Just took the DAT!

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ToothMcToothface

ToothMcToothface

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I just took the DAT yesterday and I was SO surprised by my scores!
PA/QR/RC/BIO/GC/OC/TS/AA
22/22/25/21/23/27/23/24

I studied so long and the DAT basically owned my life for 3 months, but I guess it paid off! I was so nervous the day before and started thinking I seriously didn't know anything at all.

I took a Kaplan course, used DAT Bootcamp and Chad's videos. I also used the AP Bio book everyone talks about. Let me know if anyone has any questions because I would have loved to have more help while I prepared.
 
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First off congratulations you killed it. I am currently studying for the dat and want to know your thoughts on bio section and its difficulty. I hear that it's a hit or miss with getting questions on plants and taxonomy.

Also, how was the reading section I've been looking for a way to prepare other than reading science articles. Did you study for it or go off of dat boot camp exams?

And any other advice you would have?
 
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tony729 said:
First off congratulations you killed it. I am currently studying for the dat and want to know your thoughts on bio section and its difficulty. I hear that it's a hit or miss with getting questions on plants and taxonomy.

Also, how was the reading section I've been looking for a way to prepare other than reading science articles. Did you study for it or go off of dat boot camp exams?

And any other advice you would have?
Click to expand...
I relied heavily on the Kaplan "review note" blue book. I read through that thing one time through the whole thing, then re-read the biology section probably 4 times. I will attach the word document I made that pretty much summarized everything Kaplan said you needed to know for the ecology/taxonomy section. I had probably 3 of those questions and I was SO glad I spent a decent amount of time understanding different phyla. However, the DAT had 2-3 questions that included things I really didn't know. Something about "chimera" a medicine given to a mouse and some other gene term. But I felt like I reasoned through them and just put my best guess. In addition to really understanding Kaplan's bio section, I supplemented it with the Cliff's AP bio book. That book is good and throws in some extra terms that came up on one question specifically (about different types of speciation/genetics).

For RC, I didn't ever read outside stuff haha. I only did practice Reading Comp section tests and Full-Lengths. Overall for RC I did 5 full-lengths and 3-4 additional RC practice tests. For the record, my practice test scores went 15 (diagnostic), 16, 20, 19, 18, then 21. I did find the real DAT easier than Kaplan's practice tests but thought those tests were useful to learn information I was missing. I would look up Kaplan's reading strategy and start employing it if you aren't already. You read the whole article quickly and write down 3-5 key things for each paragraph. Then, while you go through the questions, you find the keyword you've written and trace it back to the correct paragraph to find the answer to the question.

Let me know if that helps or any other questions you have!

http://www.viewdocsonline.com/document/mf8bsb
http://www.viewdocsonline.com/document/pyth7h
 
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Nice job! How did you study for Orgo? Feel like its my biggest weakness and that doesn't make me comfortable...what kind of questions are on there, similar to bootcamp or destroyer or both?
 
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smilez10 said:
Nice job! How did you study for Orgo? Feel like its my biggest weakness and that doesn't make me comfortable...what kind of questions are on there, similar to bootcamp or destroyer or both?
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I'm probably not super helpful with this section because I was an o-chem TA and felt strong in it. I spent way more time studying biology and gen chem for sure. But my real score was 1-3 points higher than what I was usually getting in DAT bootcamp, so maybe use that as a primary source. I did have problems from destroyer, but I felt that every single one of those problems had some hidden trick whereas the DAT appeared more straightforward. However, the Destroyer helps you get little details down better. If you are using destroyer you should make flashcards of the "roadmap" things that are like halfway in to the solutions. Really understand SN1, SN2, E1, E2, acid/base, stability of carbocations, and know your IUPAC naming. Although there was one specific naming question, other questions were reactions but the answers were listed in IUPAC format so I had to know what they were. Youtube has some great explanations if you search by topic I'm sure you can get the hang of all of it!
 
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Amazing scores, congratulations!
I also took a Kaplan Course that ended in late March and am struggling to build up my confidence for my DAT scheduled for May 11th. I'm mostly concerned with Gen Chem and O chem, and catching up on memorizing a bunch of bio. I'm also not very strong with math. What do you feel given all those materials made you do so well? How did you utilize them efficiently? I also bought a DAT bootcamp subscription and would love to know how you used it.
For the Chad videos, did you use the free ones on his website or paid subscription?
I'm finishing up going through the free ones marked for the DAT/OAT now and am hoping those will be sufficient for Gen Chem.
Thank you in advance!
 
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AllAboutSmiles7 said:
Amazing scores, congratulations!
I also took a Kaplan Course that ended in late March and am struggling to build up my confidence for my DAT scheduled for May 11th. I'm mostly concerned with Gen Chem and O chem, and catching up on memorizing a bunch of bio. I'm also not very strong with math. What do you feel given all those materials made you do so well? How did you utilize them efficiently? I also bought a DAT bootcamp subscription and would love to know how you used it.
For the Chad videos, did you use the free ones on his website or paid subscription?
I'm finishing up going through the free ones marked for the DAT/OAT now and am hoping those will be sufficient for Gen Chem.
Thank you in advance!
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Honestly, I don't think anyone ever feels READY and confident. I certainly didn't haha. For Chad's videos I paid the monthly fee to get access to all the videos. Those were what helped me grasp gen chem for sure. When I was taking my Kaplan practice tests, I was scoring like 13-16 on the QR section so I was slightly horrified. I used DAT bootcamp to help me with math by taking all 10 of the QR section tests. The most important part is to read through the answers and understand how to do each type, and that goes for any subject with the section tests. DAT bootcamp is also a great practice for the PAT section because you can practice single sections to master them. I will say that those angle rankings were a little easier on the real DAT than bootcamp, but bootcamp definitely preps you well. Chad's videos also has a brief math section that goes over the most common types of QR problems (like rates and permutations) so those helped to introduce topics. Lastly, for biology I read through the Kaplan book bio section probably a total of four times. In addition to that, I read through the AP Cliff's bio book one time through (skipping most of the plant stuff and other irrelevant material for the DAT).

My advice to you is to assess where you are based on your practice scores. Have you taken the Kaplan full length tests? You still have a bit of time to lock in subjects but if you are way way off from your goal score it might be wise to reschedule. Better to reschedule now, master the sections then take it when you are more prepared rather than go through the emotional trauma of taking it, not doing well, and having to repay $450. Let me know if you have any more questions!
 
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madiritz said:
I'm probably not super helpful with this section because I was an o-chem TA and felt strong in it. I spent way more time studying biology and gen chem for sure. But my real score was 1-3 points higher than what I was usually getting in DAT bootcamp, so maybe use that as a primary source. I did have problems from destroyer, but I felt that every single one of those problems had some hidden trick whereas the DAT appeared more straightforward. However, the Destroyer helps you get little details down better. If you are using destroyer you should make flashcards of the "roadmap" things that are like halfway in to the solutions. Really understand SN1, SN2, E1, E2, acid/base, stability of carbocations, and know your IUPAC naming. Although there was one specific naming question, other questions were reactions but the answers were listed in IUPAC format so I had to know what they were. Youtube has some great explanations if you search by topic I'm sure you can get the hang of all of it!
Click to expand...

was there a lot of Organic 2 Material on the test, or was it all just semester 1 stuff?
 
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madiritz said:
Honestly, I don't think anyone ever feels READY and confident. I certainly didn't haha. For Chad's videos I paid the monthly fee to get access to all the videos. Those were what helped me grasp gen chem for sure. When I was taking my Kaplan practice tests, I was scoring like 13-16 on the QR section so I was slightly horrified. I used DAT bootcamp to help me with math by taking all 10 of the QR section tests. The most important part is to read through the answers and understand how to do each type, and that goes for any subject with the section tests. DAT bootcamp is also a great practice for the PAT section because you can practice single sections to master them. I will say that those angle rankings were a little easier on the real DAT than bootcamp, but bootcamp definitely preps you well. Chad's videos also has a brief math section that goes over the most common types of QR problems (like rates and permutations) so those helped to introduce topics. Lastly, for biology I read through the Kaplan book bio section probably a total of four times. In addition to that, I read through the AP Cliff's bio book one time through (skipping most of the plant stuff and other irrelevant material for the DAT).

My advice to you is to assess where you are based on your practice scores. Have you taken the Kaplan full length tests? You still have a bit of time to lock in subjects but if you are way way off from your goal score it might be wise to reschedule. Better to reschedule now, master the sections then take it when you are more prepared rather than go through the emotional trauma of taking it, not doing well, and having to repay $450. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm tempted to get those videos, but feel like 2 weeks isn't going to be enough time to go through them and do practice tests/subsections. But maybe it would be better to just go through all of bootcamps/kaplans subsection tests for gen chem/ochem to see where I'm at and subjects I need to study/practice more to get the hang of?
Did you practice each subject everyday when you were studying or break it up into certain subjects each day?
I have the next 2 weeks straight to do nothing but study (took off work and everything). So, I feel like that should be enough time if I just have a proper game plan.
Do you feel that the Kaplan review and lesson book prepped you for the right material and bootcamp was good for mastering/practicing it?
The last Kaplan practice test I took was 2 weeks ago and it was kind of all over the place still (16 overall, yikes) However, I did manage to get a 19 on the Ochem section and my last bootcamp I got a 17 for ochem.
I took my first full length bootcamp practice test about a week ago but didn't feel like that was a realistic score since I took the subject tests only a day or two before and felt that I basically memorized answers. So it's really difficult for me to gage where I'm at right now as far as practice exams go. I'm not sure if my bootcamp scores are realistic if I've seen all the exact same problems in the subsection tests.
Also, do you think the Kaplan full length exams where much more difficult than the real deal, or at least seemed to give you lower scores than bootcamp?

Sorry for the million questions, but thank you so much for your helpful response!
 
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GypsyHummus said:
was there a lot of Organic 2 Material on the test, or was it all just semester 1 stuff?
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It's hard to remember now haha. But there was definitely material from all over. You need to know your SN1, SN2, E1, E2 stuff and reagents. It definitely doesn't go into much detail (like you probably did during semester classes) but you still need to have most topics locked down.
 
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Hey! Congrats on those amazing scores, that's incredible!! Did you have a set study schedule that you were going off of or would you be willing to write a quick breakdown of how you studied over the course of the 3 months? I'm beginning to prepare and want to make sure i don't miss anything. Thanks!!
 
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pitt2323 said:
Hey! Congrats on those amazing scores, that's incredible!! Did you have a set study schedule that you were going off of or would you be willing to write a quick breakdown of how you studied over the course of the 3 months? I'm beginning to prepare and want to make sure i don't miss anything. Thanks!!
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Yes! I actually just finished my post about my whole DAT breakdown and what I did/used. I am new to this site so I'm just posting the link to that forum here, not sure if there is a better way to do it..?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-i-studied-for-the-dat-24aa.1196133/
 
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AllAboutSmiles7 said:
Yeah, I'm tempted to get those videos, but feel like 2 weeks isn't going to be enough time to go through them and do practice tests/subsections. But maybe it would be better to just go through all of bootcamps/kaplans subsection tests for gen chem/ochem to see where I'm at and subjects I need to study/practice more to get the hang of?
Did you practice each subject everyday when you were studying or break it up into certain subjects each day?
I have the next 2 weeks straight to do nothing but study (took off work and everything). So, I feel like that should be enough time if I just have a proper game plan.
Do you feel that the Kaplan review and lesson book prepped you for the right material and bootcamp was good for mastering/practicing it?
The last Kaplan practice test I took was 2 weeks ago and it was kind of all over the place still (16 overall, yikes) However, I did manage to get a 19 on the Ochem section and my last bootcamp I got a 17 for ochem.
I took my first full length bootcamp practice test about a week ago but didn't feel like that was a realistic score since I took the subject tests only a day or two before and felt that I basically memorized answers. So it's really difficult for me to gage where I'm at right now as far as practice exams go. I'm not sure if my bootcamp scores are realistic if I've seen all the exact same problems in the subsection tests.
Also, do you think the Kaplan full length exams where much more difficult than the real deal, or at least seemed to give you lower scores than bootcamp?

Sorry for the million questions, but thank you so much for your helpful response!
Click to expand...
Ya I would definitely recommend doing those practice tests to see where you're at. That's really good you have set aside this time to only study, that'll make a huge difference. I usually only studied 1-3 topics a day. Some days I would really be struggling with something and it just took all my time. I remember spending a whole freaking day learning how to do ksp problems for gen chem haha. Other days I would set up to read however many bio chapters, then study QR and take a section test. It's important to set that daily schedule for yourself to keep yourself on pace. I do feel like the Kaplan review book (not so much the lesson book, I hardly touched that) prepped me for the right material. And yes, Bootcamp was a great practice source for sure. The practice test problem you mentioned (already knowing the questions from Bootcamp) was the reason I stuck to taking my Kaplan full-lengths and used Bootcamp only for section tests. Lastly, I do feel like Kaplan was tougher than the real thing and was giving me lower scores than Bootcamp. I just posted a forum about my whole DAT breakdown if you want to take a look. I hope this is helpful! Inbox me with any other questions, I'm glad to help.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-i-studied-for-the-dat-24aa.1196133/
 
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