AA 27 TS 30 Taken 7/15/14

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
D

DentHopefuls

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
24
Reaction score
14
Members don't see this ad.
Hey Guys,

I thought I'd also post a breakdown thread as well since the other members' breakdowns helped me in choosing the right study materials. So here it is:

Academic Average: 27
Total Science: 30

Bio: 28
General Chem: 29
Organic Chem: 29

PAT: 26
Reading Comprehension: 25
Quantitative Reasoning: 24

I studied for 6 solid weeks (by solid, I mean: wake up-eat-study until bedtime- I was a robot and studied at least 12 hours a day. Did it for 6 straight weeks with at most one-day break per week).

Bio: Cliff's and Bootcamp's Ferali's Biology Notes; Bootcamp, Destroyer and Qvault for problems

This is the section I studied the most. I went over Ferali's Biology Notes repeatedly and memorized pretty much everything in there. Personally I don't think you need Cliff's if you have Ferali's Notes since they're pretty much the same except Ferali's Bio notes have more info. I did all the questions in Destroyer and looked over all the multiple choices, if there's a term I didn't know (though I got the question right), I'd still google and made sure I know all the terms. I used Qvault to reinforce everything. Qvault is much easier but has a lot of concepts that are good to know. Bootcamp is extremely helpful; I did all the exams at least three times.

Chem: Chad's Videos, Bootcamp, Destroyer, Qvault

Chad's Videos are always great, I watched all the chem videos in three days and moved onto Bootcamp and Destroyer. Did destroyer twice, and Bootcamp multiple times (don't remember exact times cuz I kept going over them). Did all the quizzes from Chad's video. Qvault after I finished Destroyer. I didn't just watch Chad's video once, I watched Chad's videos the week before my exam to reinforce everything one more time and redid the quizzes that I didn't get 100% on. I also redid the questions I saved on Qvault.

Organic Chem: Chad's Videos, Bootcamp, Destroyer

I didn't think Qvault was necessary for O Chem so I didn't buy it. I finished Organic Chem videos in two days and moved straight to Bootcamp, then destroyer. Went over all the Bootcamp Ochem exams at least three times and did destroyer twice. Took chad's videos back quizzes and repeated them like I did with Chem. I watched a few selected O Chem videos a couple times as well. I took really good notes but I found that once you've done a lot of practice problems, re-watching the lectures help you more than just reading over your own notes.

PAT: Bootcamp (it's all you need)

Bootcamp's PAT is much harder which I liked a lot. In addition to practice exams, they have individual generators that allow you to practice your weak areas (those REALLY helped). All I did was Bootcamp and I used the generators extensively.

Reading Comp: Bootcamp, Qvault, Search and Destroy

Reading is my weakest area (my first practice was a 17)... I started RC with the mapping technique and I used to always run out of time. Then I switch to Search and Destroyer and my score improved a lot. When I was reading, I tried to be engaged and actively read as if it's something I enjoy. I have found that it's enabled me to retain a lot of the stuff in the article and if I have to search, I'll know where to look. Once again, Bootcamp is harder but it's very useful, the real DAT reading was very straight forward and easy to read. If you did well on Bootcamp, you'll be fine. I also did Qvault just to practice.

Quantitative Reasoning- Bootcamp, Destroyer

I'm pretty good at math (ironic I know since I got the lowest score on math), but I tend to finish just on time cuz some of the math problems are just too time consuming to do. Bootcamp is a good source to prepare you for hard questions (there were two on my DAT) but I found some questions on Bootcamp to be wayyyy too hard (I never finished Bootcamp math on time, the highest I ever got on Bootcamp QR was a 21). I find Destroyer to be quite easy and closer to the real DAT. These two are all you need, if you know all the problems in these two study materials, you're good for the real thing.

NOTE:
I also wanna add that I did Topscore and Achiever Tests as well, but I only went over them a week before my exam. I only did one full Topscore and one full Achiever test, but I completed all the science sections of Topscore and Achiever tests. They are both harder, Achiever was ridiculous. I did them just to practice and expose myself to more difficult questions, didn't really bother to learn everything mentioned in Achiever though.

Overall, I think Bootcamp, Destroyer and Chad's Videos are essentials for DAT studying. Qvault and Topscore are good supplements. Everything else... if you have time, I wouldn't discourage it, never hurts to have more practice 🙂

I hope you guys find these helpful and hope you guys all do well!

photo.JPG
 
Last edited:
Sort by date Sort by votes
hey congratz! its crazy how you bounced back from last year's app cycle and completely annihilated the DAT!!! btw would you mind posting your scores for bootcamp and qvault?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wow! Amazing! For the ochem, should we focus on predicting the products or on the concepts? Did you study from the Destroyer Road Maps?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
eouirai said:
hey congratz! its crazy how you bounced back from last year's app cycle and completely annihilated the DAT!!! btw would you mind posting your scores for bootcamp and qvault?
Click to expand...

Thanks!! I don't know my Bootcamp scores because I never wrote them down, and Bootcamp doesn't save my scores either... But I went over all the exams at least 2-3 times each, so at the end I was getting every questions right. For Bootcamp RC, i remember the first practice I got was like a 18, I freaked out and changed my strategy and from then on, my RC was in the 20s.

As for Qvault, here are my scores

Bio: 22/21/22/20/22/23/25/29/22/20

Gen Chem: 22/20/19/22/20/21/26/22/21/26

RC: 20/24/21/24/20 (I only did 5 of the 7 RC practices)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
valkyrie08 said:
Wow! Amazing! For the ochem, should we focus on predicting the products or on the concepts? Did you study from the Destroyer Road Maps?
Click to expand...

Most of the questions are predicting the products, you sorta have to know some of the concepts in order to predict the products though. Chad's video covers every topic you need for know for the DAT. Destroyer Road Maps are great and a must have, I memorized all the road maps reactions.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
AMAZING great job!!! I am currently using the destroyer and I love it, just wondering as you were going through the book did you outline/ take notes? Thanks
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm planning on taking my DAT in a couple of months and I hope to do as well as you, those scores are amazing! If I need any tips or advice can I ask here?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Outstanding scores. You will probably get a scholarship with those. Congratulations.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DentHopefuls said:
Most of the questions are predicting the products, you sorta have to know some of the concepts in order to predict the products though. Chad's video covers every topic you need for know for the DAT. Destroyer Road Maps are great and a must have, I memorized all the road maps reactions.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm gonna start working on the road maps!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
these scores are even past my dream scores! Congratulations!!!!!! How were you doing on Bootcamp tests? My exam in august and im freaking out!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ph159 said:
these scores are even past my dream scores! Congratulations!!!!!! How were you doing on Bootcamp tests? My exam in august and im freaking out!
Click to expand...

Hey, don't get stressed over any of practice scores, just see them as a learning opportunity and learn everything as you go.

I never kept a record on how I did on Bootcamp. But I was getting at least 20s on all sections of Bootcamp except the first reading comp practice test.
I started with low 20s on bootcamp sciences, but I went over all the science practice exams like three times so I was getting perfect scores towards the end (since I had already memorized everything). This is all after I did Ferali's Bio notes and Chad's videos/quizzes though.

Just keep practicing and go over the material, their stuff really helped me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Beautiful scores!
I am using similar prep material as you.. but I am having A LOT of trouble with QR.
Do you have any extra advice about mastering QR? At this point, I wouldn't mind at least a 20. ( I have been doing some math destroyer test and havent really touched bootcamp because it is so difficult!)

Thank You 🙂
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
olivejuicee said:
Beautiful scores!
I am using similar prep material as you.. but I am having A LOT of trouble with QR.
Do you have any extra advice about mastering QR? At this point, I wouldn't mind at least a 20. ( I have been doing some math destroyer test and havent really touched bootcamp because it is so difficult!)

Thank You 🙂
Click to expand...

What area do you have trouble with? Some areas of QR just takes practice like fractions or algebra. I was annoyed with the probability questions so I did tons of googling and a lot of probability questions online. Sometimes you need to do your own research if you find the materials you're working on don't clarify enough for you. Chad's videos on QR might be helpful with certain concepts, you should check them out. Hope this helps
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DentHopefuls said:
Hey, don't get stressed over any of practice scores, just see them as a learning opportunity and learn everything as you go.

I never kept a record on how I did on Bootcamp. But I was getting at least 20s on all sections of Bootcamp except the first reading comp practice test.
I started with low 20s on bootcamp sciences, but I went over all the science practice exams like three times so I was getting perfect scores towards the end (since I had already memorized everything). This is all after I did Ferali's Bio notes and Chad's videos/quizzes though.

Just keep practicing and go over the material, their stuff really helped me.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips 🙂 greatly appreciated!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
holy moly congrats dude!!
if anyone wants bio datqvault mine expires in september 30th 2014... if you have paypal or venmo and wanna pay half the price let me know~
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
JHekmati said:
Can you tell me what you have been eating while studying??!? congrats times a thousand! This is insane.
Click to expand...

um...Normal food? I'm the opposite of stress eater, when I'm under so much stress, I lose all appetite, some days had to force myself to eat. I always tell myself banana gives me energy though, so when I feel like I'm losing it, I have a banana lollll
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
For Bio, after you read Feralis notes. did you make index cards? Is that necessary?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
biomolecmed said:
Do you think schools look at the RC section as much as they look at Sciences?
Click to expand...

I really have no idea since I'm not in dental school yet? But I'm sure they care more about the sciences. I think you still want RC to be good though, I heard they care a little less about math, but all the sections count equally towards the AA, so you should try to do well on all sections.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DentHopefuls said:
I really have no idea since I'm not in dental school yet? But I'm sure they care more about the sciences. I think you still want RC to be good though, I heard they care a little less about math, but all the sections count equally towards the AA, so you should try to do well on all sections.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply. So, basically, it would be a good decision to concentrate on sciences and just make sure that RC score does not go below 19?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
biomolecmed said:
Thanks for your reply. So, basically, it would be a good decision to concentrate on sciences and just make sure that RC score does not go below 19?
Click to expand...
Yea if you are struggling with RC, I would recommend focus on the sections you can do well on but make sure you get at least a 20 on RC. Don't forget PAT and Math, those two are important too as they count towards your AA.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DentHopefuls said:
Yea if you are struggling with RC, I would recommend focus on the sections you can do well on but make sure you get at least a 20 on RC. Don't forget PAT and Math, those two are important too as they count towards your AA.
Click to expand...

I thought the PAT doesn't count towards the AA, and the PAT has its own separate column for scoring?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
DAT Breakdown: 29 AA, 30 TS
Replies
2
Views
3K
vic70
V
E
DAT Breakdown Booster 26 AA, 27 TS
Replies
0
Views
2K
extra toothalicous
E
C
DAT Breakdown (27 AA/28 TS/25PAT)
Replies
1
Views
2K
hanauma
H
mouthlovers
2025 DAT Retake: 19 AA- 24AA/25 TS
Replies
0
Views
505
mouthlovers
mouthlovers
ntdentist
DAT Breakdown (27 AA, 27 TS, 23 PAT)
Replies
0
Views
1K
ntdentist
ntdentist
Top