LeslyS
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DAT Retake in 2 months! (18AA/TS to 20 AA/TS)
Hello hello everyone! This year has been chaotic to say the least; 2022 will be the year I associate with my crazy DAT journey. Hope this breakdown can provide some relief and helpful tips to anyone and everyone. You got this too! 🙂First DAT: 18AA | 18 TS | 20 PAT | 16 BIO | 20 GC | 18 OC | 17 QR | 19 RC
After getting my results, I was devastated because I spent 7 months studying and ended up deciding to retake and wait till next cycle. The resource I used for attempt one was only DAT Bootcamp. Studying the first time, I was working full-time and did not follow any schedule. I basically would just do as-much as I could do, but found myself loosing focus and forgetting information because I would study from 7pm to maybe around 12am. I had only completed 6 Bootcamp full-lengths before test. During the test, I felt like I was overthinking all my answers because the Bootcamp questions/FL were way harder in my opinion.
Second DAT: 20 AA | 20 TS | 18 PAT | 19 BIO | 20 GC | 24 OC | 19 QR | 17 RC
WHAT I CHANGED: I decided to use DAT Booster as my main resource and DAT Destroyer only for math. Best decision tbh, I was a bit skeptical at first because its like the newer program. This time I decided I was going to follow a strict 8 week schedule and ask for 2 months time off from work. I knew I needed to prioritize my exam first and that the 8 week schedule would make sure I cover all the material and not study “blind”. I followed the 8 week schedule and incorporated 1 free day for the first month, but the second month I ended up studying every single day (because I decided to study instead of having a free day).
**I did give myself a break before I started my 2 months studying. I was very burnt out and need this time for self-care to socialize w my friends. **
DAT Booster content extremely prepared me! I felt comfortable during my exam and ran into no timing. I actually finished science w 6 mins, I decided not to go back because I didn’t want to change any answers. The full-lengths were very similar, especially the last 5, to real exam and the explanations were short and straight to the point. They added a lot more math, biology and orgo questions!! It is a great resource for the price and the team is always working around the clock to answer any questions you may have.
Biology (16—>19): I knew this section would require the most time! I read the Feralis notes twice, just like the schedule said, and did all the questions banks while covering the topics. While learning topics, I made my own study materials like flashcards Study & Functions (drawings/bullet points), take notes on the videos, and made my own Diversity of Life notes (Taxonomy: PCPNAMAEC R* and fill-in Phylum Plantae and Fungi chart). When I did the question banks, I also kept a notebook with marked/wrong questions and read through the explanations/jotted notes. Biology is repetition, repetition, repetition! I made it “fun” by buying clear sticky notes and colorful highlighters haha. If I didn’t understand something fully, I would lookup a crash course or YouTube video. I also made it a goal to review the DAT Booster Anki cards once during learning period, and when I did the cards, I would jot my thoughts or make acronyms.
Two weeks before my exam, I reviewed DAT CheatSheets everyday, reviewed Anki 3-4 hours daily on my weaker subjects (my own notes on the cards helped jumble my memory. While taking full I took notes on marked/wrong, watched any corresponding videos and reviewed notes.
Two days before my exam I reviewed the last 5 exams, all marked QB questions and my notebook.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND DAT BIOLOGY CRASH COURSE! I went to Part 1 Structure & Functions three days before my exam and it was super helpful! I saw similar questions on my real exam.
Gen Chem (20 —> 20): To be honest, because I did well the first time I didn’t spend much time to this section. I did follow the schedule, but I found myself going through the content pretty fast. I did make a study. I did not use Anki or flashcards for Gen Chem. What I did towards the end was make a summary sheet of each chapter with equations and kept a notebook of DAT Booster problems I had a hard-time understanding/got wrong. I quickly realized that the formatting of the question don’t really change for certain topics. What I did use as an extra resource was Chad’s videos! He provided a lot of examples for learning which was very helpful since I am a visual learner. The week before my exam, I redid all the gen chem question banks and then made a study guide from the types of questions I would get wrong. I would try to think of ways they might ask the question differently and/or write steps on how to solve the question faster w any shortcuts I found.
O Chem (18—>24): THIS WAS A PLEASANT SURPRISE! On my full lengths, the highest score I had received was a 20. I watched all the videos, did all the questions (kept a notebook), wrote my own notes for certain sections. I tried to used Anki, but I found myself learning better when I was applying it with questions and was able to understand the patterns. I did do all the question banks two times each, during learning period and the last week before my exam! Also, two weeks before my exam I would study the DAT Booster Orgo reaction sheets and color code the differences.
*PAT (20—>18): Welp, on my full-lengths I was averaging a 20, but I also didn’t study for this except for FL. I just didn’t feel like I had enough time, and I wanted to prioritize my TS scores. I will say, I got more floating cubes on my real exam than I expected.
QR (17—>19): I felt lost my first attempt, I didn’t feel prepared. The second time I made sure to take this section more seriously. I did all the DAT Booster QB and made flashcards by question type (Example: Coins) then how to solve. DAT Booster had great shortcuts and did a great job of exposing you the various ways questions can be asked.
For extra practice, I did DAT Destroyer 2022 math questions. I felt like the questions weren’t that hard after having completed all DAT Booster questions. It gave me a little confidence 🙂
*RC (19 —>17): Welp again, this score also dropped. I was surprised by this score. I felt vert prepared going in, I had done all the DAT Booster practice and full-lengths and had scores anywhere from 19-26. I think what went wrong during my exam was that I became use to the small print on my full-lengths, the exam was not similar, and the passage were extremely longer on the real one. I quickly became anxious during this section and sadily I think it got the best of me. 🙁
Overall: I am so happy that I showed improvement on my science scores and overall! Having the support of my work place, family and friends meant the world to me. I will be honest, it was not easy staying disciplined and dedicated to studying like a full-time job. But I always felt good knowing I was able to check things off my excel schedule. I cried many times, especially the last two weeks, and didn’t see any huge improvement until my last 3 full-lengths. I have always had a problem w exam time anxiety, but I feel like the DAT Booster program helped me overcome it! I felt like I knew what questions were likely to come up for the sciences.
If you are a retake, I highly suggest assessing what you can do differently! To everyone just know all your hard work and dedication will pay off! It is a temporary sacrifice for a life-long career of happiness, literally changing lives on smile at a time! Don’t ever give-up on your dreams! <3
