- Joined
- Mar 11, 2014
- Messages
- 80
- Reaction score
- 82
- Points
- 4,721
- Location
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Pre-Dental
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
So I just finished my DAT a couple hours ago, and I'm feeling very ehhhh about my results. I know they aren't bad, but they are average and I don't know if I am okay with that. Anyways I felt like I learned so much from reading other people's breakdowns I figured I would post one myself, if nothing else to show people that not every one gets a 24AA and 26TS!
My scores are as follows:
Perceptual Ability: 18
Quantitative Reasoning: 18
Reading Comprehension: 22
Biology: 20
General Chemistry: 18
Organic Chemistry: 19
Total Science: 19
AA: 19
I'm not really too surprised with my scores, they were pretty much right on with my practice exams give or take a couple points. I do feel a little defeated, I know these scores aren't bad and I know I could get in somewhere but I want to have options, and not just get stuck going to the only place I get accepted. ( I know that's a little crazy considering this field but it's just my personality!!)
I signed up to take my exam on June 11th back in like March while I was taking classes. I was really hoping to get more study time in during the semester but it just straight up did not happen. Saying I dabbled is being generous, anything I ever even looked at I immediately forgot. But I did take Orgo II and Genetics this semester so I kind of count that as studying! I had planned on having three weeks to study after the semester ended but I didn't get to study at all the first week because of family mumbo jumbo. So two weeks to study, I was feeling confident, I wanted to just get it over with! Then I came to my senses and said that I didn't just spend $1000 on this thing to wing it! So I postponed two weeks (to today) and I did feel a lot more prepared, but not as much as I wanted to.
Over four weeks I studied about 10+ hours a day and it was EXHAUSTING. I honestly would not recommend it. I would try and do little tricks to keep myself awake like wash my face three times a day (this really did help, if you're cramming I totally recommend it! 😛 ) But I kept finding myself getting distracted, like when watching Chad's video's I kept thinking of random things, like that kid Ahmad or something that asked 5 million question, I kept wondering how he did on his DAT/MCAT/whatever! So if you have time, I would strongly recommend NOT cramming and giving yourself breaks in between studying. Even though I didn't feel totally prepared I felt like I just HAD to get this test over with because I couldn't keep doing this.
So now that I've rambled for 45 minutes here's what I used and what I thought about the test and blah blah blah
Biology: Like many others I used Cliffs and when I had like two weeks left to study I bought Barron's. Like many say, Barron's is so much easier to read, but I think Cliff's has a lot more information, which isn't always a good thing! I don't think I had a single plant question on my DAT so all that time memorizing the freaking differences between the apical meristem and the lateral meristem and whatever was pretty much worthless. That's not to say though that it won't appear on someone's exam! If you're in a time crunch I would very briefly read through these sections and focus more on taxonomy, animal behavior and the reproductive system! I also used qvault for bio (Again a last minute decision and I'm happy I did it.) Many people say that the bio section is random, which it is, but I think qvault prepares you well for the randomness.
Gen Chem: Chad and Bootcamp! I had a total and absolute panic attack during this section, like I was almost in tears. I kept feeling this way during the bootcamp exams too which should have been a sign to study more but oh well. Even though I knew how to do all the calculations, I knew all the trends and I knew the equations I could not for the life of me figure out what the hell these questions were asking me. Bootcamp was very representative, because I felt the same way when I took those exams too. Def wish I spent more time on this. Even though Chad is great I HIGHLY recommend doing GC practice problems just to figure out what they freaking want from you.
Orgo: Pretty basic. I had a lot of weird reactions that I hadn't really seem before but do my best. Overall though I would say this was like 30% reactions 70% concepts. KNOW WHICH HYDROGEN IS MOST ACIDIC!! Again, I used Chad and Bootcamp here. Chad is great, I think he really gives you everything you need. I thought I would do better on this section, was a little disappointed with the 19 but it's all good!
PAT: I used CDP mostly but Bootcamp was more representative. I really didn't think the keyholes were all that bad, I think I only had one rock one. Angles seemed easier but I still think I probably did bad on them. I thought Pattern folding was easier, TFE was insane and Hole punches were on point with CDP & Bootcamp. Cube Counting was so much easier it was ridiculous, only 15-16 cubes each, cake. Obviously I still messed up some here though, should've practiced Bootcamp more.
RC: Did not study at all! Didn't even do a practice test. Totally winged this. I changed up my method with each passage lol. The first I tried search and destroy, I think this took the most time. Then I tried to read the passage, this was better, then I read the next passage and took very small notes, like three words, I thought this worked best. Passages were pretty interesting, one about fungus, one about morals (weird) and one about cells!
QR: Wish I put more time in here too. Starting studying this like Tuesday of this week. Went through 1 Math Destroyer Exam and didn't like it (thought it was too difficult) and did two Bootcamp exams. The DAT itself wasn't hard when it came to QR and unlike most I felt like I had plenty of time. Wish I spent more time though on interest and things like that.
So that's it! Sorry for rambling but wanted to put it all out there for whoever cares to read! I'm debating a retake, leaning more towards yes then no but am planning on relaxing for a while until then! The most important part of this exam is CONFIDENCE! The poor Prometric people couldn't even take my fingerprints because I was shaking and sweating so bad. Take all the time you need to study until you feel good and ready- and don't rush it!!! Best of luck to all, let me know if you have any questions 🙂
P.S. Sorry about any typos all up in here, I've been hitting celebratory wine bottle pretty hard since I got home 😉
My scores are as follows:
Perceptual Ability: 18
Quantitative Reasoning: 18
Reading Comprehension: 22
Biology: 20
General Chemistry: 18
Organic Chemistry: 19
Total Science: 19
AA: 19
I'm not really too surprised with my scores, they were pretty much right on with my practice exams give or take a couple points. I do feel a little defeated, I know these scores aren't bad and I know I could get in somewhere but I want to have options, and not just get stuck going to the only place I get accepted. ( I know that's a little crazy considering this field but it's just my personality!!)
I signed up to take my exam on June 11th back in like March while I was taking classes. I was really hoping to get more study time in during the semester but it just straight up did not happen. Saying I dabbled is being generous, anything I ever even looked at I immediately forgot. But I did take Orgo II and Genetics this semester so I kind of count that as studying! I had planned on having three weeks to study after the semester ended but I didn't get to study at all the first week because of family mumbo jumbo. So two weeks to study, I was feeling confident, I wanted to just get it over with! Then I came to my senses and said that I didn't just spend $1000 on this thing to wing it! So I postponed two weeks (to today) and I did feel a lot more prepared, but not as much as I wanted to.
Over four weeks I studied about 10+ hours a day and it was EXHAUSTING. I honestly would not recommend it. I would try and do little tricks to keep myself awake like wash my face three times a day (this really did help, if you're cramming I totally recommend it! 😛 ) But I kept finding myself getting distracted, like when watching Chad's video's I kept thinking of random things, like that kid Ahmad or something that asked 5 million question, I kept wondering how he did on his DAT/MCAT/whatever! So if you have time, I would strongly recommend NOT cramming and giving yourself breaks in between studying. Even though I didn't feel totally prepared I felt like I just HAD to get this test over with because I couldn't keep doing this.
So now that I've rambled for 45 minutes here's what I used and what I thought about the test and blah blah blah
Biology: Like many others I used Cliffs and when I had like two weeks left to study I bought Barron's. Like many say, Barron's is so much easier to read, but I think Cliff's has a lot more information, which isn't always a good thing! I don't think I had a single plant question on my DAT so all that time memorizing the freaking differences between the apical meristem and the lateral meristem and whatever was pretty much worthless. That's not to say though that it won't appear on someone's exam! If you're in a time crunch I would very briefly read through these sections and focus more on taxonomy, animal behavior and the reproductive system! I also used qvault for bio (Again a last minute decision and I'm happy I did it.) Many people say that the bio section is random, which it is, but I think qvault prepares you well for the randomness.
Gen Chem: Chad and Bootcamp! I had a total and absolute panic attack during this section, like I was almost in tears. I kept feeling this way during the bootcamp exams too which should have been a sign to study more but oh well. Even though I knew how to do all the calculations, I knew all the trends and I knew the equations I could not for the life of me figure out what the hell these questions were asking me. Bootcamp was very representative, because I felt the same way when I took those exams too. Def wish I spent more time on this. Even though Chad is great I HIGHLY recommend doing GC practice problems just to figure out what they freaking want from you.
Orgo: Pretty basic. I had a lot of weird reactions that I hadn't really seem before but do my best. Overall though I would say this was like 30% reactions 70% concepts. KNOW WHICH HYDROGEN IS MOST ACIDIC!! Again, I used Chad and Bootcamp here. Chad is great, I think he really gives you everything you need. I thought I would do better on this section, was a little disappointed with the 19 but it's all good!
PAT: I used CDP mostly but Bootcamp was more representative. I really didn't think the keyholes were all that bad, I think I only had one rock one. Angles seemed easier but I still think I probably did bad on them. I thought Pattern folding was easier, TFE was insane and Hole punches were on point with CDP & Bootcamp. Cube Counting was so much easier it was ridiculous, only 15-16 cubes each, cake. Obviously I still messed up some here though, should've practiced Bootcamp more.
RC: Did not study at all! Didn't even do a practice test. Totally winged this. I changed up my method with each passage lol. The first I tried search and destroy, I think this took the most time. Then I tried to read the passage, this was better, then I read the next passage and took very small notes, like three words, I thought this worked best. Passages were pretty interesting, one about fungus, one about morals (weird) and one about cells!
QR: Wish I put more time in here too. Starting studying this like Tuesday of this week. Went through 1 Math Destroyer Exam and didn't like it (thought it was too difficult) and did two Bootcamp exams. The DAT itself wasn't hard when it came to QR and unlike most I felt like I had plenty of time. Wish I spent more time though on interest and things like that.
So that's it! Sorry for rambling but wanted to put it all out there for whoever cares to read! I'm debating a retake, leaning more towards yes then no but am planning on relaxing for a while until then! The most important part of this exam is CONFIDENCE! The poor Prometric people couldn't even take my fingerprints because I was shaking and sweating so bad. Take all the time you need to study until you feel good and ready- and don't rush it!!! Best of luck to all, let me know if you have any questions 🙂
P.S. Sorry about any typos all up in here, I've been hitting celebratory wine bottle pretty hard since I got home 😉
