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Retook the DAT today and received the following scores
*********************AA/TS/BIO/OC/GC/RC/QR/PAT
1st attempt: 19/20/19/22/20/16/17/22 (May 2014)
2nd attempt: 23/24/23/25/26/18/21/20 (June 2015)
Intro:
I graduated in 2013 with B.S. in Biology
Initially started my education at a community college, then transferred.
I had 3.62 oGPA at CC, then graduated at 4-year institution with 3.14 oGPA and 3.02 sGPA
AADSAS Combined oGPA: 3.30
" " sGPA: 3.20
I'm a reapplicant this year.
I applied last year to about 15+ schools and had only ONE interview at MOSDOH, then rejected.
I thought about retaking the DAT last year, but with this low GPA, especially when it is downward trend, I thought I would have no chance so I applied for formal Post-Bacc and got accepted for 2015-2016 cycle.
I will be applying to a few schools with this GPA with my new DAT since my post-bacc has not started yet.
My plan was applying next year when my fall/spring grades come out so I would be more competitive, but I decided to apply to just a few schools this cycle just to give it a shot.
But seriously, I thought I studied hard for my first attempt at DAT, but when I think back now, I definitely DID NOT. When I saw that 16RC and 17QR, I almost cried because I wanted to become a dentist so badly than anyone ever desire.
My biggest regret is how I wasn't able to maintain a competitive GPA during undergrad and now it's about to cost me 40K just to repair my poor GPA.
YES. YES. GPA REPAIR IS EXPENSIVE. So if becoming a dentist is something you truly want, put in your FULL EFFORT to maintain a good GPA.
So I decided to retake my DAT before my formal post-bacc starts in the fall because I thought it would be nice to get this out of my way so I can concentrate 100% on my school stuff.
I studied my a** off for about 7 weeks, about 6 hours a day.
It's not about how many hours a day you study, it's about how EFFICIENTLY you study for this exam.
I wouldn't personally recommend anyone studying for more than 2 months because if you study too long, what you learned will slowly fade away.
GET YOUR MIND STRAIGHT WITH FULL EFFORT, and study your a** off for about 1~2 months.
Practice Scores:
Bootcamp:
**********1st Run***********************2nd Run
BIO: 20/20/20/19/20******************23/25/21/21/24
OC: 20/20/19/26/20******************24/26/25/26/NA
GC: 19/18/24/22/18*******************23/22/30/30/19
RC: <15/<15/18/20/18
QR: 19/20/19/NA/NA
PAT: 21/NA/NA/NA/NA
Qvault:
RC: 18/18/19/18/17/18/21
Genius:
BIO: 19
OC: 21
GC: 19
RC: 18
QR: 18
2007 DAT:
BIO (32/40)
OC (29/30)
GC (29/30)
MATERIALS USED:
- DAT Destroyer (10/10) - Best material for BIO/GC/OC you will ever find out there.
- Math Destroyer (7/10) - Found this a bit harder, but on a few concepts, definitely helped.
- Cliff 3rd Edition (10/10) - considering it wasn't made for DAT, good for getting down basics.
-Feralis BIO (10/10) - Physiology section is awesome. Easy to refer to using Ctrl + F
- KBB (8/10) - I'm a visual learner. I loved the diagrams in BIO. Easier for me to learn
- Chad's OC/GC/QR (10/10) - This is MUST!! seriously this guy knows how to teach
- AK Lecture (Youtube) (10/10) - I used this on BIO concepts I did not understand.
- DAT BOOTCAMP (10/10)
- DAT Qvault (8/10) - only for RC
- DAT Genius (9/10) - only the first exam in each section
BIO (23):
First, I went through Cliff's notes once and that was enough for me to get the basics down since I retained some information from last year's preparation for DAT. Then I skimmed through Feralis Bio notes to learn more on details, especially physiology. Cliff's does not cover enough Physiology for DAT. After reading through Feralis, I started on DAT Destroyer. I worked on 50 problems in each set just to see how many I get correct. It was usually around 50~60%. Then I would read the answer solution on the back thoroughly for both correct and incorrect answers. This is how you can fully utilize this book. This is not to test you how many you get correct or incorrect. Use it as a learning tool. I made flash cards on the ones I had trouble memorizing.
In total, I went through the Destroyer 3 times, then I polished my knowledge by reading thoroughly through Feralis Bio notes.
Actual Test: I was surprised by how simple the questions were. I was angry because I really focused a lot on Physiology and small details and they never showed up
OC (25):
I felt pretty confident in this section. I thought this was going to be the highest one.
I watched Chad's videos once, then worked on Destroyer problems like crazy. This book will save your score, at least get you 20+ if you use this correctly.
I went through the Destroyer problems 4 times
Actual Test: Wow haha it was so easy and I thought I had 30 on this, but I guess not.
GC (26):
Same as OC. I watched through Chad's videos once then worked on Destroyer problems like crazy. Went through Destroyer problems 5 times
Actual Test: My jaw dropped. I expected this to be lowest of my science scores. I don't know what happened. But it was definitely easier than both Bootcamp and Destroyer.
PAT (20):
Nothing much to say about this section because all I did was only first practice test of Bootcamp. I retained a lot from last year because I thought PAT was pretty easy as I had 22 on my first attempt. But this time, maybe because I didn't practice, it felt harder than last year.
QR (21):
I went through Chad's videos. I thought it was helpful although he teaches like the basic of basics. I thought it was worth the money because he teaches you like short-cuts and some strategies to avoid calculations.
Last year, I was mentally collapsed after RC and I really couldn't focus on math, and I believe that is why I had a 17 on my first attempt. After I realized I was screwed on RC, my heart was beating so fast and I just wanted to destroy that computer and leave the building.
Although many people found QR Destroyer very helpful, I didn't. I thought it was overkill.
I didn't put much of an effort in this section because I knew that 17 from last year was due to mental collapse.
Actual Test: As someone already mentioned in another breakdown, I thought this was more of an IQ test. Just know your formulas and if you really understand the concept behind math, this section should be pretty doable. All I did was memorizing formulas a day before the test.
RC (18):
I have so much to say about this section. English is my second language and I had a lot of struggle. Last year, I didn't prepare for this section at all because I thought I could get away with it. Like I already said, I wanted to destroy the computer and leave the building during the test soon after I realized I ruined this section. This year I did 5 exams in Bootcamp and 7 exams in Qvault. Reading scientific articles didn't really help much so I stopped soon after.
At first, I did S&D exclusively. It didn't work out for me. It put too much pressure. I actually had to read through the passage and understand what the passage is about.
Not all of them, but what I did was read thoroughly on first 3 paragraphs and skim thru the rest and jump on the questions. This way you can S&D a lot more easily because you would know where the information is.
Actual Test: I had more tone questions than I expected to get. About 7:3 (Fact:Tone) ratio.
My heart was beating so fast because of that trauma from last year. I tried really really really hard to remain calm throughout this section.
Conclusion:
The test seemed easier than Bootcamp and Destroyer, a lot of application problems.
It is not easy as much as what other people say, at least I didn't think so.
It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either.
My best advice I can give you is... REPETITION. I did destroyer about 4~5 times each and it definitely showed in my score. REPETITION IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.
I went over the same problems over and over again and made sure I really understood the concepts. A lot of the problems in actual DAT were application problems. Regurgitating the information is not going to help. Make sure you comprehend.
This test is totally beatable. It is going to be a lot more simple than you think, but still can be tricky. That's the funny part about this exam. Problems seem very simple and easy, but tricky.
You can do this!!! and thanks for reading through this long breakdown.
Just FYI, it will feel amazing to wake up in the morning and not have to worry about this exam ever again
*********************AA/TS/BIO/OC/GC/RC/QR/PAT
1st attempt: 19/20/19/22/20/16/17/22 (May 2014)2nd attempt: 23/24/23/25/26/18/21/20 (June 2015)Intro:
I graduated in 2013 with B.S. in Biology
Initially started my education at a community college, then transferred.
I had 3.62 oGPA at CC, then graduated at 4-year institution with 3.14 oGPA and 3.02 sGPA
AADSAS Combined oGPA: 3.30
" " sGPA: 3.20
I'm a reapplicant this year.
I applied last year to about 15+ schools and had only ONE interview at MOSDOH, then rejected.
I thought about retaking the DAT last year, but with this low GPA, especially when it is downward trend, I thought I would have no chance so I applied for formal Post-Bacc and got accepted for 2015-2016 cycle.
I will be applying to a few schools with this GPA with my new DAT since my post-bacc has not started yet.
My plan was applying next year when my fall/spring grades come out so I would be more competitive, but I decided to apply to just a few schools this cycle just to give it a shot.
But seriously, I thought I studied hard for my first attempt at DAT, but when I think back now, I definitely DID NOT. When I saw that 16RC and 17QR, I almost cried because I wanted to become a dentist so badly than anyone ever desire.
My biggest regret is how I wasn't able to maintain a competitive GPA during undergrad and now it's about to cost me 40K just to repair my poor GPA.
YES. YES. GPA REPAIR IS EXPENSIVE. So if becoming a dentist is something you truly want, put in your FULL EFFORT to maintain a good GPA.
So I decided to retake my DAT before my formal post-bacc starts in the fall because I thought it would be nice to get this out of my way so I can concentrate 100% on my school stuff.
I studied my a** off for about 7 weeks, about 6 hours a day.
It's not about how many hours a day you study, it's about how EFFICIENTLY you study for this exam.
I wouldn't personally recommend anyone studying for more than 2 months because if you study too long, what you learned will slowly fade away.
GET YOUR MIND STRAIGHT WITH FULL EFFORT, and study your a** off for about 1~2 months.
Practice Scores:
Bootcamp:
**********1st Run***********************2nd Run
BIO: 20/20/20/19/20******************23/25/21/21/24
OC: 20/20/19/26/20******************24/26/25/26/NA
GC: 19/18/24/22/18*******************23/22/30/30/19
RC: <15/<15/18/20/18
QR: 19/20/19/NA/NA
PAT: 21/NA/NA/NA/NA
Qvault:
RC: 18/18/19/18/17/18/21
Genius:
BIO: 19
OC: 21
GC: 19
RC: 18
QR: 18
2007 DAT:
BIO (32/40)
OC (29/30)
GC (29/30)
MATERIALS USED:
- DAT Destroyer (10/10) - Best material for BIO/GC/OC you will ever find out there.
- Math Destroyer (7/10) - Found this a bit harder, but on a few concepts, definitely helped.
- Cliff 3rd Edition (10/10) - considering it wasn't made for DAT, good for getting down basics.
-Feralis BIO (10/10) - Physiology section is awesome. Easy to refer to using Ctrl + F
- KBB (8/10) - I'm a visual learner. I loved the diagrams in BIO. Easier for me to learn
- Chad's OC/GC/QR (10/10) - This is MUST!! seriously this guy knows how to teach
- AK Lecture (Youtube) (10/10) - I used this on BIO concepts I did not understand.
- DAT BOOTCAMP (10/10)
- DAT Qvault (8/10) - only for RC
- DAT Genius (9/10) - only the first exam in each section
BIO (23):
First, I went through Cliff's notes once and that was enough for me to get the basics down since I retained some information from last year's preparation for DAT. Then I skimmed through Feralis Bio notes to learn more on details, especially physiology. Cliff's does not cover enough Physiology for DAT. After reading through Feralis, I started on DAT Destroyer. I worked on 50 problems in each set just to see how many I get correct. It was usually around 50~60%. Then I would read the answer solution on the back thoroughly for both correct and incorrect answers. This is how you can fully utilize this book. This is not to test you how many you get correct or incorrect. Use it as a learning tool. I made flash cards on the ones I had trouble memorizing.
In total, I went through the Destroyer 3 times, then I polished my knowledge by reading thoroughly through Feralis Bio notes.
Actual Test: I was surprised by how simple the questions were. I was angry because I really focused a lot on Physiology and small details and they never showed up
OC (25):
I felt pretty confident in this section. I thought this was going to be the highest one.
I watched Chad's videos once, then worked on Destroyer problems like crazy. This book will save your score, at least get you 20+ if you use this correctly.
I went through the Destroyer problems 4 times
Actual Test: Wow haha it was so easy and I thought I had 30 on this, but I guess not.
GC (26):
Same as OC. I watched through Chad's videos once then worked on Destroyer problems like crazy. Went through Destroyer problems 5 times
Actual Test: My jaw dropped. I expected this to be lowest of my science scores. I don't know what happened. But it was definitely easier than both Bootcamp and Destroyer.
PAT (20):
Nothing much to say about this section because all I did was only first practice test of Bootcamp. I retained a lot from last year because I thought PAT was pretty easy as I had 22 on my first attempt. But this time, maybe because I didn't practice, it felt harder than last year.
QR (21):
I went through Chad's videos. I thought it was helpful although he teaches like the basic of basics. I thought it was worth the money because he teaches you like short-cuts and some strategies to avoid calculations.
Last year, I was mentally collapsed after RC and I really couldn't focus on math, and I believe that is why I had a 17 on my first attempt. After I realized I was screwed on RC, my heart was beating so fast and I just wanted to destroy that computer and leave the building.
Although many people found QR Destroyer very helpful, I didn't. I thought it was overkill.
I didn't put much of an effort in this section because I knew that 17 from last year was due to mental collapse.
Actual Test: As someone already mentioned in another breakdown, I thought this was more of an IQ test. Just know your formulas and if you really understand the concept behind math, this section should be pretty doable. All I did was memorizing formulas a day before the test.
RC (18):
I have so much to say about this section. English is my second language and I had a lot of struggle. Last year, I didn't prepare for this section at all because I thought I could get away with it. Like I already said, I wanted to destroy the computer and leave the building during the test soon after I realized I ruined this section. This year I did 5 exams in Bootcamp and 7 exams in Qvault. Reading scientific articles didn't really help much so I stopped soon after.
At first, I did S&D exclusively. It didn't work out for me. It put too much pressure. I actually had to read through the passage and understand what the passage is about.
Not all of them, but what I did was read thoroughly on first 3 paragraphs and skim thru the rest and jump on the questions. This way you can S&D a lot more easily because you would know where the information is.
Actual Test: I had more tone questions than I expected to get. About 7:3 (Fact:Tone) ratio.
My heart was beating so fast because of that trauma from last year. I tried really really really hard to remain calm throughout this section.
Conclusion:
The test seemed easier than Bootcamp and Destroyer, a lot of application problems.
It is not easy as much as what other people say, at least I didn't think so.
It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either.
My best advice I can give you is... REPETITION. I did destroyer about 4~5 times each and it definitely showed in my score. REPETITION IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.
I went over the same problems over and over again and made sure I really understood the concepts. A lot of the problems in actual DAT were application problems. Regurgitating the information is not going to help. Make sure you comprehend.
This test is totally beatable. It is going to be a lot more simple than you think, but still can be tricky. That's the funny part about this exam. Problems seem very simple and easy, but tricky.
You can do this!!! and thanks for reading through this long breakdown.
Just FYI, it will feel amazing to wake up in the morning and not have to worry about this exam ever again
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