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Like many before me I valued this site for its worth in gold during my DAT studies. I think there is plenty of information on what people used and their reviews of each (which I will do in brief), but I really wanted to give a quick hindsight on how I might study for the DAT if I were to retake (probably won't but with my 3.3 gpa might be worth a thought). These scores are for sure on the lower end of the spectrum on here, but I always enjoyed seeing fresh blood posting breakdowns leading up to my exam. I sat 2/22/2014.
Scores:
BIO: 21
GC: 23
OC: 23
RC: 26
QR: 18
PAT: 23
TS: 22
AA: 22
Study time:
ACTUAL: 200 hours over 8-weeks. It's tough to study so much on the same material... I hit a huge wall and took a week break in the middle. I also watched a lot of Survivor, and movies. ie Primer, Upstream Color, The Holy Mountain, Mulholland Drive... Kept my brain working in different ways when I needed a break (which was often, LOL). And of course tried to get out once a week to stay sane.
Hindsight: Personally I think 8-weeks was a great length. Not too rushed, and not overly spread out where you start to forget things. The 8-weeks allowed for taking day long breaks, which I found was a good thing because it gave me an opportunity to see what actually stuck.
Study Schedule:
ACTUAL: Weeks 1-2 - I read Cliff's/took notes. Watched all of Chad's videos/took notes.
Week 3 - Went through Destroyer.
Week 4 - Made flashcards on Chad's videos. Took Chad's quizzes.
Week 5 - Hit the Wall. Took a break.
Week 6 - Did Destroyer again. Did Bootcamp test 1 (all subjects)
Week 7 - Did Bootcamp tests 2-5 (only sciences and PAT). Did Barron's 2 AP Bio tests.
Week 8 - Did Bootcamp tests 2-5 (QR and RC). Did 5 CDP tests. Reviewed Bootcamp science questions. Reviewed Chad's flashcards. Reviewed Ferallis's notes.
-The schedule was working really well up until week 5. I didn't want to spend anymore money on resources. This wasn't good because I hate reviewing old material, but I knew it was too early to take practice tests. So I hit a wall, got lazy, and vowed to come back strong.
Hindsight: Save up a bit more money, and buy Achiever or TopScore or QVault. I can't stress enough that the more practice I got, the better I knew the material/ the material I needed to work on. Sounds common knowledge, but reviewing notes isn't active enough for me (I usually fall asleep/get lazy).
BIO:
ACTUAL: Used Cliff's, Barron's, Destroyer, Ferallis's, Bootcamp
I used Cliff's for the material, and Barron's for their practice AP tests. I wanted a solid skeleton of information, broad and applicable. Cliff's gave me that, and Destroyer and Barron's tests supplemented it nicely (Destroyer perhaps a touch too specific, but good). Ferallis's notes are daunting, so make sure you have a good skeleton of information so you can fill in the holes. I went through the notes a coupe days before. Also to note, I had taken Anatomy and Physiology the semester before. Ferallis's covers that very well.
Hindsight:
Breadth over depth. So many people have said this on the forum. Seriously, find as many questions as you can, for cheap, to check your knowledge (just make sure the resource answers are correct, haha). Go to Barnes and Noble or the Library and just sit and take the tests in the book while you act like you're on your phone or something. The more questions you see, the more depth you'll get on your breadth... right? I'd also study more developmental biology, no class really covers that stuff well, and there were a few questions where I think digging into the Campbell's text would have helped (any sub-subject you haven't studied in depth, I'd recommend doing this).
GC/OC:
ACTUAL: Used Chad's, and Destroyer, Bootcamp
I went through Chad's once, Destroyer twice, and did Chad's quizzes. Destroyer questions were nice to drive home concepts. Didn't use the roadmaps, I hate that kind of studying. I made flashcards of Chad's notes I took (had like 300), fantastic review when I ran out of MC problems I had already memorized (you know those ones where you read half the question and already know the answer...).
Hindsight:
I'd do the same thing. I'm fairly disappointed in my scores here, but dumb mistakes happen. Don't need any other resources than these, just know the rules of chemistry and roll forward.
PAT:
ACTUAL: Bootcamp, CDP
The 23 I got was higher than any practice test I took so I was pretty stoked. I got really scared about this section cause I was around 18-20 from test one on, so I bought CDP and took those 5 tests back to back leading up to the day before the exam. Probably helped a lot. PAT is all about practice, speed, and being in the zone.
Hindsight:
Look CDP obviously helped, but it was pretty damn expensive (and there was a mistake in the CC solutions!). I'd buy cheaper resources for this section, and just see as many problems as possible (don't redo tests). For many looking for a comparison, you won't get one. Just this: Keyhole is more proportions, TFE use line counting to CHECK your answer if you are unsure (never start here), Angles be confident and fast (I like moving close to far away with rapid eye), Hole Punch... dude LOS, Cube counting I just snaked each question, no need for tally method once you practice more and Pattern Folding use Bootcamp for explanations to get good.
RC:
ACTUAL: Bootcamp
Found a plan that worked for me after like 4 practice tests on Bootcamp. Always tried to have 3 questions read while I went through the passage. Then after I had read the passage, search and destroy was pretty simple.
Hindsight:
Bootcamp RC was harder than real. You don't need 'practice', just a strategy that works for you. So if I were to take again, I might not even take one practice test because I know what my strategy is.
QR:
ACTUAL: Destroyer (NOT Math Destroyer) and Bootcamp
Haha. I studied for 3 days for this section. Just took practice tests. I deserved my 18 I suppose (never got anything lower than a 20 on practices, and Destroyer was stupid easy).
Hindsight:
I would buy Math Destroyer with my regular Destroyer. I was dumb and thought math would be easy (I graduated High School proficient through Calc 3). But you need the breadth in this section too. Time is crucial, you have to be quick so definitely practice a lot of types. Also, keep your focus throughout the test!! Working on your stamina is key to this section too (which I probably needed).
Overall:
A little sad because I changed three questions from the right answer to the wrong one in the SNS (and of course the bummer of the math section), but hopefully these scores will be good enough to help me snag a few interviews with my lower GPA. Bootcamp scores were very representative (see below) with a very doable price. Find a way to mitigate the stress, and keep the motivation up (work out, smoke addictive carcinogens, have lots of meaningless sex, WHATEVER). It will be a bumpy ride. Just know everyone hits a wall, do what you have to do to get out and working hard again (come here, you are never alone during this process!). Confidence for this test is key, and trust your gut; seriously, don't over think on test day because it may cost you. Finally I have to recommend Bootcamp, Chad's, Cliff's, Ferallis's, Destroyer and of course SDN. Without those resources I might still have another month before my test. Below are my practice scores.
1 2 3 4 5
Bootcamp
Bio 23 21 19 20 20
GC 21 22 25 21 21
OC 24 22 22 25 20
RC 20 20 20 25 /
QR 21 20 20 21 20
PAT 18 18 18 18 20
CDP 20 20 19 20 22
Destroyer 1 - Bio (61% correct) GC (65%) OC (67%)
Destroyer 2 - Bio (90%) GC (87%) OC (89%)
AP Barrons' - 80/100 on all three (including pre test)
Good luck to all, hope this helps. Much love, GMD.
Scores:
BIO: 21
GC: 23
OC: 23
RC: 26
QR: 18
PAT: 23
TS: 22
AA: 22
Study time:
ACTUAL: 200 hours over 8-weeks. It's tough to study so much on the same material... I hit a huge wall and took a week break in the middle. I also watched a lot of Survivor, and movies. ie Primer, Upstream Color, The Holy Mountain, Mulholland Drive... Kept my brain working in different ways when I needed a break (which was often, LOL). And of course tried to get out once a week to stay sane.
Hindsight: Personally I think 8-weeks was a great length. Not too rushed, and not overly spread out where you start to forget things. The 8-weeks allowed for taking day long breaks, which I found was a good thing because it gave me an opportunity to see what actually stuck.
Study Schedule:
ACTUAL: Weeks 1-2 - I read Cliff's/took notes. Watched all of Chad's videos/took notes.
Week 3 - Went through Destroyer.
Week 4 - Made flashcards on Chad's videos. Took Chad's quizzes.
Week 5 - Hit the Wall. Took a break.
Week 6 - Did Destroyer again. Did Bootcamp test 1 (all subjects)
Week 7 - Did Bootcamp tests 2-5 (only sciences and PAT). Did Barron's 2 AP Bio tests.
Week 8 - Did Bootcamp tests 2-5 (QR and RC). Did 5 CDP tests. Reviewed Bootcamp science questions. Reviewed Chad's flashcards. Reviewed Ferallis's notes.
-The schedule was working really well up until week 5. I didn't want to spend anymore money on resources. This wasn't good because I hate reviewing old material, but I knew it was too early to take practice tests. So I hit a wall, got lazy, and vowed to come back strong.
Hindsight: Save up a bit more money, and buy Achiever or TopScore or QVault. I can't stress enough that the more practice I got, the better I knew the material/ the material I needed to work on. Sounds common knowledge, but reviewing notes isn't active enough for me (I usually fall asleep/get lazy).
BIO:
ACTUAL: Used Cliff's, Barron's, Destroyer, Ferallis's, Bootcamp
I used Cliff's for the material, and Barron's for their practice AP tests. I wanted a solid skeleton of information, broad and applicable. Cliff's gave me that, and Destroyer and Barron's tests supplemented it nicely (Destroyer perhaps a touch too specific, but good). Ferallis's notes are daunting, so make sure you have a good skeleton of information so you can fill in the holes. I went through the notes a coupe days before. Also to note, I had taken Anatomy and Physiology the semester before. Ferallis's covers that very well.
Hindsight:
Breadth over depth. So many people have said this on the forum. Seriously, find as many questions as you can, for cheap, to check your knowledge (just make sure the resource answers are correct, haha). Go to Barnes and Noble or the Library and just sit and take the tests in the book while you act like you're on your phone or something. The more questions you see, the more depth you'll get on your breadth... right? I'd also study more developmental biology, no class really covers that stuff well, and there were a few questions where I think digging into the Campbell's text would have helped (any sub-subject you haven't studied in depth, I'd recommend doing this).
GC/OC:
ACTUAL: Used Chad's, and Destroyer, Bootcamp
I went through Chad's once, Destroyer twice, and did Chad's quizzes. Destroyer questions were nice to drive home concepts. Didn't use the roadmaps, I hate that kind of studying. I made flashcards of Chad's notes I took (had like 300), fantastic review when I ran out of MC problems I had already memorized (you know those ones where you read half the question and already know the answer...).
Hindsight:
I'd do the same thing. I'm fairly disappointed in my scores here, but dumb mistakes happen. Don't need any other resources than these, just know the rules of chemistry and roll forward.
PAT:
ACTUAL: Bootcamp, CDP
The 23 I got was higher than any practice test I took so I was pretty stoked. I got really scared about this section cause I was around 18-20 from test one on, so I bought CDP and took those 5 tests back to back leading up to the day before the exam. Probably helped a lot. PAT is all about practice, speed, and being in the zone.
Hindsight:
Look CDP obviously helped, but it was pretty damn expensive (and there was a mistake in the CC solutions!). I'd buy cheaper resources for this section, and just see as many problems as possible (don't redo tests). For many looking for a comparison, you won't get one. Just this: Keyhole is more proportions, TFE use line counting to CHECK your answer if you are unsure (never start here), Angles be confident and fast (I like moving close to far away with rapid eye), Hole Punch... dude LOS, Cube counting I just snaked each question, no need for tally method once you practice more and Pattern Folding use Bootcamp for explanations to get good.
RC:
ACTUAL: Bootcamp
Found a plan that worked for me after like 4 practice tests on Bootcamp. Always tried to have 3 questions read while I went through the passage. Then after I had read the passage, search and destroy was pretty simple.
Hindsight:
Bootcamp RC was harder than real. You don't need 'practice', just a strategy that works for you. So if I were to take again, I might not even take one practice test because I know what my strategy is.
QR:
ACTUAL: Destroyer (NOT Math Destroyer) and Bootcamp
Haha. I studied for 3 days for this section. Just took practice tests. I deserved my 18 I suppose (never got anything lower than a 20 on practices, and Destroyer was stupid easy).
Hindsight:
I would buy Math Destroyer with my regular Destroyer. I was dumb and thought math would be easy (I graduated High School proficient through Calc 3). But you need the breadth in this section too. Time is crucial, you have to be quick so definitely practice a lot of types. Also, keep your focus throughout the test!! Working on your stamina is key to this section too (which I probably needed).
Overall:
A little sad because I changed three questions from the right answer to the wrong one in the SNS (and of course the bummer of the math section), but hopefully these scores will be good enough to help me snag a few interviews with my lower GPA. Bootcamp scores were very representative (see below) with a very doable price. Find a way to mitigate the stress, and keep the motivation up (work out, smoke addictive carcinogens, have lots of meaningless sex, WHATEVER). It will be a bumpy ride. Just know everyone hits a wall, do what you have to do to get out and working hard again (come here, you are never alone during this process!). Confidence for this test is key, and trust your gut; seriously, don't over think on test day because it may cost you. Finally I have to recommend Bootcamp, Chad's, Cliff's, Ferallis's, Destroyer and of course SDN. Without those resources I might still have another month before my test. Below are my practice scores.
1 2 3 4 5
Bootcamp
Bio 23 21 19 20 20
GC 21 22 25 21 21
OC 24 22 22 25 20
RC 20 20 20 25 /
QR 21 20 20 21 20
PAT 18 18 18 18 20
CDP 20 20 19 20 22
Destroyer 1 - Bio (61% correct) GC (65%) OC (67%)
Destroyer 2 - Bio (90%) GC (87%) OC (89%)
AP Barrons' - 80/100 on all three (including pre test)
Good luck to all, hope this helps. Much love, GMD.
