Hi all! It's such a relief to have finished taking the DAT and not have to even think about studying for it anymore (done with ochem forever?). I started studying around 7 weeks before taking the test (tried to start within 8 weeks but ended up procrastinating for a solid 4 days before doing anything). Hours per day studying ranged from 2-8, with the average probably being around 4.5 hours studied per day. I could not have done this without SDN and feel like my breakdown could help others, just as others' had helped me.
Scores:
22 PAT
22 QR
22 RC
20 Bio
23 GC
24 OC
22 TS
22 AA
Materials used:
DentalWorks 8-week study plan - Like I said, I procrastinated and had to make this into more of a 7 week program. I ended up doing more of Chad's videos per day than the schedule said to, but I stopped studying for bio in the process, as it was too much for me. This was a mistake, as you can tell by my bio score. I also had to alter the last 4 weeks because the new DAT Destroyer has more problems than the old one. Overall I highly recommend a schedule that holds you accountable, especially for those who are not easily motivated. I would feel bad for skipping days (which I did) and would always know I have to catch up.
Cliff's AP bio notes - This is a great resource for bio if you can read and retain. I read and took notes for the first 7 chapters but realized I wasn't retaining anything and was getting bored of the bio I was reading. I ended up not studying anymore from these notes and stopped studying altogether. It's a shame and my bio score suffered because of it.
Chad's videos/quizzes - Very good way to review for GC, OC, and QR. Albeit somewhat pricey. If you are not good at self-studying and benefit from lecture-based learning, this is an incredible resource. I credit most of my success in GC, OC, and QR to Chad. I took notes on things I did not know as I went through the videos. The quizzes also helped solidify the material. At times I felt like I hadn't retained what I had learned from the videos but I went over my notes the night before the test and it helped.
DAT Destroyer - Absolutely necessary in my opinion. The most important material if you want to get 20+. This was pretty much all I used for bio (as mentioned above I was really bored reading Cliff's) and went through each and every answer meticulously. GC and OC were also incredibly good for learning. I did all the sections untimed and just tried to understand every question and problem. Only got around to doing DAT destroyer once through, but I feel going through multiple times would have helped a lot. Remember: DAT Destroyer is not an accurate indicator of how well you will do on the test, it is solely to learn the material.
Math Destroyer - Very good practice for QR. After watching Chad's QR, I felt math destroyer was not that challenging. I did one test untimed, and then two tests timed. In my opinion, there is no realistic way to finish math destroyer tests in 45 mins, so if you want to time yourself do 55 mins. After the third test, I felt like I could pull off a decent score in QR on the real thing so I stopped practicing. This was probably bad because I felt extra rusty on the real thing.
Youtube PAT videos - I learned PAT from Youtube. When first learning PAT, just watch video tutorials on how to do the different sections to get accustomed to it. That's what I did.
Crack DAT PAT - Honestly, it was good practice but I definitely felt wiped out after doing these tests. I did 3 tests and got 15-17. It is good practice but I didn't end up using it that much, due to DAT bootcamp. If you need more practice after the 10 practice PAT tests that DAT Bootcamp provides, buy this.
DAT Bootcamp - Probably the best and most important material as far as practicing goes. Everyone should buy, as it is reasonably priced and provides a lot of value. I bought this about 5 days before my exam. Buy it sooner and start practicing lol. You get 5 practice tests for each section, but 10 practice tests for PAT. This material was crucial for practicing the PAT for me. It also helped time myself for bio, chem, and ochem, while also teaching me things I didn't know or simply forgot. Lastly, it was a pretty big confidence booster. I was getting 17-21 on all my practice tests but read many breakdowns that had higher real-life scores compared to their Bootcamp scores. This was incredibly encouraging.
I took 2-3 practice tests for bio/chem/ochem, 4 practice tests for PAT, and 1 practice test for RC. I scored a 21 on the first RC I took and figured I would be fine.
Actual Test
Bio (20):
Really regret not studying more for this subject. Also, since this was the first section, my mind was still getting used to the nerves and focusing on taking the test. There was simply stuff I knew, and stuff I didn't know. Thought I might get higher than a 20, but still happy with my score.
GC (23):
I felt that DAT destroyer and DAT bootcamp prepped me well and were much harder than the real thing. I breezed through this section, having to make educated guesses on about 3 or 4 problems.
OC (24):
Felt exactly the same way I felt about GC. Thanks Chad and thank goodness I went over my notes the night before.
PAT (22):
I freaked out on this one. In my practices I would always run out of time. Unfortunately, I did not practice enough to the point where I could go through the practices without running out of time. Poor preparation on my part. DAT bootcamp is pretty representative of what to expect as far as difficulty goes. I went through the problems feeling only somewhat confident and randomly guessed "C" on about 3 marked questions. I did not have any extra time. However, that's how I felt while practicing and got 19-20 so I didn't feel too bad. Was very happy to see my score turn out to be a 22.
Break: I took the optional break to kick myself for not practicing PAT enough and for having to rush through it. I also ate a granola bar and drank a little bit of water. I went to the bathroom and stretched. This break felt really good because I knew I only had 2 more sections left.
RC (22):
I ran out of time on this section as well. I zoned out for the first 5 minutes trying to make sense of the article. I did search-and-destroy in the one practice test I did on DAT Bootcamp (21 on the practice) and figured I could easily do the same thing here. By the time half the time was up I was still struggling to finish my first article. I rushed the last two articles and had no time to review anything. I was pretty bummed and felt like I really messed up and should have practiced more. I was glad to see I did well on this section.
QR (22):
Don't get me wrong, I am very happy for a 22 on this section. But I feel like I could have done better had I done a Math Destroyer the day prior (hadn't practiced QR for about a week prior to my test). I was incredibly rusty on this section. I saw some problems that I had done in Math destroyer, but I couldn't remember how to do them because of how long it had been. However, most questions were very easy compared to Math Destroyer
Overall thoughts/advice:
Again, huge thanks to SDN. Also thank you to the creators of the study materials.
For upcoming test takers: Do not procrastinate! Practice as much as you can. Don't get discouraged. If you can, start your studying earlier and take breaks once a week or so. By 2 days before my exam, I was severely burned out (probably because I tried to cram a bunch of DAT Bootcamp practice in a few days) and used the last couple of days for light review and relaxation. If you don't feel ready, reschedule. I was close to rescheduling a few times during the last few weeks, but didn't want to have to study during the school year (or study anymore at all to be honest). Good luck to all that are taking the test!
I'm also getting rid of my materials if anyone is interested. I have DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer, still in very new condition with no highlighting/writing at all. I have DAT Bootcamp with 2.5ish months left. Please PM me!
Scores:
22 PAT
22 QR
22 RC
20 Bio
23 GC
24 OC
22 TS
22 AA
Materials used:
DentalWorks 8-week study plan - Like I said, I procrastinated and had to make this into more of a 7 week program. I ended up doing more of Chad's videos per day than the schedule said to, but I stopped studying for bio in the process, as it was too much for me. This was a mistake, as you can tell by my bio score. I also had to alter the last 4 weeks because the new DAT Destroyer has more problems than the old one. Overall I highly recommend a schedule that holds you accountable, especially for those who are not easily motivated. I would feel bad for skipping days (which I did) and would always know I have to catch up.
Cliff's AP bio notes - This is a great resource for bio if you can read and retain. I read and took notes for the first 7 chapters but realized I wasn't retaining anything and was getting bored of the bio I was reading. I ended up not studying anymore from these notes and stopped studying altogether. It's a shame and my bio score suffered because of it.
Chad's videos/quizzes - Very good way to review for GC, OC, and QR. Albeit somewhat pricey. If you are not good at self-studying and benefit from lecture-based learning, this is an incredible resource. I credit most of my success in GC, OC, and QR to Chad. I took notes on things I did not know as I went through the videos. The quizzes also helped solidify the material. At times I felt like I hadn't retained what I had learned from the videos but I went over my notes the night before the test and it helped.
DAT Destroyer - Absolutely necessary in my opinion. The most important material if you want to get 20+. This was pretty much all I used for bio (as mentioned above I was really bored reading Cliff's) and went through each and every answer meticulously. GC and OC were also incredibly good for learning. I did all the sections untimed and just tried to understand every question and problem. Only got around to doing DAT destroyer once through, but I feel going through multiple times would have helped a lot. Remember: DAT Destroyer is not an accurate indicator of how well you will do on the test, it is solely to learn the material.
Math Destroyer - Very good practice for QR. After watching Chad's QR, I felt math destroyer was not that challenging. I did one test untimed, and then two tests timed. In my opinion, there is no realistic way to finish math destroyer tests in 45 mins, so if you want to time yourself do 55 mins. After the third test, I felt like I could pull off a decent score in QR on the real thing so I stopped practicing. This was probably bad because I felt extra rusty on the real thing.
Youtube PAT videos - I learned PAT from Youtube. When first learning PAT, just watch video tutorials on how to do the different sections to get accustomed to it. That's what I did.
Crack DAT PAT - Honestly, it was good practice but I definitely felt wiped out after doing these tests. I did 3 tests and got 15-17. It is good practice but I didn't end up using it that much, due to DAT bootcamp. If you need more practice after the 10 practice PAT tests that DAT Bootcamp provides, buy this.
DAT Bootcamp - Probably the best and most important material as far as practicing goes. Everyone should buy, as it is reasonably priced and provides a lot of value. I bought this about 5 days before my exam. Buy it sooner and start practicing lol. You get 5 practice tests for each section, but 10 practice tests for PAT. This material was crucial for practicing the PAT for me. It also helped time myself for bio, chem, and ochem, while also teaching me things I didn't know or simply forgot. Lastly, it was a pretty big confidence booster. I was getting 17-21 on all my practice tests but read many breakdowns that had higher real-life scores compared to their Bootcamp scores. This was incredibly encouraging.
I took 2-3 practice tests for bio/chem/ochem, 4 practice tests for PAT, and 1 practice test for RC. I scored a 21 on the first RC I took and figured I would be fine.
Actual Test
Bio (20):
Really regret not studying more for this subject. Also, since this was the first section, my mind was still getting used to the nerves and focusing on taking the test. There was simply stuff I knew, and stuff I didn't know. Thought I might get higher than a 20, but still happy with my score.
GC (23):
I felt that DAT destroyer and DAT bootcamp prepped me well and were much harder than the real thing. I breezed through this section, having to make educated guesses on about 3 or 4 problems.
OC (24):
Felt exactly the same way I felt about GC. Thanks Chad and thank goodness I went over my notes the night before.
PAT (22):
I freaked out on this one. In my practices I would always run out of time. Unfortunately, I did not practice enough to the point where I could go through the practices without running out of time. Poor preparation on my part. DAT bootcamp is pretty representative of what to expect as far as difficulty goes. I went through the problems feeling only somewhat confident and randomly guessed "C" on about 3 marked questions. I did not have any extra time. However, that's how I felt while practicing and got 19-20 so I didn't feel too bad. Was very happy to see my score turn out to be a 22.
Break: I took the optional break to kick myself for not practicing PAT enough and for having to rush through it. I also ate a granola bar and drank a little bit of water. I went to the bathroom and stretched. This break felt really good because I knew I only had 2 more sections left.
RC (22):
I ran out of time on this section as well. I zoned out for the first 5 minutes trying to make sense of the article. I did search-and-destroy in the one practice test I did on DAT Bootcamp (21 on the practice) and figured I could easily do the same thing here. By the time half the time was up I was still struggling to finish my first article. I rushed the last two articles and had no time to review anything. I was pretty bummed and felt like I really messed up and should have practiced more. I was glad to see I did well on this section.
QR (22):
Don't get me wrong, I am very happy for a 22 on this section. But I feel like I could have done better had I done a Math Destroyer the day prior (hadn't practiced QR for about a week prior to my test). I was incredibly rusty on this section. I saw some problems that I had done in Math destroyer, but I couldn't remember how to do them because of how long it had been. However, most questions were very easy compared to Math Destroyer
Overall thoughts/advice:
Again, huge thanks to SDN. Also thank you to the creators of the study materials.
For upcoming test takers: Do not procrastinate! Practice as much as you can. Don't get discouraged. If you can, start your studying earlier and take breaks once a week or so. By 2 days before my exam, I was severely burned out (probably because I tried to cram a bunch of DAT Bootcamp practice in a few days) and used the last couple of days for light review and relaxation. If you don't feel ready, reschedule. I was close to rescheduling a few times during the last few weeks, but didn't want to have to study during the school year (or study anymore at all to be honest). Good luck to all that are taking the test!
I'm also getting rid of my materials if anyone is interested. I have DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer, still in very new condition with no highlighting/writing at all. I have DAT Bootcamp with 2.5ish months left. Please PM me!
