- Joined
- Jan 8, 2015
- Messages
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- Reaction score
- 67
Hey guys,
I've been lurking these forums for quiet some time and have honestly taken more than I have given back to SDN. So I've decided to do a little dat breakdown to help out the SDN community.
A little about my situation. A year ago from this exact date, I was preparing for pharmacy school; I was working on my apps and throughout the year went to several schools like UCSD, UOP, USC for interviews. Truth be told, I was going into pharmacy because I figured it was a financially stable job and I enjoyed learning about drug mechanism. But I really didn't have a passion for this particular field; I figured I already committed all these years and resources to pharmacy I had to finish it out. But as the year went by and I went to more interviews, there was a common question that really made me rethink about my career choice. "Why pharmacy?" Why did I want to do pharmacy? As simple as it seems, when asked why by my interviewers I never had a clear-cut reason. I would have some "generic" reasons for why I wanted to pursue pharmacy, but something in my heart/gut was telling that a career change was needed. Enter dentistry. In the midst of contemplating pharmacy, I decided one day to randomly tagged along with my sister (who was in dire need of a root canal procedure) to our family dentist. The way my dentist performed this procedure was so meticulous and detailed it was kind of like a work of art. Not only was the procedure done quickly and precisely, my dentist also cracked a lot of jokes with my sister and I (which I thought was awesome). I thoroughly enjoyed watching him work and the way he joked with his patients made me really consider this field as a career choice. I love to joke around, I love working with my hands and I love the field of health. As soon as I saw the connection with me and dentistry, I asked my dentist if I could shadow him. Skipping ahead to current times, after shadowing and researching more about this career I am fully committed to dentistry and believe I have found my calling. I declined my various pharmacy school offers and now am preparing to apply dental school this summer! I have roughly a 3.88 cumulative GPA and 3.9+ sGPA, a lot of researching hours and volunteering hours at a local elementary school as a tutor. I only have roughly 70 hours of shadowing, but given my quick career change hopefully dental schools can overlook it!
Anyways enough about me onto the breakdown:
PAT:25/QR:22/RC:20/Bio:19 🙁/Chem:24/Ochem:23/Ts:21/AA:22
A little disappointed with my score since I was aiming for a 24+ AA; actually I was aiming for a perfect everything (which we all should aim for) so my real score was a bit of a bummer. I spent roughly 2 months studying for the dat at about 5-7 hours a day. I used ari's study guide as a reference, but eventually modified to fit my own study habits.
Biology (19):
Materials: I used cliffs and feralis as my two core resources for the bio section; to practice the problems, datbootcamp and destroyer were used.
DAT: I was utterly disappointed in this score; my averages on bootcamp and the practice exams were 23+. The particular exam that I got on the actual test was somewhat different than all the practice materials I used. There were some very specific question where you had to know the term otherwise you would not get the problem. Ex. what hormone is a catecholamine (norep and ep). Then there were some questions that I felt were kinda vague and did not expect to show up. Ex. 2, 8 cells one normal and one with albinism were fuzed what would be the results. I had about 7 questions that were very specific/vague and I had to sort of guess on them which probably resulted in me getting the 19.
Conclusion/advice: I don't know how the other bio sections were for other people, but I felt that I got a particularly difficult one. I had about 4 biological diversity questions and a few other questions that aren't considered "the core" topics that the dat covers. So while datbootcamp and destroyer helped other people, unfortunately, it only helped me to some extent. Bad luck for me I guess :/. I would suggest everyone to study the bio section at their own pace; study the board aspects of bio first before you go into the nitty gritty details. Even though I got some very detailed questions LOL, I think you have a higher chance of knowing the broad aspects and making educated guesses on very specific details than to not know something at all.
Chem (24):
Materials: chad's notes, destroyer, bootcamp; like what everyone says this is pretty much all you need
DAT: The dat was pretty much on par with everything on the destroyer and bootcamp(actually was a little bit easier). I honestly only had 2 problems that I was unsure of. One of them was a chemistry lab question asking me where I should store a specific material and the other one was something conceptual about the rate law. Overall, the chem portion was pretty simple.
Conclusion/advice: I would say that practice makes perfect for this section; not only practicing and knowing each problem, but also your timing on this section. The chem section usually takes the longest to complete so I'd suggest you should try and work through this section quickly and efficiently to allow yourself time to go back and double check your work. I only had time to go back to the problems that I marked rather than every chem question which probably resulted in me making some stupid mistake on an easy question.
Ochem (23):
Materials: same as chem
DAT: Again, like the chem section everything that was on there was pretty much covered on the destroyer and bootcamp; I again had two-three problems that I was unsure of. Since my score was 23, I guess I guessed wrong LOL. One of them involved the stereochemistry of a diels-alder product which I really didn't practice and was kind of stuck on for the longest time. I can't remember what the other problems were, but overall the ochem section wasn't too difficult.
Conclusion/advice: I would say if you want to do well in it, master EVERYTHING. I think that goes with every section LOL, but in particular with the ochem section you gotta be strong with every concept. Don't under estimate chirality and stereochemistry, if you don't practice those enough you can make a silly mistake on exam day. Memorize every reaction and make sure you know which reactions perform SN2 mechanisms because the dat will test you on that inversion concept.
PAT (25)
Materials: datbootcamp; i've always been relatively good a puzzle solving so datbootcamp was all I needed to hone my skills.
DAT: The pat portion was in my opinion much simpler than bootcamp in terms of the keyhole section and the angle ranking. Everything else was pretty much on par with bootcamp. I had issues with maybe 2-3 keyhole problems and 2-3 angles, but everything else was do-able for me.
Conclusion/advice: Practice makes PERFECT. This should be said for every section, but for the PAT in particular practice really does make perfect. Practice your timing. For me, at first my issue was timing; I couldn't finish 90 problems within 60 minutes. But as I practice more I got my timing down to the point where I had 10 minutes left over to double check my work. Practice your weaknesses. For me and many others, I struggled with the keyholes and the angle rankings. So I made sure that I did extra problems via generator in order to improve. Practice. Practice. Practice! One last thing; the key section on the bootcamp was so detailed that it actually kind of slowed me down on the actual DAT. I was looking at every small detail possible. Is this line too long? Is the shape exact? On the actual dat it was not as specific for majority of the keyhole problems. So props to you Mr. Ari for making the keyhole easier (albeit a little more time consuming LOL)! bootcamp keyhole > dat keyhole
Break: TAKE IT!
RC (20)
Materials: datbootcamp
DAT: Hmmm I don't really know how I should approach explaining this portion. I guess I would say that the questions on the dat were much simpler than on bootcamp, but the reading topics are on par with bootcamp. I had issues with just being able to read because some of my prompts were just so dry and boring. One of them was 14 paragraphs long explaining the different types of screenings and what makes a good screening test... zZZzZZzz.
Conclusion/advice: Honestly, if you're an avid reader you will most likely do well on this section. For me, I'm just an average reader and if you give me a prompt that is dry and boring...well you can guess and say that I am f***ed. So in this case, not only was I mentally fatigued from all the puzzle solving and science thinking, I was also lucky enough to get some dry prompts! Joking aside, I was happy that I managed to score a 20; I thought I was going to get a 16 or something LOL. My final piece of advice is to figure out a method (mapping, S&D, etc.) and stick with it. Practice it multiple times and you should be good.
QR (22):
Materials: chad's video, bootcamp and math destroyer. This is all you need!
DAT/Conclusion/advice: All the problems given to me on the dat was on the same difficulty level as destroyer. Actually it was easier. The issue here is that you will be mentally fatigued after roughly 4 hours of testing. While every problem was simple for me, I problem made some stupid silly mistakes from being exhausted after some much testing. Silly mistakes and almost no time left to double check your work = a bad combo. I guess my advice here is to work on your timing and practice the QR section after you have studied for a long period of time. Practicing in this state of tiredness would probably give you an idea of how you will score in the QR section.
Conclusion/final advice:
My practice scores were roughly 24+ for every science section, 18-23 for RC, 24+ Pat, and 23+ QR on bootcamp; so my actual dat score were pretty similar to most of my averages (minus bio >:O). Overall, what you're averaging on your practice scores would pretty much be your actual DAT score. Again, a little disappointed with my score since my overall average was higher than my actual scores. I believe my materials are THE BARE MINIMUM you guys need in order to do well on the DAT. I can't recommend any other sources since I only used these, but if you search other SDN posts you can probably find those other resources!
In my opinion the dat is not impossible to do you just need to fully commit to studying and practicing! Figure out what study style will fit you best! If you're a crammer then cram away and take that dat in a month; if you like to take your time to study then take as long as you want. For me, I am somewhat in the middle of the two. I wanted to cram, but in order to keep my sanity I needed to space it out to two months. During those two months, I kept my sanity by working out almost every night, shadowing my dentist once a week, volunteering at an elementary school every friday and playing in a rec basketball league every sunday. So while I usually spent 5-7 hours a day studying, I did a lot of other things to help maintain my stress. I suggest that everyone should have some activities planned everyday to take their mind off the DAT. Sometimes not thinking about the dat is the best way to prepare for the dat!
I hope this breakdown helped some of you guys out! Good luck on taking the exams, applying to dental school and getting in! Hopefully I'll get some interviews and get into school this year too XD.
Thank you Mr. Feralis and Mr. Ari for your amazing notes and bootcamp! They really helped me with my scores!
Lastly, please excuse me if I have any grammar issues in this breakdown; I am on vacation as I write this so I don't have time to proofread. Anyways, cheers!
I've been lurking these forums for quiet some time and have honestly taken more than I have given back to SDN. So I've decided to do a little dat breakdown to help out the SDN community.
A little about my situation. A year ago from this exact date, I was preparing for pharmacy school; I was working on my apps and throughout the year went to several schools like UCSD, UOP, USC for interviews. Truth be told, I was going into pharmacy because I figured it was a financially stable job and I enjoyed learning about drug mechanism. But I really didn't have a passion for this particular field; I figured I already committed all these years and resources to pharmacy I had to finish it out. But as the year went by and I went to more interviews, there was a common question that really made me rethink about my career choice. "Why pharmacy?" Why did I want to do pharmacy? As simple as it seems, when asked why by my interviewers I never had a clear-cut reason. I would have some "generic" reasons for why I wanted to pursue pharmacy, but something in my heart/gut was telling that a career change was needed. Enter dentistry. In the midst of contemplating pharmacy, I decided one day to randomly tagged along with my sister (who was in dire need of a root canal procedure) to our family dentist. The way my dentist performed this procedure was so meticulous and detailed it was kind of like a work of art. Not only was the procedure done quickly and precisely, my dentist also cracked a lot of jokes with my sister and I (which I thought was awesome). I thoroughly enjoyed watching him work and the way he joked with his patients made me really consider this field as a career choice. I love to joke around, I love working with my hands and I love the field of health. As soon as I saw the connection with me and dentistry, I asked my dentist if I could shadow him. Skipping ahead to current times, after shadowing and researching more about this career I am fully committed to dentistry and believe I have found my calling. I declined my various pharmacy school offers and now am preparing to apply dental school this summer! I have roughly a 3.88 cumulative GPA and 3.9+ sGPA, a lot of researching hours and volunteering hours at a local elementary school as a tutor. I only have roughly 70 hours of shadowing, but given my quick career change hopefully dental schools can overlook it!
Anyways enough about me onto the breakdown:
PAT:25/QR:22/RC:20/Bio:19 🙁/Chem:24/Ochem:23/Ts:21/AA:22
A little disappointed with my score since I was aiming for a 24+ AA; actually I was aiming for a perfect everything (which we all should aim for) so my real score was a bit of a bummer. I spent roughly 2 months studying for the dat at about 5-7 hours a day. I used ari's study guide as a reference, but eventually modified to fit my own study habits.
Biology (19):
Materials: I used cliffs and feralis as my two core resources for the bio section; to practice the problems, datbootcamp and destroyer were used.
DAT: I was utterly disappointed in this score; my averages on bootcamp and the practice exams were 23+. The particular exam that I got on the actual test was somewhat different than all the practice materials I used. There were some very specific question where you had to know the term otherwise you would not get the problem. Ex. what hormone is a catecholamine (norep and ep). Then there were some questions that I felt were kinda vague and did not expect to show up. Ex. 2, 8 cells one normal and one with albinism were fuzed what would be the results. I had about 7 questions that were very specific/vague and I had to sort of guess on them which probably resulted in me getting the 19.
Conclusion/advice: I don't know how the other bio sections were for other people, but I felt that I got a particularly difficult one. I had about 4 biological diversity questions and a few other questions that aren't considered "the core" topics that the dat covers. So while datbootcamp and destroyer helped other people, unfortunately, it only helped me to some extent. Bad luck for me I guess :/. I would suggest everyone to study the bio section at their own pace; study the board aspects of bio first before you go into the nitty gritty details. Even though I got some very detailed questions LOL, I think you have a higher chance of knowing the broad aspects and making educated guesses on very specific details than to not know something at all.
Chem (24):
Materials: chad's notes, destroyer, bootcamp; like what everyone says this is pretty much all you need
DAT: The dat was pretty much on par with everything on the destroyer and bootcamp(actually was a little bit easier). I honestly only had 2 problems that I was unsure of. One of them was a chemistry lab question asking me where I should store a specific material and the other one was something conceptual about the rate law. Overall, the chem portion was pretty simple.
Conclusion/advice: I would say that practice makes perfect for this section; not only practicing and knowing each problem, but also your timing on this section. The chem section usually takes the longest to complete so I'd suggest you should try and work through this section quickly and efficiently to allow yourself time to go back and double check your work. I only had time to go back to the problems that I marked rather than every chem question which probably resulted in me making some stupid mistake on an easy question.
Ochem (23):
Materials: same as chem
DAT: Again, like the chem section everything that was on there was pretty much covered on the destroyer and bootcamp; I again had two-three problems that I was unsure of. Since my score was 23, I guess I guessed wrong LOL. One of them involved the stereochemistry of a diels-alder product which I really didn't practice and was kind of stuck on for the longest time. I can't remember what the other problems were, but overall the ochem section wasn't too difficult.
Conclusion/advice: I would say if you want to do well in it, master EVERYTHING. I think that goes with every section LOL, but in particular with the ochem section you gotta be strong with every concept. Don't under estimate chirality and stereochemistry, if you don't practice those enough you can make a silly mistake on exam day. Memorize every reaction and make sure you know which reactions perform SN2 mechanisms because the dat will test you on that inversion concept.
PAT (25)
Materials: datbootcamp; i've always been relatively good a puzzle solving so datbootcamp was all I needed to hone my skills.
DAT: The pat portion was in my opinion much simpler than bootcamp in terms of the keyhole section and the angle ranking. Everything else was pretty much on par with bootcamp. I had issues with maybe 2-3 keyhole problems and 2-3 angles, but everything else was do-able for me.
Conclusion/advice: Practice makes PERFECT. This should be said for every section, but for the PAT in particular practice really does make perfect. Practice your timing. For me, at first my issue was timing; I couldn't finish 90 problems within 60 minutes. But as I practice more I got my timing down to the point where I had 10 minutes left over to double check my work. Practice your weaknesses. For me and many others, I struggled with the keyholes and the angle rankings. So I made sure that I did extra problems via generator in order to improve. Practice. Practice. Practice! One last thing; the key section on the bootcamp was so detailed that it actually kind of slowed me down on the actual DAT. I was looking at every small detail possible. Is this line too long? Is the shape exact? On the actual dat it was not as specific for majority of the keyhole problems. So props to you Mr. Ari for making the keyhole easier (albeit a little more time consuming LOL)! bootcamp keyhole > dat keyhole
Break: TAKE IT!
RC (20)
Materials: datbootcamp
DAT: Hmmm I don't really know how I should approach explaining this portion. I guess I would say that the questions on the dat were much simpler than on bootcamp, but the reading topics are on par with bootcamp. I had issues with just being able to read because some of my prompts were just so dry and boring. One of them was 14 paragraphs long explaining the different types of screenings and what makes a good screening test... zZZzZZzz.
Conclusion/advice: Honestly, if you're an avid reader you will most likely do well on this section. For me, I'm just an average reader and if you give me a prompt that is dry and boring...well you can guess and say that I am f***ed. So in this case, not only was I mentally fatigued from all the puzzle solving and science thinking, I was also lucky enough to get some dry prompts! Joking aside, I was happy that I managed to score a 20; I thought I was going to get a 16 or something LOL. My final piece of advice is to figure out a method (mapping, S&D, etc.) and stick with it. Practice it multiple times and you should be good.
QR (22):
Materials: chad's video, bootcamp and math destroyer. This is all you need!
DAT/Conclusion/advice: All the problems given to me on the dat was on the same difficulty level as destroyer. Actually it was easier. The issue here is that you will be mentally fatigued after roughly 4 hours of testing. While every problem was simple for me, I problem made some stupid silly mistakes from being exhausted after some much testing. Silly mistakes and almost no time left to double check your work = a bad combo. I guess my advice here is to work on your timing and practice the QR section after you have studied for a long period of time. Practicing in this state of tiredness would probably give you an idea of how you will score in the QR section.
Conclusion/final advice:
My practice scores were roughly 24+ for every science section, 18-23 for RC, 24+ Pat, and 23+ QR on bootcamp; so my actual dat score were pretty similar to most of my averages (minus bio >:O). Overall, what you're averaging on your practice scores would pretty much be your actual DAT score. Again, a little disappointed with my score since my overall average was higher than my actual scores. I believe my materials are THE BARE MINIMUM you guys need in order to do well on the DAT. I can't recommend any other sources since I only used these, but if you search other SDN posts you can probably find those other resources!
In my opinion the dat is not impossible to do you just need to fully commit to studying and practicing! Figure out what study style will fit you best! If you're a crammer then cram away and take that dat in a month; if you like to take your time to study then take as long as you want. For me, I am somewhat in the middle of the two. I wanted to cram, but in order to keep my sanity I needed to space it out to two months. During those two months, I kept my sanity by working out almost every night, shadowing my dentist once a week, volunteering at an elementary school every friday and playing in a rec basketball league every sunday. So while I usually spent 5-7 hours a day studying, I did a lot of other things to help maintain my stress. I suggest that everyone should have some activities planned everyday to take their mind off the DAT. Sometimes not thinking about the dat is the best way to prepare for the dat!
I hope this breakdown helped some of you guys out! Good luck on taking the exams, applying to dental school and getting in! Hopefully I'll get some interviews and get into school this year too XD.
Thank you Mr. Feralis and Mr. Ari for your amazing notes and bootcamp! They really helped me with my scores!
Lastly, please excuse me if I have any grammar issues in this breakdown; I am on vacation as I write this so I don't have time to proofread. Anyways, cheers!
