- Joined
- Aug 1, 2015
- Messages
- 43
- Reaction score
- 17
Hello everyone!
Before I begin I would like to extend a special thanks to the entire Student Doctor Network community. Thank you for all your positivity, insight, and keeping my sane through my journey on this thrilling ride. I am glad to say I have finally written the DAT.
A little background about myself: entering my senior year at a Canadian University. I have written the Canadian DAT in the past scoring 19 AA (Canada was a lot harder than the US and most of the questions were pretty random and not what I was used to seeing on BC or Qvault or even destroyer). Any who I am applying to Canadian and American schools this year with an average of 3.69 w/o quality pts, and 3.74 w/ quality points. I really hope my stats are competitive for American Schools and I hope that my QR score will not hinder my chances of acceptance.
I wrote the DAT today and scored:
BIO/GC/OCHEM/PAT/RC/QR: 19/21/19/20/21/18 AA: 20 TS: 20
Here is my breakdown:
- I began getting my notes organized in late July/early August however I did not start studying hardcore until about two weeks ago. The reason being is I was taking two courses at the University as well as shadowing a dentist, other volunteer work, and 8 hours in the research lab per day. I was able to take two weeks off and give it my best shot. For those of you who are working full time or pressed for time - believe me it is do-able to do well on the DAT within a short period of time provided you are efficient.
BIO:
Items used: DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp (23/20/20/18/20), Feralis Notes, AP Cliffs BIO, AP Biology App for iPhone, DATGenius free test (scored 21), Qvault free test (scored 18)
Overall Biology was my least favourite subject while studying for the DAT. I really enjoy studying biology as I am a biology major, however, the problem with the DAT is they can literally throw anything at you and expect you to get the right answer. I feel that in order to do well in this section you really need to have a strong background in biology to begin with and you also need to retain a lot of information. This portion of the test I thought was very simple and straight to the point.
GC:
Items used: DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp (18/19/30/19/20), Chad's videos (these are a MUST).
Overall GC was initially one of my weakest subjects on the DAT especially because I was really good at the calculations but I always found the theory tough. I feel that after watching Chad's videos and going over his notes several times, completing the quizzes after each video and after watching all the videos, and going over destroyer, I was able to obtain the score I got. I feel like BC helped me A LOT. Although the test was much easier than anything I've seen on Bootcamp, the questions on the DAT closely resemble the same idea as BC. (i.e. What is Kc of the following rxn? -> NO BRAINER)
OCHEM:
Items used: DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp (14,19,19,19,19), Chad's videos (AGAIN YOU MUST GET THESE)
I avoided studying this subject the most. I dreaded Organic Chemistry not because I thought that I couldn't do well, but because my professors during undergrad were horrible! I began by watching Chad's videos but by the time I finished watching them and taking notes, I basically forgot everything. I did a BC test and scored 14 (16/30). I was devastated, but I knew this wasn't accurate since I didn't know how to answer half the questions. I rewatched Chad's OCHEM Section 3 to Section 6 videos in like 6 or 7 hours on 1.7x speed. I remade my notes focusing on only the reactions. THIS HELPED A LOT. I did a BC practice tested scored 19. I began to do DAT destroyer to practice and I got most of the questions correct minus the ones that were not covered in Chad's. The thing you need to realize when studying for this section, and Chad does a good job with this - YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND how the reaction works. I started to memorize Destroyer Road Maps and although they were beneficial - it is not enough to memorize. You need to understand - it will save you on the real exam. This section was on par with BC maybe a bit easier.
PAT:
Items used: DAT Bootcamp. Test scores: (20/20/19/17/19/--/20/20/18/--) only did 8 tests.
Not much to say about this section to be honest. Keyholes, 10x easier than BC, TFE on par with BC, Angles, slightly easier than BC although I know some angles were fairly close (probably 3-5 degrees difference), hole punching - much easier than BC, cubes - same as Bootcamp (both real test and BC weren't hard), pattern folding - very similar to BC.
I am not telling you that it was easier than BC so you stop using BC. If you wish to FLY through the questions on the real DAT, USE BOOTCAMP!!!! You wouldn't believe how much I struggled with BC's keyholes I was angry after every test I did! It would make me angry since I would do fairly well in everything else except Keyholes and the odd TFE and pattern folding questions. Practice Bootcamp and you will be golden for test day. I didnt do much generators to be honest other than for angles (I probably should have, but then again - I was pressed for time so I had to be efficient).
Reading Comprehension: DAT Bootcamp (18/18/17/21/20) and Qvault RC: (19/19/20/18/19/18)
I highly recommend both BC and Qvault. The test was much easier than both in terms of questions, but passages were similar. I had one passage that was almost identical to one of the passages in Qvault. For this section I would recommend using the mapping method. I basically read each paragraph (I had about 14 paragraphs per passage) fairly quick (approx 8 mins), wrote keywords/important topics/concepts (i.e. mycobacterium, i.e. 2 theories), etc and then I did S&D for the remaining 10 mins. Questions were straight forward - there were mainly concept questions and a few tone - nothing too hard. But then again, just because this method works for me doesn't mean it will work for you - but I suggest you try it out
QR: BC (20/20/18) only did 3 tests, Chad's Videos, DAT Destroyer Math Section, Few tests from Math Destroyer
In all honestly, I thought I was going to score much higher on this section (at least a 20). Again, this section was straightfoward, most of the questions were easy math (i.e. solving a system of equations, simple scientific notation, simple conversions). I maybe had like 5-8 word problems at most. I bought Math Destroyer but I only had a chance to go through 2-3 tests at most. I didn’t have too many stats questions, mostly just arithmetic and equations. Barely any trig identity questions. KNOW YOUR CONVERSIONS WELL. miles, meters, oz, etc. I think I may have got too excited to see my scores and may have not done as well here, I'm not too sure what happen to be honest since I was fairly confident, but I am thankful for my scores.
Anyways, I really hope this breakdown has helped everyone out. I apologize if it was long but I just wanted to share my experience with you all in its entirety. ONCE AGAIN - I would like to extend a SPECIAL THANKS to the ENTIRE SDN COMMUNITY, MR. AND MRS. ROMANO, ARI AND HIS BOOTCAMP TEAM, DATQVAULT, DATGENIUS, AND ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS HELPED ME ON THIS JOURNEY!!!! Best of luck to everyone writing this exam – I wish you all the very best!
EDIT: I also forgot to mention, this was probably the easiest exam I've ever written. I was super relaxed, ended up finishing SNS with 15 minutes to spare, was able to check my work and go over marked questions. If you practice with Bootcamp I gaurentee you will not fall short on time on the real DAT. OK IM DONE TALKING FOR NOW
Before I begin I would like to extend a special thanks to the entire Student Doctor Network community. Thank you for all your positivity, insight, and keeping my sane through my journey on this thrilling ride. I am glad to say I have finally written the DAT.
A little background about myself: entering my senior year at a Canadian University. I have written the Canadian DAT in the past scoring 19 AA (Canada was a lot harder than the US and most of the questions were pretty random and not what I was used to seeing on BC or Qvault or even destroyer). Any who I am applying to Canadian and American schools this year with an average of 3.69 w/o quality pts, and 3.74 w/ quality points. I really hope my stats are competitive for American Schools and I hope that my QR score will not hinder my chances of acceptance.
I wrote the DAT today and scored:
BIO/GC/OCHEM/PAT/RC/QR: 19/21/19/20/21/18 AA: 20 TS: 20
Here is my breakdown:
- I began getting my notes organized in late July/early August however I did not start studying hardcore until about two weeks ago. The reason being is I was taking two courses at the University as well as shadowing a dentist, other volunteer work, and 8 hours in the research lab per day. I was able to take two weeks off and give it my best shot. For those of you who are working full time or pressed for time - believe me it is do-able to do well on the DAT within a short period of time provided you are efficient.
BIO:
Items used: DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp (23/20/20/18/20), Feralis Notes, AP Cliffs BIO, AP Biology App for iPhone, DATGenius free test (scored 21), Qvault free test (scored 18)
Overall Biology was my least favourite subject while studying for the DAT. I really enjoy studying biology as I am a biology major, however, the problem with the DAT is they can literally throw anything at you and expect you to get the right answer. I feel that in order to do well in this section you really need to have a strong background in biology to begin with and you also need to retain a lot of information. This portion of the test I thought was very simple and straight to the point.
GC:
Items used: DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp (18/19/30/19/20), Chad's videos (these are a MUST).
Overall GC was initially one of my weakest subjects on the DAT especially because I was really good at the calculations but I always found the theory tough. I feel that after watching Chad's videos and going over his notes several times, completing the quizzes after each video and after watching all the videos, and going over destroyer, I was able to obtain the score I got. I feel like BC helped me A LOT. Although the test was much easier than anything I've seen on Bootcamp, the questions on the DAT closely resemble the same idea as BC. (i.e. What is Kc of the following rxn? -> NO BRAINER)
OCHEM:
Items used: DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp (14,19,19,19,19), Chad's videos (AGAIN YOU MUST GET THESE)
I avoided studying this subject the most. I dreaded Organic Chemistry not because I thought that I couldn't do well, but because my professors during undergrad were horrible! I began by watching Chad's videos but by the time I finished watching them and taking notes, I basically forgot everything. I did a BC test and scored 14 (16/30). I was devastated, but I knew this wasn't accurate since I didn't know how to answer half the questions. I rewatched Chad's OCHEM Section 3 to Section 6 videos in like 6 or 7 hours on 1.7x speed. I remade my notes focusing on only the reactions. THIS HELPED A LOT. I did a BC practice tested scored 19. I began to do DAT destroyer to practice and I got most of the questions correct minus the ones that were not covered in Chad's. The thing you need to realize when studying for this section, and Chad does a good job with this - YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND how the reaction works. I started to memorize Destroyer Road Maps and although they were beneficial - it is not enough to memorize. You need to understand - it will save you on the real exam. This section was on par with BC maybe a bit easier.
PAT:
Items used: DAT Bootcamp. Test scores: (20/20/19/17/19/--/20/20/18/--) only did 8 tests.
Not much to say about this section to be honest. Keyholes, 10x easier than BC, TFE on par with BC, Angles, slightly easier than BC although I know some angles were fairly close (probably 3-5 degrees difference), hole punching - much easier than BC, cubes - same as Bootcamp (both real test and BC weren't hard), pattern folding - very similar to BC.
I am not telling you that it was easier than BC so you stop using BC. If you wish to FLY through the questions on the real DAT, USE BOOTCAMP!!!! You wouldn't believe how much I struggled with BC's keyholes I was angry after every test I did! It would make me angry since I would do fairly well in everything else except Keyholes and the odd TFE and pattern folding questions. Practice Bootcamp and you will be golden for test day. I didnt do much generators to be honest other than for angles (I probably should have, but then again - I was pressed for time so I had to be efficient).
Reading Comprehension: DAT Bootcamp (18/18/17/21/20) and Qvault RC: (19/19/20/18/19/18)
I highly recommend both BC and Qvault. The test was much easier than both in terms of questions, but passages were similar. I had one passage that was almost identical to one of the passages in Qvault. For this section I would recommend using the mapping method. I basically read each paragraph (I had about 14 paragraphs per passage) fairly quick (approx 8 mins), wrote keywords/important topics/concepts (i.e. mycobacterium, i.e. 2 theories), etc and then I did S&D for the remaining 10 mins. Questions were straight forward - there were mainly concept questions and a few tone - nothing too hard. But then again, just because this method works for me doesn't mean it will work for you - but I suggest you try it out
QR: BC (20/20/18) only did 3 tests, Chad's Videos, DAT Destroyer Math Section, Few tests from Math Destroyer
In all honestly, I thought I was going to score much higher on this section (at least a 20). Again, this section was straightfoward, most of the questions were easy math (i.e. solving a system of equations, simple scientific notation, simple conversions). I maybe had like 5-8 word problems at most. I bought Math Destroyer but I only had a chance to go through 2-3 tests at most. I didn’t have too many stats questions, mostly just arithmetic and equations. Barely any trig identity questions. KNOW YOUR CONVERSIONS WELL. miles, meters, oz, etc. I think I may have got too excited to see my scores and may have not done as well here, I'm not too sure what happen to be honest since I was fairly confident, but I am thankful for my scores.
Anyways, I really hope this breakdown has helped everyone out. I apologize if it was long but I just wanted to share my experience with you all in its entirety. ONCE AGAIN - I would like to extend a SPECIAL THANKS to the ENTIRE SDN COMMUNITY, MR. AND MRS. ROMANO, ARI AND HIS BOOTCAMP TEAM, DATQVAULT, DATGENIUS, AND ANY OTHER PERSON WHO HAS HELPED ME ON THIS JOURNEY!!!! Best of luck to everyone writing this exam – I wish you all the very best!
EDIT: I also forgot to mention, this was probably the easiest exam I've ever written. I was super relaxed, ended up finishing SNS with 15 minutes to spare, was able to check my work and go over marked questions. If you practice with Bootcamp I gaurentee you will not fall short on time on the real DAT. OK IM DONE TALKING FOR NOW
