DAT done 08/15 :(

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Mstoothlady2012

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So finally done with DAT ...relieved and sad 🙁. These are my scores and some thoughts...

bio-17
gchem -16
ochem - 19
pat - 18
rc - 18
qr - 17

TS - 17 & AA - 17

Bio - yes, few random questions but also few ridiculously easy. I was busy studying stuff like hormones, NT, kidney, heart circulation, ecology...but none of the questions really appeared on DAT. It is definitely applied...not just memorizing..i dont know what to say about this section....but dont go all crazy memorizing cellular resp, photosynthesis, hormones and stuff

gchem - wanted to kill myself when i was taking this test. Seriously most of it is chemistry I...i was so busy doing calculations and crazy chem questions that i never really focused on concepts. People who are going to take DAT soon..read this carefully...Drop your pen/pencil right now and stop doing calculations!!!! Know your concepts and property of periodic table! This section was so easy but you might get low score like me if you study wrong stuff!Yes there were 3-4 calculations...but they were set out u didnt have to do the math. Feel freaking stupid for not studying the concepts properly.

ochem- do destroyer and you will be fine

PAT - very easy ..crack the DAT PAT really helps...angles, cubes & hole punching questions are very eays. pattern & aperture are medium level...i never did T/F/E so i dont know about that. I am happy with 18 PAT

RC - OMG!!!! the hardest section of all! its true questions are not straight from the passage...more than 60% questions are on authors tone, what is passage trying to convey? what wil be future of blah blah! what does this sentence imply etc...jumping straight to questions is not a good idea...skimming thru passage is a big NO!NO! you gotta know what the passage is about. I must have guessed atleast 10 questions

QR- What happened????? used to score 20-21 on practice tests....no crazy probability quesitons. I never wasted my time still ran out of time! IF i took longer than 15 mins just to analyze the question..i guessed and moved on. Still I had to take wild guess on atleast 5

Well, so obviously I did horrible...but that doesnt mean I cant share my experience! The main reason to post this thread is for the people who will be taking DAT - i dont want you all to make the same mistakes that I did. Its not that i didnt invest enough time for DAT studying...I just didnt study the right material. I am not planning on retaking it for this cycle coz i cant take it til nov 15th and it will be too late...so I will just hope for the best and hope to get in. If i dont then i will take it again next summer and apply again!!Goodluck to you all! and i hope reading this thread helped you for studying.
 
I know you're down right now, but believe it or not this might just be your chance to know exactly what the test was like first hand and to ace it a second time around. Good luck.
 
Wow - I tooootally thought you were gonna rock this exam! Im not sure what your GPA is but your chances of getting in for this cycle are not by any means impossible. I feel bad cause I know how hard you worked for this exam, but you seem to have the right attitude though. Just stay positive and worst comes to worst youll have an extra year to prepare yourself and to boost your credentials so that you can get into whatever school you want when the time comes!

Im taking my exam a week from today and judging from recent scores I am getting FREAAAKED OUT!!!

Any other advice or thoughts that come to mind and that you think might help are always appreciated!!

ps. I appreciate the fact that you posted your scores and gave your opinion even though you didnt get the scores you wanted. Sometimes I feel like people only post their scores on here when they do well, so I know I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that its really appreciated!
 
im sorry to hear that. so are you thinking to take it again? thanx for the gchem comment. i was memorizing the formulas plus doing crazy problems. im gonna stop doing that. what about math? was it more straight foward?
 
CONGRATS ON BEING DONE!!!!!

i'm sorry you aren't thrilled about your scores but you gave it your best shot and you're applying to so many schools so it will work out 🙂 and you're still ahead of so many peoples so no worries!

you did great and should be very proud of yourself 🙂
 
Thanks for the comments and support! Yea didnt feel like posting my scores..but I can atleast try to stop you guys from making the same mistake that I did. I will just see how it works out with this scores...if i dont get it ..m not giving up ..coz this is what I want and i will be back for it again and again until i get it!! no I am not planning on retaking it in nov..i think it will be too late...what do you all think? I am just afraid that if i tell d-school that I am planning on retaking it in nov they will put my application on hold...and their seats will get filled up and i will even have lower chance of getting in! you know what I mean? plus I havnt had break in long time...I just wanna relax now and try not to get bothered by those lame scores but I cant stop staring at my scores 🙁 I will be taking 5 sciences during fall so i dont think i will have time to study for DAt..i dont wanna retake it and improve by 1 point...so let me know what you guys suggest.

Thanks for reading! and once again thanks for the support ...i appreciate it
 
It's all good, you got the right attitude. You never know what may happen and an extra year is not the end of the world.

If you were to take it again, what would you try to do differently? Especially for bio. I know you were using Cliff's and Destroyer... How will you approach a retake if that time comes?

Honestly, though, take some time off and relax. It's really NOT the end of the world. Just an off day.
 
Thanks for the comments and support! Yea didnt feel like posting my scores..but I can atleast try to stop you guys from making the same mistake that I did. I will just see how it works out with this scores...if i dont get it ..m not giving up ..coz this is what I want and i will be back for it again and again until i get it!! no I am not planning on retaking it in nov..i think it will be too late...what do you all think? I am just afraid that if i tell d-school that I am planning on retaking it in nov they will put my application on hold...and their seats will get filled up and i will even have lower chance of getting in! you know what I mean? plus I havnt had break in long time...I just wanna relax now and try not to get bothered by those lame scores but I cant stop staring at my scores 🙁 I will be taking 5 sciences during fall so i dont think i will have time to study for DAt..i dont wanna retake it and improve by 1 point...so let me know what you guys suggest.

Thanks for reading! and once again thanks for the support ...i appreciate it

you are an absolute inspiration to all of us.
your mindset and optimistic attitude will surely get you in.
best,
dan
 
I think you should focus on the DAT when you are not taking any/minimal classes, such as summer.

I think the best thing to do now is just relax and take a break, and start slowly picking it up again during the school year. When you have school, try to spend 2-3 hrs each weekend to refresh the stuff so you dont forget about it.

If you can take upperdivision bio classes during the school year, that should also help you on improving your DAT score.

Just out of curiousity, what type of materials do you use?
 
We have got to put our heads together and try to figure out how to get a handle on these biology questions. I have taken the test twice and both times I came away feeling the same way everyone else does. "Where did those questions come from?" It seems to me like on each test there are atleast 5 to 7 questions that come out of nowhere. Just random stuff that you would never think to look at. So for the past 2 weeks I have been putting all of what we think are the "main topics" (circulation, hormones, digestion, excretion) on the backburner and just reading different chapters in Campbells that I have ignored in the past. (Details of Ecology and Animal characteristics, Cloning, Lab Techniques etc) I dont know what to do... but this seems to be a reoccuring theme among most people who have taken the test. Your thoughts?
 
It's all good, you got the right attitude. You never know what may happen and an extra year is not the end of the world.

If you were to take it again, what would you try to do differently? Especially for bio. I know you were using Cliff's and Destroyer... How will you approach a retake if that time comes?

Honestly, though, take some time off and relax. It's really NOT the end of the world. Just an off day.

Thanks! honestly I do not know how one could prepare for Bio...I mean the questions that DAT ask is either ridiculously easy...or insanely hard! some of the questions were on the topics that I had no clue about and some of them were just applying knowledge. If I had to retake I would use cliff's ap bio, exam krackers, and campbell bio
 
you are an absolute inspiration to all of us.
your mindset and optimistic attitude will surely get you in.
best,
dan
haha thanks! you wouldnt be saying this if you had seen me before 8 hrs...i guess i am a lil bit more relax and being upset is not gonna get me high score so i guess all i can do is just wait and watch.
 
I think you should focus on the DAT when you are not taking any/minimal classes, such as summer.

I think the best thing to do now is just relax and take a break, and start slowly picking it up again during the school year. When you have school, try to spend 2-3 hrs each weekend to refresh the stuff so you dont forget about it.

If you can take upperdivision bio classes during the school year, that should also help you on improving your DAT score.

Just out of curiousity, what type of materials do you use?
YEa that is what i wanted to do this summer as well..but I had to take 3 classes in this summer too. My schedule is so messed up!! Havent had break in years i was excited to have this 5 days break from aug 15th- aug 20th (fall term starts)...but now that I have it...i dont know what to do with it...
 
We have got to put our heads together and try to figure out how to get a handle on these biology questions. I have taken the test twice and both times I came away feeling the same way everyone else does. "Where did those questions come from?" It seems to me like on each test there are atleast 5 to 7 questions that come out of nowhere. Just random stuff that you would never think to look at. So for the past 2 weeks I have been putting all of what we think are the "main topics" (circulation, hormones, digestion, excretion) on the backburner and just reading different chapters in Campbells that I have ignored in the past. (Details of Ecology and Animal characteristics, Cloning, Lab Techniques etc) I dont know what to do... but this seems to be a reoccuring theme among most people who have taken the test. Your thoughts?
yea true I agree...its like what you think is important ...it really isnt! there were hardly few questions where I was sure and I felt as if yes I have studied this topic before...or yes I have seen something similar in destroyer/topscore/achiever...i dont know where they get all these questions from. But even if you study techniques...those are only 2 questions...what about rest of them? yes i would definitely recommend reading campbell...I hated bio & RC
 
good luck this cycle. I know someone with similar stats as you who has gotten into D school in the past so you never know. Keep those fingers crossed and hope for the best 👍
 
yea true I agree...its like what you think is important ...it really isnt! there were hardly few questions where I was sure and I felt as if yes I have studied this topic before...or yes I have seen something similar in destroyer/topscore/achiever...i dont know where they get all these questions from. But even if you study techniques...those are only 2 questions...what about rest of them? yes i would definitely recommend reading campbell...I hated bio & RC

I think over the years, the bio on DAT has just gotten very random. I was just talking to a friend who took DAT back in 05, and he told me that there were nothing like that on bio!

In general, I felt that overall, bio and rc are probably the 2 lowest yield sections when it comes to studying. I really dont understand why ADA have to make it like that.
 
I think over the years, the bio on DAT has just gotten very random. I was just talking to a friend who took DAT back in 05, and he told me that there were nothing like that on bio!

In general, I felt that overall, bio and rc are probably the 2 lowest yield sections when it comes to studying. I really dont understand why ADA have to make it like that.

the dat always been like this. 30 bio questions should come from kaplan and 10 should come out of no where, but this year it seems like 20 bio questions from kaplan and the rest out of no where.
 
Congrats on being done! Wish you felt better, but for now you just gotta play the hand you've been dealt. Hope is not lost at this point!

On a side note, if you end up re-taking, it's all about nastiness. Just keep that "never say die" mind set and you'll come out on top!

So, you don't think your nerves took a toll on you? Possibly making the exam seem more difficult than it really was?

If you end up re-taking, just keep pounding away with the material you were using. I think the materials you used are time tested, and perhaps lady luck just left your corner for a bit. I'll be the first to admit that a little luck goes a long way on a big day like this. So many things can go wrong on an important day like this.

The only thing I can really suggest (for the sciences) is to grasp a better understanding of the material. Literally knowing everything inside and out...all variations of any given question. Pay attention to traps, shuffling of words, all the details. However, the most important thing to realize, is that attention to every single minute detail must be done early and eventually level off. As you level off...things should begin to click mentally, and you should be focusing on the big picture, and your confidence should be high. Can't stress how important confidence is...it's the glue that holds everything together.

Good luck! Hope everything works out for you!
 
the dat always been like this. 30 bio questions should come from kaplan and 10 should come out of no where, but this year it seems like 20 bio questions from kaplan and the rest out of no where.

People might disagree with me on this, but I think using ONLY kaplan for the Bio is like learning karate for 6 months and trying to pick a fight in a bar...
 
i disagree. as long as you have a solid foundation in biology as most of us do (science majors) then you don't need to thumb through the entire campbell textbook or buy 3-4 extra biology resources.
i used kaplan and kaplan only when i wrote the canadian DAT's..got a 22 in bio. hopefully the US DAT isnt much more difficult!! i'm takin that in a week..
 
RC - OMG!!!! the hardest section of all! its true questions are not straight from the passage...more than 60% questions are on authors tone, what is passage trying to convey? what wil be future of blah blah! what does this sentence imply etc...jumping straight to questions is not a good idea...skimming thru passage is a big NO!NO! you gotta know what the passage is about. I must have guessed atleast 10 questions

I feeel you... I took the DATs today as well and got a 16 on this section... stupid ass questions... " if you were to describe this big ass 16 paragraph passage in one word, which would it be"..... BS....

Good luck...
 
I take my DAT tomorrow😱...should I review all the classification stuff for bio or is it another "i thought that would at least be on there" topic? Thanks toothlady!
 
The only thing I can really suggest (for the sciences) is to grasp a better understanding of the material. Literally knowing everything inside and out...all variations of any given question. Pay attention to traps, shuffling of words, all the details. However, the most important thing to realize, is that attention to every single minute detail must be done early and eventually level off. As you level off...things should begin to click mentally, and you should be focusing on the big picture, and your confidence should be high. Can't stress how important confidence is...it's the glue that holds everything together.

i completely agree. Its also about putting time in. Many of the people that made 20s put three months of non stop studying. Also many of the people scoring 20s are retakers (not all of them). So you gotta exam yourself. I would ask yourself did you put enough time in? What can i do to improve? What are your weaknesses? If I were you I would retake at a time when you had the most free time to study. You have a great optimistic atitude and I am sure you can do it. good luck.
 
sorry to hear you didn't get the scores you wanted. Something that really helped me out when I took the DAT was figuring out "how to take the test" so to speak. I knew there was too much information to learn so I tried to figure out ways to elimate answer choices quickly or at least be able to logically figure things out even if I didn't know all of the information. If you do retake the DAT I'd highly suggest that you spend quailty time on the material as well as figuring out how best to take the test. That should be able to help you raise your scores. best of luck.
 
So finally done with DAT ...relieved and sad 🙁. These are my scores and some thoughts...

bio-17
gchem -16
ochem - 19
pat - 18
rc - 18
qr - 17

TS - 17 & AA - 17

Bio - yes, few random questions but also few ridiculously easy. I was busy studying stuff like hormones, NT, kidney, heart circulation, ecology...but none of the questions really appeared on DAT. It is definitely applied...not just memorizing..i dont know what to say about this section....but dont go all crazy memorizing cellular resp, photosynthesis, hormones and stuff

gchem - wanted to kill myself when i was taking this test. Seriously most of it is chemistry I...i was so busy doing calculations and crazy chem questions that i never really focused on concepts. People who are going to take DAT soon..read this carefully...Drop your pen/pencil right now and stop doing calculations!!!! Know your concepts and property of periodic table! This section was so easy but you might get low score like me if you study wrong stuff!Yes there were 3-4 calculations...but they were set out u didnt have to do the math. Feel freaking stupid for not studying the concepts properly.

ochem- do destroyer and you will be fine

PAT - very easy ..crack the DAT PAT really helps...angles, cubes & hole punching questions are very eays. pattern & aperture are medium level...i never did T/F/E so i dont know about that. I am happy with 18 PAT

RC - OMG!!!! the hardest section of all! its true questions are not straight from the passage...more than 60% questions are on authors tone, what is passage trying to convey? what wil be future of blah blah! what does this sentence imply etc...jumping straight to questions is not a good idea...skimming thru passage is a big NO!NO! you gotta know what the passage is about. I must have guessed atleast 10 questions

QR- What happened????? used to score 20-21 on practice tests....no crazy probability quesitons. I never wasted my time still ran out of time! IF i took longer than 15 mins just to analyze the question..i guessed and moved on. Still I had to take wild guess on atleast 5

Well, so obviously I did horrible...but that doesnt mean I cant share my experience! The main reason to post this thread is for the people who will be taking DAT - i dont want you all to make the same mistakes that I did. Its not that i didnt invest enough time for DAT studying...I just didnt study the right material. I am not planning on retaking it for this cycle coz i cant take it til nov 15th and it will be too late...so I will just hope for the best and hope to get in. If i dont then i will take it again next summer and apply again!!Goodluck to you all! and i hope reading this thread helped you for studying.

Well, look on the positive side. None of the scores are in the prohibitively low range (~14), and you have good balance across the sheet. Probably would be a good idea to plan for a retake in November and see if you can get 20+ that time. If you can, you still have a good chance to get a number of interviews. Good luck.
 
did you use the ada test specifications guide? I hear that's pretty helpful to study with. It literally tells you which topic the questions are coming from.
 
Yea the ADA guide...have you seen the bio page --structure and function...of A-K-- every system of the body. Haha I laughed when I saw that.
 
I feeel you... I took the DATs today as well and got a 16 on this section... stupid ass questions... " if you were to describe this big ass 16 paragraph passage in one word, which would it be"..... BS....

Good luck...
lol true
 
I take my DAT tomorrow😱...should I review all the classification stuff for bio or is it another "i thought that would at least be on there" topic? Thanks toothlady!
WEll, i dont wanna tell you not to study those...you might have a different version of DAT...but dont go all crazy trying to memorize every single kingdom & phylums and their characterisitics like i did lol....I just dont know how 1 could prepare for bio...it really does have some random questions. Anyone else please help this person..i dont wanna give out wrong advice! I am not telling you to ignore anything! so dont get me wrong please...
 
i completely agree. Its also about putting time in. Many of the people that made 20s put three months of non stop studying. Also many of the people scoring 20s are retakers (not all of them). So you gotta exam yourself. I would ask yourself did you put enough time in? What can i do to improve? What are your weaknesses? If I were you I would retake at a time when you had the most free time to study. You have a great optimistic atitude and I am sure you can do it. good luck.
yea tht is the reason why i dont wanna retake it in nov...because I am taking 5 classes during fall (all 3000 & 4000 levels)..i will be lucky if i can keep my head up from those classes! there is no way i wil have enough time to study...still i will see how the first month goes of fall term...then will decide. Thanks though!
 
sorry to hear you didn't get the scores you wanted. Something that really helped me out when I took the DAT was figuring out "how to take the test" so to speak. I knew there was too much information to learn so I tried to figure out ways to elimate answer choices quickly or at least be able to logically figure things out even if I didn't know all of the information. If you do retake the DAT I'd highly suggest that you spend quailty time on the material as well as figuring out how best to take the test. That should be able to help you raise your scores. best of luck.
Thanks for the tip! will surely do that if i retake it
 
Well, look on the positive side. None of the scores are in the prohibitively low range (~14), and you have good balance across the sheet. Probably would be a good idea to plan for a retake in November and see if you can get 20+ that time. If you can, you still have a good chance to get a number of interviews. Good luck.
nah right now i have decided not to retake it because of the reason that i mentioned in my above post...but i might change my mind i dont know! Thanks for the support! i appreciate it 🙂
 
oh yea 1 more thing...computer does take a sec to go to the next question :laugh:...lol what i would do is keep my eraser in one hand all the time (esp during QR & PAT) and during that sec i would erase all the marks lol!
 
also..my testing center was very nice..they lady gave me 3 boards & 3 markers which were fine tip 🙂...and during my break i checked all my markers again and got new boards cozthey were too dirty coz of all the writing!! Also during my break...i numbered 1-15 on each board for RC ...but i dont think that helped much because of all the tone & thesis questions...
 
Sorry about your score.. I know you studied hard and saw your post responding to questions that people posted on SDN. I was expecting higher score just because I knew how much you know the material. DAT is really twisted!!.. someone posted that you may have been too nervous the day of the test..(PARASYMPATHETIC) 🙂... and the stress of that could have really play a part on your scores.. so perhaps refining your test taking methods instead of your material would be the key to better scores..
 
I think me and you should grab some signs and start marching in front of the prometric center for the test they both gave of us yesturday!

If this is how the test is going to be from now on then they would have to lower the standards for dental entrance. Don't feel too bad, we might still have a chance if this trend continues. 🙂
 
So finally done with DAT ...relieved and sad 🙁. These are my scores and some thoughts...

bio-17
gchem -16
ochem - 19
pat - 18
rc - 18
qr - 17

TS - 17 & AA - 17

Bio - yes, few random questions but also few ridiculously easy. I was busy studying stuff like hormones, NT, kidney, heart circulation, ecology...but none of the questions really appeared on DAT. It is definitely applied...not just memorizing..i dont know what to say about this section....but dont go all crazy memorizing cellular resp, photosynthesis, hormones and stuff

gchem - wanted to kill myself when i was taking this test. Seriously most of it is chemistry I...i was so busy doing calculations and crazy chem questions that i never really focused on concepts. People who are going to take DAT soon..read this carefully...Drop your pen/pencil right now and stop doing calculations!!!! Know your concepts and property of periodic table! This section was so easy but you might get low score like me if you study wrong stuff!Yes there were 3-4 calculations...but they were set out u didnt have to do the math. Feel freaking stupid for not studying the concepts properly.

ochem- do destroyer and you will be fine

PAT - very easy ..crack the DAT PAT really helps...angles, cubes & hole punching questions are very eays. pattern & aperture are medium level...i never did T/F/E so i dont know about that. I am happy with 18 PAT

RC - OMG!!!! the hardest section of all! its true questions are not straight from the passage...more than 60% questions are on authors tone, what is passage trying to convey? what wil be future of blah blah! what does this sentence imply etc...jumping straight to questions is not a good idea...skimming thru passage is a big NO!NO! you gotta know what the passage is about. I must have guessed atleast 10 questions

QR- What happened????? used to score 20-21 on practice tests....no crazy probability quesitons. I never wasted my time still ran out of time! IF i took longer than 15 mins just to analyze the question..i guessed and moved on. Still I had to take wild guess on atleast 5

Well, so obviously I did horrible...but that doesnt mean I cant share my experience! The main reason to post this thread is for the people who will be taking DAT - i dont want you all to make the same mistakes that I did. Its not that i didnt invest enough time for DAT studying...I just didnt study the right material. I am not planning on retaking it for this cycle coz i cant take it til nov 15th and it will be too late...so I will just hope for the best and hope to get in. If i dont then i will take it again next summer and apply again!!Goodluck to you all! and i hope reading this thread helped you for studying.


Don't be so down misstooth. You are right, this is too late in the cycle to retake the DAT, but from taking the test, you know that you are studying the wrong stuff, i suggest study for DAT again and take it again EVEN though you are late. Who cares? Since you are already know which stuff you should focused on and if got the second higher score, you still have some change of getting in (UNVL and some other school take DAT scores until November).
So i think that if you are burned out then you should not retake it and wait till the next cycle to reapply (if u got rejected) but if you still have some energy left, i suggest that you should retake.
But best of luck to you!!!!
 
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