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I just took the DAT and reading these forums definitely helped me with structuring my studying, so I thought I’d share what I did.
Materials Used:
DAT Booster- This program is the sole reason I got the score I did. I did not really know which program to get initially then I read good reviews on Booster, and it was cheaper than the other DAT programs- I was very pleased. The only other prep material I bought was a book that I used for maybe a few weeks. The Booster practice tests were very representative of the actual test just slightly harder. I scored higher on each subject on the actual test than I was averaging on Booster except for RC. The biology section on Booster was a lifesaver. I went from getting 16-18s on the practice tests to a 24 on the actual test. I watched pretty much all of DAT Boosters biology videos, used their bio bits probably for a couple hours a week, and then memorized all the cheat sheets. Honestly, I think almost all the questions in the bio section on the actual test could have been answered from knowing all the information on Booster’s cheat sheets. The PAT material is great because I felt like I had more than enough representative practice questions to prepare myself. I wish I would have practiced this section a little more because the more practice you do, the more improvement you see. Not only did each section score improve from the practice tests to the actual but over the course of the ten practice tests I took on Booster, my scores improved too.
Study Timeline:
I am not a very organized person, and I also do not like making planners or schedules, so I used DAT Booster’s 10-week study schedule. I knew I needed some type of structure to keep me on task because I was also taking a full college course load for most of my studying.
QR (26): The math questions were much more straightforward on the actual test than on Booster’s, but I felt like it was very similar concepts. There weren’t any super difficult probability questions that I was worried about seeing. I had plenty of time to finish all the questions unlike on Booster where I felt a little rushed each time I took this section.
RC (22): During the test I felt the worst about this section. I was used to getting almost all the questions right on Booster’s tests, and I was prepared for this to be my best section. The passages took me longer to read, and I had a harder time finding answers to questions. Managing the time is the hardest part of this section, and I did not do that well on the actual test. During my practice tests I would read the entire passage while highlighting then go and answer all the questions- it worked really well for me, but on the actual exam I started falling behind on time and was struggling finding answers in a timely manner.
Bio (24): I was most nervous for this section, but on the actual test I felt like a lot of the questions were almost identical to the material on Booster’s cheat sheets. The questions seemed broader and simpler than what I was used to seeing, and I felt good about this section during the test.
GC (22): This score was also higher than I was expecting to get, but the questions on the test could have probably all been answered once again by memorizing the notes Booster gives you. There weren’t really any math-intensive questions from what I remember, and it was a lot of conceptual questions.
OC (23): I didn’t really study a ton for this section because I remembered a lot of the material from Ochem II, and I honestly thought the questions were almost identical to boosters, maybe a little simpler.
PAT (21): I was very happy with this score because I wasn’t consistently getting this score on Booster’s. The only regret I have is not taking advantage of Booster’s practice questions more because I do believe the more you practice the better you get at them. The questions on the actual test were once again slightly easier which was a relief.
To sum it up: get DAT Booster and just follow one of the study schedules they give you. I wish I followed the schedule a little more consistently, but I was happy with my score and improvement over the few months I studied.
Materials Used:
DAT Booster- This program is the sole reason I got the score I did. I did not really know which program to get initially then I read good reviews on Booster, and it was cheaper than the other DAT programs- I was very pleased. The only other prep material I bought was a book that I used for maybe a few weeks. The Booster practice tests were very representative of the actual test just slightly harder. I scored higher on each subject on the actual test than I was averaging on Booster except for RC. The biology section on Booster was a lifesaver. I went from getting 16-18s on the practice tests to a 24 on the actual test. I watched pretty much all of DAT Boosters biology videos, used their bio bits probably for a couple hours a week, and then memorized all the cheat sheets. Honestly, I think almost all the questions in the bio section on the actual test could have been answered from knowing all the information on Booster’s cheat sheets. The PAT material is great because I felt like I had more than enough representative practice questions to prepare myself. I wish I would have practiced this section a little more because the more practice you do, the more improvement you see. Not only did each section score improve from the practice tests to the actual but over the course of the ten practice tests I took on Booster, my scores improved too.
Study Timeline:
I am not a very organized person, and I also do not like making planners or schedules, so I used DAT Booster’s 10-week study schedule. I knew I needed some type of structure to keep me on task because I was also taking a full college course load for most of my studying.
- March-May 2024: I realized I was only a few months away from needing to take the DAT, and I hadn’t really been studying because I only had a prep book. The book had plenty of information to study, but it was hard for me to stay focused just reading out of a book. I got DAT booster and the first couple weeks I kind of just played around with it and did practice questions. Then, I found their 10-week study schedule when I was about 10-11 weeks out from taking my test. I was in school at this time, so I would try and get ahead of the schedule during my non-exam weeks or during the weekends. There was a week or two during finals where I didn’t study at all, and I skipped some portions because it’s definitely a lot to handle with school.
- May- June 2024: At this point I was taking the last few practice tests and just reviewing with practice questions on Booster. My scores were improving compared to the first few tests. I pushed back my DAT by a couple of weeks because I didn’t have school anymore. During those two weeks, I spent about 3-4 hours a day just reviewing Booster’s cheat sheets and memorizing them because biology was the section I was worried about the most.
QR (26): The math questions were much more straightforward on the actual test than on Booster’s, but I felt like it was very similar concepts. There weren’t any super difficult probability questions that I was worried about seeing. I had plenty of time to finish all the questions unlike on Booster where I felt a little rushed each time I took this section.
RC (22): During the test I felt the worst about this section. I was used to getting almost all the questions right on Booster’s tests, and I was prepared for this to be my best section. The passages took me longer to read, and I had a harder time finding answers to questions. Managing the time is the hardest part of this section, and I did not do that well on the actual test. During my practice tests I would read the entire passage while highlighting then go and answer all the questions- it worked really well for me, but on the actual exam I started falling behind on time and was struggling finding answers in a timely manner.
Bio (24): I was most nervous for this section, but on the actual test I felt like a lot of the questions were almost identical to the material on Booster’s cheat sheets. The questions seemed broader and simpler than what I was used to seeing, and I felt good about this section during the test.
GC (22): This score was also higher than I was expecting to get, but the questions on the test could have probably all been answered once again by memorizing the notes Booster gives you. There weren’t really any math-intensive questions from what I remember, and it was a lot of conceptual questions.
OC (23): I didn’t really study a ton for this section because I remembered a lot of the material from Ochem II, and I honestly thought the questions were almost identical to boosters, maybe a little simpler.
PAT (21): I was very happy with this score because I wasn’t consistently getting this score on Booster’s. The only regret I have is not taking advantage of Booster’s practice questions more because I do believe the more you practice the better you get at them. The questions on the actual test were once again slightly easier which was a relief.
To sum it up: get DAT Booster and just follow one of the study schedules they give you. I wish I followed the schedule a little more consistently, but I was happy with my score and improvement over the few months I studied.
