Hi, Future Dentists,
First and foremost I would like to thank EVERYONE on this forum for sharing all of their tips, strategies, answering questions, advice, and simply being so encouraging during this rigorous preparation for this exam. Especially a huge thank you to Glimmer and Ari for his amazing creation, DAT BOOTCAMP!
My scores:
PAT- 19
QR- 16
RC- 18
BIO- 20
CHEM- 19
OCHEM- 22
TS- 20
AA- 19
Background:
The scores above is from retaking the DAT for the 3rd time yesterday. The first time I ever took the DAT was in 2007 and received AA-16 and then retaking it again in 2008 and getting same score. After not getting in either cycles of applying and also due to my low gpa, I decided that I wasn't going to give up on the field of dentistry. So I decided to take the pre-reqs that I was missing and applied for the dental hygiene program. I got in and started the program in 2010 and finished up in 2012. During my time of doing hygiene I kept telling myself that this wasn't my future goal and the sole reason of me even receiving a Bachelor's of Science in Biology was for dental school. I had told myself that as soon as I got done with the program and since I graduated with a 3.5 gpa that I was going to retry for dental school again. After giving all the 7 board exams and becoming licensed, right after I enrolled myself into a Kaplan course. A complete waste of my money simply because that class is geared towards those that need a refresher/review for all the material whereas for me, I needed to relearn everything as if I had never learned it before. I wish I had come across this forum before I signed myself up for Kaplan. Oh well. After looking at peoples breakdowns on here and seeing the material that they used, I purchased the following for my preparation:
Material Used:
Chad's Videos
Cliff's Biology
AP Barrons
DAT Destroyer 2013
Math Destroyer 2013
DATqvault
DAT BOOTCAMP
Crack PAT
Crack Reading Comp
Topscore Test
ADA 2007
ADA 2009
Study Time- I spent about 3-4 months given my background and also used the 3 week study schedule on this forum. Thank you. I did make changes to that 3 week study schedule and spread it over 6 weeks or so simply because the chad's videos and taking notes while watching them did take a lot of time but again was definitely worth it because you learn a lot while writing. The more you write the more you are going to learn and is better way of cementing the material in your head.
Biology-
I began by reading the cliffs biology book. I supplemented all the chapters in cliffs by rereading them in AP barrons. Cliffs was great but at times a little dry to read and difficult and concepts that I didn't entirely understand in cliffs were always much more clear in barrons or simply much easier to understand. However, please do keep in mind that Barrons does have mistakes in it. After reading all the chapters in both books, I moved to the dat destroyer and started doing the problems and every problem that I would get wrong, I would write it down and whatever was new that I learned. Biology is great in dat destroyer, it takes a while but it is worth it. After completing the destroyer, I then started doing practice test in datqvault. I also did all the subject tests as well. You learn a lot and is just another way of implementing the concepts and also gives a true idea of what you actually know and understand and what you still need to focus in on.You learn a lot from the solutions. A week and half prior to my test date, I started doing the tests in DAT BOOTCAMP. This is a must and for those that are contemplating whether to purchase it or not, do not think twice, buy it because it is definitely worth it. It is very representative of how the actual dat is like. Some of the questions that i saw in bootcamp also came up on my actual test for all the sciences. It cannot emphasize enough on how great it is.
Chemistry-
Well since I was always really weak in my chemistries, I knew I had to start from scratch and so started off by watching all of chads videos while taking a lot of notes. I had a notebook for each subject. After completing all his videos and doing all the quizzes, I then started the dat destroyer for chemistry. Missed many questions but also learned a lot from my mistakes and what I still didn't understand or had forgotten. Wrote all my incorrect answers in my notebook. After completing the destroyer, I started doing the tests in dat qvault. Again this really helped me with my timing and exposing me to more and more problems and concepts. After completing this, I started bootcamp a week in a half before my exam.
O Chemistry-
I never learned much at all while I took my organic chemistry so for this chads was simply great. Took a lot of notes in my notebook. Watched the videos many times on the reactions that I struggled with. Did all the quizzes and after completing chads, moved onto dat destroyer. Missed a lot again but kept writing everything new that I learned and kept working through it. The road maps are simply great and spend time memorizing the reactions. It is very important and soon you will know what the product is without really having to understand the mechanism entirely. If you understand the mechanism that is simply fantastic. For more exposure and for time management, I used datqvault and again like the biology and chemistry, did dat bootcamp a week in a half before my exam.
PAT-
This was always my strongest subjects out of all of them so honestly I didn't spend much time on it. I took a test a week on crack pat and called it good. For someone that is learning this for the first time, it is crucial to practice it every day for even half an hour. The more you practice the better you become and the easier it gets. I am surprised I only came out with a 19 simply because my avg on crack pat was between 19-23. Again just practice, practice, and practice!
Keyhole- for this I would always examine the image very carefully and look at the shape to see how it will fit in. Make sure to pay attention to detail, such as size and length.
TFE-this was always a struggle for me. I used the strategy that I learned from Kaplan which was counting the events which helped some times. I also looked at solid lines versus dashed lines to see what was going to be visible and what wasn't. For some I was able to visualize the 3d image and other times i wouldn't be able to. But with these few techniques, i always managed to get between 10-13 correct out of 15.
Hole punch-i think i practiced this so much that over time you become really good at being able to unfold it in your head and see where the holes are going to be.
Angle Ranking- I always looked at my answer choices to cue myself into which ones are possible and narrowing it down to those and then of course looking at the different ones and using the technique of how much the laptop is closed in comparison to the rest. This technique was very helpful as well the sharp pencil, the sharper the pencil the smaller the angle.
Pattern Folding- this again was just learning how to fold the object in my mind and focusing in on the unique designs and seeing where they would end up when it was folded completely,
Overall just practice, practice practice and go over all your mistakes and learn from them. You gain much more by doing this rather then doing practice test but never reviewing to see which ones you got wrong and why. Crack pat is very good in comparison to the real dat but again if you have time, purchase achiever since it is harder but you get better.
RC-
I was always a slower reader but the strategy that i used for this section was to simply read the first two passages and answered the questions and for the last passage i always only had 10-12 minutes and just used search and destroy. My score isn't great but with more practice, you do improve. Like Ari says, read a science article every day, it will improve with your speed.
QR-
This subject i struggled the most with despite my practicing. I was always good in math during my highschool and college years. It wasn't till now that i realized how awful i am on this. I first started by watching chads videos and doing his quizzes. I then moved to doing the QR in the dat destroyer. Marked all the ones that i missed which were a lot and wrote them down in my notebook. After completing the dat destroyer, i then moved math destroyer which was simply brutal for me. The first test, i looked at each problem with no idea on how to attempt it except for the algebra and fractions, the rest i had no idea on how to attempt and so would directly turn to the solution and learn on how to do the problem. With every test i sure did improve but again still struggled with this subject. I had told myself that if i received a 17 on this section, i would be happy. Sadly i only received a 16. Hopefully it doesn't hurt me too much. Had i practiced this subject more and on a regular basis, i am sure i would have done better.
Overall, my scores are not nearly as great as others on this forum but after relying on this forum during my studying, i really wanted to give back after how much everyone elses feedback, advice were helpful in my preparation. Preparing for this exam isn't easy, it takes a lot of determination, motivation, will power and simply having to believe in yourself but is definitely doable. If someone like myself can do it, well then anyone can! Just stay focused by deactivating your facebook account, I missed out on the family trips, friends BBQ's, cousins wedding, yes cousins wedding but in the end it is all worth it! "You live a few years like many don't to live the rest of your live like many can't, I was born to become a dentist" is what i told myself everyday when i would have a hard focusing or I would get discouraged because my QR score wasn't improving. All of us have done a lot to get to this point, and if we didn't care about this exam or didn't have the desire of wanting to go to dental school, well then we wouldn't be going down this path. It's that fact that we want this is why we are doing it. So for all those that are applying this year or next year and are getting ready to take the test, good luck and for those have already taken it, congratulations. Wishing you all the best. If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be more then happy to help. I seeked so much help during my preparation and couldn't have done it without this forum and would like to give back in some way. Thanks again Ari for always answering all my questions so quickly and giving me nothing but positive and realistic feedback and Glimmer for all the different study breakdowns and everyone else on this forum.
Most important- be confident in yourself and be positive during your exam. It is crucial to have a positive mindset and your moment to show off all your knowledge!
Good luck to everyone
First and foremost I would like to thank EVERYONE on this forum for sharing all of their tips, strategies, answering questions, advice, and simply being so encouraging during this rigorous preparation for this exam. Especially a huge thank you to Glimmer and Ari for his amazing creation, DAT BOOTCAMP!
My scores:
PAT- 19
QR- 16
RC- 18
BIO- 20
CHEM- 19
OCHEM- 22
TS- 20
AA- 19
Background:
The scores above is from retaking the DAT for the 3rd time yesterday. The first time I ever took the DAT was in 2007 and received AA-16 and then retaking it again in 2008 and getting same score. After not getting in either cycles of applying and also due to my low gpa, I decided that I wasn't going to give up on the field of dentistry. So I decided to take the pre-reqs that I was missing and applied for the dental hygiene program. I got in and started the program in 2010 and finished up in 2012. During my time of doing hygiene I kept telling myself that this wasn't my future goal and the sole reason of me even receiving a Bachelor's of Science in Biology was for dental school. I had told myself that as soon as I got done with the program and since I graduated with a 3.5 gpa that I was going to retry for dental school again. After giving all the 7 board exams and becoming licensed, right after I enrolled myself into a Kaplan course. A complete waste of my money simply because that class is geared towards those that need a refresher/review for all the material whereas for me, I needed to relearn everything as if I had never learned it before. I wish I had come across this forum before I signed myself up for Kaplan. Oh well. After looking at peoples breakdowns on here and seeing the material that they used, I purchased the following for my preparation:
Material Used:
Chad's Videos
Cliff's Biology
AP Barrons
DAT Destroyer 2013
Math Destroyer 2013
DATqvault
DAT BOOTCAMP
Crack PAT
Crack Reading Comp
Topscore Test
ADA 2007
ADA 2009
Study Time- I spent about 3-4 months given my background and also used the 3 week study schedule on this forum. Thank you. I did make changes to that 3 week study schedule and spread it over 6 weeks or so simply because the chad's videos and taking notes while watching them did take a lot of time but again was definitely worth it because you learn a lot while writing. The more you write the more you are going to learn and is better way of cementing the material in your head.
Biology-
I began by reading the cliffs biology book. I supplemented all the chapters in cliffs by rereading them in AP barrons. Cliffs was great but at times a little dry to read and difficult and concepts that I didn't entirely understand in cliffs were always much more clear in barrons or simply much easier to understand. However, please do keep in mind that Barrons does have mistakes in it. After reading all the chapters in both books, I moved to the dat destroyer and started doing the problems and every problem that I would get wrong, I would write it down and whatever was new that I learned. Biology is great in dat destroyer, it takes a while but it is worth it. After completing the destroyer, I then started doing practice test in datqvault. I also did all the subject tests as well. You learn a lot and is just another way of implementing the concepts and also gives a true idea of what you actually know and understand and what you still need to focus in on.You learn a lot from the solutions. A week and half prior to my test date, I started doing the tests in DAT BOOTCAMP. This is a must and for those that are contemplating whether to purchase it or not, do not think twice, buy it because it is definitely worth it. It is very representative of how the actual dat is like. Some of the questions that i saw in bootcamp also came up on my actual test for all the sciences. It cannot emphasize enough on how great it is.
Chemistry-
Well since I was always really weak in my chemistries, I knew I had to start from scratch and so started off by watching all of chads videos while taking a lot of notes. I had a notebook for each subject. After completing all his videos and doing all the quizzes, I then started the dat destroyer for chemistry. Missed many questions but also learned a lot from my mistakes and what I still didn't understand or had forgotten. Wrote all my incorrect answers in my notebook. After completing the destroyer, I started doing the tests in dat qvault. Again this really helped me with my timing and exposing me to more and more problems and concepts. After completing this, I started bootcamp a week in a half before my exam.
O Chemistry-
I never learned much at all while I took my organic chemistry so for this chads was simply great. Took a lot of notes in my notebook. Watched the videos many times on the reactions that I struggled with. Did all the quizzes and after completing chads, moved onto dat destroyer. Missed a lot again but kept writing everything new that I learned and kept working through it. The road maps are simply great and spend time memorizing the reactions. It is very important and soon you will know what the product is without really having to understand the mechanism entirely. If you understand the mechanism that is simply fantastic. For more exposure and for time management, I used datqvault and again like the biology and chemistry, did dat bootcamp a week in a half before my exam.
PAT-
This was always my strongest subjects out of all of them so honestly I didn't spend much time on it. I took a test a week on crack pat and called it good. For someone that is learning this for the first time, it is crucial to practice it every day for even half an hour. The more you practice the better you become and the easier it gets. I am surprised I only came out with a 19 simply because my avg on crack pat was between 19-23. Again just practice, practice, and practice!
Keyhole- for this I would always examine the image very carefully and look at the shape to see how it will fit in. Make sure to pay attention to detail, such as size and length.
TFE-this was always a struggle for me. I used the strategy that I learned from Kaplan which was counting the events which helped some times. I also looked at solid lines versus dashed lines to see what was going to be visible and what wasn't. For some I was able to visualize the 3d image and other times i wouldn't be able to. But with these few techniques, i always managed to get between 10-13 correct out of 15.
Hole punch-i think i practiced this so much that over time you become really good at being able to unfold it in your head and see where the holes are going to be.
Angle Ranking- I always looked at my answer choices to cue myself into which ones are possible and narrowing it down to those and then of course looking at the different ones and using the technique of how much the laptop is closed in comparison to the rest. This technique was very helpful as well the sharp pencil, the sharper the pencil the smaller the angle.
Pattern Folding- this again was just learning how to fold the object in my mind and focusing in on the unique designs and seeing where they would end up when it was folded completely,
Overall just practice, practice practice and go over all your mistakes and learn from them. You gain much more by doing this rather then doing practice test but never reviewing to see which ones you got wrong and why. Crack pat is very good in comparison to the real dat but again if you have time, purchase achiever since it is harder but you get better.
RC-
I was always a slower reader but the strategy that i used for this section was to simply read the first two passages and answered the questions and for the last passage i always only had 10-12 minutes and just used search and destroy. My score isn't great but with more practice, you do improve. Like Ari says, read a science article every day, it will improve with your speed.
QR-
This subject i struggled the most with despite my practicing. I was always good in math during my highschool and college years. It wasn't till now that i realized how awful i am on this. I first started by watching chads videos and doing his quizzes. I then moved to doing the QR in the dat destroyer. Marked all the ones that i missed which were a lot and wrote them down in my notebook. After completing the dat destroyer, i then moved math destroyer which was simply brutal for me. The first test, i looked at each problem with no idea on how to attempt it except for the algebra and fractions, the rest i had no idea on how to attempt and so would directly turn to the solution and learn on how to do the problem. With every test i sure did improve but again still struggled with this subject. I had told myself that if i received a 17 on this section, i would be happy. Sadly i only received a 16. Hopefully it doesn't hurt me too much. Had i practiced this subject more and on a regular basis, i am sure i would have done better.
Overall, my scores are not nearly as great as others on this forum but after relying on this forum during my studying, i really wanted to give back after how much everyone elses feedback, advice were helpful in my preparation. Preparing for this exam isn't easy, it takes a lot of determination, motivation, will power and simply having to believe in yourself but is definitely doable. If someone like myself can do it, well then anyone can! Just stay focused by deactivating your facebook account, I missed out on the family trips, friends BBQ's, cousins wedding, yes cousins wedding but in the end it is all worth it! "You live a few years like many don't to live the rest of your live like many can't, I was born to become a dentist" is what i told myself everyday when i would have a hard focusing or I would get discouraged because my QR score wasn't improving. All of us have done a lot to get to this point, and if we didn't care about this exam or didn't have the desire of wanting to go to dental school, well then we wouldn't be going down this path. It's that fact that we want this is why we are doing it. So for all those that are applying this year or next year and are getting ready to take the test, good luck and for those have already taken it, congratulations. Wishing you all the best. If anyone has any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be more then happy to help. I seeked so much help during my preparation and couldn't have done it without this forum and would like to give back in some way. Thanks again Ari for always answering all my questions so quickly and giving me nothing but positive and realistic feedback and Glimmer for all the different study breakdowns and everyone else on this forum.
Most important- be confident in yourself and be positive during your exam. It is crucial to have a positive mindset and your moment to show off all your knowledge!
Good luck to everyone
