noodlebrain
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After 5 months of grinding, I am finally free! I just want to post a breakdown because seeing those really helped me a lot in my studies.
Background: Princeton University Class of 2021 with a 3.4 GPA.
Study Materials Used:
Study timeline (September 2022 - January 2023):
I started studying in the beginning of September. I also have a job as a medical assistant, so I had to find a way to balance work and the studying. I first started my DAT studies by taking the Princeton Review course (which ran from September to November), but when I felt I wasn't really getting as much as I wanted out of it, I registered for Booster, and soon after, Bootcamp.
Actual DAT Breakdown:
PAT(20): I really got lucky on this one. I honestly thought that I was going to do worse, as I was averaging around an 18. I really did think that the PAT generators on both Bootcamp and Booster were really helpful in terms of visualizing 3D objects and distinguishing between subtle features. Something on test day must have clicked in my mind during the exam because I was breezing through the questions and struggled less than I thought I would. I would say the practice questions on the generators and qbanks were quite representative of what you'd see on the actual.
QR(22): For a little background, I grew up doing math. I skipped a grade of math and did math clubs and math competitions throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Therefore, I totally expected to do better on this section, but I shouldn't really be surprised because my math ego was too big to realize that I should still study for this section. I did think I was ready because I was averaging around a 25 on practice exams, but I'd say that my QR section was definitely harder on the actual than the practices. I definitely do believe that if I studied more for this section, I would have done better.
RC(28): For this section. I did Bootcamp and Booster question banks outside of practice tests. This helped me to develop speed and endurance for this section, and through my practices I found that the Vanilla method worked best for me. On this section of the test, I actually had a lot of extra time left, so I went back through each of the questions to double check my answers. I would highly recommend anyone who is struggling on this section to do as many practice questions as they can find (there are some free RC questions that you can find online too). I feel like this section is more about endurance than anything else because the passages can often get boring by paragraph 22 or something so taking a lot of practice questions will really help you get over that road block.
Biology (24): Biology is so interesting to me. I actually spent the most time on this section because I actually did not have a strong bio foundation when I first started studying. What I did to study was read Bootcamp high-yield notes and then take the practice test. Based on the result summary, I wrote down the topics that were highlighted and would do bio bites in those topics, and that really helped me fill in any gaps in knowledge quickly. I also did the question banks in Booster just to see if anything that I learned was retained.
Gen Chem(22): Booster, Booster, Booster! Please do all of their general chemistry questions. It's sooooo helpful and really helped me brush up on areas that I am not as familiar with. Then I used Bootcamp as extra practice.
Orgo(21): Guys, I'm gonna be honest. I was averaging around a 16 on practice tests, so when I got a 21 on the actual I was absolutely shocked. I luckily got questions that I was able to easily answer, but am I in no way an orgo expert. Up until the test day, I tried to get reaction mechanisms to click for me and it just wasn't happening.
General Advice:
Please keep in mind that mental health is soooo important still. I suffer from anxiety and depression, so it was hard to maintain my focus a lot. However, I made a schedule to allocate time for family, being alone, and studying, and that really helped me in terms of keeping my head clear and also not burn out as much.
What helped me a lot was to explain concepts to my dog (I know she's not listening and thinking of food, but whatever). This really helped me assess whether what I learned was retained or not.
I honestly do believe that if I can do it, you definitely can too. Just know that no matter what you're going through, or whatever anxieties you may have leading up to the test, I'm here for you, and so is this wonderful group of people. You got this!!!!!
Background: Princeton University Class of 2021 with a 3.4 GPA.
Study Materials Used:
- DAT Booster: I highly, highly recommend this! It's not only one of the cheaper programs out there, it is also highly representative of the DAT. I found the question banks really helpful in assessing my knowledge and filling in content gaps as I complete them, especially for the biology, orgo, and math sections. The PAT generator was also really helpful; I'll talk more about this in the specific breakdown of the sections.
- DAT Bootcamp: Also really highly recommend this as well. After I finished the qbanks in Booster, Bootcamp was helpful in terms of testing what I knew and using this extra practice to fill in any gaps that I may still have. I would say that the questions are a bit harder than either Booster or the real DAT (at least for me), but it was still good in terms of building your understanding of concepts, especially in the organic chem section.
- Princeton Review: Mmmm, the classes helped me build a solid foundation in each of the sections, but it isn't worth it for the following reasons: first, it only has about 4 practice tests, and while they were still good for practicing, weren't really representative of the actual DAT; second, the supplemental material that they have with the course aren't nearly as helpful because they were either too easy or too hard; and lastly, they really didn't cover all the topics for the biology section as thoroughly as Bootcamp or Booster.
Study timeline (September 2022 - January 2023):
I started studying in the beginning of September. I also have a job as a medical assistant, so I had to find a way to balance work and the studying. I first started my DAT studies by taking the Princeton Review course (which ran from September to November), but when I felt I wasn't really getting as much as I wanted out of it, I registered for Booster, and soon after, Bootcamp.
Actual DAT Breakdown:
PAT(20): I really got lucky on this one. I honestly thought that I was going to do worse, as I was averaging around an 18. I really did think that the PAT generators on both Bootcamp and Booster were really helpful in terms of visualizing 3D objects and distinguishing between subtle features. Something on test day must have clicked in my mind during the exam because I was breezing through the questions and struggled less than I thought I would. I would say the practice questions on the generators and qbanks were quite representative of what you'd see on the actual.
QR(22): For a little background, I grew up doing math. I skipped a grade of math and did math clubs and math competitions throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Therefore, I totally expected to do better on this section, but I shouldn't really be surprised because my math ego was too big to realize that I should still study for this section. I did think I was ready because I was averaging around a 25 on practice exams, but I'd say that my QR section was definitely harder on the actual than the practices. I definitely do believe that if I studied more for this section, I would have done better.
RC(28): For this section. I did Bootcamp and Booster question banks outside of practice tests. This helped me to develop speed and endurance for this section, and through my practices I found that the Vanilla method worked best for me. On this section of the test, I actually had a lot of extra time left, so I went back through each of the questions to double check my answers. I would highly recommend anyone who is struggling on this section to do as many practice questions as they can find (there are some free RC questions that you can find online too). I feel like this section is more about endurance than anything else because the passages can often get boring by paragraph 22 or something so taking a lot of practice questions will really help you get over that road block.
Biology (24): Biology is so interesting to me. I actually spent the most time on this section because I actually did not have a strong bio foundation when I first started studying. What I did to study was read Bootcamp high-yield notes and then take the practice test. Based on the result summary, I wrote down the topics that were highlighted and would do bio bites in those topics, and that really helped me fill in any gaps in knowledge quickly. I also did the question banks in Booster just to see if anything that I learned was retained.
Gen Chem(22): Booster, Booster, Booster! Please do all of their general chemistry questions. It's sooooo helpful and really helped me brush up on areas that I am not as familiar with. Then I used Bootcamp as extra practice.
Orgo(21): Guys, I'm gonna be honest. I was averaging around a 16 on practice tests, so when I got a 21 on the actual I was absolutely shocked. I luckily got questions that I was able to easily answer, but am I in no way an orgo expert. Up until the test day, I tried to get reaction mechanisms to click for me and it just wasn't happening.
General Advice:
Please keep in mind that mental health is soooo important still. I suffer from anxiety and depression, so it was hard to maintain my focus a lot. However, I made a schedule to allocate time for family, being alone, and studying, and that really helped me in terms of keeping my head clear and also not burn out as much.
What helped me a lot was to explain concepts to my dog (I know she's not listening and thinking of food, but whatever). This really helped me assess whether what I learned was retained or not.
I honestly do believe that if I can do it, you definitely can too. Just know that no matter what you're going through, or whatever anxieties you may have leading up to the test, I'm here for you, and so is this wonderful group of people. You got this!!!!!
