Hey guys! I took my DAT this past December 30th 2013
Breakdown:
General Chemistry: 30
Organic Chemistry: 25
Biology: 22
Reading Comprehension: 24
Quantitative Reasoning: 20
PAT: 19
AA: 24
TS: 24
I'm here to give you a few tips and a breakdown of how to succeed! I know initially the journey may seem overwhelming but take a deep breath! As soon as you decide that you are ready to commit yourself to some intense hours of studying you are on your way to conquering the DAT exam.
Over the summer I took the Kaplan DAT course (on the go) but barely dedicated anytime to it. My exam was 6 months away and summer was a time to relax so the course merely introduced me to what I would see on the DAT exam. After this course I took a few months off and began intense studying the weekend before Halloween so sometime in late October. (two months before my exam date)
I began by watching Chad's videos and simultaneously reading Cliff's AP biology. As for Chad, he is absolutely incredible, general chemistry was actually my weakest subject an I ended up scoring a 30. Chad's videos for organic chemistry and math were also very helpful. Cliff's AP biology covers in broader terms everything you will need to know but I definitely had some detail questions on my exam that I needed to either infer or eliminate options I knew were clearly incorrect. Additionally prior to my exam I took Biochemistry and Cell Biology (these were extremely useful for understanding different cellular processes, cell functions/organelles, and hormones.)
For PAT I completed all of the 10 crack dat pat tests (some of them twice) until all of my scores were above 20. The PAT portion of the DAT is completely based on practice. You should youtube different tricks for each section and continue learning key patterns. I'll explain later how the actual DAT PAT section really was.
After going through Chads videos and taking lengthy notes on both the videos and the Cliff book I began DAT destroyer for the sciences and for math. I would say destroyer is definitely harder than the DAT but it teaches you concepts that are truly useful when taking the exam. It's also best to expose yourself to as many questions as possible before the exam. After Destroyer I did Bootcamp.
I started bootcamp on the Monday two weeks before my exam. I would stimulate testing conditions and take 5 tests a day for each subject, then go through solutions which would usually take as long as the actual test itself. My scores ranged from 19-27 in all of the different subjects. I was never very consistent but this helped me pinpoint my weaknesses.
The weekend after bootcamp I did the practice ADA test 2007 and 2009. 2007 was way too easy and 2009 had several errors so I didn't find either test extremely useful or representative of the actual DAT.
The week before my exam I took the 5 Kaplan full length tests that I did not get a chance to complete over the summer (Full length midterm and final as well as Exam 1, 2, and 3.) Only the midterm and final were graded on a 1-30 scale and I scored about 19-21 on each section. I was slightly discouraged that I was not well into the 20's days before my exam. (not to worry… continue reading!)
Two days before my exam I went through ALL of my Chad's notes for both orgo and gen chemistry! I think that was huge for remembering all the minor details and I attribute my successes in these sections for going through everything thoroughly just days before my exam.
The day before my exam I spent getting lunch and relaxing with my sister. I am definitely not a person who crams so I knew that everything I could have put into that exam I had already done in the months prior. I just tried to get my mind off things.
That night I could not sleep for a minute! I was more tired than ever because I had been waking up around 7/8 am for the past two weeks hoping I would get my mind and body into that sleeping routine but my anxiety was taking over! (I'm a very anxious test taker so I should have guessed this would be the case!)
I got to the exam early around 7 15 a.m. and they started me right away. They gave me two dry erase boards and head phones which i recommend wearing during the whole exam because there is definitely disturbances throughout the test. Also be sure to take the break and clear your mind. Take deep breaths. If you studied all the material mentioned above well, then you can truly surprise yourself! HARD WORK PAYS OFF!!
The actual exam was easier than any practice test I had taken. And writing this blog it reminds me of how much time and work I put into everything but I wouldn't change a thing! The feeling you have after getting back scores you could only dream of is incredible! Keep pushing!! I had many break downs and sacrificed a lot but in the long run it is really nothing compared to what you are doing for your future.
Feel free to ask me more questions. I apologize for making this post so long I just wanted to be thorough and I still feel like I am leaving some details out.
Here are my scores
Best of luck everyone )
Breakdown:
General Chemistry: 30
Organic Chemistry: 25
Biology: 22
Reading Comprehension: 24
Quantitative Reasoning: 20
PAT: 19
AA: 24
TS: 24
I'm here to give you a few tips and a breakdown of how to succeed! I know initially the journey may seem overwhelming but take a deep breath! As soon as you decide that you are ready to commit yourself to some intense hours of studying you are on your way to conquering the DAT exam.
Over the summer I took the Kaplan DAT course (on the go) but barely dedicated anytime to it. My exam was 6 months away and summer was a time to relax so the course merely introduced me to what I would see on the DAT exam. After this course I took a few months off and began intense studying the weekend before Halloween so sometime in late October. (two months before my exam date)
I began by watching Chad's videos and simultaneously reading Cliff's AP biology. As for Chad, he is absolutely incredible, general chemistry was actually my weakest subject an I ended up scoring a 30. Chad's videos for organic chemistry and math were also very helpful. Cliff's AP biology covers in broader terms everything you will need to know but I definitely had some detail questions on my exam that I needed to either infer or eliminate options I knew were clearly incorrect. Additionally prior to my exam I took Biochemistry and Cell Biology (these were extremely useful for understanding different cellular processes, cell functions/organelles, and hormones.)
For PAT I completed all of the 10 crack dat pat tests (some of them twice) until all of my scores were above 20. The PAT portion of the DAT is completely based on practice. You should youtube different tricks for each section and continue learning key patterns. I'll explain later how the actual DAT PAT section really was.
After going through Chads videos and taking lengthy notes on both the videos and the Cliff book I began DAT destroyer for the sciences and for math. I would say destroyer is definitely harder than the DAT but it teaches you concepts that are truly useful when taking the exam. It's also best to expose yourself to as many questions as possible before the exam. After Destroyer I did Bootcamp.
I started bootcamp on the Monday two weeks before my exam. I would stimulate testing conditions and take 5 tests a day for each subject, then go through solutions which would usually take as long as the actual test itself. My scores ranged from 19-27 in all of the different subjects. I was never very consistent but this helped me pinpoint my weaknesses.
The weekend after bootcamp I did the practice ADA test 2007 and 2009. 2007 was way too easy and 2009 had several errors so I didn't find either test extremely useful or representative of the actual DAT.
The week before my exam I took the 5 Kaplan full length tests that I did not get a chance to complete over the summer (Full length midterm and final as well as Exam 1, 2, and 3.) Only the midterm and final were graded on a 1-30 scale and I scored about 19-21 on each section. I was slightly discouraged that I was not well into the 20's days before my exam. (not to worry… continue reading!)
Two days before my exam I went through ALL of my Chad's notes for both orgo and gen chemistry! I think that was huge for remembering all the minor details and I attribute my successes in these sections for going through everything thoroughly just days before my exam.
The day before my exam I spent getting lunch and relaxing with my sister. I am definitely not a person who crams so I knew that everything I could have put into that exam I had already done in the months prior. I just tried to get my mind off things.
That night I could not sleep for a minute! I was more tired than ever because I had been waking up around 7/8 am for the past two weeks hoping I would get my mind and body into that sleeping routine but my anxiety was taking over! (I'm a very anxious test taker so I should have guessed this would be the case!)
I got to the exam early around 7 15 a.m. and they started me right away. They gave me two dry erase boards and head phones which i recommend wearing during the whole exam because there is definitely disturbances throughout the test. Also be sure to take the break and clear your mind. Take deep breaths. If you studied all the material mentioned above well, then you can truly surprise yourself! HARD WORK PAYS OFF!!
The actual exam was easier than any practice test I had taken. And writing this blog it reminds me of how much time and work I put into everything but I wouldn't change a thing! The feeling you have after getting back scores you could only dream of is incredible! Keep pushing!! I had many break downs and sacrificed a lot but in the long run it is really nothing compared to what you are doing for your future.
Feel free to ask me more questions. I apologize for making this post so long I just wanted to be thorough and I still feel like I am leaving some details out.
Here are my scores
Best of luck everyone )
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