- Joined
- Nov 9, 2016
- Messages
- 50
- Reaction score
- 23
Hey guys I recently took the DAT for the first time. I was beyond nervous but I had a goal of a 20 or higher and I met my goal and I'm pretty satisfied. I'll talk about what I did for each section and the score and what I would do again etc. I studied everyday for a little over a month during the end of my semester throughout Christmas break. Also some background info on me is that I have a 3.83 gpa and a sgpa give or take a few .01. Should I retake the DAT? I absolutely don't want to, because I feel like I'm plenty competitive with my gpa and score, I just wanted to get some other peoples opinions. Thanks guys.
Biology - 19: This section I worried about the most tbh because it encompassed the most information and it could be all over there. On my actual test there was no real trends it was all super in-depth and challenging. I didn't have a single mitosis or respiration question etc but had super random questions about the ear. If I had to study for bio again I would 100% focus each day on mastering a certain topic and making flashcards and then the next day move onto another topic, but not without reviewing the past days info before I started something new if that makes sense. I used DAT destroyer, AP barrons 3rd edition, feralis notes, and DAT bootcamp. I would recommend all.
General Chemistry - 21: I felt pretty confident in the chemistry's because I always excelled in chem classes I had taken. There were a few tricky questions but if you truly know most of the basic information tested on you should be fine. I used Chad's videos and I would definitely recommend them. Take your own notes to the videos, do the quizzes after, and copy the quizzes at the end of your notes. That allowed me after reviewing a section to quickly go over possible questions that would be asked which helped me a lot. I also did every DAT bootcamp problem, which helped me get a feel for the type of questions being asked.
Organic Chemistry - 21: Pretty much the same as GC. I used chad's videos and would recommend taking notes and doing the quizzes as mentioned before. There weren't a ton of tough questions, but you should definitely know EAS and all the reactions like the back of your head. I did every DAT bootcamp problem again, which helped me get a feel for the type of questions being asked.
Perceptual Ability Test - 22: DAT bootcamp is your best friend. Do the generators 10 minutes a day for each type of problem and you will get the hang of it in no time. There is no reason why anybody shouldn't score well on this to be honest all you need to do is put the time in.
Reading Comprehendsion - 20: I was freaking out about this section cause I wasn't scoring well on practice tests a day before my actual DAT, but I tried the search and destroy method and it helped me out a ton. Just find a strategy and stick with it.
Quantitative Reasoning - 18: This was my lowest score. I've always been good at math but I'm kind of slow. I shot myself in the foot with this one because I spent the least amount of time on it and my score obviously suffered. I would recommend doing many problems just to get your speed up to par. I also used chads videos for relearning some topics and the quizzes were particularity helpful.
I would definitely recommend taking as many practice tests as you can. Out of every pre-dental and pre-med friend of mine that has taken something like the DAT or MCAT, they all have recommended me the same. The test was definitely difficult, and I'm pretty proud of my score. But you can score well if you put the effort into it.
Biology - 19: This section I worried about the most tbh because it encompassed the most information and it could be all over there. On my actual test there was no real trends it was all super in-depth and challenging. I didn't have a single mitosis or respiration question etc but had super random questions about the ear. If I had to study for bio again I would 100% focus each day on mastering a certain topic and making flashcards and then the next day move onto another topic, but not without reviewing the past days info before I started something new if that makes sense. I used DAT destroyer, AP barrons 3rd edition, feralis notes, and DAT bootcamp. I would recommend all.
General Chemistry - 21: I felt pretty confident in the chemistry's because I always excelled in chem classes I had taken. There were a few tricky questions but if you truly know most of the basic information tested on you should be fine. I used Chad's videos and I would definitely recommend them. Take your own notes to the videos, do the quizzes after, and copy the quizzes at the end of your notes. That allowed me after reviewing a section to quickly go over possible questions that would be asked which helped me a lot. I also did every DAT bootcamp problem, which helped me get a feel for the type of questions being asked.
Organic Chemistry - 21: Pretty much the same as GC. I used chad's videos and would recommend taking notes and doing the quizzes as mentioned before. There weren't a ton of tough questions, but you should definitely know EAS and all the reactions like the back of your head. I did every DAT bootcamp problem again, which helped me get a feel for the type of questions being asked.
Perceptual Ability Test - 22: DAT bootcamp is your best friend. Do the generators 10 minutes a day for each type of problem and you will get the hang of it in no time. There is no reason why anybody shouldn't score well on this to be honest all you need to do is put the time in.
Reading Comprehendsion - 20: I was freaking out about this section cause I wasn't scoring well on practice tests a day before my actual DAT, but I tried the search and destroy method and it helped me out a ton. Just find a strategy and stick with it.
Quantitative Reasoning - 18: This was my lowest score. I've always been good at math but I'm kind of slow. I shot myself in the foot with this one because I spent the least amount of time on it and my score obviously suffered. I would recommend doing many problems just to get your speed up to par. I also used chads videos for relearning some topics and the quizzes were particularity helpful.
I would definitely recommend taking as many practice tests as you can. Out of every pre-dental and pre-med friend of mine that has taken something like the DAT or MCAT, they all have recommended me the same. The test was definitely difficult, and I'm pretty proud of my score. But you can score well if you put the effort into it.
