DAT in 3 days :(

[dentisthopeful123!]

My DAT is on June 5th and I'm very nervous about it as most people are. I have studied for about a month for about 10 hours a day. I have used the Kaplan self paced (watched all of the videos & read the review book), watched chad's videos for gen chem, ochem, and quant, and read feralis notes. I have taken around 8 practice tests so far. The Kaplan practice test that I took today: 22 Bio, 19 Gen chem, 20 Ochem, TS 21, PAT 21, RC 22, 14 QR, and 19 AA. All of my scores have recently been fairly consistent around this range other than QR. Sometimes I get a 14 in QR and sometimes I get an 18 or 20. The inconsistency is really worrying me & i'm not sure what my problem is. What are some good and quick methods to tackling QR? I also was told that PAT is A LOT harder on the real thing. I don't really struggle with PAT, but the only resource I have used is Kaplan. I only have a few days left, is it worth it to spend time practicing more or should I focus in the sciences? I am really nervous and any advice would be great!! My gpa is a 3.72 and I am applying this cycle so I don't really have the option to retake.

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[ColdToast]

Your scores are awesome! you will do great on the DAT but use these next days wisely! I would recommend going over the top studying for the QR section since it will give you the most bang for your time.

For math I made a 17 on the 2009 practice DAT 5 days before my test but made a 28 on the actual. there are only a few basic types of problems that you will see. If you don't know how do do them spend some time learning how to do them. Once I had the basics down, i took 3-4 practice math tests a day leading up to the exam, always working to improve timing. Get comfortable skipping problems because there are lots of easy points you should go for first. By the time i got to the end of my test on the actual DAT I had more than 10 marked questions but I also had 10 minutes left. This should be your goal to have 5 - 10 minutes left by the end. Now you only need to solve 4 or 5 of the hard ones to get into the 20 range. I used the DAT Destroyer (2017 worked in 40 problem blocks) and DAT bootcamp but Im sure you could get the same results with different material if you can find a large enough question bank. (also used math destroyer and topscore when i first started but both of those were a waste of time). In just 5 days I improved 11 points!

Dont forget about quantitative comparison. Be familiar with this format so it doesn't shock you if you see it on the test.

Hope this helps

 

[Bingwen]

I agree with ColdToast. PAT is just something that requires time to get better at. Chances are your are better off putting in the time for QR. The big thing with QR, as in any math class, is practice. Do as many practice problems as you can and really try to focus on the parts that you are struggling with. Most of all keep calm. The more worked up you get in QR the harder it gets. Your other scores look good

 

[davdango]

I agree with the people who replied. Practicing helps a lot! I would do Math Destroyer. Also 2009 DAT has a really hard QR section. Best of luck!

 

[murra651]

Make sure you let us know how you do, Best of luck on Monday!

 

[CU2times]

Agree with coldtoast on the new quantitative comparison questions - I had several! And most are fairly easy points, but you have to familiarize yourself with them beforehand so you can get through them quickly. There's one type of those questions that gives you instructions on how to approach the question ...it's literally a paragraph at the beginning of the question and I didn't realize that it was instructional (and not the actual question) until I had wasted 10 seconds reading it, so beware of that.
Try to force yourself to do what coldtoast is saying, mark and come back to questions that you're unsure of or know will take a long time. I could never force myself to do this and ALWAYS ran out of time and lost points on easy questions at the end of the exam ..this happened to me on test day too but I still pulled a 20 on QR and never made better than a 19 on any practice test (and I took them all - 2009, 2007, all bootcamp) so hopefully that will boost your confidence. Good luck!!

 

[Jlm50]

My DAT is on June 5th and I'm very nervous about it as most people are. I have studied for about a month for about 10 hours a day. I have used the Kaplan self paced (watched all of the videos & read the review book), watched chad's videos for gen chem, ochem, and quant, and read feralis notes. I have taken around 8 practice tests so far. The Kaplan practice test that I took today: 22 Bio, 19 Gen chem, 20 Ochem, TS 21, PAT 21, RC 22, 14 QR, and 19 AA. All of my scores have recently been fairly consistent around this range other than QR. Sometimes I get a 14 in QR and sometimes I get an 18 or 20. The inconsistency is really worrying me & i'm not sure what my problem is. What are some good and quick methods to tackling QR? I also was told that PAT is A LOT harder on the real thing. I don't really struggle with PAT, but the only resource I have used is Kaplan. I only have a few days left, is it worth it to spend time practicing more or should I focus in the sciences? I am really nervous and any advice would be great!! My gpa is a 3.72 and I am applying this cycle so I don't really have the option to retake.

How did you do?? I take mine on Thursday and am terrified.

 

[Pddyckes16]

Agree with coldtoast on the new quantitative comparison questions - I had several! And most are fairly easy points, but you have to familiarize yourself with them beforehand so you can get through them quickly. There's one type of those questions that gives you instructions on how to approach the question ...it's literally a paragraph at the beginning of the question and I didn't realize that it was instructional (and not the actual question) until I had wasted 10 seconds reading it, so beware of that.
Try to force yourself to do what coldtoast is saying, mark and come back to questions that you're unsure of or know will take a long time. I could never force myself to do this and ALWAYS ran out of time and lost points on easy questions at the end of the exam ..this happened to me on test day too but I still pulled a 20 on QR and never made better than a 19 on any practice test (and I took them all - 2009, 2007, all bootcamp) so hopefully that will boost your confidence. Good luck!!

You give me hope!! I can't hit above a 19 (except one time I magically got a 22 idk how). Do you know what got you the 20? Skipping the questions or was the test easier? I need reassurance lol

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

Hi everyone!! thank you all for your help. I honestly wish I would have took your advice more carefully and only practice quant these last few days or I wouldnt be where I am right now haha. I was thrown A LOT of curveballs on the quant section and I will be honest my score is very bad. I took the 2009 practice test trying to triage and got my QR to a 17 so I thought that the new technique would work for me on the real thing and kind of just let it go. Well I thought wrong lol. I got a 15 in QR, 19 PAT, 25 RC, 20 BIO, 21 GCHEM, 20 OCHEM, TS 20 and AA 20. So I guess the place that I am now is, is there any chance I will get into a dental school with a 15 in QR. Ive worked so hard and I really don't want to retake just for one lousy score. Has anyone/heard of anyone getting in with a 15 in QR? Thanks.

 

[Bingwen]

I have heard of it happening though it isn't common. QR is one that, from my experience talking with people and admissions, doesn't have the significance that the other scores have. One thing I would do though, is call the schools you want to apply to and ask if that will be a deal breaker.

If you GPA is good and the rest of your application is good I think you still have a chance.

 

[mahveen]

Hi everyone!! thank you all for your help. I honestly wish I would have took your advice more carefully and only practice quant these last few days or I wouldnt be where I am right now haha. I was thrown A LOT of curveballs on the quant section and I will be honest my score is very bad. I took the 2009 practice test trying to triage and got my QR to a 17 so I thought that the new technique would work for me on the real thing and kind of just let it go. Well I thought wrong lol. I got a 15 in QR, 19 PAT, 25 RC, 20 BIO, 21 GCHEM, 20 OCHEM, TS 20 and AA 20. So I guess the place that I am now is, is there any chance I will get into a dental school with a 15 in QR. Ive worked so hard and I really don't want to retake just for one lousy score. Has anyone/heard of anyone getting in with a 15 in QR? Thanks.

Great scores! Don't let the 15 put you down! I wanted to ask how similar were each of the sections compared to dat bootcamp? Specifically the reading section because I am not able to break a score greater than 18 and I am hardcore struggling. What method did you chose to use?

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

Great scores! Don't let the 15 put you down! I wanted to ask how similar were each of the sections compared to dat bootcamp? Specifically the reading section because I am not able to break a score greater than 18 and I am hardcore struggling. What method did you chose to use?

I actually only used Kaplan self paced. I didn't use DAT bootcamp so I'm not sure how it compares. but thank you! If you are consistently scoring an 18 I think you will be okay. the RC on mine was soo easy, dont worry!! you will kill it

 

[keep learning]

great score, only QR is a little low. I do have the same question, is the RC part more difficult or easier than Bootcamp test? How many paragraphs did you get in RC? you got a really good score in this part, which is what a lot of schools like!

 

[mahveen]

I actually only used Kaplan self paced. I didn't use DAT bootcamp so I'm not sure how it compares. but thank you! If you are consistently scoring an 18 I think you will be okay. the RC on mine was soo easy, dont worry!! you will kill it

were gen chem and bio mostly conceptual or actual problems?

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

were gen chem and bio mostly conceptual or actual problems?

definitely conceptual. i think 2009 practice test is really comparable for the sciences

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

great score, only QR is a little low. I do have the same question, is the RC part more difficult or easier than Bootcamp test? How many paragraphs did you get in RC? you got a really good score in this part, which is what a lot of schools like!

i only used kaplan! I did like 8 full length practice tests so I think that really helped practice the reading, other than that I didnt really do anything to practice for reading.

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

also everyone, if you havent yet... WATCH CHADS VIDEOS FOR GENCHEM!!!!! i was scoring 14-15 on genchem on every practice test before I watched the videos and ended up scoring in the 20's consistently after. It will save ur life.

 

[dentalstar100]

Hi everyone!! thank you all for your help. I honestly wish I would have took your advice more carefully and only practice quant these last few days or I wouldnt be where I am right now haha. I was thrown A LOT of curveballs on the quant section and I will be honest my score is very bad. I took the 2009 practice test trying to triage and got my QR to a 17 so I thought that the new technique would work for me on the real thing and kind of just let it go. Well I thought wrong lol. I got a 15 in QR, 19 PAT, 25 RC, 20 BIO, 21 GCHEM, 20 OCHEM, TS 20 and AA 20. So I guess the place that I am now is, is there any chance I will get into a dental school with a 15 in QR. Ive worked so hard and I really don't want to retake just for one lousy score. Has anyone/heard of anyone getting in with a 15 in QR? Thanks.

my dat is on sunday, worried about QR. Did yours have a lot of trig/geometry? Any advice for QR?

 

[Pddyckes16]

Do you have any advice for RC? How were your passages? I am really struggling on RC!!

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

my dat is on sunday, worried about QR. Did yours have a lot of trig/geometry? Any advice for QR?

I had like 2 trig and 1 geometry questions. I had like 5-6 quantitative comparison questions though.

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

Do you have any advice for RC? How were your passages? I am really struggling on RC!!

They were very easy to navigate. My strategy is just to read/skim each passage in 3 minutes that way you have a minute per question. The answers to the questions are word for word in the paragraphs & very easy to find for the most part, at least on my test.

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

these were my scores for all of my practice tests! good luck to anyone who hasn't taken it yet.

 

[dentalstar100]

Hi everyone!! thank you all for your help. I honestly wish I would have took your advice more carefully and only practice quant these last few days or I wouldnt be where I am right now haha. I was thrown A LOT of curveballs on the quant section and I will be honest my score is very bad. I took the 2009 practice test trying to triage and got my QR to a 17 so I thought that the new technique would work for me on the real thing and kind of just let it go. Well I thought wrong lol. I got a 15 in QR, 19 PAT, 25 RC, 20 BIO, 21 GCHEM, 20 OCHEM, TS 20 and AA 20. So I guess the place that I am now is, is there any chance I will get into a dental school with a 15 in QR. Ive worked so hard and I really don't want to retake just for one lousy score. Has anyone/heard of anyone getting in with a 15 in QR? Thanks.

what resource did you use to study for QR? just kaplan?

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

what resource did you use to study for QR? just kaplan?

Yeah kaplan and I watched chad's videos for QR too, but honestly it wasn't very helpful until like the last video for me. Honestly, not trying to scare you, but the real QR was VERY HARD and I really don't think that any materials that I had would of prepared me for that test. I would try math destroyer or another resource for QR like others have said. I can't speak on them, but I know what I had was insufficient.

 

[dentisthopeful123!]

Just wanted to go back and post this for any nervous pre-dents reading this thread, and beginning to study for the DAT- you CAN get into dental school with a 15 on QR! I actually was accepted to four dental schools on December 1st! Good luck and happy studying!!!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Just wanted to go back and post this for any nervous pre-dents reading this thread, and beginning to study for the DAT- you CAN get into dental school with a 15 on QR! I actually was accepted to four dental schools on December 1st! Good luck and happy studying!!!

Congratulations!

 

[htorres89]

Just curious, do you remember if you happened to come across any trigonometry or geometry?