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- Jun 28, 2017
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Just finished my DAT today, and here's my breakdown.
I started studying right after the past school year ended, so around mid-June. There were however a couple of family trips, I worked a part-time job for the first two months of summer, several lazy days (aha), and other random things that came up so I wasn't studying straight the entire time.
Materials: DAT Bootcamp (full-length exams!), Cliffs AP bio textbook (bio), Chad's and Mike's videos (chem & o-chem), Khan academy (math), Kaplan DAT book (overview of all subjects, one of the free practice tests), Anki flashcards (bio), The Organic Chemistry Tutor (chem, o-chem, math, this dude does everything), other random Youtube videos.
DAT Bootcamp Full-length Exam scores: (I didn't really want to post these, but maybe it'll be encouragement for someone? :/)
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR/AA
Test 1: 20/15/16/21/23/17/18
Test 2: 18/20/17/22/23/17/19
Test 3: 19/20/19/23/24/18/20
Test 4: 16/19/22/21/27/17/20
Test 5: 19/16/21/21/23/17/19
Actual DAT: 20/24/26/24/26/19/23
So I wrote out a longer breakdown, but I didn't save a draft and it's all gone and I'm too lazy right now to write it all out again.
Basically, the DAT was hard, but it's not impossible and if you've had a couple years of undergraduate you've seen all of this material before. It's just a matter of making sure you get a good overview of everything, getting used to the timing, and focusing on the areas that you're weaker in, which for me was QR (specifically quantitative comparison, geometry, and trigonometry) and parts of bio.
In terms of material: DAT Bootcamp. Is. Amazing. The tests are so helpful in preparing you for the actual DAT, the PAT generators are great, and the explanations for each test question are invaluable. I used a mix of all the other materials listed and it sort of worked for me, but I would just recommend trying as many things as possible in order to find out what will help you the most. Congratulations if you've completed your DAT, and good luck to anyone still preparing!
"It always seems impossible, until it is done."
I started studying right after the past school year ended, so around mid-June. There were however a couple of family trips, I worked a part-time job for the first two months of summer, several lazy days (aha), and other random things that came up so I wasn't studying straight the entire time.
Materials: DAT Bootcamp (full-length exams!), Cliffs AP bio textbook (bio), Chad's and Mike's videos (chem & o-chem), Khan academy (math), Kaplan DAT book (overview of all subjects, one of the free practice tests), Anki flashcards (bio), The Organic Chemistry Tutor (chem, o-chem, math, this dude does everything), other random Youtube videos.
DAT Bootcamp Full-length Exam scores: (I didn't really want to post these, but maybe it'll be encouragement for someone? :/)
BIO/GC/OC/PAT/RC/QR/AA
Test 1: 20/15/16/21/23/17/18
Test 2: 18/20/17/22/23/17/19
Test 3: 19/20/19/23/24/18/20
Test 4: 16/19/22/21/27/17/20
Test 5: 19/16/21/21/23/17/19
Actual DAT: 20/24/26/24/26/19/23
So I wrote out a longer breakdown, but I didn't save a draft and it's all gone and I'm too lazy right now to write it all out again.
Basically, the DAT was hard, but it's not impossible and if you've had a couple years of undergraduate you've seen all of this material before. It's just a matter of making sure you get a good overview of everything, getting used to the timing, and focusing on the areas that you're weaker in, which for me was QR (specifically quantitative comparison, geometry, and trigonometry) and parts of bio.
In terms of material: DAT Bootcamp. Is. Amazing. The tests are so helpful in preparing you for the actual DAT, the PAT generators are great, and the explanations for each test question are invaluable. I used a mix of all the other materials listed and it sort of worked for me, but I would just recommend trying as many things as possible in order to find out what will help you the most. Congratulations if you've completed your DAT, and good luck to anyone still preparing!
"It always seems impossible, until it is done."