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deleted768895
Hello !!
I took the DAT a few days ago and wanted to discuss some resources I used in the hope of helping others studying!
The past few months have been very challenging to say the least..! My assumptions of studying for the DAT and the reality were very different, but after about 2.5 months studying, i finally did the dat!
My scores are as follow:
PAT: 18
QR: 19
RC: 21
BIO: 23
GEN CHEM: 29
ORGO: 30
AA: 24
TS:26
I am soo happy to be done and not study!! I did contemplate making a breakdown because although I found reading others helpful, it did at times knock my confidence and discourage me because I began comparing myself to the ridiculous scores posted. My intentions of this post are to provide some insight and experience of the different resources. I would also like to add that I never scored this high in Gen Chem and Orgo in any of the practice scores I ever took lol.
OK so, I wanted to say a big big big thank you to @orgoman22 and @Ari Rezaei and @FeralisExtremum - The DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp and Feralis Bio notes were the only resources I used and they were absolutely amazing in preparing me for the DAT.
Rather than going through each section and explaining, I just wanted to briefly explain each resource and how I feel it helped me attain my scores.
Side note; Admittedly my QR and PAT aren't great - QR the downfall was I had mistakenly assumed that since my maths was strong in the past, that after a bit of practice all would be good: wrong!!! Please don't assume this. There's a skill and strategy you need to develop for the QR which only comes which lots of practice. I definitely feel that the Math destroyer and DAT Bootcamp QR tests helped improve my score ALOT. I only wish I had started these at the start of my dat studying. Had I done this, I know for a fact my score would've been higher.
DAT Destroyer:
AMAZING!!! I am not kidding if you want to go into the DAT and be able to answer every single Gen Chem and Orgo question - you need to use this book!! The beauty of the DAT destroyer is that it contains every type of question you will encounter on the DAT especially for the chemistries. I also highly recommend going through the questions more than once. I went through it 1.5x and there was not one question I wasn't familiar with on my real DAT. Please do not think this is overkill - it 150% is not!! Under the timed pressure of the DAT you cant afford to see a question and think hmmm what type of reaction is this - you need to see it and immediately identify it - and this is what the DAT Destroyer does - especially in Organic Chemistry, and I do feel my score reflects this. For the Biology section it was wonderful!! I made flashcard for like every question, unless i really understood the answer. There are so many questions which allows you to cover the plethora of the Bio material required for the DAT. Thank you Dr Romano for always answering my endless questions on the forums here - I am so grateful for your help
DAT Bootcamp:
again AMAZING!!! I may be repeating many of the breakdowns posted on here, but really this software is fantastic! The bio tests provide the most detailed (with diagrams) solutions, its so good! Unfortunately I started the bootcamp tests later on in my studying and so I didn't even get time to go through all the bio practice tests!! Something I would've definitely changed is to start the bio bootcamp tests early on in studying, even before making my notes - because ultimately you're trying to just take in as much information, not to see how you're going to score on the real thing. If you can get through all 10 tests, take notes and thoroughly understand it - you're in a very good place. Don't worry if you're scores aren't reflecting what you want. Think of it as this way; the practice test you just did - you're never going to have that exact test again BUT those concepts will come up, so by learning what you did wrong - you're already 10 steps ahead for the real thing!!. In a way, sometimes getting things wrong was a good thing for me, because somehow the experience of getting the question wrong had a greater impact on my memory and learning and then when i learnt that concept, i would never forget it. In fact, towards the last few exams, i would just rush through them just so i could pick up on what I didn't know.
For Organic Chemistry and Gen Chem simulating the timed conditions was so valuable!! At first I would freak out over the time, rush about and make so many silly mistakes. Over the course of 10 tests, I noticed my speed improving, and as a result felt more calm and made much less mistakes. Practice is key!!! Additionally the QR practice exams were great, the new QC questions provided lots of practice for the real thing. Thank you to Ari and his team for always responding to my emails and questions so quickly
FeralisBio Notes:
AMAZING!!! wow this was like my best friend. I took it in the car, on vacation, on the plane - its a little book of bio magic. The notes are so detailed and i especially loved the little fine print notes which contained low yield concepts that almost certainly will show on the DAT. As everyone says - breadth over depth and I agree! However, I did get some random specific questions too, which Feralis notes saved me on!! The notes can seem quite dense at first, but if you can get through it once slowly, the 2nd time just hammers in all the concepts and you're good to go!
Anyways sorry that was very long! If anyone has any additional questions please ask me i'd be happy to help ALSO if you're DAT is coming up soon, I highly suggest not coming on this website (ironic because then how would you be reading this) But seriously, reading many breakdowns were helpful but also discouraging, I would panic that I can't attain such high grades, and it definitely knocked my confidence off. Believe you can do it, and you will! I took some time off this website and focussed on myself and my skills and I was able to regain my confidence again.
LAST THING, I believe it is possible for anyone to do well on the DAT - it just takes a lot of dedication and always learning from your mistakes, learning from my mistakes was more valuable than passively reading notes good luck future test takers - you got this!!!
I took the DAT a few days ago and wanted to discuss some resources I used in the hope of helping others studying!
The past few months have been very challenging to say the least..! My assumptions of studying for the DAT and the reality were very different, but after about 2.5 months studying, i finally did the dat!
My scores are as follow:
PAT: 18
QR: 19
RC: 21
BIO: 23
GEN CHEM: 29
ORGO: 30
AA: 24
TS:26
I am soo happy to be done and not study!! I did contemplate making a breakdown because although I found reading others helpful, it did at times knock my confidence and discourage me because I began comparing myself to the ridiculous scores posted. My intentions of this post are to provide some insight and experience of the different resources. I would also like to add that I never scored this high in Gen Chem and Orgo in any of the practice scores I ever took lol.
OK so, I wanted to say a big big big thank you to @orgoman22 and @Ari Rezaei and @FeralisExtremum - The DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp and Feralis Bio notes were the only resources I used and they were absolutely amazing in preparing me for the DAT.
Rather than going through each section and explaining, I just wanted to briefly explain each resource and how I feel it helped me attain my scores.
Side note; Admittedly my QR and PAT aren't great - QR the downfall was I had mistakenly assumed that since my maths was strong in the past, that after a bit of practice all would be good: wrong!!! Please don't assume this. There's a skill and strategy you need to develop for the QR which only comes which lots of practice. I definitely feel that the Math destroyer and DAT Bootcamp QR tests helped improve my score ALOT. I only wish I had started these at the start of my dat studying. Had I done this, I know for a fact my score would've been higher.
DAT Destroyer:
AMAZING!!! I am not kidding if you want to go into the DAT and be able to answer every single Gen Chem and Orgo question - you need to use this book!! The beauty of the DAT destroyer is that it contains every type of question you will encounter on the DAT especially for the chemistries. I also highly recommend going through the questions more than once. I went through it 1.5x and there was not one question I wasn't familiar with on my real DAT. Please do not think this is overkill - it 150% is not!! Under the timed pressure of the DAT you cant afford to see a question and think hmmm what type of reaction is this - you need to see it and immediately identify it - and this is what the DAT Destroyer does - especially in Organic Chemistry, and I do feel my score reflects this. For the Biology section it was wonderful!! I made flashcard for like every question, unless i really understood the answer. There are so many questions which allows you to cover the plethora of the Bio material required for the DAT. Thank you Dr Romano for always answering my endless questions on the forums here - I am so grateful for your help
DAT Bootcamp:
again AMAZING!!! I may be repeating many of the breakdowns posted on here, but really this software is fantastic! The bio tests provide the most detailed (with diagrams) solutions, its so good! Unfortunately I started the bootcamp tests later on in my studying and so I didn't even get time to go through all the bio practice tests!! Something I would've definitely changed is to start the bio bootcamp tests early on in studying, even before making my notes - because ultimately you're trying to just take in as much information, not to see how you're going to score on the real thing. If you can get through all 10 tests, take notes and thoroughly understand it - you're in a very good place. Don't worry if you're scores aren't reflecting what you want. Think of it as this way; the practice test you just did - you're never going to have that exact test again BUT those concepts will come up, so by learning what you did wrong - you're already 10 steps ahead for the real thing!!. In a way, sometimes getting things wrong was a good thing for me, because somehow the experience of getting the question wrong had a greater impact on my memory and learning and then when i learnt that concept, i would never forget it. In fact, towards the last few exams, i would just rush through them just so i could pick up on what I didn't know.
For Organic Chemistry and Gen Chem simulating the timed conditions was so valuable!! At first I would freak out over the time, rush about and make so many silly mistakes. Over the course of 10 tests, I noticed my speed improving, and as a result felt more calm and made much less mistakes. Practice is key!!! Additionally the QR practice exams were great, the new QC questions provided lots of practice for the real thing. Thank you to Ari and his team for always responding to my emails and questions so quickly
FeralisBio Notes:
AMAZING!!! wow this was like my best friend. I took it in the car, on vacation, on the plane - its a little book of bio magic. The notes are so detailed and i especially loved the little fine print notes which contained low yield concepts that almost certainly will show on the DAT. As everyone says - breadth over depth and I agree! However, I did get some random specific questions too, which Feralis notes saved me on!! The notes can seem quite dense at first, but if you can get through it once slowly, the 2nd time just hammers in all the concepts and you're good to go!
Anyways sorry that was very long! If anyone has any additional questions please ask me i'd be happy to help
ALSO if you're DAT is coming up soon, I highly suggest not coming on this website (ironic because then how would you be reading this) But seriously, reading many breakdowns were helpful but also discouraging, I would panic that I can't attain such high grades, and it definitely knocked my confidence off. Believe you can do it, and you will! I took some time off this website and focussed on myself and my skills and I was able to regain my confidence again.LAST THING, I believe it is possible for anyone to do well on the DAT - it just takes a lot of dedication and always learning from your mistakes, learning from my mistakes was more valuable than passively reading notes
good luck future test takers - you got this!!!
