- Joined
- Dec 18, 2019
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 23
Hey guys! I recently took my DAT and scored pretty well, I just wanted to share my experience studying for the DAT. The main resource I utilized was DATBooster and it was the highest yield resource I've used, I also used DATbootcamp for a bit but do not suggest getting it as I feel like some questions are outdated and that it’s too expensive. I also used a couple of other resources such as Chad’s prep which is free and DAT destroyer but I only used it for ORGO, GC, and QR and don’t think it helped me too much, Orgomans daily questions on his Facebook group, however, were pretty good as a warmup. I found DATBooster to be a bit harsh on grading but I found that to be great as it gave me the motivation to do better after every practice test. If you are taking your DAT soon read through this post as I wish I had known some of this info before I took my DAT.
QR (27): I predominantly used DATBooster for QR, however, I did use DAT Bootcamp for their question bank and a couple of their exams. DATBootcamps exams were unlike the actual DAT exam as they had too many hard quantitative comparison questions which did not appear at that difficulty or frequency on the DAT. DATBooster's QR exams, however, gave you every question that you could ever imagine being on the DAT without bombarding you with useless quantitative comparison questions and I attribute my score in this section to DATboooster. They also had one of the creators for the math destroyer recently join their team which will probably make their math section even better over time as they add more problems. The tests on DATBooster are a bit hard though so don't get discouraged if you don't score high on your QR practice tests. If you need extra practice for this QR I would suggest using the QR section in DAT Destroyer as it had some pretty good practice for the exam, and if you need even more practice buy the math destroyer but I did not personally purchase it as I did not have enough time to complete it. FYI the calculator disappears after every question on the actual DAT, test prep companies should update their software to represent this.
PAT(26): Datbooster's PAT section is also extremely representative of the actual DAT. I started by using their generators every day doing 5-10 questions in each section. Their practice tests are for sure harder than the actual DAT especially in TFE and keyholes but it was worth doing all the questions because it improved my timing and helped me breeze through the odd questions on the exam. I would recommend using only DATBooster for this section as other resources are not on par with what is tested on the exam.
RC(23): To be honest I did not spend as much time as I should have on this section. I have always been a mediocre reader since my highschool days and can't offer too much advice in this section, but I can say that Feralis's videos helped me understand the question types and that the Booster practice tests helped with my timing. The reading on the DAT is a hit or miss I got a really hard 1st passage that I spent 30 mins on and 2 passages that I did in less than 15 mins each. By the way, you can not scroll with the mouse wheel in the actual exam which was irritating, this is something test prep companies should also update.
BIO(27): The way I started out studying for bio was by using Cliff Notes Ap Bio 3rd edition which you can find online for free. This was a great book to revise basic bio concepts and to grasp a good understanding of them, this book did not cover physiology to the level that you need for the DAT so make sure you utilize other resources for that. I then memorized the Bootcamp condensed notes which are available for free online, these are basically Feralis’s notes but in a nice format, however, they are missing a lot of key points that were on the DAT, so I suggest using the original Feralis notes or the Feralis V2 notes on booster when they come out. But after memorizing all the notes I used DATBoosters practice tests to memorize a lot of the anomalies and I used their question bank to keep on top of my knowledge. I also think that the Taxonomy and Developmental Biology videos were amazing on DATBooster. I do not suggest doing Bootcamp bio exams as they are based on just the notes and I feel like flashcards of the notes would have been better. DATBoosters' questions were a lot more representative as they gave you higher-level thinking questions and made sure to give you high yield questions that are close to the questions on the DAT. If you can buy one resource for bio get DATBooster as it was the highest yield resource I have used for this section.
GC(26): For Gen Chem and ORGO I watched Dr.Mikes vids on Bootcamp which I thought were good to build a foundation, but I would not buy a whole Bootcamp account just for these vids, I would alternatively watch and take notes on all of Dr. Chad's vids which go more in-depth and are available for free on his website. But for practice, I would recommend DATBooster as their exams were just like the real exam, if you need additional practice utilize Dr. Chads free DAT exams on Chad’s Prep. Bootcamps GC section was also pretty good as it covered most of the material but I think that DATBooster was more beneficial for me. DAT Destroyer is also good for this section but it had lots of difficult questions that were not at the level of the DAT so it's not really representative of the exam.
Orgo(24): Orgo was difficult on the exam, there were a few funny questions that I was not able to get right but with enough practice, you can ace this section. If you want to do well get a foundation with Chad's videos, memorize the reaction summary sheet and do lots of practice questions. I think the DATBooster's questions were extremely representative of the exam and they had lots of difficult questions that I have not seen anywhere else but could be on the exam. The other resource I used was the Bootcamp question bank which was also really good as it gave you lots of practice but it still doesn’t justify its price. DAT destroyer was good in this section too as it covered all the material you should know and was not super hard, I also think that their roadmaps were good for memorizing reactions.
All in all, I believe that DATBooster is the sole resource you need to do well, I believe that the price of other test prep companies like Bootcamp and Kaplan are just outrageous for what they provide. I believe that DATbootcamp was good for just their ORGO questions banks, QR question banks, and Mikes vids which can all be substituted with free resources online like chads prep. The only other resource I would suggest to purchase other than DATBooster is DAT Destroyer as it can teach you the concepts you need to know for the DAT, but I only suggest this if you have extra time as it is not as high yield as other resources. Also on the day before your exam try to relax as you've probably burnt yourself out at that point, this helped me exceptionally as it helped me stay calm during the exam. Big thanks to Shahed, Feralis, and the rest of the DATBooster team for making this wonderful resource and keeping it at an affordable price.
QR (27): I predominantly used DATBooster for QR, however, I did use DAT Bootcamp for their question bank and a couple of their exams. DATBootcamps exams were unlike the actual DAT exam as they had too many hard quantitative comparison questions which did not appear at that difficulty or frequency on the DAT. DATBooster's QR exams, however, gave you every question that you could ever imagine being on the DAT without bombarding you with useless quantitative comparison questions and I attribute my score in this section to DATboooster. They also had one of the creators for the math destroyer recently join their team which will probably make their math section even better over time as they add more problems. The tests on DATBooster are a bit hard though so don't get discouraged if you don't score high on your QR practice tests. If you need extra practice for this QR I would suggest using the QR section in DAT Destroyer as it had some pretty good practice for the exam, and if you need even more practice buy the math destroyer but I did not personally purchase it as I did not have enough time to complete it. FYI the calculator disappears after every question on the actual DAT, test prep companies should update their software to represent this.
PAT(26): Datbooster's PAT section is also extremely representative of the actual DAT. I started by using their generators every day doing 5-10 questions in each section. Their practice tests are for sure harder than the actual DAT especially in TFE and keyholes but it was worth doing all the questions because it improved my timing and helped me breeze through the odd questions on the exam. I would recommend using only DATBooster for this section as other resources are not on par with what is tested on the exam.
RC(23): To be honest I did not spend as much time as I should have on this section. I have always been a mediocre reader since my highschool days and can't offer too much advice in this section, but I can say that Feralis's videos helped me understand the question types and that the Booster practice tests helped with my timing. The reading on the DAT is a hit or miss I got a really hard 1st passage that I spent 30 mins on and 2 passages that I did in less than 15 mins each. By the way, you can not scroll with the mouse wheel in the actual exam which was irritating, this is something test prep companies should also update.
BIO(27): The way I started out studying for bio was by using Cliff Notes Ap Bio 3rd edition which you can find online for free. This was a great book to revise basic bio concepts and to grasp a good understanding of them, this book did not cover physiology to the level that you need for the DAT so make sure you utilize other resources for that. I then memorized the Bootcamp condensed notes which are available for free online, these are basically Feralis’s notes but in a nice format, however, they are missing a lot of key points that were on the DAT, so I suggest using the original Feralis notes or the Feralis V2 notes on booster when they come out. But after memorizing all the notes I used DATBoosters practice tests to memorize a lot of the anomalies and I used their question bank to keep on top of my knowledge. I also think that the Taxonomy and Developmental Biology videos were amazing on DATBooster. I do not suggest doing Bootcamp bio exams as they are based on just the notes and I feel like flashcards of the notes would have been better. DATBoosters' questions were a lot more representative as they gave you higher-level thinking questions and made sure to give you high yield questions that are close to the questions on the DAT. If you can buy one resource for bio get DATBooster as it was the highest yield resource I have used for this section.
GC(26): For Gen Chem and ORGO I watched Dr.Mikes vids on Bootcamp which I thought were good to build a foundation, but I would not buy a whole Bootcamp account just for these vids, I would alternatively watch and take notes on all of Dr. Chad's vids which go more in-depth and are available for free on his website. But for practice, I would recommend DATBooster as their exams were just like the real exam, if you need additional practice utilize Dr. Chads free DAT exams on Chad’s Prep. Bootcamps GC section was also pretty good as it covered most of the material but I think that DATBooster was more beneficial for me. DAT Destroyer is also good for this section but it had lots of difficult questions that were not at the level of the DAT so it's not really representative of the exam.
Orgo(24): Orgo was difficult on the exam, there were a few funny questions that I was not able to get right but with enough practice, you can ace this section. If you want to do well get a foundation with Chad's videos, memorize the reaction summary sheet and do lots of practice questions. I think the DATBooster's questions were extremely representative of the exam and they had lots of difficult questions that I have not seen anywhere else but could be on the exam. The other resource I used was the Bootcamp question bank which was also really good as it gave you lots of practice but it still doesn’t justify its price. DAT destroyer was good in this section too as it covered all the material you should know and was not super hard, I also think that their roadmaps were good for memorizing reactions.
All in all, I believe that DATBooster is the sole resource you need to do well, I believe that the price of other test prep companies like Bootcamp and Kaplan are just outrageous for what they provide. I believe that DATbootcamp was good for just their ORGO questions banks, QR question banks, and Mikes vids which can all be substituted with free resources online like chads prep. The only other resource I would suggest to purchase other than DATBooster is DAT Destroyer as it can teach you the concepts you need to know for the DAT, but I only suggest this if you have extra time as it is not as high yield as other resources. Also on the day before your exam try to relax as you've probably burnt yourself out at that point, this helped me exceptionally as it helped me stay calm during the exam. Big thanks to Shahed, Feralis, and the rest of the DATBooster team for making this wonderful resource and keeping it at an affordable price.
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