- Joined
- Jul 25, 2014
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 1
Hey everyone,
I FINALLY completed the DAT yesterday (8/22/14). I was unable to post this breakdown yesterday because I went straight to the bar after the test (something I recommend to all lol). This might get a little long, but if it helps someone then it's worth it. Alright here are the scores
PAT: 22
RC: 19
QR: 21
BIO: 21
CHEM:19
ORGO: 20
TS: 20
AA: 20
Background: Alright, so I graduated from Syracuse University last spring and basically spent the whole summer studying. I graduated as a Bio Major with a 3.57 GPA. I was a member of the Men's Soccer Team at Syracuse. I basically said that I would treat studying like it was a job, and put in about 6-8 hour days. This obviously varied depending on how prepared I was feeling and what was going on that day. I would study in the morning and afternoons and then do Chad's questions casually while I watch TV at night. A week before the test I barely studied, because I felt so prepared. I would look at things just to refresh.
Materials:
Chads (10/10) -- Great resource for chem and orgo (also has a bunch of questions). Highly recommend watching the chem and orgo sections. His QR videos are also pretty good if you need help with some topics (he is great at breaking things down)
DAT Bootcamp (10/10) -- Very similar to test, great resource. Scores in breakdown.
Feralis Bio Notes (8/10) -- Good as the final Bio resource as you get closer to the test. It is very detailed, but if you have a solid understanding of the info then it's not too bad. I went through it about twice pretty quickly.
Cliffs AP Bio (8/10) -- Good place to start for Bio studying. It provides you with a solid foundation of most of the concepts. I basically outlined the whole book as I read it once (1 chapter a day -- took about a month).
Crack the DAT (6/10) -- Pretty good for learning the PAT. I would start with this to get a general idea of the PAT and then move on to DAT bootcamp.
DAT Achiever (2/10) -- Terrible. Definitely not worth buying. It is so much harder then the actual test. I was getting 15's and 16's on these throughout. I took 3 tests and then gave up. It was killing my confidence.
Test Breakdown:
BIO (21): I was pretty happy with the bio section. I think I marked about 6 or 7 questions. My goal was to finish this section in 30 min, and I did it in about 25. Bootcamp is pretty representative of the types of questions you will see. I didn't have any plants, and have 2 taxonomy. There was about 3 question that I've seen before word for word. I recommend first using Cliffs and then Feralis Notes with Bootcamp.
I did the first 2 bootcamp tests before I read Cliffs, and I could see that I wasn't prepared. After reading Cliffs, I took the remaining bootcamp test (3,4,5) and my scores went up. I then did the test again for more practice and to make sure I knew the info.
Bootcamp Bio scores:
First time - Test 1 (20), Test 2 (15), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (18), Test 5 (20)
Second time - was getting about 30s on all of them.
CHEM (20): Do bootcamps and chad's and you should be fine. My goal was to finish this section in 30 min and I did it in 30 min. The test questions are very similar in difficulty bootcamp and chad's questions.
Like bio, I did the first 2 bootcamp test before I really started studying hard. After doing chads stuff bootcamp became a lot easier. I also took these tests again for practice.
Bootcamp Chem scores:
First time - Test 1 (16), Test 2 (18), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (17), Test 5 (19)
Second time - averaging 24-26
ORGO (19): As with chem, if you do bootcamp and chads you will fine. I had a couple reaction problems. I completed the section in about 25 min. The questions are very similar to chads and bootcamp
Bootcamp Orgo scores:
First time - Test 1 (16), Test 2 (19), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (20), Test 5 (20)
Second time - averaging about 24
PAT (22): I recommend using bootcamp for this section. Bootcamp is a little harder, so if you are getting good scores on there you should be fine. I went straight to angles on the test (Question 31).
Keyhole: When practicing on bootcamp, I would do terrible on the keyholes (3 and 4's out of 15). This was usually because I would do them last and run out of time. Since my actual DAT was easier, I had a full 15 min to go through all the keyholes at the end. The ones on the test were similar to bootcamp. Crack the PAT was way too easy.
TFE: A little easier to bootcamp. I would compare lines and try to visualize the figure. I would average about 10/15 on bootcamp
Angles: The angles were angles... either you can see the difference or not. I would compare the biggest or the smallest and then go from there. I would average about 11/15 on boocamp
Hole punch: I usually kill it on the bootcamp (15/15), so I wasn't too nervous about this part. I felt the actual DAT was a lot easier compared to bootcamp. I made a grid and would mark where the holes would end up.
Cube counting: For this section I wrote 1-5 and then did tally marks. I would strongly recommend this strategy. MAKE SURE YOU LOOK TO SEE WHAT FIGURE YOU ARE WORKING ON. On the test I was expecting 5 figures with 3 questions for each (like in bootcamp). On the test I got 6 figures, so some figures only had 2 questions. It would stink to give an answer for the wrong figure. I think my biggest figure was about 16 blocks. It wasn't too hard. I usually average about 13/15 on bootcamp
Pattern Folding: I had an even amount of shade questions and identifying a figure type questions. The section is pretty similar to bootcamp. I was averaging about 11-12/15 on bootcamp.
Bootcamp PAT scores:
Test 1 (19), Test 2 (19), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (18), Test 5 (20), Test 6 (19), Test 7 (18)
RC (19): I was pretty worried about this section going into the test. I did about 3 bootcamp test, and did not feel confident about them afterwards. The actual test is much easier than the bootcamp. I used search and destroy. Most answers are straight out of the passage. Timing is important with this section. If you can find an answer then skip it and move on. I skipped all t/f kind of questions and most except type questions. I finished each passage in about 20 min. My first passage was different disease, the second was about justice and ethics, and the third was about cells. I couldn't really answer any questions with just my prior knowledge (not having to look in the passage).
Bootcamp RC scores: Test 1 (18), Test 2 (16), Test 4 (19)
QR (21): I was pleasantly surprised with how easy this section was. I felt it was so much easier than bootcamp. This section is all practice. I watched chad's videos to refresh some of the concepts. There was about 4 questions that I was unsure about on the test. I had 3 unit question so make sure you know how to convert units! I had 3-4 trig questions. Nothing too terrible. I highly recommend not taking too much time on a question. The key is to skip and move on if you are stuck. The calculator is similar to bootcamps so make sure you practice beforehand.
Bootcamp QR scores: Test 1 (18), Test 2 (18), Test 3 (18)
Test notes and advice:
I FINALLY completed the DAT yesterday (8/22/14). I was unable to post this breakdown yesterday because I went straight to the bar after the test (something I recommend to all lol). This might get a little long, but if it helps someone then it's worth it. Alright here are the scores
PAT: 22
RC: 19
QR: 21
BIO: 21
CHEM:19
ORGO: 20
TS: 20
AA: 20
Background: Alright, so I graduated from Syracuse University last spring and basically spent the whole summer studying. I graduated as a Bio Major with a 3.57 GPA. I was a member of the Men's Soccer Team at Syracuse. I basically said that I would treat studying like it was a job, and put in about 6-8 hour days. This obviously varied depending on how prepared I was feeling and what was going on that day. I would study in the morning and afternoons and then do Chad's questions casually while I watch TV at night. A week before the test I barely studied, because I felt so prepared. I would look at things just to refresh.
Materials:
Chads (10/10) -- Great resource for chem and orgo (also has a bunch of questions). Highly recommend watching the chem and orgo sections. His QR videos are also pretty good if you need help with some topics (he is great at breaking things down)
DAT Bootcamp (10/10) -- Very similar to test, great resource. Scores in breakdown.
Feralis Bio Notes (8/10) -- Good as the final Bio resource as you get closer to the test. It is very detailed, but if you have a solid understanding of the info then it's not too bad. I went through it about twice pretty quickly.
Cliffs AP Bio (8/10) -- Good place to start for Bio studying. It provides you with a solid foundation of most of the concepts. I basically outlined the whole book as I read it once (1 chapter a day -- took about a month).
Crack the DAT (6/10) -- Pretty good for learning the PAT. I would start with this to get a general idea of the PAT and then move on to DAT bootcamp.
DAT Achiever (2/10) -- Terrible. Definitely not worth buying. It is so much harder then the actual test. I was getting 15's and 16's on these throughout. I took 3 tests and then gave up. It was killing my confidence.
Test Breakdown:
BIO (21): I was pretty happy with the bio section. I think I marked about 6 or 7 questions. My goal was to finish this section in 30 min, and I did it in about 25. Bootcamp is pretty representative of the types of questions you will see. I didn't have any plants, and have 2 taxonomy. There was about 3 question that I've seen before word for word. I recommend first using Cliffs and then Feralis Notes with Bootcamp.
I did the first 2 bootcamp tests before I read Cliffs, and I could see that I wasn't prepared. After reading Cliffs, I took the remaining bootcamp test (3,4,5) and my scores went up. I then did the test again for more practice and to make sure I knew the info.
Bootcamp Bio scores:
First time - Test 1 (20), Test 2 (15), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (18), Test 5 (20)
Second time - was getting about 30s on all of them.
CHEM (20): Do bootcamps and chad's and you should be fine. My goal was to finish this section in 30 min and I did it in 30 min. The test questions are very similar in difficulty bootcamp and chad's questions.
Like bio, I did the first 2 bootcamp test before I really started studying hard. After doing chads stuff bootcamp became a lot easier. I also took these tests again for practice.
Bootcamp Chem scores:
First time - Test 1 (16), Test 2 (18), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (17), Test 5 (19)
Second time - averaging 24-26
ORGO (19): As with chem, if you do bootcamp and chads you will fine. I had a couple reaction problems. I completed the section in about 25 min. The questions are very similar to chads and bootcamp
Bootcamp Orgo scores:
First time - Test 1 (16), Test 2 (19), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (20), Test 5 (20)
Second time - averaging about 24
PAT (22): I recommend using bootcamp for this section. Bootcamp is a little harder, so if you are getting good scores on there you should be fine. I went straight to angles on the test (Question 31).
Keyhole: When practicing on bootcamp, I would do terrible on the keyholes (3 and 4's out of 15). This was usually because I would do them last and run out of time. Since my actual DAT was easier, I had a full 15 min to go through all the keyholes at the end. The ones on the test were similar to bootcamp. Crack the PAT was way too easy.
TFE: A little easier to bootcamp. I would compare lines and try to visualize the figure. I would average about 10/15 on bootcamp
Angles: The angles were angles... either you can see the difference or not. I would compare the biggest or the smallest and then go from there. I would average about 11/15 on boocamp
Hole punch: I usually kill it on the bootcamp (15/15), so I wasn't too nervous about this part. I felt the actual DAT was a lot easier compared to bootcamp. I made a grid and would mark where the holes would end up.
Cube counting: For this section I wrote 1-5 and then did tally marks. I would strongly recommend this strategy. MAKE SURE YOU LOOK TO SEE WHAT FIGURE YOU ARE WORKING ON. On the test I was expecting 5 figures with 3 questions for each (like in bootcamp). On the test I got 6 figures, so some figures only had 2 questions. It would stink to give an answer for the wrong figure. I think my biggest figure was about 16 blocks. It wasn't too hard. I usually average about 13/15 on bootcamp
Pattern Folding: I had an even amount of shade questions and identifying a figure type questions. The section is pretty similar to bootcamp. I was averaging about 11-12/15 on bootcamp.
Bootcamp PAT scores:
Test 1 (19), Test 2 (19), Test 3 (18), Test 4 (18), Test 5 (20), Test 6 (19), Test 7 (18)
RC (19): I was pretty worried about this section going into the test. I did about 3 bootcamp test, and did not feel confident about them afterwards. The actual test is much easier than the bootcamp. I used search and destroy. Most answers are straight out of the passage. Timing is important with this section. If you can find an answer then skip it and move on. I skipped all t/f kind of questions and most except type questions. I finished each passage in about 20 min. My first passage was different disease, the second was about justice and ethics, and the third was about cells. I couldn't really answer any questions with just my prior knowledge (not having to look in the passage).
Bootcamp RC scores: Test 1 (18), Test 2 (16), Test 4 (19)
QR (21): I was pleasantly surprised with how easy this section was. I felt it was so much easier than bootcamp. This section is all practice. I watched chad's videos to refresh some of the concepts. There was about 4 questions that I was unsure about on the test. I had 3 unit question so make sure you know how to convert units! I had 3-4 trig questions. Nothing too terrible. I highly recommend not taking too much time on a question. The key is to skip and move on if you are stuck. The calculator is similar to bootcamps so make sure you practice beforehand.
Bootcamp QR scores: Test 1 (18), Test 2 (18), Test 3 (18)
Test notes and advice:
- I would look at some of the scores on this forum and laugh. Some of you guys are really really smart. You have to be realistic when it comes to your scores. I knew I would get around 20's based on my studying and bootcamp scores. Don't be discouraged if people are posting 30 scores, everyone is different. Getting a 30 on a section does not make you a good dentist.
- Study to the point that when you take your test, you can walk out (regardless of your scores), and have no regrets. You don't want to look bad and say I wish I worked harder.
- CALL THE TESTING CENTER BEFOREHAND AND ASK ABOUT THE MATERIALS. When practicing I used a white board and a dry erase marker (I would erase things with my finger or paper towels). Wellllllllllllllllllllll my testing center used wet erase markers. I was able to use a paper towel during the test, but I had to keep getting it wet to erase my work (it was gross, I had to continuously spit on the paper. No bueno. But hey you gotta do what you gotta do).
- My testing center did not allow me to take notes on my board during the tutorial or break
- I usually get very nervous before big events (soccer games, big tests, ect). You just have to keep reminding yourself that if you put the work in, and you will be satisfied with the results. My older brother drove me to the testing center and we were blasting music and I looked at last minute cards. It helped me relax and keep my mind off the upcoming test.
- My last piece of advice is picture the fun stuff you are going to do when you are done with the test. My brother and I literally went straight to the bar. I knew once I was done with my test, I could go be terrible at golf again, go to the beach, see friends ect. Keep these fun things in mind as you study. This will help you study harder so you can officially be done with the DAT and never have to worry about it again!
