linhbach
Full Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2021
- Messages
- 27
- Reaction score
- 15
TL;DR - 26 AA, 27 TS, used DATDestroyer and DATBooster
What’s up everyone, I just took my DAT on Tuesday and I scored pretty well. I prepared using a combination of DAT Destroyer and DATBooster.
My study schedule consisted of: 5 weeks of the Destroyer + 3 weeks of Booster. Went through Destroyer once, took notes, and read the solutions on the questions I got wrong. I still didn’t feel like I prepared enough, so I purchased a one month subscription to DATBooster and used this for 3 more weeks. I mainly did this because I thought I needed to practice PAT; however, since they offered practice tests on every other section, I did those as well.
I read my notes the day before and on the day of, I reviewed the orgo reactions and orgo tests.
Biology, 24: definitely my weakest subject so I focused on this the most. Going through the Destroyer, I got like 75% of the questions wrong and this was pretty discouraging. On the Booster practice tests, I scored 15s to 21s on them so I still needed help. I went back over each practice test and took notes on EVERY. SINGLE. QUESTION. Real DAT was easier than Booster.
Gen chem, 30: best section of mine by far. I got a lot of the Destroyer questions correct so I felt adequately prepared. On the Booster practice tests I scored from 21 all the way to 27, so I only took notes on the questions/topics I got wrong or was unfamiliar with. I’m obviously not the best person to take study tips from for this section because my gen chem foundation has always been strong. Again, real DAT was much easier than Booster.
Orgo, 30: I felt so so with this section. The Destroyer questions were difficult and I might’ve gotten half right. When I took the Booster tests, I got 20s mostly, with one 19, a few 25s and a few 22s. I took notes on all of the topics/questions I got wrong again, and memorized the reactions and tests found on Booster. Real DAT, you guessed it, was way easier than Booster.
PAT, 20: wasn’t too great at PAT and obviously didn’t practice as much as I should have. I only did 4 or 5 practice tests. I neglected this section in lieu of the sciences and math. TFE and Keyholes was my worst section for this; they felt impossible on Booster. On the real DAT, I could actually finish keyholes and like 5 TFE questions.
RC, 23: didn’t practice too much. Only did 4 or 5 practice tests. Didn’t score badly but also didn’t score well. The Booster tests had longer passages and more “trick” questions. Real DAT was shorter and was more straightforward.
QR, 22: the destroyer QC wasn’t too tough; I think the Booster math was way harder. Again, took notes on things I was unfamiliar with or got wrong. I would never finish the practice tests; I always had like 5 left. On the real DAT, I finished with no time left. (I’ve always been a slow worker when it comes to math, but I was strong if not under a time crunch)
Overall, I’m happy with my scores and am very proud of my performance. I’m thankful because the questions I had on my DAT were way easier than anything I used to prepare. I’m also thankful because Booster prepared me more than enough (so did Destroyer to a lesser extent).
Some things I would do differently:
I would start off with Booster with the three month subscription. I would supplement with DAT Destroyer only for gen chem and orgo sections. I wouldn’t waste my time with Destroyer bio. I would start practicing PAT right away. I also wouldn’t focus so much on studying/memorizing the reactions for orgo because there were few questions about this on the real thing.
Obviously, no DAT prep is perfect, but Booster is probably the best one to prepare and get high scores! They’re always trying to improve their program as well. As always, I’m open if anyone wants to ask me more questions.
What’s up everyone, I just took my DAT on Tuesday and I scored pretty well. I prepared using a combination of DAT Destroyer and DATBooster.
My study schedule consisted of: 5 weeks of the Destroyer + 3 weeks of Booster. Went through Destroyer once, took notes, and read the solutions on the questions I got wrong. I still didn’t feel like I prepared enough, so I purchased a one month subscription to DATBooster and used this for 3 more weeks. I mainly did this because I thought I needed to practice PAT; however, since they offered practice tests on every other section, I did those as well.
I read my notes the day before and on the day of, I reviewed the orgo reactions and orgo tests.
Biology, 24: definitely my weakest subject so I focused on this the most. Going through the Destroyer, I got like 75% of the questions wrong and this was pretty discouraging. On the Booster practice tests, I scored 15s to 21s on them so I still needed help. I went back over each practice test and took notes on EVERY. SINGLE. QUESTION. Real DAT was easier than Booster.
Gen chem, 30: best section of mine by far. I got a lot of the Destroyer questions correct so I felt adequately prepared. On the Booster practice tests I scored from 21 all the way to 27, so I only took notes on the questions/topics I got wrong or was unfamiliar with. I’m obviously not the best person to take study tips from for this section because my gen chem foundation has always been strong. Again, real DAT was much easier than Booster.
Orgo, 30: I felt so so with this section. The Destroyer questions were difficult and I might’ve gotten half right. When I took the Booster tests, I got 20s mostly, with one 19, a few 25s and a few 22s. I took notes on all of the topics/questions I got wrong again, and memorized the reactions and tests found on Booster. Real DAT, you guessed it, was way easier than Booster.
PAT, 20: wasn’t too great at PAT and obviously didn’t practice as much as I should have. I only did 4 or 5 practice tests. I neglected this section in lieu of the sciences and math. TFE and Keyholes was my worst section for this; they felt impossible on Booster. On the real DAT, I could actually finish keyholes and like 5 TFE questions.
RC, 23: didn’t practice too much. Only did 4 or 5 practice tests. Didn’t score badly but also didn’t score well. The Booster tests had longer passages and more “trick” questions. Real DAT was shorter and was more straightforward.
QR, 22: the destroyer QC wasn’t too tough; I think the Booster math was way harder. Again, took notes on things I was unfamiliar with or got wrong. I would never finish the practice tests; I always had like 5 left. On the real DAT, I finished with no time left. (I’ve always been a slow worker when it comes to math, but I was strong if not under a time crunch)
Overall, I’m happy with my scores and am very proud of my performance. I’m thankful because the questions I had on my DAT were way easier than anything I used to prepare. I’m also thankful because Booster prepared me more than enough (so did Destroyer to a lesser extent).
Some things I would do differently:
I would start off with Booster with the three month subscription. I would supplement with DAT Destroyer only for gen chem and orgo sections. I wouldn’t waste my time with Destroyer bio. I would start practicing PAT right away. I also wouldn’t focus so much on studying/memorizing the reactions for orgo because there were few questions about this on the real thing.
Obviously, no DAT prep is perfect, but Booster is probably the best one to prepare and get high scores! They’re always trying to improve their program as well. As always, I’m open if anyone wants to ask me more questions.
