I took the DAT early September 2021 and would like to share some thoughts.
AA: 27
BIO: 26
GC: 28
OC: 26
PAT: 21
QR: 30
RC: 24
TS: 27
For some background, I am a 4th year undergrad majoring in chemistry. I studied over the summer while doing research at my university. I purchased DATBooster over DAT Bootcamp, mainly because it was cheaper, but did not regret my purchase decision at all. I used the Feralis-Booster study schedule for the content learning phase, but diverged from it later on because I didn’t deem it necessary to buy DAT Destroyer. During the week, I studied each morning for about 3 hours, did research during the day, then studied for about 3 more hours in the evening. I didn’t take days off, but there were some days that I did not stick to the schedule. I would recommend studying for the DAT over the summer if possible; I believe it would be tough to study for the DAT and juggle coursework during the academic year. Here are more in-depth breakdowns for each section:
Biology: 26
I was pretty nervous about biology before my test. I definitely spent more time studying for bio than for any other subject because it is so broad. To study, I watched all the Booster bio videos and read through the Feralis-Booster biology notes. Another super valuable resource for me was Khan Academy’s biology videos. The biology extra questions were also a valuable resource to see what I knew and didn’t know. If you study these materials, you should be covered. Review your marked questions! I didn’t realize you could do this until a few days before my DAT, but it helped me tremendously!
General Chemistry: 28
As a chemistry major, I have a strong background in general chemistry, but I still found the chem videos by Professor Dave to be helpful. I highly recommend watching Chad’s videos on YouTube. The chemistry section of the DAT felt very similar to a Booster practice test. I felt completely prepared. Some of the extra questions provided by Booster are a bit harder than what you’re gonna see on the real DAT. Don’t worry too much if you struggle on the extra questions.
Organic Chemistry: 26
My #1 tip for ochem is to use the Booster Anki deck to memorize the reactions. And don’t neglect the IUPAC naming rules, no matter how annoying they are. One thing that caught me a little off guard was that a bunch of questions represented molecules using their full chemical formulas instead of line-angle formulas. You may see this on your DAT, so make sure you know how to go back and forth between the two. I highly recommend Chad’s videos on YouTube for organic chemistry as well. I’d go to his videos first whenever I needed clarification on a topic.
Perceptual Ability: 21
I was a bit surprised by the PAT section of my DAT. The keyhole and TFE sections were much simpler than the Booster practice tests: the shapes that I saw were quite tame compared to what I was used to. Angle ranking, hole-punching, and pattern-folding were all very similar to the Booster practice tests. My advice for the PAT section is to mainly use the practice tests to study. Each question has a detailed solution. Use these to your advantage. Booster will prepare you for this section. This section takes diligence. It was tough at first but got easier the more I studied.
Quantitative Reasoning: 30
This section was much easier than I thought it would be. It was much more straightforward than Booster’s QR, and I felt overprepared. Please don’t stress too much if Booster’s QR is difficult for you! I ran out of time on about half of the Booster practice tests, but had plenty of time to check my answers on the real DAT. Use Booster to learn how to do certain types of problems, but don’t expect the real DAT to be as hard as the Booster practice tests.
Reading Comprehension: 24
My RC experience was a bit odd. The computer I took my DAT on was pretty slow. It took at least one second every time I switched questions, which got pretty frustrating. I took my practice tests by pre-reading all the questions before reading the passage, but the computer was too slow to use this strategy so I had to abandon it after the first passage. I’m not sure if this is a problem specific to my testing center, but be aware that you may experience similar frustrations. Other than this, Booster practice tests are representative of the real DAT. Find a strategy that works for you, and practice it.
Overall:
If you are able, try to take full length tests in one sitting to build up stamina. The first time I did this I was completely exhausted, but by the time I took the real DAT I was used to it. Keep in mind the real DAT combines biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry in one section. Taking the three tests separately feels different than taking them all together. In my opinion, practice tests are the best way to study for the DAT. I'd highly recommend taking as many of them as you can. Also, don’t get discouraged if your scores on practice tests aren’t where you’d like them to be. Most people (myself included) score higher on the real DAT. I hope this helped! Let me know if you have any questions!
AA: 27
BIO: 26
GC: 28
OC: 26
PAT: 21
QR: 30
RC: 24
TS: 27
For some background, I am a 4th year undergrad majoring in chemistry. I studied over the summer while doing research at my university. I purchased DATBooster over DAT Bootcamp, mainly because it was cheaper, but did not regret my purchase decision at all. I used the Feralis-Booster study schedule for the content learning phase, but diverged from it later on because I didn’t deem it necessary to buy DAT Destroyer. During the week, I studied each morning for about 3 hours, did research during the day, then studied for about 3 more hours in the evening. I didn’t take days off, but there were some days that I did not stick to the schedule. I would recommend studying for the DAT over the summer if possible; I believe it would be tough to study for the DAT and juggle coursework during the academic year. Here are more in-depth breakdowns for each section:
Biology: 26
I was pretty nervous about biology before my test. I definitely spent more time studying for bio than for any other subject because it is so broad. To study, I watched all the Booster bio videos and read through the Feralis-Booster biology notes. Another super valuable resource for me was Khan Academy’s biology videos. The biology extra questions were also a valuable resource to see what I knew and didn’t know. If you study these materials, you should be covered. Review your marked questions! I didn’t realize you could do this until a few days before my DAT, but it helped me tremendously!
General Chemistry: 28
As a chemistry major, I have a strong background in general chemistry, but I still found the chem videos by Professor Dave to be helpful. I highly recommend watching Chad’s videos on YouTube. The chemistry section of the DAT felt very similar to a Booster practice test. I felt completely prepared. Some of the extra questions provided by Booster are a bit harder than what you’re gonna see on the real DAT. Don’t worry too much if you struggle on the extra questions.
Organic Chemistry: 26
My #1 tip for ochem is to use the Booster Anki deck to memorize the reactions. And don’t neglect the IUPAC naming rules, no matter how annoying they are. One thing that caught me a little off guard was that a bunch of questions represented molecules using their full chemical formulas instead of line-angle formulas. You may see this on your DAT, so make sure you know how to go back and forth between the two. I highly recommend Chad’s videos on YouTube for organic chemistry as well. I’d go to his videos first whenever I needed clarification on a topic.
Perceptual Ability: 21
I was a bit surprised by the PAT section of my DAT. The keyhole and TFE sections were much simpler than the Booster practice tests: the shapes that I saw were quite tame compared to what I was used to. Angle ranking, hole-punching, and pattern-folding were all very similar to the Booster practice tests. My advice for the PAT section is to mainly use the practice tests to study. Each question has a detailed solution. Use these to your advantage. Booster will prepare you for this section. This section takes diligence. It was tough at first but got easier the more I studied.
Quantitative Reasoning: 30
This section was much easier than I thought it would be. It was much more straightforward than Booster’s QR, and I felt overprepared. Please don’t stress too much if Booster’s QR is difficult for you! I ran out of time on about half of the Booster practice tests, but had plenty of time to check my answers on the real DAT. Use Booster to learn how to do certain types of problems, but don’t expect the real DAT to be as hard as the Booster practice tests.
Reading Comprehension: 24
My RC experience was a bit odd. The computer I took my DAT on was pretty slow. It took at least one second every time I switched questions, which got pretty frustrating. I took my practice tests by pre-reading all the questions before reading the passage, but the computer was too slow to use this strategy so I had to abandon it after the first passage. I’m not sure if this is a problem specific to my testing center, but be aware that you may experience similar frustrations. Other than this, Booster practice tests are representative of the real DAT. Find a strategy that works for you, and practice it.
Overall:
If you are able, try to take full length tests in one sitting to build up stamina. The first time I did this I was completely exhausted, but by the time I took the real DAT I was used to it. Keep in mind the real DAT combines biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry in one section. Taking the three tests separately feels different than taking them all together. In my opinion, practice tests are the best way to study for the DAT. I'd highly recommend taking as many of them as you can. Also, don’t get discouraged if your scores on practice tests aren’t where you’d like them to be. Most people (myself included) score higher on the real DAT. I hope this helped! Let me know if you have any questions!
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