Hey guys! I've been reading tips and suggestions for study tools and strategies on this website for the past month or so, and it really helped me achieve my goals for the DAT. I'd like to share my experience and breakdown in case it will help anyone out as much as everyone on here has helped me!
Background: 4th yr Biological Sciences major currently with 3.55 cGPA/~3.45 sGPA hoping to apply this upcoming June!
So I applied for the DAT and gave myself about 1 month to study for this exam because I'm the kinda person who really needs to feel the pressure to get myself to start studying...here are my results. Given the shorter amount of time I've invested into the exam, I'm very satisfied and won't be planning for a retake!
Sources:
DAT Bootcamp
Chad's videos
Barron's DAT
Scores:
Biology: 21
General Chemistry: 21
Organic Chemistry: 21
Perceptual Ability Test: 21
Reading Comprehension : 21
Quantitative Reasoning: 21
Total Science: 21
Academic Average: 21
(Weird scores I know...)
Right before the test I just went through all of the solutions in chemistry and ochem really quickly. I also looked at my notes for bio and ochem reagents that I typed for myself. Read below.
Biology: I realized a majority of stuff covered on the DAT were taught in my intro bio classes my freshman and sophomore year. I spent about a week or so on this section for about an average of 3 hours a day. I watched Chad's videos for MCAT biology over the course of three days...I personally felt they were just an OK review, and it didn't cover enough topics that show up on the actual exam such as taxonomy and ecology. It was also too specific in some areas. For example, the digestive system was covered in more detail than we actually have to know. The two sources that helped me the most were the biology section on Barron's DAT and DAT Bootcamp. I took all the tests on Bootcamp to see what I was weak at. I wasn't as focused on what I was scoring but I ranged between scores as low as 16 to scores as high as 21. I skimmed (pretty thoroughly) the section of Barron's and typed down notes on stuff that Bootcamp let me know I was weak at and printed it out. Overall, Barron's contains just about the right amount of detail (maybe a tiny bit less), if you're looking to score around the 20 area. If I had more time and wanted to score much higher, I would've also read Feralis notes. The difficulty of the actual test was average compared to the practice tests, but naturally, a lot of problems were freebies. I ended up having to guess on about 6-8 problems (educated guesses of course), either because I've never seen the material or it wasn't went over on Barron's.
General Chemistry: I didn't have time to look through Chad's videos, but I did print out his notes and do his quizzes associated with the videos. DAT Bootcamp is what helped me succeed in this section. The key here is to learn from your mistakes on the practice exams. It DOES NOT matter what you get on the practice tests. I was getting scores in the 18-20 range, but I read the explanations for each problem three times over to get a really good feel of the concepts and format of the problems. That was all I did for this section, and I only spent about 3 days on it.
Organic Chemistry: This was the one science section that I was the most worried about because I was not exactly great at Ochem in my college courses (got Bs and stuff). I forgot about 70% of what I learned lmao. I went through all of Chad's videos carefully, but I didn't take notes or anything. I also did all of the quizzes associated with each section. His material is VERY good for concept related questions. Nomenclature, SN1/E1/E2/SN2 concepts, intermediate stability concepts, aromaticity rules...questions related to these kinds of problems were very easy after going over Chad's. Again, DAT Bootcamp is key for scoring 20+. My scores ranged from 17-21, but the goal is to get a solid idea of the types of problems that showed up on the actual test. I wrote down the reagents that came up the most and memorized what they did (ex. I simply remembered chromic acid/PCC forms carbonyl groups lol) and that helped me figure out a lot of the problems that needed me to predict the products. I would say I spent about a whole week watching the videos and looking over problems on Bootcamp.
PAT: Honestly, I didn't spend much time at all in this section. I kind of learned how to do sections I was more confused about such as TFE last summer. I recommend developing your own strategy for this section. I did about one practice test on Bootcamp and got an 18 or 19. Key holes were very easy on the actual test. TFE was average compared to Bootcamp, maybe a little easier. Angle ranking was like impossible for my section...there were cases where all four angles looked exactly the same for me, but then again I'm bad at this section in general. Hole punching- draw it out on the grids provided, no weird half hole punches or anything. Cube counting- I make a table like the one Ari taught on Bootcamp. It's definitely the most straightfoward section on the PAT. Folding was also easy on the real DAT. I recommend just focusing on matching up shapes or looking for specific patterns. Overall, this section on the real DAT was easier than I expected other than angle ranking, and I finished about 5 minutes early. If you have more time than me, spend time doing all the DAT Bootcamp tests for practice and you will be fine.
Reading Comprehension: Not going to lie. I didn't spend time doing a SINGLE practice test for this section. I was super scared going into the real test because of my lack of experience. I spent most of my time studying for science, and I was definitely under-prepared. However, I made up a strategy for myself during the 15 minute break, and here's exactly what I did. I wrote down the numbers for each paragraph and skimmed the articles. I wrote down keywords that I felt might be important or notes that let me know what each section was about. The first sentence of the paragraph usually tells you what it's about. The point is to get a general feel for which part of the article talks about what. For example, I had an article about fungi and most of the information pertaining to disease was located in the latter paragraphs. After skimming, I just searched and destroyed. After doing each problem, write down the key words for that problem next to the number for the paragraph on your notes in case it helps with finding other answers. Key is not to panic. If you can't find an answer within 2 minutes just mark it and skip. I had about 5 minutes at the end to guess or figure out a few more questions. Practice the method you develop so you are more used to it on the actual test.
Quantitive Reasoning: I was always pretty strong in math throughout high school, so I only spent time reviewing some formulas. It is exactly like SAT math, so plan accordingly to your strengths and weaknesses. I took one practice test on Bootcamp and got a 24 even though I made a few careless mistakes. This let me know that I didn't need to practice for this section. Also, this is probably the least important section for dental schools, so don't stress too much on it. I'm not sure how I missed so many on the actual test, but I'll tell you that it was very easy except for a few problems that I forgot because I didn't review anything since high school. I finished with about 10-15 minutes left to spare.
I hope this helps some of you know what you need to do to achieve the scores you want, especially those of you that didn't have as much time like me! Good luck to all of you.
Background: 4th yr Biological Sciences major currently with 3.55 cGPA/~3.45 sGPA hoping to apply this upcoming June!
So I applied for the DAT and gave myself about 1 month to study for this exam because I'm the kinda person who really needs to feel the pressure to get myself to start studying...here are my results. Given the shorter amount of time I've invested into the exam, I'm very satisfied and won't be planning for a retake!
Sources:
DAT Bootcamp
Chad's videos
Barron's DAT
Scores:
Biology: 21
General Chemistry: 21
Organic Chemistry: 21
Perceptual Ability Test: 21
Reading Comprehension : 21
Quantitative Reasoning: 21
Total Science: 21
Academic Average: 21
(Weird scores I know...)
Right before the test I just went through all of the solutions in chemistry and ochem really quickly. I also looked at my notes for bio and ochem reagents that I typed for myself. Read below.
Biology: I realized a majority of stuff covered on the DAT were taught in my intro bio classes my freshman and sophomore year. I spent about a week or so on this section for about an average of 3 hours a day. I watched Chad's videos for MCAT biology over the course of three days...I personally felt they were just an OK review, and it didn't cover enough topics that show up on the actual exam such as taxonomy and ecology. It was also too specific in some areas. For example, the digestive system was covered in more detail than we actually have to know. The two sources that helped me the most were the biology section on Barron's DAT and DAT Bootcamp. I took all the tests on Bootcamp to see what I was weak at. I wasn't as focused on what I was scoring but I ranged between scores as low as 16 to scores as high as 21. I skimmed (pretty thoroughly) the section of Barron's and typed down notes on stuff that Bootcamp let me know I was weak at and printed it out. Overall, Barron's contains just about the right amount of detail (maybe a tiny bit less), if you're looking to score around the 20 area. If I had more time and wanted to score much higher, I would've also read Feralis notes. The difficulty of the actual test was average compared to the practice tests, but naturally, a lot of problems were freebies. I ended up having to guess on about 6-8 problems (educated guesses of course), either because I've never seen the material or it wasn't went over on Barron's.
General Chemistry: I didn't have time to look through Chad's videos, but I did print out his notes and do his quizzes associated with the videos. DAT Bootcamp is what helped me succeed in this section. The key here is to learn from your mistakes on the practice exams. It DOES NOT matter what you get on the practice tests. I was getting scores in the 18-20 range, but I read the explanations for each problem three times over to get a really good feel of the concepts and format of the problems. That was all I did for this section, and I only spent about 3 days on it.
Organic Chemistry: This was the one science section that I was the most worried about because I was not exactly great at Ochem in my college courses (got Bs and stuff). I forgot about 70% of what I learned lmao. I went through all of Chad's videos carefully, but I didn't take notes or anything. I also did all of the quizzes associated with each section. His material is VERY good for concept related questions. Nomenclature, SN1/E1/E2/SN2 concepts, intermediate stability concepts, aromaticity rules...questions related to these kinds of problems were very easy after going over Chad's. Again, DAT Bootcamp is key for scoring 20+. My scores ranged from 17-21, but the goal is to get a solid idea of the types of problems that showed up on the actual test. I wrote down the reagents that came up the most and memorized what they did (ex. I simply remembered chromic acid/PCC forms carbonyl groups lol) and that helped me figure out a lot of the problems that needed me to predict the products. I would say I spent about a whole week watching the videos and looking over problems on Bootcamp.
PAT: Honestly, I didn't spend much time at all in this section. I kind of learned how to do sections I was more confused about such as TFE last summer. I recommend developing your own strategy for this section. I did about one practice test on Bootcamp and got an 18 or 19. Key holes were very easy on the actual test. TFE was average compared to Bootcamp, maybe a little easier. Angle ranking was like impossible for my section...there were cases where all four angles looked exactly the same for me, but then again I'm bad at this section in general. Hole punching- draw it out on the grids provided, no weird half hole punches or anything. Cube counting- I make a table like the one Ari taught on Bootcamp. It's definitely the most straightfoward section on the PAT. Folding was also easy on the real DAT. I recommend just focusing on matching up shapes or looking for specific patterns. Overall, this section on the real DAT was easier than I expected other than angle ranking, and I finished about 5 minutes early. If you have more time than me, spend time doing all the DAT Bootcamp tests for practice and you will be fine.
Reading Comprehension: Not going to lie. I didn't spend time doing a SINGLE practice test for this section. I was super scared going into the real test because of my lack of experience. I spent most of my time studying for science, and I was definitely under-prepared. However, I made up a strategy for myself during the 15 minute break, and here's exactly what I did. I wrote down the numbers for each paragraph and skimmed the articles. I wrote down keywords that I felt might be important or notes that let me know what each section was about. The first sentence of the paragraph usually tells you what it's about. The point is to get a general feel for which part of the article talks about what. For example, I had an article about fungi and most of the information pertaining to disease was located in the latter paragraphs. After skimming, I just searched and destroyed. After doing each problem, write down the key words for that problem next to the number for the paragraph on your notes in case it helps with finding other answers. Key is not to panic. If you can't find an answer within 2 minutes just mark it and skip. I had about 5 minutes at the end to guess or figure out a few more questions. Practice the method you develop so you are more used to it on the actual test.
Quantitive Reasoning: I was always pretty strong in math throughout high school, so I only spent time reviewing some formulas. It is exactly like SAT math, so plan accordingly to your strengths and weaknesses. I took one practice test on Bootcamp and got a 24 even though I made a few careless mistakes. This let me know that I didn't need to practice for this section. Also, this is probably the least important section for dental schools, so don't stress too much on it. I'm not sure how I missed so many on the actual test, but I'll tell you that it was very easy except for a few problems that I forgot because I didn't review anything since high school. I finished with about 10-15 minutes left to spare.
I hope this helps some of you know what you need to do to achieve the scores you want, especially those of you that didn't have as much time like me! Good luck to all of you.
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