17AA/21 PAT >>> 19AA/24PAT

[ktboulevard]

So, here I am with another thread to inspire those who struggle with test taking like I do. I have taken the DAT three times, and to me, the third time's a charm! Yeah I could have made a bit better, but I believe that this was a well-deserved score that I was hoping for.

Stats:
GPA: 3.72
Science GPA: 3.6
Shadowing Hours and Dental Experience: 2000+ hours
Major: Biomedical Science
1st DAT: 17AA/17TS/21PAT
2nd DAT: 17AA/17TS/20PAT
3rd DAT: 19AA/19TS/24 PAT

1st DAT:
AA 17
TS 17
Bio 18
Chem 18
OChem 16
Reading 17
QR 16
PAT 21

2nd DAT:
AA 17
TS 17
Bio 17
Chem 17
OChem 17
Reading 19
QR 16
PAT 20

3rd DAT:
AA 19
TS 19
Bio 18
Chem 22
OChem 18
Reading 18
QR 21
PAT 24

Booster & Bootcamp vs Real DAT Scores:

Booster:
AA: 18, 19, 19, 20, 16, 19
Real DAT: 19

Bio: 19, 18, 19, 17, 17, 20
Real Bio: 18

Chem: 18, 18, 20, 18, 17, 16
Real Chem: 22

OChem: 16, 17, 18, 19, 16, 22
Real OChem: 18

Reading: 19, 19, 21, 24, 19, 17
Real Reading: 18

QR: 18, 22, 19, 20, 13, 20
Real QR: 21

PAT: 20, 21, 20, 22, 21, 25
Real PAT: 24

Bootcamp:

Full length test 1: 176/280 correct

AA 19​

Bio 19​

Chem 19​

OChem 18​

Reading 20​

QR 19​

PAT 20​

​

Full length test 2: 171/280 correct

AA 18​

Bio 16​

Chem 19​

OChem 18​

Reading 19​

QR 18​

PAT 20​

Full length test 3: 183/280 correct

AA 19​

Bio 19​

Chem 20​

OChem 19​

Reading 21​

QR 17​

PAT 20​

​

Study Habits & Sources:
I gave myself a little over a month and a half to study for the test but have been studying and analyzing this test for the longest time. I took a different approach of tackling the test by building a SOLID foundation on the material before I dove into practice tests. This meant studying formulas, doing bio bites on bootcamp, and going over ochem reactions repeatedly. If you have the money, go ahead and buy both bootcamp and booster. If you don't, I would recommend finding a buddy that is going to invest in one program while you invest in the other to share accounts. That is exactly what I did, and it worked out perfectly and saved sooooo much money!
I was not one of those that woke up at the crack of dawn to study this. I function better in the afternoon so I devoted the times of 11AM - 5PM to study, but everybody is different. Find out what works for you and the best way you can retain this information. Overall, I would say to study hard of course but discipline yourself as well as reward yourself when you complete tasks such as relearning the "forget-me-cycle" or the Kreb's Cycle; it goes a long way.

Bio:
I HIGHLY recommend doing booster's bio practice tests because I saw a handful of almost the same exact questions that were on their exams. For this, never underestimate biology because they can throw literally anything at you. Every time I have taken this test I felt like I did better than what I made, but these questions are made to trick you and it makes sure you know your stuff. Know the basics so you can tackle the harder questions and build on that. Before doing a practice test, I did many bio bites and question banks from bootcamp. Write everything down when you go through these question banks regardless if you already know the answer fully or not.

General Chemistry:
I am not going to lie. I was super surprised with my score and did not expect it to go that well. For this, I mainly did question banks to make sure I understood the formulas as well as the basics. If you are rusty on chem, Mike's videos on bootcamp are incredible along with his handouts.

Organic Chemistry:
I was worried about this section of the DAT but was glad with my score. Again, use bootcamp if you can for this. They have incredible question banks, reaction bites, and Dr. Mike's videos are great.

Reading:
I knew this section was not going good when I was taking the DAT. The passages I had were not easy for me at all and the answers were tricky to find and interpret. For this, I would say that bootcamp would be the better option to use for practice tests. Booster makes it too easy than what the DAT really is.

QR:
I cannot say this enough for this section... practice, practice, and practice again! Timing was my biggest constraint then I improved it with practice. Bootcamp has a handy formula sheet that would be advisable to memorize along with question banks. Booster also has question banks that are just as good. I would use both to get as much practice as you possibly can. Once you find the pattern of what type of questions they usually put in the practice tests, you will dominate the real DAT.

PAT:
This section surprised me the most. I remember thinking to myself, "is this a joke?" because of how easy it came to me. Booster and Bootcamp really prepared me for this. Doing the timed questions individually by section would be something great to start with. Then I would start doing question banks. I finished almost all of the question banks for every section for bootcamp and booster. This might sound psychotic to say, but I absolutely loved doing PAT during my study time. It was like a game to me. Most of all, have your timing down as well as methodical approaches for each section of the PAT. It comes with a lot of strategy, but you have to figure out what works best for you. Bootcamp and booster offer videos to explain a different strategies to help.

Summary:
For me, this is my personal comeback story and hope for those who are nervous about the test. Just remember that a test does not define you and that there is so much more to you than a score. I have met MANY dentists who did not make the perfect score but are phenomenal dentists and leaders. Believe it or not, there are many schools that look at you as a whole rather than seeing an average score and putting your application in the trash. You can do this!

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[Mytoothbetold]

Thank you so much for sharing! I am about to take my third attempt next month (pushed back because of the hurricane damage in my area) and I am dreadinggggg it! It's posts like these that give me hope. Good luck with your application!!