- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
- Messages
- 502
- Reaction score
- 444
AA: 26
TS: 26
Bio: 26
GC: 25
OC: 28
QR: 28
RC: 25
PAT: 23
Background:
In my third year majoring in biology and computer science. I've taken Intro to Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Genetics, Gen Chem, Orgo I & II, and Biochemistry so far. I generally feel pretty good about biology. Chemistry historically has been my weakness but it's definitely a section that you can do well on the DAT if you give it enough attention.
Resources:
- Anki
- DAT Bootcamp
- DAT Destroyer
- Feralis' Notes
- Cliff's Biology
Biology:
For biology I used the Anki deck on DAT Bootcamp and added additional cards as I went through Destroyer on stuff that I missed as well as any Feralis' Notes that were missing. It's important that you understand the biological concepts rather than just purely memorizing the facts because the DAT can ask questions that make you think what happens when a process goes awry. For DAT Bootcamp, after going through each practice set, I'd read all of the information for each question and write down information that I didn't know. For DAT Destroyer I did about 30 biology questions a day, reviewed the answers, and used a spreadsheet to track which questions I got wrong. Two weeks before my exam, I went through all of biology again marked which ones I got wrong and made sure I paid special attention to the ones I missed twice.
General Chemistry:
Watched Mike's videos on DAT Bootcamp and took notes on the provided outline. The videos do a good job of explaining pretty much everything you need to know for GC. I went through GC Destroyer all the way through tracking which ones I got wrong. I only had time to get through about 100 GC questions a second time. But, I did review all the ones I got wrong the week of my exam to cover any knowledge gaps. The practice tests on DAT Bootcamp were really similar to what I saw on my DAT and there weren't any questions on the DAT that I hadn't seen before.
Organic Chemistry:
OC is my least favorite science. Ironically, it was my highest score, which indicates that it's possible to do well on this section even if you hate it. Watched Mike's videos and took notes on the provided outline. I went through OC Destroyer once and tracked which ones I got wrong and also got through about a 100 questions a second time. The sheer number of possible reactions makes this section overwhelming but if you understand what's happening at a chemical level and why it does, it's easy to see the pattern between reactions and can make a good guess on the DAT. Whenever I saw a reaction I was unfamiliar with, it'd make an Anki card for it so that I become more familiar with the reagents to identify it if it was presented on my exam. Again, DAT Bootcamp was really similar to what I saw on the DAT in terms of content and difficulty.
PAT:
DAT Bootcamp is golden for this. My test was a little easier than the practice tests. All this section is is practice. A lot of practice. I sporadically started using the angle ranking, TFE, pattern folding, and hole punching generators a while before I started really studying for my exam to get familiar with these sections.
Reading Comprehension:
DAT Bootcamp was my sole source of practice. The practice exams on DAT Bootcamp were MUCH harder than my exam. On Bootcamp I was scoring around 20 across all 10 exams. The passages and questions were both easier on the actual DAT.
Quantitative Reasoning:
I went through all of Destroyer once, 3 practice tests in Math Destroyer, and DAT Bootcamp. I found Destroyer to be helpful seeing more difficulty math problems but it's outdated (2017 edition) now that the section as been revised. I found DAT Bootcamp more helpful in preparing for this section since it is more up-to-date and has the quantitative comparison questions. Bootcamp was a little harder than my actual DAT but I appreciate being over prepared. Especially since this is the last section and it's tiring after 3 hours of science, PAT, and reading.
Week of Exam:
Went through all the DAT Bootcamp practice exams. Did one each day and reviewed the solutions the following day with a fresh mind. As I mentioned earlier, I tried to go through Destroyer again but since I heard DAT Bootcamp was more in-line with the actual exam, I spent more time on there instead since time was running out.
Overall:
DAT Bootcamp is golden. The user interface is very similar to the actual DAT so when you sit down, having a familiar screen is comforting (as comforting as it could be). The explanations are very helpful and they focus on important topics that are likely to show up on the exam. DAT Destroyer is overkill but ensures you'll rarely hit a question on the exam you have no clue how to do. It was helpful to learn the fine details and really tests how well you know the material though. I recommend it for Bio and OC since it'll expose you to a variety of questions. Biology in general is a beast. It is very broad and while they tend to focus on the big picture, there will still be some questions that get at the fine-details. GC and OC are possible to do well on because if you do all the questions on Bootcamp, you can see questions that tend to pop-up time after time again. Whereas bio is broad, GC and OC are more predictable in the questions that are asked so you can focus your studying.
If you put in the time to study efficiently, this exam is something you can conquer! When taking the test, if you see something you aren't familiar with, take a breath, recall what you know, and use process of elimination to at least narrow down your answer choices so that you can make a better guess.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! SDN has been a great resource for me in preparing for my DAT and I'll be happy to return the help.
Merry Christmas!
TS: 26
Bio: 26
GC: 25
OC: 28
QR: 28
RC: 25
PAT: 23
Background:
In my third year majoring in biology and computer science. I've taken Intro to Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Genetics, Gen Chem, Orgo I & II, and Biochemistry so far. I generally feel pretty good about biology. Chemistry historically has been my weakness but it's definitely a section that you can do well on the DAT if you give it enough attention.
Resources:
- Anki
- DAT Bootcamp
- DAT Destroyer
- Feralis' Notes
- Cliff's Biology
Biology:
For biology I used the Anki deck on DAT Bootcamp and added additional cards as I went through Destroyer on stuff that I missed as well as any Feralis' Notes that were missing. It's important that you understand the biological concepts rather than just purely memorizing the facts because the DAT can ask questions that make you think what happens when a process goes awry. For DAT Bootcamp, after going through each practice set, I'd read all of the information for each question and write down information that I didn't know. For DAT Destroyer I did about 30 biology questions a day, reviewed the answers, and used a spreadsheet to track which questions I got wrong. Two weeks before my exam, I went through all of biology again marked which ones I got wrong and made sure I paid special attention to the ones I missed twice.
General Chemistry:
Watched Mike's videos on DAT Bootcamp and took notes on the provided outline. The videos do a good job of explaining pretty much everything you need to know for GC. I went through GC Destroyer all the way through tracking which ones I got wrong. I only had time to get through about 100 GC questions a second time. But, I did review all the ones I got wrong the week of my exam to cover any knowledge gaps. The practice tests on DAT Bootcamp were really similar to what I saw on my DAT and there weren't any questions on the DAT that I hadn't seen before.
Organic Chemistry:
OC is my least favorite science. Ironically, it was my highest score, which indicates that it's possible to do well on this section even if you hate it. Watched Mike's videos and took notes on the provided outline. I went through OC Destroyer once and tracked which ones I got wrong and also got through about a 100 questions a second time. The sheer number of possible reactions makes this section overwhelming but if you understand what's happening at a chemical level and why it does, it's easy to see the pattern between reactions and can make a good guess on the DAT. Whenever I saw a reaction I was unfamiliar with, it'd make an Anki card for it so that I become more familiar with the reagents to identify it if it was presented on my exam. Again, DAT Bootcamp was really similar to what I saw on the DAT in terms of content and difficulty.
PAT:
DAT Bootcamp is golden for this. My test was a little easier than the practice tests. All this section is is practice. A lot of practice. I sporadically started using the angle ranking, TFE, pattern folding, and hole punching generators a while before I started really studying for my exam to get familiar with these sections.
Reading Comprehension:
DAT Bootcamp was my sole source of practice. The practice exams on DAT Bootcamp were MUCH harder than my exam. On Bootcamp I was scoring around 20 across all 10 exams. The passages and questions were both easier on the actual DAT.
Quantitative Reasoning:
I went through all of Destroyer once, 3 practice tests in Math Destroyer, and DAT Bootcamp. I found Destroyer to be helpful seeing more difficulty math problems but it's outdated (2017 edition) now that the section as been revised. I found DAT Bootcamp more helpful in preparing for this section since it is more up-to-date and has the quantitative comparison questions. Bootcamp was a little harder than my actual DAT but I appreciate being over prepared. Especially since this is the last section and it's tiring after 3 hours of science, PAT, and reading.
Week of Exam:
Went through all the DAT Bootcamp practice exams. Did one each day and reviewed the solutions the following day with a fresh mind. As I mentioned earlier, I tried to go through Destroyer again but since I heard DAT Bootcamp was more in-line with the actual exam, I spent more time on there instead since time was running out.
Overall:
DAT Bootcamp is golden. The user interface is very similar to the actual DAT so when you sit down, having a familiar screen is comforting (as comforting as it could be). The explanations are very helpful and they focus on important topics that are likely to show up on the exam. DAT Destroyer is overkill but ensures you'll rarely hit a question on the exam you have no clue how to do. It was helpful to learn the fine details and really tests how well you know the material though. I recommend it for Bio and OC since it'll expose you to a variety of questions. Biology in general is a beast. It is very broad and while they tend to focus on the big picture, there will still be some questions that get at the fine-details. GC and OC are possible to do well on because if you do all the questions on Bootcamp, you can see questions that tend to pop-up time after time again. Whereas bio is broad, GC and OC are more predictable in the questions that are asked so you can focus your studying.
If you put in the time to study efficiently, this exam is something you can conquer! When taking the test, if you see something you aren't familiar with, take a breath, recall what you know, and use process of elimination to at least narrow down your answer choices so that you can make a better guess.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me! SDN has been a great resource for me in preparing for my DAT and I'll be happy to return the help.
Merry Christmas!
