DAT Breakdown 8/25/16

[WaveRace]

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It's finally over. Is this real life?

My scores:
Bio 21
GC 21
OC 20
RC 23
QR 18
PAT 20

TS 21
AA 21

Bio - Lots of physiology, no plant bio, no questions about diversity. Very random questions.
GC - Learn Chad's, do destroyer, you'll be fine. Straightforward.
OC - I know which questions I missed. I got several crazy reactions that I was just dumbfounded with. Didn't have any acid/base ranking or O/M/P directing questions. Very, very strange compared to my first DAT attempt (it was straightforward and I scored a bit higher).
RC - Wow, this was easy. Thought I got a 30. I finished with 25 minutes left. 90% of questions were S&D, which I didn't really use until the test itself.
QR - Woof.
PAT - Rock polygon shapes were terrible. There were about 5. Was surprised by my score, because in bootcamp I was getting mid-20s.


The sense of relief of having completed the DAT is incredible. Studying consumed most of my summer. I followed a modified bootcamp schedule. I used the usual materials (destroyer, bootcamp, chad's). All were crucial to my success. That said, the primary reasons for me doing well (compared to my first time), have nothing to do with my study materials. Maintaining my health, trusting God, and being there for people were the trio that kept me together through my studies. Those things are what make me who I am, and they can't be put on the shelf while I study for an exam. Last time, I tried studying as many hours as I could in a day. Not only was that unproductive, it was incredibly unhealthy.

~1.5 weeks before my test, one of my friends lost her father and her fiancee broke up with her the next day (I can't even comprehend that). Anyways, I dropped everything to be there for her every day that last week because she wasn't doing well. After studying for 3 months, ditching my study schedule 1 week out seemed daunting. No time for all of bootcamp's tests, didn't even get the '07 in. The thing is, I'm studying to be a health professional to help people, not study science. Once I thought about that, the decision made itself. Would my scores have been higher if I hadn't? Probably. But what do these scores mean compared to human suffering?

SDN is a great community that gave me guidance during my studying, and I'm very grateful for that. Thanks everyone for the inspiration and guidance to succeed. Couldn't have done it without all of you. Every single one of you is important, and don't let anyone or test scores tell you otherwise.

 

[Charles_Darwin]

Whew! You had a lot to go through before test day, I was in the same boat. Kudos to you for still slaying it 🙂

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Grats and awesome consistency throughout! Also, this really makes me question how TS is calculated xDD (ik it's a total # of questions you get right but I'm still annoyed mine isn't a bit higher lool)

 

[Samin23]

Congrats! Nice scores all around

 

[WaveRace]

Whew! You had a lot to go through before test day, I was in the same boat. Kudos to you for still slaying it 🙂

I remember reading your story and being inspired that you pulled through as strongly as you did. Kudos back at you!

 

[htorres89]

It's finally over. Is this real life?

My scores:
Bio 21
GC 21
OC 20
RC 23
QR 18
PAT 20

TS 21
AA 21

Congrats on the wonderful scores! Hope you land some interviews. I'm in the middle of retaking my DAT and I was just curious how were your scores the first time? Also what do you think you did differently? Look forward to hearing from you.

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Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[halpal]

OC - I know which questions I missed. I got several crazy reactions that I was just dumbfounded with. Didn't have any acid/base ranking or O/M/P directing questions. Very, very strange compared to my first DAT attempt (it was straightforward and I scored a bit higher).

Yupp my OC was the same. I was pretty disappointed! You did great, congrats!!

 

[dnp123]

Have you taken the 2009 dat practice exam by any chance?

 

[WaveRace]

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Thanks! My scores the first time were 19s across the board, an 18 gc, and a 21 in orgo. My first time I tried studying for 2 weeks and taking the DAT. Cramming isn't something that worked (for me) for taking the DAT. I was much better off studying a reasonable amount each day (6 hours), with some easy days and some days off. I studied for ~3 months this time. I also made sure to take care of my health (physical, emotional, social, and spiritual) during my DAT this time. I was cooking good meals every day, working out, doing at least 2 social activities each week (ex: coffee with a friend), meditating, and praying (which I realize doesn't apply to everyone but is important to me personally). I think that series of things made by far the biggest difference.

As far as actual studying goes, I focused more on understanding the big picture. For biology, this meant drawing out giant maps and trying to really understand different topics (where does NADH come from? is it being oxidized or reduced? why?). GC I made sure not to skip over anything, because the little details are what make the difference. Exceptions to ionization energy and electron affinity, what those actually mean (not just the direction of the trend). For orgo, I worked on understanding the flow of electrons behind each reaction instead of just memorizing infinite reactions.

Hope that helps and good luck!

 

[WaveRace]

Have you taken the 2009 dat practice exam by any chance?

The '09 I did 10 days out to see where my weaknesses were. As indicated in my original post, I didn't have much time to do full tests, so I didn't finish the entire thing. My scores were Bio 23, GC 22, OC 20. Good luck!

 

[dnp123]

The '09 I did 10 days out to see where my weaknesses were. As indicated in my original post, I didn't have much time to do full tests, so I didn't finish the entire thing. My scores were Bio 23, GC 22, OC 20. Good luck!

Thank you. Congrats on your DAT scores!