Hi guys!I I am finally done with my DAT and I wanted to put in my two cents because I feel I have benefited so much from reading other people's breakdowns.
First,I would like to thank everyone that helped me with my questions. Thank you very much!
I would like to share a little bit about my background and then some stuff about my testing experience this past week.
I first took the DAT 3 years ago and received the following scores:
PAT: 17
QR: 12 🙂eek: i know...)
Bio: 16
Gen Chem: 14
Orgo: 14
Reading: 19
TS: 15
AA:15🙁
Obviously, I did not prepare well at all and I felt like a failure when I saw my scores. I got super depressed and doubted I would ever go to dental school. But after talking it over with my bf I composed myself and we came up with a plan 🙂 At that point I had a year left of school and a disappointing 2.8 GPA🙁. So the plan that we came up with looked something like this:
1. Finish my last year of college with good grades (Done! - I maintained a 3.8 my last year of school)
2. Take the GRE and apply to a M.S. program in Science to boost my GPA and to take upper level Science courses ( Almost done! - I am currently about to finish with my M.S. and I have a 3.5 Science GPA)
3. Keep volunteering at a local Dentist's office (Still doing it!)
4. Study for the DAT and take it when I felt that I was ready (soooooo DONE! 🙂)
This week I took the DAT again and I received the following scores:
PAT: 22
QR: 18
Bio: 20
Gen Chem: 20
Orgo: 20
Reading: 22
AA : 20
TS: 20😍 I am sooooooo happy and thankful!
Here are the sources I used:
PAT(22) : CDP. The actual test was very similar to CDP in terms of difficulty. My worst section was definitely folding. I'm pretty sure I had a pretty high score and about 15 minutes left when I got to folding and I started seeing all these weird shapes. I'm still happy though, I won't complain 🙂
QR (18): Math Destroyer. I love this book! I honestly think it got me thinking the right way and I learned a lot! For almost three weeks I went to my school's math lab and I sat there for three hours a day just working out the problems and if I got stuck, I would ask a tutor to help me. I did it almost two times and I think it was definitely a good way to get ready for the math section. I also used Qvault. I liked this because it helped me get with the timing. I think It was similar to the real test in terms of difficulty.
Bio (20): Qvault, KBB and DAT Destroyer. I liked both and I learned a lot form them. the test, however, was way different than either the Destroyer or Qvault. It had a lot of questions where it wasn't just asking you for a fact right away, but you had to apply your knowledge. The first four or five questions put me in a very nervous state because I wasn't sure if I was right or wrong. I got some genetics questions, evolution questions and some hormones/drugs. I think this was the most challenging section.
GC (20):Chad's Videos, Qvault, and DAT destroyer. I think this was very straight forward. I had about six or seven calculations and the rest were conceptual questions. I would say I actually had to solve about four of the calculation questions, the others were set up in the answer choice. Everyone says it and I will repeat it- know Chad's videos and do the quizzes! I think his videos are gold and they will help you reason things out! Destroyer is way harder than the actual test but the point is to learn the material and the Destroyer helps you do that. Don't get discouraged if you get most of them wrong the first time, I did too, but I kept trying the problems and I was amazed how much I learned from that one book.
Orgo (20): Chad's Videos, Qvault, and DAT Destroyer. Basically stick with Chad first before you venture into Destroyer. Understand why reactions happen and do his quizzes! Make flashcards of the reactions you keep forgetting and try to look at them everyday. The actual test was not tricky at all. I saw a couple of lab questions but they weren't ridiculous.
Reading: (22): I did nothing to prepare for this section except the practice tests I took.
In the actual test I got three very interesting passages. For all of them I quickly skimmed the passage, wrote down key words and then did "search and destroy". I think I was the least stressed out during this section.
Overall, I think this experience has been one of the most important and challenging experiences of my life. I have to say the long hours I spent at the library and all the sacrifices I made were all worth it 🙂. At times I thought I couldn't do it, especially after not getting great practice test scores, I would doubt my skills, get discouraged and postpone my test again (I postponed 4 times). Sometime in July I had a breakdown and stopped studying for a week. Then I realized I had come too far to give up. Thankfully I had a lot of support from my wonderful parents an my bf 😍 and I was able to pull through until the day I took the DAT.
I know I've said a lot already but let me finish with some words of advice.
1. Have the right mindset while studying for this test. It takes time to learn things, so don't get discouraged when you're not scoring excellent right away.
2. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family. Trust me you'll need them!
3. Get the right study materials ( Chad's videos, Destroyer... all that good stuff) and learn it!
4. If you are a person of faith, hold on to it and believe that God will guide you. I had Psalm 27: 13-14 written on a flashcard and I looked at it everyday. Knowing that God is faithful and always in control gave me the strength I needed.
Hopefully, my experience helps others realize that it can be done! And that hard work and dedication do pay off! Good luck to all who are applying this cycle😀
First,I would like to thank everyone that helped me with my questions. Thank you very much!
I would like to share a little bit about my background and then some stuff about my testing experience this past week.
I first took the DAT 3 years ago and received the following scores:
PAT: 17
QR: 12 🙂eek: i know...)
Bio: 16
Gen Chem: 14
Orgo: 14
Reading: 19
TS: 15
AA:15🙁
Obviously, I did not prepare well at all and I felt like a failure when I saw my scores. I got super depressed and doubted I would ever go to dental school. But after talking it over with my bf I composed myself and we came up with a plan 🙂 At that point I had a year left of school and a disappointing 2.8 GPA🙁. So the plan that we came up with looked something like this:
1. Finish my last year of college with good grades (Done! - I maintained a 3.8 my last year of school)
2. Take the GRE and apply to a M.S. program in Science to boost my GPA and to take upper level Science courses ( Almost done! - I am currently about to finish with my M.S. and I have a 3.5 Science GPA)
3. Keep volunteering at a local Dentist's office (Still doing it!)
4. Study for the DAT and take it when I felt that I was ready (soooooo DONE! 🙂)
This week I took the DAT again and I received the following scores:
PAT: 22
QR: 18
Bio: 20
Gen Chem: 20
Orgo: 20
Reading: 22
AA : 20
TS: 20😍 I am sooooooo happy and thankful!
Here are the sources I used:
PAT(22) : CDP. The actual test was very similar to CDP in terms of difficulty. My worst section was definitely folding. I'm pretty sure I had a pretty high score and about 15 minutes left when I got to folding and I started seeing all these weird shapes. I'm still happy though, I won't complain 🙂
QR (18): Math Destroyer. I love this book! I honestly think it got me thinking the right way and I learned a lot! For almost three weeks I went to my school's math lab and I sat there for three hours a day just working out the problems and if I got stuck, I would ask a tutor to help me. I did it almost two times and I think it was definitely a good way to get ready for the math section. I also used Qvault. I liked this because it helped me get with the timing. I think It was similar to the real test in terms of difficulty.
Bio (20): Qvault, KBB and DAT Destroyer. I liked both and I learned a lot form them. the test, however, was way different than either the Destroyer or Qvault. It had a lot of questions where it wasn't just asking you for a fact right away, but you had to apply your knowledge. The first four or five questions put me in a very nervous state because I wasn't sure if I was right or wrong. I got some genetics questions, evolution questions and some hormones/drugs. I think this was the most challenging section.
GC (20):Chad's Videos, Qvault, and DAT destroyer. I think this was very straight forward. I had about six or seven calculations and the rest were conceptual questions. I would say I actually had to solve about four of the calculation questions, the others were set up in the answer choice. Everyone says it and I will repeat it- know Chad's videos and do the quizzes! I think his videos are gold and they will help you reason things out! Destroyer is way harder than the actual test but the point is to learn the material and the Destroyer helps you do that. Don't get discouraged if you get most of them wrong the first time, I did too, but I kept trying the problems and I was amazed how much I learned from that one book.
Orgo (20): Chad's Videos, Qvault, and DAT Destroyer. Basically stick with Chad first before you venture into Destroyer. Understand why reactions happen and do his quizzes! Make flashcards of the reactions you keep forgetting and try to look at them everyday. The actual test was not tricky at all. I saw a couple of lab questions but they weren't ridiculous.
Reading: (22): I did nothing to prepare for this section except the practice tests I took.
In the actual test I got three very interesting passages. For all of them I quickly skimmed the passage, wrote down key words and then did "search and destroy". I think I was the least stressed out during this section.
Overall, I think this experience has been one of the most important and challenging experiences of my life. I have to say the long hours I spent at the library and all the sacrifices I made were all worth it 🙂. At times I thought I couldn't do it, especially after not getting great practice test scores, I would doubt my skills, get discouraged and postpone my test again (I postponed 4 times). Sometime in July I had a breakdown and stopped studying for a week. Then I realized I had come too far to give up. Thankfully I had a lot of support from my wonderful parents an my bf 😍 and I was able to pull through until the day I took the DAT.
I know I've said a lot already but let me finish with some words of advice.
1. Have the right mindset while studying for this test. It takes time to learn things, so don't get discouraged when you're not scoring excellent right away.
2. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family. Trust me you'll need them!
3. Get the right study materials ( Chad's videos, Destroyer... all that good stuff) and learn it!
4. If you are a person of faith, hold on to it and believe that God will guide you. I had Psalm 27: 13-14 written on a flashcard and I looked at it everyday. Knowing that God is faithful and always in control gave me the strength I needed.
Hopefully, my experience helps others realize that it can be done! And that hard work and dedication do pay off! Good luck to all who are applying this cycle😀
