DAT in less than a month, just took my first full length on DATBooster

[sunshinedental]

So my DAT is in less than 4 weeks and I just took my first full length test on DATBooster. I was using DATBootcamp towards the beginning of my studies, but it expired and I decided to try out DATBooster. I'm honestly feeling defeated after my FL, as my scores really haven't improved in the last month of practicing and reviewing content. I'm struggling the most in Biology, as I followed DATBootcamp's study program and read through the 120 pages of condensed notes, but I really didn't retain much. I'm also struggling a lot with Organic Chemistry, since I have always struggled to memorize the reactions within the course. TFE, Keyholes and Pattern Folding are still my weaknesses on the PAT section, as they eat up a lot of my time.

Long story short, I'm in need of guidance as to how to better retain the info for Bio, OC and manage my time on PAT. RC and GC have been my better areas, and I need to focus more on the pattern of QR to tackle all types of questions since I'm getting the same types of questions wrong. Should I invest in DATDestroyer or MathDestroyer? I heard they may be overkill, but I'm wondering if that's what I need so improve....

Breakdown of First Full Length:

Biology 13 (16/40)
General Chemistry 17 (19/30)
Organic Chemistry 15 (13/30)
Perceptual Ability 17 (43/90)
Reading Comprehension 19 (39/50)
Quantitative Reasoning 13 (19/40)
AA (according to DATBooster) 16

Does anyone know if the grading scale on DATBooster is a bit different than DATBootcamp? I received a 22 on RC (twice) with a 39/50, the same as what I scored on DATBooster.

Thank you for your help and guidance!

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[ChemistryDentist]

Always make sure to take any score you get from a practice test with a grain of salt - they may not be actually predictive of your score on test day, and can easily be inflated or deflated compared to what you will actually get.

That being said, the number of questions you got wrong in each section is definitely concerning if your exam is coming up. FRom your descriptions, it seems like you don't have a great foundation in bio, QR, or OC, which is vital to those an all of these sections. Practice test scores tell you even less about your performance if you have not retained much from studying, unfortunately.

I think it would be a good idea for you to spend some time back on the basics before going into more problems, even if that means pushing your test back some - it really is that important. You should take notes on the materials you are studying, try to understand what you don't quite get, and buff out those weaknesses as much as possible, regardless of the resource you use. Given the sections you seem to be struggling most with, I would highly recommending getting the DAT and Math Destroyers. They were frankly lifesavers for me, and really helped me build a foundation in the concepts rather than relying on what I may have gotten on a practice test score. That said, they're still no magic bullet - you need to take the time to understand every question and answer in that book, and you should probably go through it at least twice. There are also free associated resources that could help facilitate some of that - the Dynamite Bio review and YouTube channel with all of the subjects covered, just to name a few. I think they'd be worth your time!

Hopefully this hasn't been too discouraging! I know studying for the DAT puts a lot of people in a rough space and time, but it is truly possible to do well on the exam. Just takes some time, focus, and a whole lot of studying. Best of luck!

 

[Tyson_Brown]

Everything ChemistryDentist stated is great advice.
If possible, I would try to push your exam back a few weeks to give yourself enough time to really sharpen up on the areas that you are lacking in.

I would also get the Destroyer books if you have the funds. While they do consist of difficult questions, I think that they are an extremely valuable resource. It gets you in the rhythm of seeing a question and knowing what to do immediately to figure out a way to answer it (in terms of the OC/GC/QR sections). For Bio, the Destroyer books really helped me in terms of exposing me to a wide array of questions/topics and when I would read the answers to each question, it would almost be like a mini review of the given topic. The answers provided in the Destroyer books are very informative and will help you freshen up/learn more about certain topics.

I would also go over the questions you got wrong in your first practice test and note the topics you need to work on/review (especially for Bio). Bio is something that you will probably be reviewing up until test day because it's all about breathe of information. Keep chipping away at the topics that you struggle with until you begin to feel comfortable with certain topics that you didn't before.

For OC, you could watch the Booster videos about reaction mechanisms so that you understand why certain reactions occur in the way that they do (SN2 etc.) so that you are able to apply that logic to other reactions. Also you can use the ANKI set of OC cards that Booster has linked to help you with memorizing the reactions that you need to know. This will provide you with a lot of repetition so that you are able to memorize those reactions.

For PAT, make sure you are doing questions from the generators everyday so that you become comfortable with figuring out how to answer the questions. This will also build on your speed. Also understand the "Golden Rule" that Booster states in their pattern folding videos. If I remember correctly, the rule has to do with knowing that the shapes are folding into the page so that if you see an answer choice that is a mirror or flipped image of part of the unfolded image, then it must be wrong and you can immediately cross it off. If that doesn't make sense, then there should be a video about in on Booster. In terms of Keyholes, I always chose to answer those questions last because they differences in the answer choices always felt nuanced and subtle so they end up taking a lot of your time if you start by answering those questions first. It's all about time on the PAT, so save yourself some time by just putting that sections last if it seems like you are spending a lot of time on those questions and still getting them wrong. For TFE, I would go back over the TFE section from your practice tests to see how to actually do each problem. Take your time and figure out a strategy that works for you. What I realized after a while was that in the TFE section, there is usually one or two differences in each answer choice. So if you find one difference (ex. two of the choices have a solid line, while the other two choices have a dashed line), then go back and see if there should be a solid or dashed line, then eliminate half of your answers right away if you figure out what it should be. Then you will find another difference between the last two answers left and then you check to see which answer should be correct. I think that makes a little sense.

Anyway keep pushing and working towards improving the areas that you are lacking in. I believe in you and you should also. Put the time in and it will pay off!

 

[sunshinedental]

Always make sure to take any score you get from a practice test with a grain of salt - they may not be actually predictive of your score on test day, and can easily be inflated or deflated compared to what you will actually get.

That being said, the number of questions you got wrong in each section is definitely concerning if your exam is coming up. FRom your descriptions, it seems like you don't have a great foundation in bio, QR, or OC, which is vital to those an all of these sections. Practice test scores tell you even less about your performance if you have not retained much from studying, unfortunately.

I think it would be a good idea for you to spend some time back on the basics before going into more problems, even if that means pushing your test back some - it really is that important. You should take notes on the materials you are studying, try to understand what you don't quite get, and buff out those weaknesses as much as possible, regardless of the resource you use. Given the sections you seem to be struggling most with, I would highly recommending getting the DAT and Math Destroyers. They were frankly lifesavers for me, and really helped me build a foundation in the concepts rather than relying on what I may have gotten on a practice test score. That said, they're still no magic bullet - you need to take the time to understand every question and answer in that book, and you should probably go through it at least twice. There are also free associated resources that could help facilitate some of that - the Dynamite Bio review and YouTube channel with all of the subjects covered, just to name a few. I think they'd be worth your time!

Hopefully this hasn't been too discouraging! I know studying for the DAT puts a lot of people in a rough space and time, but it is truly possible to do well on the exam. Just takes some time, focus, and a whole lot of studying. Best of luck!

I'm definitely going to take the next few days to review my exam and focus in on the concepts that I need more work with! Your advice means a lot, I greatly appreciate it

 

[sunshinedental]

Everything ChemistryDentist stated is great advice.
If possible, I would try to push your exam back a few weeks to give yourself enough time to really sharpen up on the areas that you are lacking in.

I would also get the Destroyer books if you have the funds. While they do consist of difficult questions, I think that they are an extremely valuable resource. It gets you in the rhythm of seeing a question and knowing what to do immediately to figure out a way to answer it (in terms of the OC/GC/QR sections). For Bio, the Destroyer books really helped me in terms of exposing me to a wide array of questions/topics and when I would read the answers to each question, it would almost be like a mini review of the given topic. The answers provided in the Destroyer books are very informative and will help you freshen up/learn more about certain topics.

I would also go over the questions you got wrong in your first practice test and note the topics you need to work on/review (especially for Bio). Bio is something that you will probably be reviewing up until test day because it's all about breathe of information. Keep chipping away at the topics that you struggle with until you begin to feel comfortable with certain topics that you didn't before.

For OC, you could watch the Booster videos about reaction mechanisms so that you understand why certain reactions occur in the way that they do (SN2 etc.) so that you are able to apply that logic to other reactions. Also you can use the ANKI set of OC cards that Booster has linked to help you with memorizing the reactions that you need to know. This will provide you with a lot of repetition so that you are able to memorize those reactions.

For PAT, make sure you are doing questions from the generators everyday so that you become comfortable with figuring out how to answer the questions. This will also build on your speed. Also understand the "Golden Rule" that Booster states in their pattern folding videos. If I remember correctly, the rule has to do with knowing that the shapes are folding into the page so that if you see an answer choice that is a mirror or flipped image of part of the unfolded image, then it must be wrong and you can immediately cross it off. If that doesn't make sense, then there should be a video about in on Booster. In terms of Keyholes, I always chose to answer those questions last because they differences in the answer choices always felt nuanced and subtle so they end up taking a lot of your time if you start by answering those questions first. It's all about time on the PAT, so save yourself some time by just putting that sections last if it seems like you are spending a lot of time on those questions and still getting them wrong. For TFE, I would go back over the TFE section from your practice tests to see how to actually do each problem. Take your time and figure out a strategy that works for you. What I realized after a while was that in the TFE section, there is usually one or two differences in each answer choice. So if you find one difference (ex. two of the choices have a solid line, while the other two choices have a dashed line), then go back and see if there should be a solid or dashed line, then eliminate half of your answers right away if you figure out what it should be. Then you will find another difference between the last two answers left and then you check to see which answer should be correct. I think that makes a little sense.

Anyway keep pushing and working towards improving the areas that you are lacking in. I believe in you and you should also. Put the time in and it will pay off!

This was super helpful, I wasn't aware of the OC ANKI set so I will definitely be using that throughout the remainder of my studying! I really am struggling with how to go through the PAT section most efficiently, so I'll keep that in mind. I recently watched the Booster videos for Pattern Folding so I'm going to work on those every day to try to master the technique. As far as DATDestroyer goes, do you think I'll have enough time to go through the book at least once before my exam? I'm starting my summer class next week (Biochemistry!!!) and really don't want to push my exam back any further than I already have, since I'm worried it's going to be harder to balance as the course picks up. For biology I'm planning on reading through and annotating the Feralis chapter notes on DATBooster and hoping that content helps me moving forward!

Also I looked through your score breakdown and you did wonderful, congratulations on well earned scores!!!

 

[LeagueofLigTies]

I found my real dat scores to be 2-3 points higher than my bootcamp scores. I honestly think it comes down to luck on the material you get the day of the exam

 

[Tyson_Brown]

This was super helpful, I wasn't aware of the OC ANKI set so I will definitely be using that throughout the remainder of my studying! I really am struggling with how to go through the PAT section most efficiently, so I'll keep that in mind. I recently watched the Booster videos for Pattern Folding so I'm going to work on those every day to try to master the technique. As far as DATDestroyer goes, do you think I'll have enough time to go through the book at least once before my exam? I'm starting my summer class next week (Biochemistry!!!) and really don't want to push my exam back any further than I already have, since I'm worried it's going to be harder to balance as the course picks up. For biology I'm planning on reading through and annotating the Feralis chapter notes on DATBooster and hoping that content helps me moving forward!

Also I looked through your score breakdown and you did wonderful, congratulations on well earned scores!!!

Umm honestly, I forget how long it took me to get through the Destroyer book once. I followed the Booster study schedule for getting through Destroyer, so take a look at that part of the schedule and see how they break down each section on that schedule (they assign a certain amt of questions per day). You'll be able to see how long it would take using that schedule to get through it once (you go through the book twice using the whole schedule), so that you can modify the amt of questions you need to do per day to get through the Destroyer book

 

[sunshinedental]

Umm honestly, I forget how long it took me to get through the Destroyer book once. I followed the Booster study schedule for getting through Destroyer, so take a look at that part of the schedule and see how they break down each section on that schedule (they assign a certain amt of questions per day). You'll be able to see how long it would take using that schedule to get through it once (you go through the book twice using the whole schedule), so that you can modify the amt of questions you need to do per day to get through the Destroyer book

Awesome, thanks so much again!