First, I'd like to thank anyone who has ever posted a DAT breakdown on SDN. Those were tremendously helpful in focusing my study and helping me save money on the right learning materials 😀. Sorry it will be a lengthy post.
Before I retook the test, I was told by many people that it's nearly impossible to go up by more than 2pts in AA. So I only aimed for a 21, yet here I am:
1st Attempt:
PAT: 19
QR: 24
RC: 18
BIO: 17
GC: 20
OC: 20
TS: 19
AA: 20
2nd attempt:
PAT: 21
QR: 25
RC: 21
BIO: 20
GC: 28
OC: 25
TS: 23
AA: 24
Materials used for both times:
Must haves: DAT Destroyer, Math Destroyer, Bootcamp, Chad Videos, Cliff Notes and Ferralis Notes.
Optional: Qvaults
PAT: Bootcamp in my opinion is all you need for this section. It is very very close to the real thing. Don't feel discouraged if you feel like you can't never figure out how to work on any section. Keep practicing, watch all RC Academy and study their explanations.That was the key for the improvement in my score. On the test, start with the sections you are most confident at, try to finish them quickly so you can spend more time on the rest. I would say Pattern folding and Hole punching in the real test is way easier than Bootcamp, but the rest is almost the same level of difficulty. However, Bootcamp Cube counting practice tests always have 3 questions/figure while in the real test, most of what I got was 2 questions per figure. So be careful and look at the figure before putting down the answer. Also at the beginning of each PAT section there was one page tutorial introducing what the section was about. I was caught off guard because I wasn't aware the clock was still running, so keep that in mind and quickly skip it to save your time.
QR: Math Destroyer & Bootcamp
Math is always one of my strongest subjects so I didn't spend a lots of time on this. Math Destroyer will expose you to variety types of questions and formulas. Bootcamp is great for timing and help you get used to the new Comparison types of question in the test. I did 5 Destroyers and 5 Bootcamps. The real test is way easier content wise but you are pretty much exhausted by the time you get to Math section so try to take a deep breath and keep up with your timing. Don't spend too much time on one question, pick an answer, mark and move on.
RC: Bootcamp & Scientific America
English is my second language (I've only been here for 7 years) so trust me when I say this is not easy (at least for me) but it'd be more doable with practice. Scientific America is a great source of scientific readings. As much as I love their Biology/Health related articles, I always find myself having a hard time going through those about Geology or Archaeology 🤐 So I guess start with the topics that you're most interested in then try to expose yourself to different topics because they might show up in the test. In my first attempts I got passages about Archaeology, Physics and Chemistry. In my second one, I got history of salt, Crocodile 😴 and Metal. Even though Bootcamp passages were pretty similar to the real test, their practice questions were way harder. However, I strongly recommend to do as many practice tests as you can to work on your timing and figure out which strategy works best for you. I found Search & Destroy worked best for 2/3 passages in my test, and other one required more overall understanding.
BIO: Cliff Notes, Ferralis Note, Destroyer, Bootcamp, Qvault
Biology was literally my nightmare 🙁 The weird thing is I did very well on most of my lower and upper undergrad Biol courses but when it came to studying for the DAT it became so overwhelming. And the low score on the first attempt put even more pressure on this time. I decided to dedicate 1/2 of my 2 months study just for Biology. I used almost the same materials both times but what I did different this time was I went through Cliff and Ferralis Notes TWICE, made tons of flash cards, went through Destroyer TWICE, did Qvault then Bootcamp practice tests. I was still not confident before going to the test because they could literally ask about ANYTHING. I don't think I'm the best person to give advice about how to study for this section because 20 is not a very high score. But for somebody out there that is still struggling not just Biology but any other sections, keep practicing and don't give up. If I could jump a whooping 3 points you can too 😀
GC & OC: DAT Destroyer, Bootcamp, Chad Videos, Qvaults
Chad Videos is a must! It'll set a good foundations for everything you need to know for the DAT. What made a difference in my score was definitely doing more practice by going through Destroyer TWICE, made sure to understand every answer choice, did ALL Bootcamp and Qvault practice tests. Keep in mind that these practice tests will expose you to different problems and aspects of the information you probably already knew so don't get discouraged if you don't get a super high score on those. I never got anything higher than 22 in all of my Bootcamp practice tests. The key is to actively learn from their answer explanations, take notes and keep going over your notes to make sure you don't repeat those mistakes again. In the real test, these 2 sections were surprisingly much more simple and straightforward than any practice tests I ever done.
One last note, studying for the DAT is stressful and requires lots of dedications, but hard work will definitely pay off. Don't let other people scores or schedules affect your mentality. Everybody is unique and works very differently so set your own schedule and keep pushing forward. I still can't believe I was able to achieve that score. So I guess anything is attainable as long as you don't give up 🙂
P/s: Shout out to Bootcamp for their amazing customer service. My Bootcamp subscription expired 5 days before my test so I messaged their team hoping I could purchase 5 days subscription with a portion of the price. They ended up extending my subscriptions for free until my test day.
Before I retook the test, I was told by many people that it's nearly impossible to go up by more than 2pts in AA. So I only aimed for a 21, yet here I am:
1st Attempt:
PAT: 19
QR: 24
RC: 18
BIO: 17
GC: 20
OC: 20
TS: 19
AA: 20
2nd attempt:
PAT: 21
QR: 25
RC: 21
BIO: 20
GC: 28
OC: 25
TS: 23
AA: 24
Materials used for both times:
Must haves: DAT Destroyer, Math Destroyer, Bootcamp, Chad Videos, Cliff Notes and Ferralis Notes.
Optional: Qvaults
PAT: Bootcamp in my opinion is all you need for this section. It is very very close to the real thing. Don't feel discouraged if you feel like you can't never figure out how to work on any section. Keep practicing, watch all RC Academy and study their explanations.That was the key for the improvement in my score. On the test, start with the sections you are most confident at, try to finish them quickly so you can spend more time on the rest. I would say Pattern folding and Hole punching in the real test is way easier than Bootcamp, but the rest is almost the same level of difficulty. However, Bootcamp Cube counting practice tests always have 3 questions/figure while in the real test, most of what I got was 2 questions per figure. So be careful and look at the figure before putting down the answer. Also at the beginning of each PAT section there was one page tutorial introducing what the section was about. I was caught off guard because I wasn't aware the clock was still running, so keep that in mind and quickly skip it to save your time.
QR: Math Destroyer & Bootcamp
Math is always one of my strongest subjects so I didn't spend a lots of time on this. Math Destroyer will expose you to variety types of questions and formulas. Bootcamp is great for timing and help you get used to the new Comparison types of question in the test. I did 5 Destroyers and 5 Bootcamps. The real test is way easier content wise but you are pretty much exhausted by the time you get to Math section so try to take a deep breath and keep up with your timing. Don't spend too much time on one question, pick an answer, mark and move on.
RC: Bootcamp & Scientific America
English is my second language (I've only been here for 7 years) so trust me when I say this is not easy (at least for me) but it'd be more doable with practice. Scientific America is a great source of scientific readings. As much as I love their Biology/Health related articles, I always find myself having a hard time going through those about Geology or Archaeology 🤐 So I guess start with the topics that you're most interested in then try to expose yourself to different topics because they might show up in the test. In my first attempts I got passages about Archaeology, Physics and Chemistry. In my second one, I got history of salt, Crocodile 😴 and Metal. Even though Bootcamp passages were pretty similar to the real test, their practice questions were way harder. However, I strongly recommend to do as many practice tests as you can to work on your timing and figure out which strategy works best for you. I found Search & Destroy worked best for 2/3 passages in my test, and other one required more overall understanding.
BIO: Cliff Notes, Ferralis Note, Destroyer, Bootcamp, Qvault
Biology was literally my nightmare 🙁 The weird thing is I did very well on most of my lower and upper undergrad Biol courses but when it came to studying for the DAT it became so overwhelming. And the low score on the first attempt put even more pressure on this time. I decided to dedicate 1/2 of my 2 months study just for Biology. I used almost the same materials both times but what I did different this time was I went through Cliff and Ferralis Notes TWICE, made tons of flash cards, went through Destroyer TWICE, did Qvault then Bootcamp practice tests. I was still not confident before going to the test because they could literally ask about ANYTHING. I don't think I'm the best person to give advice about how to study for this section because 20 is not a very high score. But for somebody out there that is still struggling not just Biology but any other sections, keep practicing and don't give up. If I could jump a whooping 3 points you can too 😀
GC & OC: DAT Destroyer, Bootcamp, Chad Videos, Qvaults
Chad Videos is a must! It'll set a good foundations for everything you need to know for the DAT. What made a difference in my score was definitely doing more practice by going through Destroyer TWICE, made sure to understand every answer choice, did ALL Bootcamp and Qvault practice tests. Keep in mind that these practice tests will expose you to different problems and aspects of the information you probably already knew so don't get discouraged if you don't get a super high score on those. I never got anything higher than 22 in all of my Bootcamp practice tests. The key is to actively learn from their answer explanations, take notes and keep going over your notes to make sure you don't repeat those mistakes again. In the real test, these 2 sections were surprisingly much more simple and straightforward than any practice tests I ever done.
One last note, studying for the DAT is stressful and requires lots of dedications, but hard work will definitely pay off. Don't let other people scores or schedules affect your mentality. Everybody is unique and works very differently so set your own schedule and keep pushing forward. I still can't believe I was able to achieve that score. So I guess anything is attainable as long as you don't give up 🙂
P/s: Shout out to Bootcamp for their amazing customer service. My Bootcamp subscription expired 5 days before my test so I messaged their team hoping I could purchase 5 days subscription with a portion of the price. They ended up extending my subscriptions for free until my test day.
