How to rock the DAT?

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denthopeful86

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Hey guys,

Is it possible to do well on the DAT without taking anything other than Gen Bio, Chem and Ochem? It is looking that those are the classes that I will have time for before I want to test. I hear people saying the classes like biochem, anatomy, cell biology, etc. helped them a lot. Is it still possible to own the test (20+) with out having that experience?
 
Plenty of people did well without taking additional courses. It all comes down to : how well you prepared for the DAT, how well do you remember concepts from prereqs, how much material were you able to cover. Additional classes are helpful because you will have a deeper understanding of material, and also, it will be more review than feeling lost when you study for bio section. Personally I'm glad I took a lot of upper division classes and doing them helped me focus on other areas which I was unfamiliar with.
But the level of the DAT questions are more like either you know it or you don't.
 
I took Ecology and Cell and Molecular Bio before my DAT. I am now taking Micro and Genetics and while they may give you more of an advantage, they are not totally necessary. A lot of the basics are covered in Bio 1 and I found that a lot of questions also came from my principles of bio 2 course. Just master Cliffs AP bio and take lot's of practice exams and should be fine.
 
Definitely possible to do well, assuming you know the subjects well. I would do problems from Kaplan, Destriyer, Odyasey, CrackDat. Also organic chemistry as a second language, Cliffs and Schaums outlines really help. In terms of the course work, you have all you need. Just check your knowledge before taking the test. Hope this helps. Good luck.

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It's definitely possible to do well! It really depends on how much effort you put in to prepare and properly learn the material. Almost nothing on the DAT requires knowledge beyond the level of lower div general bio, chem, and ochem. Of course, extra classes would help but you can definitely score above 20 without them. I say this because I took my test BEFORE even taking any general bio classes (well, I did take Ecology/Evolution but its not like that was super useful...) plus I had to relearn all my ochem through watching Chad's videos/using Destroyer. Just putting in my two cents. Good luck!!
 
Hey guys,

Is it possible to do well on the DAT without taking anything other than Gen Bio, Chem and Ochem? It is looking that those are the classes that I will have time for before I want to test. I hear people saying the classes like biochem, anatomy, cell biology, etc. helped them a lot. Is it still possible to own the test (20+) with out having that experience?


If you are a good test-taker and having those general classes down is enough. Upper-level classes will also help
 
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