Hey everyone, just for some background, I am a rising junior majoring in Microbiology. I wanted to share how I prepared for the exam and how it went, because I know that reading breakdowns was how I learned most of my tips! I studied for about 3 months with no break. I used both bootcamp and booster. I think they both are great resources! As for my study schedule, I followed bootcamps learning schedule until it got to the practice exams, I stopped following it. I am not the type of person who can sit down for 8 hours and study, I kind of just went with the flow. If I didn’t feel like studying one day, I would study for 1-2 hours and call it a day. I never forced myself to feel uncomfortable studying because I wanted to make sure my mental health came first. I felt like I had time for other things and for my family, so I would say don’t feel pressured to study an unhealthy amount of hours, do what feels right for YOU! I always felt disappointed when I did not get a lot of studying done, but in the end, I think those breaks were very much needed. One thing I think contributed to my score the most was that I wrote down all my incorrect / marked questions from the practice tests in a huge notebook for all sections except reading and PAT. I only did 3 full lengths, everything else I did was individual. I just did not feel like devoting 5 hours straight to practice 10 times but I think that could be helpful if you wanna get used to the endurance. My full lengths were in the range of 21-23.
Bio (25): The bulk of my studying went to this section. For bio, I started out with feralis notes on booster and then to refresh the next day, I would use the bootcamp high yield notes and do bio bites followed by the question banks from both booster and bootcamp. To review my studying, I would do the Anki biology set from booster, which I think is an AMAZING resource, it’s everything from feralis in flash cards. I did that for about a month or two until my cards were piling and I gave up. Then when it came to practice tests, I would keep a notebook for everything I got wrong. This motivated me to not get a lot wrong so I didn’t have to write them out. I then redid all the bio practice tests ~ 3 times. I think the booster biology practice tests are the most representative of the test. To be honest, my exam personally had nothing that threw me off, I got a lot of molecular biology/genetics/animal behavior and very little physiology (1-2 questions), but of course every exam is different. Overall, everything was very broad. If you could stick to one resource to improve your bio score, booster feralis notes + booster practice tests is amazing (I saw VERY similar questions).
Gen Chem (30): Let me start by saying that I didn’t expect this at all. The gen chem section for me wasn’t the easiest, but it also wasn’t the hardest. It is similar in difficulty to both bootcamp and booster. I used Mikes Videos in Bootcamp, and followed those with the question banks. I then used a study sheet to consistently review my formulas and concepts. I think UNDERSTANDING the concepts is very important for this section. Don't only know the formulas but also know why they are used. I used both practice tests from booster and bootcamp, I think they both do a good job at being representative, but I did use bootcamp for the bulk of my chemistry studying. I did all the bootcamp practice tests twice.
Orgo (24): For this section, I used Mikes videos as well, followed by the question bank. I had just taken Orgo the semester before so everything was fresh in my mind so I put the least amount of effort/ time on this section. I would consistently review reaction bites to refresh my memory. I think both the bootcamp and booster practice tests are very representative of what I saw on the exam. I think if you struggle with memorizing the reactions, the best resource is the anki flashcards on DAT booster. I used it from time to time and it helped to keep the information fresh in my mind.
RC (26): I think this section is about being good about finding a strategy that works for you. What I did was read about half the passage, answer questions and then read the rest and finish answering the questions. If a passage was really boring and dense I would just search and destroy. I couldn’t focus on boring passages. I think bootcamp practice tests for reading are very representative of what you will see on the exam. Most of the questions were just straight from the passage, and I had maybe 1-2 questions that asked me about the main idea/tone.
QR (23): I primarily reviewed the booster practice exams and I also did the booster math videos, and although I used both I think booster was the most representative of this section. The questions are very similar, lots of probability and Algebra questions for me. I think practice is your best bet for this section. Like the science sections, I would write down everything I got wrong. I then reviewed all the practice tests once more a week before the test. Also, when practicing I would always run out of time, but on the exam I had time to go back and check my answers! I think with practice you get better with time.
PAT(19): For PAT I think it’s key that you PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. In the beginning I was scoring 17s and I felt very discouraged but as time went by my score went from 17 to 18, to 19, and then eventually I would get 20s every now and then. I think I could’ve practiced more but I put most of my attention on the sciences. Also, for my exam in particular, I felt as if it was very comparable to the difficulty to booster, which is contrary to what most people say (they say it’s easier). I think both resources are great for PAT, the question banks on bootcamp are good because the explanations are very thorough and they really break down how to eliminate answer choices and go about the questions. If I could go back, I would have implemented the generators into my schedule everyday.
I think DAT Bootcamp does a great job at teaching the material that needs to be learned for the exam. DAT booster’s practice tests are VERY representative of the real exam and the style of the questions are almost identical. I think the key to getting better is really focusing on your weaknesses, which is why I think the method of writing down all my wrong/marked questions was very helpful. I slowly noticed my scores going up as I kept studying and I would encounter similar questions that I knew how to answer when previously I didn't. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask since I may have not covered everything in here. I am a first generation college student so all the little tips and tricks I have learned have been from many people in this group chat. I am so grateful for everyone who was willing to offer me advice and I would love to do the same. Congratulations to everyone who has taken the DAT and good luck to everyone studying. YOU GOT THIS!!
Bio (25): The bulk of my studying went to this section. For bio, I started out with feralis notes on booster and then to refresh the next day, I would use the bootcamp high yield notes and do bio bites followed by the question banks from both booster and bootcamp. To review my studying, I would do the Anki biology set from booster, which I think is an AMAZING resource, it’s everything from feralis in flash cards. I did that for about a month or two until my cards were piling and I gave up. Then when it came to practice tests, I would keep a notebook for everything I got wrong. This motivated me to not get a lot wrong so I didn’t have to write them out. I then redid all the bio practice tests ~ 3 times. I think the booster biology practice tests are the most representative of the test. To be honest, my exam personally had nothing that threw me off, I got a lot of molecular biology/genetics/animal behavior and very little physiology (1-2 questions), but of course every exam is different. Overall, everything was very broad. If you could stick to one resource to improve your bio score, booster feralis notes + booster practice tests is amazing (I saw VERY similar questions).
Gen Chem (30): Let me start by saying that I didn’t expect this at all. The gen chem section for me wasn’t the easiest, but it also wasn’t the hardest. It is similar in difficulty to both bootcamp and booster. I used Mikes Videos in Bootcamp, and followed those with the question banks. I then used a study sheet to consistently review my formulas and concepts. I think UNDERSTANDING the concepts is very important for this section. Don't only know the formulas but also know why they are used. I used both practice tests from booster and bootcamp, I think they both do a good job at being representative, but I did use bootcamp for the bulk of my chemistry studying. I did all the bootcamp practice tests twice.
Orgo (24): For this section, I used Mikes videos as well, followed by the question bank. I had just taken Orgo the semester before so everything was fresh in my mind so I put the least amount of effort/ time on this section. I would consistently review reaction bites to refresh my memory. I think both the bootcamp and booster practice tests are very representative of what I saw on the exam. I think if you struggle with memorizing the reactions, the best resource is the anki flashcards on DAT booster. I used it from time to time and it helped to keep the information fresh in my mind.
RC (26): I think this section is about being good about finding a strategy that works for you. What I did was read about half the passage, answer questions and then read the rest and finish answering the questions. If a passage was really boring and dense I would just search and destroy. I couldn’t focus on boring passages. I think bootcamp practice tests for reading are very representative of what you will see on the exam. Most of the questions were just straight from the passage, and I had maybe 1-2 questions that asked me about the main idea/tone.
QR (23): I primarily reviewed the booster practice exams and I also did the booster math videos, and although I used both I think booster was the most representative of this section. The questions are very similar, lots of probability and Algebra questions for me. I think practice is your best bet for this section. Like the science sections, I would write down everything I got wrong. I then reviewed all the practice tests once more a week before the test. Also, when practicing I would always run out of time, but on the exam I had time to go back and check my answers! I think with practice you get better with time.
PAT(19): For PAT I think it’s key that you PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. In the beginning I was scoring 17s and I felt very discouraged but as time went by my score went from 17 to 18, to 19, and then eventually I would get 20s every now and then. I think I could’ve practiced more but I put most of my attention on the sciences. Also, for my exam in particular, I felt as if it was very comparable to the difficulty to booster, which is contrary to what most people say (they say it’s easier). I think both resources are great for PAT, the question banks on bootcamp are good because the explanations are very thorough and they really break down how to eliminate answer choices and go about the questions. If I could go back, I would have implemented the generators into my schedule everyday.
I think DAT Bootcamp does a great job at teaching the material that needs to be learned for the exam. DAT booster’s practice tests are VERY representative of the real exam and the style of the questions are almost identical. I think the key to getting better is really focusing on your weaknesses, which is why I think the method of writing down all my wrong/marked questions was very helpful. I slowly noticed my scores going up as I kept studying and I would encounter similar questions that I knew how to answer when previously I didn't. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask since I may have not covered everything in here. I am a first generation college student so all the little tips and tricks I have learned have been from many people in this group chat. I am so grateful for everyone who was willing to offer me advice and I would love to do the same. Congratulations to everyone who has taken the DAT and good luck to everyone studying. YOU GOT THIS!!
