DAT Study tips 8/7/2017

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Kai Fox

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Hi Guys!

Your posts helped me get through 2 months of studying, so I'd like to share my own study tips that will hopefully help some of you as well. This is really long, so skim as needed!

Background: I finished my DAT a few days ago and scored 21+ in all sections with a 21 TS and 23 AA. This is the summer after my junior year. I am a business major who didn't retake gen bio or gen chem, so I needed to relearn a lot of material. I found the material learned from my genetics, microbio (+lab), cell bio, and A&P (+lab) particularly useful for bio, and highly recommend taking the DAT the summer directly after A&P and ochem especially. My memory isn't the greatest, so taking the exam even 1 year after I took those courses meant a lot more review.

Study materials:
DAT bootcamp/genius: Definitely the most similar to the actual DAT, and they constantly update their material. I was able to practice the new highlighting, cross out features, and quantitative comparison questions from the beginning of my studying because of bootcamp. I followed Ari's study schedule (Ari's Study Guide for DAT Domination | DAT Bootcamp), with some alterations so I could squeeze in more iterations of the practice tests. I went through almost all the bootcamp tests twice (except PAT and reading). Bootcamp subscription now includes the DAT genius tests as well (the last 5 tests of each section). They're more difficult, but great practice, and I would recommend doing them first like Ari says since the full-length tests are sourced from the first 5 tests. I started taking full-length practice tests 2 weeks before my exam, and only saved test 4 to do completely fresh a week before my DAT because I wanted to get more practice in.
DAT Destroyer & Math destroyer: I used the 2013 DAT destroyer and 2014 Math destroyer. I think they both were great practice despite being older versions. Starting the month before my exam, I went through the math one twice, the bio 1.5 times, and the gchem and ochem ones 2.5 times following Don Kim's schedule (link below) instead of Ari's. Although both destroyers are more difficult that the actual exam, they require the same type of reasoning as the questions on the exam, and practicing completing more difficult questions in the same amount of time helps. The bio especially helps since the the questions often test multiple concepts at once, and concepts tested repeat every so often to jog your memory.
Chad/Mike's videos: I prefer Chad and regret not watching his videos first. I used Mike's videos for both gchem and ochem, and having used Chad's videos for university courses in the past, I did find a few discrepancies (halides as a strong or weak nucleophile is the one I remember off the top of my head, but there were a few others). I found myself having to rewatch Chad's videos on concepts I struggled with on practice tests and pulling out my old notes from Chad for SN1/SN2 and E1/E2. Mike is better for those who have a solid understanding already and just need some review. Esp for ochm, he tends to skip mechanisms you don't need to know for the exam, but I like those kinds of explanations because they help me understand why the product is what it is. I personally think Chad explains concepts in a way that's easier to remember. The video explanations on DAT bootcamp after full length exams are done by Mike, but I don't think watching Chad instead of Mike would make those videos more difficult to understand.
Feralis & Ty Jacobs: Both are amazing. If you only have a month, read Feralis first and then as much of Ty Jacobs as you can. Ty has great pictures and diagrams, and much more detailed, but Feralis covers everything you need to know in a concise way. I didn't have time to fully get through either because I switched from Ty to Feralis half-way.
2007 DAT: I would recommend taking this a month or earlier before your exam. I scored 25s on the science sections on this exam. It boosted my confidence and motivated my studying, but didn't help much in terms of review. I didn't take the 2009 because I didn't want to sort through the errors.
Quizlet: for DAT bio and ochem flashcards other people made (haileyn91 has all 10 qvault bio question sets on quizlet -- excluding pictures, but still a great resource). I didn't start using quizlet until the week of my exam and I wish I had started using it sooner.
Speedster DAT: A free app published by DAT bootcamp that has TFE, compare 2/compare 4 angles, hole punch, cube count, and pattern fold questions. I used this to practice angle ranking and pattern folding whenever I was waiting in line or sitting in the car.

The Test:
Bring earplugs if you have them. My head was too small for the noise canceling headphones (non-adjustable head band), and some people have exams that involve typing.
BIO/GCHM/OCHM: I didn't study enough point blank. Don't let improvements in practice test scores from retakes lull you into a false sense of security. If I scored well on a practice test, I would relax, make myself some food, and watch youtube for the next 2-3 hours. The only way to truly make sure you're prepared is to keep going strong on your daily practice until the test. I rely heavily on practice to help pull me through test anxiety, and if you're like that too, redo those DAT bootcamp tests until you instantly know what to do upon seeing any type of question. The actual test questions will be very similar.
PAT: Again, bootcamp really prepares you for this. Their angle ranking is more difficult than the actual exam. The pattern folding threw me off because the shading in the patterns was a light grey (like the grey dots in your peripheral vision when you stare at black dots spaced out) and I had a hard time making out what was shaded and what wasn't. Work on your weak sections with the bootcamp generators and the app.
Reading: I used BYU4you's strategy and scored a 28 in this section. The test passages and questions were much easier than the DAT bootcamp/genius practice tests. My scores fluctuated between 17 and 26 on those. (BYU4you Balanced RC Strategy | DAT Bootcamp) The highlighting feature was exactly the same as the one bootcamp provides you with.
Quantitative Reasoning: The quantitative comparison questions were much easier than the ones on DAT bootcamp, and the other questions overall were also easier, but you never know what might appear on your exam, and under time constraints, like the sciences, you have to know the best ways to approach problems as soon as you see them. None of the questions were types of questions I hadn't seen before, either in bootcamp or destroyer. Math destroyer's questions were significantly more difficult, but some of those question types were on the test. Definitely ask if you can use the keyboard for the calculator to save time.

Final Advice: I felt really unprepared for this test up to the day before and started forgetting how to do problems the day before because I was so stressed. Believe in the hard work you put in and don't take the test for than 2 months after you started studying hardcore. You might start forgetting the material and burn out. Take naps if you need them! I woke up at around 9am to start studying and went to sleep around 2am. Taking a 20-30min nap in the afternoon helped clear my mind for the nightly studying. Also, a lot of people post DAT breakdowns and such, and it's tempting to go through and read them all. Don't. There are a few good ones out there that give you really great advice, but I find most of the advice is repetitive after the first 2 or 3. These are a few that really helped me get in the right mindset/make my study schedule:

DAT breakdown (don) - 26 AA/28 TS/27 PAT
How to Study for the DAT Biology Section the Right Way (and the Wrong Way!) | DAT Bootcamp
Featured Student of February | DAT Bootcamp
Featured Student of June | DAT Bootcamp
DAT Breakdown (27 TS/26 AA)

Best of luck! If someone like me can pass, you can too!

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