Need some SERIOUS DAT Advice- Please help me out!

[virtualmaster999]

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Hi everyone!

So I literally just finished the semester like an hour ago (feels great!), but now I gotta get back to DAT studying!

So just some info:
-I've been studying since early January while in school. At first, I was able to spend about 4 hours on the DAT/ day (for like the first 2- maybe 3 months). Then once March/April came it was really hard to utilize more time. Towards the end of the semester, I was basically only doing PAT for an hour/day because of how time constrained I was (So at least I have been practicing and improving on PAT)
-I went over all content once, and my DAT is on June 30. With the 3 days I am out of town in June, I have roughly 53 days to study, starting on Monday.
-I plan to commit 12-15 hours/day. I know excessive. It's a LOT! But I feel I still have a LOT to do. My plan is to break up my daily studying into three 4-5 hour blocks.
-I plan to go over content rather quickly this time around, and since I am ONLY focusing on the DAT now, I think it will be easier to remember things. I'm usually really good with learning material and having it stick...I've just never had to have it stick in my head for so long!
-My grades are good; my cumulative and science GPA is 3.93, and I have good shadowing hours in, LOR's, and EC, so my only concern is the DAT. THIS MAKES ME SO NERVOUS!!!!!!

So for the actual study schedule....I have about 7-8 weeks, and I know that there are some 4-10 week schedules out there...I just don't know where exactly they are.. or what they entail- Could someone refer me to some good 6-8 week study schedules, or if maybe I could condense Ari's bootcamp schedule?

And how should I allocate my time? I really dont want to forget the info, so I know content is big...but I also want to do a lot of practice tests and DESTROYER. How should I allocate my time? I'm planning to do a little bit of each subject each day ( I think Bio and Gen chem will eat up the most time; orgo and QR I can probably look over again rather quickly). Either that or do orgo/ QR every other day. And I'll do 1 hour of PAT every day as usual....

As for practice exams/destroyer, how should I incorporate this into my schedule? I'm thinking maybe I could spend half my time on content per day, and the other half on destroyer/ practice exams (when I take them)... suggestions???

Any suggestions to make things stick in my head for a long time? I'm thinking of doing notecards...or trying ANKI.

What do you guys think? Can I get some suggestions/advice? It would mean the world if you guys could help me out because I'm stressing so much over this.

-Note: My exam is on June 30 as I stated. I have scheduled it at the end of June because my advisor says it is safe to take by end of June...but I know a lot of people obviously get in with applying later than that.
-With that being said...IFFFF I decide to push my test back (if it's even worth it/ I know I need more time)...then when is the absolute LATEST (and I mean SAFEST!!!) time to go with, not including exceptions like those that get in with applying later??

Once again, I know this is a lot to read, and I hope some people can help me out. Feel free to inbox me if it's easier.

Thanks in advance everyone!!!

 

[Kellogg321]

For PAT, I only went over the simple rules and had about 2 hours of practice total and got 20. I think too much practice on PAT could sometimes second guess yourself. Event counting for top front end does not work on real DAT so you should know how to do that section without relying on the tactic.

 

[flossiraptor863]

I think if you spend 12-15 hours/day studying, you'll go insane. But if you can handle that workload, then by all means, more power to you. Realistically, schedule for 8-10/day, just in case life gets in the way, as it often does. I did my studying over 9 weeks at ~3 hours/day and was perfectly fine. As far as efficiency goes, these are my tips:

-Biology: Don't get too caught up in Biology. It's by far the broadest section on the DAT. If you learn every single detail, you won't have time to study for any other section. Reading about an hour of this per day every day should suffice.
-GChem/OChem: Pay attention to the types of questions that they ask in the practice tests, as they're very similar to the actual DAT. If you get Chad's videos, use his study guides and quizzes to gauge which sections you need help in, and then watch videos on those sections.
-Math: A lot of this depends on how well you understand algebra and geometry. I have a strong math background, and simply did Math Destroyer problems to catch any mistakes in my logic. I thought Math Destroyer was a bit excessive, but it prepared me well. If you've got a strong math background, don't spend too much time here. If you don't have a strong math background, you may want to spend some time with this section.
-PAT: See what your practice test scores are. It sounds like you've had plenty of practice. Don't wear yourself out. Do a practice test once a week or so to stay on your game. Otherwise, sharpen your PAT game closer to the test, when time is a factor; not so far away that you forget how to do it well.
-Reading: Find your strategy. I'm a horrible reader and reading was my best section through simple Search and Destroy. I found the straightforward questions first then went back to the inference questions, once I understood the article. That strategy doesn't work for everyone, though. Try a few different ones.
-Reading again: Some people say to read articles about science each day. I did this and I didn't think this was worth my time, but I did think that it was useful in reminding me how difficult science articles can be to read. Reading a few helps to get a grip on what types of articles you'll be reading.

-General Strategy: I would take a practice test or 2 early on, to get a feel for the test and what sections need the most work. After that, maybe a test every week and a half could gauge your progress. Get in the zone for the reading portion of practice tests, as they are basically your only way to work on this section.

Good luck! If you have questions, feel free to PM me.