Average DAT score Breakdown + Helpful Resource List

[thebadkabob]

Hey guys, I just took my DAT this morning! So glad to be done! I have read tons and tons of breakdowns and utilized SDN a lot. I wanted to give my 2 cents to future test takers

Here are my scores:

PAT: 21
QR: 17
RC: 20
Bio: 19
Gchem: 24
Ochem: 21
TS: 21
AA: 20

Quick Background: Going into my 5th year in undergrad, non-traditional student (business/engineering major). I will be applying next cycle. Solid extracurricular's including former president of 2 clubs (pre-dental club included), 200+ shadowing hours (Dental+Medical), volunteer at a free dental clinic, TA for my professor, Ochem tutor... GPA currently: total ~3.2; Science ~3.1

*Side note* S/o to @Dr.CinnamonRoll. If you haven't already read his breakdown/post I would really recommend reading it. Definitely a helpful and realistic standpoint on studying for the DAT. I too had somewhat of an unrealistic expectation of the DAT. Thinking I would score super high if I put in the hours like many other breakdowns ppl post on here. Check it out here: Disappointing DAT breakdown (What NOT TO DO)

Total Studying time: 10 weeks, averaging ~6-8 hours daily, and ~10 hours daily last 2 weeks before exam

How I started: I used Ari's study guide and I just modified it to fit my needs (Like I ended up taking notes and finished watching video's much faster than what Ari suggested). From there I printed out 3 calendars and wrote down everything I was going to do that week. I also kept track of my hours. First thing I did was take notes on cliffs and watched chad's gchem videos. From there I got some momentum and didn't start actually taking practice tests until week 5.

Main resources used: Cliffs 3rd edition, DAT Bootcamp, DAT Destroyer, Chad's Video's, Mike's Videos on bootcamp, Feralis notes, DAT dental board mastery (the app), and LOTS OF YOUTUBE VIDS haha

I created a full resource list that I hope people may find some use for, since I will most likely not use again unless I decide to retake the DAT. I compiled it over the 2 months that I studied. Check out my google doc! (Let me know if you find any other helpful resources that I can add.)

Also attached in this post is my excel chart of all my scores on BC, Chads, and 2007/2009 tests. Feel free to use it for recording your own scores.

PAT (21):
I love this section, it was my favorite to study! I was really hoping for a better score though...
What I used: Bootcamp all the way! Seriously, bootcamp was pretty much spot on with all the material and relative difficulties that you will see on the DAT. I did PAT Trainer 3 times every morning and then I completed 15 questions on all the generators. Some days I focused on my weakness's such as Angles and Pattern folding.
I struggled most on angles averaging around 8/15 on practice tests and at the end of my 10 weeks I started getting 14/15. I did this by literally doing a TON of angle questions on generators and extra angle questions on BC. I would do like 40 angle questions in a row and try different techniques. The one that worked best for me was rapid eye technique(looking at each vertex fast) and comparing angles to a 90deg imaginary line.
My Test Experience: I thought I was going to get a higher score based on what I was getting on practice tests so I am not entirely sure where I went wrong. There were a few weird Keyhole questions/rocks that tripped me up. TFE, angles, and hole punching were just as hard as Bootcamps. Hole punching turned out to be easer than BC, which kinda made me second guess my answers ahah. The pattern folding felt a little easier than BC.

QR (17):
I can't say much about this section. I knew going into the test that I wasn't proficient in statistics, applied math, and QR. I was solid on algebra, trig, and geometry.
What I used: Bootcamp and Math Destroyer.
My Test Experience: I was rushing through this section and I felt like it was just as hard as Bootcamp. There were a lot more applied math questions and very few geometry and trig questions

RC (20):
I am so happy with a 20, I was expecting a lower score. I am a slow reader and my practice tests on BC freaked me out! Not to mention English is not my first language.
What I used: Bootcamp and Acceleread app(this app helps with speed reading). I only read a few scientific american articles. The technique I used was BYU4you reading strategy and saw a fair amount of improvement on the full length BC tests. My biggest issue was time so I made sure that I was not going over 20 mins per passage.
My Test Experience: My first passage was fairly difficult and had questions asked in random order, however the last 2 passages were easy/interesting and asked questions in order of the paragraphs. I was so happy to see that most of the questions asked were easy to find because they used almost the same wording. Bootcamp's RC was SO much harder.

Bio (19):
Pretty much on par with my Bootcamp scores.
What I used: TONS of resources! Mostly Cliff's, Feralis's Notes, Taxonomy Cheat sheet, DAT Mastery app. Check out my google doc for more stuff
Bio is one of those subjects on the DAT that you have to read your notes or Feralis's Notes a few times through. I ended up reading my notes and Feralis's notes twice through (Once around week 5 and another a week before my DAT). Second time through the notes really made things click, but I felt that if I had read it at least once more through I would've scored higher. So I would definitely recommend actively reviewing your notes all the way through at least once a week.
My Test Experience: As I was warned by many other SDN user's and breakdowns. Breadth over depth. I was asked so many random questions and they weren't your easy "definition" questions. A lot of questions made you apply your knowledge on certain concepts. Very similar sounding answer choices too.
Gchem (24):
The last Gchem class I took was 3 years ago. So I was really worried about this section because I forgot everything and I studied my a$$ off for this section.
What I used: Chad's Video's on this actual website(not coursesaver) taking active notes, Mike's Video's taking active notes, Bootcamp, Chad's Quizzes on DefeattheDat, Destroyer. Chad's video's are amazing but I really thought Mike's video's on BC were super helpful.
I used chad's quizzes almost every other day really focusing on my weak points. I like how chad's quizzes were separated based on topic. Last week of studying I thoroughly went through my Gchem notes and I felt like everything clicked!
My Test Experience: Very few calculations! More conceptual questions and it felt a lot easier than Bootcamps.

Ochem (21):
Ochem was fresh in my head due to taking ochem this past school year. I tutored a few classmates when I was taking Ochem at school and got an A all 3 quarters. Additionally, I took the ACS exam for my Ochem III final and got a good score on it. So to say the least, I was a little disappointed with this score.
What I used: Bootcamp, past ochem notes from school, Mike's video's, ACS Study Guide book (a little overkill), Destroyer. I didn't find out about Ty Jacobs orgo notes until a week before my exam so I didn't get to go through them(check google doc for them).
My Test Experience: Pretty similar to Bootcamp but there seemed to be more conceptual questions on my exam.

I must add, on the actual DAT I was really shocked that I ended up with <30mins left on the Sciences section after completing all the 100 questions. So I tried to take advantage of this by thoroughly going over my marked questions.

I didn't get the best scores like you see many people here on SDN, but I mainly wanted to share my dat resource list and hopefully help others studying for the DAT. Let me know if you have any questions, I would love to help.

I would also really appreciate any advice on my chances in applying next cycle. Should I retake the DAT?

HUGE S/o to @Ari Rezaei, @joelm, Mike, Chad, DAT Destroyer @orgoman22, @FeralisExtremum, @BYU4you, and @Dr.CinnamonRoll. Oh yeah, and my Piano for keepin' the stress low

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[Pearl E. White]

Solid scores and nice breakdown! Best of luck next cycle. I will be applying then, too.

 

[sobertiger]

Great scores. I wouldn't worry too much about the QR. Plenty of people seem to be getting into schools with low QR.

Your GPAs are on the low side (mine are too), but I think your DAT is good enough to land you some interviews as long as you have solid EC, LOR and SOP. A higher DAT would certainly help but you run the risk of scoring lower. Apply to 13+ schools and select wisely.

If you have time to take more classes, take some upper-div science courses to show upward trend, and that you can handle dental-school level classes.

 

[Dr.CinnamonRoll]

I'm really loving that GC score. All our other scores are identical haha.
Btw, thanks for the shout-out! Put a smile on my face

 

[thebadkabob]

Great scores. I wouldn't worry too much about the QR. Plenty of people seem to be getting into schools with low QR.

Your GPAs are on the low side (mine are too), but I think your DAT is good enough to land you some interviews as long as you have solid EC, LOR and SOP. A higher DAT would certainly help but you run the risk of scoring lower. Apply to 13+ schools and select wisely.

If you have time to take more classes, take some upper-div science courses to show upward trend, and that you can handle dental-school level classes.

Will do! Thanks for the advice!

I'm really loving that GC score. All our other scores are identical haha.
Btw, thanks for the shout-out! Put a smile on my face

ahah we seriously do! Of course! Your advice was damn realistic and I wish you had taken the DAT earlier and posted it so I could've read it way earlier in my dat studying hahah but it definitely resonated with me. I think we both have solid scores, what cycle are you applying?

 

[Dr.CinnamonRoll]

I'll be applying next cycle! but I'm also applying to masters programs in a month or so because I feel like an acceptance at this point isn't so realistic when looking at the schools I want to go to.
What about you?

 

[thebadkabob]

I'll be applying next cycle! but I'm also applying to masters programs in a month or so because I feel like an acceptance at this point isn't so realistic when looking at the schools I want to go to.
What about you?

I'm applying next cycle as well. That's a good idea to have a back up plan. I may do the same or a post bac. haha

 

[Faefly]

Thanks a lot for these helpful resources. You are very nice.

Your scores are really consistent and good.

Best of luck if you apply this cycle or the next.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Really useful resource list and a great breakdown (I appreciate the mention). How helpful did you find the DAT mastery app?

 

[Faefly]

I'll be applying next cycle! but I'm also applying to masters programs in a month or so because I feel like an acceptance at this point isn't so realistic when looking at the schools I want to go to.
What about you?

Should I apply to a master program while I wait!
I just think I am too late now for any master program.
Is there any master program that starts in the spring semester?

 

[thebadkabob]

Really useful resource list and a great breakdown (I appreciate the mention). How helpful did you find the DAT mastery app?

I thought the app was pretty good (I mostly used it for bio and gchem) overall a 8/10. Every time I was away from my laptop I could go on the app and go through a couple bio questions or chem questions. The PAT section wasn't that helpful and I never went through the qr, ochem, and rc section.

For each question, it was great because when you answer a question, it gives you a long description of what the terms and other answer choices mean. Then you can rank each question as "don't know" "somewhat know" and "know". From there you can go back and review those questions that you marked.

Best part was that it's free and there were also a few very helpful mnemonics!

 

[DocDoom]

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[Faefly]

Look into the Rutgers MBS program, I believe they accept students for Spring 2018. However, if you do choose to enroll in the Masters program you won't be able to attend dental school until the next following cycle (entering class of 2019).

Thanks a lot for the info.

 

[Dr.CinnamonRoll]

Should I apply to a master program while I wait!
I just think I am too late now for any master program.
Is there any master program that starts in the spring semester?

@DocDoom got it right. Also, you have to look at the coursework and scheduling of the masters programs, because if you're doing a masters while reapplying to dental school, you'll be running around for interviews during the first semester of your masters program.