DAT Breakdown 8/13/14 (21 AA, 21 TS)

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WA25

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Background Information
I'll be starting my senior year of undergrad this fall and I'll graduate with a Health Science major. I took Gen Bio my freshman year (2010/11), Gen Chem my sophomore year (2011/12), and Organic Chem this past year (2013/14). I took the full 2012/13 school year out to go to Blantyre, Malawi as a student missionary (I go to a Christian university). The reason I give all that information is to show that it's very possible to do relatively well even if you took your core sciences more than a couple years ago.

You should also know that this test really isn't as bad as you think it is. I'm sure you'll continue to completely stress out just like I did, but I promise you it's not that bad. I slept maybe 2 hours last night because my heart was beating so hard! But I did better overall on the real DAT than any of the bootcamp practice tests. Interestingly enough, my actual RC and QR scores were not any higher than my practice tests. Everything I read told me that both would be easier on the real DAT. However, each of my sciences matched the highest score I had achieved on the practice tests. Going in, I was expecting a TS: 18-19 and an AA: 19-21. Needless to say when I saw the actual scores, I was super happy.

DAT Scores
BIO: 18
GC: 22
OC: 23 TS: 21
PAT: 21
RC: 20
QR: 21 AA: 21

Breakdown

BIO: This is the section that I was most worried about. I took a quarter of Cell Bio this past fall quarter which helped but it had been a full 3 years since I took Gen Bio. Needless to say, I spent a good portion of time on Bio, especially in the last couple weeks. I read thru the Bio Cliff's Notes early on. That was good for nailing down some of the larger subjects (ie. Citric Acid Cycle, photosynthesis, meiosis/mitosis, etc.). Towards the end of my studying, I focused more on reviewing and understanding the biology questions in DAT Destroyer. I would attempt one question at a time, and then read and understand why the answer was what it was, whether I got it correct or not. I also did the same thing with the Biology DAT Bootcamp practice tests, although you can't do those question by question really. This worked the best for me.

DAT Bootcamp BIO Scores: 17, 15, 17, 18, 18 Real DAT: 18

GC: General Chemistry as a class came pretty easy to me, although 3rd quarter I some how got a B. I used Chad's videos for both chemistries. They really are a must buy. I watched them all and took detailed notes. I would take the corresponding quizzes the next morning and review any area that I was weak in. After making it completely thru the videos, I did 30 problems from DAT Destroyer every other day. Dat Destroyer is pretty difficult. I would say I usually got about 20/30 correct. Don't be discouraged, just keep reviewing what you get wrong as well as what you get right.

DAT Bootcamp GC Scores: 21, 17, 20, 22, 19 Real DAT: 22

OC: I took Organic Chemistry from a pretty tough professor. He really made sure that we understood the concepts as opposed to getting away with simply regurgitating reactions. It was the hardest class I've ever taken. I studied hard and got a B+, B, C+ as my quarter grades. It dropped my GPA but it made studying for this a lot easier. I did the same thing for Orgo as I did for Gen Chem as far as preparing goes. I watched Chad's videos all the way thru, utilizing the quizzes to identify my weaknesses. I then moved on to DAT Destroyer. Again, 30 questions every other day (the day I wasn't doing GC Destroyer). I usually got about 23/30 correct.

DAT Bootcamp OC Scores: 18, 20, 19, 19, 23 Real DAT: 23

PAT: As far as the PAT goes, I could've done better. I felt really confident about all the sections except the TFE section. I had started using the line counting method for Crack the DAT PAT but didn't realize that the DAT makers had caught on. When I took my first Bootcamp test, I was dumbfounded because the line counting method didn't work. I still scored around 20 each time though and knew that the actual DAT PAT was easier than the Bootcamp PAT. So I never put time into the TFE. On the real DAT, I could usually get rid of one or two answer choices via line counting, but I still had to guess on most (if not all) of the TFE questions. One tip for the PAT section, do the sections that you are confident in first! I started with angles and went to the end, and then went back to keyhole (it wasn't hard, just more time consuming), and then finished with TFE. I had 32 minutes to do Keyhole and TFE. I finished 5 minutes early.

DAT Bootcamp PAT Scores: 19, 20, 20, 19, X Real DAT: 21

RC: I didn't prepare for the Reading Comp section at all besides DAT Bootcamp. I just put a number on my paper for each paragraph and wrote down a couple key words. I finished this section with 10 minutes to spare. I actually was expecting my RC score to be way higher. I would've liked to have been able to see which questions I missed. Some people will think that I rushed it, but I really didn't. The passages were 11, 13, and 16 paragraphs in length.

DAT Bootcamp RC Scores: 20, 20, 22, 21, 20 Real DAT: 20

QR: I didn't study a ton for this section because I've always been pretty good at math. Unless you want to kill yourself studying, you kind of have to pick and choose what you really put a lot of time into. I chose to not go overboard on math. I did watch Chad's videos and he gives some good tips. I really didn't have a problem with time on any part of the test. I finished this section with 10 minutes to spare. I also would like to see which questions I missed here too because I felt confident on most of them.

DAT Bootcamp QR Scores: 22, 20, 20, 18, 18 Real DAT: 21

Material Review
Chad's 10/10 Best $80 I have ever spent in my life.
DAT Bootcamp 10/10 You need bootcamp. Trust me.
Dat Destroyer 9/10 I give it a 9 because it costs a lot and probably goes too in depth. I would still buy it again though knowing what I know now.
Crack the DAT PAT 0/10 It is completely unnecessary if you bought bootcamp.
Bio Cliff's Notes 8/10 You have to read something and this is probably the best thing out there. I would definitely suggest using the practice tests to show you what you're weak on and then reviewing from there.

This was super long but if you're anything like me, you can't sleep at night and need something to read!

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Your scores=Awesome
Your breakdown=Amazing!

you're break down was super helpful. Congrats on your scores
 
No feralis? How did your study for the anatomy/physiology section?

oh and congratulations! you're done!

I found Ferali's completely unnecessary for today's exam. If you knew Cliff's front to back, you were good to go. TRUST me on this one (even though BIO was my lowest section score), I know what I missed based on the ones I guessed on... ALL (except for two, and one couldn't even be found in Ferali's) OF WHICH COULD BE FOUND IN CLIFF'S.
 
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@TheEpicFruitCake I looked at Ferali's but decided against it. I felt like it would be more helpful as a review tool over things that you already knew pretty well. I used Cliff's to "relearn" the big stuff (besides a quarter of Cell Bio this past fall quarter, it'd been 3 years since I took Gen Bio). Then I went thru destroyer a couple times (for bio only) and also took the Bootcamp Bio tests twice. I was decently comfortable with anatomy but used the Khan Academy videos to review anything (ie. kidney function, immune response, etc.) that was a little more in depth.
 
Thanks for the response! I knew Cliffs great for everything except anatomy and developmental bio from what sdn people say. I'll go ahead and take a look at Khan Academy! Thank you
 
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