Sorry fellow SDNers for the late response but here goes my full DAT Breakdown.
I am 23 years old and a recent graduate of CUNY Brooklyn College, majored in Exercise Science (BS) because I was originally going for physical therapy. I work part time about 14 hours per week.
So I started studying on March 21st and ended June 21st. I followed Ari's DAT bootcamp schedule for the first 5 weeks exactly and I spent about 5-6 hours a day studying. This was the light period of my study schedule. After the first 5 weeks I starting hitting the destroyer hard, doing about 40-50 questions per day for each section and throughly reviewing after, practicing PAT generators every single day for at least an hour, and I read a science article on scientific american. The most important thing about using the destroyer is to not to get discouraged because you WILL get questions wrong. The first time around I only got about 50-60% of the questions right. Second time around I did a little bit better about 70-75% of the questions correct but this time I circled all the questions I got wrong. The third time I just went through the questions I circled. You should be spending more time reviewing after you finished a set of questions than doing the actual questions. Im sure this sounds obvious to some people but if you get a question wrong you should try to understand what you did wrong before looking at the solutions. If you don't know a word look it up. For every question I got wrong and for whatever term I came across that I was unsure of I made an index card for. For bio alone I made about 800 index cards. 2 weeks before the exam I started memorizing everything on every index card I made for bio. The math destroyer is probably the best practice you will get for the QR section. After my first time through I got very discouraged and I turned away from it which was a BIG mistake. My last week I went through as many tests as I could get through and made sure I understood every question. Ive seen some people say on here that the math destroyer is too hard. In my opinion the math destroyer is the only piece of material you need for the QR section because its as close as your going to get to the real thing.
BIO 23:
Recommended materials: DAT destroyer (10/10), Cliffs AP BIO (8/10), Feralis Notes (7/10)
I passively read through cliffs AP bio and used Feralis notes as a reference. The reason why the destroyer is so crucial for this section is because bio is such a broad topic and the way to beat it is to be efficient. The destroyer focuses on everything you need to know and the key is to understand the concepts because every question will make you think. Memorizing every page of feralis notes may work for some people but I would rather try to understand the material than try to memorize pages like a robot.
GC 19:
Recommended materials: Chad's videos (10/10), DAT Destroyer (10/10)
I was disappointed with this score because I really thought I had this section in the bag. Chad is probably one of the best teachers Ive ever seen. Every word out of his mouth is important and he makes difficult topics that you probably never understood during your general chemistry seen like a piece of cake. Take all of his quizzes and make sure you understand all of them. The DAT destroyer will assess your understanding.
OC:23
Recommended materials: Chad's videos (10/10), Klein's Organic Chemistry as a second language (10/10), DAT destroyer (10/10)
I did very well in my ochem classes (orgo 1: A-, orgo 2: A) so that definitely helped. The best way to get the concepts down is to go through the Klein second language books. If your weak in ochem dont even open the destroyer or watch a single chad video until you throughly go through both volume 1 and 2 of organic chemistry as a second language. They helped me tremendously.
PAT: 22
Recommended materials: DAT bootcamp (10/10)
I did at least one practice PAT a week to assess my weakness. I used their generator every single day for each section. Going in I was terrified of TFE but use and abuse the TFE generator on DAT bootcamp. Although the practice questions are different, it will train you how to approach each TFE problem and you will become a pro and it will end up being one of the easier sections. The angle ranking questions on here made me think I wasnt going to do well on the real PAT because they are so so so hard compared to the real PAT section. The pattern folding explanations on here are pure gold, which ever one you get wrong make sure you read every word of the solutions. The keyholes were the hardest section. I would make sure I wouldnt go more than 11-12mins before rolling into TFE. Make sure you watch each tutorial video. Also watch the grid/symmetry technique video for the hole punching section. The cube counting is the easiest section and you should be able to get it down without any problems. I also purchase CRACK DAT PAT, what a waste of money. This software is outdated and the questions are a joke compared to bootcamp.
Reading 18:
I wish I would have put more time into doing practice tests for this because I was stressed with the timing on the real exam. I read science articles daily but this section you have to just control your state and make sure that you focus intensely. After this section I was pretty burned and I really wish I did better on this part because it took a lot of energy out of me.
QR: 17
Recommended materials: Math Destroyer (10/10)
Im disappointed with this score because I wish I did more Math destroyer. I really struggled with time for this section and it didn't help that I was totally fried. Getting down the timing for this section is crucial because by the end of the test you will be cooked and you probably wont be able to think very clearly. I went through the whole QR section twice. The first time I answered which ever ones I knew immediately. The second time through I got screwed on a few questions because I spent like 2 minutes on a question and ended up with the wrong answer so I then had to guess and move on. Make sure that you monitor your time because if you don't you will get burned.
Tips:
-Make sure you take breaks. It is important to take breaks because you can only absorb so much at once and you have to give yourself some time to let it sink in. During my breaks I would do push ups and pull ups or run around the block just to keep the blood flowing.
- Don't focus on your bootcamp practice scores for science and pat. My practice scores were BIO: 17, 19, 21, 23, 20, GC: 16, 19, 21, 20, 20, OC: 20, 24, 26, 23, 22, PAT: 19, 19, 19, 20, 19, 20, 20, 19, 20, 20. RC: 17, 18, 19, 18, 20, QR: 15, 16, 16, 18, 18, 18, 16, 18, 17, 20. Its good to take these practice tests as an assessment but don't waste your time by doing them again. Make sure you understand everything you did wrong and focus on your weaknesses.
- Don't say "Oo I studied for 5 hours today that should be enough". If you have the luxury of having no distractions, set goals for yourself every day and however long it takes it it takes. Don't set a time limit.
- Get a goodnight sleep and try to calm yourself down. The night before I had a hard time falling asleep and I only slept like 5 hours.
- Be ready to take your test early if you get there early.
