Bootcamp harder/easier/similar?

[dentalgirl101]

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I spoke to several friends the other day and I kept getting mixed reviews. Some said that they thought bootcamp was much easier than the DAT, others swear that BC is harder, and a few said it is similar. What would you guys say?

 

[byahnoob]

Hopefully easier
Id be happy

 

[okiedokeartichoke]

I can't speak from experience since I haven't taken the DAT yet, but from all the breakdowns I've read in the past, I always get the general consensus that Bootcamp is either harder or on par in terms of difficulty. Keep in mind that all exams are different so some people may have had easier/harder questions given than BC.

 

[pikachurro]

BC is harder

 

[PDstudent16]

It really depends on your version of the test honestly, but I think for the most part it is very similar (in my case slightly harder). If you are scoring what you want on the actual DAT or in the range of what you want on the actual DAT on BC then you're in good shape!

 

[aLemon]

I find that Bootcamp tends to be similar/slightly harder than the actual DAT. It's often good to have test prep that is more difficult than the actual DAT. At the end of the day, you'll thank them for it.

 

[Scarlet Knight]

I can confirm that in my experience Bootcamp was a bit harder than what I saw on test day. I would definitely use it and learn from it, particularly for PAT, as the practice I got from bootcamp was almost invaluable. Work hard to understand the problems that are on there, keep practicing it regardless of if it's about on par or more difficult, and you'll score very well on test day. Best of luck, you're going to do great!

 

[dentalgirl101]

Phew it's good to hear that bootcamp is a bit more difficult, how about the scoring though? Did you find yourself getting around the same scores as your bootcamp test grades?

 

[Scarlet Knight]

Phew it's good to hear that bootcamp is a bit more difficult, how about the scoring though? Did you find yourself getting around the same scores as your bootcamp test grades?

Generally speaking, I scored about the same or slightly higher than my average Bootcamp score. I did better on PAT (most dramatic increase, I was averaging about 18/19 on PAT Bootcamp and scored 22 on the actual DAT), General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Reading Comprehension; did about the same on QR (the curve for Bootcamp had me scoring 20/21 and I scored 21 on the actual test) and Bio.

Side note: The scores I'm talking about are my first pass through bootcamp, but I took most of the tests twice to solidify what I learned (and most questions seemed new by the time I got around to them a second time after using all of my resources), and I felt like that definitely helped to make sure I understood what I had gotten wrong.

 

[bodmon]

Generally speaking, I scored about the same or slightly higher than my average Bootcamp score. I did better on PAT (most dramatic increase, I was averaging about 18/19 on PAT Bootcamp and scored 22 on the actual DAT), General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Reading Comprehension; did about the same on QR (the curve for Bootcamp had me scoring 20/21 and I scored 21 on the actual test) and Bio.

Side note: The scores I'm talking about are my first pass through bootcamp, but I took most of the tests twice to solidify what I learned (and most questions seemed new by the time I got around to them a second time after using all of my resources), and I felt like that definitely helped to make sure I understood what I had gotten wrong.

hey just wondering how much you improved by on RC on the actual DAT compared to your RC scores on bootcamp
if you don't mind sharing ofc

 

[Scarlet Knight]

hey just wondering how much you improved by on RC on the actual DAT compared to your RC scores on bootcamp
if you don't mind sharing ofc

Yeah, of course! More than happy to help if I can. I took the first 3 RC tests on bootcamp and scored 19/18/21 on the RC and got a 22 on test day. I think it is, by far, much harder on bootcamp then on the actual test. If you can score well on bootcamp, you're going to be more than fine when it comes down to it. I think that part of it is luck of the draw with passages, but the questions that they ask seemed much simpler to me -- I didn't even have any of those "If 1, then 2" questions that BC shows, but I know of several students who haven't been so lucky and have had it. It's a difficult section to study for, but definitely practice by just getting used to reading scientific articles; most of the questions, in my opinion, were search and destroyable, but I think it really depends on what passages you end up getting. I got lucky, I think, but I think anyone can do it with the right strategy.

If you, or any others, have any questions for me regarding RC or any section of the DAT, feel free to PM me. More than happy to throw my 2 cents in there and help if I can!

 

[bodmon]

Yeah, of course! More than happy to help if I can. I took the first 3 RC tests on bootcamp and scored 19/18/21 on the RC and got a 22 on test day. I think it is, by far, much harder on bootcamp then on the actual test. If you can score well on bootcamp, you're going to be more than fine when it comes down to it. I think that part of it is luck of the draw with passages, but the questions that they ask seemed much simpler to me -- I didn't even have any of those "If 1, then 2" questions that BC shows, but I know of several students who haven't been so lucky and have had it. It's a difficult section to study for, but definitely practice by just getting used to reading scientific articles; most of the questions, in my opinion, were search and destroyable, but I think it really depends on what passages you end up getting. I got lucky, I think, but I think anyone can do it with the right strategy.

If you, or any others, have any questions for me regarding RC or any section of the DAT, feel free to PM me. More than happy to throw my 2 cents in there and help if I can!

great response, and thanks for being so willing to help!