- Joined
- Jul 28, 2014
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 3
Hey all, I've been browsing through these forums for a couple of months now and just wanted to give feedback and experience on preparing for the DAT.
DAT scores:
PAT-21
QR-22
RC-24
BIO-22
GC-21
OC-22
TS-22
AA-22
Materials Used: Kaplan BB(8/10), DAT destroyer (9/10), Math Destroyer (10/10), DatqVault bio (10/10), Chad's Vids (10/10), Datbootcamp(10/10) , CDPAT (9/10), Ferallis notes(10/10), Cliffnotes bio 4th ed (9/10), and Topscore (7/10).
I just want to thank all the people who show great support on this forum as this encouraged me that I can take on this scary test. I just graduated a month ago from a UC school and have been studying for the DAT since May for about 1-2 hours each day until graduation. I'm not smart whatsoever as I started off college with a 2.4 GPA and got all C's in the first year of Gchem, but I was able to bring it up to a 3.45 by graduation (3.9 avgGPA last six quarters). I just feel like the most important thing is to figure out the way you should study and retain information as I would often not be able to study for extended periods of time and found that taking multiple looks at the material each day would be the most efficient way to study.
Bio (22)- the forum don't lie when they say that this section is super random!! Idk who it was earlier this week that said they got a dinosaur question and I ended up seeing it on my test as well
. The best advice for this section would be to read KBB first to get a broad grasp on all of the concepts and then read Cliffnotes to get a more detailed review of most things and then finish it off by reviewing Feralis bio notes. DAT bootcamp and qVault were really good for review afterwards and application questions but nothing can match the total randomness of some of the bio questions seen on the test. The best thing during test day is to not fret over these random questions and just take an educated guess and hope for the best lol
GC (21)- I've always had trouble with GC which is evident by getting C's in the whole series. The method I used for this section was to watch Chad's videos over a 2 week span and then do some destroyer problems to get a feel for it. Bootcamp is really representative and a bit harder of what will show up on the exam so as long as you do well on those you're golden!
OC (22)- this section was probably the fastest to go through on test day. the best advice for this section would be to read KBB o chem and then watch chad's videos to see all the reactions once again. Did not do DAT destroyer for this section as I felt it was overkill. The OC section on bootcamp is good preparation as it is harder than the real thing. The real thing will consist mostly of simple reactions and trends.
PAT (21)- this section was the most scary for me on actual test day as I always knew I would take too long and dwell on some keyhole questions, and long behold I had 25 minutes left to do angles, holepunching, cc, and pattern folding. I was actually content with the score as I thought I had bombed it when my tallies on the cubes did not even match some of the choices
. CDPAT is good for starters to get a grasp on their strategy and timing for each section, but DAT bootcamp is better preparation of what the keyholes will actually look like. AND YES, i got that 20 sided rock question lol
RC (24)
- this was the most surprising score on my DAT as I felt I prepared for this section the least. I think some of it really depends on what articles you get and how focused you get yourself into during the 15 minute break. The last week before the test I told myself I would do the Topscore exams for RC but ended up doing 1/3 of test 1. The best way to prepare for this section is to do all 5 bootcamp tests even though they beat you up harder than Lebron got beat up in the finals. The questions here will prepare you for the application questions you will see on the DAT and help you with timing as their passages are longer than anything I saw on the actual test. Thank you Ari for beating me up and making me stronger .
QR (22)- this section went by the slowest for me on test day as that doesn't sound right as you have about 1 minute per question. The best advice honestly for here is to go through Tests 1-8 in Math destroyer twice within 2 months and mark your mistakes so you get them on actual test day. I used the calculator for almost all the questions other than basic arithmetic and it was actually really responsive and helped me a ton.
Last few words of encouragement: Don't stress on test day and relax!!! Easier said than done as I think I spent more hours panicking and thinking of the DAT than actually studying and reviewing the week of the test, but all yall can do it! Best of luck to everyone taking the DAT and applying this cycle. I hope I get in somewhere as I feel my extracurriculars are decent with: 700 hours of research, 100 hours of shadowing, and various community service hours.
DAT scores:
PAT-21
QR-22
RC-24
BIO-22
GC-21
OC-22
TS-22
AA-22
Materials Used: Kaplan BB(8/10), DAT destroyer (9/10), Math Destroyer (10/10), DatqVault bio (10/10), Chad's Vids (10/10), Datbootcamp(10/10) , CDPAT (9/10), Ferallis notes(10/10), Cliffnotes bio 4th ed (9/10), and Topscore (7/10).
I just want to thank all the people who show great support on this forum as this encouraged me that I can take on this scary test. I just graduated a month ago from a UC school and have been studying for the DAT since May for about 1-2 hours each day until graduation. I'm not smart whatsoever as I started off college with a 2.4 GPA and got all C's in the first year of Gchem, but I was able to bring it up to a 3.45 by graduation (3.9 avgGPA last six quarters). I just feel like the most important thing is to figure out the way you should study and retain information as I would often not be able to study for extended periods of time and found that taking multiple looks at the material each day would be the most efficient way to study.
Bio (22)- the forum don't lie when they say that this section is super random!! Idk who it was earlier this week that said they got a dinosaur question and I ended up seeing it on my test as well
. The best advice for this section would be to read KBB first to get a broad grasp on all of the concepts and then read Cliffnotes to get a more detailed review of most things and then finish it off by reviewing Feralis bio notes. DAT bootcamp and qVault were really good for review afterwards and application questions but nothing can match the total randomness of some of the bio questions seen on the test. The best thing during test day is to not fret over these random questions and just take an educated guess and hope for the best lolGC (21)- I've always had trouble with GC which is evident by getting C's in the whole series. The method I used for this section was to watch Chad's videos over a 2 week span and then do some destroyer problems to get a feel for it. Bootcamp is really representative and a bit harder of what will show up on the exam so as long as you do well on those you're golden!
OC (22)- this section was probably the fastest to go through on test day. the best advice for this section would be to read KBB o chem and then watch chad's videos to see all the reactions once again. Did not do DAT destroyer for this section as I felt it was overkill. The OC section on bootcamp is good preparation as it is harder than the real thing. The real thing will consist mostly of simple reactions and trends.
PAT (21)- this section was the most scary for me on actual test day as I always knew I would take too long and dwell on some keyhole questions, and long behold I had 25 minutes left to do angles, holepunching, cc, and pattern folding. I was actually content with the score as I thought I had bombed it when my tallies on the cubes did not even match some of the choices
. CDPAT is good for starters to get a grasp on their strategy and timing for each section, but DAT bootcamp is better preparation of what the keyholes will actually look like. AND YES, i got that 20 sided rock question lolRC (24)
- this was the most surprising score on my DAT as I felt I prepared for this section the least. I think some of it really depends on what articles you get and how focused you get yourself into during the 15 minute break. The last week before the test I told myself I would do the Topscore exams for RC but ended up doing 1/3 of test 1. The best way to prepare for this section is to do all 5 bootcamp tests even though they beat you up harder than Lebron got beat up in the finals. The questions here will prepare you for the application questions you will see on the DAT and help you with timing as their passages are longer than anything I saw on the actual test. Thank you Ari for beating me up and making me stronger .QR (22)- this section went by the slowest for me on test day as that doesn't sound right as you have about 1 minute per question. The best advice honestly for here is to go through Tests 1-8 in Math destroyer twice within 2 months and mark your mistakes so you get them on actual test day. I used the calculator for almost all the questions other than basic arithmetic and it was actually really responsive and helped me a ton
.Last few words of encouragement: Don't stress on test day and relax!!! Easier said than done as I think I spent more hours panicking and thinking of the DAT than actually studying and reviewing the week of the test, but all yall can do it! Best of luck to everyone taking the DAT and applying this cycle. I hope I get in somewhere as I feel my extracurriculars are decent with: 700 hours of research, 100 hours of shadowing, and various community service hours.
Cool!Congrats!
