21AA Breakdown

[ph159]

I took the DAT today, and I can say that I am happy with my score!

BIO 19
GC 21
OC 22
PAT 20
RC 23
QR 19 (Was hoping for better)

AA 21 TS 20

I understand my score isn't nearly as great as many SDN'rs, but I think I did much better than I thought I would (and I REALLY wanted to post a breakdown, so I will).

Resource Breakdown

Bootcamp <3333333333

Bootcamp has to be one of the best resources out there! BIGGEST shout out to @Ari Rezaei . I also followed his 10 week schedule, which I highly recommend if you have the time. All the tests for each subject were great and very representative.

Chads <33333333333

Chad is the BEST teacher. General chemistry was a nightmare for me when i took it freshmen year. He definitely helps the toughest concepts stick in your memory. I highly recommend watching chads twice!
I didn't utilize his bio section. Also, I only took his quizes once! I don't understand how you could prepare for Gen chem and O chem without his videos. This is a great resource and I highly recommend it for those of you still preparing.

Destroyer 2012 & Math Destroyer

DAT destroyer is great LEARNING TOOL. I really dont recommend timing yourself while doing the practice questions. I did the destroyer twice and it really helps reinforce concepts. Its a great practice medium. I had the 2012 version, and it was sufficient because the real DAT is alot more conceptual and calculation heavy.
The road maps for Ochem were the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Math destroyer was GREAT! It is alot easier than Bootcamp QR, and the probelms are really similar in the wording and general types of questions as the DAT. Also, the formula page is great.

Cliffs AP Bio 3rd Edition & Ferrali's Notes

Cliffs AP BIO....Like everyone says its also great! I really recommend reading through it twice and supplementing it with Ferralis for detail. Without reading cliffs ap bio, I dont think it would be easy to follow Farrelis. Also, breadth over depth for bio!
Ari's 10 week schedule

Without this schedule, I wouldn't have had a clue on how to prepare! I know many people dont have this much time to devote to studying due to work and other comittments, but everyone should atleast take a look at it to get an idea on how to structure their studying time. However, with any other schedule, it is important to make changes that revolve around your own strengths and weaknesses.

NOW the stuff that everyone loves ..... Practice scores!!!!!!

When I first started studying, I would take section tests on bootcamp and lets just say that my scores weren't too hot. However, this really motivated to study HARDER!
My scores for the first time a took a section test were:
BIO: 15 GC: 15 PAT: 17 OC :16 QR: <15 RC: Never attempted till last week before exam.

I took full length practice tests a week before my exam

BC Full Length Test 1:
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
23/19/19/18/19/20

BC Full Length Test 2:
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
20/18/21/18/-/21

BC Full Length Test 3:
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
22/23/19/18/21/22

BC Full Length Test 4:
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
21/23/21/20/20/19

BC Full Length Test 5:
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
19/20/20/19/-/-

2007 DAT
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
19/21/28/19/-/20

2009 DAT
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR
20/20/20/18/19/22

I have to say though, the last week I was really distracted. Even though I took full length tests, I wasnt able reinforce weak concepts as much because I was very distracted (my baby nephew came to visit, and SDN)!!!!! I honestly really wish I would have buckled down and went HAM. My score could have been higher. Needless to say though, I am happy with my results and am grateful.

One big tip: make Lots and LOTS of flashcards (not online) and keep going over them as MUCH as you can. I probably made around 1000+ very detailed flash cards.

p.s. Just stay strong and PUSH through!!! Try and make studying fun and take it as a challenge!

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[LightAtTheEnd]

Nice scores and good luck applying! What was your RC strategy?

 

[TheEpicFruitCake]

What was the timing like for the QR section? From what I've heard its more of a speed thing

Congrats btw

 

[kms100]

Congrats, now you can relax!

 

[ph159]

Nice scores and good luck applying! What was your RC strategy?

For RC, my strategy was really straightforward. I read the whole passage slowly and jot down a couple words for each paragraph and then moved on to the questions. The articles were very easy to read. The questions were very straight forward! I didnt feel rushed at all either! I didn't use search and destroy because it makes me feel rushed and anxious.

Also, I will be applying next cycle. I just decided to take the DAT early

 

[ph159]

What was the timing like for the QR section? From what I've heard its more of a speed thing

Congrats btw

DEFINATLEY a speed thing. QR isnt that bad! I just wish I would have moved faster. Stay on top of your timing, and you will kill the QR section.

 

[ph159]

Congrats, now you can relax!

Yes
and thank you!!!

 

[biomolecmed]

Solid scores. Congrats.

 

[Sharon914]

Looks great! Congratulations!!

 

[ph159]

Solid scores. Congrats.

Thank you

 

[ph159]

Looks great! Congratulations!!

Thanks!!!!!!

 

[Ari Rezaei]

Congratulations! Great scores, glad to hear the study schedule helped

 

[ph159]

Congratulations! Great scores, glad to hear the study schedule helped

Thank you! and thank you for creating amazing resources!

 

[Romano Scientific]

Congrats!

 

[ph159]

Congrats!

thanks!

 

[Dotoday]

Solid scores. Good job.

 

[ph159]

Solid scores. Good job.

Thank you

 

[oprettyricky]

What was the timing like for the QR section? From what I've heard its more of a speed thing

Congrats btw

For mine, the QR is sort of time pressed. I did not study one minutes for this section and managed a 23. For ones like tan/cos/csc/sin you either know it or you don't. I only knew a few. Unfortunately for me there were about 3-4 questions dealing with ones I did not know, so I was a little upset. The calculator wont do it for you obviously so just try to make a quick smart guess and move on. I was reasonably able to eliminate one or two options. I am glad I did that for a few as I was very close to running out of time and the last few questions were fairly basic so I would have been upset if I did not make it to them in time!

 

[oprettyricky]

Nice scores and good luck applying! What was your RC strategy?

I know you were not asking me, but I wanted to let you know how my RC went and what I did. I did not prepare for it at all and ended up with a 23. I am sure if I prepared it would have gone up, but to me reading comprehension is just something you have or you don't. I personally can read a passage and not remember exact details about it. For one of mine they talked about all kinds of diseases and where they originated from and what groups of ppl were likely to have it and symptoms that would occur. They were long diseases I can't even spell, so there was no way I would be able to read it and remember. I did the search and destroy method and it worked out just fine. I did not run out of time and all I did was glimpse at keywords in the question and quickly looked at the answers and just ran my eyes quickly through each line in the passage to see if I could find any. It is a really easy method that works! So you really do not have to stress on this section. As the questions go on you will remember seeing certain words in an area of the passage so you won't be searching a whole lot. I had been out of school for 5 years and just decided to go back for dental school and I did not have a lot of time to prep for the test (11 days) so I did not really have time to study QR or RC. If I can do it, I am confident you can! Just make sure to relax when you take the test, especially this section as it is one where almost all of the answers are literally in front of you on the screen...your job is just to find it! There were a few questions where they asked "if we were to add a sentence to the end of the passage which one would work best." Some of the answers were very similar, but if you can master the search and destroy and are ok to "settle" for a score in the 20s then I would not stress this section too much.