April 2017 DAT Breakdown: 23 AA, 24 TS

[socal6]

Hey guys, just reposting this here since I accidentally posted on the main forum!

AA: 23
TS: 24
--
Bio: 25
GC: 26
OC: 22
PAT: 23
RC: 23
QR: 20

DAT Bootcamp average
Bio = 23.5
GC = 22.75
OC = 20
RC = 20.5
QR = 18.5
PAT = 19.5

2009 scores
Bio = 24
GC = 23
OC = 19
RC = 21
QR = 19
PAT = 22

SCHEDULE

• Month 1: content review (annotate Feralis, Chad videos for the chemistries + math)
• Month 2-3: DAT Destroyer + Math Destroyer (~2X)
• Last 2 weeks: simulated practice tests (Bootcamp 1-5, 2009 DAT) every other day & grade the next day

TIPS

• I think a big part of my success was how efficiently I was able to review everything in the end. As I went through Chad's videos, Destroyer and Bootcamp, I took very condensed notes that I later made into separate powerpoint presentations (one for each of the sciences). I cannot stress how important organization is. Do not overwhelm yourself and keep it simple! You want to be able to review your notes as quickly as possible so leave out the stuff you already know (my annotation of feralis was only 30 pages).
• Besides the above, I don't have much else to add. I really liked Ari's study schedule and customized it for myself.

TEST DAY

• SNS: I breezed through this section. I had enough time to go back to my marked questions and even for a final run through of all 100 questions.
• PAT: Very similar to DAT Bootcamp in terms of difficulty. There were a few tricky cube counting and pattern folding questions, so I made sure to just mark the ones I didn't know and move on.
• RC: I lucked out and had 3 really fun, easy passages. One had some harder questions, so it slowed me down a bit towards the end but still very manageable. I used my method of search & destroy (thoroughly read half of the passage, then read the first sentence of the following paragraphs).
• QR: I was prepared for the worst, so I decided early on to just mark a question if I knew it'd take me longer than a minute to do (timing was never my strength in QR). I came back to maybe 75% of these questions in the end and randomly guessed on 2-3 since time ran out. I got a few quantitive comparison questions, but it was very manageable. I would recommend using this site for practice if you want to get more comfortable with how questions are asked (I only managed to do 2 sets before the test): GRE Math Quantitative Comparisons : Practice tests and explanations. Geometry/trig also appeared on my exam, so don't ignore those either.

Really really humbled by my scores. I've struggled with standardized tests for as long as I can remember, so this should serve as proof that the DAT is a conquerable exam. If anyone has more questions about how to prepare for the exam, feel free to message me!

Special shoutout to @orgoman22 for creating a superb learning tool (my TS score says it all), as well as @Ari Rezaei, @FeralisExtremum and Chad!

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[DMikes]

Congratulations!

 

[tyjacobs]

Hey guys, just reposting this here since I accidentally posted on the main forum!

AA: 23
TS: 24
--
Bio: 25
GC: 26
OC: 22
PAT: 23
RC: 23
QR: 20

DAT Bootcamp average
Bio = 23.5
GC = 22.75
OC = 20
RC = 20.5
QR = 18.5
PAT = 19.5

2009 scores
Bio = 24
GC = 23
OC = 19
RC = 21
QR = 19
PAT = 22

SCHEDULE

• Month 1: content review (annotate Feralis, Chad videos for the chemistries + math)
• Month 2-3: DAT Destroyer + Math Destroyer (~2X)
• Last 2 weeks: simulated practice tests (Bootcamp 1-5, 2009 DAT) every other day & grade the next day

TIPS

• I think a big part of my success was how efficiently I was able to review everything in the end. As I went through Chad's videos, Destroyer and Bootcamp, I took very condensed notes that I later made into separate powerpoint presentations (one for each of the sciences). I cannot stress how important organization is. Do not overwhelm yourself and keep it simple! You want to be able to review your notes as quickly as possible so leave out the stuff you already know (my annotation of feralis was only 30 pages).
• Besides the above, I don't have much else to add. I really liked Ari's study schedule and customized it for myself.

TEST DAY

• SNS: I breezed through this section. I had enough time to go back to my marked questions and even for a final run through of all 100 questions.
• PAT: Very similar to DAT Bootcamp in terms of difficulty. There were a few tricky cube counting and pattern folding questions, so I made sure to just mark the ones I didn't know and move on.
• RC: I lucked out and had 3 really fun, easy passages. One had some harder questions, so it slowed me down a bit towards the end but still very manageable. I used my method of search & destroy (thoroughly read half of the passage, then read the first sentence of the following paragraphs).
• QR: I was prepared for the worst, so I decided early on to just mark a question if I knew it'd take me longer than a minute to do (timing was never my strength in QR). I came back to maybe 75% of these questions in the end and randomly guessed on 2-3 since time ran out. I got a few quantitive comparison questions, but it was very manageable. I would recommend using this site for practice if you want to get more comfortable with how questions are asked (I only managed to do 2 sets before the test): GRE Math Quantitative Comparisons : Practice tests and explanations. Geometry/trig also appeared on my exam, so don't ignore those either.

Really really humbled by my scores. I've struggled with standardized tests for as long as I can remember, so this should serve as proof that the DAT is a conquerable exam. If anyone has more questions about how to prepare for the exam, feel free to message me!

Special shoutout to @orgoman22 for creating a superb learning tool (my TS score says it all), as well as @Ari Rezaei, @FeralisExtremum and Chad!

Congrats on the great scores!!!!

 

[8_man]

Congrats! And insane scores in the science sections especially. Mind if i add your breakdown to the list?

 

[socal6]

Congrats! And insane scores in the science sections especially. Mind if i add your breakdown to the list?

Of course! And thank you