My DAT Exams, Need Advice for BIO/PAT..retaking in January

[Jdental__]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello All,

so i just took my DAT exam.
Orgo: 19
chem: 22
BIO: 15 ( I know..i know... 🙁 )
PAT: 15 (I know.... 🙁 )
Math: 16
Reading: 18

AA: 18
Science Average: 17

GPA: 3.2 (looking to do masters in oral biology for a year after this semester to help me out a little)

So i know that both biology and PAT destroyed me. Im happy with all my other grades. I know i can boost up math a little but 16 isnt so bad i heard, and i know with practice i can boost up my Ochem, i thought i'd do better. Happy with my ChEm grade.

DAT Bootcamp: all i used for chem basically, its just liek the actual exam...i made conceptual mistakes but it was silly mistakes i couldve dodged.

Destroyer: Math!

im not going to post how i studied because i didnt even do that well. But i studied for a while. i didnt focus so much on bio obviously but i read throughout the whole destroyer, and i was honestly so lost during the dat. I have never seen such questions...any advice?
im looking to take it in january once again...i really want to know how you guys studied for those who did well.

i know for PAT it takes practice but Jeez...TFE is crazy, what methods do you use for that? it was really hard, i know its on bootcamp but they dont have a tutorial...


ANY tips would help.

if you guys can give me advice and tell me how you studied, how long, ur break down and maybe ur acceptances..?

 

[Viva Terlingua]

The best resources I found on the PAT were youtube videos. Just seeing how other people do it helps a lot. Gotta do a lot of practice though because as you know it goes mighty fast. Making a chart for block counting is most crucial.

I would suggest Chad's videos on coursesaver.com for an awesome review of math and both chemistries. If you get those videos down you have a great foundation to build upon. For biology, get Cliffs AP Bio, 3rd edition and read it twice. After that go through DAT Destroyer and the 2007/2009 practice tests available from ADEA as many times as humanly possibly before your DAT. Be sure to work through the problems thoroughly, and don't move on to the next until you understand why the other answer choices are wrong (this is especially helpful for the Bio and Orgo sections imo).

I got decent scores by only doing about half of what I wrote above (21 AA), but even doing part of it helped me so much. Bumped up my 15 in orgo to a 23, and I know you can do the same for your other sections. It's pretty stressful, I was only able to sleep for about 3 hours before my most recent DAT - but I still felt much more comfortable going through the process a second time.

Good luck!

 

[gangazi]

Hi I got 26 on bio section a couple months ago, and there are only 2 resources I used for this section: Feralis' Notes & the DAT Destroyer.
Out of the two, I think that Feralis Notes is the better material for it.

 

[dnp321]

you need to keep practicing

it's all about repetition not about how smart u r

 

[Astatedental]

I also would add that I don't think you should retake in jan. Study as long as you can you want to be prepared. There is no reason to rush the retake. You could easily push the retake to June and have several more months to prepare.

 

[BK165]

Do not focus on HOW the destroyer words the Biology questions, but focus on WHAT they discuss. Since most of the answers are none/ all of the above for the destroyer, the best way I found to do it was to go over the answers in the back to any questions I got incorrect, as well as understand why the answers I got correct were the right ones and how the other answer choices either did or did not make sense. I put post-its in the destroyer for things I did not understand (granted I used over 500 post it strips for the entire destroyer) and went over it 2 or 3 times. Then go read up on Feralis when you don't understand something that you read in the destroyer and follow it that way. I found Feralis pretty late in the game, so I wish I did pay more attention to that. I also made index cards from the Bio Kaplan section. Do not do this--complete waste of time and index cards that I never looked at. The DAT isn't into depth for Biology, it's more random though for different parts so you have to know a vast amount of random information, but most of it is at a superficial depth.

As for PAT, I feel you because I hated that section, did the worst on that section, (18), but honestly, I wish I purchased the bootcamp for that and did the tests then the youtube videos to find out tricks and tips. I believe bootcamp had nice materials but they are harder than the actual test. I did a practice PAT from there (the free one) and I got a 15, cried, and wanted to reschedule my test (this was 2 weeks before). TopScore, albeit expensive, is also good to use too. If you can crack a 17 or 18 on PAT, dental schools won't frown on you for that, but definitely get your Bio and TS up!

For Math, I used DAT Destroyer and the Math Destroyer. The Math Destroyer will make the QR section so easy! However, make sure you don't get cocky during the test and then run out of time (happened to my friend). The Math Destroyer will prepare you for all the worst case scenarios. I heard Chad is pretty good for QR too. Know the short cuts for math like exponents, logs, and whatnot as well.

Good luck!

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Woah 3 scores under 17 🙁. Trust me PAT makes me miserable too. One low section isn't the end of the world but 3? BIO is the most important to get up but having two sub 17s won't look good if that happens again on the next exam. Imo, math is much easier to bring up than PAT; it's all about solving easy problems in a short amount of time ^_^

P.S A 22 in GC is solid! Now do it in the other sections 😉