Overall
I just finished my DAT a couple of days ago and I want to share with you guys how I prepared for the test in two months. I decided to prepare for the test in April, and I was so anxious about it since my background was very weak. I graduated this summer, so I used my last semester to prepare for the test. I study for 8 hours every day. I am an international student and my major is Biochemistry. My science background is weak because I did so badly in my Freshman Bio and Chem course. If I can do it, I believe every one of you can make it as well! Trust yourself.
I don't think my score is very high, but I think it would be enough for application, so I will not retake the test. I will break down the materials I used for the test preparation. The main resource for me is the DATBooster and Chad's video. I purchased the test preparation bundle from Chad's website, and I found out it was helpful. Also, I used DAT Destroyer, it was difficult but really boosted my Chem and Orgo section.
DATBooster provided the 10-week study plan. I followed the schedule until the second part since the second part and the third part are just practice exams. The detailed Feralis Biology notes are ALL YOU NEED for the Bio section. Trust me, read the notes over and over again, remember every single detail from it, and there you go.
Chad's Prep website has all the videos in the science section and many practice questions. There are also five practice tests available. It is true that the practice questions from Chad's prep are more difficult compared to the real DAT, but very representative. The Chem and Orgo notes are highly recommended.
DAT Destroyer saved my life. I'm glad that I finished this book and reviewed the questions I got wrong. It is hard, way harder than the real DAT. When I just started using this book, I literally got almost every question wrong. But as I did more reviews by using the other two sources, I became more confident when I came back for the Destroyer. The Road Map for the Orgo section is VERY HELPFUL!!!!. Thank you Destroyer <3
Score Breakdown:
Biology (18, 18, 20, 20, 20, 20, 19, 18, 20, 19) Chad's (18, 18, 17, 20, 20) DAT: 24
I am so bad at Biology when I was an undergrad. I retook my Bio course but still ended up badly. Throughout the preparation for DAT, I thought Bio is my weakest point and I won't get a good score on this section. DATBooster helped me with this. I read the Feralis notes word by word, over and over again. Again, all you need for this section is the Feralis Notes. The tutorial video based on taxonomy is very helpful for me. I watch the series video about five times already just to make sure everything was covered. When I drive to the Dentist I am shadowing, I listen to the lecture on the road; I would listen to the lecture even when I am taking the shower. By doing this, I ensured that I remember every single detail in the Taxonomy part (I had a lot of Taxonomy questions on my DAT). Chad's Prep has the detailed Bio notes, I didn't watch the entire Bio video, but I reviewed the notes Chad provided. DAT Destroyer covered a lot, I recommend you to challenge it if you have enough time. I didn't use the Anki because I don't have a lot of preparation time, but I heard that Anki is helpful for some people. The test is a lot easier than the DATBooster practice exams, try to review all the questions you got wrong from your practice and Mark them.
General Chemistry (18, 19, 21, 20, 20, 24, 27, 22, 25, 22) Chad's (18, 18, 19, 19, 20) DAT: 21
Chad's video and DAT Destroyer really saved my Chem section. The notes from Chad's Prep are detailed and cover everything for the test. Nothing more, nothing less. I used Chad's Prep and DAT Destroyer to practice my Chem section and I was able to get most of the difficult questions right. However, make sure that you review the easy questions as well... My DAT had so many conceptual questions, I made mistakes on those "easy questions" even though I can get all the difficult questions right. I could have done so much better than that... My expectation for this section was 25 or even higher...
Organic Chemistry (25, 20, 25, 22, 22, 22, 20, 20, 21, 25) Chad's (20, 20, 18, 17, 19) DAT: 24
Again, Chad's Prep and DAT Destroyer saved my life on this section. The conceptual practice question from Chad is detailed. He just simply let us practice the concept we learned over and over again until we don't make mistakes in it. Also, the DAT Destroyer has the best reaction "road maps". I practiced all of the road maps every two or three days. I think it really helps, especially for someone like me who did not good at remembering all the reactions at once (such as primary and secondary amine reactions with ketone). DATBooster provides great ORGO notes. I read those notes several times as well.
Reading Comprehension (15, 13, 13, 15, 18, 18, 17, 18, 17, 17) DAT: 19
I'm just so bad at reading. I am an international student, and English is not my primary language. Completing an article in 20 minutes is a huge challenge for me. I don't think there is any efficient way to practice for this section in two months, but I believe you guys will do well in your DAT. This section was kind of easier compared to the practice tests. Not that many of the application questions. I would say there were only 2 - 3 application questions that appeared. You can find most of the answers in the article.
Perceptual Ability: (22, 20, 22, 20, 20, 20, 21, 22, 21, 22) DAT: 24
For this section, I highly recommend the PAT generator from DATBooster. It gives pretty similar questions for angle ranking, keyhole, and cube counting sections. The practice exam was pretty similar to the real exam. I used the PAT generator almost every day for 30 minutes and focused on my weak points. I am not good at the top-front-end section, but the more I practice, the easier it becomes.
Quantitative Reasoning (21, 20, 23, 21, 21, 23, 21, 21, 22, 21) DAT: 20
How surprising! I was supposed to do so much better than a 20 on QR. DATBooster is a lot more difficult than the real exam. Those practice exams are extremely helpful. I thought I did pretty well on this section after I finished all the questions, but I wasn't. As I approached the last question in this section, I became anxious and nervous because after you submit the exam, the score pops up immediately. So I believe I made some mistakes in the last several questions.
Important tips:
Time is everything!!! Make every second count during your DAT. There was a 2 second lag between each question. Even if you mark one question and come back for it, it takes about 3 seconds to show you the previous question. This is annoying in RC. Make sure you get used to it. During the 30 minutes break, I suggest going out and getting some fresh air. You need to relax your brain for a while. I had an energy bar during the break. Make sure to come back to the test center earlier because additional check-in is required.
Before Test Day
Get some sleep, as much sleep as possible. I suggest not studying the day before the test because you want your brain to relax. I lost my sleep the night before the test since I was extremely nervous. IF YOU LOSE SLEEP, IT'S OKAY. Your body can handle this without problem, the stimulation from your epinephrine will not make you sleepy during the test. Just be relaxed, tell yourself you can make it. Self-confidence is all you need for now.
I hope every one of you can make some miracles on your DAT. Good Luck!
I just finished my DAT a couple of days ago and I want to share with you guys how I prepared for the test in two months. I decided to prepare for the test in April, and I was so anxious about it since my background was very weak. I graduated this summer, so I used my last semester to prepare for the test. I study for 8 hours every day. I am an international student and my major is Biochemistry. My science background is weak because I did so badly in my Freshman Bio and Chem course. If I can do it, I believe every one of you can make it as well! Trust yourself.
I don't think my score is very high, but I think it would be enough for application, so I will not retake the test. I will break down the materials I used for the test preparation. The main resource for me is the DATBooster and Chad's video. I purchased the test preparation bundle from Chad's website, and I found out it was helpful. Also, I used DAT Destroyer, it was difficult but really boosted my Chem and Orgo section.
DATBooster provided the 10-week study plan. I followed the schedule until the second part since the second part and the third part are just practice exams. The detailed Feralis Biology notes are ALL YOU NEED for the Bio section. Trust me, read the notes over and over again, remember every single detail from it, and there you go.
Chad's Prep website has all the videos in the science section and many practice questions. There are also five practice tests available. It is true that the practice questions from Chad's prep are more difficult compared to the real DAT, but very representative. The Chem and Orgo notes are highly recommended.
DAT Destroyer saved my life. I'm glad that I finished this book and reviewed the questions I got wrong. It is hard, way harder than the real DAT. When I just started using this book, I literally got almost every question wrong. But as I did more reviews by using the other two sources, I became more confident when I came back for the Destroyer. The Road Map for the Orgo section is VERY HELPFUL!!!!. Thank you Destroyer <3
Score Breakdown:
Biology (18, 18, 20, 20, 20, 20, 19, 18, 20, 19) Chad's (18, 18, 17, 20, 20) DAT: 24
I am so bad at Biology when I was an undergrad. I retook my Bio course but still ended up badly. Throughout the preparation for DAT, I thought Bio is my weakest point and I won't get a good score on this section. DATBooster helped me with this. I read the Feralis notes word by word, over and over again. Again, all you need for this section is the Feralis Notes. The tutorial video based on taxonomy is very helpful for me. I watch the series video about five times already just to make sure everything was covered. When I drive to the Dentist I am shadowing, I listen to the lecture on the road; I would listen to the lecture even when I am taking the shower. By doing this, I ensured that I remember every single detail in the Taxonomy part (I had a lot of Taxonomy questions on my DAT). Chad's Prep has the detailed Bio notes, I didn't watch the entire Bio video, but I reviewed the notes Chad provided. DAT Destroyer covered a lot, I recommend you to challenge it if you have enough time. I didn't use the Anki because I don't have a lot of preparation time, but I heard that Anki is helpful for some people. The test is a lot easier than the DATBooster practice exams, try to review all the questions you got wrong from your practice and Mark them.
General Chemistry (18, 19, 21, 20, 20, 24, 27, 22, 25, 22) Chad's (18, 18, 19, 19, 20) DAT: 21
Chad's video and DAT Destroyer really saved my Chem section. The notes from Chad's Prep are detailed and cover everything for the test. Nothing more, nothing less. I used Chad's Prep and DAT Destroyer to practice my Chem section and I was able to get most of the difficult questions right. However, make sure that you review the easy questions as well... My DAT had so many conceptual questions, I made mistakes on those "easy questions" even though I can get all the difficult questions right. I could have done so much better than that... My expectation for this section was 25 or even higher...
Organic Chemistry (25, 20, 25, 22, 22, 22, 20, 20, 21, 25) Chad's (20, 20, 18, 17, 19) DAT: 24
Again, Chad's Prep and DAT Destroyer saved my life on this section. The conceptual practice question from Chad is detailed. He just simply let us practice the concept we learned over and over again until we don't make mistakes in it. Also, the DAT Destroyer has the best reaction "road maps". I practiced all of the road maps every two or three days. I think it really helps, especially for someone like me who did not good at remembering all the reactions at once (such as primary and secondary amine reactions with ketone). DATBooster provides great ORGO notes. I read those notes several times as well.
Reading Comprehension (15, 13, 13, 15, 18, 18, 17, 18, 17, 17) DAT: 19
I'm just so bad at reading. I am an international student, and English is not my primary language. Completing an article in 20 minutes is a huge challenge for me. I don't think there is any efficient way to practice for this section in two months, but I believe you guys will do well in your DAT. This section was kind of easier compared to the practice tests. Not that many of the application questions. I would say there were only 2 - 3 application questions that appeared. You can find most of the answers in the article.
Perceptual Ability: (22, 20, 22, 20, 20, 20, 21, 22, 21, 22) DAT: 24
For this section, I highly recommend the PAT generator from DATBooster. It gives pretty similar questions for angle ranking, keyhole, and cube counting sections. The practice exam was pretty similar to the real exam. I used the PAT generator almost every day for 30 minutes and focused on my weak points. I am not good at the top-front-end section, but the more I practice, the easier it becomes.
Quantitative Reasoning (21, 20, 23, 21, 21, 23, 21, 21, 22, 21) DAT: 20
How surprising! I was supposed to do so much better than a 20 on QR. DATBooster is a lot more difficult than the real exam. Those practice exams are extremely helpful. I thought I did pretty well on this section after I finished all the questions, but I wasn't. As I approached the last question in this section, I became anxious and nervous because after you submit the exam, the score pops up immediately. So I believe I made some mistakes in the last several questions.
Important tips:
Time is everything!!! Make every second count during your DAT. There was a 2 second lag between each question. Even if you mark one question and come back for it, it takes about 3 seconds to show you the previous question. This is annoying in RC. Make sure you get used to it. During the 30 minutes break, I suggest going out and getting some fresh air. You need to relax your brain for a while. I had an energy bar during the break. Make sure to come back to the test center earlier because additional check-in is required.
Before Test Day
Get some sleep, as much sleep as possible. I suggest not studying the day before the test because you want your brain to relax. I lost my sleep the night before the test since I was extremely nervous. IF YOU LOSE SLEEP, IT'S OKAY. Your body can handle this without problem, the stimulation from your epinephrine will not make you sleepy during the test. Just be relaxed, tell yourself you can make it. Self-confidence is all you need for now.
I hope every one of you can make some miracles on your DAT. Good Luck!
