Hey guys!!I'm really excited to be done with the DAT.
My scores are as follows:
PAT: 20
QR: 17
RC: 24
BIO: 18
GC: 20
OC: 29
TS: 20
AA: 22
Materials:
DAT Destroyer 2015
Math Destroyer 2015
DAT Bootcamp (didn't finish everything though)
Barron's (I don't recommend this book)
Chad's Videos
Cliffs AP Bio
Feralis' Notes
Background: So I have an associates in chemistry, and I got an A in both orgo 1 and 2, so I had a pretty solid foundation going into it. I work part-time, so it's been hard to stick to a strict study schedule. I followed Ari's DAT Study Schedule as a baseline. I definitely didn't study every day, but when I did it would be at a max of about 2 hours/day. I didn't start hardcore studying until like mid-July when I booked the test. I had been lightly reviewing bio since May.
DAT Bootcamp Scores:
GC: 15/18/20/19/19
PAT: 20
Bio: 23/19/17/19
QR: 20/less than 14
OC: 17/17/20
RC: 19
Test:
PAT: I used Barron's PAT tests to learn how to do the sections. For cube counting, I didn't do the stem/leaf chart. I simply counted the sides and drew lines between each level. Angle ranking, I did the thing where you sit back glance at each angle very quickly for comparison. There was like one or two rocks which I guess on. The test overall was medium I would say. On par with DAT Bootcamp.
QR: I was disappointed with my score. I knew all the shortcuts from Chad and Math Destroyer, but I think I just went through it slow. I wasn't racing through the test at that point. I did, however, do the easy problems first. I had like 10 problems left at T-10mins, and like half of them were word problems. That messed me up. But overall, it wasn't that hard. On par with Math Destroyer. DAT Bootcamp seemed harder to me than the actual test (which is good for prep, though).
RC: I read through each passage and mapped it out BEFORE reading any questions. By the time I did questions, I either already knew the answer or knew where to locate it. DAT Bootcamp's tests were harder than the real thing, in my opinion.
BIO: I wish I could've gotten at least a 19 on this. Chemistry is my forte, so I didn't pay much attention to bio. I went through like 300 Destroyer questions though to prepare and Cliffs AP Bio. Got like 1/3 through feralis and gave up.
GC: I studied more for GC than anything else. I was nervous about this section. I love chemistry, but GC is just so broad. Many of the DAT questions were VERY similar to DAT Destroyer, so DAT Destroyer is a must for this. Oh, and not to mention, Chad. He is a wonderful review.
OC: Speaking of Chad, I literally skipped his reaction videos and watched the first and last chapters. All you need for this section is DAT Destroyer. I saw no reactions that were unfamiliar. Know Tollen's reagent and your nucleophiles.
In conclusion, thank you to Dr. Romano, Chad, Feralis, and Ari! Excellent study materials.
(p.s. How will dental schools view the QR17?
)
Your materials were superb. I won't worry too much about the QR after looking at Doc Toothache's guide to dental school admissions statistics. 