DAT BREAKDOWN (28AA, 27TS, 23 PAT)

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

GreenGator55

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2024
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
DAT BREAKDOWN (28AA, 27TS, 23 PAT)

Hey guys! I’ve read many of these breakdowns over my time prepping and studying for the DAT so I thought I would write my own! It was really helpful to gain insight into other student’s study habits, schedules, and strategies, which ultimately shaped the way I studied for the DAT.

SCORES:
PAT - 23
QR - 30
RC - 26
BIO - 30
GC - 23
OC - 30
TS - 27
AA - 28

BACKGROUND:
An incoming senior at a large public university with a 3.9 GPA. Have taken all prerequisite courses prior to studying for the DAT.

STUDY RESOURCES:
DAT Booster - Booster is truly the only resource that you need to do well on the DAT. The website was very easy to use and was very intuitive. I followed the 12-week study schedule but only until the “Content Learning & Memorization” phase was over which I believe was day 49. The schedules make you learn a lot of information each day but it is very helpful to have a guide on what to review in order to ensure you prepare for the vast range of material the DAT covers. After I finished reviewing all of the content, I made my own “Review” schedule for my remaining few weeks which consisted of reviewing a bit of the content for each subject every day and completing practice questions. This review was tailored to the topics I was weaker in, as I did not want to waste time reviewing topics I was more confident on. Throughout my studying, I watched all of the videos on booster, read through all the notes, and did about 80% of the practice problems. Booster was VERY representative of the actual exam. I would seriously attribute my score to DAT booster for the way the program prepped me, as there were similar and even exact questions on my real exam that were covered on the full-length practice exams or in the question banks. Due to the way booster familiarizes you with the content and question styles, you can surely be confident that you will be able to to great on the DAT as long as you put the work in on your end. I did not use any other resource for content review or practice questions other than Booster and would 10/10 recommend!
Anki - This was my first time using anki but I would say it is a large reason I did well in the biology section. Biology was the only section I used anki for and I made my own deck that covered the content from the Booster cheat sheets. I know a lot of people ask for pre-made decks, but I would HIGHLY recommend making you own deck as this forces you to read through the material while making the cards which is very helpful. I had ~1500 cards in my deck. I would review about 200-300 cards a day and I started reviewing with anki exactly 4 weeks before my exam. I found that the key with anki is consistency and making sure you actually UNDERSTAND the basics of the material on the card and are not just blatantly memorizing it.

STUDY SCHEDULE:
I studied for 12-weeks throughout the summer, but was also taking 2 classes alongside prepping for the DAT. I would imagine that if studying for the DAT was your only responsibility, you can probably do it in a shorter amount of time. I studied about 5-6 days a week ranging from 2-8 hours a day. My greatest piece of advice is to not be afraid to take rest days!! Studying for this exam takes a big toll on you and it is important to rest and do other things such as hobbies to prevent burnout.


BIO (30):
This score surprised me but I felt confident on almost all of the questions on the exam since they were very surface level and asked very broad questions. After experiencing this, I can say that the Booster cheat sheets are the only thing you need to study for bio to get a good score. In the beginning of my content learning stage, I read through and annotated all of the longer feralis booster notes, but while I found the content very well-written and helpful if you are confused on a specific topic, they were way too detailed for what you need to know for the DAT. I ended up forgetting a lot of what I read through in the feralis notes at the end of my learning phase, which wasn’t helpful, but that is when I moved onto the Booster cheat sheets paired with anki. As stated above, I made an anki deck with all of the information from the cheat sheets and the daily review and repetition is what helped me retain all of the information. It was super helpful that I could review cards I was less confident on more frequently, and push the “easier” cards to longer time intervals on anki. The majority of my exam consisted of cell biology, biochemistry, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, ecology, and molecular genetics. I had very few questions on the human body systems, and none on taxonomy.

GC (23):
This was the section I was least confident on, but the booster videos quickly helped my relearn and familiarize myself with the major topics. I think that the chapter notes especially were a great overview of each topic and were sufficient for what you needed to know for the exam. After I read through the notes, I would complete all the question bank questions associated with a topic and mark any ones I got wrong/was not 100% sure of so that I could come back and review them later. On the real exam, I had more conceptual questions than calculations. Some of the calculations were set up that I did not have to calculate them, but I had to calculate the final answer for a few, so make sure you are confident in doing basic calculations without a calculator (logs, decimals, etc.). Booster prepped me well for the questions on this section, as I had a few very similar questions to ones that appeared on the practice exams.

OC (30):
This is the section I spent the least time studying as I just finished my organic chemistry sequence in the spring so the material is still fresh in my memory, and I am a TA for organic chemistry 1 at my university so I have a lot of practice with the basics. This section on the DAT really only tests you on the fundamentals of organic chemistry, and was less complicated than what you would see in a regular college level class. In my opinion, orgo is all about memorization of the reactions, EDG/EWG groups, acid/base ranking, pKas, etc., so practice and repetition is key to your understanding. I also had a few questions on lab tests so I would be familiar with those.

PAT (23):
To my surprise, this section was a bit tougher for me on the real exam compared to practice exams. I think boosters resources with video explanations, question banks, and generators and more than enough to help you succeed in this section. The key is practicing daily. On the real exam, each section was easier than the questions on booster apart from Angle Ranking. I had some really close angles that I had trouble differentiating and almost all of them were rotated in different orientations which was tricky. My strategy was to start with question 31, work through question 90, and then go back and complete questions 1-30.

RC (26):
On my real exam, 2 of my passages were very similar to what Booster provides, and the 3rd one was a but more dense and very science heavy but still manageable. The method I used was reading the first question for a passage, starting to quickly read the passage starting at the beginning highlighting key words/dates/numbers/topics until I found the answer for question 1. Then I would read question 2 and either answer it right away if I had already found the answer or continue to read until I came across the answer. I would continue with this pattern until I finished the passage and by that time I should have already answered around 7-10 questions and then can answer any remaining ones I have left. I think Booster provides more than enough passages for you to find your RC strategy, practice time management, and familiarize yourself with the question types that will be asked.

QR (30):
Once again, I came across no surprises in this section since booster exposes you to every single question type that has the possibility of being asked. I did not have any geometry on my exam, but I have heard others have had a few basic geometry questions so maybe familiarize yourself with the formulas to be safe. The key to this section is to PRACTICE & memorize/understand the formulas. I made a formula master sheet while watching all of Booster’s QR videos, in which I would write down any formulas or concepts that felt I needed more review on and it was very helpful to refer back to and have everything in one place.


PRACTICE EXAMS:
Boosters practice exams are very similar to the actual DAT. The white and blue interface and QR calculator function, is exactly the same as it is at the testing center, so it was nice to already be familiar with the way the test looked and worked. The only thing I would say is that on the periodic table for GC had the names of the elements on Booster, while it does not on the real exam. The practice exams covered almost all of the topics that appeared on my DAT, but I think you still need the content review for understanding material and taking the practice exams alone won’t be enough to get a good score. For the questions I got wrong on my practice tests, I would make sure to read the explanation thoroughly until I understood it. Make sure to take full-length tests in order to build your stamina! I took my first practice test and full-length around 2.5 weeks before my exam. I did practice tests 1-8 as full-lengths and practice tests 9-10 as individuals sections.


This exam is definitely the most challenging thing I have ever studied for due to the sheer amount of content you have to know, so just know you are not alone! I am not a student that learning comes easy to by any means, but most of my success comes from the time and effort I put into studying the material. Know that you do not need to be a genius of any sort to do well on this exam, but you do have to know how to study efficiently for it. Good luck to everyone studying for and taking the DAT, as well as applying to dental school! Feel free to reach out with questions!

I’ve attached my practice exam scores from Booster and my score report. :)
IMG_7045.jpg
Screen Shot 2024-07-29 at 2.05.14 PM.png

Members don't see this ad.
 
Top