- Joined
- Jul 14, 2017
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 21
Hey guys!
I’ve been on SDN quite a bit recently to get advice on the DAT so I felt like I should give back to the community!
I took the DAT last Wednesday morning, and here are my reflections! Some background: I come from a fairly strong science background but finished my bio/chem/orgo requirements a year ago. I initially was going to dedicate last summer to take the DAT but unfortunately got really sick. Therefore, I decided the next best plan was to take the DAT after winter break (in 4 weeks)!
After going through the process, I think 4 weeks is enough time to do well if you come from a similar strong science background and if you’re focused. (However, we're all different and you want to give yourself ample time to prepare.) I spent approximately 9-10 hrs/day and took 2 days of break in the middle. I reviewed bio/chem/orgo material during the first 2 weeks, and started doing DATBootcamp tests/DAT Destroyer problems the last 2 weeks which included doing RC/QR/PAT tests as well. I also did the ADA 2009 test 2 days prior to the real test. Personally, the BIGGEST thing about my 4 wk winter break studying schedule that made it work was isolating myself from distractions. I obviously took breaks on Youtube, exercised every other day, ate out and hung out with a friend as well, but you do want the DAT to be your main focus!
If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask! I honestly believe that if you work hard, you can do amazingly on this exam.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————
Here’s a breakdown of my scores:
PAT - 24
QR - 25
RC - 25
BIO - 20
GCHEM - 27
ORGO - 23
TS - 22
AA - 24
PAT (24): I went in order, and had enough time to finish everything! DATBootcamp is THE go-to for this section! They are the most similar to the real thing and prepare you best. They have a new PAT Academy and teach you how to tackle each section. I followed all of Joel’s strategies, and they work! Also, everyone has a weaker section, and for me it was angle ranking. For this, I just practiced a LOT with the Bootcamp generators - maybe 30 questions every day for the last week and just trying to get used to recognizing slight nuances. I used the Hill Technique and pictured biking down the hill and comparing the steepness of biking down each hill/angle. At first, I was getting 5/15 but this strategy helped get me to 10 or 11/15 consistently, so practice can definitely improve your score! Practice makes perfect.
QR (25): Wow, this section felt like a DATBootcamp test or my DAT Destroyer problems exactly. All I can say is to do those tests until you start getting scores that you want or get the hang of it, because those tests are similar to the real thing. I especially love the practice for the quantitative comparison questions! Another thing is to really pace your time on this section (I was a little pressed for time.) and know your metric conversions (i.e. 1 in. = 2.5 cm)!
RC (25): Really satisfied with this score! The real deal I thought was easier than DATBootcamp - a LOT more search-and-destroy. However, Bootcamp does prepare you amazingly for this section. Rather than focusing on your scores from Bootcamp, focus on finding a fool-proof strategy that works for you when you walk into the testing room! For me, I was scoring 19’s/18’s until I finally found a strategy that worked for me. What I did was read the first five questions or so and memorized/highlighted key words from each question. Then, I would go back to the first question, and do search-and-destroy. During my search-and-destroy, if I encountered any key words from other 4 questions, I would highlight those and go back to them after I finished the first question. I would also highlight other key terms while I read. After finishing the first 5 questions, I would move on and look at the next 5 questions and do the same thing. I left tone questions for the end since I would have a better idea of the passage as a whole afterwards.
BIO (20): toughest section for me…but also the section I spent the most time on! There’s just so much material to cover that it was difficult to cover everything - it’s nearly impossible to recognize EVERY single question on the real exam. For me, I primarily relied on Cliffs AP and DATBootcamp tests and those should provide you a strong base of most material that could be covered. I used Quizlet notecards for all concepts so I could really hammer down important facts. I also started 40 questions in DAT Destroyer and didn’t have enough time to finish, but I would HIGHLY recommend those who have the time to go through these questions 1x or maybe 2x and look at Feralis’ Notes. Like many people have mentioned, Biology is about breadth rather than depth!! In fact, many of my questions were to see if I knew the definitions of basic terms. HOWEVER, some additional courses that I recommend to prepare for DAT Biology if you have time are Anatomy and Physiology.
GCHEM (27): I was very pleasantly surprised by this score!! However, I knew coming in this was going to be one of my strongest sections. What was key to this score was doing Bootcamp tests a 2nd time 3 days before the exam! This allowed me to ensure I knew all the material and was able to recall the knowledge from the first time. I also used Mike’s videos, and feel like he did a great job covering everything~. There was maybe only 1-2 questions I was stuck on and not covered. Gen Chem was initially one of my weaker subjects (scoring 18’s in Bootcamp), being that I hadn’t taken Gen Chem in over 2 years, so I prioritized this section! My score shows you can definitely improve and do well, even if it’s your weaker subject!!
ORGO (23): No surprise here - this score was pretty much exactly what I was scoring towards the end of my DATBootcamp tests! I used Mike’s videos for Orgo and they lay a great foundation. I did all of DAT Destroyer once for Orgo, but really wish I looked at the questions I missed a 2nd time too. I ended up not recalling as well many of the questions I did there, and they cover the hardest questions on the real thing… If I had more time, I would have done more Destroyer.
Big thanks to @Ari Rezaei , @joelm , Mike from Mike's Videos, and @orgoman22 for the help!
I’ve been on SDN quite a bit recently to get advice on the DAT so I felt like I should give back to the community!
I took the DAT last Wednesday morning, and here are my reflections! Some background: I come from a fairly strong science background but finished my bio/chem/orgo requirements a year ago. I initially was going to dedicate last summer to take the DAT but unfortunately got really sick. Therefore, I decided the next best plan was to take the DAT after winter break (in 4 weeks)!After going through the process, I think 4 weeks is enough time to do well if you come from a similar strong science background and if you’re focused. (However, we're all different and you want to give yourself ample time to prepare.) I spent approximately 9-10 hrs/day and took 2 days of break in the middle. I reviewed bio/chem/orgo material during the first 2 weeks, and started doing DATBootcamp tests/DAT Destroyer problems the last 2 weeks which included doing RC/QR/PAT tests as well. I also did the ADA 2009 test 2 days prior to the real test. Personally, the BIGGEST thing about my 4 wk winter break studying schedule that made it work was isolating myself from distractions. I obviously took breaks on Youtube, exercised every other day, ate out and hung out with a friend as well, but you do want the DAT to be your main focus!
If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask!
I honestly believe that if you work hard, you can do amazingly on this exam.——————————————————————————————————————————————————
Here’s a breakdown of my scores:
PAT - 24
QR - 25
RC - 25
BIO - 20
GCHEM - 27
ORGO - 23
TS - 22
AA - 24
PAT (24): I went in order, and had enough time to finish everything! DATBootcamp is THE go-to for this section! They are the most similar to the real thing and prepare you best. They have a new PAT Academy and teach you how to tackle each section. I followed all of Joel’s strategies, and they work! Also, everyone has a weaker section, and for me it was angle ranking. For this, I just practiced a LOT with the Bootcamp generators - maybe 30 questions every day for the last week and just trying to get used to recognizing slight nuances. I used the Hill Technique and pictured biking down the hill and comparing the steepness of biking down each hill/angle. At first, I was getting 5/15 but this strategy helped get me to 10 or 11/15 consistently, so practice can definitely improve your score! Practice makes perfect.
QR (25): Wow, this section felt like a DATBootcamp test or my DAT Destroyer problems exactly. All I can say is to do those tests until you start getting scores that you want or get the hang of it, because those tests are similar to the real thing. I especially love the practice for the quantitative comparison questions! Another thing is to really pace your time on this section (I was a little pressed for time.) and know your metric conversions (i.e. 1 in. = 2.5 cm)!
RC (25): Really satisfied with this score! The real deal I thought was easier than DATBootcamp - a LOT more search-and-destroy. However, Bootcamp does prepare you amazingly for this section. Rather than focusing on your scores from Bootcamp, focus on finding a fool-proof strategy that works for you when you walk into the testing room! For me, I was scoring 19’s/18’s until I finally found a strategy that worked for me. What I did was read the first five questions or so and memorized/highlighted key words from each question. Then, I would go back to the first question, and do search-and-destroy. During my search-and-destroy, if I encountered any key words from other 4 questions, I would highlight those and go back to them after I finished the first question. I would also highlight other key terms while I read. After finishing the first 5 questions, I would move on and look at the next 5 questions and do the same thing. I left tone questions for the end since I would have a better idea of the passage as a whole afterwards.
BIO (20): toughest section for me…but also the section I spent the most time on! There’s just so much material to cover that it was difficult to cover everything - it’s nearly impossible to recognize EVERY single question on the real exam. For me, I primarily relied on Cliffs AP and DATBootcamp tests and those should provide you a strong base of most material that could be covered. I used Quizlet notecards for all concepts so I could really hammer down important facts. I also started 40 questions in DAT Destroyer and didn’t have enough time to finish, but I would HIGHLY recommend those who have the time to go through these questions 1x or maybe 2x and look at Feralis’ Notes. Like many people have mentioned, Biology is about breadth rather than depth!! In fact, many of my questions were to see if I knew the definitions of basic terms. HOWEVER, some additional courses that I recommend to prepare for DAT Biology if you have time are Anatomy and Physiology.
GCHEM (27): I was very pleasantly surprised by this score!! However, I knew coming in this was going to be one of my strongest sections. What was key to this score was doing Bootcamp tests a 2nd time 3 days before the exam! This allowed me to ensure I knew all the material and was able to recall the knowledge from the first time. I also used Mike’s videos, and feel like he did a great job covering everything~. There was maybe only 1-2 questions I was stuck on and not covered. Gen Chem was initially one of my weaker subjects (scoring 18’s in Bootcamp), being that I hadn’t taken Gen Chem in over 2 years, so I prioritized this section! My score shows you can definitely improve and do well, even if it’s your weaker subject!!
ORGO (23): No surprise here - this score was pretty much exactly what I was scoring towards the end of my DATBootcamp tests! I used Mike’s videos for Orgo and they lay a great foundation. I did all of DAT Destroyer once for Orgo, but really wish I looked at the questions I missed a 2nd time too. I ended up not recalling as well many of the questions I did there, and they cover the hardest questions on the real thing… If I had more time, I would have done more Destroyer.
Big thanks to @Ari Rezaei , @joelm , Mike from Mike's Videos, and @orgoman22 for the help!
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