sarahamanry
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DAT Breakdown
Hi everyone! I read countless DAT breakdowns while studying and found them incredibly helpful, so I wanted to give back by sharing my experience. One thing that made my DAT journey unique was that I significantly changed how I studied halfway through my preparation once I realized my initial approach wasn’t working for me.
SCORES
Academic Average (AA): 480
Quantitative Reasoning (QR): 580
Reading Comprehension (RC): 470
Biology (BIO): 400
General Chemistry (GC): 460
Organic Chemistry (OC): 480
Perceptual Ability Test (PAT): 490
Test Date: December 23, 2025
BACKGROUND
I’m currently a junior majoring in Biology and Chemistry with a 3.93 GPA. For reference, I scored a 27 ACT overall and a 33 on the math section, so math has always been my strongest subject. However, I’ve never been a great standardized test taker. I am a slow reader and struggle with time management, which heavily influenced how I needed to prepare for the DAT.
STUDY TIMELINE & RESOURCES
I started studying in June 2025 using DAT Bootcamp. I followed their schedule, watched videos daily, and completed multiple Q-banks. This helped me build a content foundation and understand what the DAT would look like. However, by October, even after extending my subscription, I realized that learning primarily through videos was not effective for me personally. I was spending 8+ hours a day studying but wasn’t seeing the improvement I expected on practice exams.
At that point, I stepped back and reevaluated my study strategy. I realized I needed more structured guidance, stronger test-taking strategy instruction, and a heavier emphasis on full-length exams and remediation. That is when I transitioned to DAT Booster. I took multiple Booster crash courses and used Booster as my primary resource from October through my test date in December.
Once I switched to Booster, I studied about 4–5 hours per day, focusing heavily on:
• Taking full-length practice exams
• Thoroughly reviewing every exam
• Taking Crash Courses and reviewing notes
SECTION BREAKDOWN
BIOLOGY (400)
Biology was my weakest and broadest section. My goal was not spend all my time in this section. My goal was to get around the 400–420 on every practice exams. Booster’s biology videos were my favorite because they were animated, engaging, and easier to stay focused on. I liked most of the instructors from bootcamp. However, there were some I found more engaging than others. I also completed the two-days of the four day Biology Crash Course. I found this crash course to be extremely fast pace which allowed you to review tons of high yield material in a short amount on time.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY (460) and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY (480)
I took both courses as dual-credit classes in high school, so it had been almost two years since I last saw much of the material. These sections were very relearnable with the right approach. Before I switched to booster, I was scorning 360 on organic chem practice tests and 410 on gen chem. The crash courses combined with heavy remediation of Booster practice exams worked best for me. The crash courses were high-yield and efficient, focusing on exactly what you need to know for the DAT. I took the Organic Chemistry crash course twice, once earlier in my prep and once right before my exam as a final refresher. Instead of memorizing reactions, I focused on understanding patterns and mechanisms, which made organic chemistry much more manageable.
QUANTITATIVE REASONING (580)
Math has always been my strongest subject, so I knew I needed to capitalize on this section. The QR crash course was incredibly helpful and taught me shortcuts and strategies I had never learned from videos alone. I practiced maintaining speed and accuracy, knowing a high QR score could help balance other sections. My biggest recommendation for this section is not to get hung up on one question. Time is a large factor in QR so try to stay focused and mark questions that you need.
READING COMPREHENSION (470)
Reading comprehension was consistently my weakest area. I have never been a reader and was even in special reading classes growing up. My lowest RC practice score was a 270 (beginning of booster, Oct), but the day before my DAT I scored a 520 on a Booster practice test. This means I went from score 270 to 520 on practice tests in about two and a half months. It is possible to get better!
Daily timed practice made the biggest difference. Booster’s 24 timed RC passages allowed me to refine my strategy. I tried TONS of different approaches. I did plain reading, search and destroy, writing down main ideas (on paper), reading first a last sentence, reading questions first, and many more. Even though none of these techniques worked for me, it was still good practice which counted for a lot. This is what I found worked for me.
My RC strategy:
• First 10 minutes: read the passage carefully
• Highlight the following key points: transition words (however, although), lists, proper nouns, dates, and numbers
• Read slowly enough to fully understand the passage to minimize backtracking
After 10 minutes was up, I stopped where I was in the passage and I started answering questions. If I knew I recognized a question, I looked for the answer in the read area. If I did not recognize the answer, I searched and destroyed in the unread section (non- highlighted) I also highlighted any answers I found while answering questions to use a bookmark in case I needed to find that section again in a later question.
PERCEPTUAL ABILITY TEST (PAT) (490)
PAT was a section where strategy mattered more than perfection. Initially, I scored in the low 430 from bootcamp. The PAT crash course helped me identify which sections were worth prioritizing.
My approach:
• Guaranteed points: cube counting, pattern folding, hole punching
• Strongest section: keyholes (practiced the most)
• Weaker sections: top-front-end and angle ranking, focused on efficiency rather than perfection
Saving time on stronger sections allowed me to maximize points overall.
FINAL THOUGHTS
DAT prep can feel overwhelming, and there were many moments when I felt lost and unprepared. My advice is not to take the test until you are ready. It is ok to delay. I did not schedule my test until two days before I took it. Look at your testing center and see how fast it books up.
What made the biggest difference for me was identifying how I learned best and adjusting my study strategy accordingly. For me, the combination of DAT Booster’s full- length exams, structured remediation, and learning from a real person with the crash courses is how I learned best. Everyone’s study style is different, so don’t be afraid to reassess and adjust if something isn’t working. Your hard work truly does pay off!
Hi everyone! I read countless DAT breakdowns while studying and found them incredibly helpful, so I wanted to give back by sharing my experience. One thing that made my DAT journey unique was that I significantly changed how I studied halfway through my preparation once I realized my initial approach wasn’t working for me.
SCORES
Academic Average (AA): 480
Quantitative Reasoning (QR): 580
Reading Comprehension (RC): 470
Biology (BIO): 400
General Chemistry (GC): 460
Organic Chemistry (OC): 480
Perceptual Ability Test (PAT): 490
Test Date: December 23, 2025
BACKGROUND
I’m currently a junior majoring in Biology and Chemistry with a 3.93 GPA. For reference, I scored a 27 ACT overall and a 33 on the math section, so math has always been my strongest subject. However, I’ve never been a great standardized test taker. I am a slow reader and struggle with time management, which heavily influenced how I needed to prepare for the DAT.
STUDY TIMELINE & RESOURCES
I started studying in June 2025 using DAT Bootcamp. I followed their schedule, watched videos daily, and completed multiple Q-banks. This helped me build a content foundation and understand what the DAT would look like. However, by October, even after extending my subscription, I realized that learning primarily through videos was not effective for me personally. I was spending 8+ hours a day studying but wasn’t seeing the improvement I expected on practice exams.
At that point, I stepped back and reevaluated my study strategy. I realized I needed more structured guidance, stronger test-taking strategy instruction, and a heavier emphasis on full-length exams and remediation. That is when I transitioned to DAT Booster. I took multiple Booster crash courses and used Booster as my primary resource from October through my test date in December.
Once I switched to Booster, I studied about 4–5 hours per day, focusing heavily on:
• Taking full-length practice exams
• Thoroughly reviewing every exam
• Taking Crash Courses and reviewing notes
SECTION BREAKDOWN
BIOLOGY (400)
Biology was my weakest and broadest section. My goal was not spend all my time in this section. My goal was to get around the 400–420 on every practice exams. Booster’s biology videos were my favorite because they were animated, engaging, and easier to stay focused on. I liked most of the instructors from bootcamp. However, there were some I found more engaging than others. I also completed the two-days of the four day Biology Crash Course. I found this crash course to be extremely fast pace which allowed you to review tons of high yield material in a short amount on time.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY (460) and ORGANIC CHEMISTRY (480)
I took both courses as dual-credit classes in high school, so it had been almost two years since I last saw much of the material. These sections were very relearnable with the right approach. Before I switched to booster, I was scorning 360 on organic chem practice tests and 410 on gen chem. The crash courses combined with heavy remediation of Booster practice exams worked best for me. The crash courses were high-yield and efficient, focusing on exactly what you need to know for the DAT. I took the Organic Chemistry crash course twice, once earlier in my prep and once right before my exam as a final refresher. Instead of memorizing reactions, I focused on understanding patterns and mechanisms, which made organic chemistry much more manageable.
QUANTITATIVE REASONING (580)
Math has always been my strongest subject, so I knew I needed to capitalize on this section. The QR crash course was incredibly helpful and taught me shortcuts and strategies I had never learned from videos alone. I practiced maintaining speed and accuracy, knowing a high QR score could help balance other sections. My biggest recommendation for this section is not to get hung up on one question. Time is a large factor in QR so try to stay focused and mark questions that you need.
READING COMPREHENSION (470)
Reading comprehension was consistently my weakest area. I have never been a reader and was even in special reading classes growing up. My lowest RC practice score was a 270 (beginning of booster, Oct), but the day before my DAT I scored a 520 on a Booster practice test. This means I went from score 270 to 520 on practice tests in about two and a half months. It is possible to get better!
Daily timed practice made the biggest difference. Booster’s 24 timed RC passages allowed me to refine my strategy. I tried TONS of different approaches. I did plain reading, search and destroy, writing down main ideas (on paper), reading first a last sentence, reading questions first, and many more. Even though none of these techniques worked for me, it was still good practice which counted for a lot. This is what I found worked for me.
My RC strategy:
• First 10 minutes: read the passage carefully
• Highlight the following key points: transition words (however, although), lists, proper nouns, dates, and numbers
• Read slowly enough to fully understand the passage to minimize backtracking
After 10 minutes was up, I stopped where I was in the passage and I started answering questions. If I knew I recognized a question, I looked for the answer in the read area. If I did not recognize the answer, I searched and destroyed in the unread section (non- highlighted) I also highlighted any answers I found while answering questions to use a bookmark in case I needed to find that section again in a later question.
PERCEPTUAL ABILITY TEST (PAT) (490)
PAT was a section where strategy mattered more than perfection. Initially, I scored in the low 430 from bootcamp. The PAT crash course helped me identify which sections were worth prioritizing.
My approach:
• Guaranteed points: cube counting, pattern folding, hole punching
• Strongest section: keyholes (practiced the most)
• Weaker sections: top-front-end and angle ranking, focused on efficiency rather than perfection
Saving time on stronger sections allowed me to maximize points overall.
FINAL THOUGHTS
DAT prep can feel overwhelming, and there were many moments when I felt lost and unprepared. My advice is not to take the test until you are ready. It is ok to delay. I did not schedule my test until two days before I took it. Look at your testing center and see how fast it books up.
What made the biggest difference for me was identifying how I learned best and adjusting my study strategy accordingly. For me, the combination of DAT Booster’s full- length exams, structured remediation, and learning from a real person with the crash courses is how I learned best. Everyone’s study style is different, so don’t be afraid to reassess and adjust if something isn’t working. Your hard work truly does pay off!
