DAT Score/Retake

[dent56171]

Hi everyone,

I just recently took the DAT and received a rather upsetting score, 17 AA. Studied in 2017 however, went on a trip for a month and so only had one month to review and take practice tests. I did not take as many practice exams on DAT bootcamp as I wanted and only took 2 full length. I have a GPAc- 3.52/GPAs-3.3 and I am looking to apply this June and retake the DAT by first week of July. For extracurriculars I have volunteered at several healthcare facilities (100 hrs), member of a few clubs, shadowed 2 dentists last summer (150 hrs), Research Asisstant, and obtained a CNA certification. How can I improve my scores in these few months to achieve a 20+ and strengthen my application before I apply as my GPA is quite low? Also, will this 17 affect my application even if I retake and do improve? My scores are below:

PAT- 16
QR- 15
RC- 20
Bio- 16
Gen chem- 16
Org- 16
AA- 17

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[deleted903013]

Practice, practice, and practice. You should do every bootcamp exam more than once, do PAT generators daily, do destroyer for GC, OC, and QR more than once, and read cliff's for bio more than once.

 

[Futuredentist(hopefully)]

For PAT's i started with Crack dat Pat. The problems were simpler and really got me to understand the basics then i moved on to bootcamp Pat and did each exam once and went over TFE, keyhole, and PF on each one of the exams once again since those were my weakest. I also did 30 angles a day through generators to keep me sharp lol. By the time i finished crack dat i was getting around 23 at the end on those but they are easy in comparison so that ended up being like a 19 in Bootcamp when i transitioned over. But when i finished BC Pat i was gettin 21-23 on BC and got a 23 on my actual.
For Bio this was my weakest subject from the get go. i had a month to bring up my average of a 16-17 up. So i split the feralis notes into 7 sections and read one section twice thoroughly a day. I also made flashcards for all of destroyer and Boot camp questions. Not just the questions but the wrong answers too and why they were wrong. ended up getting a 20 on actual.
For GC not gunna lie i kinda winged it(shouldnt have). THought it would be easy for me but realized a week b4 that it wasnt my best subject so i just did BC tests and read through explanations the day and night b4 my exam and ended up getting a 20 on my actual.
For orgo its hard to say. I killed orgo in my university at rutgers and did well enough to become a TA for my professor so now i currently teach it also i took it pretty recently so its fresh in my head. Doing BC tests on without any practice i was always gettin mid to high 20's and on my actual one i got a 27. Really didnt put too much effort into this one so i would look elsewhere for adive on this subject.
For RC- didnt study or prep for this until the week b4. Not gunna lie got a little concerned when i wasnt scoring well (17-19). But when i took it my actual one was much easier to follow and in order too.
For QR, i did all the destroyer tests and BC tests. I marked 4-8 questions on each exam that i either got wrong or thought was challenging enough to review once more. I would go over all these questions after a finished all the exams on a regular basis. My actual exam was very similair to the BC problems but for some reason i felt that all my problems required a little more work which made me run out of time. i was expecting QR to bring my score up expecting to get at least a 22 but it was my worst subject and ended up getting a 19.
My total stats are: PAT: 23. BIO: 20. Chem: 20. ORGO: 27. RC: 21. QR:19. AA: 21

 

[dent56171]

For PAT's i started with Crack dat Pat. The problems were simpler and really got me to understand the basics then i moved on to bootcamp Pat and did each exam once and went over TFE, keyhole, and PF on each one of the exams once again since those were my weakest. I also did 30 angles a day through generators to keep me sharp lol. By the time i finished crack dat i was getting around 23 at the end on those but they are easy in comparison so that ended up being like a 19 in Bootcamp when i transitioned over. But when i finished BC Pat i was gettin 21-23 on BC and got a 23 on my actual.
For Bio this was my weakest subject from the get go. i had a month to bring up my average of a 16-17 up. So i split the feralis notes into 7 sections and read one section twice thoroughly a day. I also made flashcards for all of destroyer and Boot camp questions. Not just the questions but the wrong answers too and why they were wrong. ended up getting a 20 on actual.
For GC not gunna lie i kinda winged it(shouldnt have). THought it would be easy for me but realized a week b4 that it wasnt my best subject so i just did BC tests and read through explanations the day and night b4 my exam and ended up getting a 20 on my actual.
For orgo its hard to say. I killed orgo in my university at rutgers and did well enough to become a TA for my professor so now i currently teach it also i took it pretty recently so its fresh in my head. Doing BC tests on without any practice i was always gettin mid to high 20's and on my actual one i got a 27. Really didnt put too much effort into this one so i would look elsewhere for adive on this subject.
For RC- didnt study or prep for this until the week b4. Not gunna lie got a little concerned when i wasnt scoring well (17-19). But when i took it my actual one was much easier to follow and in order too.
For QR, i did all the destroyer tests and BC tests. I marked 4-8 questions on each exam that i either got wrong or thought was challenging enough to review once more. I would go over all these questions after a finished all the exams on a regular basis. My actual exam was very similair to the BC problems but for some reason i felt that all my problems required a little more work which made me run out of time. i was expecting QR to bring my score up expecting to get at least a 22 but it was my worst subject and ended up getting a 19.
My total stats are: PAT: 23. BIO: 20. Chem: 20. ORGO: 27. RC: 21. QR:19. AA: 21

Okay this helps! And how long did you study for? I took the DAT a few days ago and so I was planning on starting studying lightly in April again as my semester ends in the first week of May and then doing more in the months of May and June. Do you think it would be smart to take the exam in June or July?

 

[Futuredentist(hopefully)]

So i took a dat course that was payed for in from my tuition at my school during the fall semseter so that helped and gave us a ton of resources for free. During that semester i had orgo and other sciences sciences classes to take care of so i barely studied during the fall. At the end of the semester i was averaging 17 for bio, 19 for chem, 22-23 for orgo, 19-20 for Pat, and 19 for QR. I signed up for my Dat in november for Early February and once winter break started i did nonstop studying like 9 hours a day. When the spring semester started (january 17th) i straight up didnt do sh** for those classes and kept studying until my day of the exam but dialed it down to 6 hours a day during the 1st two weeks of the semester. so pretty much i studied hard core for one month and raised my stats from those^ to the ones in my last comment. Ik for QR my stats didnt increase compared to my actual but for bootcamp i was doing rather well near the end. I think a month and a half maybe 2 should do the trick for you! but idk when you shoudl take it, i hear applying early in the cycle has its benefits so im not sure if you should wait to take it and apply late or take it earlier with less studying time to apply early.

 

[dent56171]

So i took a dat course that was payed for in from my tuition at my school during the fall semseter so that helped and gave us a ton of resources for free. During that semester i had orgo and other sciences sciences classes to take care of so i barely studied during the fall. At the end of the semester i was averaging 17 for bio, 19 for chem, 22-23 for orgo, 19-20 for Pat, and 19 for QR. I signed up for my Dat in november for Early February and once winter break started i did nonstop studying like 9 hours a day. When the spring semester started (january 17th) i straight up didnt do sh** for those classes and kept studying until my day of the exam but dialed it down to 6 hours a day during the 1st two weeks of the semester. so pretty much i studied hard core for one month and raised my stats from those^ to the ones in my last comment. Ik for QR my stats didnt increase compared to my actual but for bootcamp i was doing rather well near the end. I think a month and a half maybe 2 should do the trick for you! but idk when you shoudl take it, i hear applying early in the cycle has its benefits so im not sure if you should wait to take it and apply late or take it earlier with less studying time to apply early.

I definitely want to apply early with my GPA on the lower side so I will most likely take it again in June or July! Thanks!

 

[899424]

Yes, the Destroyer really does help! If it wasn't for the DAT Destroyer, I would be crying myself to sleep every night.

 

[Futuredentist(hopefully)]

I definitely want to apply early with my GPA on the lower side so I will most likely take it again in June or July! Thanks!

anytime no problem at all! what schools doo you plan on applying to?

 

[debitcard]

I would recommend to retake the DAT and aim for 19+ for all sections.
PAT: Some people tell you to use crack the PAT, but I would focus more on DAT Bootcamp's generators. I was scoring very low in the beginning, but I practiced 15 min per section everyday, and it just clicked after 2 months of constant practice. There are no shortcuts for this section. Just practice everyday and you will see your score improving.

QR: Here again, use Bootcamp. And read all the explanation and write down the explanation & understand the questions you got wrong! Also, I would study stats on youtube first. My exam had multiple stats questions, so touch on the basics like probability, permutation, standard deviation.

Bio: make sure to drill down your fundamentals using cliffs. After each chapter, make a quizlet and just go through them whenever you have time (before you sleep, while walking to library, while eating, etc.) Also, don't use other people's quizlet. Create your own! This will help you study a LOT! After cliffs, i would move on to dr. romano's (if you are time constraint) if you have more time, use ferrlais notes. (scored 23 Bio)

GChem & OChem: Use Both destroyer & bootcamp. I first used destroyer and i scored less than half. But don't be discouraged! use it as a study tool!! If you get the question wrong, make sure to write explanation on separate notebook. After finishing destroyer, i would move on to bootcamp to see where you actually stand.
(scored 30 ochem, 22 gchem)

I also used my weekends to review instead of studying! I went through all the flashcards, went over the explanations I got wrong and memorized the taxonomy & o-chem reaction sheet.

Remember, try to skip questions you understand & got right, focus on questions you guessed or got wrong!

Here is my breakdown if you want to take a look at it.

DAT Breakdown: AA:23 TS:24

 

[MK9595]

After cliffs, i would move on to dr. romano's (if you are time constraint) if you have more time, use ferrlais notes. (scored 23 Bio)

Do you think Dr. Romano's bio notes are good enough to cover everything or why do you think it's good to use Cliffs before Dr. Romano's?

 

[debitcard]

Do you think Dr. Romano's bio notes are good enough to cover everything or why do you think it's good to use Cliffs before Dr. Romano's?

I personally think Cliff is best to start with to just review the basic concepts. Dr.Romano's or Feralis notes are both very detailed with deep explanation. In order to understand those details, I think it's best to start with easier resource like Cliff's Bio to fully understand the basic concepts down.

 

[MK9595]

I personally think Cliff is best to start with to just review the basic concepts. Dr.Romano's or Feralis notes are both very detailed with deep explanation. In order to understand those details, I think it's best to start with easier resource like Cliff's Bio to fully understand the basic concepts down.

Ahh I see. So for your quizlets, did you write down every little detail or just whatever concepts you felt uncomfortable with? I've done 5 chapters of Cliffs and I felt like it was draining me A LOT. I came across Dr. Romano's notes yesterday and felt like the pictures and all really helped me stay productive. Maybe I wasn't using Cliffs right?

 

[shaqfu2019]

Do you think Dr. Romano's bio notes are good enough to cover everything or why do you think it's good to use Cliffs before Dr. Romano's?

I would strongly suggest using Ferralis notes, even if you don't have enough time because what little detail you can remember from these notes will exponentially help you on the exam. Keep in mind that the notes covers all topics just about equally so focus on the topics that will be brought up the most during the exam such as cell/molecular biology and anatomy/physiology while skimming through other sections that are not emphasized (Taxonomy/Evolution).

 

[debitcard]

Ahh I see. So for your quizlets, did you write down every little detail or just whatever concepts you felt uncomfortable with? I've done 5 chapters of Cliffs and I felt like it was draining me A LOT. I came across Dr. Romano's notes yesterday and felt like the pictures and all really helped me stay productive. Maybe I wasn't using Cliffs right?

If you think Cliff's is draining you a lot, then you should just stick with Romano's notes! If you can understand the details and concepts fully, just stick with Romano's notes. I just wanted to start with Cliff because I was pretty rusty with my Biology concepts. Also, I wrote down concepts i felt uncomfortable with! It will take forever if you include every little details.

 

[MK9595]

I would strongly suggest using Ferralis notes, even if you don't have enough time because what little detail you can remember from these notes will exponentially help you on the exam. Keep in mind that the notes covers all topics just about equally so focus on the topics that will be brought up the most during the exam such as cell/molecular biology and anatomy/physiology while skimming through other sections that are not emphasized (Taxonomy/Evolution).

Yes I've heard those notes help a lot too so I'll definitely incorporate those in my studying.

 

[MK9595]

If you think Cliff's is draining you a lot, then you should just stick with Romano's notes! If you can understand the details and concepts fully, just stick with Romano's notes. I just wanted to start with Cliff because I was pretty rusty with my Biology concepts. Also, I wrote down concepts i felt uncomfortable with! It will take forever if you include every little details.

Makes sense. I think I'll continue with Dr. Romano's notes and perhaps use Cliffs to read up wherever I'm lacking. Hopefully, it goes well. Thanks for the help!

 

[dent56171]

I would strongly suggest using Ferralis notes, even if you don't have enough time because what little detail you can remember from these notes will exponentially help you on the exam. Keep in mind that the notes covers all topics just about equally so focus on the topics that will be brought up the most during the exam such as cell/molecular biology and anatomy/physiology while skimming through other sections that are not emphasized (Taxonomy/Evolution).

Would you recommend going through Cliffs AP bio book and then feralis or would feralis only be enough?

 

[dent56171]

anytime no problem at all! what schools doo you plan on applying to?

I plan on applying to all schools in Michigan, NY, a few on Boston, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and perhaps Florida. As I would be the average applicant for most of these schools I figured after retaking the DAT, applying to as many as I can would be the best option.

 

[dent56171]

How did you guys use destroyer? Are you just supposed to do the problems or also time yourself as you go?

 

[shaqfu2019]

Would you recommend going through Cliffs AP bio book and then feralis or would feralis only be enough?

Thanks for your question dent56171. I do not have a right answer for this since the mastery of this particular subject solely depends on you. As for me, I haven't really heard about the Cliff AP Bio book and just dove into the Feralis notes. For Feralis notes, it's just pure memorization and I can guarantee you that some parts you won't be able to memorize simply due to the complexity of certain reaction, mechanisms, and anatomy...etc. In that case, go into the Cliff AP Bio section and look for the explanations. Hope that helps!

 

[Futuredentist(hopefully)]

I plan on applying to all schools in Michigan, NY, a few on Boston, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and perhaps Florida. As I would be the average applicant for most of these schools I figured after retaking the DAT, applying to as many as I can would be the best option.

oh hey maybe ill cya at tuft, Bu, NYC, buffalo, or touro then!