Hi everyone, I know my scores aren't impressive enough for me to give advice, but this post is just to share how I got my results while cramming for the DAT within 1-2 weeks.
Breakdown (AA-22/TS-21/OC-23/GC-21/BIO-21/RC-23/QR-22/PAT-20)
So to start, I just finished my freshman year (where I took Bio and GChem) and finished OChem over the summer a few weeks ago. My schedule was pretty packed for most of my summer because I was taking 3 classes (Bio elective, OChem 1, Ochem 2) and I didn't have much time to study for the DAT. Reality hit me around last week where I realized I needed to get myself together and grind for the DAT.
Essentially, for the first half of the last month, I studied around 1 hour (max) everyday for the DAT. I would rush through 1-2 practice tests on DAT bootcamp and scored low in every section (16-18/19). Around the last ~8-10 days, I started studying for 6-10 hours everyday. These 8-10 days really helped me get my score.
CRUCIAL RESOURCES:
DAT Bootcamp
OPTIONAL RESOURCES (imo, not necessary to get 20-22, but crucial if you want to get 23+ and will definitely help you if you have the time to study it):
DAT Destroyer
So to study for the DAT, I only utilized DAT bootcamp and a tiny bit of DAT destroyer. However, I essentially didn't even use DAT destroyer and only did about ~100-150 problems in the book one time each. However, I believe the Roadmaps and Key reactions in the OC section of the DAT destroyer book help a lot! I would say
ONLY USE DESTROYER IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH TIME BEFORE THE DAT TO PREPARE, otherwise you'll be studying too much IN DEPTH when you should be studying BROADLY.
Bio - I averaged around 16-19 on DAT bootcamp practice tests and I believe my actual score raised a lot because of
Ferralis notes. I read Cliffnotes AP Biology 3rd edition one time, but read Ferralis notes 2-3 times (Which helped A LOT on the Bio section, since 90-95% of the questions were covered by Ferralis notes). If your aiming for a 20-22, I'd say just read Cliffnotes once and read Ferralis notes MULTIPLE times.
OC - I took OChem during the past 2 months during this summer, but the DAT material and the class material had a lot of gaps that I wasn't taught. I attribute my OC score improving to (in order of importance) 1. Mike's videos, 2. DAT Destroyer Roadmaps and Key Reactions and 3. DAT bootcamp practice tests.
GC - I didn't study for GC at all because I took it last year and was able to build a very strong foundation due to my professor.
PAT - The first time I took a PAT test, I was ready to give up (serious). However, I kept taking practice tests on Bootcamp, skimmed through the explanations, and saw my score improve. I took ~8/10 of the bootcamp tests one time each. IMO, the Keyhole section on the actual DAT is more complicated, the TFE is similar to bootcamp (or slightly easier), angle ranking is easier on the actual DAT, Holepunch and cube counting are exactly the same level of difficulty as bootcamp, and the pattern folding was slightly easier than bootcamp. Overall, the bootcamp practice tests will help you build a solid foundation. (If you want a high score, your going to have to simply practice PAT and learn from your mistakes).
RC - I took 1-2 practice tests yesterday and that's all I did for reading comprehension (I didn't review the answers because I got lazy). I used the search and destroy method which helped a lot and I believe that most of the problems I missed were due to vocabulary questions (i.e. - The question asked for the tone of certain parts of the passage and I didn't know what the answer choices meant). If your not good at reading fast, I'd definitely recommend you practice.
QR - Once again, I studied this portion solely by studying DAT bootcamp practice tests and reviewing what I got wrong. I forgot most algebra/trig. so I had to do all the practice tests and re-learn some concepts. I would say the actual QR is similar to or easier than bootcamp (I only found the trigonometry of bootcamp sort of difficult). I would focus on basic trigonometry and really focus on algebra/probability/logic questions.
Overall, I would say use DAT bootcamp tests to find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. Spend more time on weaker subjects (For me, it was Bio, PAT, Ochem, QR) and less time on stronger subjects (RC/Gchem <- Which I spent around 2 hours TOTAL studying for).
;tldr - If your cramming for the test and want to maximize your scores, don't use destroyer, it'll waste too much time. Just use resources found on DAT bootcamp - Ferralis notes, Cliffs 3rd edition, Mike's videos, and practice tests. These resources alone will maximize your scores IF YOU HAVE NO TIME.
Huge shoutout to
@Ari Rezaei YOU SAVED MY LIFE!
