Hey everyone, I finished my test yesterday and decided to write a breakdown since my memory is still fresh. Needless to say I am happily surprised about my score and hope this post serves to ease some of the nerves when studying for this exam.
Background:
I graduated with a degree in Biology last May, so I had most of the relevant coursework fresh in my mind. I took Organic Chemistry I in 2022 and followed it up with Organic II this past semester, so my knowledge in that area was pretty solid going in. Anatomy and Physiology was from 2023, but a lot of the material came back to me as I reviewed it, which made the relearning process smoother.
I've always struggled with anxiety, especially when it comes to anything important in my life—big tests like the DAT being no exception. If I can get through it, so can you. Below, I’ve shared a few tips that helped me get through this ordeal of a journey both before and during the test.
Materials Used: DATBooster #1, Quizlet/Anki #2, Youtube #3, ChatGPT #4
I don’t want glaze but DATBooster is by far the most valuable asset when it comes to studying for the DAT. Their study schedule allowed someone like me who relies on a routine to effectively plan out my days and look at the areas where I needed more focus. Moreover, their videos stand out because the visuals are highly engaging and make it easier to understand difficult concepts. Moreover, they seamlessly complement Feralis’ high-yield biology notes. Though highly in depth in concepts, they cover practically every piece of information that’s likely to appear on the exam.
As for the PAT section, the generators are mostly great, but the standout ones are angle ranking (especially when set on a 3-degree difference and varying angles), hole punching (on insane mode), and cube counting.
Lastly, the reading passages are impressively similar to the content you’ll encounter on the DAT, and the math question banks are equally effective for preparation. Overall, DATBooster offers everything you need to feel fully prepared and confident for the real test.
Even though I didn’t use flashcards religiously, tools like Quizlet or Anki are ideal for spaced repetition if you’re looking to memorize specific concepts. I’ve noticed that a lot of people on this subreddit use Anki cards for nearly every biology chapter, but to be honest, I think that’s a bit overkill. In my opinion, just take notes on the videos first, then supplement with Quizlet/Anki where necessary. I used flashcards as a supplementary resource to help me lock down smaller details that didn’t fully stick, like plant anatomy/classification or more quirky facts like crocodiles having 4-chambered hearts.
Lastly, I also used Chad’s Prep on YouTube for General Chemistry. I found their content a bit more digestible in some areas compared to DATBooster. That’s not to say DATBooster’s videos aren’t good, but sometimes learning certain challenging concepts through a different perspective—like Chad’s Prep—can really make things click.
Before I dive into this, I just want to add a quick disclaimer: ChatGPT (especially the non-premium version) isn’t always 100% accurate, so it's important to proceed with caution when using it for studying. If you’re stuck on a concept and neither Booster nor YouTube resources are helping, seriously, ask ChatGPT to “explain it as if you were back in high school.” I’m not kidding—it helped me understand concepts like innate and adaptive immunity, which I couldn’t wrap my head around until I asked ChatGPT to break it down into a simple, story-like explanation. When used correctly, ChatGPT can be a powerful study tool to help simplify and clarify difficult concepts. Don’t get a particular explanation from the practice test? Ask ChatGPT to tell it to you in a different way. This has saved my life numerous times and I highly recommend you use it.
Study Timeline:
TLDR: Just know that you can effectively study for the DAT and still have a life.
I began studying in early June, and followed Booster’s 12 week study schedule. For Phase I, I dedicated around 4-6 hours (very rarely 8) on average watching videos and taking notes, waking up at 10am, taking a 15-30 minute lunch at 12pm, then continuing to around 3-6pm depending on how loaded the schedule was that day. By the way I was not the most attentive studier and often doomscrolled Instagram every now and then in between my studying. I think the best way to retain information is to quiz yourself after you learn it, so when I go to the gym I would always do bio bites on my phone in between sets. Lastly I did around 10-20 minutes of PAT before I went to bed. If you hate PAT, a fun way to practice is to stream it to your friends on Discord and teach them/do them together as a fun puzzle.
During Phase II, I still kept following the schedule with the exception of reading and math as I was scoring adequately enough on the practice tests to focus my attention on my weaker subjects like Gen Chem.
For the last 4 practice tests in Phase III, I took them full length to build my testing stamina. I would spend a day doing the full length, the next day I review what I got wrong in biology and reread/memorize concepts from the high yield notes and cheat sheet. Then the next day I review what I got wrong in Gen Chem and redo the question banks associated with it. Next I would do the same with OChem and QR.
The last two weeks before the test I locked in and studied around 10-12 hours a day, waking up at 10am and wouldn’t finish until 10pm. Again I didn't continuously study of course, I would be on my phone every now and then and made sure to take adequate breaks in order to avoid burnout. Studying mainly consisted of redoing my practice tests, memorizing the bio cheat sheet, and redoing question banks for Gen Chem and OChem. I highly recommend you rest and enjoy yourself the day before your test but I was just so anxious beforehand that I studied my practice tests and cheat sheets the entire day
The Exam:
I made sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep the day before. Adequate energy for the test is the other 50% of the battle when it comes to conquering the DAT so make sure to get a good night's rest. Hydrate and eat some sweets before the test to get enough carbs for your brain. I took the scheduled break and went outside to get sunlight.
Biology (27)
What shocked me the most was how surface level the biology questions were on the real DAT compared to the booster practice tests. Just imagine the no-brainer questions you run through on the practice test – that was probably around 70-80% of the real test for me, many of them about word for word. My test was heavy on cell/molecular biology, genetics, and had some diversity of life/plant stuff, lighter on the structure functions of systems, some immunology, there was an action potential question, yeah that's about all I can remember. Highly representative of what you will see on booster practice tests.
I really wish I dedicated more time earlier on to memorize the bio cheat sheets because that's the vast majority of what the real test will ask you. So please start as early as you can! A general rule of thumb is if you're getting 35/40 on the practice tests then you're more than good to go for the real thing.
General Chemistry (26)
At first glance I thought there were a few questions that I had not seen from the practice tests so I panicked a little, but for the most part the practice tests and question banks do a very great job at preparing you for the real thing as well. Trust me because I couldn't get past a 21 on the practice for the longest time and ended up with this score on the real test. I was asked a fair share of stoichiometry, q=mct, spontaneity, periodic trends, electrochemical cells, half life, reaction rates, gas laws, and le chatilier’s principle.
I was getting around 27/30 for my last few practice tests in this section so I'm happy that I could keep up the same progress for the DAT.
Organic Chemistry (22)
Coming from a stronger Orgo background I wish I had scored higher on this section but oh well. The practice tests were highly representative of the real thing. Make sure you brush up on laboratory equipment and laboratory tests (tollens, iodoform, etc.) because I did get those on my version.
Perceptual Ability (22)
Like everyone says, the only way you can really improve on PAT is to “practice, practice, practice”. However, make sure you’re practicing on questions that will match the difficulty of the exam. In my opinion, the Keyholes were harder on the real test than on the practice (I had like 2-3 rock keyholes), but the TFE, angle ranking, and hole punching was a tad bit easier on the real one. I got a crazy floating cube question that threw me off. The pattern folding had a few new patterns that I had not seen on a PF question bank or practice test but it was still doable because it followed the same logic as the dice problems.
Keyholes: Many of the keyhole question banks are too easy, so pick the harder ones from the banks or review the practice test as they are more representative.
TFE: This used to be my worst section but now is my strongest. Use the question banks for TFE to understand how it works first, then I would just only review questions from the practice test as this is the best way to improve as fast as possible. The video explanations do a great job of finding your weaknesses in this section.
Angle Ranking: If you're done with the question banks, set the Angle Generators at 3 degrees, random, and turn on different orientation angles.
Hole Punching: I did not really spend too much time doing these, but setting the generator on insane mode is the most helpful for being prepared for the real thing.
Pattern Folding: For these I did not use the generators, but just stuck to the question banks and practice tests to solidify my knowledge. I did not understand what folding into the page meant for the longest time, but what made me understand was that shapes that were reflections of the question were a result of flipping towards you and were thus, incorrect.
Reading Comprehension (30)
Looking at other breakdowns I was scared at how many people were seeing passages that were 20 paragraphs long. I must have lucked out because mine was 15, 8, and 10, respectively. I used the vanilla method as I was a moderately fast reader and just could not get into search-and-destroy. My pace through this exam was that I finished passage 1 at around 52:00, finished answering at 40:00, finished passage 2 at 36:00, finished answering at 24:00, finished reading passage 3 at 19:00, finished the questions at 10:00 and reviewed my marked questions. I had three science based passages that were basically the same flow and format as you would see in the booster passages.
As for the questions, I had one tone question, and the vast majority of my questions were highly surface level. No questions about “which statements are true/false”, “what would the author most likely agree with”, or “this statement is correct but the reason is false and relevant” questions.... my worst enemy lol
Honestly I did not expect to get a perfect score in reading because I only got a 28 on my very last booster test. I was usually averaging 42 to 45 out of 50 on the practice.
Quantitative Reasoning (24)
I was decent at math before the DAT so I just relearned algebra and some laws that I forgot, then reviewed the questions I got wrong on my practice tests. I honestly thought I would get a higher score but I'm still very happy with this score. The math was the same, if not easier than the easiest QR practice test on booster. I had quite a bit of coin flip problems, dice problems, P(a or b), exponent questions, f(g(x)), like one or two statement sufficiency, and speed of water. Vast majority was just algebra and applied math that you see on question banks or the practice tests. One thing to note is that the calculator on the real test is slightly harder to use than on the practice test.
Parting Words:
I was so glad that all my hard work paid off at the end of the day. If you stick to the study schedule and make it a goal to improve a little bit every day, there’s no doubt that you’ll do well on the test! For those who struggle with test anxiety, try practicing mindfulness and learn a few breathing techniques. Personally, I found the physiological sigh technique really helpful.
And most importantly, regardless of the outcome, always remember that you are more than just a test score.
https://preview.redd.it/dxvrhddeswn...bp&s=d809a643c14c319e7425ddf6bf4a8ba59df2fb80
Background:
I graduated with a degree in Biology last May, so I had most of the relevant coursework fresh in my mind. I took Organic Chemistry I in 2022 and followed it up with Organic II this past semester, so my knowledge in that area was pretty solid going in. Anatomy and Physiology was from 2023, but a lot of the material came back to me as I reviewed it, which made the relearning process smoother.
I've always struggled with anxiety, especially when it comes to anything important in my life—big tests like the DAT being no exception. If I can get through it, so can you. Below, I’ve shared a few tips that helped me get through this ordeal of a journey both before and during the test.
Materials Used: DATBooster #1, Quizlet/Anki #2, Youtube #3, ChatGPT #4
I don’t want glaze but DATBooster is by far the most valuable asset when it comes to studying for the DAT. Their study schedule allowed someone like me who relies on a routine to effectively plan out my days and look at the areas where I needed more focus. Moreover, their videos stand out because the visuals are highly engaging and make it easier to understand difficult concepts. Moreover, they seamlessly complement Feralis’ high-yield biology notes. Though highly in depth in concepts, they cover practically every piece of information that’s likely to appear on the exam.
As for the PAT section, the generators are mostly great, but the standout ones are angle ranking (especially when set on a 3-degree difference and varying angles), hole punching (on insane mode), and cube counting.
Lastly, the reading passages are impressively similar to the content you’ll encounter on the DAT, and the math question banks are equally effective for preparation. Overall, DATBooster offers everything you need to feel fully prepared and confident for the real test.
Even though I didn’t use flashcards religiously, tools like Quizlet or Anki are ideal for spaced repetition if you’re looking to memorize specific concepts. I’ve noticed that a lot of people on this subreddit use Anki cards for nearly every biology chapter, but to be honest, I think that’s a bit overkill. In my opinion, just take notes on the videos first, then supplement with Quizlet/Anki where necessary. I used flashcards as a supplementary resource to help me lock down smaller details that didn’t fully stick, like plant anatomy/classification or more quirky facts like crocodiles having 4-chambered hearts.
Lastly, I also used Chad’s Prep on YouTube for General Chemistry. I found their content a bit more digestible in some areas compared to DATBooster. That’s not to say DATBooster’s videos aren’t good, but sometimes learning certain challenging concepts through a different perspective—like Chad’s Prep—can really make things click.
Before I dive into this, I just want to add a quick disclaimer: ChatGPT (especially the non-premium version) isn’t always 100% accurate, so it's important to proceed with caution when using it for studying. If you’re stuck on a concept and neither Booster nor YouTube resources are helping, seriously, ask ChatGPT to “explain it as if you were back in high school.” I’m not kidding—it helped me understand concepts like innate and adaptive immunity, which I couldn’t wrap my head around until I asked ChatGPT to break it down into a simple, story-like explanation. When used correctly, ChatGPT can be a powerful study tool to help simplify and clarify difficult concepts. Don’t get a particular explanation from the practice test? Ask ChatGPT to tell it to you in a different way. This has saved my life numerous times and I highly recommend you use it.
Study Timeline:
TLDR: Just know that you can effectively study for the DAT and still have a life.
I began studying in early June, and followed Booster’s 12 week study schedule. For Phase I, I dedicated around 4-6 hours (very rarely 8) on average watching videos and taking notes, waking up at 10am, taking a 15-30 minute lunch at 12pm, then continuing to around 3-6pm depending on how loaded the schedule was that day. By the way I was not the most attentive studier and often doomscrolled Instagram every now and then in between my studying. I think the best way to retain information is to quiz yourself after you learn it, so when I go to the gym I would always do bio bites on my phone in between sets. Lastly I did around 10-20 minutes of PAT before I went to bed. If you hate PAT, a fun way to practice is to stream it to your friends on Discord and teach them/do them together as a fun puzzle.
During Phase II, I still kept following the schedule with the exception of reading and math as I was scoring adequately enough on the practice tests to focus my attention on my weaker subjects like Gen Chem.
For the last 4 practice tests in Phase III, I took them full length to build my testing stamina. I would spend a day doing the full length, the next day I review what I got wrong in biology and reread/memorize concepts from the high yield notes and cheat sheet. Then the next day I review what I got wrong in Gen Chem and redo the question banks associated with it. Next I would do the same with OChem and QR.
The last two weeks before the test I locked in and studied around 10-12 hours a day, waking up at 10am and wouldn’t finish until 10pm. Again I didn't continuously study of course, I would be on my phone every now and then and made sure to take adequate breaks in order to avoid burnout. Studying mainly consisted of redoing my practice tests, memorizing the bio cheat sheet, and redoing question banks for Gen Chem and OChem. I highly recommend you rest and enjoy yourself the day before your test but I was just so anxious beforehand that I studied my practice tests and cheat sheets the entire day
The Exam:
I made sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep the day before. Adequate energy for the test is the other 50% of the battle when it comes to conquering the DAT so make sure to get a good night's rest. Hydrate and eat some sweets before the test to get enough carbs for your brain. I took the scheduled break and went outside to get sunlight.
Biology (27)
What shocked me the most was how surface level the biology questions were on the real DAT compared to the booster practice tests. Just imagine the no-brainer questions you run through on the practice test – that was probably around 70-80% of the real test for me, many of them about word for word. My test was heavy on cell/molecular biology, genetics, and had some diversity of life/plant stuff, lighter on the structure functions of systems, some immunology, there was an action potential question, yeah that's about all I can remember. Highly representative of what you will see on booster practice tests.
I really wish I dedicated more time earlier on to memorize the bio cheat sheets because that's the vast majority of what the real test will ask you. So please start as early as you can! A general rule of thumb is if you're getting 35/40 on the practice tests then you're more than good to go for the real thing.
General Chemistry (26)
At first glance I thought there were a few questions that I had not seen from the practice tests so I panicked a little, but for the most part the practice tests and question banks do a very great job at preparing you for the real thing as well. Trust me because I couldn't get past a 21 on the practice for the longest time and ended up with this score on the real test. I was asked a fair share of stoichiometry, q=mct, spontaneity, periodic trends, electrochemical cells, half life, reaction rates, gas laws, and le chatilier’s principle.
I was getting around 27/30 for my last few practice tests in this section so I'm happy that I could keep up the same progress for the DAT.
Organic Chemistry (22)
Coming from a stronger Orgo background I wish I had scored higher on this section but oh well. The practice tests were highly representative of the real thing. Make sure you brush up on laboratory equipment and laboratory tests (tollens, iodoform, etc.) because I did get those on my version.
Perceptual Ability (22)
Like everyone says, the only way you can really improve on PAT is to “practice, practice, practice”. However, make sure you’re practicing on questions that will match the difficulty of the exam. In my opinion, the Keyholes were harder on the real test than on the practice (I had like 2-3 rock keyholes), but the TFE, angle ranking, and hole punching was a tad bit easier on the real one. I got a crazy floating cube question that threw me off. The pattern folding had a few new patterns that I had not seen on a PF question bank or practice test but it was still doable because it followed the same logic as the dice problems.
Keyholes: Many of the keyhole question banks are too easy, so pick the harder ones from the banks or review the practice test as they are more representative.
TFE: This used to be my worst section but now is my strongest. Use the question banks for TFE to understand how it works first, then I would just only review questions from the practice test as this is the best way to improve as fast as possible. The video explanations do a great job of finding your weaknesses in this section.
Angle Ranking: If you're done with the question banks, set the Angle Generators at 3 degrees, random, and turn on different orientation angles.
Hole Punching: I did not really spend too much time doing these, but setting the generator on insane mode is the most helpful for being prepared for the real thing.
Pattern Folding: For these I did not use the generators, but just stuck to the question banks and practice tests to solidify my knowledge. I did not understand what folding into the page meant for the longest time, but what made me understand was that shapes that were reflections of the question were a result of flipping towards you and were thus, incorrect.
Reading Comprehension (30)
Looking at other breakdowns I was scared at how many people were seeing passages that were 20 paragraphs long. I must have lucked out because mine was 15, 8, and 10, respectively. I used the vanilla method as I was a moderately fast reader and just could not get into search-and-destroy. My pace through this exam was that I finished passage 1 at around 52:00, finished answering at 40:00, finished passage 2 at 36:00, finished answering at 24:00, finished reading passage 3 at 19:00, finished the questions at 10:00 and reviewed my marked questions. I had three science based passages that were basically the same flow and format as you would see in the booster passages.
As for the questions, I had one tone question, and the vast majority of my questions were highly surface level. No questions about “which statements are true/false”, “what would the author most likely agree with”, or “this statement is correct but the reason is false and relevant” questions.... my worst enemy lol
Honestly I did not expect to get a perfect score in reading because I only got a 28 on my very last booster test. I was usually averaging 42 to 45 out of 50 on the practice.
Quantitative Reasoning (24)
I was decent at math before the DAT so I just relearned algebra and some laws that I forgot, then reviewed the questions I got wrong on my practice tests. I honestly thought I would get a higher score but I'm still very happy with this score. The math was the same, if not easier than the easiest QR practice test on booster. I had quite a bit of coin flip problems, dice problems, P(a or b), exponent questions, f(g(x)), like one or two statement sufficiency, and speed of water. Vast majority was just algebra and applied math that you see on question banks or the practice tests. One thing to note is that the calculator on the real test is slightly harder to use than on the practice test.
Parting Words:
I was so glad that all my hard work paid off at the end of the day. If you stick to the study schedule and make it a goal to improve a little bit every day, there’s no doubt that you’ll do well on the test! For those who struggle with test anxiety, try practicing mindfulness and learn a few breathing techniques. Personally, I found the physiological sigh technique really helpful.
And most importantly, regardless of the outcome, always remember that you are more than just a test score.
https://preview.redd.it/dxvrhddeswn...bp&s=d809a643c14c319e7425ddf6bf4a8ba59df2fb80
