- Joined
- Aug 2, 2016
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 109
Hello, from my little corner of the internet!
I cannot believe that I am FINALLY writing this breakdown-- it's gonna be long, hang on. I took my DAT today and I still think I'm in shock, so bear with me. Let me say, I'm not one of those geniuses who goes and make a 24 or 25 and is all like, "Think I have a chance?", but I am beyond proud of my score and even happier that I don't have to wake up and study all day tomorrow. I ended up with an 21 AA, TS 20, BIO 18, OCHEM 20, GCHEM 26, PAT 20, RC 22, and QR 17.
Background:
I am a rising senior with a 3.96 GPA and 3.9 science GPA. I have shadowed my past three summers with different local practices, and I've worked my hardest to make my resume what it is now.
Studying:
I bought study materials (Kaplan BB, DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp, and Chad's videos) and started studying when I got home for Christmas break (lame, I know). My school has a JanTerm of three weeks, and I wasn't taking any classes so I was home for almost 6 weeks. I studied for about six hours a day 5 days a week. I read through KBB first, then worked half of the Destroyer book. I started Bootcamp and completed all of their mini section tests. Then the spring semester started. During school, I watched two to three Chad's videos a day and took detailed notes on these, along with the occasional BC minitest (probably 3 to 4 a week, different subjects) and played with the PAT generators for at least 15 minutes every day. I took my first practice test midway through the semester. When I got home for summer, I had exactly three weeks until my test, and I went into serious study mode. Every day I studied for eight hours on average. Sundays were a little shorter because of church in the morning, but I picked up the books nonetheless. I went through all of the BC section tests again for each subject, and made sure I really understood each solution. I studied all of my notes from Chad's videos, and I took the 2007 (19AA) and 2009 (20AA) DATs, a Kaplan one that came with my book (18AA, but this was three weeks prior to the test), and the free Princeton Review one (19AA). I also went through Destroyer again those three weeks and made sure I was comfortable with at least most of the material (choose your battles). Yesterday, the day before my test, my mom literally forced me into the car and made me get a massage; she was worried about my sanity I think. That was actually really good, and I would recommend light studying and something that will get your mind and body out of the overdrive that it has been powering through for the past however many months. Day of, EAT. Even if you don't feel like it, try to get something down.
Scores:
BIO (18): Not too happy about this. On my Bootcamp minitests, I was scoring averages of around 20-22. I felt comfortable with the material-- well, as much as possible-- and I was getting a good 90% of the Destroyer questions. A good bit of this I think came from my nerves. When I walked into the testing center and sat down to check in, a girl ran out from the test room and yelled, "MY COMPUTER SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF MY TEST HELP" and I thought, whelp great. That was strike one. Then...my drivers license, unbeknownst to me, was EXPIRED. Sweet baby Jesus help me. By the grace of God I had put my passport in my bag just in case, so I whipped it out. Strike two. So by the time dear old biology popped up I was seriously frazzled. And the fact that probably half of the questions sounded like they had been written by a non-English speaker didn't help. Deep breath, move on.
GCHEM (26): I felt like Bootcamp @Ari Rezaei was definitely the best practice tool, along with Chad for the stuff that was a bit foggy. I was consistently scoring around 20 on the minitests here.
OCHEM (20): Same story for this one as before; Destroyer helped solidify both chems for me.
PAT (20): Funny story- it's a running joke in my family that I am positively ATROCIOUS at puzzles. And it's true. So a 20 might seem low for a lot of you, but for me it might as well have been a 30. All I can say is BOOTCAMP. I started off making 'below a 14' but with lots of daily practice I pulled it up 6 points. If I can do it, YOU can do it. And hey, now I've joined the rank of normal human puzzle talent (if not a tad higher- it's PAT that's not normal human let's be real).
RC (22): I didn't study for this section besides the full length practice tests I took. I've always had a solid reading background (back in the glory days I got a 36 on the reading of my ACT), so this section wasn't at the top of my priority list.
QR (17): Biggest regrets here...Long story short, I should have studied more. But I prioritized the sciences and PAT and studied math every once in a while during the semester and that bit me in the butt the last three weeks. The math isn't hard, the time is. [side note- what do y'all think this low score will do, am I safe?]
In the end, all the glory goes to God. He is the one who gives everyone their different talents and abilities, and the DAT wasn't just a journey of studying for me, it was one of faith-growing too. I truly believe that God has called me to be a dentist, and I would tell myself day after day that something as meager and small as the DAT wasn't going to keep GOD from getting me where I belong. He has your entire life mapped out; all you have to do is put forth your effort, and if it is supposed to happen, it will. Please, if anyone ever needs a prayer, LET ME KNOW! I had so many people thinking and praying for me today, and honestly it makes all the difference in the world. In conclusion, YOU can do it. You've spent the time, now go in there with your bad self and show 'em who is boss.
I cannot believe that I am FINALLY writing this breakdown-- it's gonna be long, hang on. I took my DAT today and I still think I'm in shock, so bear with me. Let me say, I'm not one of those geniuses who goes and make a 24 or 25 and is all like, "Think I have a chance?", but I am beyond proud of my score and even happier that I don't have to wake up and study all day tomorrow. I ended up with an 21 AA, TS 20, BIO 18, OCHEM 20, GCHEM 26, PAT 20, RC 22, and QR 17.
Background:
I am a rising senior with a 3.96 GPA and 3.9 science GPA. I have shadowed my past three summers with different local practices, and I've worked my hardest to make my resume what it is now.
Studying:
I bought study materials (Kaplan BB, DAT Destroyer, DAT Bootcamp, and Chad's videos) and started studying when I got home for Christmas break (lame, I know). My school has a JanTerm of three weeks, and I wasn't taking any classes so I was home for almost 6 weeks. I studied for about six hours a day 5 days a week. I read through KBB first, then worked half of the Destroyer book. I started Bootcamp and completed all of their mini section tests. Then the spring semester started. During school, I watched two to three Chad's videos a day and took detailed notes on these, along with the occasional BC minitest (probably 3 to 4 a week, different subjects) and played with the PAT generators for at least 15 minutes every day. I took my first practice test midway through the semester. When I got home for summer, I had exactly three weeks until my test, and I went into serious study mode. Every day I studied for eight hours on average. Sundays were a little shorter because of church in the morning, but I picked up the books nonetheless. I went through all of the BC section tests again for each subject, and made sure I really understood each solution. I studied all of my notes from Chad's videos, and I took the 2007 (19AA) and 2009 (20AA) DATs, a Kaplan one that came with my book (18AA, but this was three weeks prior to the test), and the free Princeton Review one (19AA). I also went through Destroyer again those three weeks and made sure I was comfortable with at least most of the material (choose your battles). Yesterday, the day before my test, my mom literally forced me into the car and made me get a massage; she was worried about my sanity I think. That was actually really good, and I would recommend light studying and something that will get your mind and body out of the overdrive that it has been powering through for the past however many months. Day of, EAT. Even if you don't feel like it, try to get something down.
Scores:
BIO (18): Not too happy about this. On my Bootcamp minitests, I was scoring averages of around 20-22. I felt comfortable with the material-- well, as much as possible-- and I was getting a good 90% of the Destroyer questions. A good bit of this I think came from my nerves. When I walked into the testing center and sat down to check in, a girl ran out from the test room and yelled, "MY COMPUTER SHUT DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF MY TEST HELP" and I thought, whelp great. That was strike one. Then...my drivers license, unbeknownst to me, was EXPIRED. Sweet baby Jesus help me. By the grace of God I had put my passport in my bag just in case, so I whipped it out. Strike two. So by the time dear old biology popped up I was seriously frazzled. And the fact that probably half of the questions sounded like they had been written by a non-English speaker didn't help. Deep breath, move on.
GCHEM (26): I felt like Bootcamp @Ari Rezaei was definitely the best practice tool, along with Chad for the stuff that was a bit foggy. I was consistently scoring around 20 on the minitests here.
OCHEM (20): Same story for this one as before; Destroyer helped solidify both chems for me.
PAT (20): Funny story- it's a running joke in my family that I am positively ATROCIOUS at puzzles. And it's true. So a 20 might seem low for a lot of you, but for me it might as well have been a 30. All I can say is BOOTCAMP. I started off making 'below a 14' but with lots of daily practice I pulled it up 6 points. If I can do it, YOU can do it. And hey, now I've joined the rank of normal human puzzle talent (if not a tad higher- it's PAT that's not normal human let's be real).
RC (22): I didn't study for this section besides the full length practice tests I took. I've always had a solid reading background (back in the glory days I got a 36 on the reading of my ACT), so this section wasn't at the top of my priority list.
QR (17): Biggest regrets here...Long story short, I should have studied more. But I prioritized the sciences and PAT and studied math every once in a while during the semester and that bit me in the butt the last three weeks. The math isn't hard, the time is. [side note- what do y'all think this low score will do, am I safe?]
In the end, all the glory goes to God. He is the one who gives everyone their different talents and abilities, and the DAT wasn't just a journey of studying for me, it was one of faith-growing too. I truly believe that God has called me to be a dentist, and I would tell myself day after day that something as meager and small as the DAT wasn't going to keep GOD from getting me where I belong. He has your entire life mapped out; all you have to do is put forth your effort, and if it is supposed to happen, it will. Please, if anyone ever needs a prayer, LET ME KNOW! I had so many people thinking and praying for me today, and honestly it makes all the difference in the world. In conclusion, YOU can do it. You've spent the time, now go in there with your bad self and show 'em who is boss.