- Joined
- Dec 22, 2014
- Messages
- 20
- Reaction score
- 16
Hey everyone!
I've been a long time lurker on SDN and would always look at DAT breakdowns - which have helped me out a lot from giving me insight on what prep materials to buy, study schedules, or just general advice. I thought I should give back to the community and provide some insight I gained throughout this experience! I also want to thank Ari, Dr. Romano, and Nancy @Ari Rezaei, @orgoman22 for their support and advice throughout my studies.
I took the DAT yesterday and I cannot begin to express how relieved I am to be done and happy to have gotten these scores:
QR: 17
RC: 23
PAT: 20
BIO: 20
GC: 20
OC: 20
TS: 20
AA: 20
Study schedule used: I followed Ari's 10-week DAT Study Schedule, but on some days where I would have a family gathering or a day trip somewhere, I would use one of the 'rest days' before it was scheduled. At any time where I felt that I was behind, I doubled up on some of the material on one day. I really suggest this study schedule as it gives you enough time to review content and then test your knowledge along with practicing those questions you miss and making sure you don't make that mistake on the real exam!
Materials used: I think that to do well on the DAT, you definitely need - Cliff's AP Biology Book, a subscription to Chad's videos, DAT Destroyer (Math Destroyer definitely helps too!), and DAT Bootcamp. I used these four study materials through most of my study time (which was approximately 2 months). Another resource I would suggest that I used towards the end was Ferali's Notes, which condensed Cliff's into about an 85-page pdf that really got through the breadth of biology without going into too much detail.
QR: Math is definitely my weakest subject, it always has been since high school and through some college math course so I knew that I wasn't going to score as high as any other section. QR was definitely easier on the real DAT than on DAT Bootcamp practice exams, but I ran out of time towards the end and had to guess on the last three within 2 minutes! I could tell that I was losing momentum and getting exhausted towards the QR section, which was definitely reflected in my score. On a side note: Is 17 alright for QR? I remember hearing about how it's one of the least weighted sections - is that true? Hopefully a 17 will meet the standards of most schools!
RC: English is my second language, so I was pleasantly surprised about this score! I didn't really do much for RC throughout the study schedule besides reading a scientific article - instead of reading from scientific american like from Ari's suggestions, I used IFLscience articles instead, not sure that would have made a huge difference, though. The passages I read were much easier than DAT Bootcamp, I had a good amount of 'detailed questions' and a few of tonal questions - which made reading the passage really enjoyable! I read through half of the passage, then tried to answer questions and those that I couldn't remember or find immediately, I skimmed the rest of the passage for the answer! The highlighting tool was very useful and I used it to pinpoint answers directly from the passage. I had some topics that interested me (hurricane/cyclone formation, overuse of aspirin, and I can't remember the last one!) so I think that also really helped keep me focused.
PAT: I thought PAT was easier than DAT Bootcamp in some sections like pattern folding, angle ranking, and hole punching, but harder in keyholes and TFE. The strategy that worked for me (I also did this during DAT Bootcamp practice tests) was that I would skip to angle ranking and finish to the end, then return to keyholes and TFE. Essentially, I did the sections I thought were the easiest first, then the hardest sections last because I wanted extra time for them. DAT Bootcamp's generators were also really helpful, I tried to do 15 of each generator a day (and picked 15 random keyholes). Practice definitely makes perfect on this section!
BIO: I actually thought biology was pretty tough, I had some very weirdly worded questions that made me second-guess myself a lot, I think I marked about 10 questions in the biology section. DAT Bootcamp's exams were definitely similar to biology, with exception that DAT Bootcamp's questions were much more clear than the real DAT, in my opinion. I think the best advice I can give to those who are studying for this section is - breadth over depth. I had a lot of general concept questions and maybe 3-5 detailed questions. I was pretty disappointed in this section because I thought that I had biology down, but I think I ended up remembering specifics about embryology, physiology, or cell bio that I neglected some of the basics.
GC: After math, this was my next weakest section and I was really scared, even when studying for this subject! I think that DAT Bootcamp's tests were definitely much more harder. On the real DAT, I had about 10 calculation-type questions and the rest were conceptual which made me feel less anxious about spending time to think about what equation to use or to decide which number to divide by another, etc. I marked about 6-7 questions in this section. Overall, I'm really happy that I got a 20 in this section - it's definitely more than I could've hoped for!
OC: Ahh, organic chem. I think one of the best resources that you should look at before doing the destroyer problems is the '25 must know reactions' in the beginning of the book! I studied these and they honestly came up everywhere throughout the destroyer - which helped me commit them to memory! Although understanding the mechanism definitely helps, I think that just understand what a reagent might do or conditions of a reaction would 'lead' you towards the right answer. For example, Na2Cr2O7 or Jone's reagent, has a lot of oxygens, so you can think of it as oxidizing alcohols to ketones, etc. I think that DAT OC was very straightforward, there were maybe 4-5 tricky ones I marked.
Additional advice I would give it to utilize the crossing-out feature if that helps you! It helped me tremendously and I'm so glad that it was implemented. During the 30 minute break, I ate a banana, used the restroom, made sure I was hydrated, and came back in strong. Remember to take rest days if you need to during your study schedule! Hangout with friends, family, or just watch a movie to relax yourself if it all seems too much at a point.
I hope that I could help some of you guys that have yet to tackle the DAT - if you have any questions feel free to ask away! Remember to breathe and pace yourself during the exam! Good luck!
I've been a long time lurker on SDN and would always look at DAT breakdowns - which have helped me out a lot from giving me insight on what prep materials to buy, study schedules, or just general advice. I thought I should give back to the community and provide some insight I gained throughout this experience! I also want to thank Ari, Dr. Romano, and Nancy @Ari Rezaei, @orgoman22 for their support and advice throughout my studies.
I took the DAT yesterday and I cannot begin to express how relieved I am to be done and happy to have gotten these scores:
QR: 17
RC: 23
PAT: 20
BIO: 20
GC: 20
OC: 20
TS: 20
AA: 20
Study schedule used: I followed Ari's 10-week DAT Study Schedule, but on some days where I would have a family gathering or a day trip somewhere, I would use one of the 'rest days' before it was scheduled. At any time where I felt that I was behind, I doubled up on some of the material on one day. I really suggest this study schedule as it gives you enough time to review content and then test your knowledge along with practicing those questions you miss and making sure you don't make that mistake on the real exam!
Materials used: I think that to do well on the DAT, you definitely need - Cliff's AP Biology Book, a subscription to Chad's videos, DAT Destroyer (Math Destroyer definitely helps too!), and DAT Bootcamp. I used these four study materials through most of my study time (which was approximately 2 months). Another resource I would suggest that I used towards the end was Ferali's Notes, which condensed Cliff's into about an 85-page pdf that really got through the breadth of biology without going into too much detail.
QR: Math is definitely my weakest subject, it always has been since high school and through some college math course so I knew that I wasn't going to score as high as any other section. QR was definitely easier on the real DAT than on DAT Bootcamp practice exams, but I ran out of time towards the end and had to guess on the last three within 2 minutes! I could tell that I was losing momentum and getting exhausted towards the QR section, which was definitely reflected in my score. On a side note: Is 17 alright for QR? I remember hearing about how it's one of the least weighted sections - is that true? Hopefully a 17 will meet the standards of most schools!
RC: English is my second language, so I was pleasantly surprised about this score! I didn't really do much for RC throughout the study schedule besides reading a scientific article - instead of reading from scientific american like from Ari's suggestions, I used IFLscience articles instead, not sure that would have made a huge difference, though. The passages I read were much easier than DAT Bootcamp, I had a good amount of 'detailed questions' and a few of tonal questions - which made reading the passage really enjoyable! I read through half of the passage, then tried to answer questions and those that I couldn't remember or find immediately, I skimmed the rest of the passage for the answer! The highlighting tool was very useful and I used it to pinpoint answers directly from the passage. I had some topics that interested me (hurricane/cyclone formation, overuse of aspirin, and I can't remember the last one!) so I think that also really helped keep me focused.
PAT: I thought PAT was easier than DAT Bootcamp in some sections like pattern folding, angle ranking, and hole punching, but harder in keyholes and TFE. The strategy that worked for me (I also did this during DAT Bootcamp practice tests) was that I would skip to angle ranking and finish to the end, then return to keyholes and TFE. Essentially, I did the sections I thought were the easiest first, then the hardest sections last because I wanted extra time for them. DAT Bootcamp's generators were also really helpful, I tried to do 15 of each generator a day (and picked 15 random keyholes). Practice definitely makes perfect on this section!
BIO: I actually thought biology was pretty tough, I had some very weirdly worded questions that made me second-guess myself a lot, I think I marked about 10 questions in the biology section. DAT Bootcamp's exams were definitely similar to biology, with exception that DAT Bootcamp's questions were much more clear than the real DAT, in my opinion. I think the best advice I can give to those who are studying for this section is - breadth over depth. I had a lot of general concept questions and maybe 3-5 detailed questions. I was pretty disappointed in this section because I thought that I had biology down, but I think I ended up remembering specifics about embryology, physiology, or cell bio that I neglected some of the basics.
GC: After math, this was my next weakest section and I was really scared, even when studying for this subject! I think that DAT Bootcamp's tests were definitely much more harder. On the real DAT, I had about 10 calculation-type questions and the rest were conceptual which made me feel less anxious about spending time to think about what equation to use or to decide which number to divide by another, etc. I marked about 6-7 questions in this section. Overall, I'm really happy that I got a 20 in this section - it's definitely more than I could've hoped for!
OC: Ahh, organic chem. I think one of the best resources that you should look at before doing the destroyer problems is the '25 must know reactions' in the beginning of the book! I studied these and they honestly came up everywhere throughout the destroyer - which helped me commit them to memory! Although understanding the mechanism definitely helps, I think that just understand what a reagent might do or conditions of a reaction would 'lead' you towards the right answer. For example, Na2Cr2O7 or Jone's reagent, has a lot of oxygens, so you can think of it as oxidizing alcohols to ketones, etc. I think that DAT OC was very straightforward, there were maybe 4-5 tricky ones I marked.
Additional advice I would give it to utilize the crossing-out feature if that helps you! It helped me tremendously and I'm so glad that it was implemented. During the 30 minute break, I ate a banana, used the restroom, made sure I was hydrated, and came back in strong. Remember to take rest days if you need to during your study schedule! Hangout with friends, family, or just watch a movie to relax yourself if it all seems too much at a point.
I hope that I could help some of you guys that have yet to tackle the DAT - if you have any questions feel free to ask away! Remember to breathe and pace yourself during the exam! Good luck!
Last edited:
! As someone else pointed out the 17 and 23 cancelling out is really funny. I would've been even more impressed if those were both 20 too then everything is the exact same!!
