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Hey friends!
So I took my DAT on 7/31/17 and here are my scores
PAT: 22
QR: 22
RC: 19
Bio: 24
GC: 20
OC: 29
TS: 23
AA: 23
Overall, very happy with my scores! I prepared for 8 weeks, following Ari’s schedule. Additionally, I am a Bio major with minors in Chem and Art. I took a few “break” days, but 95% of those 8 weeks were studying from ~11am- 11pm. In this “breakdown” I’m going to try to answer questions that I had during this process and throw in some opinions. Also, PLEASE remember that every brain and every person is different, so these are my thoughts, opinions, and scores!
First off and most importantly: THANK YOU 1,000x to the DAT Destroyer staff (@orgoman22 Nancy, Dr. Romano, Mustapha, and everyone else). You guys are amazing. I cannot put into words how great these individuals are! Additionally, THANK YOU to Ari @Ari Rezaei. BC is perfection. Finally, THANK YOU to Feralis @FeralisExtremum. Your notes were so thorough, no wonder you got a 30 in bio! (also, huge shout out to my parents for being extremely supportive during this whole processes and for purchasing all of the materials I used to prepare).
Subject specific/thoughts:
[PAT]: Just used BC, and that worked! I also looked at DAT Genius’s free rock keyhole practice. I had 6 of those on my exam (and they sucked). BC was on par or slightly easier than every part of the PAT, in my opinion. Timing is the biggest enemy.
[QR]: BC and definitely Destroyer. I have a strong math background, but timing was definitely an issue for me.
I have seen a lot of people write that BC QR is harder than DAT QR. I disagree with this; I think they were about the same. After finishing the QR, I was a little nervous, mainly because I was short on time.
[RC]: I focused my prep heavily on sciences, math, and PAT, so this score makes sense. I took all of the BC practice tests in which I scored ~19. I also read National Geographic articles every day. Ari recommends Scientific American, but for me, those articles were either far too long or far too short. I have read that RC on the DAT was easier than BC tests, so I was banking on that. In my opinion, the BC tests were of the same difficulty levels as the DAT, however, I was pretty darn stressed during this section because I knew that it was the thing I prepared for least, and that could have affected my scores. Who knows?
[Bio]: I studied my butt off for this, but I am still shocked. I went into the test thinking the Bio would be impossible; however, it wasn’t. There are curveball questions and “easy questions,” like in any section. However, the curveball questions are answerable with applied knowledge. I don’t think one can only memorize information and do well in this section (if you can, all power to you!). I believe this section is best conquered by an understanding of how systems and processes operate- and then the “easy questions” (if you can call them that) will be quick. Some memorization is definitely required, but at the same time so is some understanding because its not just “regurgitation questions.”
To study I used Cliff’s AP Bio, BC, Destroyer, and Feralis. I have a strong background in basic cell biology, and took Genetics in the spring. I wasn’t too impressed with Cliff’s- I felt that the information was too broad and not presented clearly. Average BC scores were slightly less than this score, and the explanations after the tests were very helpful (thanks Ari!)! Destroyer rocks. Live it, love it, breathe it. Feralis was probably a little too detailed, but at the same time I really like how the notes are presented, so I would recommend them. (Side note I am taking human physiology in the fall and I plan on using one of Feralis’s sections to study for it, so thanks Feralis!!)
[GC]: While it is fine, I’m a little upset by this score. I used BC, Destroyer, and took GC 2 this spring. My average BC scores on these were ~25 (I aced one too), and I’ve always been very good at both GC and OC. Truly, I cannot remember a lot about the section, because I think my brain has blocked out this traumatic experience lol. What I do remember is thinking, “this isn’t like BC.” There were very few calculations, not a lot of PV=nRT stuff, and a lot of theoretical things that usually I am good at, but maybe today was just not my day. That being said, Destroyer and BC were still good resources!
[OC]: I LOVE organic chemistry (yes I’m odd I know). I was not too worried for this section, but I still studied a lot for it because I wanted to ace it. BC and Destroyer are the way to go. They were both harder than my DAT OC (in my opinion) but that’s good because it made this section seem like a breeze.
Random thoughts:
If you are able to, get Destroyer.
Use multiple resources, but at the same time don’t have too many resources. Find out what works for you, and stick with it. I wanted more materials than just Cliffs, BC, Destroyer, and Feralis (which it nuts and not necessary), so I bought Kaplan flashcards and printed out and hole punched 300+ pages of Ty Jacob’s notes. I used these for literally 5 minutes, that’s it. ***That being said Ty Jacob’s notes are definitely thorough and well organized!! Don’t discount using them. If Feralis didn’t exist then I would’ve used Ty Jacob’s notes, but I found Feralis first so I stuck with those.
I used practice tests from DAT Qvault too- and they’re not a bad investment if you want extra practice. Probably weren’t necessary, but they definitely didn’t hurt.
***Finally, thoughts on my chances of being accepted NEXT cycle considering my DAT/GPA?
My scores are listed above, and currently my GPA is 4.0. I am a rising junior, so I have at least another year of grades to factor into this. However, with the way things are going and the type of student I am, I don’t anticipate this changing too much.
I am interested in ANY school that will accept me, but right now I am exploring Midwestern AZ, University of Arizona, VCU, Nova Southeastern, University of Pacific, UF, Roseman, UMD, Louisville, and WVU. I am a Virginia resident.
Thoughts on how many schools I should apply to with these stats?
Thank you to everyone involved in my preparation and test taking, and to those of you that can offer any advice in the next step (applying) of me going to dental school!
So I took my DAT on 7/31/17 and here are my scores
PAT: 22
QR: 22
RC: 19
Bio: 24
GC: 20
OC: 29
TS: 23
AA: 23
Overall, very happy with my scores! I prepared for 8 weeks, following Ari’s schedule. Additionally, I am a Bio major with minors in Chem and Art. I took a few “break” days, but 95% of those 8 weeks were studying from ~11am- 11pm. In this “breakdown” I’m going to try to answer questions that I had during this process and throw in some opinions. Also, PLEASE remember that every brain and every person is different, so these are my thoughts, opinions, and scores!
First off and most importantly: THANK YOU 1,000x to the DAT Destroyer staff (@orgoman22 Nancy, Dr. Romano, Mustapha, and everyone else). You guys are amazing. I cannot put into words how great these individuals are! Additionally, THANK YOU to Ari @Ari Rezaei. BC is perfection. Finally, THANK YOU to Feralis @FeralisExtremum. Your notes were so thorough, no wonder you got a 30 in bio! (also, huge shout out to my parents for being extremely supportive during this whole processes and for purchasing all of the materials I used to prepare).
Subject specific/thoughts:
[PAT]: Just used BC, and that worked! I also looked at DAT Genius’s free rock keyhole practice. I had 6 of those on my exam (and they sucked). BC was on par or slightly easier than every part of the PAT, in my opinion. Timing is the biggest enemy.
[QR]: BC and definitely Destroyer. I have a strong math background, but timing was definitely an issue for me.
I have seen a lot of people write that BC QR is harder than DAT QR. I disagree with this; I think they were about the same. After finishing the QR, I was a little nervous, mainly because I was short on time.
[RC]: I focused my prep heavily on sciences, math, and PAT, so this score makes sense. I took all of the BC practice tests in which I scored ~19. I also read National Geographic articles every day. Ari recommends Scientific American, but for me, those articles were either far too long or far too short. I have read that RC on the DAT was easier than BC tests, so I was banking on that. In my opinion, the BC tests were of the same difficulty levels as the DAT, however, I was pretty darn stressed during this section because I knew that it was the thing I prepared for least, and that could have affected my scores. Who knows?
[Bio]: I studied my butt off for this, but I am still shocked. I went into the test thinking the Bio would be impossible; however, it wasn’t. There are curveball questions and “easy questions,” like in any section. However, the curveball questions are answerable with applied knowledge. I don’t think one can only memorize information and do well in this section (if you can, all power to you!). I believe this section is best conquered by an understanding of how systems and processes operate- and then the “easy questions” (if you can call them that) will be quick. Some memorization is definitely required, but at the same time so is some understanding because its not just “regurgitation questions.”
To study I used Cliff’s AP Bio, BC, Destroyer, and Feralis. I have a strong background in basic cell biology, and took Genetics in the spring. I wasn’t too impressed with Cliff’s- I felt that the information was too broad and not presented clearly. Average BC scores were slightly less than this score, and the explanations after the tests were very helpful (thanks Ari!)! Destroyer rocks. Live it, love it, breathe it. Feralis was probably a little too detailed, but at the same time I really like how the notes are presented, so I would recommend them. (Side note I am taking human physiology in the fall and I plan on using one of Feralis’s sections to study for it, so thanks Feralis!!)
[GC]: While it is fine, I’m a little upset by this score. I used BC, Destroyer, and took GC 2 this spring. My average BC scores on these were ~25 (I aced one too), and I’ve always been very good at both GC and OC. Truly, I cannot remember a lot about the section, because I think my brain has blocked out this traumatic experience lol. What I do remember is thinking, “this isn’t like BC.” There were very few calculations, not a lot of PV=nRT stuff, and a lot of theoretical things that usually I am good at, but maybe today was just not my day. That being said, Destroyer and BC were still good resources!
[OC]: I LOVE organic chemistry (yes I’m odd I know). I was not too worried for this section, but I still studied a lot for it because I wanted to ace it. BC and Destroyer are the way to go. They were both harder than my DAT OC (in my opinion) but that’s good because it made this section seem like a breeze.
Random thoughts:
If you are able to, get Destroyer.
Use multiple resources, but at the same time don’t have too many resources. Find out what works for you, and stick with it. I wanted more materials than just Cliffs, BC, Destroyer, and Feralis (which it nuts and not necessary), so I bought Kaplan flashcards and printed out and hole punched 300+ pages of Ty Jacob’s notes. I used these for literally 5 minutes, that’s it. ***That being said Ty Jacob’s notes are definitely thorough and well organized!! Don’t discount using them. If Feralis didn’t exist then I would’ve used Ty Jacob’s notes, but I found Feralis first so I stuck with those.
I used practice tests from DAT Qvault too- and they’re not a bad investment if you want extra practice. Probably weren’t necessary, but they definitely didn’t hurt.
***Finally, thoughts on my chances of being accepted NEXT cycle considering my DAT/GPA?
My scores are listed above, and currently my GPA is 4.0. I am a rising junior, so I have at least another year of grades to factor into this. However, with the way things are going and the type of student I am, I don’t anticipate this changing too much.
I am interested in ANY school that will accept me, but right now I am exploring Midwestern AZ, University of Arizona, VCU, Nova Southeastern, University of Pacific, UF, Roseman, UMD, Louisville, and WVU. I am a Virginia resident.
Thoughts on how many schools I should apply to with these stats?
Thank you to everyone involved in my preparation and test taking, and to those of you that can offer any advice in the next step (applying) of me going to dental school!
I love OChem,too. You will rock the application cycle. Make sure volunteer work and personal statement are in line and you should receive many interview invites. Best of luck to you
