2007 and 2009 DAT vs Real Dat

[Teeth10]

I have been studying non stop to prepare for my DAT. I still feel a bit scared about the math section and PAT. How similar is the actual 2015 DAT to the 2007 and 2009 overall and specifically in terms of the math and PAT section? Anything can help.

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[changtw]

QR is a tough one to gauge simply because difficulty (for mine) seemed to fall between 2007 and 2009.

2007 QR was far too easy, while 2009 was far too difficult. What I found to be most representative was the 2014 QR questions that came with the DAT DESTROYER** (NOT Math Destroyer).

Math Destroyer was a fantastic resource to use, but if you were looking for something that had similar question types and similar levels of difficulty, then take a look at the QR problems in DAT Destroyer (I used 2014, I'm not sure how 2015 compares).

Tip for QR section: If you haven't worked through it already, pages 1-2 of the 2009 QR are extremely overwhelming. Don't let this psych you out. If you don't know it, move on! I took this practice test with a group of my friends -- some stuck and tried to work through the first 5-6 problems while the others marked, skipped, and moved on. The ones who stuck didn't finish the exam. The ones who moved on got all the easy points that came later (you'll see in the back that there are problems where its just simple plug and chug). On the real DAT, I had this same issue. My exam was front heavy, and I thought I was going to fail. I skipped a few problems in a row and moved on with the intention of coming back and working through them if I had time. It was scary to skip 3 problems in a row, but I didn't want to risk running out of time. Low and behold, the end of the exam was SO EASY! I was so relieved that I skipped. By the time I got to Question 45, I only had about 1 minute left. If QR is a weak section of yours, I highly recommend keeping this in mind. Don't be afraid to guess and skip problems if you don't immediately know how to solve.

I felt as though the majority of the PAT was pretty on point for both 2007 and 2009. There are a few new types of keyholes and such that other SDN-ers have mentioned that may be entirely foreign, but there aren't many. Most likely you'll have to make your best guess either way, so I wouldn't be too worried about those 2/3 problems out of 90. I didn't do much studying for PAT though, plus I took the exam back in June, so hopefully some other members can chime in on this.

 

[Teeth10]

QR is a tough one to gauge simply because difficulty (for mine) seemed to fall between 2007 and 2009.

2007 QR was far too easy, while 2009 was far too difficult. What I found to be most representative was the 2014 QR questions that came with the DAT DESTROYER** (NOT Math Destroyer).

Math Destroyer was a fantastic resource to use, but if you were looking for something that had similar question types and similar levels of difficulty, then take a look at the QR problems in DAT Destroyer (I used 2014, I'm not sure how 2015 compares).

Tip for QR section: If you haven't worked through it already, pages 1-2 of the 2009 QR are extremely overwhelming. Don't let this psych you out. If you don't know it, move on! I took this practice test with a group of my friends -- some stuck and tried to work through the first 5-6 problems while the others marked, skipped, and moved on. The ones who stuck didn't finish the exam. The ones who moved on got all the easy points that came later (you'll see in the back that there are problems where its just simple plug and chug). On the real DAT, I had this same issue. My exam was front heavy, and I thought I was going to fail. I skipped a few problems in a row and moved on with the intention of coming back and working through them if I had time. It was scary to skip 3 problems in a row, but I didn't want to risk running out of time. Low and behold, the end of the exam was SO EASY! I was so relieved that I skipped. By the time I got to Question 45, I only had about 1 minute left. If QR is a weak section of yours, I highly recommend keeping this in mind. Don't be afraid to guess and skip problems if you don't immediately know how to solve.

I felt as though the majority of the PAT was pretty on point for both 2007 and 2009. There are a few new types of keyholes and such that other SDN-ers have mentioned that may be entirely foreign, but there aren't many. Most likely you'll have to make your best guess either way, so I wouldn't be too worried about those 2/3 problems out of 90. I didn't do much studying for PAT though, plus I took the exam back in June, so hopefully some other members can chime in on this.

Omg, seriously thank you so much for this. This not only made me feel better but helped feel better about myself. I am taking my exam next Tuesday and this is what I needed to read. Thank you and I will keep that in mind and use your strategy. God should bless you where ever you are ! lol

 

[changtw]

Omg, seriously thank you so much for this. This not only made me feel better but helped feel better about myself. I am taking my exam next Tuesday and this is what I needed to read. Thank you and I will keep that in mind and use your strategy. God should bless you where ever you are ! lol

Hahaha GOOD LUCK!

Don't sweat it, you're going to be a-OK. (emphasis on the "A" )

 

[AfriqueDMD]

Omg, seriously thank you so much for this. This not only made me feel better but helped feel better about myself. I am taking my exam next Tuesday and this is what I needed to read. Thank you and I will keep that in mind and use your strategy. God should bless you where ever you are ! lol

Did you take the DAT yet? Any comments on the 2009 test?

 

[Teeth10]

Did you take the DAT yet? Any comments on the 2009 test?

The test I took was mostly like the 2009 test. Specially the math and chemistry questions. Beware. I did not do so well so I will be retaking. Best of luck to you.

 

[AfriqueDMD]

I took mine and it was harder than the 2009 test. I did some last minute studying and did better. 22AA and 22TS

 

[danchoi03]

OP pm me if you want comparison for 2009 ADA exam and other practice exams. Ignore 2007 ADA exam. It is too easy.

 

[kbgirl]

I was freaking out because on the 2007 and 2009 tests, I did really really poorly on the bio section, but then somehow pulled off a 20 for the real thing. Practice tests don't determine how you will do. You know how much you have studied and how much you know for the real thing. The real dat is probably harder than both of those practice tests but if you prepare and do decently on the practice tests, you should be fine

 

[Frank22]

I have been studying non stop to prepare for my DAT. I still feel a bit scared about the math section and PAT. How similar is the actual 2015 DAT to the 2007 and 2009 overall and specifically in terms of the math and PAT section? Anything can help.

I can tell you for a fact that the 2007 PAT was much easier than the PAT I took on the 19th of September of this year, or even the 2009 ADA practice test. Moreover, on the 2007 practice test, I scored a 30 on the organic chemistry section, while I only scored a 22 on the actual test. A cursory glance at the general chemistry and biology sections of the 2007 practice test suggests to me that these sections used to be easier as well, but I did score a 26 and 25 on these sections, respectively. I also scored a 24 on the quantitative reasoning section of the 2007 practice test, while I only scored a 21 on the actual test.

I hope this helps!

 

[rbg2015]

Why do I seem to be the only one that is disappointed with my 2007 practice scores? I actually did not find the bio, gen chem and math sections to be all that much "easier"...

 

[rapidy]

Why do I seem to be the only one that is disappointed with my 2007 practice scores? I actually did not find the bio, gen chem and math sections to be all that much "easier"...

I found them easier relative to other tests, but my score seemed consistent anyways. I wouldn't worry about it too much

 

[Soleus715]

2007 and 2009 seemed a lot easier than the actual DAT. But i think it was partially because of the testing environment and the experimental questions on the real DAT...

Score wise, I did 2-3 points better on the 2007 and 2009

 

[smiledoc1]

This thread is now a bit old- Can anyone who has taken the DAT recently please comment on the comparison to the current 2018 DAT? I am wondering to what extent I should utilize the older DAT exams (specifically the 2007, 2009)

 

[dentalschool2018]

This thread is now a bit old- Can anyone who has taken the DAT recently please comment on the comparison to the current 2018 DAT? I am wondering to what extent I should utilize the older DAT exams (specifically the 2007, 2009)

I took the dat this monday. I did not take the 2007 as practice, so I cannot compare it to that specifically, but if you use bootcamp I can tell you the real DAT is SIGNIFICANTLY easier. I always struggled to finish bootcamp exams and my highest score was a 21 but usually a 19 or 20. I got a 30 on the real exam. I was surprised when I saw the score pop up, but the questions were very straight forward!

 

[aar56]

I took the dat this monday. I did not take the 2007 as practice, so I cannot compare it to that specifically, but if you use bootcamp I can tell you the real DAT is SIGNIFICANTLY easier. I always struggled to finish bootcamp exams and my highest score was a 21 but usually a 19 or 20. I got a 30 on the real exam. I was surprised when I saw the score pop up, but the questions were very straight forward!

hey I'm about to take mine tomorrow and I have been using bootcamp mainly to study for all the sections and my scores are pretty good on their practice tests, I have also been using DAT destroyer and math destroyer. I am super nervous! can you tell me which section you are referring to when you say that the real DAT was easier?

 

[smiledoc1]

I took the dat this monday. I did not take the 2007 as practice, so I cannot compare it to that specifically, but if you use bootcamp I can tell you the real DAT is SIGNIFICANTLY easier. I always struggled to finish bootcamp exams and my highest score was a 21 but usually a 19 or 20. I got a 30 on the real exam. I was surprised when I saw the score pop up, but the questions were very straight forward!

Thanks for the feeback! Did you use the 2009 test at all and if so was it helpful?

 

[dentalschool2018]

Thanks for the feeback! Did you use the 2009 test at all and if so was it helpful?

If I am not mistaken, I believe the 2009 exam is no longer available for purchase. The ADA now offers a condensed practice test for 100 dollars through Prometric, and I think they reuse some of the 2007 and 2009 questions. I think it was helpful to see what the formatting was like, but it was not exactly the same as the real DAT. The sell each section individually for 20 dollars, or you can buy a miniature practice test with every section for 100 (so 1 section free). I opted for the $100 dollar option because I was told it was very useful, but I found it to be easier than bootcamp and they also skipped completely over the PAT section. I am almost certain I did not mistakenly click through to the next section, there was definitely a glitch in the system. I personally found my time was better spent reviewing content that I wasn't confident in rather than taking millions of practice tests. I don't feel it was worth the money as I had already purchased bootcamp which I found to be much more challenging and a better preparation for the harder questions I might have encountered on the real exam!

Also, the online exam doesn't let you check your answers at the end or give you a score out of 30, just a raw score. You can check if you got the correct answer while you're on the question, but i personally think that ruins the simulation.

 

[dentalschool2018]

hey I'm about to take mine tomorrow and I have been using bootcamp mainly to study for all the sections and my scores are pretty good on their practice tests, I have also been using DAT destroyer and math destroyer. I am super nervous! can you tell me which section you are referring to when you say that the real DAT was easier?

I know so many people say this, but the real DAT was much easier than Bootcamp. If you're doing okay on bootcamp, I think you should feel pretty confident walking into your real exam. I would say every single section besides PAT was easier than Bootcamp. I found TFE and hole punching to be confusing on my real exam, and I was surprised because hole punching is my favorite part of the whole test I pretty much always get 15/15 quickly. PAT was my worst section on bootcamp (I couldnt break 19 for the longest time and then I was getting mostly 20s and never got higher than a 21). I thought I failed the real PAT but I still got a 21. Best of luck tomorrow!!!! Do not underestimate yourself. I thought I wouldn't get higher than a 19 AA and I walked out with a 26. I finished every section with plenty of time but always struggled to finish on bootcamp. Math destroyer was great and definitely helped me a lot. I stopped using destroyer after the first few days for sciences because it was really hurting my confidence. There was only one math question that stumped me on the real exam! Gen Chem and Orgo were surprisingly a breeze, and so was the reading section. Biology was very simple questions but obviously random so that felt a little overwhelming but I still did well. If you get stuck on a bio question that you didn't memorize, make an educated guess, mark it and move on! no point in freaking out and wasting time.

 

[aar56]

I know so many people say this, but the real DAT was much easier than Bootcamp. If you're doing okay on bootcamp, I think you should feel pretty confident walking into your real exam. I would say every single section besides PAT was easier than Bootcamp. I found TFE and hole punching to be confusing on my real exam, and I was surprised because hole punching is my favorite part of the whole test I pretty much always get 15/15 quickly. PAT was my worst section on bootcamp (I couldnt break 19 for the longest time and then I was getting mostly 20s and never got higher than a 21). I thought I failed the real PAT but I still got a 21. Best of luck tomorrow!!!! Do not underestimate yourself. I thought I wouldn't get higher than a 19 AA and I walked out with a 26. I finished every section with plenty of time but always struggled to finish on bootcamp. Math destroyer was great and definitely helped me a lot. I stopped using destroyer after the first few days for sciences because it was really hurting my confidence. There was only one math question that stumped me on the real exam! Gen Chem and Orgo were surprisingly a breeze, and so was the reading section. Biology was very simple questions but obviously random so that felt a little overwhelming but I still did well. If you get stuck on a bio question that you didn't memorize, make an educated guess, mark it and move on! no point in freaking out and wasting time.

Wow! okay I feel so much better now, but I am still freaking out about organic chem.. I got through the class by memorizing and that's hurting me now. I think I will manage to do okay though!!

 

[xoghkszlan1]

I know so many people say this, but the real DAT was much easier than Bootcamp. If you're doing okay on bootcamp, I think you should feel pretty confident walking into your real exam. I would say every single section besides PAT was easier than Bootcamp. I found TFE and hole punching to be confusing on my real exam, and I was surprised because hole punching is my favorite part of the whole test I pretty much always get 15/15 quickly. PAT was my worst section on bootcamp (I couldnt break 19 for the longest time and then I was getting mostly 20s and never got higher than a 21). I thought I failed the real PAT but I still got a 21. Best of luck tomorrow!!!! Do not underestimate yourself. I thought I wouldn't get higher than a 19 AA and I walked out with a 26. I finished every section with plenty of time but always struggled to finish on bootcamp. Math destroyer was great and definitely helped me a lot. I stopped using destroyer after the first few days for sciences because it was really hurting my confidence. There was only one math question that stumped me on the real exam! Gen Chem and Orgo were surprisingly a breeze, and so was the reading section. Biology was very simple questions but obviously random so that felt a little overwhelming but I still did well. If you get stuck on a bio question that you didn't memorize, make an educated guess, mark it and move on! no point in freaking out and wasting time.

Feels better to hear that... I did redo of a full-length and received excellent score (since it was a redo) on SNS and alright on rest, but after I completed the QR section, I got 19 and I feel like I forgot many of the useful methods for QR. Even though I did well on the exam overall it frustrates me because my exam is in 2 days and QR suddenly scaring me to the death with all the quantitative comparisons questions (13 of them on BC omg) and occasionally applied mathematics. Hoping for the best on QR... and all other sections

 

[dentalschool2018]

Feels better to hear that... I did redo of a full-length and received excellent score (since it was a redo) on SNS and alright on rest, but after I completed the QR section, I got 19 and I feel like I forgot many of the useful methods for QR. Even though I did well on the exam overall it frustrates me because my exam is in 2 days and QR suddenly scaring me to the death with all the quantitative comparisons questions (13 of them on BC omg) and occasionally applied mathematics. Hoping for the best on QR... and all other sections

i totally understand how you are feeling. I think on full length practice test we are drained by the time we get to QR, but on the real thing you will be much more alert! Actually use your 30 minute break to relax. Plus the reading section is much easier on the real test so you will likely be less flustered when you start the math section! Only had a few quantitative comparison style questions and they were very very easy and straight forward.... they were even based off of the same exact graph so the second question was really quick to answer! quantitative comparison questions were my worst on bootcamp but they were very simple on the real thing.

 

[xoghkszlan1]

i totally understand how you are feeling. I think on full length practice test we are drained by the time we get to QR, but on the real thing you will be much more alert! Actually use your 30 minute break to relax. Plus the reading section is much easier on the real test so you will likely be less flustered when you start the math section! Only had a few quantitative comparison style questions and they were very very easy and straight forward.... they were even based off of the same exact graph so the second question was really quick to answer! quantitative comparison questions were my worst on bootcamp but they were very simple on the real thing.

YES. I am trying to hang on not to go crazy which I almost did today. I am just eating and trying to recover and do some maybe more manageable version of the QR exam just to make myself feel better. Good to hear all of that. I will do my best reviewing tonight, some light review tomorrow and hope for the best. Thank you!

 

[smiledoc1]

YES. I am trying to hang on not to go crazy which I almost did today. I am just eating and trying to recover and do some maybe more manageable version of the QR exam just to make myself feel better. Good to hear all of that. I will do my best reviewing tonight, some light review tomorrow and hope for the best. Thank you!

Best of luck to your DAT! You will do great I am taking mine in a few days, really feeling the pressure! Even after so much studying I feel overwhelmed by the possibilities of things that could show up. Have you been using the destroyer for QR prep and if so have you been finding it helpful?

 

[xoghkszlan1]

Best of luck to your DAT! You will do great I am taking mine in a few days, really feeling the pressure! Even after so much studying I feel overwhelmed by the possibilities of things that could show up. Have you been using the destroyer for QR prep and if so have you been finding it helpful?

I used the destroyer for Math & Biology primarily. I did not use as much for GC/OC. I say the destroyer problems are really helpful at least it is worth doing it for math if you have not done it. If you have not been using destroyer for other subjects, I say just stick to BC since the exam is so close and things will not stick into your brain that much at this point.

 

[smiledoc1]

I used the destroyer for Math & Biology primarily. I did not use as much for GC/OC. I say the destroyer problems are really helpful at least it is worth doing it for math if you have not done it. If you have not been using destroyer for other subjects, I say just stick to BC since the exam is so close and things will not stick into your brain that much at this point.

Thanks a bunch for the feedback! How did the exam go?!