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Hi everybody!
After obsessively lurking all the DAT breakdown posts on SDN for literally the past week, I can't believe I'm posting my own. I graduated last year and I have been working 40+ hours a week as a dental assistant. I have learned SO much its crazy, so if anybody has the opportunity during their gap year(s), I absolutely recommend it. As it also opens doors for other opportunities such as great letters of recommendation and networking (shadow other specialties). In order to make up for my lackluster GPA I knew I had to score at LEAST into the 20s. My mentor advised me to hit 20s across the board, and that just seemed so crazy to me. I have always hated taking exams, I much rather write a 20 page essay than take a test for anything! I work fine under pressure, but I become consumed and stressed with anxiety leading up to the test day.
Because of my crazy work schedule (and working a second job on the weekends - dental school apps and college loans are expensive!) I started studying in January I only had about 2-4 hours on weekdays and 4-6 hours on weekends. Side note: I don't recommend spreading your study time over 6 months because I basically forgot most of what I learned in the earlier months. My schedule just didn't allow me to do anything (because I obviously couldn't quit!) but I didn't start getting really vigorous with studying till I actually registered for the exam back in April. I had a lot of trouble in my introductory sciences, I was just never the "focused" student until my last year of college. Therefore I had to relearn most of the sciences for this exam, especially general chemistry.
Materials Used:
Kaplan BB 2016
DAT Bootcamp
DAT Destroyer
Math Destroyer
Quizlet website (for biology flashcards)
Ochem notes from school
AP Cliff's Biology 3rd Edition
Ferali's Notes
Summary:
I used the same basic bundle as most pre-dents. I really liked KBB for the biology section WAY more than AP Cliff's, solely because I felt it was more geared towards the DAT than just biology review. The mini quizzes at the end of each section were helpful to reinforce the chapter material. I would make flashcards out of topics I did not understand well. The only other section I used was general chemistry, and some PAT for strategies (KBB PAT quizzes were waaaay too easy, compared to BC). I made Quizlet flashcards while reading Cliff's and Ferali's and would use the app to study on my breaks. I don't know if this was effective at all cause it basically just forced memorization and not much application.
My most useful sources, in my opinion were Destroyers and BC. I wish I focused my attention more on completing all the questions in DAT and Math Destroyer. I bought both because it was recommend in Ari's study guide I originally planned to follow. Over the past three months I made it through biology and only half of organic and general chemistry. Although I did not go through it more than once, if at all, I felt like the difficulty of the questions really prepared me for the exam itself. I regret not focusing my attention more on practicing, rather than topic review (reading/videos). I watched all of Chad's general chemistry (once regular speed, once sped up version) and organic chemistry videos and took notes. I spaced out my BC subject practice tests to track improvement. Bootcamp was great practice for PAT and QR. I started off using the generators only. I honestly wish I focused on these two a little more, but it was tough trying to squeeze it in while focusing on the sciences. BC was great for redirecting my focus towards topics I did not answer correctly across all subjects.
If anybody else is having similar trouble with trying to juggle a busy schedule and studying for the exam, feel free to ask or message me I can give you more details on my schedule I made (don't want to make this post long(er)🙄!)
Exam Experience:
Last night I could NOT fall asleep at all. I was trying to sleep "early" at 10PM and barely fell asleep at 1 AM! AND randomly woke up at 4AM for an hour. I was SO stressed out about having only 3-4 hours of sleep, my anxiety was through the roof. I had the past week off work and barely ate (bad idea), I tried to do as much studying as possible. I had my alarm set for 6 this morning and became so anxious as the time went by. I was so miserable last night, reactions and everything were rolling through my mind. I thought I would be so tired but I woke up just ready to get it over with
I actually felt really sick walking into the test center, but I felt more relieved as I progressed through each section.
I arrived early and started before 8AM. I did not know you could start early, I showed up early to avoid waiting to check in forever. The screen was so much bigger than my macbook, so RC was SO mortifying trying to read ACROSS this big huge screen! The questions were direct and in order for the most part. The new highlighting feature is SO useful. I planned to do the "outlining" method but used the highlights more. The calculator was functional with the keyboard, I was so happy about this! I can only concentrate in dead quiet environment so I brought little foam earplugs and they helped so much. Other people in the test center were taking exams involving TYPING and that annoys me soooooo much😕. I'm so glad the plugs tuned out the loudness.
Lastly, my most searched keywords the past week were "practice test scores vs real DAT" and because of that I wasn't sure if I should post my BC scores because I don't want to mislead anybody. TAKE THIS LIGHTLY. I really really don't know WHY I did so much better than my BC scores. I won't even post my Kaplan scores, cause they were so horrible. I did not take any other full length exams besides Kaplan because I did not feel it was a good way to utilize my time. In order (1-5), I took the following practice tests a month ago, a few weeks ago, and the last 3 days & (my actual DAT scores).
BIO 17/16/16/17/20 (19)
GC 18/17/18/18/19 (21)
OC 15/19/18/20/18 (20)
QR 16/15/15/15/18 (22)
RC 17/X/X/X/20 (22)
PAT 18/X/X/X/19 (20)
AA 21/TS 20
I know my scores aren't in the upper 20s like most people posting on here with 24s and 25s. But I just HAD to share solely because I was SURE I would be getting nothing above an 18 (if that). I had to stare at the screen for a good minute at the end to make sure these were my actual scores!
I agree with most people that the practice tests all around are much harder than the exam. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I SCORED THAT HIGH IN QR. I would always run out of time on BC and did not know a lot of the word problems. I was able to finish all the questions in the QR section on the actual exam with some time to check my marked ones (the keyboard function for the calculator really helped).
I wish I was able to go through all of DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer, as I'm sure this would have easily boosted my scores into the mid 20s. I don't know how I feel about my PAT score. I planned to kill it through hole punching, cubes, patterns, and angles. Then move onto TFE and keyholes. But for SOME REASON I FORGOT TO DO ANGLES TILL THE VERY END. I was SO upset I almost had a heart attack when I clicked to review and realized I did not do angles with only 10 minutes left. I quickly went through them, literally on the edge of my seat. I was breathing so loud I'm pretty sure someone thought I was having a panic attack in my corner cubicle. This was probably my biggest mistake. I clicked into the middle of the sections to do hole punches and cubes and just completely forgot about angles and went back to the beginning. I'm really beating myself up about this. And I know I did not score as well in biology cause it was the first subject and I wasn't feeling too calm yet. I felt soooo torn between the answer choices for so many questions, they all looked so similar, but it's ok I'm satisfied for now!
I hope my breakdown helps some people trying to find a little hope! IF I CAN DO IT SO CAN YOU!
After obsessively lurking all the DAT breakdown posts on SDN for literally the past week, I can't believe I'm posting my own. I graduated last year and I have been working 40+ hours a week as a dental assistant. I have learned SO much its crazy, so if anybody has the opportunity during their gap year(s), I absolutely recommend it. As it also opens doors for other opportunities such as great letters of recommendation and networking (shadow other specialties). In order to make up for my lackluster GPA I knew I had to score at LEAST into the 20s. My mentor advised me to hit 20s across the board, and that just seemed so crazy to me. I have always hated taking exams, I much rather write a 20 page essay than take a test for anything! I work fine under pressure, but I become consumed and stressed with anxiety leading up to the test day.
Because of my crazy work schedule (and working a second job on the weekends - dental school apps and college loans are expensive!) I started studying in January I only had about 2-4 hours on weekdays and 4-6 hours on weekends. Side note: I don't recommend spreading your study time over 6 months because I basically forgot most of what I learned in the earlier months. My schedule just didn't allow me to do anything (because I obviously couldn't quit!) but I didn't start getting really vigorous with studying till I actually registered for the exam back in April. I had a lot of trouble in my introductory sciences, I was just never the "focused" student until my last year of college. Therefore I had to relearn most of the sciences for this exam, especially general chemistry.
Materials Used:
Kaplan BB 2016
DAT Bootcamp
DAT Destroyer
Math Destroyer
Quizlet website (for biology flashcards)
Ochem notes from school
AP Cliff's Biology 3rd Edition
Ferali's Notes
Summary:
I used the same basic bundle as most pre-dents. I really liked KBB for the biology section WAY more than AP Cliff's, solely because I felt it was more geared towards the DAT than just biology review. The mini quizzes at the end of each section were helpful to reinforce the chapter material. I would make flashcards out of topics I did not understand well. The only other section I used was general chemistry, and some PAT for strategies (KBB PAT quizzes were waaaay too easy, compared to BC). I made Quizlet flashcards while reading Cliff's and Ferali's and would use the app to study on my breaks. I don't know if this was effective at all cause it basically just forced memorization and not much application.
My most useful sources, in my opinion were Destroyers and BC. I wish I focused my attention more on completing all the questions in DAT and Math Destroyer. I bought both because it was recommend in Ari's study guide I originally planned to follow. Over the past three months I made it through biology and only half of organic and general chemistry. Although I did not go through it more than once, if at all, I felt like the difficulty of the questions really prepared me for the exam itself. I regret not focusing my attention more on practicing, rather than topic review (reading/videos). I watched all of Chad's general chemistry (once regular speed, once sped up version) and organic chemistry videos and took notes. I spaced out my BC subject practice tests to track improvement. Bootcamp was great practice for PAT and QR. I started off using the generators only. I honestly wish I focused on these two a little more, but it was tough trying to squeeze it in while focusing on the sciences. BC was great for redirecting my focus towards topics I did not answer correctly across all subjects.
If anybody else is having similar trouble with trying to juggle a busy schedule and studying for the exam, feel free to ask or message me I can give you more details on my schedule I made (don't want to make this post long(er)🙄!)
Exam Experience:
Last night I could NOT fall asleep at all. I was trying to sleep "early" at 10PM and barely fell asleep at 1 AM! AND randomly woke up at 4AM for an hour. I was SO stressed out about having only 3-4 hours of sleep, my anxiety was through the roof. I had the past week off work and barely ate (bad idea), I tried to do as much studying as possible. I had my alarm set for 6 this morning and became so anxious as the time went by. I was so miserable last night, reactions and everything were rolling through my mind. I thought I would be so tired but I woke up just ready to get it over with
I actually felt really sick walking into the test center, but I felt more relieved as I progressed through each section.I arrived early and started before 8AM. I did not know you could start early, I showed up early to avoid waiting to check in forever. The screen was so much bigger than my macbook, so RC was SO mortifying trying to read ACROSS this big huge screen! The questions were direct and in order for the most part. The new highlighting feature is SO useful. I planned to do the "outlining" method but used the highlights more. The calculator was functional with the keyboard, I was so happy about this! I can only concentrate in dead quiet environment so I brought little foam earplugs and they helped so much. Other people in the test center were taking exams involving TYPING and that annoys me soooooo much😕. I'm so glad the plugs tuned out the loudness.
Lastly, my most searched keywords the past week were "practice test scores vs real DAT" and because of that I wasn't sure if I should post my BC scores because I don't want to mislead anybody. TAKE THIS LIGHTLY. I really really don't know WHY I did so much better than my BC scores. I won't even post my Kaplan scores, cause they were so horrible. I did not take any other full length exams besides Kaplan because I did not feel it was a good way to utilize my time. In order (1-5), I took the following practice tests a month ago, a few weeks ago, and the last 3 days & (my actual DAT scores).
BIO 17/16/16/17/20
(19)GC 18/17/18/18/19 (21)
OC 15/19/18/20/18 (20)
QR 16/15/15/15/18 (22)
RC 17/X/X/X/20 (22)
PAT 18/X/X/X/19 (20)
AA 21/TS 20
I know my scores aren't in the upper 20s like most people posting on here with 24s and 25s. But I just HAD to share solely because I was SURE I would be getting nothing above an 18 (if that). I had to stare at the screen for a good minute at the end to make sure these were my actual scores!
I agree with most people that the practice tests all around are much harder than the exam. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I SCORED THAT HIGH IN QR. I would always run out of time on BC and did not know a lot of the word problems. I was able to finish all the questions in the QR section on the actual exam with some time to check my marked ones (the keyboard function for the calculator really helped).
I wish I was able to go through all of DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer, as I'm sure this would have easily boosted my scores into the mid 20s. I don't know how I feel about my PAT score. I planned to kill it through hole punching, cubes, patterns, and angles. Then move onto TFE and keyholes. But for SOME REASON I FORGOT TO DO ANGLES TILL THE VERY END. I was SO upset I almost had a heart attack when I clicked to review and realized I did not do angles with only 10 minutes left. I quickly went through them, literally on the edge of my seat. I was breathing so loud I'm pretty sure someone thought I was having a panic attack in my corner cubicle. This was probably my biggest mistake. I clicked into the middle of the sections to do hole punches and cubes and just completely forgot about angles and went back to the beginning. I'm really beating myself up about this. And I know I did not score as well in biology cause it was the first subject and I wasn't feeling too calm yet. I felt soooo torn between the answer choices for so many questions, they all looked so similar, but it's ok I'm satisfied for now!
I hope my breakdown helps some people trying to find a little hope! IF I CAN DO IT SO CAN YOU!
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