DAT Breakdown

[lcy03]

Scores:
BIO 22
GC 30
OC 24
PAT 22
QR 21
RC 19

TS 25
AA 23

Resources: Bootcamp (9/10), Crack DAT PAT (7/10), Destroyer (10/10) Kaplan (4/10) Khan Academy Videos for OC

Bio (22):
Bootcamp scores: 18/17/16/19/17
For Bio, I started reading Kaplan to kind of remind me of some of the sections. But Bootcamp really solidified the material for me. I took all the practice tests, and read all the additional info and redid all the practice once more before my test. Destroyer's Bio was just too specific and it was hard for me to memorize all of them. I didn't even get through the whole section before I took the test. I was very surprised by my actual DAT because this was probably the section I felt least confident in the science section.

GC (30):
Bootcamp scores: 20/20/20/20/20
Destroyer hands down all the way. It's been three year since I took general chemistry and I definitely needed to polish up on all the subjects in gen chem. I thought there was no other study material that even compared in preparing me for chemistry. Bootcamp was nice because it gave me a rough estimate of my score because Destroyer doesn't do that. Kaplan...not worth it.

OC (24):
Bootcamp scores: 20/21/19/18/20
I liked Destroyer a lot because it had subsections. I literally forgot anything that had to do with OC so I knew I had to basically learn OC from scratch again. I would go look at the subject for the chapter I was on in Destroyer and before I would answer the questions on the specific chapter, I would watch Khan Academy videos to learn the basics of each reaction. If you are like me and don't remember OC or isn't confident in this section, I highly suggest this method. At the end, I felt very confident with OC. Again, Bootcamp was nice because it gave me a rough estimate of my score.

PAT (22):
Bootcamp scores: 19/20/20/19/20
Crack the DAT PAT: 23/24/23/20/27/20/23/24/23/22
The only reason why I even gave Kaplan some scores is because of the PAT section. I had no idea on how to even begin understanding PAT. Kaplan although is very easy compared to the actual DAT gave me a solid basic idea of how to solve for each section. However, I moved on to Crack the DAT PAT after a week and this gave me more "harder" questions. I did one test every day and after that, I moved on to Bootcamp. Bootcamp crushed my hopes for the TFE and Holepunch section. But gave me the most info on what to look for. Overall, Bootcamp was the most similar in terms of the difficulty (especially TFE).

QR (21):
Bootcamp scores: 25/25/27/23/25/24
I started with Math Destroyer. Those questions were very difficult in the beginning and I couldn't even finish them in 40 minutes. When I finished with Math Destroyer and moved onto Bootcamp, I thought these questions were so easy compared to Math Destroyer. Overall, I did way worse that Bootcamp scores which was kind of shocking to me because I thought this section would be my best. The difficulty of the actual DAT is probably in between Destroyer and Bootcamp.

RC (19):
I did not do any studying for this section because I didn't see how I could raise my score. I would start the bootcamp tests and quit mid way through because I would get so discouraged. Even when I took the reading section for SATs, reading was my worst subject. So I was very very happy to get a 19. I would have been happy with a 15...that's how much I suck at reading (which is probably not good). But bootcamp question style was similar.

When I took the DAT, I felt like I was going to average a 17 for all the sections (except reading lol). I was shocked at the end when I saw my score. I highly recommend destroyer and bootcamp and khan academy videos. I studied for a month and felt very rushed towards the end and there were times where I broke down and cried because I thought I wouldn't get good scores but hard work really did pay off! Good luck to all of you guys!

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[qkrdpsk]

That 30 doeeeeeeeeeee

 

[stoopidmonkeycatdog]

Do you know around what percentage of destroyer questions you were getting correct?

Thanks for the breakdown.

 

[lcy03]

Do you know around what percentage of destroyer questions you were getting correct?

Thanks for the breakdown.

I went over all the destroyer sections 2.5 times meaning: I went through it the first time trying to answer each section. I would get almost 50% right in ochem section but 85% right in Chem section 80% in math. The second time after finishing all the sections once, I got around 90% right for all sections. The ones I got wrong, I circled them the second time around because I knew I didn't have time to go over the questions a full third time. Two days before I went over the wrong circled questions one more time. But I really utilized khan academy videos in the beginning for ochem because I had to relearn it all over again.

 

[smiles2594]

Can you give a rough estimate of the time frame it took for you to study?

 

[lcy03]

Can you give a rough estimate of the time frame it took for you to study?

I had about 2 months to study. I studied hard on the weekdays and I would take a break on Friday nights and Saturday nights. I had a lot to catch up for ochem and Chem so I focused heavily on destroyer the first month. The second month was more for fine tuning things I still didn't understand and the last 2-3 weeks I used bootcamp to have an idea where I was. By the last four days, I finished all destroyer 2.5 times and bootcamp once. I focused on the TFE section with bootcamp because I realized crack the dat pat was too easy compared to bootcamp's.

 

[One Piece]

Scores:
BIO 22
GC 30
OC 24
PAT 22
QR 21
RC 19

TS 25
AA 23

Resources: Bootcamp (9/10), Crack DAT PAT (7/10), Destroyer (10/10) Kaplan (4/10) Khan Academy Videos for OC

Bio (22):
Bootcamp scores: 18/17/16/19/17
For Bio, I started reading Kaplan to kind of remind me of some of the sections. But Bootcamp really solidified the material for me. I took all the practice tests, and read all the additional info and redid all the practice once more before my test. Destroyer's Bio was just too specific and it was hard for me to memorize all of them. I didn't even get through the whole section before I took the test. I was very surprised by my actual DAT because this was probably the section I felt least confident in the science section.

GC (30):
Bootcamp scores: 20/20/20/20/20
Destroyer hands down all the way. It's been three year since I took general chemistry and I definitely needed to polish up on all the subjects in gen chem. I thought there was no other study material that even compared in preparing me for chemistry. Bootcamp was nice because it gave me a rough estimate of my score because Destroyer doesn't do that. Kaplan...not worth it.

OC (24):
Bootcamp scores: 20/21/19/18/20
I liked Destroyer a lot because it had subsections. I literally forgot anything that had to do with OC so I knew I had to basically learn OC from scratch again. I would go look at the subject for the chapter I was on in Destroyer and before I would answer the questions on the specific chapter, I would watch Khan Academy videos to learn the basics of each reaction. If you are like me and don't remember OC or isn't confident in this section, I highly suggest this method. At the end, I felt very confident with OC. Again, Bootcamp was nice because it gave me a rough estimate of my score.

PAT (22):
Bootcamp scores: 19/20/20/19/20
Crack the DAT PAT: 23/24/23/20/27/20/23/24/23/22
The only reason why I even gave Kaplan some scores is because of the PAT section. I had no idea on how to even begin understanding PAT. Kaplan although is very easy compared to the actual DAT gave me a solid basic idea of how to solve for each section. However, I moved on to Crack the DAT PAT after a week and this gave me more "harder" questions. I did one test every day and after that, I moved on to Bootcamp. Bootcamp crushed my hopes for the TFE and Holepunch section. But gave me the most info on what to look for. Overall, Bootcamp was the most similar in terms of the difficulty (especially TFE).

QR (21):
Bootcamp scores: 25/25/27/23/25/24
I started with Math Destroyer. Those questions were very difficult in the beginning and I couldn't even finish them in 40 minutes. When I finished with Math Destroyer and moved onto Bootcamp, I thought these questions were so easy compared to Math Destroyer. Overall, I did way worse that Bootcamp scores which was kind of shocking to me because I thought this section would be my best. The difficulty of the actual DAT is probably in between Destroyer and Bootcamp.

RC (19):
I did not do any studying for this section because I didn't see how I could raise my score. I would start the bootcamp tests and quit mid way through because I would get so discouraged. Even when I took the reading section for SATs, reading was my worst subject. So I was very very happy to get a 19. I would have been happy with a 15...that's how much I suck at reading (which is probably not good). But bootcamp question style was similar.

When I took the DAT, I felt like I was going to average a 17 for all the sections (except reading lol). I was shocked at the end when I saw my score. I highly recommend destroyer and bootcamp and khan academy videos. I studied for a month and felt very rushed towards the end and there were times where I broke down and cried because I thought I wouldn't get good scores but hard work really did pay off! Good luck to all of you guys!

Congratulation on your score. How long did you study for the DAT? I am getting ready to start my study journey next week and I have two full months for it. Do you think It is going to be enough in your experience? I am 29 years old and I feel like that my brain is old ; I been out of school for like 3 years too. I do sometimes feel that I am old to go back and dentistry. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[parvazi1992]

[QUOTE="

 

[lcy03]

Congratulation on your score. How long did you study for the DAT? I am getting ready to start my study journey next week and I have two full months for it. Do you think It is going to be enough in your experience? I am 29 years old and I feel like that my brain is old ; I been out of school for like 3 years too. I do sometimes feel that I am old to go back and dentistry. Any feedback is appreciated.

I studied for about 2.5 months! I feel as though as long as you really put in the effort, there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to get a great score! if you are starting from scratch, I highly suggest khan academy! It's free and just as in depth as chad's videos in my opinion.

 

[O Gaúcho]

Did you have more conceptual gen chem questions on your DAT or more calculations?

 

[SDDDAT]

Nice job! That 30 GC is impressive!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Scores:
BIO 22
GC 30
OC 24
PAT 22
QR 21
RC 19

TS 25
AA 23

Resources: Bootcamp (9/10), Crack DAT PAT (7/10), Destroyer (10/10) Kaplan (4/10) Khan Academy Videos for OC

Bio (22):
Bootcamp scores: 18/17/16/19/17
For Bio, I started reading Kaplan to kind of remind me of some of the sections. But Bootcamp really solidified the material for me. I took all the practice tests, and read all the additional info and redid all the practice once more before my test. Destroyer's Bio was just too specific and it was hard for me to memorize all of them. I didn't even get through the whole section before I took the test. I was very surprised by my actual DAT because this was probably the section I felt least confident in the science section.

GC (30):
Bootcamp scores: 20/20/20/20/20
Destroyer hands down all the way. It's been three year since I took general chemistry and I definitely needed to polish up on all the subjects in gen chem. I thought there was no other study material that even compared in preparing me for chemistry. Bootcamp was nice because it gave me a rough estimate of my score because Destroyer doesn't do that. Kaplan...not worth it.

OC (24):
Bootcamp scores: 20/21/19/18/20
I liked Destroyer a lot because it had subsections. I literally forgot anything that had to do with OC so I knew I had to basically learn OC from scratch again. I would go look at the subject for the chapter I was on in Destroyer and before I would answer the questions on the specific chapter, I would watch Khan Academy videos to learn the basics of each reaction. If you are like me and don't remember OC or isn't confident in this section, I highly suggest this method. At the end, I felt very confident with OC. Again, Bootcamp was nice because it gave me a rough estimate of my score.

PAT (22):
Bootcamp scores: 19/20/20/19/20
Crack the DAT PAT: 23/24/23/20/27/20/23/24/23/22
The only reason why I even gave Kaplan some scores is because of the PAT section. I had no idea on how to even begin understanding PAT. Kaplan although is very easy compared to the actual DAT gave me a solid basic idea of how to solve for each section. However, I moved on to Crack the DAT PAT after a week and this gave me more "harder" questions. I did one test every day and after that, I moved on to Bootcamp. Bootcamp crushed my hopes for the TFE and Holepunch section. But gave me the most info on what to look for. Overall, Bootcamp was the most similar in terms of the difficulty (especially TFE).

QR (21):
Bootcamp scores: 25/25/27/23/25/24
I started with Math Destroyer. Those questions were very difficult in the beginning and I couldn't even finish them in 40 minutes. When I finished with Math Destroyer and moved onto Bootcamp, I thought these questions were so easy compared to Math Destroyer. Overall, I did way worse that Bootcamp scores which was kind of shocking to me because I thought this section would be my best. The difficulty of the actual DAT is probably in between Destroyer and Bootcamp.

RC (19):
I did not do any studying for this section because I didn't see how I could raise my score. I would start the bootcamp tests and quit mid way through because I would get so discouraged. Even when I took the reading section for SATs, reading was my worst subject. So I was very very happy to get a 19. I would have been happy with a 15...that's how much I suck at reading (which is probably not good). But bootcamp question style was similar.

When I took the DAT, I felt like I was going to average a 17 for all the sections (except reading lol). I was shocked at the end when I saw my score. I highly recommend destroyer and bootcamp and khan academy videos. I studied for a month and felt very rushed towards the end and there were times where I broke down and cried because I thought I wouldn't get good scores but hard work really did pay off! Good luck to all of you guys!

Congratulations lcy03! Nothing icy about your scores , they are on fire! The DAT Beast has been defeated and with a 30 in GC he is still recovering from this defeat.

Your hard work paid off, thank you for the shout out and we are pleased the DAT Destroyer was in you DAT prep tool box. Thanks for such a detailed breakdown of your DAT experience, it will help students still preparing for the DAT. Dental schools will love your scores and many interviews will be coming you way .

Wishing you the very best!

Nancy and Dr. Jim Romano

 

[lcy03]

Did you have more conceptual gen chem questions on your DAT or more calculations?

I had more calculation based questions but I also had conceptual. I think the questions you get are random though so I wouldn't bank on just studying one more than the other

 

[htorres89]

That's both crazy and very encouraging how your science scores were a lot better than your Bootcamp scores. That must have been a little stressful to see those BC scores at first lol Praying it will work out like that for me too.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

 

[gangazi]

where did you learn concepts that are needed for GC section? I feel like DAT destroyers GC section is more of calculation ... and I heard that real DAT is like 20 q conceptual and 10q calculation.

Thank you and great job!

 

[SDDDAT]

where did you learn concepts that are needed for GC section? I feel like DAT destroyers GC section is more of calculation ... and I heard that real DAT is like 20 q conceptual and 10q calculation.

Thank you and great job!

BC and Chads quizzes both contain a lot of conceptual questions.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

where did you learn concepts that are needed for GC section? I feel like DAT destroyers GC section is more of calculation ... and I heard that real DAT is like 20 q conceptual and 10q calculation.

Thank you and great job!

I have taught my DAT course for more years than I want to admit, so I think I can best answer this question. I have not done an actual numerical count, but I would say that there is a 55% vs 45% calculations vs. theory in the General Chemistry section of the book. However, many times when a calculation is done, I also address the theory. Many times a student tells me his or her DAT was 50% calculations, other times I hear 80% calculations. Let me do an example. If I gave you a calculation that involved Kb or Kf and dissolving a solute into a pure solvent and asked for the new boiling or freezing point, we can do the calculation. That is great......BUT.....also after the calculation is done, we need to understand the THEORY. The boiling point would have gone up and the freezing point has gone down, Recall these are colligative properties. Also....problems involving molecular geometry sometimes involves finding the total valence electrons. For example, if you drew AsCl3. There is no way in Hell that you will realize that an unshared pair of electrons reside on Arsenic unless a quick valence electron count was done. The bottom line is this......I have evenly balanced theory and calculation, as both are important You can do this.

Hope this helps..

Dr. Romano

 

[lcy03]

I have taught my DAT course for more years than I want to admit, so I think I can best answer this question. I have not done an actual numerical count, but I would say that there is a 55% vs 45% calculations vs. theory in the General Chemistry section of the book. However, many times when a calculation is done, I also address the theory. Many times a student tells me his or her DAT was 50% calculations, other times I hear 80% calculations. Let me do an example. If I gave you a calculation that involved Kb or Kf and dissolving a solute into a pure solvent and asked for the new boiling or freezing point, we can do the calculation. That is great......BUT.....also after the calculation is done, we need to understand the THEORY. The boiling point would have gone up and the freezing point has gone down, Recall these are colligative properties. Also....problems involving molecular geometry sometimes involves finding the total valence electrons. For example, if you drew AsCl3. There is no way in Hell that you will realize that an unshared pair of electrons reside on Arsenic unless a quick valence electron count was done. The bottom line is this......I have evenly balanced theory and calculation, as both are important You can do this.

Hope this helps..

Dr. Romano

I totally back up Dr.Romano. You should ask what is the point of knowing this equation? What are you trying to determine? If you understand what you're solving and what the equation and answers mean, you will know the concept. There is no practice materials that will just focus on concepts honestly. But rather if you understand what you're solving, you should do great!