DAT on 1/21st

[deleted816661]

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Hey!
I am a junior who will take my DAT on 1/21. I started studying for my DAT a week ago. I feel like I am very weak in biology and do not know where to start. I do not know many of the complex systems (excretory, urinary, endocrine, muscular, etc) and none of the taxonomy. In addition, I do not feel ready in general chemistry or organic chemistry. I have 35 days to learn everything. I feel like I have refreshed most of chemistry watching Chad's (watched 4 of 7 videos for general chem and 4 of 6 for ochem). I have started reading AP Barron's to remember stuff in biology (finished 2/3 of the book and have taken notes). Even though I have studied for only six days, I am not sure if it's possible. Everyone here in their breakdown says to use DAT Destroyer and I do not know when/how to use it because it seems very dense. Please help! Is it possible to be ready by then? I have currently taken genetics, biochemistry (great teacher), orgo 1 and 2, bio 1 and 2, plant molecular bio (even though I have forgotten everything). I have taken practice PAT exams with Crack DAT and have gotten consistent 21s.

Thanks!

 

[kimball]

What schedule are you following?

 

[deleted816661]

What schedule are you following?

I am following jimmpannzee. https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-3-week-ex-breakdown-aa26.975821/. He did it in 3 weeks, so hopefully I can do a bit more than him in my 6 week frame that I had to start this break with.

 

[kimball]

Okay, its definitely doable. Get through chads first, take all the quizzes as you go and make sure to read all the solutions for each question because there will be important material/exceptions not covered in the videos. Finish Barrons then start reading Feralis. Once you get through the Chads + Feralis you should reread all your notes then take all of chads quizzes again and reread feralis. Try your best to memorize the orgo reaction list from chads. After this you should have a solid enough base to start doing destroyer, you'll be getting 60-70% the first time through but that's fine, just read every solution and go back to your notes often. If you can get through destroyer in a week and half the first time you'll have plenty of time to start taking practice tests. Do a second destroyer run through, after that try to go back a third time and redo and all ones you missed.

 

[tinydancer510]

i'm taking the DAT on thursday (72 hours and counting..eek!) and here's a few helpful hints that i've discovered along the way...(side note, i've taken the DAT once before, but my scores expired. also i used kaplan to study the first time and it was a very big waste of time and a lot of money)

in my opinion, biology is the hardest to be prepared for. you can study day and night and there could still be questions on the exam that you've never seen. feralis notes are a huge help, and pretty much every single random particular fact you could ever imagine is hidden somewhere in there. but between studying for school/finals and the DAT, i simply just didn't have time to read through feralis as many times as i would have liked to. these biology crash course videos have been a HUGE help, especially in my last few days of studying. they're short (most around 11-12 minutes) and really give you a quick overview of every single topic. i listen to them all the time to try to get as much out of them as possible. the other big thing i've noticed for bio is being able to make educated guesses on questions you don't think you know, but you actually have enough knowledge to figure out. breaking down key words into parts to relate them to a certain body system or process or vocab word is very important (or so i've heard) to be able to choose correct answers when you may not have studied that specific topic. taxonomy is an overwhelming topic in itself, but the more commonalities and patterns you find and ways to relate one group to another or one feature that is common among a handful of groups, the easier it will be. there are some characteristics or specific examples that you'll start to notice appear relatively frequently in questions because of their relevance to biology.

i did terrible in orgo in school and have tried to learn it so many times and have been unsuccessful until this round of studying for the DAT. as someone above mentioned, memorizing the reactions from chad's videos is a HUGE help (i think it's a separate document from the video outlines). i know this sounds crazy, but i made a worksheet that had the name of all 102 reactions and the reactant(s) and i printed off one every single day for about 3 weeks straight and completed all 102 reactions. at the time, i hated it. it took up a good hour every single day. but at the end of the 3 weeks, i knew every single reaction like the back of my hand and cannot believe what it has done for my ochem scores. i'm a really visual learner, so i put them all in different colors and when i'm taking practice exams, i can literally picture where the reaction is situated on a page and what color it is in, and i haven't had a problem remembering a single one. also, another big help for orgo concepts like stereochemistry and pretty much everything outside of reactions are the khan academy videos. like the biology crash course, they are very helpful to listen to for topics you might be stuck on or just to have on in the background while you are doing other things as a refresher and to take a break from staring at a piece of paper all day.

destroyer is extremely useful for all of the topics, and the good part about it is there is no specific way you need to use it. you can do a couple questions here and there in your spare time, or sit down and time yourself like a practice exam. but these questions, while harder than the actual test, really fill in gaps of information as well as give you practice. i've noticed that i can study topics as much as i want, but at the end of the day, i feel like i'm making the most progress when i'm doing practice questions and learning from my mistakes.

i hope this helps! i think you can do it in 35 days if you really put the time and effort in, especially because you've taken all the sciences needed to cover the exam. after i take the DAT on thursday, if i have any more input or my opinions about any of this change, i'll be sure to check in and let you know. if you have any specific questions for me, i'd be more than happy to help! good luck studying!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Hey!
I am a junior who will take my DAT on 1/21. I started studying for my DAT a week ago. I feel like I am very weak in biology and do not know where to start. I do not know many of the complex systems (excretory, urinary, endocrine, muscular, etc) and none of the taxonomy. In addition, I do not feel ready in general chemistry or organic chemistry. I have 35 days to learn everything. I feel like I have refreshed most of chemistry watching Chad's (watched 4 of 7 videos for general chem and 4 of 6 for ochem). I have started reading AP Barron's to remember stuff in biology (finished 2/3 of the book and have taken notes). Even though I have studied for only six days, I am not sure if it's possible. Everyone here in their breakdown says to use DAT Destroyer and I do not know when/how to use it because it seems very dense. Please help! Is it possible to be ready by then? I have currently taken genetics, biochemistry (great teacher), orgo 1 and 2, bio 1 and 2, plant molecular bio (even though I have forgotten everything). I have taken practice PAT exams with Crack DAT and have gotten consistent 21s.

Thanks!

I have seen the Barron's Bio book and think it is AWESOME !!! For the General Chemistry, the easiest and clearest book is by Raymond Chang and I have also written the General Chemistry Destroyer that contains a lot of practice problems, but if you think the Destroyer is dense this might not be for you. For Organic Chemistry, I like the David Klein text book and for additional DAT-type problems the Organic Chemistry Odyssey by yours truly. You have a great GPA and have taken awesome classes, so I think a review of all this material will go fast and smooth for you. After you build a foundation, then hit the DESTROYER book and understand not only the question, but the EXPLANATION . If you get stuck on a question, your friends here at SDN are quick to help, and if I am available, I too will be honored and delighted to answer your questions.

Best Wishes !!!!

Dr. Jim Romano