Freaking Out About DAT...

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Hi everyone,

I am scheduled to take my DAT the first week of January. I know DAT studying is all about trusting the process, but I'm starting to feel really anxious. In terms of my studying, I only have 4 chapters of the Bootcamp Bio Notes left and 6 chapters of OC videos left.

My goal is to be done with those sections by next week and start a mix of Destroyer and Bootcamp exams. That'll leave me with about 3 weeks until my exam.

I guess my question is, any advice?
What would you recommend I focus on? When would you start Bootcamp exams/section tests? Is my freaking out just silly? ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!! :(

I feel like I've hit a lull in my studying and motivation, so words of encouragement are always appreciated :unsure:

EDIT: I forgot to mention, I can't reschedule it! Lots of reasons as to why but I am determined to conquer this test!! I know I have come super far in my studying and I have put in lots of work for the past 3 months. No one ever feels ready to take the exam. I guess what I'm asking is: it's crunch time for me-- the final stretch! What would be the best things to do? What do you wish you did in the 3 weeks approaching your exam?

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The best advice I can give a student is to reschedule the exam if you are having doubts as your test date approaches. We all have intuition, listen to yours. If you are not feeling ready the first week of January, why not reschedule. You only want to face the DAT Beast one time if possible!

Wishing you the best, and my words of encouragement are, get back to work and believe in yourself.

Nancy
 
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The best advice I can give a student is to reschedule the exam if you are having doubts as your test date approaches. We all have intuition, listen to yours. If you are not feeling ready the first week of January, why not reschedule. You only want to face the DAT Beast one time if possible!

Wishing you the best, and my words of encouragement are, get back to work and believe in yourself.

Nancy

Hi Nancy, thank you for your words of encouragement! :) I forgot to mention, I can't reschedule it! Lots of reasons as to why but I am determined to conquer this test!! I know I have come super far in my studying and I have put in lots of work for the past 3 months. No one ever feels ready to take the exam. I guess what I'm asking is: it's crunch time for me-- the final stretch! What would be the best things to do?
 
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Hi Nancy, thank you for your words of encouragement! :) I forgot to mention, I can't reschedule it! Lots of reasons as to why but I am determined to conquer this test!! I know I have come super far in my studying and I have put in lots of work for the past 3 months. No one ever feels ready to take the exam. I guess what I'm asking is: it's crunch time for me-- the final stretch! What would be the best things to do?

You mentioned you are using the Destroyers, I highly encourage you to get through all the work, the Destroyer is challenging but so is the DAT, it is best to go in overprepared than under. There are many, many versions of the DAT so it is very important to be prepared for whatever comes your way!

Try not to compare yourself to others, make your own plan of attack!

Good luck!
 
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You mentioned you are using the Destroyers, I highly encourage you to get through all the work, the Destroyer is challenging but so is the DAT, it is best to go in overprepared than under. There are many, many versions of the DAT so it is very important to be prepared for whatever comes your way!

Try not to compare yourself to others, make your own plan of attack!

Good luck!
Thank you so much Nancy :) When I start Destroyer next week, I'm sure I'll get discouraged but I've heard to just trust the process. Overpreparing is way better than under. Just letting my nerves get the best of me. Thank you again!!!
 
Thank you so much for your words to keep going :) What do you think really helped you conquer the DAT in the last few weeks of your studying?
Finding my weaknesses with destroyer and using bootcamp to fill in the gaps. Seriously I got so many problems wrong on destroyer and every time I did I would circle it. When I went back and got it wrong again I made myself rewatch mikes videos and take notes.
 
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Thank you so much Nancy :) When I start Destroyer next week, I'm sure I'll get discouraged but I've heard to just trust the process. Overpreparing is way better than under. Just letting my nerves get the best of me. Thank you again!!!
Always happy to help! Feel free to ask questions, and I do my best to answer .
 
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Finding my weaknesses with destroyer and using bootcamp to fill in the gaps. Seriously I got so many problems wrong on destroyer and every time I did I would circle it. When I went back and got it wrong again I made myself rewatch mikes videos and take notes.
That's a really good idea! Do you think it's time consuming though?
 
It depends. I was already scoring 21-25 on my Bootcamp sections at the time and knew I needed to do that in order to get a 23+. If your scores are still sub 22 I’d recommend following Ari’s plan until like the last two weeks and then fixing the wholes in your knowledge base. This is what I think makes destroyer worth it. But fair warning it is HARD. I scored a 30 in OC and 24 GC and couldn’t do 1/2 the problems at first.
 
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I must interject that students do not always score higher than their test scores, I get many emails from students in tears that scored lower. In my opinion, if you are short on time I would focus on Destroyer first and if you have time left take some tests.

Appalachian is giving great advice too, but it depends a lot of what works best for you.

I shout out to Appalachian again on the great scores, and we share a love of animals too!

Keep us posted along with your journey!

Nancy
 
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