So I just took my DAT and wanted to write a breakdown to help other pre-dent’s because I know I looked at a bunch of these during the time that I studied.
Scores:
PAT: 23
QR: 24
RC: 23
Bio: 25
GC: 23
OC: 24
TS: 24
AA: 24
Materials Used:
DAT Booster: this was the main tool I used and the only paid materials I used to study for the DAT. I looked at a bunch of reddit posts comparing Booster to Bootcamp and thought that the materials were comparable between the two, and that Booster was a lot cheaper. I am so glad I went with Booster because I felt that the biology videos were super comprehensive and overprepares you for the exam (bio was the topic I most struggled in when preparing). The thing I thought was most useful was Feralis-Booster Cheat Sheets which gave condensed pages of high yield biology notes that I used to study during my last few weeks of preparation. Their practice exams were pretty comparable to the real thing.
Anki: Some people love anki and some people don’t find it to be that useful. I definitely think it is something that is worth a shot, and when I used it, I did find that I retained the information a lot better. However, I left the bulk of my studying down to the last month, so I found that Anki was not the place I wanted to spend the majority of my studying time. Definitely use it if you have more time though !!!
Studying Timeline
My advice would be to start EARLY, and stick to your schedule. I attempted to use the 10 week study schedule provided by DAT Booster during my fall semester but found myself often making excuses not to study or deviating from the schedule which ended up leaving me with four solid weeks to study during my winter break. I DO NOT advise doing this as I was stressed during the holidays and went to the library almost everyday throughout break. Do yourself a favor and stay committed !!
October 2023 - November 2023: Purchased DAT Booster in October and started filtering through biology content as I felt I had a stronger chemistry background. I was taking biochemistry and human physiology at the time, so these classes gave me a strong background in many of the bodily systems and metabolism pathways that the DAT tests on. Taxonomy was a difficult chapter that is super information dense, so I started trying to memorize all of the groups and their characteristics. However, like I said above, my studying was super sparse, and I could barely study 3 hours a week. If you can, try to take a lighter semester if you are planning to study for the DAT during school.
December 2023: I luckily didn’t have to take any finals, so I decided to go home as soon as I can to start studying more intensely. I would go to the library every day and use the 10 week schedule but cram 2 or 3 days into 1. During the beginning of winter break, I’d be at the library for around 5 hours a day, and study a bit more after I got home. I would also take one practice exam per week for the first two weeks. During the last two weeks, I would take a practice exam almost every other day, using the rest of the practice exams on Booster as well as the ADA exams that were available online. I was probably at the library for around 5 hours and also studied after I got home.
I hate when I read reddit posts that make it seem like you can’t live a normal life when you’re studying for the DAT. If you plan out your studying, you can still relax and have fun!!! Even though I was stressed and was not the best at sticking to my schedule, I still made sure to take breaks, and practice efficient studying habits. The 5 hours of studying I did were maybe less than other people, but I was completely focused the entire time. So focus on quality over quantity, and you can give yourself some extra time to do things that make you happy. I would always grab a fun drink before going to the library to give me some extra motivation, and I took an entire day off studying during Christmas to enjoy some time with family. A few hours or even a day of down time will not make you forget everything you’ve learned!
Day of the exam:
PAT (23): I hated the PAT, but made an effort to at least spend 10-20 minutes per day practicing my weakest sections. Even 10-20 minutes consistently is sufficient to boost your score. I thought the PAT on the actual exam was easier than Booster’s practice exams and generators. During the last week of prep, I always felt rushed for time on PAT, but the actual exam felt better for me in terms of time. I had about two to three minutes left after completing all the sections. I did angle ranking, cube counting, hole punch, and pattern folding first because I was most confident in these sections. I saved TFE and keyhole for last because I literally despised these sections, but wanted all the leftover time to try to get as many of these questions right as possible.
QR (24) & RC (23): I was scoring higher on Booster exams in both of these sections, so I was a little disappointed in these scores truthfully. I wanted them to boost my AA, but I’m not totally dissatisfied with them in the end. These were the last two sections on the DAT so maybe I was losing stamina and made a few dumb mistakes. But if you practice, these sections are pretty straight forward. I always read all the questions for each passage on RC first, then read the passage and search and destroy. It usually does me pretty well! For QR, the on screen calculator was a little annoying because sometimes it wouldn’t clear all the way or if I pressed a number it wouldn’t be entered first try, so be aware of what you’re trying to calculate with that thing.
Bio (25): I was surprised with this score because bio was always my worst section!! You will do better on the actual DAT than the scores on Booster because Booster is definitely meant to overprepare you. A lot of the questions are more general and there are only a few specific questions that might trip you up if you didn’t study more in depth.
GC (23): This section was alright. I never liked gen chem but I thought this section was fair and very comparable to the Booster prac exams. Make sure to memorize the important equations. When you’re practicing with Booster exams, make sure to use a periodic table that only includes the chemical symbols and not the entire name because that’s the kind you get on the exam.
OC (24): I was surprised that this section mainly focused on stability and bigger picture concepts with very few reactions. Focus mainly on the fundamentals but try to memorize as many reactions as you can.
Final thoughts:
I am definitely not the most organized student, but it proves to you that not everyone has to do something the same way!! Find a study strategy that works for YOU, and don’t be scared away by people who say you can’t have fun or relax when you’re studying for this big exam. I actually encourage you to destress when you can because there will definitely be days where you’ll feel like the weight of the exam is too much. Realize that you can always take the DAT again, and that this score does not define who you are or how hard you’ve worked. Good luck to all of you !!!
Scores:
PAT: 23
QR: 24
RC: 23
Bio: 25
GC: 23
OC: 24
TS: 24
AA: 24
Materials Used:
DAT Booster: this was the main tool I used and the only paid materials I used to study for the DAT. I looked at a bunch of reddit posts comparing Booster to Bootcamp and thought that the materials were comparable between the two, and that Booster was a lot cheaper. I am so glad I went with Booster because I felt that the biology videos were super comprehensive and overprepares you for the exam (bio was the topic I most struggled in when preparing). The thing I thought was most useful was Feralis-Booster Cheat Sheets which gave condensed pages of high yield biology notes that I used to study during my last few weeks of preparation. Their practice exams were pretty comparable to the real thing.
Anki: Some people love anki and some people don’t find it to be that useful. I definitely think it is something that is worth a shot, and when I used it, I did find that I retained the information a lot better. However, I left the bulk of my studying down to the last month, so I found that Anki was not the place I wanted to spend the majority of my studying time. Definitely use it if you have more time though !!!
Studying Timeline
My advice would be to start EARLY, and stick to your schedule. I attempted to use the 10 week study schedule provided by DAT Booster during my fall semester but found myself often making excuses not to study or deviating from the schedule which ended up leaving me with four solid weeks to study during my winter break. I DO NOT advise doing this as I was stressed during the holidays and went to the library almost everyday throughout break. Do yourself a favor and stay committed !!
October 2023 - November 2023: Purchased DAT Booster in October and started filtering through biology content as I felt I had a stronger chemistry background. I was taking biochemistry and human physiology at the time, so these classes gave me a strong background in many of the bodily systems and metabolism pathways that the DAT tests on. Taxonomy was a difficult chapter that is super information dense, so I started trying to memorize all of the groups and their characteristics. However, like I said above, my studying was super sparse, and I could barely study 3 hours a week. If you can, try to take a lighter semester if you are planning to study for the DAT during school.
December 2023: I luckily didn’t have to take any finals, so I decided to go home as soon as I can to start studying more intensely. I would go to the library every day and use the 10 week schedule but cram 2 or 3 days into 1. During the beginning of winter break, I’d be at the library for around 5 hours a day, and study a bit more after I got home. I would also take one practice exam per week for the first two weeks. During the last two weeks, I would take a practice exam almost every other day, using the rest of the practice exams on Booster as well as the ADA exams that were available online. I was probably at the library for around 5 hours and also studied after I got home.
I hate when I read reddit posts that make it seem like you can’t live a normal life when you’re studying for the DAT. If you plan out your studying, you can still relax and have fun!!! Even though I was stressed and was not the best at sticking to my schedule, I still made sure to take breaks, and practice efficient studying habits. The 5 hours of studying I did were maybe less than other people, but I was completely focused the entire time. So focus on quality over quantity, and you can give yourself some extra time to do things that make you happy. I would always grab a fun drink before going to the library to give me some extra motivation, and I took an entire day off studying during Christmas to enjoy some time with family. A few hours or even a day of down time will not make you forget everything you’ve learned!
Day of the exam:
PAT (23): I hated the PAT, but made an effort to at least spend 10-20 minutes per day practicing my weakest sections. Even 10-20 minutes consistently is sufficient to boost your score. I thought the PAT on the actual exam was easier than Booster’s practice exams and generators. During the last week of prep, I always felt rushed for time on PAT, but the actual exam felt better for me in terms of time. I had about two to three minutes left after completing all the sections. I did angle ranking, cube counting, hole punch, and pattern folding first because I was most confident in these sections. I saved TFE and keyhole for last because I literally despised these sections, but wanted all the leftover time to try to get as many of these questions right as possible.
QR (24) & RC (23): I was scoring higher on Booster exams in both of these sections, so I was a little disappointed in these scores truthfully. I wanted them to boost my AA, but I’m not totally dissatisfied with them in the end. These were the last two sections on the DAT so maybe I was losing stamina and made a few dumb mistakes. But if you practice, these sections are pretty straight forward. I always read all the questions for each passage on RC first, then read the passage and search and destroy. It usually does me pretty well! For QR, the on screen calculator was a little annoying because sometimes it wouldn’t clear all the way or if I pressed a number it wouldn’t be entered first try, so be aware of what you’re trying to calculate with that thing.
Bio (25): I was surprised with this score because bio was always my worst section!! You will do better on the actual DAT than the scores on Booster because Booster is definitely meant to overprepare you. A lot of the questions are more general and there are only a few specific questions that might trip you up if you didn’t study more in depth.
GC (23): This section was alright. I never liked gen chem but I thought this section was fair and very comparable to the Booster prac exams. Make sure to memorize the important equations. When you’re practicing with Booster exams, make sure to use a periodic table that only includes the chemical symbols and not the entire name because that’s the kind you get on the exam.
OC (24): I was surprised that this section mainly focused on stability and bigger picture concepts with very few reactions. Focus mainly on the fundamentals but try to memorize as many reactions as you can.
Final thoughts:
I am definitely not the most organized student, but it proves to you that not everyone has to do something the same way!! Find a study strategy that works for YOU, and don’t be scared away by people who say you can’t have fun or relax when you’re studying for this big exam. I actually encourage you to destress when you can because there will definitely be days where you’ll feel like the weight of the exam is too much. Realize that you can always take the DAT again, and that this score does not define who you are or how hard you’ve worked. Good luck to all of you !!!
