DMDental2027
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DAT Breakdown:
Hey everyone! It has been a few months since I have taken my DAT but I wrote a breakdown in which I hope will help many of those who are currently preparing for the DAT and those in the future as well. I took the DAT twice. Once in the summer of 2021 and then a second time a year later in summer of 2022. For the 2nd DAT, I studied for approximately 4 months over the summer. The only resources I used to prepare for the DAT were DATBootcamp and DATBooster. The bulk of most of my studying was using DATBootcamp which included going through all the Biology readings, lecture videos for the rest of the sections, practice question banks, and PRACTICE TESTS! Practice tests single handedly helped me improve the most throughout my studying journey. In the last month of studying, I bought DATBooster for the extra practice tests and I felt like it helped make a huge difference in my scores. As for which resource is better, you have to decide that for yourself. DATBootcamp gives you free access to the first chapter/material of every section of the DAT to answer the practice questions, exams, and questions banks. DATBooster only gives you the first chapter of lecture videos to each section for free. But if you can afford both, go for it! Overall, what helped me improve the most was going through every practice question, right or wrong and reading both the text and video explanations as well as marking problems that I got wrong to go over another day until I’m confident that I understand how to do those questions. The more questions you can practice, the better. You will also gain a sense of the types of questions that you will be asked of the real DAT. Down below, I will be primarily discussing what I did to prepare the 2nd time for the DAT. In the summary at the end, I will talk a bit about the differences between what I did the 2nd time and what I did the 1st time.
Biology(16->24): This was the most difficult section for me to study purely due to the fact that there’s so much information you have to learn. I used and read through the entirety of the DATBootcamp’s biology academy textbook and some of the bootcamp biology videos when they first started coming out. I think that both the videos and textbooks are great resources and it depends on whether you enjoy reading more or watching lecture videos. For those who watch the lecture videos, it’s nice to be able to also reference back to the textbook as well to learn and make sure you don’t miss any information that may be important. Evidently, Biology was most definitely my biggest improvement and I couldn’t have done it without DATBooster. The practice test questions I practiced on DATBooster were very similar and representative to those I saw on the real exam. This is one quality that I appreciate from DATBooster over DATBootcamp. Overall, biology is a lot of reviewing and has to always be part of your studying routine everyday. You have to constantly make sure that you go over the chapters you’re not a 100 percent on and I did those through rereading parts of the DATBootcamp’s biology academy textbook and Bio Bite and Questions Banks on DATBootcamp. The Bio Bites are questions that you are also able to answer on the go and be able to also go over the text explanation of each question. And make sure to utilize mnemonics whenever and wherever you can.
Gen Chemistry(20->25): To prepare for this section, I went through DAT Bootcamp Dr. Mike’s videos for studying the Gen Chem section while also answering the practice questions he gives throughout the lectures as well as the Question Banks that go along with each chapter. How I improved in this section was just doing practice questions and practice tests and learning from my mistakes. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
Organic Chemistry(20->21): Like General Chemistry, I used Dr. Mike’s videos to learn all of the material and did practice questions and questions banks that went along with them. Organic Chemistry has a lot of reactions, reagents, mechanisms that you either have to understand or memorize. Find patterns when you encounter recurrent types of questions. On DATBootcamp, there was a resource called “DAT Bootcamp OC Reactions Cheat Sheet” that showed all of the reactions that would most likely show up on the DAT. I went through and tried memorizing and recognizing all these reactions. It really helped me in the long run even for questions that I may not be necessarily sure on. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
PAT(22->23): Practice and consistency. Being short on time is one of the most trouble people commonly have in this section. How I learned PAT was through DATBootcamp lecture videos but you want to go through the sections that you are confident that you know you will do well in to save time and leave the rest of the time to go through the problems or sections you have the most trouble in or are the slowest in. Since I mainly had trouble with TFE’s, I started with keyholes, skipped TFE and did the rest of the sections and then went back to TFE’s. I also did around 10-15 questions from each section everyday. You can even do these questions on the go when you're outside and have brief periods of time to answer a question or two. Every question you answer helps to build up what you learn in the long run. Here, I felt like DATBooster questions on practice tests were more representative than DATBootcamp mostly for the Keyhole and TFE section and marginally for the other sections.
RC(18->22): This is one of the sections that I would say I was the weakest in and would have the least advice on. I was always a slow reader so I always felt like I was lagging behind or didn’t have enough time to answer all the questions from the three passages. Like most other people say, you have to find a method that works best for you. This is where DATBootcamp strategy videos came in the most. My method was going through each question that was asking for a specific thing in the passage and writing one keyword from the question that I could remember and refer back to. For example, if the article is about different types of inventions and how advanced technology has become and question 24 asks “What year did Alessandro Volta invent electricity? I would write “24 volta electricity” and keep these keywords in mind while also looking for a number to represent the year or century. For those who struggle keeping up in RC, you have to remember literally every second matters. Here, a bit of recall is what helped me the most. You also have to determine the main idea of the passage and what the author is trying to convey. For me, this section felt like multitasking. You have to keep in mind the keywords and reference back to your paper if you need while also trying to determine the main idea of the passage and what the author is trying to convey. What you do and strategies you equip all take time so you have to see if the strategies you utilize will benefit you instead of wasting time. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
QR(24->24): QR was one of the sections I didn’t have to put too much effort in. I’ve always had a strong background in QR and have always found QR to be versatile in the sense that questions can be solved in different methods. There will be types of problems where you just might have to memorize certain equations and just ingrain it in your head. Initially, I remember I would always miss the “simple and compound interest” type of questions and the combination and permutation problems because I would always forget the equation. Practice it everyday until you always get the questions right and maybe even try to find a mnemonic or something to help remind you of the equation you need when facing certain problems. What I did to prepare/learn for QR was watch the DATBootcamp lecture videos and use practice bank questions and I felt like that was enough for me. Additionally, the QR cheat sheet on DATBootcamp is a great way to collectively see all the equations you may need to know and use for the DAT. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
Summary:
There’s no shortcuts in the DAT. You have to put in the work to get the results you want. Why did I not score as well as I hoped, especially with the 16 in Biology? Simply because I was unprepared. I didn’t put enough effort and time to make sure that I understood all of the material. I didn’t practice enough questions. I barely went over the explanation of questions I got wrong. Even so, you have to also go over questions you got right too because you might have got the answer correct, but your reasoning wasn’t. Consistent repetition is key. **This following advice goes to most sections but primarily for the Science section that has a lot of information you have to remember. When you learn new information, you will probably only understand say 70 percent of what you learn. This is why you have to go over the material again to retain that 70 percent while also trying to understand the last 30 percent you didn’t the first time. However, as the days move on while you're studying more and learning new information, you will probably start forgetting some of that 70 percent plus whatever you retain from the other 30 percent which is why you need to constantly go over material you already have gone through.** This means redoing practice questions and taking the time to review previous chapters. For example, you might have practiced questions that you have gotten right after you watched the lecture video that corresponds to how you do these types of questions. But after a few days have passed, do you still remember how to do it and what the question is trying to ask you? It sounds like a lengthy process and admittedly, it sucks. But that’s also how you learn and retain information. Figure out where your weaknesses are and target it. Take pictures and notes of problems/topics you’re always getting wrong and come back to it. It sounds difficult to do but the more you practice the more you realize where you have to improve. Seek help and advice. Utilize whatever resource you have. Ask people questions. Don’t be shy to ask either. Ask in these FB group chats, chat box on DATBootcamp and DAT Booster. There are so many people who are willing to help that you don’t know yet. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I’ll try to answer them as soon as I can. Good luck to everyone who is currently preparing for the DAT!
Hey everyone! It has been a few months since I have taken my DAT but I wrote a breakdown in which I hope will help many of those who are currently preparing for the DAT and those in the future as well. I took the DAT twice. Once in the summer of 2021 and then a second time a year later in summer of 2022. For the 2nd DAT, I studied for approximately 4 months over the summer. The only resources I used to prepare for the DAT were DATBootcamp and DATBooster. The bulk of most of my studying was using DATBootcamp which included going through all the Biology readings, lecture videos for the rest of the sections, practice question banks, and PRACTICE TESTS! Practice tests single handedly helped me improve the most throughout my studying journey. In the last month of studying, I bought DATBooster for the extra practice tests and I felt like it helped make a huge difference in my scores. As for which resource is better, you have to decide that for yourself. DATBootcamp gives you free access to the first chapter/material of every section of the DAT to answer the practice questions, exams, and questions banks. DATBooster only gives you the first chapter of lecture videos to each section for free. But if you can afford both, go for it! Overall, what helped me improve the most was going through every practice question, right or wrong and reading both the text and video explanations as well as marking problems that I got wrong to go over another day until I’m confident that I understand how to do those questions. The more questions you can practice, the better. You will also gain a sense of the types of questions that you will be asked of the real DAT. Down below, I will be primarily discussing what I did to prepare the 2nd time for the DAT. In the summary at the end, I will talk a bit about the differences between what I did the 2nd time and what I did the 1st time.
Biology(16->24): This was the most difficult section for me to study purely due to the fact that there’s so much information you have to learn. I used and read through the entirety of the DATBootcamp’s biology academy textbook and some of the bootcamp biology videos when they first started coming out. I think that both the videos and textbooks are great resources and it depends on whether you enjoy reading more or watching lecture videos. For those who watch the lecture videos, it’s nice to be able to also reference back to the textbook as well to learn and make sure you don’t miss any information that may be important. Evidently, Biology was most definitely my biggest improvement and I couldn’t have done it without DATBooster. The practice test questions I practiced on DATBooster were very similar and representative to those I saw on the real exam. This is one quality that I appreciate from DATBooster over DATBootcamp. Overall, biology is a lot of reviewing and has to always be part of your studying routine everyday. You have to constantly make sure that you go over the chapters you’re not a 100 percent on and I did those through rereading parts of the DATBootcamp’s biology academy textbook and Bio Bite and Questions Banks on DATBootcamp. The Bio Bites are questions that you are also able to answer on the go and be able to also go over the text explanation of each question. And make sure to utilize mnemonics whenever and wherever you can.
Gen Chemistry(20->25): To prepare for this section, I went through DAT Bootcamp Dr. Mike’s videos for studying the Gen Chem section while also answering the practice questions he gives throughout the lectures as well as the Question Banks that go along with each chapter. How I improved in this section was just doing practice questions and practice tests and learning from my mistakes. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
Organic Chemistry(20->21): Like General Chemistry, I used Dr. Mike’s videos to learn all of the material and did practice questions and questions banks that went along with them. Organic Chemistry has a lot of reactions, reagents, mechanisms that you either have to understand or memorize. Find patterns when you encounter recurrent types of questions. On DATBootcamp, there was a resource called “DAT Bootcamp OC Reactions Cheat Sheet” that showed all of the reactions that would most likely show up on the DAT. I went through and tried memorizing and recognizing all these reactions. It really helped me in the long run even for questions that I may not be necessarily sure on. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
PAT(22->23): Practice and consistency. Being short on time is one of the most trouble people commonly have in this section. How I learned PAT was through DATBootcamp lecture videos but you want to go through the sections that you are confident that you know you will do well in to save time and leave the rest of the time to go through the problems or sections you have the most trouble in or are the slowest in. Since I mainly had trouble with TFE’s, I started with keyholes, skipped TFE and did the rest of the sections and then went back to TFE’s. I also did around 10-15 questions from each section everyday. You can even do these questions on the go when you're outside and have brief periods of time to answer a question or two. Every question you answer helps to build up what you learn in the long run. Here, I felt like DATBooster questions on practice tests were more representative than DATBootcamp mostly for the Keyhole and TFE section and marginally for the other sections.
RC(18->22): This is one of the sections that I would say I was the weakest in and would have the least advice on. I was always a slow reader so I always felt like I was lagging behind or didn’t have enough time to answer all the questions from the three passages. Like most other people say, you have to find a method that works best for you. This is where DATBootcamp strategy videos came in the most. My method was going through each question that was asking for a specific thing in the passage and writing one keyword from the question that I could remember and refer back to. For example, if the article is about different types of inventions and how advanced technology has become and question 24 asks “What year did Alessandro Volta invent electricity? I would write “24 volta electricity” and keep these keywords in mind while also looking for a number to represent the year or century. For those who struggle keeping up in RC, you have to remember literally every second matters. Here, a bit of recall is what helped me the most. You also have to determine the main idea of the passage and what the author is trying to convey. For me, this section felt like multitasking. You have to keep in mind the keywords and reference back to your paper if you need while also trying to determine the main idea of the passage and what the author is trying to convey. What you do and strategies you equip all take time so you have to see if the strategies you utilize will benefit you instead of wasting time. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
QR(24->24): QR was one of the sections I didn’t have to put too much effort in. I’ve always had a strong background in QR and have always found QR to be versatile in the sense that questions can be solved in different methods. There will be types of problems where you just might have to memorize certain equations and just ingrain it in your head. Initially, I remember I would always miss the “simple and compound interest” type of questions and the combination and permutation problems because I would always forget the equation. Practice it everyday until you always get the questions right and maybe even try to find a mnemonic or something to help remind you of the equation you need when facing certain problems. What I did to prepare/learn for QR was watch the DATBootcamp lecture videos and use practice bank questions and I felt like that was enough for me. Additionally, the QR cheat sheet on DATBootcamp is a great way to collectively see all the equations you may need to know and use for the DAT. Practice tests for both DATBootcamp and DATBooster were both representative of what I saw on the actual DAT.
Summary:
There’s no shortcuts in the DAT. You have to put in the work to get the results you want. Why did I not score as well as I hoped, especially with the 16 in Biology? Simply because I was unprepared. I didn’t put enough effort and time to make sure that I understood all of the material. I didn’t practice enough questions. I barely went over the explanation of questions I got wrong. Even so, you have to also go over questions you got right too because you might have got the answer correct, but your reasoning wasn’t. Consistent repetition is key. **This following advice goes to most sections but primarily for the Science section that has a lot of information you have to remember. When you learn new information, you will probably only understand say 70 percent of what you learn. This is why you have to go over the material again to retain that 70 percent while also trying to understand the last 30 percent you didn’t the first time. However, as the days move on while you're studying more and learning new information, you will probably start forgetting some of that 70 percent plus whatever you retain from the other 30 percent which is why you need to constantly go over material you already have gone through.** This means redoing practice questions and taking the time to review previous chapters. For example, you might have practiced questions that you have gotten right after you watched the lecture video that corresponds to how you do these types of questions. But after a few days have passed, do you still remember how to do it and what the question is trying to ask you? It sounds like a lengthy process and admittedly, it sucks. But that’s also how you learn and retain information. Figure out where your weaknesses are and target it. Take pictures and notes of problems/topics you’re always getting wrong and come back to it. It sounds difficult to do but the more you practice the more you realize where you have to improve. Seek help and advice. Utilize whatever resource you have. Ask people questions. Don’t be shy to ask either. Ask in these FB group chats, chat box on DATBootcamp and DAT Booster. There are so many people who are willing to help that you don’t know yet. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I’ll try to answer them as soon as I can. Good luck to everyone who is currently preparing for the DAT!
