DAT Study Materials. Please help, I have questions!

[Sleepyincan]

So after extensive research, I have decided to use the following:

• Cliff AP 3rd Edition Biology/ Feralis Free
• Chad's Videos (For GC only) Free
• DAT Destroyer ($200)
• PAT Booster (I think its $80)
• DAT Q VAULT for extra practice in the end ($200)
• About $480 total

Study Schedule/Length:
January- March: Studying Cliff Notes Biology (since this is the most extensive)
April- May 9th: Watching/Taking notes from Chad's Videos for GC
May 10th - June 30th: Studying everything using Destroyer/ PATBooster
@ChemistryDentist posted an awesome breakdown as well as their schedule and it makes sense... I was originally suppose to study for 2 1/2 months but now I am realizes it is doable in 1 1/2 months.

Side Notes: I am currently taking 3 classes and an internship at a free dental clinic and I am confident I will get A's but I want to make sure they are prioritized, not to forget I have 2 jobs and a leadership role.
Anyways, I have the 2020 ADA guide for the DAT and it explicit tells you what topics will be in each subject, so that helps.

Questions:
-Anyone use DAT Q Vault/ think its worth it, to me it seems very in depth
-Will I be missing out if I do not use BC? For me its very overpriced and I am not a fan of the format.
-I hear DAT Destroyer does not have any practice tests, what sources are there for actually FULL practice exams?
- Any comments on suggested materials/ my schedule! My goal is to submit my application early July!

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[ChemistryDentist]

I think your study schedule looks fantastic. Awesome job with the research, and thank you so much for the shout out! Glad my breakdown helped. Now, to your questions:

Will I be missing out if I do not use BC? For me its very overpriced and I am not a fan of the format.

I don't think you will be, truly. I prepared and took the DAT without it for more or less the same reason, and I did fine. It's overpriced in my humble opinion for college students about to drop a fraction of a million dollars on dental school.

-I hear DAT Destroyer does not have any practice tests, what sources are there for actually FULL practice exams?

The Math Destroyer has practice tests in it that you can do timed (I would suggest going through them once before timing yourself, though, because they are tough). I noted this down below, but I would add that to your regimen for sure. While the DAT Destroyer does not have evenly broken up tests, I did not find timing as an issue on the actual DAT. If you know all of the concepts and questions from the Destroyer, you are set to go. You won't need to worry about time constraints because of how fast you'll figure out the answers. That's what I felt, at least.

- Any comments on suggested materials/ my schedule! My goal is to submit my application early July!

I'd recommend adding the Math Destroyer for sure, it saved me in QR. I also recommend supplementing Chad's videos with the Orgoman videos, all available on YouTube. For someone not fantastic at math, the QR videos, again, saved me on the DAT. I'm sure you saw in my breakdown, but I did not use Cliff's or Feralis because I felt that the Dynamite Biology Review was more than sufficient for preparation when used in conjunction with the Destroyer. That's also available for free, so I'd say check that out before going with those other resources. I think it was far more engaging personally.

Otherwise, I think everything you have looks perfect. I never used or looked into DAT QVault, so I can't make any claims about their service. Hopefully someone else may be able to. But what you have going makes me think you will do well on the exam.

Best of luck!

 

[Sleepyincan]

You're welcome! And thank you for the feedback! I will look into Dynamite, didn't know it was free! Even better!
Also, I am thinking of purchasing a prometric exam just to be safe, as well as using Princeton's exams online but other than that I agree, I too am hoping not to have a time issue. I am hoping I can reach out to you if I ever need any DAT advice, your the best so far!

I think your study schedule looks fantastic. Awesome job with the research, and thank you so much for the shout out! Glad my breakdown helped. Now, to your questions:

I don't think you will be, truly. I prepared and took the DAT without it for more or less the same reason, and I did fine. It's overpriced in my humble opinion for college students about to drop a fraction of a million dollars on dental school.

The Math Destroyer has practice tests in it that you can do timed (I would suggest going through them once before timing yourself, though, because they are tough). I noted this down below, but I would add that to your regimen for sure. While the DAT Destroyer does not have evenly broken up tests, I did not find timing as an issue on the actual DAT. If you know all of the concepts and questions from the Destroyer, you are set to go. You won't need to worry about time constraints because of how fast you'll figure out the answers. That's what I felt, at least.

I'd recommend adding the Math Destroyer for sure, it saved me in QR. I also recommend supplementing Chad's videos with the Orgoman videos, all available on YouTube. For someone not fantastic at math, the QR videos, again, saved me on the DAT. I'm sure you saw in my breakdown, but I did not use Cliff's or Feralis because I felt that the Dynamite Biology Review was more than sufficient for preparation when used in conjunction with the Destroyer. That's also available for free, so I'd say check that out before going with those other resources. I think it was far more engaging personally.

Otherwise, I think everything you have looks perfect. I never used or looked into DAT QVault, so I can't make any claims about their service. Hopefully someone else may be able to. But what you have going makes me think you will do well on the exam.

Best of luck!

 

[ChemistryDentist]

You're welcome! And thank you for the feedback! I will look into Dynamite, didn't know it was free! Even better!
Also, I am thinking of purchasing a prometric exam just to be safe, as well as using Princeton's exams online but other than that I agree, I too am hoping not to have a time issue. I am hoping I can reach out to you if I ever need any DAT advice, your the best so far!

I personally liked to use as many free materials like you, because everything is so expensive nowadays. The YouTube videos were free, the biology notes were free, and there were even free questions posted consistently on the Destroyer Facebook group. Some of those supplementary questions actually popped up on my DAT, so I really suggest joining that group as well.

I've heard mostly negative things about the Prometric online test unfortunately, but if you think it's worth it to help you get into the testing groove then go for it! The 2007 and 2009 ADA DATs are floating around online for free somewhere I think, which I believe are the question bank for the online test. I personally didn't use it so I'm not absolutely certain. I highly recommend doing the Prometric test drive a week or so before your exam, though, for sure! It's not test questions, but it should help you get familiar and comfortable with the testing center.

I'm here to help if you need it, as is much of the SDN community! Best of luck again.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Here is the link to the prometric test drive, I also highly recommend it.

Test Drive | Prometric

Getting familiar with the look, feel and experience of a test center in advance of an exam will minimize pre-test mistakes.

www.prometric.com

 

[0Mik3cho]

I'm a big fan of DAT Bootcamps free 121 pg Bio notes. Everything I had on my DAT was covered there. DAT Destroyer will give you extra stuff on top of that to fill in the gaps since the 121 pg notes are supposedly focused on only the highest yield stuff. However, the lower yield stuff is what can make the difference at times.

But if you are super rusty on bio, then I would recommend Dr. Romano's bio notes you can find in the Destroyer Facebook group. It's really comprehensive.