I started studying for the DAT in February and only used DAT Bootcamp. When I took the test, I was surprised at how much easier PAT was and felt like I was prepared for the science sections. Here is a breakdown on how I used Bootcamp to get this score:
I loosely followed Ari's study schedule until I got through the bio, gen chem, and o chem material. Afterwards, I took practice tests at my own pace and only reviewed material that I didn't feel confident about. I rescheduled my test from April to May because I was taking a hard load of classes and wanted to focus on my finals. If you are not feeling confident with material, I 100% recommend rescheduling your test!! Here is my section breakdown:
BIO (24): The Bootcamp practice tests are incredibly similar to what I saw on the DAT. Make sure you take ALL of the tests - they are pretty up-to-date on DAT material. I did one bio practice test the day before my exam that had 2 IDENTICAL questions to what I saw on the real DAT. I read the condensed bio notes, and completed the bio bites and question banks after reading each section. I used the Bootcamp Anki decks (amazing!!) for chapters I struggled with, like Diversity of Life, Skeletal System, Endocrine System, and Plants. In the two weeks before my exam, I reviewed every practice test and studied the topics I fell short on. Bio is hard to tackle, but consistency is key!
GC (23): This was the hardest section for me. Mike's videos are great- take good notes and do all of the question banks. I thought the practice tests were significantly more difficult than what I saw on the exam. Make sure you know your strong acids and bases, periodic trends, and all of the formulas provided to you by Bootcamp. Make sure you review EVERY question you get wrong on question banks and practice tests!!!
OC (20): I thought I scored higher on this section, especially because I had just finished a year of o chem and was scoring really high on Bootcamp. I did not see very many synthesis questions - instead there were several spectroscopy, lab technique, and naming questions. I also had a few E1/E2/SN1/SN2 questions. Mike's videos are super helpful and so are the reaction bites, but I think understanding mechanisms is also important.
PAT (23): I thought the DAT questions were significantly easier than what I saw on Bootcamp (especially angle ranking and TFE). I struggled with timing on this section, but found that when I skipped to question 31 and then finished the first 30 questions last, I always had enough time. Just 15 minutes a day with PAT will dramatically increase your answer time. Practice is really the only thing that will help you on this section!
RC (30): I wasn't surprised at my score for this section. I've never really struggled with reading comprehension on standardized exams and didn't prepare much for this section. It's important to find a method that works well for you before the exam though- I used the search-and-destroy method described on Bootcamp! I recommend using the highlight feature during this section to highlight the exact parts of the passage that helped you answer a question. This helped me ensure that I was finding the exact answer in the passage.
QR (21): I didn't really practice for this section, and I probably could have done better but was lazy with the math lol. I would definitely review important equations leading up to the exam. I expected to see more probability questions than I actually did on the DAT.
Overall, Bootcamp is the only thing you need to get a score you are satisfied with!!! It is so easy to feel burnout while studying for the DAT, but you have to be willing to tackle material that you can't recall quickly. Lmk if you have any questions about bootcamp/studying for the DAT!
I loosely followed Ari's study schedule until I got through the bio, gen chem, and o chem material. Afterwards, I took practice tests at my own pace and only reviewed material that I didn't feel confident about. I rescheduled my test from April to May because I was taking a hard load of classes and wanted to focus on my finals. If you are not feeling confident with material, I 100% recommend rescheduling your test!! Here is my section breakdown:
BIO (24): The Bootcamp practice tests are incredibly similar to what I saw on the DAT. Make sure you take ALL of the tests - they are pretty up-to-date on DAT material. I did one bio practice test the day before my exam that had 2 IDENTICAL questions to what I saw on the real DAT. I read the condensed bio notes, and completed the bio bites and question banks after reading each section. I used the Bootcamp Anki decks (amazing!!) for chapters I struggled with, like Diversity of Life, Skeletal System, Endocrine System, and Plants. In the two weeks before my exam, I reviewed every practice test and studied the topics I fell short on. Bio is hard to tackle, but consistency is key!
GC (23): This was the hardest section for me. Mike's videos are great- take good notes and do all of the question banks. I thought the practice tests were significantly more difficult than what I saw on the exam. Make sure you know your strong acids and bases, periodic trends, and all of the formulas provided to you by Bootcamp. Make sure you review EVERY question you get wrong on question banks and practice tests!!!
OC (20): I thought I scored higher on this section, especially because I had just finished a year of o chem and was scoring really high on Bootcamp. I did not see very many synthesis questions - instead there were several spectroscopy, lab technique, and naming questions. I also had a few E1/E2/SN1/SN2 questions. Mike's videos are super helpful and so are the reaction bites, but I think understanding mechanisms is also important.
PAT (23): I thought the DAT questions were significantly easier than what I saw on Bootcamp (especially angle ranking and TFE). I struggled with timing on this section, but found that when I skipped to question 31 and then finished the first 30 questions last, I always had enough time. Just 15 minutes a day with PAT will dramatically increase your answer time. Practice is really the only thing that will help you on this section!
RC (30): I wasn't surprised at my score for this section. I've never really struggled with reading comprehension on standardized exams and didn't prepare much for this section. It's important to find a method that works well for you before the exam though- I used the search-and-destroy method described on Bootcamp! I recommend using the highlight feature during this section to highlight the exact parts of the passage that helped you answer a question. This helped me ensure that I was finding the exact answer in the passage.
QR (21): I didn't really practice for this section, and I probably could have done better but was lazy with the math lol. I would definitely review important equations leading up to the exam. I expected to see more probability questions than I actually did on the DAT.
Overall, Bootcamp is the only thing you need to get a score you are satisfied with!!! It is so easy to feel burnout while studying for the DAT, but you have to be willing to tackle material that you can't recall quickly. Lmk if you have any questions about bootcamp/studying for the DAT!
