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- Oct 14, 2015
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I just want to give a little hope to those who are stressing out because this exam and give back to the forum that gave me soo many helpful tips.
Since my GPA is only a 3.46 (w/o+- 3.39), scoring well means a lot to me.
The night before the exam, I half slept for 2 hours bc I was so nervous.
Yeah, I looked like death walking into the exam….
But it turns out, I got lucky and did decently. It was really nice to be able to compare everyone's practice score with their real DAT so here is mine:
My practice scores were kind of all over the place but the average was close enough to real test eh? :/
Main advice:
I used Ari’s study calendar as reference but couldn’t stick to it rigorously. Truthfully, it’s a very reasonable schedule …. I just have major problem with procrastination and lost a lot of time.
BIO - Bootcamp, Destroyer (#1-268), Quizlet Feralis (2-3 Set), AP Bio Cliff Note (Ch1-3)
I procrastinated and didn’t study much for this section. AP Bio and Feralis were great resources but 3 chapters in, I was not retaining anything so I skipped straight to the Destroyer. For missed questions, I used Chad Bio, SDN, feralis or quizlet to better understand the materials. Destroyer was perfect at generating topic that made you want to restudy stuff. Bootcamp was perfect for timing practice; also their answers were so clear! Real DAT was pretty close to Bootcamp.
ORGO- Destroyer (All Q’s once), Bootcamp , Chad, Organic Odyssey
I dropped my 1st Orgo class, got a C+ 2nd try, and a B in Orgo 2; and this was 3 years ago so I remember nothing from school. Chad and Destroyer was my lifesaver. I watched all videos once + take notes, skipped chad video quiz, and moved straight to the Destroyer. I also bought a used Odyssey but only did 3 chapter on topics I didn’t understand. (I did Acid, SN2, E2….it is an amazing Orgo source but want more varieties from Destroyer Orgo.) I do recommend Odyssey if you are weak on a specific topic and destroyer is too hard to start. I use bootcamp to log my progress, find my weakness, and practice timing. While the real DAT felt much easier than all the sources, all the materials are relevant and useful.
CHEM- Destroyer (all Q’s once) Bootcamp, Chad
I started with zero memory of chem and rely on Chad as my only foundation. Then I moved on to destroyer and Bootcamp. My actual DAT has less calculation than the Destroyer. Bootcamp was pretty similar…
PAT - Used Youtube to figure out where to start. Then practice during Bootcamp’s 5 full length test and 3 Crack the DAT PAT section. Real DAT was so much harder than Crack the DAT and maybe Bootcamp. I made the mistake of obsessing over one section and had to rush through the last 2 section in 12 mins!! I was scared ****less because there was so much guessing.
RC - I didn’t specifically study much for this section aside from a few practice test like Bootcamp etc. During the exam, I 1st skim through all the questions from each passage, jotting down keywords, then skim through the passage knowing what to look for. Give yourself 20 mins per passage and you should be okay.
QR - Used Chad to review. Questions were similar to Destroyer + Bootcamp. I just never got my timing down for this section so there was a lot of guessing toward the end.
Since my GPA is only a 3.46 (w/o+- 3.39), scoring well means a lot to me.
The night before the exam, I half slept for 2 hours bc I was so nervous.Yeah, I looked like death walking into the exam….
But it turns out, I got lucky and did decently. It was really nice to be able to compare everyone's practice score with their real DAT so here is mine:
My practice scores were kind of all over the place but the average was close enough to real test eh? :/
Main advice:
- Log your grade as you take your practice test. This help me track progress and weaknesses.
- It’s okay to not stick to your schedule. It’s okay to get a bad score here and there. You will never know how well you do until you actually take it.
- However, don’t go in blind and “wing" it. Know where your strength are and plan around that. Ex. I knew Bio and Orgo was the fastest/easiest for me so I did that first and then chem. Same w/ PAT, I skipped to hole punching first, then move on to other sections that I knew I could do well in too.
- Will yourself through! You don’t want to take this exam again.
I used Ari’s study calendar as reference but couldn’t stick to it rigorously. Truthfully, it’s a very reasonable schedule …. I just have major problem with procrastination and lost a lot of time.
BIO - Bootcamp, Destroyer (#1-268), Quizlet Feralis (2-3 Set), AP Bio Cliff Note (Ch1-3)
I procrastinated and didn’t study much for this section. AP Bio and Feralis were great resources but 3 chapters in, I was not retaining anything so I skipped straight to the Destroyer. For missed questions, I used Chad Bio, SDN, feralis or quizlet to better understand the materials. Destroyer was perfect at generating topic that made you want to restudy stuff. Bootcamp was perfect for timing practice; also their answers were so clear! Real DAT was pretty close to Bootcamp.
ORGO- Destroyer (All Q’s once), Bootcamp , Chad, Organic Odyssey
I dropped my 1st Orgo class, got a C+ 2nd try, and a B in Orgo 2; and this was 3 years ago so I remember nothing from school. Chad and Destroyer was my lifesaver. I watched all videos once + take notes, skipped chad video quiz, and moved straight to the Destroyer. I also bought a used Odyssey but only did 3 chapter on topics I didn’t understand. (I did Acid, SN2, E2….it is an amazing Orgo source but want more varieties from Destroyer Orgo.) I do recommend Odyssey if you are weak on a specific topic and destroyer is too hard to start. I use bootcamp to log my progress, find my weakness, and practice timing. While the real DAT felt much easier than all the sources, all the materials are relevant and useful.
CHEM- Destroyer (all Q’s once) Bootcamp, Chad
I started with zero memory of chem and rely on Chad as my only foundation. Then I moved on to destroyer and Bootcamp. My actual DAT has less calculation than the Destroyer. Bootcamp was pretty similar…
PAT - Used Youtube to figure out where to start. Then practice during Bootcamp’s 5 full length test and 3 Crack the DAT PAT section. Real DAT was so much harder than Crack the DAT and maybe Bootcamp. I made the mistake of obsessing over one section and had to rush through the last 2 section in 12 mins!! I was scared ****less because there was so much guessing.
RC - I didn’t specifically study much for this section aside from a few practice test like Bootcamp etc. During the exam, I 1st skim through all the questions from each passage, jotting down keywords, then skim through the passage knowing what to look for. Give yourself 20 mins per passage and you should be okay.
QR - Used Chad to review. Questions were similar to Destroyer + Bootcamp. I just never got my timing down for this section so there was a lot of guessing toward the end.
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