- Joined
- May 18, 2013
- Messages
- 48
- Reaction score
- 34
Alright, I know my scores are mediocre at best.
Everyone here seems to grab 24s and 25s out of their butts.
But I just wanted to provide a breakdown of a very attainable and realistic score-- one that you will most likely receive (no offense intended whatsoever).
Little bit of background. 1.5 generation Korean-American, Biology major, soon to be a senior at a top 50 (US News) university, 3.38 GPA/3.28 SGPA. Didn't try hard in school, basically 🙁 I regret this so much. It would've helped me on this test if I retained anything from school. But if you have sub-average GPA like I do and do not find the materials on the DAT second nature, I hope this breakdown will gets your hopes up a little bit.
My first attempt last August was more tragic than Othello's demise:
19 AA; 18 TS; 21 QR; 21 RC; 18 BIO; 19 CHEM; 17 ORGO 16 PAT (for PATe's sake)
Time shortage. ADH malfunction. Bad times. I honestly took this test knowing that I'm not ready. It was like a trial run for the SAT days, remember those? Mistake.
After 2 months of heavy studying from March to May (I'll post my studying schedule if anyone's interested), my second attempt had a bittersweet ending:
22AA; 21 TS; 22 QR; 24 RC; 20 BIO; 23 CHEM; 19 ORGO 19 PAT Thumbs up for improvement? 🙂
Materials used: Biology (3rd ed, always, Feralis Notes, Barrons AP Chemistry, Destroyer 2013 ed, Kaplan Blue, Chad's Video's and Quizzes. DAT Bootcamp, DATQvault, Jcoreview (all subjects), Craig Savage videos, Crack the PAT. I won't be rating them numerically. These can all be 10/10 if you make the most out of it.
Before I begin: Get Bootcamp. Just get it haha.
Bio: 20
This is going to be a bit shocking: this may be the end of the AP Cliffsnotes Era. Yes, it's still usable for a 18 or 19. But there are parts in the section that the AP Cliffs just cannot encompass. It's really frustrating because 30 questions out of 40 would be level on par with "Are there more Na+ outside or inside the neuron during resting potential" and then the other 10 would be like hieroglyphics. I think DAT Destroyer might be able to decode some of those exotic letters. You may think those questions are erratic. Trust me, I've been there scratching my right temple with my pen. Unfortunately, around 10 questions on the real DAT are just as goofy. I think if I dug into the Destroyer more, I would've done better. It will get you ready when you see peculiar questions that aren't so straightforward. And for a quick note...
*** Don't depend on the practice questions you're using. Memorizing those answers won't help you. You won't get that same question. Understand the concept! I used Jcoreview and Craig videos for biology whenever I got tired of reading AP Cliffs or Feralis notes. Pretty good for overall picture. I'll throw in the Kaplan Blue Book in here because I like their physiology sections a lot. It doesn't get enough credit. Poor KBB :/
I'd say the biology section is VERY hard to improve over a short period of time. But it's not impossible. I died trying to raise two points. But I'm sure you'll do better.
G-Chem: 23
I'm actually very happy with my 4 point increase. This is from doing Chad's quizzes like 5 times and watching the videos like I breathe. I'm sure I saw Chad's stunningly shiny skull more than I saw my girlfriend for the two months I studied. He's great. Look at him. Study him. Get attracted by him. Barrons AP Chemistry was great, also. I don't see this on many people's study arsenal. I think this was the other main reason I improved on this section. Great in-depth review and the short answer question practices are awesome because it REALLY tests your knowledge. I'd say the newer trend for the DAT is concepts > calculations. This is not different for chemistry. I had few weak acid dissociation questions but a lot of them had to do with acidity, bond length, descriptive stuff like G>0 Ecell <0 what does that mean type of thing. Oh and I'm just gonna keep on forgetting to include this but DAT DESTROYER is a must for all sections. It's gonna get redundant, so just assume it's great for all the sections it contains.
O-Chem: 19
Orgo, the bane of my existence. Shocked from the 17, I focused a lot on this section. I thought I had it down. I memorized all the reactions, reagents, and whatnot on Chad's outlines and Dr. Romano's Baby Roadmaps (maybe I should've memorized the Adult ones, too...) But the real test shocked me with its heavy focus on concepts and Orgo 1 stuff, like chair conformation, Newman, Fischer. All these seem easy, but they found a way to twist these up vigorously. I fell for that. I knew I got decapitated by this section. DON'T OVERLOOK THE ORGO 1 STUFF!!!!!! You think you know have it down, but it can be tricky. Can't say this enough. Chad was great, but I think his review on the Orgo 1 material is on the lighter side. I should've used Organic Chemistry as a Second Language I used for school course.
QR: 22
I trusted my math abilities too much. I got a 800 in SAT 1 Math and SAT 2 Level 2. Placed in American Invitational Math Examination. Didn't mean anything after 4 years of not using my brains. Practice is the sole way to Nirvana. I did not practice much. So I reincarnated into a flatworm. I memorized all the formulas in the DAT Bootcamp Math Cheat Sheet. I did some practice with Chad's quizzes and then like two Math Destroyer tests. If you do all the materials there, it will get you in good shape, even if you were never a math person in high school/college. It's supposed to be quite unimportant, but as long as it counts 20% of the AA, it's important to me and you.
RC: 24
Again, my lazy buttocks told me to depend on my 740 SAT Verbal. This time, I guess it sort of worked. I subscribed to Scientific American and read that quite thoroughly. I don't know if I should include it in the study materials. I sort of used search and destroy, which is what I always used for standardized reading comprehension exams. After a few searches, you would've read the passage like twice already. So by the 5th and 6th question, you would know where to look for the answers. There are these "except" questions that you really have to dig for. The choices are not always lumped in a single paragraph, so you'd have to actually search for it closely. And the question might not have the exact wording in the passage. So watch out for synonyms, not the actual word itself only.
PAT: 19
Man, am I happy with this. Compared to the 16 on my first attempt? I'd take this any day. I thought I wasn't built to be a dentist. TFE seemed more like confusing True and False. Keyholes drilled holes in my eyes. But with good practice with DAT BOOTCAMP the real thing seemed doable. Mind you, I never got higher than a 17 on the practice... So I'm really content. Bootcamp keyholes are impossible compared to the real thing. TFE is quite similar. Keyholes and hole punching are on par, as well. Cube counting is easier on the actual. Pattern folding, I'd say it's not even about the difficulty. Bootcamp's PF is too modern-looking, if you know what I mean. You know the Crack the PAT ones? Those are literally congruous to the actual test. Angles are doable. So all of you with PAT-phobia, practice till you feel pathetic.
Sorry for the long post. I know it won't be read by many people because my score is way too peasant-like. But just thought I'd share my DAT experience as a very ordinary pre-dental. Because I didn't try hard in school, it took great effort to prepare for this test. Outcome wasn't the best, but, hey, better than nothing. Thanks, guys, and good luck! Feel free to ask me any questions!
Everyone here seems to grab 24s and 25s out of their butts.
But I just wanted to provide a breakdown of a very attainable and realistic score-- one that you will most likely receive (no offense intended whatsoever).
Little bit of background. 1.5 generation Korean-American, Biology major, soon to be a senior at a top 50 (US News) university, 3.38 GPA/3.28 SGPA. Didn't try hard in school, basically 🙁 I regret this so much. It would've helped me on this test if I retained anything from school. But if you have sub-average GPA like I do and do not find the materials on the DAT second nature, I hope this breakdown will gets your hopes up a little bit.
My first attempt last August was more tragic than Othello's demise:
19 AA; 18 TS; 21 QR; 21 RC; 18 BIO; 19 CHEM; 17 ORGO 16 PAT (for PATe's sake)
Time shortage. ADH malfunction. Bad times. I honestly took this test knowing that I'm not ready. It was like a trial run for the SAT days, remember those? Mistake.
After 2 months of heavy studying from March to May (I'll post my studying schedule if anyone's interested), my second attempt had a bittersweet ending:
22AA; 21 TS; 22 QR; 24 RC; 20 BIO; 23 CHEM; 19 ORGO 19 PAT Thumbs up for improvement? 🙂
Materials used: Biology (3rd ed, always, Feralis Notes, Barrons AP Chemistry, Destroyer 2013 ed, Kaplan Blue, Chad's Video's and Quizzes. DAT Bootcamp, DATQvault, Jcoreview (all subjects), Craig Savage videos, Crack the PAT. I won't be rating them numerically. These can all be 10/10 if you make the most out of it.
Before I begin: Get Bootcamp. Just get it haha.
Bio: 20
This is going to be a bit shocking: this may be the end of the AP Cliffsnotes Era. Yes, it's still usable for a 18 or 19. But there are parts in the section that the AP Cliffs just cannot encompass. It's really frustrating because 30 questions out of 40 would be level on par with "Are there more Na+ outside or inside the neuron during resting potential" and then the other 10 would be like hieroglyphics. I think DAT Destroyer might be able to decode some of those exotic letters. You may think those questions are erratic. Trust me, I've been there scratching my right temple with my pen. Unfortunately, around 10 questions on the real DAT are just as goofy. I think if I dug into the Destroyer more, I would've done better. It will get you ready when you see peculiar questions that aren't so straightforward. And for a quick note...
*** Don't depend on the practice questions you're using. Memorizing those answers won't help you. You won't get that same question. Understand the concept! I used Jcoreview and Craig videos for biology whenever I got tired of reading AP Cliffs or Feralis notes. Pretty good for overall picture. I'll throw in the Kaplan Blue Book in here because I like their physiology sections a lot. It doesn't get enough credit. Poor KBB :/
I'd say the biology section is VERY hard to improve over a short period of time. But it's not impossible. I died trying to raise two points. But I'm sure you'll do better.
G-Chem: 23
I'm actually very happy with my 4 point increase. This is from doing Chad's quizzes like 5 times and watching the videos like I breathe. I'm sure I saw Chad's stunningly shiny skull more than I saw my girlfriend for the two months I studied. He's great. Look at him. Study him. Get attracted by him. Barrons AP Chemistry was great, also. I don't see this on many people's study arsenal. I think this was the other main reason I improved on this section. Great in-depth review and the short answer question practices are awesome because it REALLY tests your knowledge. I'd say the newer trend for the DAT is concepts > calculations. This is not different for chemistry. I had few weak acid dissociation questions but a lot of them had to do with acidity, bond length, descriptive stuff like G>0 Ecell <0 what does that mean type of thing. Oh and I'm just gonna keep on forgetting to include this but DAT DESTROYER is a must for all sections. It's gonna get redundant, so just assume it's great for all the sections it contains.
O-Chem: 19
Orgo, the bane of my existence. Shocked from the 17, I focused a lot on this section. I thought I had it down. I memorized all the reactions, reagents, and whatnot on Chad's outlines and Dr. Romano's Baby Roadmaps (maybe I should've memorized the Adult ones, too...) But the real test shocked me with its heavy focus on concepts and Orgo 1 stuff, like chair conformation, Newman, Fischer. All these seem easy, but they found a way to twist these up vigorously. I fell for that. I knew I got decapitated by this section. DON'T OVERLOOK THE ORGO 1 STUFF!!!!!! You think you know have it down, but it can be tricky. Can't say this enough. Chad was great, but I think his review on the Orgo 1 material is on the lighter side. I should've used Organic Chemistry as a Second Language I used for school course.
QR: 22
I trusted my math abilities too much. I got a 800 in SAT 1 Math and SAT 2 Level 2. Placed in American Invitational Math Examination. Didn't mean anything after 4 years of not using my brains. Practice is the sole way to Nirvana. I did not practice much. So I reincarnated into a flatworm. I memorized all the formulas in the DAT Bootcamp Math Cheat Sheet. I did some practice with Chad's quizzes and then like two Math Destroyer tests. If you do all the materials there, it will get you in good shape, even if you were never a math person in high school/college. It's supposed to be quite unimportant, but as long as it counts 20% of the AA, it's important to me and you.
RC: 24
Again, my lazy buttocks told me to depend on my 740 SAT Verbal. This time, I guess it sort of worked. I subscribed to Scientific American and read that quite thoroughly. I don't know if I should include it in the study materials. I sort of used search and destroy, which is what I always used for standardized reading comprehension exams. After a few searches, you would've read the passage like twice already. So by the 5th and 6th question, you would know where to look for the answers. There are these "except" questions that you really have to dig for. The choices are not always lumped in a single paragraph, so you'd have to actually search for it closely. And the question might not have the exact wording in the passage. So watch out for synonyms, not the actual word itself only.
PAT: 19
Man, am I happy with this. Compared to the 16 on my first attempt? I'd take this any day. I thought I wasn't built to be a dentist. TFE seemed more like confusing True and False. Keyholes drilled holes in my eyes. But with good practice with DAT BOOTCAMP the real thing seemed doable. Mind you, I never got higher than a 17 on the practice... So I'm really content. Bootcamp keyholes are impossible compared to the real thing. TFE is quite similar. Keyholes and hole punching are on par, as well. Cube counting is easier on the actual. Pattern folding, I'd say it's not even about the difficulty. Bootcamp's PF is too modern-looking, if you know what I mean. You know the Crack the PAT ones? Those are literally congruous to the actual test. Angles are doable. So all of you with PAT-phobia, practice till you feel pathetic.
Sorry for the long post. I know it won't be read by many people because my score is way too peasant-like. But just thought I'd share my DAT experience as a very ordinary pre-dental. Because I didn't try hard in school, it took great effort to prepare for this test. Outcome wasn't the best, but, hey, better than nothing. Thanks, guys, and good luck! Feel free to ask me any questions!
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