DAT a month away...kinda panicking

[chi_town7]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

My DAT is a month away and these are where my scores are now on bootcamp. This last month is dedicated to practice as I have moved past all the material, however I am not sure if i should move my date back given the way im scoring now. These are the results of my first practice exam. I plan on doing around 8 hours a day but realistically do you think I will be able to bring scores up to a minimum of 20 or should I reschedule? Dentistry is literally my biggest dream and I want to make sure I do well on this exam. Also if you have any advice on how to improve please let me know as I am now beginning to get extremely anxious

BIO: 15
Gen Chem: 17
OChem: 17
PAT: 21
RC: 21
QR: 18
AA: 18

 

[sunshinedental]

Are these practice exams on Booster or Bootcamp? I've noticed that Booster practice exam scores seem a lot lower than Bootcamp, however I would try your best to focus on the actual ratio of correct answers over the total. For me, I was getting a lot of anxiety just looking at the scores that I was receiving and ended up pushing my exam back multiple times because of this. I think it's best to just focus on the concepts you're struggling with and try to understand that information better. Remember that these scores are just averages and not always conclusive as to what you will receive on the exam. Some people score a few points higher and others fall within a similar range, just try to focus more on studying what you're struggling with, rather than letting the scores get you down!

I would recommend using DATDestroyer for more Biology, Gen Chem, and Organic Chem review even though the questions are a little more difficult. I would try to go through the questions that you got wrong as well and try to understand why you got them wrong, while brushing up on the topics and reviewing your notes.

I know DAT studying can be super stressful, but you got this! I believe in you 🙂

I'm definitely in a similar boat but we will get through it!

 

[chi_town7]

Thank you so much! This exam was a bootcamp exam. And youre right I should focus more on understanding as opposed to just overanalyzing the score. I just purchased destroyer but was wondering what your experience with booster was? Would you recommend it for bio over bootcamp?

 

[sunshinedental]

Thank you so much! This exam was a bootcamp exam. And youre right I should focus more on understanding as opposed to just overanalyzing the score. I just purchased destroyer but was wondering what your experience with booster was? Would you recommend it for bio over bootcamp?

I have yet to take the DAT and have postponed it a few times, but Booster was a lot more helpful for bio in my opinion! I modified the Booster schedule and that helped me to pay more attention to the details within the bio section because of the videos provided and the Feralis notes as well. I know that everyone handles the bio section differently, but I'm a biology major who still struggles with the bio section (how ironic hahaha) and I just felt like the questions were more approachable with Booster and I have heard test takes on SDN mention that the questions were very familiar during the real DAT as well.

Something I have recognized with Booster, like I mentioned, is that their overall score tends to be lower than what is projected on Bootcamp. I'm not sure if it's done intentionally, or if those who use Booster score super well, which brings the average up. For example, when I used Bootcamp I scored a 22 on the reading section (39/50) and when I received the same score on Booster (39/50) I received a 19 in the reading section. That's just something to keep in mind if you decide to switch to Booster! I think both are great resources, but I feel like Booster has helped me a lot more.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

My DAT is a month away and these are where my scores are now on bootcamp. This last month is dedicated to practice as I have moved past all the material, however I am not sure if i should move my date back given the way im scoring now. These are the results of my first practice exam. I plan on doing around 8 hours a day but realistically do you think I will be able to bring scores up to a minimum of 20 or should I reschedule? Dentistry is literally my biggest dream and I want to make sure I do well on this exam. Also if you have any advice on how to improve please let me know as I am now beginning to get extremely anxious

BIO: 15
Gen Chem: 17
OChem: 17
PAT: 21
RC: 21
QR: 18
AA: 18

Hi, looks like you have some weakness especially in the the Biology section as well as the chems. I would recommend moving back to the material and doing some review especially in the Bio section. Continuing to take timed test at this point may only add to self doubt and cause unnecessary anxiety. Students that tend to score high on the DAT go in with a very solid foundation in the material.

Hope this helps and I wish you the best.

Nancy, co/owner, Destroyer

 

[Chicago_predental]

I used Booster and DAT Destroyer for my prep and it was suuuper helpful! Especially for Bio because its so broad. I also modified the Booster schedule since I had only a month to study. My practice scores on Booster were much lower than my real exam scores, but I would also advise against focusing on practice exam scores. Instead, focus on getting proficient in the concepts because you can get a different version of the DAT.

 

[chi_town7]

Thank you all so much!

 

[ChemistryDentist]

My DAT is a month away and these are where my scores are now on bootcamp. This last month is dedicated to practice as I have moved past all the material, however I am not sure if i should move my date back given the way im scoring now. These are the results of my first practice exam. I plan on doing around 8 hours a day but realistically do you think I will be able to bring scores up to a minimum of 20 or should I reschedule? Dentistry is literally my biggest dream and I want to make sure I do well on this exam. Also if you have any advice on how to improve please let me know as I am now beginning to get extremely anxious

BIO: 15
Gen Chem: 17
OChem: 17
PAT: 21
RC: 21
QR: 18
AA: 18

On the bright side, one month is a lot of time for DAT studying if you are able to completely dedicate yourself as much as possible to learning the material! Always keep in mind practice scores may not represent what you actually score on test day - you may score much higher or much lower. You should judge if you're ready for the exam based on your confidence in knowing the material, rather than any test score.

That said, a 15 in bio would worry me, too! You should go back and make sure to review all of the material from that section and ensure that you understand it well. If you went through the BC materials the first time, maybe try diversifying a bit to see if something works better for you. I always recommend the Dynamite Bio Destroyer because it's free and incredibly comprehensive, in addition to the bio section of the Destroyer books if you have them available. For gen chem, OC, and QR, the Destroyers were great for me as well. A month may be a bit tight with the new resources, but it wouldn't be impossible.

I would say give it another week or two of going through the material before deciding on pushing back your exam. If you feel like you're at about the same level come then, it may be worth pushing it back and focusing for a longer amount of time on relearning the basics. If you feel better, then go ahead as schedule!

Hopefully this helps a bit. Best of luck!

 

[Fullsend243]

I have yet to take the DAT and have postponed it a few times, but Booster was a lot more helpful for bio in my opinion! I modified the Booster schedule and that helped me to pay more attention to the details within the bio section because of the videos provided and the Feralis notes as well. I know that everyone handles the bio section differently, but I'm a biology major who still struggles with the bio section (how ironic hahaha) and I just felt like the questions were more approachable with Booster and I have heard test takes on SDN mention that the questions were very familiar during the real DAT as well.

Something I have recognized with Booster, like I mentioned, is that their overall score tends to be lower than what is projected on Bootcamp. I'm not sure if it's done intentionally, or if those who use Booster score super well, which brings the average up. For example, when I used Bootcamp I scored a 22 on the reading section (39/50) and when I received the same score on Booster (39/50) I received a 19 in the reading section. That's just something to keep in mind if you decide to switch to Booster! I think both are great resources, but I feel like Booster has helped me a lot more.

I think its mostly because booster is based on average of everyone who took the test. Which is similar to how real dat is graded. Not sure if everyone just god at reading on booster. Ik one of my friend took the booster reading test and got 25 right and that was 13 but took bootcamps free test and got 29 right and that was 20.

 

[Fullsend243]

My DAT is a month away and these are where my scores are now on bootcamp. This last month is dedicated to practice as I have moved past all the material, however I am not sure if i should move my date back given the way im scoring now. These are the results of my first practice exam. I plan on doing around 8 hours a day but realistically do you think I will be able to bring scores up to a minimum of 20 or should I reschedule? Dentistry is literally my biggest dream and I want to make sure I do well on this exam. Also if you have any advice on how to improve please let me know as I am now beginning to get extremely anxious

BIO: 15
Gen Chem: 17
OChem: 17
PAT: 21
RC: 21
QR: 18
AA: 18

you're probably fine if you keep reviewing ik the first bootcamp test got me struggling I think i got like 17 on it and i thought I was prepared. I took the booster one and got like 22 so the test scores dont really predict how much you will get. Just learn from it and you'll be fine 🙂