Hi everyone!
I just took the DAT last week, and it was my second time taking it! I spent around 7 weeks studying, and I started right after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology. I spent about 8-10 hours studying the first 3 weeks and then around 12 hours the last 4 weeks. I tried working while studying for the first 2 weeks and I couldn’t manage working while also putting in 8-10 hours of studying. I was able to take the last 5 weeks off and it was the best decision I made. I was able to just focus on studyin1g without feeling burnt out. Last year, I studied for the DAT for 3 months. I used Kaplan, DAT destroyer, and the 120-page DAT Bootcamp biology notes during my last month of studying. This time, I only used DATBooster, chad videos, and some khan academy videos. I didn’t use DAT destroyer since last year it felt overwhelming, and I felt like I had enough practice questions through booster! I would recommend DATBooster to anyone!
PAT (19)
I took 5 timed tests throughout the 7 weeks of studying. My scores ranged from 17-20 but I was constantly running out of time and having to guess on many keyholes and TFE. I struggled with TFE, keyholes, and hole punching during my practice tests. However, I put some extra time into reviewing my questions for hole punching and was able to really improve those scores by the end. Angle ranking, cube counting, and pattern folding were pretty similar to DATboosters practice tests. I felt like hole punching and TFE were easier on my DAT, but keyhole felt challenging to me especially since I had a couple of rock keyhole questions. Besides taking the 5 timed tests, I did about 5-10 questions a day (every other day the first few weeks) or sometimes I just focused on TFE or keyhole and 15-20 of those questions. I recommend doing the timed tests as I felt those were the most representative and it was good practicing under timed conditions.
BIO (22)
This was the score I was most proud of this year. This was my lowest score last year and this year it was my highest! I ONLY used DATBooster and khan academy to study for this section. I started off by watching all the videos provided and took notes during those videos. I also read and took notes on the Feralis-Booster notes during the beginning, but it was taking a long time. I decided to start taking practice tests and found out right away what I needed to work on. After every practice test, I would go through my tests and take notes on every question whether it was right or wrong. If I really didn’t understand the concept, I would open the Feralis notes and read those to see if that helped. If I was still struggling, I would watch a khan academy video. I started off with low scores but started to improve by test 3. It does take some time to take notes on every single question, but I really think it was the most beneficial thing for me. I did the extra questions as well, but I didn’t focus too much on those compared to the practice tests. I am not kidding when I say I saw questions that were so similar to DATBooster that I was shocked at first. It felt like I was taking another DATBooster practice test during my DAT. The weekend before taking the DAT, I took all three of the biology booster crash courses. I wasn’t sure if it was the right time to take a crash course since I was so close to my test date, but I really felt like it was the perfect time to take it! I would recommend those to anyone wanting some extra help or even just practice on all the high-yield information!
GEN CHEM (21)
I used DATBooster and watched all the recommend and mandatory Chad videos that were on the 10-week study guide. I think chads videos are so helpful to use, especially if you struggle in general chemistry, or if you took it a while ago 🙂 I also went through all the booster videos and the notes since I did struggle a little bit with gen chem during my undergrad. I had 3-4 calculation questions, but most of them were simple. Again, DATBooster does such an excellent job at providing all the high-yield questions. I recognized many if not most of the questions that were on booster practice tests!
OCHEM (22)
I honestly have always loved organic chemistry, so I didn’t really struggle to study for this section. I did well in this class my undergrad but that was two years ago. I felt like watching the videos provided by booster helped me remember a lot, but it was really the practice tests that I focused on the most. I watched some of Chad’s videos for some mechanisms and basics. But on my DAT last year, I didn’t really need to know many mechanisms, so I just mainly focused on booster. I went through all the reactions on the booster’s reaction sheet, and I would say I knew 95% of them. However, booster does an excellent job of having all the high-yield reactions in the practice tests. All the reaction questions I had on the DAT were questions I saw before on booster. I also would recommend memorizing the ochem lab tests 🙂 This section also felt like another booster practice test!
For the science sections, I redid the practice tests many times, and all of them I got at least 20’s or above before taking my DAT.
Also, I had an extra 10 minutes at the end to review all my marked questions during my DAT.
RC (17)
I’m really disappointed in this score and I’m not exactly sure what happened. I had 10, 6, and 15 paragraphs. I felt confident in my first two passages and the last one I felt super rushed on and started to stress out. My 10-paragraph passage took me 18 minutes to read and answer the questions, my 6-paragraph passage took me 20 minutes, and my 15 paragraph one took the rest. I ran out of time and had to guess on the last couple of questions. I was super frustrated but knew I had to stay calm since I had QR next. I think I would recommend taking more frequent practice tests and read more complex articles. My last passage was just so detailed and specific, and I didn’t really get that experience through the practice tests.
QR (21)
I was so happy with this score. I honestly was so scared the last week and the days before my test for this section. I got a couple of 18’s on the first few tests, and then I did horrible on the next few. I was honestly freaking out and thinking this was going to be my lowest test score. For this section, I did watch all the videos on booster but they weren’t too helpful as most of it was just a review. However, once I started taking tests, I realized I was struggling all over. My studying for this section just included taking timed practice tests and reviewing all the questions! I would review tests over and over until I felt like I knew how to do all the questions. I would retake the tests and if I couldn’t solve it, (but knew the answer since I have seen the question before), I would just mark it wrong cause I knew I wouldn’t be benefitting myself just by marking it right without solving it. By the end, I only had 3-4 questions per test that I wasn’t completely confident in on how to solve. I was shocked when I got to the test and was just flying through questions and feeling like I knew how to solve them. There were only 1-2 questions I didn’t see on my practice tests. I ALWAYS ran out of time or felt rushed during the booster practice tests. But on the DAT, I finished with 10 minutes left and was able to review my marked questions and recheck some of my calculations.
Let me know if you have any questions! If you are re-taking the DAT, you got it! Just reflect on what worked and what didn’t work last time and be confident! The hard work will pay off 🙂
I just took the DAT last week, and it was my second time taking it! I spent around 7 weeks studying, and I started right after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology. I spent about 8-10 hours studying the first 3 weeks and then around 12 hours the last 4 weeks. I tried working while studying for the first 2 weeks and I couldn’t manage working while also putting in 8-10 hours of studying. I was able to take the last 5 weeks off and it was the best decision I made. I was able to just focus on studyin1g without feeling burnt out. Last year, I studied for the DAT for 3 months. I used Kaplan, DAT destroyer, and the 120-page DAT Bootcamp biology notes during my last month of studying. This time, I only used DATBooster, chad videos, and some khan academy videos. I didn’t use DAT destroyer since last year it felt overwhelming, and I felt like I had enough practice questions through booster! I would recommend DATBooster to anyone!
PAT (19)
I took 5 timed tests throughout the 7 weeks of studying. My scores ranged from 17-20 but I was constantly running out of time and having to guess on many keyholes and TFE. I struggled with TFE, keyholes, and hole punching during my practice tests. However, I put some extra time into reviewing my questions for hole punching and was able to really improve those scores by the end. Angle ranking, cube counting, and pattern folding were pretty similar to DATboosters practice tests. I felt like hole punching and TFE were easier on my DAT, but keyhole felt challenging to me especially since I had a couple of rock keyhole questions. Besides taking the 5 timed tests, I did about 5-10 questions a day (every other day the first few weeks) or sometimes I just focused on TFE or keyhole and 15-20 of those questions. I recommend doing the timed tests as I felt those were the most representative and it was good practicing under timed conditions.
BIO (22)
This was the score I was most proud of this year. This was my lowest score last year and this year it was my highest! I ONLY used DATBooster and khan academy to study for this section. I started off by watching all the videos provided and took notes during those videos. I also read and took notes on the Feralis-Booster notes during the beginning, but it was taking a long time. I decided to start taking practice tests and found out right away what I needed to work on. After every practice test, I would go through my tests and take notes on every question whether it was right or wrong. If I really didn’t understand the concept, I would open the Feralis notes and read those to see if that helped. If I was still struggling, I would watch a khan academy video. I started off with low scores but started to improve by test 3. It does take some time to take notes on every single question, but I really think it was the most beneficial thing for me. I did the extra questions as well, but I didn’t focus too much on those compared to the practice tests. I am not kidding when I say I saw questions that were so similar to DATBooster that I was shocked at first. It felt like I was taking another DATBooster practice test during my DAT. The weekend before taking the DAT, I took all three of the biology booster crash courses. I wasn’t sure if it was the right time to take a crash course since I was so close to my test date, but I really felt like it was the perfect time to take it! I would recommend those to anyone wanting some extra help or even just practice on all the high-yield information!
GEN CHEM (21)
I used DATBooster and watched all the recommend and mandatory Chad videos that were on the 10-week study guide. I think chads videos are so helpful to use, especially if you struggle in general chemistry, or if you took it a while ago 🙂 I also went through all the booster videos and the notes since I did struggle a little bit with gen chem during my undergrad. I had 3-4 calculation questions, but most of them were simple. Again, DATBooster does such an excellent job at providing all the high-yield questions. I recognized many if not most of the questions that were on booster practice tests!
OCHEM (22)
I honestly have always loved organic chemistry, so I didn’t really struggle to study for this section. I did well in this class my undergrad but that was two years ago. I felt like watching the videos provided by booster helped me remember a lot, but it was really the practice tests that I focused on the most. I watched some of Chad’s videos for some mechanisms and basics. But on my DAT last year, I didn’t really need to know many mechanisms, so I just mainly focused on booster. I went through all the reactions on the booster’s reaction sheet, and I would say I knew 95% of them. However, booster does an excellent job of having all the high-yield reactions in the practice tests. All the reaction questions I had on the DAT were questions I saw before on booster. I also would recommend memorizing the ochem lab tests 🙂 This section also felt like another booster practice test!
For the science sections, I redid the practice tests many times, and all of them I got at least 20’s or above before taking my DAT.
Also, I had an extra 10 minutes at the end to review all my marked questions during my DAT.
RC (17)
I’m really disappointed in this score and I’m not exactly sure what happened. I had 10, 6, and 15 paragraphs. I felt confident in my first two passages and the last one I felt super rushed on and started to stress out. My 10-paragraph passage took me 18 minutes to read and answer the questions, my 6-paragraph passage took me 20 minutes, and my 15 paragraph one took the rest. I ran out of time and had to guess on the last couple of questions. I was super frustrated but knew I had to stay calm since I had QR next. I think I would recommend taking more frequent practice tests and read more complex articles. My last passage was just so detailed and specific, and I didn’t really get that experience through the practice tests.
QR (21)
I was so happy with this score. I honestly was so scared the last week and the days before my test for this section. I got a couple of 18’s on the first few tests, and then I did horrible on the next few. I was honestly freaking out and thinking this was going to be my lowest test score. For this section, I did watch all the videos on booster but they weren’t too helpful as most of it was just a review. However, once I started taking tests, I realized I was struggling all over. My studying for this section just included taking timed practice tests and reviewing all the questions! I would review tests over and over until I felt like I knew how to do all the questions. I would retake the tests and if I couldn’t solve it, (but knew the answer since I have seen the question before), I would just mark it wrong cause I knew I wouldn’t be benefitting myself just by marking it right without solving it. By the end, I only had 3-4 questions per test that I wasn’t completely confident in on how to solve. I was shocked when I got to the test and was just flying through questions and feeling like I knew how to solve them. There were only 1-2 questions I didn’t see on my practice tests. I ALWAYS ran out of time or felt rushed during the booster practice tests. But on the DAT, I finished with 10 minutes left and was able to review my marked questions and recheck some of my calculations.
Let me know if you have any questions! If you are re-taking the DAT, you got it! Just reflect on what worked and what didn’t work last time and be confident! The hard work will pay off 🙂