So, here’s the more extensive breakdown of yesterday:
I knew that I was not going to sleep well the night before the exam, so I scheduled it for 1:30 PM. As I had predicted, I didn’t sleep more than a couple hours, but I was pretty wired and just ready to get the test over with. I got out of bed around 9 AM, and I ate some breakfast. I also changed into some comfy clothes for the exam (sweatpants, sweatshirt, and sneakers). My roommate took me to the center about 30 minutes before the exam, and I got an early start. I just went through the tutorial to make sure I was doing everything correctly, and I also wanted to see the highlighting feature. I took 16 ish minutes of the 30 minute break to eat a snack (Honey Nut Cheerios are da bomb! I also hydrated with some water and went to the restroom).
Now here’s the meat of the breakdown!
BIO: 20
How I studied:
For biology, I went through Cliff’s AP Bio 3rd Edition notes a couple times, and I also went through Ari’s biology notes for Bootcamp, I watched a few Bozeman Science videos on YouTube (shoutout to Mr. Anderson for saving my soul in HS AP Bio and on the DAT!) and last but not least, I went through DAT Destroyer. I found all these resources very helpful. I just took notes on concepts I didn’t know very well, and I just repeatedly read through Destroyer (probably about 7 times). I just remembered a bunch of random facts and did my best to understand all the concepts that are fair game for the DAT. I used the free Bootcamp, Genius, Qvault, and 2007 DAT to test myself.
Experience on the exam:
As many other SDNers have stated, biology has to deal with applying concepts rather than regurgitating information. However, that is not to say you will have some random WTF questions thrown in your test (I had some), but that’s what Destroyer is for! I thought I did worse than a 20 because I had so many questions marked, and I felt I had to make many educated guesses. Overall, I’m content with this score.
CHEM: 22
How I studied:
For this section, I used DAT Destroyer and I watched some of Chad’s free videos on YouTube that were filmed during his lectures and put on his YouTube channel. I also did some free practice on Bootcamp and Genius. Chemistry is one of my strengths, and I wasn’t all too concerned about it. Note to those who are using DAT Destroyer: DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE COMPLEXITY OF THE CALCULATIONS. Dat Destroyer is designed to truly test your understanding of concepts. Do not fret if you struggle with it, just do your best to understand.
Experience on the exam:
I breezed right through this section— calculations were very straight-forward and the concepts were pretty basic. If you struggle with chemistry, I recommend watching Chad’s videos or Mike’s videos to refresh yourself of the basics, and move onto DAT Destroyer. I’m happy with this section!
OCHEM: 23
How I studied:
I just took Ochem during the last academic year, so it was fresh in my mind. I also used DAT Destroyer, which was phoeniminal! It’s challenging, but if you can get through it, you will be solid! Also, roadmaps are super helpful—take time out of your study schedule to focus on those gems for 15 minutes, at least! I tested myself using Bootcamp and Genius free tests as well as 2007 DAT.
Experience on the exam:
I found this section to be quite easy, even easier than Bootcamp (NOTE: THE DAT VARIES GREATLY, SO ONE MAY HAVE A MORE DIFFICULT VERSION, OR EASIER. YOU NEVER KNOW!). I breezed through this section, and I’m thrilled with my score!
PAT: 22
How I studied:
As a poor college student, I don’t have much money to buy resources, but I bought Crack the DAT PAT for $100, I believe. It was fairly helpful, and it was definitely helpful with time management. However, I feel that CDP lacks the rigor of the real test. I also used Bootcamp’s free test, which I found to be a better representation of the material on the test. I also used all the generators on Bootcamp for 15 minutes a day for about the last month.
Experience on the exam:
I found the hardest part to be aperture (keyholes), and I was misfortunate to get a few rock ones. However, I just did my best and hoped for the best. I found TFE to be pretty straight forward (no more rigorous than DAT Bootcamp), angle ranking was a piece of cake (SO SO SO MUCH EASIER THAN BOOTCAMP GENERATOR). Cube counting was easy, and pattern folding was fairly challenging (I don’t really care for the Bootcamp generator because it deals with printed sides vs 3D nets). I was surprised I did as well as I did because I marked a lot of questions and took many guesses.
RC: 20
How I studied:
I’m probably the worst reader ever because I’m slow, and I take my time to truly understand the material. I just read Scientific American articles once a day for a month, and I also read a novel I was interested in (had nothing to do with science). I practiced with Bootcamp’s free reading test as well as Genius’. However, they were both too long and too difficult to read.
Experience on the exam:
The passages were short to my surprise, however, they were dense with information, and I was running low on time and had to guess on some of the answers using my limited knowledge from what I skimmed with a hint of common sense. I thought I bombed this section, but I’m happy with my score as it surpassed my expectations!
QR: 18 
How I studied:
I bought the DAT Destroyer Math Destroyer bundle, and I went through the 11 practice tests 3 times each. I’m also a student instructor for calculus at my school, so I have a solid understanding of math. I felt the best about this section. I reinforced my studying with Bootcamp’s and Genius’ free tests.
Experience on the exam:
Do you ever have those moments when you think you nailed something and it ends up a burning pile of garbage? That was me on QR. I went through all the questions, and I felt I got nearly all of them correct, but I did way worse than what I have done on the practice tests I’ve taken. But, from what I’ve read on SDN that QR is the least important section.
Mini-rant about QR:
Whenever something frustrates me about studying for the DAT, I just remind myself that it isn’t relevant to dentistry, which is ironic. But here’s some food for thought: do you need to know how to calculate the standard deviation of a data set or use a system of equations to find a missing variable to yank someone’s tooth out? Of course not! It’s completely irrelevant to dentistry, and I don’t know why the ADA just doesn’t throw out that section. This is ironic also because I like math, but not to be conceded, I think that the exam I took was BS. I can do advanced calculus but can’t answer relatively simple (at least I think simple) questions on the DAT. This may just prove that QR section is trash and should just be omitted.
Another mini-rant:
Although I did fairly well in biology, I think it is really dumb that you need to know ecology and animal behavior as well as anatomy and physiology that are unrelated to dental anatomy/physiology. Again nothing to do with repairing someone’s bridge or filling a cavity, or crown prepping. Clinical experience has exhibited much of the DAT is irrelevant to your skills as a dentist. It’s just some dumb test that is needed to weed some applicants out.
Now that that’s out of my system, here’s my final thoughts/wrap-up:
I suck at standardized tests, generally. I got a 22 and a 23 on the ACT on my two attempts, and I didn’t even break 1800 on the SAT! However, I studied minimally for these tests. I studied for the DAT for 2.5 months, and unlike college entrance exams, the DAT is specific content that you focus on in your undergraduate studies, typically. So, if you put in the work, you will get good grades and good DAT scores! If I can do it, anyone can do it! I celebrated with a Slurpee from 7-11, some candy, and a burrito (ironic an aspiring dentist is eating this junk, but this is a typical college meal).
If you are reading this in the future stressing about your DAT studies— you will be okay as long as you put in the work and take care of yourself (but if you want a Slurpee after your exam, you earned it!)! Just put your best efforts forward, and everything will fall into place!
Good luck to everyone whether you are in dental school, applying this cycle, or any following cycle! Keep working hard, and never give up on your dreams of being a dentist!
Got a few stats for UCSF and its 5th to 95th percentile of scores is 19-26.
). Reputation/prestige is one thing but I could almost guarantee that very few of your patients would know or "care" about where you went to school- it matters more that you leave your school a responsible and competent dentist.
