DAT Breakdown

[Neil Smoove]

S/O @Alikhan9 for keeping up to date with me during the process. You rock, dude!

So you probably clicked to see another 20+ score and have me tell you about what I did to prepare. Well, it did not work out like that.

Scores:
18 AA
18 TS
16 Bio
19 GC
20 OC
16 RC
19 QR
25 PAT

For starters, let me say that I have currently completed my sophomore year of my undergrad and started studying for this exam everyday after school ended (first week of May). Now, while I did do a lot of work, my scores say otherwise.

There is something that I will say, though. In the process of preparing for this exam (and for many of you in the future), I have learned numerous amounts of education that I could NEVER get in a lecture at college. Valuable information that will come in handy when the time is right. I am not going to sit here and say "Do you think I can apply?" "Will I get in?" (Cause I won't get s*** with this score). But knowing that YOU can teach yourself all of the information necessary to succeed on this test should be a PAT (lol) on the back right there. Really, take a moment and think about everything that you need to know for this exam. It's quite a lot, isn't it?

I may not have shined in multiple sections of the exam, but I am not going to whine about it. I still learned so much information that I can carry with me for the rest of my life! And thats what this is all about! Learning! Love the process, and I swear you can do ANYTHING! If you are someone who has been in this position before you know what it must've felt like, but don't give up. Your dream is still out there waiting for you. You now know what you must work on, so go 10x harder on it next time around!

That being said, I will be retaking the DAT in November during Thanksgiving break lol. Peace.

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[Alpha Centauri]

It's ok fam, keep up with that positive attitude and you will kill it next time. Did you do bootcamp at all?

 

[Neil Smoove]

It's ok fam, keep up with that positive attitude and you will kill it next time. Did you do bootcamp at all?

Yes. Honestly Bio and RC have always been a weak point in my learning (definitely showed in the practice tests). But the only way is up from here. I know what I must do. Thanks!

 

[okiedokeartichoke]

I really admire your positivity and optimism!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Yes. Honestly Bio and RC have always been a weak point in my learning (definitely showed in the practice tests). But the only way is up from here. I know what I must do. Thanks!

What were your scores for bootcamp, and did you find the QR on the real thing hard, or easy

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Yes. Honestly Bio and RC have always been a weak point in my learning (definitely showed in the practice tests). But the only way is up from here. I know what I must do. Thanks!

Your overall scores were not horrible, needs some work but very doable. Make your weakness a strength. You have a great attitude and with some minor fine tuning you will Destroy it on round 2.

Take care..Nancy

 

[Alikhan9]

Thanks Neil, when ever I needed help you were always there to help me. Lets get it next time

 

[Neil Smoove]

What were your scores for bootcamp, and did you find the QR on the real thing hard, or easy

I have gotten the "<14" for bio twice. 17's for all other 3. RC has always been 17,18.

And I was actually on the phone with Nancy this morning and we discussed the QR section and how most students struggle with it. There will be long word problems. I skipped those and answered the simple algebraic/trigenometric equations first since they are like one step. I had about 13 min left going through the 40 the first time around giving me enough time to work out the more difficult ones or to even make a really educated guess. DO NOT DWELL ON A PROBLEM. If it takes more than 30 sec to figure out what you need to do, skip it.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I have gotten the "<14" for bio twice. 17's for all other 3. RC has always been 17,18.

And I was actually on the phone with Nancy this morning and we discussed the QR section and how most students struggle with it. There will be long word problems. I skipped those and answered the simple algebraic/trigenometric equations first since they are like one step. I had about 13 min left going through the 40 the first time around giving me enough time to work out the more difficult ones or to even make a really educated guess. DO NOT DWELL ON A PROBLEM. If it takes more than 30 sec to figure out what you need to do, skip it.

Cool... How many word problems vs the simpler ones would you say you had?

 

[Neil Smoove]

Cool... How many word problems vs the simpler ones would you say you had?

10 were wordy. and 5 required some deep memorization of some math rules (e.g. law of tan/cos/sin)

 

[deleted738762]

Cool... How many word problems vs the simpler ones would you say you had?

its on the dat test qr section it tells u 10 word problems and 30 "regular"

 

[deleted738762]

Nice PAT scores. How did you go about it and what strats did you use. Also how many plant questions did you have for biology lol?

 

[Neil Smoove]

Nice PAT scores. How did you go about it and what strats did you use. Also how many plant questions did you have for biology lol?

Idk what a 'strat' is but ill tell you what I used lol. For PAT I used CDP and did about 6 tests (i knew something was wrong when I was getting a 23-24 score. DO NOT buy it). So then I realized that Bootcamp had 10 tests so I did all of them. Last two days before my test I just did 30 min of Keyhole/Angle/TFE each.

I did have roughly 3 questions on plants. One was on an alternation of generations for a fern. don't skip that!

 

[deleted738762]

thanks and it means strategy.

 

[deleted738762]

Idk what a 'strat' is but ill tell you what I used lol. For PAT I used CDP and did about 6 tests (i knew something was wrong when I was getting a 23-24 score. DO NOT buy it). So then I realized that Bootcamp had 10 tests so I did all of them. Last two days before my test I just did 30 min of Keyhole/Angle/TFE each.

I did have roughly 3 questions on plants. One was on an alternation of generations for a fern. don't skip that!

Also I heard that's a high yield question. Isn't it just as basic as knowing spores-->gametophytes--->zygote--->sporophyte via mitosis.

 

[Neil Smoove]

Also I heard that's a high yield question. Isn't it just as basic as knowing spores-->gametophytes--->zygote--->sporophyte via mitosis.

Basically, yes.

 

[deleted738762]

Basically, yes.

Good luck on the next attempt. I have a feeling you're going to do great. Afterall, your done with the boring part of reviewing content.
I just wanted to add, you should look up on craig savage on youtube and watch his playlists on certain topics. Then if your using biology notes, like feralis or someone, just follow along with the video and add notes in. Savage is very good and explains thing really well.

 

[Neil Smoove]

Good luck on the next attempt. I have a feeling you're going to do great. Afterall, your done with the boring part of reviewing content.
I just wanted to add, you should look up on craig savage on youtube and watch his playlists on certain topics. Then if your using biology notes, like feralis or someone, just follow along with the video and add notes in. Savage is very good and explains thing really well.

Honestly, I've never heard of him! Ill definitely look him up! Thank you and good luck!

 

[deleted738762]

Honestly, I've never heard of him! Ill definitely look him up! Thank you and good luck!

He's great. Everything cliffs covered is in there. He has a playlist on most of the material. Good luck