I typically don't post on things like this for any reason but I think sharing my experience on something like the DAT will be really useful for other's.
I'm sure my studying was a little unconventional compared to other's and I'm sure my results aren't the best but I'm happy with them and I believe they'll get me into my desired dental school.
To begin with, I took my DAT on the first of July, 2015. I took a comprehensive Kaplan course that began in January and ended in mid April. It was an online course that was three hours every Saturday. Due to the fact that I was in school full time and didn't really have the time required to devote to the class I didn't find it all that helpful but it was really good taking it so I was familiarized with the exam once I did really start to study for it. In my opinion, the Kaplan course would be great if you have the time for it. I regret dropping that kind of money on class when I didn't get the full service from it. They cut off your access about two months after the class ends (June) so I didn't really make any use of it. I began my actual studying in mid May once I was done with my finals. I started off using Chad's videos for gen Chem (a MUST) I don't know how else I would've done on chemistry if not for that. I also used a Destroyer (Bio, Chem, OChem, and Quant), and DATQvault. This is where the use of the Kaplan course came in because they give you a comprehensive book with notes on all the sections. I found it particularly useful for Biology. An additional resource I used was Khan Academy videos for understanding Bio concepts. I found they have a way of making complex ideas very simple and concise. I studied everyday from mid May up until two days before my exam, about 6 hours a day of reading and working problems. Periodically I would take full length exams to see where I was and I used TopScore Pro for that. As for PAT, I used CrackDAT PAT which was awesome and super helpful but I found the PAT on the actual exam was significantly harder in some sections.
These were my scores:
PA: 17
Quant: 19
RC: 25
Bio:19
Gen Chem: 21
OChem: 21
TS:20
AA:21
I hope this was helpful in some way to anyone 🙂
Overall my recommendation would be take a comprehensive study course if you have the time. If not, just devote yourself to hardcore studying for two months and you will see the results you want. CrackDAT PAT, Destroyers, and Chad's videos were a huuuge factor in the outcome of my test.
I'm sure my studying was a little unconventional compared to other's and I'm sure my results aren't the best but I'm happy with them and I believe they'll get me into my desired dental school.
To begin with, I took my DAT on the first of July, 2015. I took a comprehensive Kaplan course that began in January and ended in mid April. It was an online course that was three hours every Saturday. Due to the fact that I was in school full time and didn't really have the time required to devote to the class I didn't find it all that helpful but it was really good taking it so I was familiarized with the exam once I did really start to study for it. In my opinion, the Kaplan course would be great if you have the time for it. I regret dropping that kind of money on class when I didn't get the full service from it. They cut off your access about two months after the class ends (June) so I didn't really make any use of it. I began my actual studying in mid May once I was done with my finals. I started off using Chad's videos for gen Chem (a MUST) I don't know how else I would've done on chemistry if not for that. I also used a Destroyer (Bio, Chem, OChem, and Quant), and DATQvault. This is where the use of the Kaplan course came in because they give you a comprehensive book with notes on all the sections. I found it particularly useful for Biology. An additional resource I used was Khan Academy videos for understanding Bio concepts. I found they have a way of making complex ideas very simple and concise. I studied everyday from mid May up until two days before my exam, about 6 hours a day of reading and working problems. Periodically I would take full length exams to see where I was and I used TopScore Pro for that. As for PAT, I used CrackDAT PAT which was awesome and super helpful but I found the PAT on the actual exam was significantly harder in some sections.
These were my scores:
PA: 17
Quant: 19
RC: 25
Bio:19
Gen Chem: 21
OChem: 21
TS:20
AA:21
I hope this was helpful in some way to anyone 🙂
Overall my recommendation would be take a comprehensive study course if you have the time. If not, just devote yourself to hardcore studying for two months and you will see the results you want. CrackDAT PAT, Destroyers, and Chad's videos were a huuuge factor in the outcome of my test.
