For those of you that have your DAT scores...

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For those of you that have your DAT scores...can you please share your scores and how much time you spent studying for it? Also, how did you study for it? Much thanks!

 

[WVU IS MY GOAL]

For those of you that have your DAT scores...can you please share your scores and how much time you spent studying for it? Also, how did you study for it? Much thanks!

I got 19's. Studied for 3.5 months.

 

[Generallee]

For those of you that have your DAT scores...can you please share your scores and how much time you spent studying for it? Also, how did you study for it? Much thanks!

You can find a wealth of information in the DAT section of the dental forum. People like to post their scores from the DAT and usually they'll tell you how much time they spent, what books/resources they used, and even some tips for each section! Do a search in the DAT section....

For me, I spent 6 weeks. I mostly used Kaplan Blue Book and Topscore. The Kaplan Subject tests were invaluable, they were great! I pretty much studied at least 5 hours per day.

My Scores:

AA: 18
TS: 19
PA: 18

 

[iviikoivi]

You can find a wealth of information in the DAT section of the dental forum. People like to post their scores from the DAT and usually they'll tell you how much time they spent, what books/resources they used, and even some tips for each section! Do a search in the DAT section....

I'll contribute.

Took it twice. First time, half-assed studying throughout...
Went through kaplan white book once (got it from a friend, i didnt take the class), did flashcards twice during winter qtr
didnt study 1.5 weeks before the exam got an 18aa/18ts/20pat

Second time, I didn't study at all spring qtr...started fresh during the summer...studied 2-7 hours (way more 2 hour days 😀 ) for about 3-4 weeks while doing my apps.
Then the last 2 weeks or so bumped it up to 4-5 hours/day and studied up until 2 days before test time this time around. I got a 20aa/20ts/23pat

I used the same material each time including the top score practice tests...
only thing i did different was read the first 350 or so pages of shaums biology outline once and it raised my bio by 4 points...good luck!

 

[maksidaa]

Right after spring finals i started studying 4-6 hours everyday six days a week. i always took one day to take a break and let it sink in. i bought topscore and dat achiever and the kaplan book. i did all of the practice tests, except for the last PAT on top score. it was too easy and dat acheiver was what really helped me get better at the PAT. i hadn't taken my second o.chem yet so i memorized everything in the kaplan book for that part. for bio i bought the schaum's book and read it all twice as well as the spark's flash cards. the cards don't teach you a lot, but if you know all the vocab on those cards then you shouldn't encounter any surprises on the real test. for gen chem i bought a schaum's book as well and did lots of practice problems. the day before the test i read through my entire bio book (the Campbell's textbook). i was getting 16-19 on the science sections on the practice test but everyone on sdn said that was to be expected. i didn't practice the reading or math section cuz i felt comfortable with those. anyway, the day of the test i ate a lot of supplement pills and ate a big breakfast and took the test. in all i studied four weeks.

like everyone else said, it's a matter of making sure you don't make dumb mistakes. i moved quick on the real test so i had time to go back and double check a lot of questions. also remember that there will be a few questions that generally NOBODY will get right except for a few random guessers. it's a lot like the SAT in that regard and helps to seperate the best from the good. if you don't know it, move on and make the best guess possible. guessing well (and there is a science behind guessing) will bump your score up on the "iffy" sections.

good luck!!

AA: 21
TS: 20
PAT:21

 

[iambatman]

You can find a wealth of information in the DAT section of the dental forum. People like to post their scores from the DAT and usually they'll tell you how much time they spent, what books/resources they used, and even some tips for each section! Do a search in the DAT section....

For me, I spent 6 weeks. I mostly used Kaplan Blue Book and Topscore. The Kaplan Subject tests were invaluable, they were great! I pretty much studied at least 5 hours per day.

My Scores:

AA: 18
TS: 19
PA: 18

WOW! I did the EXACT same thing you did, except I also used Barrons for PAT. And I topped you by one point on each section too!

AA: 19
TS: 20
PA: 19

 

[iambatman]

Guessing well (and there is a science behind guessing) will bump your score up on the "iffy" sections.

I'm just curious - could you fill me in behing this 'science'? It just sounds very interesting, that's all! I know it's important to eliminate, and then to avoid answer choices with 'harsh words', such as always and never (since not all things are 'always' true or always 'not' true), but what other ways are there? Thanks!

 

[Audio]

WOW! I did the EXACT same thing you did, except I also used Barrons for PAT. And I topped you by one point on each section too!

AA: 19
TS: 20
PA: 19

This guy is a joke...troll alert

 

[lcinva]

For those of you that have your DAT scores...can you please share your scores and how much time you spent studying for it? Also, how did you study for it? Much thanks!

I'm probably a little bit of an anomaly, but I studied for about 3 weeks, about 2-3 hours a day, some days I skipped and then did marathon sessions on the weekends, particularly the weekends before.
AA -23
TS - 21
PAT - 18

fyi - I didn't have a good science base before going in, if you really focus and memorize (meaning everything) Kaplan, you can get these scores.

 

[Generallee]

I'm probably a little bit of an anomaly, but I studied for about 3 weeks, about 2-3 hours a day, some days I skipped and then did marathon sessions on the weekends, particularly the weekends before.
AA -23
TS - 21
PAT - 18

fyi - I didn't have a good science base before going in, if you really focus and memorize (meaning everything) Kaplan, you can get these scores.

I'd have to slightly disagree with this.... You can memorize everything in Kaplan and do well. However, I really believe the Kaplan was lacking in the Biology section. I felt my strength was in Biology but only got 18. I never had an anatomy/physiology course and I feel that if I had done this class before the DAT, my scores would have been higher.

 

[kurt10]

I'd have to slightly disagree with this.... You can memorize everything in Kaplan and do well. However, I really believe the Kaplan was lacking in the Biology section. I felt my strength was in Biology but only got 18. I never had an anatomy/physiology course and I feel that if I had done this class before the DAT, my scores would have been higher.

I agree with Generallee. i'm a biology major and that's where i scored the lowest. i'm just now starting my physiology class and i have yet to take anatomy. i honestly don't know why people take the DAT without taking those classes. there was alot on the DAT that i had never seen or heard of at all. bio 17, RC 18, QR 19, GC 20, OC 24, PAT 21.

 

[iambatman]

This guy is a joke...troll alert

I'm just curious, why am I a joke?

AA 19
TS 20
PA 19

I used Barrons for the PAT and Kaplan and the subject tests - What's so funny? Please fill me in.

BTW, I made a 24 on the Biology section - I think this is because I majored in Biology, I've taken quite a few Bio courses, and they certainly helped!

 

[food4thots]

i had kaplan prep course, but studied maybe 1-3 hours each day for about 2 months.

Bio 19, gchem 21, ochem 21, ts 20, rc 21, math 21, pat 20.

 

[cowsgomoo]

Studied for 3 weeks for about 6-8 hrs a day. I would say that good scores can be attained in a short amount of time as long as you put in the effort.

 

[drengineer]

21 AA/ 22 TS/ 17 PAT
Studied for 1 month or a little more for about 6-8 hours a day.
I mainly used the Kaplan review book.

 

[beannaithe]

I spent 4-5 months studying 2-3 hours a day and skipping some days. Read Kaplan's book 4-5 times and one last time the weekend before taking the exam.

I did Barron's practic exams 3 times each and went through question by question to make sure each one was right. I also took Kaplan's practice test twie and the online test once. The two weeks before the test, I took one section of the tests each night.

I used Barron's for PAT and didn't really concentrate on it as much as I should have.

I took the DAT in the middle of my finals week at my school because I was leaving to study abroad a few days after finals. Biggest mistake I ever made because it was really hard to take it after I had taken so many exams.

Though it didn't kill my scores...

AA 21 / TS 21 / PA 18

Good luck!

 

[miravyn]

I studied on and off for 1 month and 1/2 (no studying over the weekends and on Fridays). Two weeks before the test, I was hardcore studying from 1PM to 12AM. In that time, I took a full length test everyday and went over the solutions. I think I learned more in that two weeks than I did over that 1month and half with the on and off studying. I don't study well unless it's coming up real soon. As for study material, I used Bio and G chem examkrackers, Kaplan Blue book o chem, some Kaplan subject tests, all Kaplan full length tests, Topscore CD, and a PAT workshop at UCLA (wasn't that helpful actually). Two weeks before the test, I was so nervous that I had trouble sleeping and felt like vomiting all the time. The morning of the test, I had to jogging to calm myself down. Good luck for those who still need to take it. The DAT is an achievement test so as long as you put the time, you will do well.

 

[iambatman]

I'm just curious, why am I a joke?

AA 19
TS 20
PA 19

I used Barrons for the PAT and Kaplan and the subject tests - What's so funny? Please fill me in.

BTW, I made a 24 on the Biology section - I think this is because I majored in Biology, I've taken quite a few Bio courses, and they certainly helped!

Hey, Audio, I'm still waiting for an answer....... 😕