zhangcc
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I took my DAT in September and got a satisfying score so just wanted to share some of my experiences with preparing for DAT. I used DATBooster (which include PATBooster), DAT Destroyer, and Dr.Chad's video for my review.
Review on the resources I used:
DATBooster -- I took most of the practice tests, watched some of the biology and chemistry videos for a general topic review. I found the practice tests (for OC, GC, BIO) to be very helpful for me to check my progress and to know what topics are my weakness that need more time to review. The practices for RC could be very hard sometimes so I try to use it more as a daily practice. I think doing RC tests helped me a lot in improving my speed and correctness and just made me feel really confident when taking the real test. The PAT section is the same as PATBooster, again really really really helpful! For the QR section, I did not spent a lot of time reviewing but did like 4~5 practice tests on Booster just to get familiar with the topics.
DATDestroyer -- I took almost every question on DAT Destroyer (I've read that people suggesting going it over for a second time but did not have the time to do so). I tried to do 40 questions for each of the OC, GC, and BIO sections everyday but sometimes found myself a little bit behind schedule. It's more important that you do some questions everyday than sticking strictly with the schedule. And please don't feel frustrated if you find that you couldn't keep up with the schedule. I'm sure we've all run into that situation. Just try to adjust your goals, balance the time you spent on reviewing topics and doing practice problems, and give yourself a break every week. Overall, the problems on Destroyer definitely helped me in reviewing the science section. I did not feel that the questions for OC and GC are overshooting, they are similar to the ones I got on the real test. Some of the questions in BIO are really hard (mainly just facts that I did not know) but the topics are just so broad and you can never know what's going to be on the real test.
Review for each section:
PAT(23)
-The real PAT test I got on my exam day is way harder than all of the practices test I've done on DAT/PATBooster but I could never got this score without using the generator as a daily practice and the practice tests as a time booster. I started using PATBooster quite early and only used the generator for practice. About 2 month before my scheduled test I started to do a time practice test every week. I found it really helpful to just practice a little (like using the generator for difference sections for 15mins) but try to practice everyday.
OC(22)
-At first I watched Dr.Chad's video for a general topic review. I had taken OC at school but it's always been the hardest thing for me to learn. I just constantly learn and constantly forget what I just learned. I spent like 2 months to go over all of the problems on Destroyer and in the 2nd month I also started doing timed tests on Booster about twice a week. I went over every question I got wrong on both Destroyer and Booster and review the topic again if I found it necessary. I used flash cards to memorize all of the reactions and reagents and it saved my score for the final test.
GC(26)
- For GC, I also started watching Dr.Chad's video. I started this way too early and did not review it until the last month before my exam. For a second review, I used the review summaries on DATBooster and went over all of the concepts and examples questions and they are really helpful for me to just reinforce my memories. I did like 40 questions on Destroyer everyday for a month and a half and went over the question I got wrong. It is really helpful to figure out the details that I got confused about and make sure that I understand the concepts used for solving the problem instead of the problem itself.
BIO(23)
-I'm a bio major and this is also the section that I spent the most time on just to memorize EVERYTHING. I do feel that the topic is soooooo broad and there is really no way for me to remember everything in 2 months. I downloaded the Bio Review from DATBootcamp very early before I did any research on which tools to use for my test review. So this turned out to be the only review summary I used at first. Later in my review, I watched the BIO videos on Booster to review some specific topics that I'm not familiar with. Again, I first practiced the problems on Destroyer and after feeling confident about most of the topics, I started doing the practice tests on Booster. I think the questions on Booster is similar to the ones I got on the real test, and the questions on Destroyer challenged me to understand each concept.
RC(26)
-This is a very unexpected score because I scored a 19 on almost on of the practice test I did on Booster. I started RC review really like and just tried to do a timed practice test like 2-3 times a week. I also used the short practice articles as a daily practice. I would say the questions I got on Booster is harder than the ones I got on the real test. The questions on the real test are more straightforward and the details they tested on are just easier to find. I do feel that my skills and timing are improved after doing all of the practice tests. Very helpful for me to prepare for the real test! (BUT, it is really frustrating that my scores stays the same for every practice test....)
QR(30)
-I did some timed practice tests on Booster and on Destroyer. I scored a 17 for my first practice and that was like 3 weeks before the real test. I did not really study for math section and just did some more practice tests on Booster and all of the Destroyer questions at the end (there are like ~200 Math questions at the end of the Science sections in Destroyer). I also bought MathDestroyer but did not have time to do it.
Overall, I am very satisfied with DATBooster, Destroyer, and Chad's videos. Destroyer and Chad's video are just as good as they have always been. I chose DATBooster partly because of the price and partly because I found PATBooster to be awesome. And it is a really great surprise.
Day before exam:
I was really stressed out like two days before my exam because of some other issues and did not do anything but to relax. So I would strongly recommend get a rest one day or two days before the exam. It would be enough to go over some flash cards or a 20mins PAT practice and just relax for the rest of the time.
It is a really hard time for everyone, and reviewing for DAT just adds more to it. So I really hope that people can get the scores they want and don't feel frustrated because you are not alone.
Thank you to the DATBooster team for answering my questions during my review, and for making this great and affordable resource. And Thank you to Dr. Romano for making every questions valuable and for making such a comprehensive review tool!
Review on the resources I used:
DATBooster -- I took most of the practice tests, watched some of the biology and chemistry videos for a general topic review. I found the practice tests (for OC, GC, BIO) to be very helpful for me to check my progress and to know what topics are my weakness that need more time to review. The practices for RC could be very hard sometimes so I try to use it more as a daily practice. I think doing RC tests helped me a lot in improving my speed and correctness and just made me feel really confident when taking the real test. The PAT section is the same as PATBooster, again really really really helpful! For the QR section, I did not spent a lot of time reviewing but did like 4~5 practice tests on Booster just to get familiar with the topics.
DATDestroyer -- I took almost every question on DAT Destroyer (I've read that people suggesting going it over for a second time but did not have the time to do so). I tried to do 40 questions for each of the OC, GC, and BIO sections everyday but sometimes found myself a little bit behind schedule. It's more important that you do some questions everyday than sticking strictly with the schedule. And please don't feel frustrated if you find that you couldn't keep up with the schedule. I'm sure we've all run into that situation. Just try to adjust your goals, balance the time you spent on reviewing topics and doing practice problems, and give yourself a break every week. Overall, the problems on Destroyer definitely helped me in reviewing the science section. I did not feel that the questions for OC and GC are overshooting, they are similar to the ones I got on the real test. Some of the questions in BIO are really hard (mainly just facts that I did not know) but the topics are just so broad and you can never know what's going to be on the real test.
Review for each section:
PAT(23)
-The real PAT test I got on my exam day is way harder than all of the practices test I've done on DAT/PATBooster but I could never got this score without using the generator as a daily practice and the practice tests as a time booster. I started using PATBooster quite early and only used the generator for practice. About 2 month before my scheduled test I started to do a time practice test every week. I found it really helpful to just practice a little (like using the generator for difference sections for 15mins) but try to practice everyday.
OC(22)
-At first I watched Dr.Chad's video for a general topic review. I had taken OC at school but it's always been the hardest thing for me to learn. I just constantly learn and constantly forget what I just learned. I spent like 2 months to go over all of the problems on Destroyer and in the 2nd month I also started doing timed tests on Booster about twice a week. I went over every question I got wrong on both Destroyer and Booster and review the topic again if I found it necessary. I used flash cards to memorize all of the reactions and reagents and it saved my score for the final test.
GC(26)
- For GC, I also started watching Dr.Chad's video. I started this way too early and did not review it until the last month before my exam. For a second review, I used the review summaries on DATBooster and went over all of the concepts and examples questions and they are really helpful for me to just reinforce my memories. I did like 40 questions on Destroyer everyday for a month and a half and went over the question I got wrong. It is really helpful to figure out the details that I got confused about and make sure that I understand the concepts used for solving the problem instead of the problem itself.
BIO(23)
-I'm a bio major and this is also the section that I spent the most time on just to memorize EVERYTHING. I do feel that the topic is soooooo broad and there is really no way for me to remember everything in 2 months. I downloaded the Bio Review from DATBootcamp very early before I did any research on which tools to use for my test review. So this turned out to be the only review summary I used at first. Later in my review, I watched the BIO videos on Booster to review some specific topics that I'm not familiar with. Again, I first practiced the problems on Destroyer and after feeling confident about most of the topics, I started doing the practice tests on Booster. I think the questions on Booster is similar to the ones I got on the real test, and the questions on Destroyer challenged me to understand each concept.
RC(26)
-This is a very unexpected score because I scored a 19 on almost on of the practice test I did on Booster. I started RC review really like and just tried to do a timed practice test like 2-3 times a week. I also used the short practice articles as a daily practice. I would say the questions I got on Booster is harder than the ones I got on the real test. The questions on the real test are more straightforward and the details they tested on are just easier to find. I do feel that my skills and timing are improved after doing all of the practice tests. Very helpful for me to prepare for the real test! (BUT, it is really frustrating that my scores stays the same for every practice test....)
QR(30)
-I did some timed practice tests on Booster and on Destroyer. I scored a 17 for my first practice and that was like 3 weeks before the real test. I did not really study for math section and just did some more practice tests on Booster and all of the Destroyer questions at the end (there are like ~200 Math questions at the end of the Science sections in Destroyer). I also bought MathDestroyer but did not have time to do it.
Overall, I am very satisfied with DATBooster, Destroyer, and Chad's videos. Destroyer and Chad's video are just as good as they have always been. I chose DATBooster partly because of the price and partly because I found PATBooster to be awesome. And it is a really great surprise.
Day before exam:
I was really stressed out like two days before my exam because of some other issues and did not do anything but to relax. So I would strongly recommend get a rest one day or two days before the exam. It would be enough to go over some flash cards or a 20mins PAT practice and just relax for the rest of the time.
It is a really hard time for everyone, and reviewing for DAT just adds more to it. So I really hope that people can get the scores they want and don't feel frustrated because you are not alone.
Thank you to the DATBooster team for answering my questions during my review, and for making this great and affordable resource. And Thank you to Dr. Romano for making every questions valuable and for making such a comprehensive review tool!
