- Joined
- Oct 18, 2015
- Messages
- 40
- Reaction score
- 30
Firstly, thank you to my friends and famliy who have supported me in this long long journey and also, thank you to every one who took their time out and responded to my questions on this forum. You guys are amazing!!
3 years ago, I was a dental student in Pakistan and everything was going smoothly, but then we got our USA permanent residency and we were faced with a decision of whether to move to a foreign country and restart my path to dentistry or to continue my studies in Pakistan. Safe to say, we made the right decision 😀
The breakdown:
MAKE YOUR OWN STUDY SCHEDULE. Do not rely on the schedules made by other people. Only you know what your strength and weaknesses are. Do not put off your weak sections for a later day. Work on them as soon as possible. I started studying during the second week of May (after finals) and kept studying for 5-10 hours a day till July 12. I took a week off because I got burnt out (Losing too much weight, avoiding studies because I was getting scared of even reading the material, feeling lazy and telling myself I'm too tired to study). My advice is to have rest days. I didn't and it cost me. Also, I gave my DAT on July 13, but I encountered a lot of problems at the testing centre so they rescheduled me for a July 28 exam.
The exam will give you a tutorial at the start. Be sure to skip it ASAP. My tutorial was taking time out of my actual test.
First section- Sciences- Bio, GC, OC- 1hr 30min
Biology 19:
I used Dr. Romano’s notes, DAT Destroyer 2018, Bootcamp, and DAT QVault. I didn't complete Dr. Romano's notes because I wanted to dive straight into the questions (wrong decision- complete his book). I did every single Qvault and Bootcamp bio test and made lots of notes. Last 2 days of my prep, I skimmed over the Destroyer. Today after my DAT, I reopened my destroyer and literally saw 10-15 questions that came from that book word for word. Definitely over-prepare for bio, but I definitely think Dynamite and Destroyer is all you need.
Qvault: 17/18/17/17/17
Bootcamp: 17/17/18/17
General Chemistry 20:
I used Mike’s videos, DAT Destroyer 2018, Bootcamp, and DAT QVault. After completing Mike's videos, I did every single Qvault and Bootcamp question. MIKE IS LITERALLY ALL YOU NEED. For GC, it is more important to know how to solve the question than it is to know the material (if that makes sense). My DAT was harder than any practice test I had taken. I was asked a lot of Equilibrium questions which I had never seen before, so definitely focus on that.
Qvault: 21/22/21/20/22
Bootcamp: 20/21/19/20
Organic Chemistry 19:
Mike’s videos, Bootcamp, and DAT Qvault. MIKE IS LITERALLY ALL YOU NEED. Definitely know all the reactions on the bootcamp site. I had 5 Synthesis and 2 mechanism questions. 3 IR/NMR questions. Rest was conceptual. Also, remember CARDIO from bootcamp. There were soooo many questions on my DAT that needed me to know that concept
Qvault: 19/19/20/17/17
Bootcamp: 18/17/19/20
Second Section- PAT- 60 mins
Perceptual Ability 19:
I DO NOT KNOW HOW I GOT A 19. I literally struggled in this the most. I made 14s and 16s in my practice tests lol, but in my last week, i figured out how to do this section the right way. If I had more time, I could have gotten a higher score, but I am happy with a 19. Let me guide you step by step (for all sections Practice everyday using generators everyday. Keep doing them until you get 15 correct)
Skip to Question 31
Angles= Practice everyday using generators everyday. Keep doing them until you get 15 correct
Hole Punching= Joel's way is too time consuming. Get a mouse and try to click on the hole punches on the screen. That way, you'll keep a track of the answer without taking your eyes off the screen.
Cube Counting= Joel's way is too time consuming. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Slice the cubes vertically in your head and count on your fingers how many cubes are shaded. This is way faster.
Pattern folding= Follow Joel's method and Forget about folding the object completely. See which shapes match. See the pattern's relationship resembles what other pattern on your object. Practice definitely improves this.
Go to Question 16
TFE= Line counting doesn't work...or does it 😉 You can choose a specific shape in your object and use line counting on that particular shape only and see which objects match. This eliminates 2/4 options usually. However, I practiced TFE a lot and developed an ability to figure out objects without using that method. During my exam, I was too stressed to think about that method properly so this trick worked for me.
Go to Question 1
Keyhole= PRACTICE.
Also, do not be afraid to skip any question. Use that "MARK" thing. It is a life saver
BREAK- you can review your notes during break, so study QR formulas during this time. Do not study QR in the morning before the test. Use that time to study the above sections.
Third Section- RC- 60mins
Reading Comprehension 20:
I didn't prepare for this section at all. Went in completely blind. When you take the test, be sure to use the highlight feature, because that helped me a lot. If you want a 30, read a passage from Scientific American everyday.
Qvault: Did not attempt
Bootcamp: Did not attempt
Fourth Section- QR- 45mins
Quantitative Reasoning 21:
Math Destroyer 2018, Bootcamp, and QVault. I did tests 1-9 from the destroyer, but I didn't feel like it helped me that much. I went into Qvault and then realized that I was wrong. Destroyer prepares you well. Be sure to understand the concepts. This might be weird, but I kinda struggled with the dime and penny questions because I'm not used to USA coin currency yet xD
Qvault: 18/19/20/18/19/20
Bootcamp: Did not attempt
General:
Practice tests should never be used to judge how you are really doing. If you notice, I didn't do all practice tests. That is because I realized that it is more important to learn the concept than get the right answer. For all the tests (10 Qvault sciences+ 10 Bootcamp sciences) I made notes and understood the right answer from the wrong.
I hope this helps anyone in their DAT journey. Also, do not be intimidated by people getting like 28s etc. Do your best and try as hard as you can to get a AA 20-30. You got this. Good luck 🙂
3 years ago, I was a dental student in Pakistan and everything was going smoothly, but then we got our USA permanent residency and we were faced with a decision of whether to move to a foreign country and restart my path to dentistry or to continue my studies in Pakistan. Safe to say, we made the right decision 😀
The breakdown:
MAKE YOUR OWN STUDY SCHEDULE. Do not rely on the schedules made by other people. Only you know what your strength and weaknesses are. Do not put off your weak sections for a later day. Work on them as soon as possible. I started studying during the second week of May (after finals) and kept studying for 5-10 hours a day till July 12. I took a week off because I got burnt out (Losing too much weight, avoiding studies because I was getting scared of even reading the material, feeling lazy and telling myself I'm too tired to study). My advice is to have rest days. I didn't and it cost me. Also, I gave my DAT on July 13, but I encountered a lot of problems at the testing centre so they rescheduled me for a July 28 exam.
The exam will give you a tutorial at the start. Be sure to skip it ASAP. My tutorial was taking time out of my actual test.
First section- Sciences- Bio, GC, OC- 1hr 30min
Biology 19:
I used Dr. Romano’s notes, DAT Destroyer 2018, Bootcamp, and DAT QVault. I didn't complete Dr. Romano's notes because I wanted to dive straight into the questions (wrong decision- complete his book). I did every single Qvault and Bootcamp bio test and made lots of notes. Last 2 days of my prep, I skimmed over the Destroyer. Today after my DAT, I reopened my destroyer and literally saw 10-15 questions that came from that book word for word. Definitely over-prepare for bio, but I definitely think Dynamite and Destroyer is all you need.
Qvault: 17/18/17/17/17
Bootcamp: 17/17/18/17
General Chemistry 20:
I used Mike’s videos, DAT Destroyer 2018, Bootcamp, and DAT QVault. After completing Mike's videos, I did every single Qvault and Bootcamp question. MIKE IS LITERALLY ALL YOU NEED. For GC, it is more important to know how to solve the question than it is to know the material (if that makes sense). My DAT was harder than any practice test I had taken. I was asked a lot of Equilibrium questions which I had never seen before, so definitely focus on that.
Qvault: 21/22/21/20/22
Bootcamp: 20/21/19/20
Organic Chemistry 19:
Mike’s videos, Bootcamp, and DAT Qvault. MIKE IS LITERALLY ALL YOU NEED. Definitely know all the reactions on the bootcamp site. I had 5 Synthesis and 2 mechanism questions. 3 IR/NMR questions. Rest was conceptual. Also, remember CARDIO from bootcamp. There were soooo many questions on my DAT that needed me to know that concept
Qvault: 19/19/20/17/17
Bootcamp: 18/17/19/20
Second Section- PAT- 60 mins
Perceptual Ability 19:
I DO NOT KNOW HOW I GOT A 19. I literally struggled in this the most. I made 14s and 16s in my practice tests lol, but in my last week, i figured out how to do this section the right way. If I had more time, I could have gotten a higher score, but I am happy with a 19. Let me guide you step by step (for all sections Practice everyday using generators everyday. Keep doing them until you get 15 correct)
Skip to Question 31
Angles= Practice everyday using generators everyday. Keep doing them until you get 15 correct
Hole Punching= Joel's way is too time consuming. Get a mouse and try to click on the hole punches on the screen. That way, you'll keep a track of the answer without taking your eyes off the screen.
Cube Counting= Joel's way is too time consuming. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Slice the cubes vertically in your head and count on your fingers how many cubes are shaded. This is way faster.
Pattern folding= Follow Joel's method and Forget about folding the object completely. See which shapes match. See the pattern's relationship resembles what other pattern on your object. Practice definitely improves this.
Go to Question 16
TFE= Line counting doesn't work...or does it 😉 You can choose a specific shape in your object and use line counting on that particular shape only and see which objects match. This eliminates 2/4 options usually. However, I practiced TFE a lot and developed an ability to figure out objects without using that method. During my exam, I was too stressed to think about that method properly so this trick worked for me.
Go to Question 1
Keyhole= PRACTICE.
Also, do not be afraid to skip any question. Use that "MARK" thing. It is a life saver
BREAK- you can review your notes during break, so study QR formulas during this time. Do not study QR in the morning before the test. Use that time to study the above sections.
Third Section- RC- 60mins
Reading Comprehension 20:
I didn't prepare for this section at all. Went in completely blind. When you take the test, be sure to use the highlight feature, because that helped me a lot. If you want a 30, read a passage from Scientific American everyday.
Qvault: Did not attempt
Bootcamp: Did not attempt
Fourth Section- QR- 45mins
Quantitative Reasoning 21:
Math Destroyer 2018, Bootcamp, and QVault. I did tests 1-9 from the destroyer, but I didn't feel like it helped me that much. I went into Qvault and then realized that I was wrong. Destroyer prepares you well. Be sure to understand the concepts. This might be weird, but I kinda struggled with the dime and penny questions because I'm not used to USA coin currency yet xD
Qvault: 18/19/20/18/19/20
Bootcamp: Did not attempt
General:
Practice tests should never be used to judge how you are really doing. If you notice, I didn't do all practice tests. That is because I realized that it is more important to learn the concept than get the right answer. For all the tests (10 Qvault sciences+ 10 Bootcamp sciences) I made notes and understood the right answer from the wrong.
I hope this helps anyone in their DAT journey. Also, do not be intimidated by people getting like 28s etc. Do your best and try as hard as you can to get a AA 20-30. You got this. Good luck 🙂
