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Hey guys, so I just finished my DAT yesterday afternoon. Super excited to be done! This is actually my first post on SDN, but I have read many breakdowns
. I thought I would post a breakdown of my study experience. I hope it helps someone out there! I wanted to make sure to post all my practice scores. I would frequently venture onto SDN to compare practice scores with previous breakdowns that I admired, I felt that doing so pushed me throughout my 3 month prep! I am a post bacc student taking the necessary pre-reqs for dental school. I was an athlete undergrad and did not make serious steps towards a career path until late junior year, but I am so happy to have found dentistry!
Here are my scores from yesterday (8/23/14):
Bio:24
GC: 29
OC: 29
RC: 21
QR:24
PAT:24
TS:27
AA: 25
Extremely happy with these scores after such a long and grueling 3 months, I truly believe pushing yourself is the key to this test; it can be conquered through hard work. I started studying 3 months ago at the beginning of the summer. 4hrs/day for the first month, then I averaged anywhere from 6-9 hours for the final 2 months (400+ hrs total). I only had a couple days off in the prep (one for my birthday). I told myself that I was willing to make the necessary sacrifices for one summer (i.e. become a human hermit crab) to dominate this test and never look back! The materials I used were:
Ferralis' Bio Notes (10/10)
Honestly after reading cliffs AP bio, all I really used was ferralis' notes and the internet (youtube, wikipedia, khan). The level of detail in his notes are what you need to score well, I certainly did not know everything in ferralis.
DAT Destroyer (9/10)
This book is great for mastering both general and organic chemistry for the DAT. I went through both chem sections twice. The first time around I took notes in the booklet itself, and the second time I took separate notes on tricky reactions or concepts. For bio, I did 400 of the 500 biology problems in Dat Destroyer, I found it fairly helpful, a little too detailed in my opinion. The basics were key for the bio section that I received on the real DAT.
DAT Bootcamp (10/10)
Awesome resource because of the fantastic explanations in every section. Ari promptly emailed me back about a couple a question I had on bootcamp, point for that! The reason I rank it close to Qvault is because it only has 5 practice tests and Qvault has ten. I believe part of my success in the chemisty sections was seeing hundreds and hundreds of problems. That being said, bootcamp prepares you well for the real exam. I thought every section of the real DAT was easier than bootcamp, with reading comp being quite similar in difficulty. The Bootcamp PAT is AWESOME, push yourself here, it will make the real test seem easy. The math is substantially more challenging as others have said, but again thats NOT a bad thing. Who cares what your score reads on a practice test if you perform great on test day?!
Bootcamp Scores (***I finished these tests anywhere from 1-2 months out, so they are NOT a final reflection of where I was on test day. Closer to the real test, I took every science test a second time and received a 30 on each one.):
Bio: 19, 19, 20, 20, 23
GChem: 23, 23, 24, 24, 25
OChem: 22, 21, 21, 22, 20
RC: 18, 19, 21, 21, 21
Math: 21, 22, 21, 22, 19
PAT: 19, 19, 20, 20, 20, 21, 20, 20
DATQVault Bio and Gen Chem (10/10)
This was a great resource in my final 3 weeks of studying. I was hammering through gen chem problems after completing these ten tests. The difficulty was slightly easier than the real exam in gen chem and on par in biology. QVault was huge for me in gen chem as my efficiency/speed increased dramatically, which I think in turn helped my total science score.
2 weeks out from my exam:
QVault Bio Scores: 21, 25, 19, 22, 22, 21, 21, 23, 22, 21 (22 Avg)
QVault Gen Chem Scores: 29, 29, 24, 29, 26, 22, 29, 22, 26, 26 (26 Avg)
QVault OChem: 29
CD Math (7/10), CD Reading (7/10), CD PAT (9/10)
I used Crack Dat for the first month of my prep, I received a 16 on my first reading!! It was a good resource to get me familiar with the exam, but was comparable in any section but the PAT. I actually think crack PAT was the most similar to the real exam, but I think Bootcamp prepared me better. I took 14 math tests, but they were all so similar that it didnt help as much as I thought it would. Too many tone in the reading but it was good practice.
Again these scores were in the beginning month of my prep:
CD Math: 23-24 average
CD PAT: 21 average
CD Reading: 19 average
Topscore (9/10) (some of my reading comp and qr scores I dont have access too any more as I took these tests a second time):
TS1 (before 2009 DAT, 1 month out real test): B 22, GC 21, OC 19, 21AA
TS2 (2 weeks out): B 21, GC 19, OC 21, 20AA
TS3 (final full length practice exam, one week out): B 19, GC 28, OC 28, QR 26, 22 RC, 25AA (felt I was ready after this result, I had hit gen chem and organic very hard in the final three weeks with destroyer and qvault.)(Even studied a bunch of sugar chem and amino acid chem which didn't appear on the test for me).
I thought topscore was a great way to get comfortable with the testing atmosphere. The interface is outdated yes, but mentally it prepared me to the real test feel. I treated all three tests exactly like I did the real test (getting up early, creating a routine, etc.).
The ADA tests were obviously the most similar to the real thing, they are the real thing after all! That being said the 2007 was easier in gen chem and bio. Honestly the 2007 wasnt so different in math in my opinion, maybe slightly easier than the 2014 version. The math in the 2009 was harder, but speed is the biggest factor in math.
2007 ADA Exam(9/10): (1.5 months out from real exam)
Bio 22
GC 28 (30/30)
OC 28 (29/30)
Math 25
RC:21
PAT: 24
AA:25
2009 ADA Exam(10/10): (20 days out from real exam)
Bio:24
GC: 25
OC: 28
Math: 21 (harder than real exam)
RC: 21 (on par with real exam)
PAT: 24
AA:24
Notes of the Real Exam:
Bio was easier than I expected, I didn't find it quite as random as people say. However, I felt I knew my stuff; I actually studied 8 hours the day before the exam reviewing all my notes within Ferralis. I felt fresh and always study best the day before any exam, I figured why change now? I had been studying the chems extensively the final two weeks and felt I needed one final push in biology to get myself firing on all cylinders. The chems were very easy IMO, I started a bit slow on gen chem, but once I got in the zone I was flying through the science. I was actually able to go over my gen chem section twice, because orgo was so darn easy compared to all my prep! I'm glad I did because I ended up changing 2 answers in gen chem my second run through. One tip is when you click, make sure the answer choices are highlighted before you move on, as you may have to click multiple times. I clicked on an answer in QR three times and it did not register before time ran out. Putting this much time into studying, I can't help but wonder if I would have received a 26 with that answer, but its just a fun thought!
TEST DAY NOTES (Do what you gotta do!):
-Did some TFE, pattern folding warmup in the morning of the exam.
-Was dancing hardcore in car to my various pump up songs on way to testing center, calmed my nerves.
-Started air writing with a pen in the car to warm up my hand....lol I know.
-Stretched in the waiting room of the testing center (pretty sure every calmly seated person thought I was an idiot, couldn't have cared less haha, I hit every lower body muscle group).
-Made sure I had high levels of confidence entering the test, there is nothing more you can do so why worry and psych yourself out, my goal was to prepare enough so I was more eager to take the test than nervous, I accomplished this.)
-Lastly, I tried to enjoy the 3 month journey and my experience! I took pride in the butterflies I had on test day!
. I thought I would post a breakdown of my study experience. I hope it helps someone out there! I wanted to make sure to post all my practice scores. I would frequently venture onto SDN to compare practice scores with previous breakdowns that I admired, I felt that doing so pushed me throughout my 3 month prep! I am a post bacc student taking the necessary pre-reqs for dental school. I was an athlete undergrad and did not make serious steps towards a career path until late junior year, but I am so happy to have found dentistry!Here are my scores from yesterday (8/23/14):
Bio:24
GC: 29
OC: 29
RC: 21
QR:24
PAT:24
TS:27
AA: 25
Extremely happy with these scores after such a long and grueling 3 months, I truly believe pushing yourself is the key to this test; it can be conquered through hard work. I started studying 3 months ago at the beginning of the summer. 4hrs/day for the first month, then I averaged anywhere from 6-9 hours for the final 2 months (400+ hrs total). I only had a couple days off in the prep (one for my birthday
). I told myself that I was willing to make the necessary sacrifices for one summer (i.e. become a human hermit crab) to dominate this test and never look back! The materials I used were: Ferralis' Bio Notes (10/10)
Honestly after reading cliffs AP bio, all I really used was ferralis' notes and the internet (youtube, wikipedia, khan). The level of detail in his notes are what you need to score well, I certainly did not know everything in ferralis.
DAT Destroyer (9/10)
This book is great for mastering both general and organic chemistry for the DAT. I went through both chem sections twice. The first time around I took notes in the booklet itself, and the second time I took separate notes on tricky reactions or concepts. For bio, I did 400 of the 500 biology problems in Dat Destroyer, I found it fairly helpful, a little too detailed in my opinion. The basics were key for the bio section that I received on the real DAT.
DAT Bootcamp (10/10)
Awesome resource because of the fantastic explanations in every section. Ari promptly emailed me back about a couple a question I had on bootcamp, point for that! The reason I rank it close to Qvault is because it only has 5 practice tests and Qvault has ten. I believe part of my success in the chemisty sections was seeing hundreds and hundreds of problems. That being said, bootcamp prepares you well for the real exam. I thought every section of the real DAT was easier than bootcamp, with reading comp being quite similar in difficulty. The Bootcamp PAT is AWESOME, push yourself here, it will make the real test seem easy. The math is substantially more challenging as others have said, but again thats NOT a bad thing. Who cares what your score reads on a practice test if you perform great on test day?!
Bootcamp Scores (***I finished these tests anywhere from 1-2 months out, so they are NOT a final reflection of where I was on test day. Closer to the real test, I took every science test a second time and received a 30 on each one.):
Bio: 19, 19, 20, 20, 23
GChem: 23, 23, 24, 24, 25
OChem: 22, 21, 21, 22, 20
RC: 18, 19, 21, 21, 21
Math: 21, 22, 21, 22, 19
PAT: 19, 19, 20, 20, 20, 21, 20, 20
DATQVault Bio and Gen Chem (10/10)
This was a great resource in my final 3 weeks of studying. I was hammering through gen chem problems after completing these ten tests. The difficulty was slightly easier than the real exam in gen chem and on par in biology. QVault was huge for me in gen chem as my efficiency/speed increased dramatically, which I think in turn helped my total science score.
2 weeks out from my exam:
QVault Bio Scores: 21, 25, 19, 22, 22, 21, 21, 23, 22, 21 (22 Avg)
QVault Gen Chem Scores: 29, 29, 24, 29, 26, 22, 29, 22, 26, 26 (26 Avg)
QVault OChem: 29
CD Math (7/10), CD Reading (7/10), CD PAT (9/10)
I used Crack Dat for the first month of my prep, I received a 16 on my first reading!! It was a good resource to get me familiar with the exam, but was comparable in any section but the PAT. I actually think crack PAT was the most similar to the real exam, but I think Bootcamp prepared me better. I took 14 math tests, but they were all so similar that it didnt help as much as I thought it would. Too many tone in the reading but it was good practice.
Again these scores were in the beginning month of my prep:
CD Math: 23-24 average
CD PAT: 21 average
CD Reading: 19 average
Topscore (9/10) (some of my reading comp and qr scores I dont have access too any more as I took these tests a second time):
TS1 (before 2009 DAT, 1 month out real test): B 22, GC 21, OC 19, 21AA
TS2 (2 weeks out): B 21, GC 19, OC 21, 20AA
TS3 (final full length practice exam, one week out): B 19, GC 28, OC 28, QR 26, 22 RC, 25AA (felt I was ready after this result, I had hit gen chem and organic very hard in the final three weeks with destroyer and qvault.)(Even studied a bunch of sugar chem and amino acid chem which didn't appear on the test for me).
I thought topscore was a great way to get comfortable with the testing atmosphere. The interface is outdated yes, but mentally it prepared me to the real test feel. I treated all three tests exactly like I did the real test (getting up early, creating a routine, etc.).
The ADA tests were obviously the most similar to the real thing, they are the real thing after all! That being said the 2007 was easier in gen chem and bio. Honestly the 2007 wasnt so different in math in my opinion, maybe slightly easier than the 2014 version. The math in the 2009 was harder, but speed is the biggest factor in math.
2007 ADA Exam(9/10): (1.5 months out from real exam)
Bio 22
GC 28 (30/30)
OC 28 (29/30)
Math 25
RC:21
PAT: 24
AA:25
2009 ADA Exam(10/10): (20 days out from real exam)
Bio:24
GC: 25
OC: 28
Math: 21 (harder than real exam)
RC: 21 (on par with real exam)
PAT: 24
AA:24
Notes of the Real Exam:
Bio was easier than I expected, I didn't find it quite as random as people say. However, I felt I knew my stuff; I actually studied 8 hours the day before the exam reviewing all my notes within Ferralis. I felt fresh and always study best the day before any exam, I figured why change now? I had been studying the chems extensively the final two weeks and felt I needed one final push in biology to get myself firing on all cylinders. The chems were very easy IMO, I started a bit slow on gen chem, but once I got in the zone I was flying through the science. I was actually able to go over my gen chem section twice, because orgo was so darn easy compared to all my prep! I'm glad I did because I ended up changing 2 answers in gen chem my second run through. One tip is when you click, make sure the answer choices are highlighted before you move on, as you may have to click multiple times. I clicked on an answer in QR three times and it did not register before time ran out. Putting this much time into studying, I can't help but wonder if I would have received a 26 with that answer, but its just a fun thought!
TEST DAY NOTES (Do what you gotta do!):
-Did some TFE, pattern folding warmup in the morning of the exam.
-Was dancing hardcore in car to my various pump up songs on way to testing center, calmed my nerves.
-Started air writing with a pen in the car to warm up my hand....lol I know.
-Stretched in the waiting room of the testing center (pretty sure every calmly seated person thought I was an idiot, couldn't have cared less haha, I hit every lower body muscle group).
-Made sure I had high levels of confidence entering the test, there is nothing more you can do so why worry and psych yourself out, my goal was to prepare enough so I was more eager to take the test than nervous, I accomplished this.)
-Lastly, I tried to enjoy the 3 month journey and my experience! I took pride in the butterflies I had on test day!
