Hello everyone!
I started studying for the DAT October of last year and planned to take the exam at the end of December. But I just couldn’t focus and take studying seriously, so I started my “real” studying December and pushed my exam back to Feb. 9th. (Gave myself ~3 months to study).
Material used:
2007 Exam (to see where I stand) —> Review materials —> Destroyers —> Bootcamp exam 6~10, individually —> Bootcamp full length exam 1~5 + 2009 exam under testing condition.
Bio:
The most time consuming section studying for the DAT. It literally felt like just memorizing a dictionary since the DAT tests you on everything. I first read Cliff’s 3rd biology section and made Quizlet for all chapters. After making sure I understood everything in the cliff’s bio, I read Feralis Notes and Dr. Romano’s Bio notes. I personally loved the new Feralis notes but they only released up to 5 chapters. So I moved on to using Dr. Romano’s Bio notes, and it was wonderful. Very easy to read, lots of diagrams, great explanations. After reviewing, I used Destroyers. I was getting almost half the questions wrong in the beginning, but it was super helpful. Just remember to use Destroyers as not an indicator of how well you will do on the exam, but use it as a STUDY TOOL. Don’t get discouraged by how many questions you are getting wrong, but focus on why you got the question wrong and understand all the answer choices given. After finishing Destroyer, I moved on to Bootcamp for more practice.
Actual Exam:
Overall, it was very straightforward and less detailed than I thought. Also, I knew I had to spend more time on GC, so I spent ~20 minutes on Bio, so I can spend that extra 10 minutes on GC.
GC + OC:
For both GC and OC, I first watched Mike’s video then watched Chad’s video to review my materials. Both are great, and I highly recommend using both. After reviewing, I straight went to Destroyer. Similar to Bio, the questions are challenging, but definitely prepares you well for the actual exam. Unlike Bio, I rewrote all the questions I got wrong or guessed and wrote explanations why I got wrong. Again, use Destroyers as study tool, not as an indicator of how well you will score on the actual exam! After finishing Destroyer, moved on to Bootcamp for extra practice. Also, there are explanations for all questions so make sure to read them even if you answered the questions right! On top of that, there is a video solutions made my Mike, which are super helpful. If you still don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask Mike and, he will get back to you within a day with thorough explanations.
Actual Exam:
I felt like all the questions were very similar to Bootcamp questions.
Actual Exam:
On par with Bootcamp questions (Not the generators but the actual questions on Bootcamp)
RC:
Reading is one my weakest subject and scored very low on my practice exams. During the exam, I couldn’t answer 4 questions and was out of time. I don’t think there are any tips I can give, but just practice with Bootcamp. Overall, I think Bootcamp’s passages are more difficult and dense compared to the actual DAT.
How I approached RC:
I first numbered 1~# of paragraphs there were in the passage. Then, I wrote one or two key word that summarized the paragraph. This helped me to navigate through the passage easier when answering questions.
QR:
Math is one of my strongest subjects so instead of watching videos, I straight went to destroyer. I had the 2017 version so there were no comparison questions (not sure if 2018 version has it). For more comparison practices, I used bootcamp. (If you don’t have time, I would just stick to Bootcamp QR questions. I thought i was taking the bootcamp exam during the actual DAT.)
Actual Exam:
It was almost identical to the bootcamp. Difficulty, concept, everything is just on par with bootcamp. Also, I did not see ANY trig questions. Instead, it was mostly statistics & comparison questions on my exam.
Lastly, I want to say anyone is capable of scoring high on the DAT as long as you stay focused and be consistent. Give yourself 2~3 full months dedicated to DAT and make sure to not lose your motivation.
Huge thanks to Ari, Mike, Bootcamp team, and Dr.Romano! Good luck to everyone studying for the DAT and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!
I started studying for the DAT October of last year and planned to take the exam at the end of December. But I just couldn’t focus and take studying seriously, so I started my “real” studying December and pushed my exam back to Feb. 9th. (Gave myself ~3 months to study).
Material used:
- Bootcamp: MUST HAVE resource for the DAT. By far the most representative of the actual DAT exam. (Including the format, content, difficulty of the exam). Great indicator if you are ready for the exam! Also, you not only get 10 practice exams, but you also get Joel’s videos (tutorial on PAT), Mike’s videos (review on GC +OC), and unlimited generators for the PAT. If I had to choose only one resource for the DAT, hands down, go with Bootcamp.
- Destroyer + Math Destroyer (2017): Destroyers have lots of challenging problems and some people say these are overkill. But Destroyers are another must-have resource because Destroyers actually test you if you truly understand the concept or not. After going through the Destroyer once, I was able to reduce my time significantly.
- Cliff Biology 3rd edition
- Feralis Notes
- Dr. Romano’s Bio notes.
- Chad’s video + Mike’s video: Both videos are great! I personally would recommend both videos to review your OC+GC materials.
- 2007 + 2009 Exam (I thought these exams were on the easier side.Instead of focusing on these exams, focus more on the Bootcamp exams!)
2007 Exam (to see where I stand) —> Review materials —> Destroyers —> Bootcamp exam 6~10, individually —> Bootcamp full length exam 1~5 + 2009 exam under testing condition.
Bio:
The most time consuming section studying for the DAT. It literally felt like just memorizing a dictionary since the DAT tests you on everything. I first read Cliff’s 3rd biology section and made Quizlet for all chapters. After making sure I understood everything in the cliff’s bio, I read Feralis Notes and Dr. Romano’s Bio notes. I personally loved the new Feralis notes but they only released up to 5 chapters. So I moved on to using Dr. Romano’s Bio notes, and it was wonderful. Very easy to read, lots of diagrams, great explanations. After reviewing, I used Destroyers. I was getting almost half the questions wrong in the beginning, but it was super helpful. Just remember to use Destroyers as not an indicator of how well you will do on the exam, but use it as a STUDY TOOL. Don’t get discouraged by how many questions you are getting wrong, but focus on why you got the question wrong and understand all the answer choices given. After finishing Destroyer, I moved on to Bootcamp for more practice.
Actual Exam:
Overall, it was very straightforward and less detailed than I thought. Also, I knew I had to spend more time on GC, so I spent ~20 minutes on Bio, so I can spend that extra 10 minutes on GC.
GC + OC:
For both GC and OC, I first watched Mike’s video then watched Chad’s video to review my materials. Both are great, and I highly recommend using both. After reviewing, I straight went to Destroyer. Similar to Bio, the questions are challenging, but definitely prepares you well for the actual exam. Unlike Bio, I rewrote all the questions I got wrong or guessed and wrote explanations why I got wrong. Again, use Destroyers as study tool, not as an indicator of how well you will score on the actual exam! After finishing Destroyer, moved on to Bootcamp for extra practice. Also, there are explanations for all questions so make sure to read them even if you answered the questions right! On top of that, there is a video solutions made my Mike, which are super helpful. If you still don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask Mike and, he will get back to you within a day with thorough explanations.
Actual Exam:
I felt like all the questions were very similar to Bootcamp questions.
Actual Exam:
On par with Bootcamp questions (Not the generators but the actual questions on Bootcamp)
RC:
Reading is one my weakest subject and scored very low on my practice exams. During the exam, I couldn’t answer 4 questions and was out of time. I don’t think there are any tips I can give, but just practice with Bootcamp. Overall, I think Bootcamp’s passages are more difficult and dense compared to the actual DAT.
How I approached RC:
I first numbered 1~# of paragraphs there were in the passage. Then, I wrote one or two key word that summarized the paragraph. This helped me to navigate through the passage easier when answering questions.
QR:
Math is one of my strongest subjects so instead of watching videos, I straight went to destroyer. I had the 2017 version so there were no comparison questions (not sure if 2018 version has it). For more comparison practices, I used bootcamp. (If you don’t have time, I would just stick to Bootcamp QR questions. I thought i was taking the bootcamp exam during the actual DAT.)
Actual Exam:
It was almost identical to the bootcamp. Difficulty, concept, everything is just on par with bootcamp. Also, I did not see ANY trig questions. Instead, it was mostly statistics & comparison questions on my exam.
Lastly, I want to say anyone is capable of scoring high on the DAT as long as you stay focused and be consistent. Give yourself 2~3 full months dedicated to DAT and make sure to not lose your motivation.
Huge thanks to Ari, Mike, Bootcamp team, and Dr.Romano! Good luck to everyone studying for the DAT and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!
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