peanutbutterlover4ever
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Hey everyone. I took my DAT on August 11, 2023 and am posting a breakdown of how I got my score! I only used DAT Bootcamp to study and got a 24AA. My scores were:
PAT: 26
QR: 28
RC: 25
BIO: 22
GC: 23
OC: 22
AA: 23
I am a biology major and am entering my third year of undergrad currently. I took my exam over the summer between my second and third years. I studied over roughly 3 months, with a total of 55 days of content review and breaks/days off scattered throughout when I needed them. I was also doing research every weekday for roughly 3-4 hours in the mornings, shadowing for 3 hours every Wednesday, and volunteering for 4 hours every Sunday. I think I studied for about 2-3 hours a day at the beginning, and ramped it up to 4-5 as my test approached. I followed Ari’s schedule pretty closely for the Biology and Gen Chem Material. The rest, I kind of added in whatever I was feeling motivated to work on each day. I had originally set a goal for a 22AA, but would have been happy with a 20AA. When I saw that I earned a 22+ in every single section, I was extatic. The week leading up to my exam I was so stressed. Like had a meltdown every day. As soon as I saw that score, the summer had felt worth it.
PAT: 26
Truthfully, PAT was my favorite section. I have loved puzzles and brainteasers for most of my life, and was excited that they were on the exam. I know a lot of people really stress doing 10 minutes everyday, and I’m sure that’s a great way to practice, but I honestly never practiced PAT more than the Practice Exams. On my real DAT, I got really really easy hole punching questions, but my keyholes were very tough. Angle ranking was always my worst because there is just no strategy that worked for me. Timing is also a huge deal on this section. I started on question 46 at the hole punch, and ended on angle ranking because if I was out of time those were the ones I was most okay with guessing on quickly.
QR: 28
Similarly to PAT, QR was also one of my favorite sections. I loved math growing up, and it has always been my best subject. I competed in UIL and national level math competitions in middle and high school, so I have been developing this strength for years, rather than in one summer. I also didn’t practice much other than the practice tests. On my real exam, I got a lot of quantity A vs quantity B questions, almost no combinations or permutations, and an assortment of geometry.
RC: 25
RC had been giving me trouble early on in my studying. I think the strategies almost freaked me out and made me rush through the passages and pick questions I was unsure of. By the end of figuring out what worked, I found that reading the first questions, then reading the passage at a quick, but understandable speed, highlighting anything I thought may be a question, and once I found the answer to the first question, I would read the second and so on until I made it through the passage. Most of my questions on the DAT were fact based, but my first two passages were pretty dense and long. I give myself 20 minutes for each passage and keep an eye on the time, and that has worked well for me.
BIO: 22
I gave each bio chapter at least 2 days, did the bio bites one day, and the question bank the next. I never really read the high yield notes by themselves because it was so dense and overwhelming. Instead, I would go through the bites and refer to the notes to help myself answer. I benefited from that active review much more than just passively reading the notes. I took the free Kaplan full length practice test before I started studying anything and got a 13 on biology… I felt like DAT Bootcamp really helped me improve that score. I had not taken Human Physiology, Ecology, Zoology (diversity of life), or any plant biology, so all of that information was brand new. I also watched an assortment of youtube videos and made silly mnemonics to make topics and information more memorable. I fully expected biology to be my lowest score, and was shocked when I got a 22. On my exam, I felt like the questions were broad and specific with a good mix of each. I got pretty specific questions about biomes and fungus but honestly barely any plant, diversity of life, hormone, or genetic questions.
GC: 23
I watched most of Dr. Mike’s videos for this, but tutored gen chem 2 the year prior and felt pretty strong on a lot of it. My gen chem 1 was pretty rusty, and it was kind of frustrating having to relearn these concepts. I was hoping for more calculations on my DAT, but got mostly concepts. Still happy with my score. Know your gas laws.
OC: 22
I was honestly expecting a better score on this section. I also tutored ochem the semester before my exam, and felt like it was my strongest science. I neglected studying it to spend more time on biology, which in hindsight, I should have given it a bit more attention. My exam was quite a bit of reactions, but I also had multiple radical questions, which is where I found myself struggling. Still happy with this score as well, but I know I could have done better with some more practice. I did all of the questions banks and practice tests, but wish I would have finished the reaction bites.
Overall:
I found DAT Bootcamp to be plenty enough to earn an excellent score. I improved my biology score by 9 points over the summer from my first practice test. DO ALL OF THE PRACTICE EXAMS. The last three days before the exam, the only biology I went over was the questions from the practice exams, which was represented well on the real DAT. Set goals, devote yourself, and you can excel! I think studying over a summer is best if possible. I was also doing research and other things, so don’t feel like you have to quit your job and spend 12 hours studying. I can’t even imagine studying that long and it truly being effective. I still indulged in hobbies, spent time with friends and family, and got 8 hours of sleep each night, and I believe that happiness and good feelings helped contribute to my motivation and drive. You can do this!!
PAT: 26
QR: 28
RC: 25
BIO: 22
GC: 23
OC: 22
AA: 23
I am a biology major and am entering my third year of undergrad currently. I took my exam over the summer between my second and third years. I studied over roughly 3 months, with a total of 55 days of content review and breaks/days off scattered throughout when I needed them. I was also doing research every weekday for roughly 3-4 hours in the mornings, shadowing for 3 hours every Wednesday, and volunteering for 4 hours every Sunday. I think I studied for about 2-3 hours a day at the beginning, and ramped it up to 4-5 as my test approached. I followed Ari’s schedule pretty closely for the Biology and Gen Chem Material. The rest, I kind of added in whatever I was feeling motivated to work on each day. I had originally set a goal for a 22AA, but would have been happy with a 20AA. When I saw that I earned a 22+ in every single section, I was extatic. The week leading up to my exam I was so stressed. Like had a meltdown every day. As soon as I saw that score, the summer had felt worth it.
PAT: 26
Truthfully, PAT was my favorite section. I have loved puzzles and brainteasers for most of my life, and was excited that they were on the exam. I know a lot of people really stress doing 10 minutes everyday, and I’m sure that’s a great way to practice, but I honestly never practiced PAT more than the Practice Exams. On my real DAT, I got really really easy hole punching questions, but my keyholes were very tough. Angle ranking was always my worst because there is just no strategy that worked for me. Timing is also a huge deal on this section. I started on question 46 at the hole punch, and ended on angle ranking because if I was out of time those were the ones I was most okay with guessing on quickly.
QR: 28
Similarly to PAT, QR was also one of my favorite sections. I loved math growing up, and it has always been my best subject. I competed in UIL and national level math competitions in middle and high school, so I have been developing this strength for years, rather than in one summer. I also didn’t practice much other than the practice tests. On my real exam, I got a lot of quantity A vs quantity B questions, almost no combinations or permutations, and an assortment of geometry.
RC: 25
RC had been giving me trouble early on in my studying. I think the strategies almost freaked me out and made me rush through the passages and pick questions I was unsure of. By the end of figuring out what worked, I found that reading the first questions, then reading the passage at a quick, but understandable speed, highlighting anything I thought may be a question, and once I found the answer to the first question, I would read the second and so on until I made it through the passage. Most of my questions on the DAT were fact based, but my first two passages were pretty dense and long. I give myself 20 minutes for each passage and keep an eye on the time, and that has worked well for me.
BIO: 22
I gave each bio chapter at least 2 days, did the bio bites one day, and the question bank the next. I never really read the high yield notes by themselves because it was so dense and overwhelming. Instead, I would go through the bites and refer to the notes to help myself answer. I benefited from that active review much more than just passively reading the notes. I took the free Kaplan full length practice test before I started studying anything and got a 13 on biology… I felt like DAT Bootcamp really helped me improve that score. I had not taken Human Physiology, Ecology, Zoology (diversity of life), or any plant biology, so all of that information was brand new. I also watched an assortment of youtube videos and made silly mnemonics to make topics and information more memorable. I fully expected biology to be my lowest score, and was shocked when I got a 22. On my exam, I felt like the questions were broad and specific with a good mix of each. I got pretty specific questions about biomes and fungus but honestly barely any plant, diversity of life, hormone, or genetic questions.
GC: 23
I watched most of Dr. Mike’s videos for this, but tutored gen chem 2 the year prior and felt pretty strong on a lot of it. My gen chem 1 was pretty rusty, and it was kind of frustrating having to relearn these concepts. I was hoping for more calculations on my DAT, but got mostly concepts. Still happy with my score. Know your gas laws.
OC: 22
I was honestly expecting a better score on this section. I also tutored ochem the semester before my exam, and felt like it was my strongest science. I neglected studying it to spend more time on biology, which in hindsight, I should have given it a bit more attention. My exam was quite a bit of reactions, but I also had multiple radical questions, which is where I found myself struggling. Still happy with this score as well, but I know I could have done better with some more practice. I did all of the questions banks and practice tests, but wish I would have finished the reaction bites.
Overall:
I found DAT Bootcamp to be plenty enough to earn an excellent score. I improved my biology score by 9 points over the summer from my first practice test. DO ALL OF THE PRACTICE EXAMS. The last three days before the exam, the only biology I went over was the questions from the practice exams, which was represented well on the real DAT. Set goals, devote yourself, and you can excel! I think studying over a summer is best if possible. I was also doing research and other things, so don’t feel like you have to quit your job and spend 12 hours studying. I can’t even imagine studying that long and it truly being effective. I still indulged in hobbies, spent time with friends and family, and got 8 hours of sleep each night, and I believe that happiness and good feelings helped contribute to my motivation and drive. You can do this!!
