Advice on preparing for the DAT?

[Biofilm preventer]

Can somebody give me some necessary advice and some guidance in preparing for the DAT?

I would like to know other's opinion if a DAT bootcamp subscription would be the best way to go to prepare for the DAT.

From what it looks, the DAT bootcamp subscription might be enough to prepare for the DAT.
Can anybody share some insight on if they just purchased a Bootcamp subscription and how they faired on the exam. Also, what would they do differently.

I plan on purchasing Bootcamp around march and taking my exam in early June. I plan on using Ari's study guide exactly as he says. So I am looking now for advice to see if this is the best method to prepare.

I want to be completely ready for the exam come June and not have any regrets on other studying courses or resources that I should have used as well.

So, can anybody who just used DAT bootcamp tell me how they fared and what they liked/disliked.

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[fb0301]

-Studying for the DAT during the school year is hard... Study for it when you're not working/shadowing/etc
-Ari's schedule is VERY fast paced. 10 weeks is not enough for most people. Give yourself extra weeks.

Best of luck! Wish I could offer more insight but I'm taking my exam in January. I think Bootcamp has done a great job so far for me!

 

[IdleKoala]

I tried following Ari's schedule, and even with the light semester I took,it became very difficult to keep up.So eventually I had to stop and create my own schedule that allowed me more time, and I had to reschedule my exam. So I would take that into mind, and give yourself a few extra weeks like the other poster mentioned.

Also, I do believe bootcamp is the best all around resource, it is pretty much 90% of the material I used to study. I scored a 22AA which is by no means an all-star score, but I was and still am very proud of it!

I would personally recommend getting a copy of Cliffs bio and reading it over before you start study seriously, it will give you a nice head start. You could also get a copy of Destroyer and start practicing some problems, time in the material is key.

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

I followed Ari's schedule during the summer and it was a lot even for the summer. I added two more weeks and was also studying more than just the schedule from week four on. It definitely helped me to have the schedule. I got a 26 but my studying was very overkill. I think I would have done well only following it.

 

[baszilion]

DAT Bootcamp is definitely the best resource to prepare, have faith in them. I used them as my main resource and got a 25AA. Breakdown here. I think if you use their service to its full potential, it is enough! Specifically, Mike's Videos + the Bio notes are amazing for covering all the science material if you take time to master them. I don't feel like Bootcamp has good materials to review math concepts, and I am not a fan of the QR playlist they put together. That said, I don't really have a recommendation to replace it, so that's something to possibly search for. Overall, though, I wouldn't invest in any other big prep course/material. That said, other accessory services that would might be useful are:

• PAT Booster for extra practice and dedicated PAT training
• DATqVault if you want extra tests for a particular section (I bought their RC and PAT tests, for example)
• Kaplan Blue Book for basic review
• The INTERNET Great websites include Google (especially images), Bioninja, Youtube, Wikipedia, Master Organic Chemistry.
• The OFFICIAL DAT Guide by the ADA. I think its good to look at this as the list of tested topics are very well-defined and written all there. In theory, you could teach yourself everything by looking up each topic on the internet, although I am not recommending this approach.

I didn't use Ari's schedule myself, but I don't see a problem with it. That said, keep in mind that there might be certain topics or subjects that you need to spend more/less time on than the schedule requires, due to your unique strengths and weaknesses. So, having some flexibility and following your own judgement to guide where you need to put some extra effort is important, not just following a schedule like a robot.

As far as what I'd do differently, I think I took a bad approach for studying QR. I ended up with a 22 which is solid, but I didn't take the same approach as with the sciences which I killed. With QR, I basically just took practice tests on practice tests, trying to learn from my mistakes each time. In the sciences, I took a much more 'bottom-up' approach where I tried to review ALL the material before even touching practice tests, and formed a strong base of understanding first. I think I should have tried to do this with QR: first spend time reviewing all the basic mathematical concepts tested and where they come from, and only then go to practice. I also regret not practicing RC more. Honestly, I did my best with the time I had (2 months), but if I had more time I would have kept taking tests and refined my method to hopefully break through in this section as well.