle school and high school in China.
5) Throughout my preparation, I read Scientific American and The Economist on a regular basis to improve my reading speed and comprehension skills. I noted down the useful phrases and words that I did not recognize in a spreadsheet.
To get a high score in DAT reading comprehension, you need to have a speed of reading 3-4 paragraphs with 75-150 words on each paragraph in 1 - 1.5 minutes. A lot of time, as international students, we will underestimate our potential in reading English fast because we tend to read passages word by word horizontally. However, the key to improving reading speed is to FORCE yourself to read the passage vertically.
Here’s how you can practice reading vertically:
1. Every time you read an article, focus your attention on the middle section of the paragraph (you can even point your figure there if needed) and quickly move down each line.
2. Then, try your best to use the words that pop out to you and make a sentence that makes sense to you.
3. Next, reread the passage slowly to grasp the main idea.
4. Compare the sentence you made from pieces of words to the main idea you get by reading slowly and see how close they are.
By practicing this technique daily, you will get better at identifying essential information when reading vertically and train your brain to process information faster even when you are reading quickly.
To improve your reading comprehension, you have to be a voracious reader. I will suggest international students (non-English speakers) maintain a habit of reading English novels or magazines on a daily basis. By reading novels or magazines, you will grasp the essence of this language, such as the proper use of words and phrases in a different context or the dynamic of this language, and you will continuously build your vocabularies.
For example, I love science fiction and detective novels. So during the time I was preparing for DAT, I have completed The Complete Stories of Isaac Asimov (Vol 1), Murder on the Orient Express, and reread 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In my spare time, I also read tons of articles on Scientific American and The Economist. I would highlight all the useful phrases and words that I do not know or use very often but are used commonly by native English writers, and added them to my “English phrases and vocabs” spreadsheet. The purpose of doing this is to get your brain conditioned to English. Besides, lots of topics on these magazines have touched on the most current scientific/ technological innovations and economic phenomena that are influenced by these, and you want to broaden your knowledge as much as possible.
THE REAL TEST
1) BIO: tested on very basic knowledge. As long as you have studied Feralis Note and have done the DAT Bootcamp test (reviewed every wrong answer and studied answers choices), you can definitely score at least a 20.
2) GC: super basic. Just like Bootcamp.
3) OC: easier than I expected. Focused a lot on mechanisms and synthesis. Make sure you reviewed your OC notes several times prior to the test.
4) PAT: Got super tough keyholes and TFE visualization questions. Seriously though I thought I did so bad on my PAT when I was working on the PAT section. But I have constantly calmed myself down by telling myself that I have prepared well using Bootcamp so I will know the right answer if I calmed down. For couple super hard questions, I used elimination to land on the right answers. Just stay calm, and take a couple deep breathes if you feel like it is overwhelmed.
5) RC: Very interesting articles. Got all answers straight up from the passage. No trick questions.
6) Math: TBH I think one of the questions was wrong, but maybe I just misunderstood the question. Very very similar to DAT Bootcamp Math test. So if you are not very good at math, make sure you do all the Math Practice Tests and studied in depth of the concepts (not just how to solve the problem but the reasons/ theorems behind it).
7) Post Test Survey: 15 questions, I felt like the survey was kind of a good transition between taking the test and getting the score. My score popped up on the screen immediately when I finished the survey which scared me a little bit. But I felt so happy after receiving the grade because I knew I did not need to retake it again!!! (Sincerely wish everyone could feel this way as well!!!)
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING & THE MENTALITY FOR PREPARATION
No matter you have decided to study for the DAT test in 3 weeks, a month, three months, or even longer, make sure you plan out your study schedule reasonably before you start studying for it, and stick with your schedule. Ari’s schedule is excellent and very reasonable, and I will recommend his schedule to anyone who hates making their schedule. I revised Ari's schedule because I also worked part-time as a dental assistant. However, I made sure I would practice PAT every day and studied a chapter of general chemistry, organic chemistry, or biology during the first half of preparation stage.
Also, make sure you have a positive attitude when preparing for DAT. Everything seemed pretty daunting to me at the beginning. However, I realized that instead of panicking about potentially getting a bad score, it would be more realistic to try to master every knowledge point. I would ask myself constantly, “Do I truly understand this?” instead of “How much I can get if I only know this, this and that….” I genuinely believe that the goal of preparing for DAT is not just getting a good score (though I know that’s important for dental school application), but also developing the DISCIPLINE & GRIT to overcome challenge over time.
One last note: “Confidence comes from discipline and training.” So work hard, learn from your own mistakes, and get better! If I can do this, you can do this too!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for preparing me for this interesting DAT journey: Thank you Ari, Don Kim, Dr. Mike Christenson, Chad, Feralis for sharing their learning resources and strategies. My success is inseparable from your great help! Thank you!
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