Ok, so before I start I didn't do the greatest, but for the time I spent studying I am "content" with what I got. Going into the exam I was surprisingly calm, I didn't tell any of my friends or family and I think that helped ease the pressure. I also thought to myself, think about all of the people that have done it, and that if I do really bad, theres always an opportunity to retake, just do the best you can. Its not the end of the world!!! I spent about a week watching chads vids and the rest studying, but only REALLY studying for about 4 hours..
scores: 19 AA - 18 bio - 19 gchem - 18 orgo - 19 pat - 21 reading - 18 QR
I'm somewhat happy that I didnt flunk a section but also sad that I didnt kill any...
BIO: used boot camp, destroyer, cliffs (so boring, left it), barrons ap
So I probably spent the least amount of time on this since im a bio major and was taking a phys anatomy course at the time of this test. Bootcamp was the most representative. The questions were quite random, almost not physiology (unfortunately) and lots of cell bio stuff. A couple of out there questions that I didn't even attempt, just guessed. I think if I went through destroyer at least once it probobly would've helped my grade a point or two.
I averaged about 17 on bootcamp.
During the test, other than those 2 out there questions I was laughing thinking I was going to get at least a 20.
3-4 taxanomy questions.... no plant🙂
Chem: Chad, bootcamp destroyer
Chad is the man, obvs! I literally haven't done any g chem in like 4 years, and even when I did I relied on my labs to pass the courses.... So i started from nothing because I was an idiot during freshman year, spent the most amount of time on this section. Mine was very calculation heavy unlike some of the other posts on here. Thought I did quite well, better than a 19 but still happy knowing that I knew nothing coming in to the exam. BOOTCAMP WAS SPOT ONNNNN!!! only did like 50 destroyer, again im sure it would have helped just no time. Chads quizzes were eerily similar to actual thing, a little more challenging during test situation though rather than at home chillannn....
Bootcamp averaged 19
Orgo: bootcamp, chad
Again knew nothing. Some of the rxns I couldn't figure out but other questions were quite easy like resonance structures and such. 1 nmr question. The most challenging part of this section was the way they presented the structures. I had to draw them out to figure out what they look like. ex CH3OHCH3. For some reason I can't understand that and have to draw it out. Some didn't give you formulas, example I had to know what acetic acid looked like and I think there was one other one.
Again nothing toooo out there, I had zero understanding of orgo like chem before hand. Wish it was like a 18-19 but meh.....
Bootcamp avg 18-19
Coming out of natural sciences I was pretty excited, thought I was gonna get like a 20 TS. Goes to show you that you should not worry about previous sections and just focus on the next one.
Pat: Bootcamp (very good)
angles: half were gimmies the other half were like whuuuuut.
TFE: alrite, similar to bootcamp
keyhole: little easier than bootcamp
hole punch: ez, ezier than bootcamp
pattern folding: wasn't too bad, you could figure out half just by odd shapes
cube counting: muchhhh easier than bootcamp and by that I mean less cubes... cant remember how many
bootcamp avg 19
I really do think what you get on bootcamp for this section is a really good indication (especially on the first few tests, the rest are harder)
Reading: 3 really interesting articles, all health related
one of them I answered just off physiology knowledge, it was on fractures
Worst section on my practice tests. My method was to read it quickly for 7-8 minutes writing down key words and then going back and finding them. I get too scared doing S and D. like 5 tone questions/how would you end this paragraph. Also, before I started this section before the break I made 3 columns numbering 1-15 for each paragraph to write my words, any second helps. finished with like 2/3 mins to spare. Didn't think I did that well but turned out to be the best mark, so keep your head up at all times.
ALSO! used mouthwash like some previous SDNer said during the break and it actually helps to wake u up/keep you fresh!!
QR: barely studied for this, didn't even really know the formulas, no clue about trig and stats stuff. Went through like the first 100 QR section of the destroyer and were quite similar, found math destroyer too hard! But, if you want to get 20+ you need math destroyer, because that will set u apart from the rest!
After reading breakdowns, I just guessed on all the hard questions and answered the ones I knew for sure.... So i barely finished on time, ended up guessing on like 6-10 ... but at least I knew the ones that I did I got right.
So yeah that's it, bootcamp and ari are beauties. Destoryer is good to get you past that 20+ mark I think. But Chad and bootcamp are enough to get you average scores like mine.
Now if I could ask for your help. I took this DAT without preparing as much as I wanted to get my app in ASAP. I have like a 3.2-3.3 s and c gpa. I am definitely going to retake it within 3 months. But what kind of shot do you guys think I have. I have great LOR's, PS and extra curriculars/shadowing. Applying to about 2o schools... thanks! any questions I'm happy to help with!
