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I just took my DAT on August 11th and wanted to talk about my personal experience! The printer at my Prometric center was broken so I unfortunately did not get a print out, here is my breakdown from what I recall:
AA: 21
TS: 21
BIO: 20
ORGO: 22
GC: 19
RC: 23
QR: 22
PAT: 19
Background on myself: I'm a non-traditional student so I had taken all my pre-reqs 3-5 years ago. I essentially forgot everything so my main focus was on content review. If you're currently in undergrad or just out of undergrad, I wouldn't focus too much on content review (it's time consuming) and instead focus on test strategies and just drill lots of practice problems.
This was my first time taking the DAT and I used DAT Booster for everything, all my content review, notes, and practice questions. I used DAT Bootcamp's biology notes (both the longer ver and the condensed), as well as their Anki deck. I studied for 6-8 weeks, with the last 2 weeks being very intense. I did not follow any study schedule, but I definitely recommend others to just because it was very stressful to play it by ear. I didn't follow one because I was in a time crunch.
Before I get into specifics on what I did for every section, these are my very very key tips for those who are taking it soon!!
I will give a breakdown of my thoughts from every section, and how my real scores compared to the last practice exam I took!
BIO (20) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I definitely felt overwhelmed studying for Bio the most just because of how comprehensive it was. Because of this I kept pushing off Bio and I definitely DON'T recommend doing that because you will be stressed! I read all of the Booster bio notes and also read all of the long version of Bootcamp notes. I personally loved the long version of the Bootcamp notes because I'm quite a slow learner and need very detailed explanations to understand things. Once I finished the long version, I would do the corresponding Anki cards. If you don't like Anki this is definitely not necessary. Just keep drilling practice problems and don't focus too much on small things, make sure you have the big picture things down completely as this will be more important. Questions were quite similar to Booster exams except they were a bit more broad and sporadic. I got some weird questions in my exam which really worried me but thankfully was happy with my score
ORGO (22) (PRACTICE EXAM - 22)
I did awful in Orgo during my undergrad so this score shocked me the most! I was doing pretty poorly initially in Orgo while doing Booster questions, but the more questions I did, the more comfortable I felt. I felt the questions were extremely similar to Booster, almost the same distribution of mechanisms, reactions, conceptual questions. No trick questions or anything like that.
GC (19) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I was quite shocked to get this score because I thought the general chemistry section was extremely easy. From all the 3 sciences, I thought gc was easiest and I expected the highest score here. But I did feel rushed because my computer was extremely slow, and it's possible I marked some questions wrong or I read some questions wrong. There were a LOT of math questions, so be prepared. I had a lot of stoichiometry questions and a lot of gas (PV=nRT) questions, but they were all just setting equations up and not solving them. I did get all the constants given to me, so I wouldn't worry too much about memorizing those. I would say also very comparable to Booster questions, but just more math. I was super super worried about gc because I struggled with gc the most while studying, especially with concepts such as acid/base. Just read your questions carefully and don't rush!
RC (23) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I hated my passages so much lol but overall the reading section was not too bad. I was quite shocked to get this score because I struggled with my first passage a lot. Thankfully my other two passages were easy, but I got really stuck with all the questions from the first passage and I expected a subpar score. My passages were slightly shorter than Booster's, but the questions were extremely comparable in nature. I did not prepare for RC at all, I was in such a time crunch that I just practiced this via the full length exams that I took. Unless you really really struggle with reading comp, I would spend the least amount of time on RC. Also just learn to manage your time well on this section, I finished with maybe 2 mins left.
QR (22) (PRACTICE EXAM - 19)
I struggled a lot with finishing the QR on time while preparing for the DAT. I just kept getting so stuck on some questions and would honestly spend 3-4 mins on ONE question, then would run out of time. I'm not weak at math, but I do make lots of silly mistakes. I never finished a QR practice exam on time, and this is definitely a section I wish I got more practice on just to get more familiar with timing and the type of questions that are asked. I thought the QR on the real DAT was very comparable, perhaps slightly less difficult but only because they asked a bit less detailed questions. Overall I would still say that Booster was very similar to the real DAT in terms of difficulty.
PAT (19) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I DIDN'T FINISH. I left 10 blank LOL and I totally freaked out because it was right before my break. DEFINITELY DEFINITELY spend lots of time preparing for this. I will say that PAT isn't inherently HARD on the real DAT, it's just so time consuming. This entire section is a race against time, and if you don't practice enough, you will inevitably run out of time which will be super detrimental to you. I definitely know that if I had simply finished this section, I could have scored at least a 20. The PAT from Booster is comparable to the real exam, but I did find TFE to be much easier in the real exam. I'd say angle ranking, cube counting, pattern folding are essentially a replica of Booster, hole punching and keyhole might be a tad easier, and TFE to me personally was much easier. Spend THE MOST time practicing PAT because this one's just a matter of familiarizing yourself with the questions, and the fact that it's a separate score is very important. Do all the practice exams for PAT, maybe twice, maybe a few times, just keep doing practice problems TIMED. You can start doing them untimed but ultimately you absolutely have to get used to doing them timed for PAT so that you can get used to real testing conditions.
I'm sure you have heard this before, but I would not recommend using too too many resources! The DAT is so comprehensive that it simply isn't possible to learn every single thing ever about biology and chemistry. Don't overwhelm yourself in trying to know everything, and trying to use so many different resources. You will not only stress yourself out but you will lose time. Focus on ONE or TWO sources max. Initially I thought I had to use everything, I was planning on using Booster, Bootcamp, Kaplan, Destroyer, Chad's, my college science notes, all at once. Not only is this overwhelming and excessive, but you really don't need it. DAT Booster alone is more than enough. Spend the first 3-4 weeks doing content review (if you need it ONLY), and then spend the rest of the time just doing practice problems. Once you do practice problems, make sure to go over the questions you got wrong until you fully grasp the concept. I have a lot of regrets on how I prepared and if I could go back I would definitely change up some of my study habits, but I'm so happy with my score despite not even finishing on time. I did not do well in bio nor chemistry during undergrad, so just know that it IS possible to still do well on the DAT despite not having performed well in these classes. Trust the process! Happy studying & remember to take some time off to refuel in between studying!
AA: 21
TS: 21
BIO: 20
ORGO: 22
GC: 19
RC: 23
QR: 22
PAT: 19
Background on myself: I'm a non-traditional student so I had taken all my pre-reqs 3-5 years ago. I essentially forgot everything so my main focus was on content review. If you're currently in undergrad or just out of undergrad, I wouldn't focus too much on content review (it's time consuming) and instead focus on test strategies and just drill lots of practice problems.
This was my first time taking the DAT and I used DAT Booster for everything, all my content review, notes, and practice questions. I used DAT Bootcamp's biology notes (both the longer ver and the condensed), as well as their Anki deck. I studied for 6-8 weeks, with the last 2 weeks being very intense. I did not follow any study schedule, but I definitely recommend others to just because it was very stressful to play it by ear. I didn't follow one because I was in a time crunch.
Before I get into specifics on what I did for every section, these are my very very key tips for those who are taking it soon!!
- Do as many practice questions as you can, if you already did all 10 tests, do them twice!! I unfortunately only took 3-4 practice tests and I know for a fact I could have felt more prepared if I had taken all 10 tests
- TIME MANAGEMENT especially especially for PAT and QR!! Make absolute sure you aren't running out of time on practice tests, I ran out of time in PAT because I did not practice enough and I really wish I had focused more on learning how to finish on time
- Make sure you're reviewing a little of everything at once, not just focus on one topic at a time
I will give a breakdown of my thoughts from every section, and how my real scores compared to the last practice exam I took!
BIO (20) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I definitely felt overwhelmed studying for Bio the most just because of how comprehensive it was. Because of this I kept pushing off Bio and I definitely DON'T recommend doing that because you will be stressed! I read all of the Booster bio notes and also read all of the long version of Bootcamp notes. I personally loved the long version of the Bootcamp notes because I'm quite a slow learner and need very detailed explanations to understand things. Once I finished the long version, I would do the corresponding Anki cards. If you don't like Anki this is definitely not necessary. Just keep drilling practice problems and don't focus too much on small things, make sure you have the big picture things down completely as this will be more important. Questions were quite similar to Booster exams except they were a bit more broad and sporadic. I got some weird questions in my exam which really worried me but thankfully was happy with my score
ORGO (22) (PRACTICE EXAM - 22)
I did awful in Orgo during my undergrad so this score shocked me the most! I was doing pretty poorly initially in Orgo while doing Booster questions, but the more questions I did, the more comfortable I felt. I felt the questions were extremely similar to Booster, almost the same distribution of mechanisms, reactions, conceptual questions. No trick questions or anything like that.
GC (19) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I was quite shocked to get this score because I thought the general chemistry section was extremely easy. From all the 3 sciences, I thought gc was easiest and I expected the highest score here. But I did feel rushed because my computer was extremely slow, and it's possible I marked some questions wrong or I read some questions wrong. There were a LOT of math questions, so be prepared. I had a lot of stoichiometry questions and a lot of gas (PV=nRT) questions, but they were all just setting equations up and not solving them. I did get all the constants given to me, so I wouldn't worry too much about memorizing those. I would say also very comparable to Booster questions, but just more math. I was super super worried about gc because I struggled with gc the most while studying, especially with concepts such as acid/base. Just read your questions carefully and don't rush!
RC (23) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I hated my passages so much lol but overall the reading section was not too bad. I was quite shocked to get this score because I struggled with my first passage a lot. Thankfully my other two passages were easy, but I got really stuck with all the questions from the first passage and I expected a subpar score. My passages were slightly shorter than Booster's, but the questions were extremely comparable in nature. I did not prepare for RC at all, I was in such a time crunch that I just practiced this via the full length exams that I took. Unless you really really struggle with reading comp, I would spend the least amount of time on RC. Also just learn to manage your time well on this section, I finished with maybe 2 mins left.
QR (22) (PRACTICE EXAM - 19)
I struggled a lot with finishing the QR on time while preparing for the DAT. I just kept getting so stuck on some questions and would honestly spend 3-4 mins on ONE question, then would run out of time. I'm not weak at math, but I do make lots of silly mistakes. I never finished a QR practice exam on time, and this is definitely a section I wish I got more practice on just to get more familiar with timing and the type of questions that are asked. I thought the QR on the real DAT was very comparable, perhaps slightly less difficult but only because they asked a bit less detailed questions. Overall I would still say that Booster was very similar to the real DAT in terms of difficulty.
PAT (19) (PRACTICE EXAM - 20)
I DIDN'T FINISH. I left 10 blank LOL and I totally freaked out because it was right before my break. DEFINITELY DEFINITELY spend lots of time preparing for this. I will say that PAT isn't inherently HARD on the real DAT, it's just so time consuming. This entire section is a race against time, and if you don't practice enough, you will inevitably run out of time which will be super detrimental to you. I definitely know that if I had simply finished this section, I could have scored at least a 20. The PAT from Booster is comparable to the real exam, but I did find TFE to be much easier in the real exam. I'd say angle ranking, cube counting, pattern folding are essentially a replica of Booster, hole punching and keyhole might be a tad easier, and TFE to me personally was much easier. Spend THE MOST time practicing PAT because this one's just a matter of familiarizing yourself with the questions, and the fact that it's a separate score is very important. Do all the practice exams for PAT, maybe twice, maybe a few times, just keep doing practice problems TIMED. You can start doing them untimed but ultimately you absolutely have to get used to doing them timed for PAT so that you can get used to real testing conditions.
I'm sure you have heard this before, but I would not recommend using too too many resources! The DAT is so comprehensive that it simply isn't possible to learn every single thing ever about biology and chemistry. Don't overwhelm yourself in trying to know everything, and trying to use so many different resources. You will not only stress yourself out but you will lose time. Focus on ONE or TWO sources max. Initially I thought I had to use everything, I was planning on using Booster, Bootcamp, Kaplan, Destroyer, Chad's, my college science notes, all at once. Not only is this overwhelming and excessive, but you really don't need it. DAT Booster alone is more than enough. Spend the first 3-4 weeks doing content review (if you need it ONLY), and then spend the rest of the time just doing practice problems. Once you do practice problems, make sure to go over the questions you got wrong until you fully grasp the concept. I have a lot of regrets on how I prepared and if I could go back I would definitely change up some of my study habits, but I'm so happy with my score despite not even finishing on time. I did not do well in bio nor chemistry during undergrad, so just know that it IS possible to still do well on the DAT despite not having performed well in these classes. Trust the process! Happy studying & remember to take some time off to refuel in between studying!
