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Hey SDN-ers!
Just finished taking my DAT yesterday afternoon (scheduled: 1:30 PM) and wanted to share my experience with you all (hopefully providing some insight along the way).
Score:
Perceptual ability: 21
Quantitative reasoning: 23
Reading comprehension: 24
Biology: 20
General chemistry: 26
Organic chemistry: 23
TS: 22
AA: 23
Background:
I'm a non-traditional student. After graduating high school, I took 4 years off to work and figure things out (a few years at a restaurant followed by 2.5 years at a dental office). I started community around 22, transferred into university, and just graduated this May. The transfer process was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. The long commutes and loneliness took its toll on my grades the first year, so I've spent the last year and a half trying to boost my GPA from a 2.9 to a 3.4. With a below-average GPA, I felt I really needed to perform above average on the DAT to compensate.
Study Materials (in no particular order):
Chad's Videos
DAT Destroyer
Math Destroyer
DAT Bootcamp
Study Schedule:
I had originally planned to give myself 6 weeks of study time. I wanted to begin studying right after my last final mid-May and take the DAT end of June. I scheduled my DAT (6/29/15) with this time-frame in mind.
After the passing of a family member, my anticipated 6 weeks shortened to 28 days.
For those wondering if it's possible to cram and perform well within a month's time, it definitely is. However, I wouldn't recommend it. Those 28 days were an emotional rollercoaster. And like many other SDN-ers have mentioned, you don't have a life outside of studying. This works for many people, but for me, I felt extreme sadness/anxiety the majority of the time.
That being said, my study process was as follows:
I was up every day by 6:00 AM. I gave myself an hour to have my morning coffee, take care of my dog, etc. Then I was at my table with study materials by 7:00 AM until anywhere from 6-9 PM.
The first week involved a lot of trial-and-error while I was trying to find my groove. I stuck to one topic a day.
2-3 days to watch all of Chad's Videos for GChem + associated quizzes.
2-3 days to watch all of Chad's Videos for Ochem + associated quizzes.
Last few days to start looking over Chad's Videos for QR.
For myself, it had been a few years since I had taken Gen Chem, and a little over 10 years since I had taken any sort of math, so this first week was incredibly important for me to catch up on the fundamentals. Chad's Videos were the most helpful when it came to building up some momentum to keep myself going.
The second week, I began incorporating DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer. Every day, I aimed to finish:
Ochem: 35 problems
Gchem: 40 problems
Bio: 50 problems
Math: 40 problems
This second week is going to suck. You will feel like you know absolutely nothing. You will feel like you're completely ill-prepared for the DAT. And it's totally ok! Take a breather and remember that nearly every other person going through the Destroyer series is in exactly the same boat - scoring anywhere from 30-60% on any given section.
The third week, I took the 2007 ADA DAT first, since I had heard it was the easiest. It was a kick in the ass to crank up the studying. I went back and re-watched all of Chad's Videos for Gchem and Ochem. Then I went back to re-do all of the problems for DAT Destroyer + 1 Math Destroyer exam per day. I also began incorporating DAT Bootcamp for PAT and Reading Comprehension.
The fourth week, I started mock exams. I would take the DAT Bootcamp sections in order (Bio, Gchem, Ochem, PAT, 15 minute break, RC, QR) every other day. 5 days prior to exam day, I took the 2009 ADA DAT.
Scores for practice exams:
2007 DAT (sciences + QR only)
Bio: 17
Gchem: 21
Ochem: 30
QR: 19
DAT Bootcamp
Bio: 23/23/17/18/20 (avg: 20)
Gchem: 21/20/24/23/19 (avg: 21)
Ochem: 19/22/22/24/23 (avg: 22)
PAT: 18/17/17/18/-- (avg: 18)
QR: --/19/21/20/19 (avg: 20)
RC: 19/17/19/22/-- (avg: 19)
2009 ADA DAT:
Bio: 28
Gchem: 24
Ochem: 22
QR: 20
RC: 18
The DAT (by section):
Bio (20):
I felt this was the most difficult section overall. I wound up marking nearly half of the questions since I either didn't know what they were asking for, or wasn't sure about the answer I had chosen. I finished this section thinking, "Holy cow. I'm going to have to re-take the DAT. This sucks." Don't let it bring you down! Just remember that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. There is SO much information that we are responsible for, and even if you don't perform as well in one section, scores from another section will likely even it out. I don't know if any particular study material/study plan would ever fully prepare you for this section. All I did was take in what I could from DAT Destroyer and DAT Bootcamp, and try my best. In terms of question types, at least for my exam, I didn't feel as though the wording of the questions resembled either of the prep materials.
Gchem (26):
Gen chem was very straightforward. Of all the problems, only 2-3 actually required me to calculate and work out the math. But the numbers were nice. If you don't have the time to go through the Destroyer series (high difficulty compared to the actual DAT), stick with Chad's Videos. I thought his quizzes were on par with difficulty and question type. The timed exams on DAT Bootcamp, however, taught me how to manage my time properly.
Ochem (23):
I was surprised at the number of of CNMR/proton NMR there were in this section. Nothing overly complicated though, so no worries. DAT Destroyer had enough questions involving these topics to help you crush these problems. The vast majority of the predict the products were 1-step products. Like Gchem, if you don't have time to go through the Destroyer series, or you don't have DAT Bootcamp, Chad's Videos are more than enough. His outlines included all the reactions I would have needed to know for my DAT.
PAT (21):
PAT was SO much easier on the actual DAT than DAT Bootcamp. Prior to taking the DAT, I had already pinpointed my weaknesses. I knew my top-front-end and paper-folding (with the patterns) was particularly weak, so during the actual DAT, I only spent 10-15 seconds max on each of those problems in an effort to power through and get to cube-counting (with enough time to do the tables). By the time I got to question 90, I still had 6-7 minutes to spare, so I went back to cube counting to double check my answers. I'm glad I did, because I feel as though cube-counting equaled easy points (and I wound up catching some mistakes).
Hole-punching: 4x4 grid
Cube counting: T-table
Angle-ranking: First I looked at the answer choices to determine which was most probable. Then, I used Ari's (DAT Bootcamp) advice to sit back, look at the the vertices of 2 angles back and forth, and determine which one is bigger or smaller once I narrowed it down to two. Typically, after glancing back and forth 3 times, you really did get a sense of larger/smaller.
15 minute break:
I used this time to set up my board (front and back) for RC.
RC (24):
This section was also significantly easier than DAT Bootcamp. I was extremely depressed when I consistently scored around 17/18 through Bootcamp. I had a hard time finishing all the articles in the allotted time. On the actual DAT, the questions were very straightforward, and for those using the search and destroyer method, it totally would have been fine. I only had a few tone questions. No questions about statement and reasoning. The vast majority of the questions were fact-based, and the answers were easily found by referring back to the article. Each article ranged from 12-15 paragraphs. But the paragraphs were either very short, or long but not densely packed with information.
QR (23):
Holy cow. QR on the 2009 DAT and on DAT Bootcamp. These resources along with Math Destroyer will definitely prepare you for any sort of problem you come across. I felt like, in terms of difficulty, the actual DAT was comparable to tests 1-5 on Math Destroyer (tests 6-13 felt more difficult..not sure if it's just me). OK, so what was the value in using the 2009 DAT and DAT Bootcamp? TIMING
Timing was so, so crucial. For those who worry about math (like me), and struggle to get through all the problems, don't linger!
If you see a long word problem, glance through it, and don't immediately know how to answer it, or, if you feel like it'll be a complicated process in figuring it out, mark it and save it for later. Seriously. Practice doing this on the 2009 DAT and DAT Bootcamp. You only have 45 minutes to finish 40 problems. Some of the longer word problems would eat up minutes of my time. Within the first few minutes, I skipped 3 problems in a row. This benefited me in the end because many of the problems that came later on were INCREDIBLY easy. The time you spent working on a problem that came early on could easily take away from time spent on easy points. After I finished problem 40, I only had 5 minutes left, so I went back, chose the easier "lengthy" problems to try to work on, then randomly selected answers for a few of the remaining blanks.
I hope this helps some of you.
You guys are gonna rock it.
Just finished taking my DAT yesterday afternoon (scheduled: 1:30 PM) and wanted to share my experience with you all (hopefully providing some insight along the way).
Score:
Perceptual ability: 21
Quantitative reasoning: 23
Reading comprehension: 24
Biology: 20
General chemistry: 26
Organic chemistry: 23
TS: 22
AA: 23
Background:
I'm a non-traditional student. After graduating high school, I took 4 years off to work and figure things out (a few years at a restaurant followed by 2.5 years at a dental office). I started community around 22, transferred into university, and just graduated this May. The transfer process was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. The long commutes and loneliness took its toll on my grades the first year, so I've spent the last year and a half trying to boost my GPA from a 2.9 to a 3.4. With a below-average GPA, I felt I really needed to perform above average on the DAT to compensate.
Study Materials (in no particular order):
Chad's Videos
DAT Destroyer
Math Destroyer
DAT Bootcamp
Study Schedule:
I had originally planned to give myself 6 weeks of study time. I wanted to begin studying right after my last final mid-May and take the DAT end of June. I scheduled my DAT (6/29/15) with this time-frame in mind.
After the passing of a family member, my anticipated 6 weeks shortened to 28 days.
For those wondering if it's possible to cram and perform well within a month's time, it definitely is. However, I wouldn't recommend it. Those 28 days were an emotional rollercoaster. And like many other SDN-ers have mentioned, you don't have a life outside of studying. This works for many people, but for me, I felt extreme sadness/anxiety the majority of the time.
That being said, my study process was as follows:
I was up every day by 6:00 AM. I gave myself an hour to have my morning coffee, take care of my dog, etc. Then I was at my table with study materials by 7:00 AM until anywhere from 6-9 PM.
The first week involved a lot of trial-and-error while I was trying to find my groove. I stuck to one topic a day.
2-3 days to watch all of Chad's Videos for GChem + associated quizzes.
2-3 days to watch all of Chad's Videos for Ochem + associated quizzes.
Last few days to start looking over Chad's Videos for QR.
For myself, it had been a few years since I had taken Gen Chem, and a little over 10 years since I had taken any sort of math, so this first week was incredibly important for me to catch up on the fundamentals. Chad's Videos were the most helpful when it came to building up some momentum to keep myself going.
The second week, I began incorporating DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer. Every day, I aimed to finish:
Ochem: 35 problems
Gchem: 40 problems
Bio: 50 problems
Math: 40 problems
This second week is going to suck. You will feel like you know absolutely nothing. You will feel like you're completely ill-prepared for the DAT. And it's totally ok! Take a breather and remember that nearly every other person going through the Destroyer series is in exactly the same boat - scoring anywhere from 30-60% on any given section.
The third week, I took the 2007 ADA DAT first, since I had heard it was the easiest. It was a kick in the ass to crank up the studying. I went back and re-watched all of Chad's Videos for Gchem and Ochem. Then I went back to re-do all of the problems for DAT Destroyer + 1 Math Destroyer exam per day. I also began incorporating DAT Bootcamp for PAT and Reading Comprehension.
The fourth week, I started mock exams. I would take the DAT Bootcamp sections in order (Bio, Gchem, Ochem, PAT, 15 minute break, RC, QR) every other day. 5 days prior to exam day, I took the 2009 ADA DAT.
Scores for practice exams:
2007 DAT (sciences + QR only)
Bio: 17
Gchem: 21
Ochem: 30
QR: 19
DAT Bootcamp
Bio: 23/23/17/18/20 (avg: 20)
Gchem: 21/20/24/23/19 (avg: 21)
Ochem: 19/22/22/24/23 (avg: 22)
PAT: 18/17/17/18/-- (avg: 18)
QR: --/19/21/20/19 (avg: 20)
RC: 19/17/19/22/-- (avg: 19)
2009 ADA DAT:
Bio: 28
Gchem: 24
Ochem: 22
QR: 20
RC: 18
The DAT (by section):
Bio (20):
I felt this was the most difficult section overall. I wound up marking nearly half of the questions since I either didn't know what they were asking for, or wasn't sure about the answer I had chosen. I finished this section thinking, "Holy cow. I'm going to have to re-take the DAT. This sucks." Don't let it bring you down! Just remember that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. There is SO much information that we are responsible for, and even if you don't perform as well in one section, scores from another section will likely even it out. I don't know if any particular study material/study plan would ever fully prepare you for this section. All I did was take in what I could from DAT Destroyer and DAT Bootcamp, and try my best. In terms of question types, at least for my exam, I didn't feel as though the wording of the questions resembled either of the prep materials.
Gchem (26):
Gen chem was very straightforward. Of all the problems, only 2-3 actually required me to calculate and work out the math. But the numbers were nice. If you don't have the time to go through the Destroyer series (high difficulty compared to the actual DAT), stick with Chad's Videos. I thought his quizzes were on par with difficulty and question type. The timed exams on DAT Bootcamp, however, taught me how to manage my time properly.
Ochem (23):
I was surprised at the number of of CNMR/proton NMR there were in this section. Nothing overly complicated though, so no worries. DAT Destroyer had enough questions involving these topics to help you crush these problems. The vast majority of the predict the products were 1-step products. Like Gchem, if you don't have time to go through the Destroyer series, or you don't have DAT Bootcamp, Chad's Videos are more than enough. His outlines included all the reactions I would have needed to know for my DAT.
PAT (21):
PAT was SO much easier on the actual DAT than DAT Bootcamp. Prior to taking the DAT, I had already pinpointed my weaknesses. I knew my top-front-end and paper-folding (with the patterns) was particularly weak, so during the actual DAT, I only spent 10-15 seconds max on each of those problems in an effort to power through and get to cube-counting (with enough time to do the tables). By the time I got to question 90, I still had 6-7 minutes to spare, so I went back to cube counting to double check my answers. I'm glad I did, because I feel as though cube-counting equaled easy points (and I wound up catching some mistakes).
Hole-punching: 4x4 grid
Cube counting: T-table
Angle-ranking: First I looked at the answer choices to determine which was most probable. Then, I used Ari's (DAT Bootcamp) advice to sit back, look at the the vertices of 2 angles back and forth, and determine which one is bigger or smaller once I narrowed it down to two. Typically, after glancing back and forth 3 times, you really did get a sense of larger/smaller.
15 minute break:
I used this time to set up my board (front and back) for RC.
RC (24):
This section was also significantly easier than DAT Bootcamp. I was extremely depressed when I consistently scored around 17/18 through Bootcamp. I had a hard time finishing all the articles in the allotted time. On the actual DAT, the questions were very straightforward, and for those using the search and destroyer method, it totally would have been fine. I only had a few tone questions. No questions about statement and reasoning. The vast majority of the questions were fact-based, and the answers were easily found by referring back to the article. Each article ranged from 12-15 paragraphs. But the paragraphs were either very short, or long but not densely packed with information.
QR (23):
Holy cow. QR on the 2009 DAT and on DAT Bootcamp. These resources along with Math Destroyer will definitely prepare you for any sort of problem you come across. I felt like, in terms of difficulty, the actual DAT was comparable to tests 1-5 on Math Destroyer (tests 6-13 felt more difficult..not sure if it's just me). OK, so what was the value in using the 2009 DAT and DAT Bootcamp? TIMING
Timing was so, so crucial. For those who worry about math (like me), and struggle to get through all the problems, don't linger!
If you see a long word problem, glance through it, and don't immediately know how to answer it, or, if you feel like it'll be a complicated process in figuring it out, mark it and save it for later. Seriously. Practice doing this on the 2009 DAT and DAT Bootcamp. You only have 45 minutes to finish 40 problems. Some of the longer word problems would eat up minutes of my time. Within the first few minutes, I skipped 3 problems in a row. This benefited me in the end because many of the problems that came later on were INCREDIBLY easy. The time you spent working on a problem that came early on could easily take away from time spent on easy points. After I finished problem 40, I only had 5 minutes left, so I went back, chose the easier "lengthy" problems to try to work on, then randomly selected answers for a few of the remaining blanks.
I hope this helps some of you.
You guys are gonna rock it.
