Taking the DAT on July 2014 Group

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AlvaDentistry

AlvaDentistry

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Hello my Dear Future Dentists,

I am also studying for the DAT. Lets support each other and answer the following questions:

1. How are you feeling?
2. For how long have you studied/do you plan to study for?
3. Weakest area/areas.
4. Materials that you are using.
5. Things that have helped you on the way.
6. Any additional info you might have. For instance anyone you know who has taken the DAT recently and have tips, motivational stories etc...

Add more questions if you have!

I wish you all the best and a "stress-free" time before the DAT (it seems impossible huh?)

:woot:
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QR was second nature to me so all I did was just take the 5 tests on Bootcamp and was done. Gen chem was very hard for me however.
 
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Basically while I was studying, I was working for UPS 3rd shift from 11:30 pm to 3:30 am, 10 hours a week on research, and shadowing a dentist. Plus when I had to actually sit down to study, I wound up watching more than 20 movies in the course of 6 weeks. So if I can do it, you can do it too and get much better scores. Just trust in yourself and you will do well.
 
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bamtori said:
Took the DAT two days ago! finally home free. Honestly didn't feel like my scores were worthy of a breakdown, may or may not do one eventually.
23 AA / 23 TS / 26 PAT

Like everyone keeps saying, the Bio (22) was definitely a struggle. Feel like no matter how many bootcamp/qvault tests you go through, or how many times you try to memorize feralis notes, you're going to see questions that you've never seen before.. I marked about 10/40 bio questions, narrowed down to two choices, and basically guessed.
GC (22) was do-able, easy calculations, but heavy on the concepts. Know your trends. Got a question on lab safety.... ugh I hate genchem.
OC (27) was the most straightforward section of the sciences in my opinion. They're going to give you molecular formulas more so than line structures, so be able to draw them out to compare.
PAT (26) was easier than I had expected. Keyholes weren't nearly as bad as bootcamp's, a few 10+sided rock-like figures that were definitely uncalled for.. but nothing crazy here. I would say compared to bootcamp, the real PAT was easier across all sections except for cube counting - get comfortable visualizing weird arrangements, this section tripped me up and I ended up losing a lot of time. I also make sure to add up the total # of cubes I've counted and make sure it matches with the number of cubes in the figure, quick way to double-check your work.
RC (23) was purely S&D. don't let bootcamp scare you, yes you'll get some inference questions but nothing way left field. All the answers are in the passage.
QR (20) was the devil that brought my score down.. such a bummer. Like everyone's been telling you, it's a battle against time.

Good luck guys! PM me if you have questions, I'll be sticking around SDN even though I'm done :)
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Pfft 23 AA/23 TS? Definitely not good enough scores for a breakdown. In fact, I don't even know why you posted in this thread either! :p Awesome job, I bet you're relieved! Were the RC passages dense or easy to read/comprehend? How would you say QR compares to Math Destroyer?


KineticFlow603 said:
AA/TS/Org/Gen/Bio/RC/QR/PAT
22 / 22/26 / 20/ 23 / 21 / 22/ 22
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Nice scores, congrats!
 
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Crappppp guys... My bootcamp scores keep fluctuating by like 14 total points each test and I'm taking the test in two days...

My Bootcamp orgo went 24 > 18 > 20 > 26 > 20 and now I have no idea what's gonna happen on the real test. It seems some days I am totally in the zone and the next day I'm not?
Today my AA dropped 4 points on Bootcamp 5 and I'm sad

T____________T
 
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Hayang said:
Crappppp guys... My bootcamp scores keep fluctuating by like 14 total points each test and I'm taking the test in two days...

My Bootcamp orgo went 24 > 18 > 20 > 26 > 20 and now I have no idea what's gonna happen on the real test.
Today my AA dropped 4 points on Bootcamp 5

T____________T
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If the rest of your bootcamp grades are like your organic chem grades there is no need for you to freak out.
 
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Hayang said:
Crappppp guys... My bootcamp scores keep fluctuating by like 14 total points each test and I'm taking the test in two days...

My Bootcamp orgo went 24 > 18 > 20 > 26 > 20 and now I have no idea what's gonna happen on the real test. It seems some days I am totally in the zone and the next day I'm not?
Today my AA dropped 4 points on Bootcamp 5 and I'm sad

T____________T
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Plusssss dont use bootcamp or any other material to measure EXACTLY how you would do on the exam! I cant stress this enough.
 
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AlvaDentistry said:
Plusssss dont use bootcamp or any other material to measure EXACTLY how you would do on the exam! I cant stress this enough.
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks. I'm just freaking out a little bit because exam day is near.

It's such a weird feeling to get a 19 in QR (just now) and think of it as a reasonable score when I actually got HALF the questions wrong... In a college exam that would be a fail, so I felt miserable when I ended the test :(
 
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Hayang said:
Yes, thanks. I'm just freaking out a little bit because exam day is near.

It's such a weird feeling to get a 19 in QR (just now) and think of it as a reasonable score when I actually got HALF the questions wrong... In a college exam that would be a fail, so I felt miserable when I ended the test :(
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With Bootcamp?
 
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Congrats to everyone that just took it! You should be proud of your scores! :)

I see everyone is getting really high grades on Orgo and its my weakest section :(

What should I focus on? What material? What should I do? Thanks!
 
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5 more DAYS!!!!
what is this feeelinggggg~~~~~~~ !! IM EXCITED & WORRY AT THE SAME TIME !!!
ANYONE TAKING THE TEST ON THE 31ST? D:
 
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I repeated chad's orgo quizzes until I got every single one. Very helpful. I didn't d0 dat destroyer and managed to get 26 in orgo just with chad's. Chad is all you need guys.
 
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applecider23 said:
Congrats Kinetic! How was the gen chem and bio section?
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Chad and bio were definitely harder than I expected. Bio was especially random and I must have marked at least 15 questions. I was thinking Im gonna get 16 on bio andc probably have to make up for that score in genchem and ochem, but it turned out to be my 2nd highest. Genchem was also harder than expected but not to the point of biology. I had 2 or 3 questions that i have never even seen or heard of. So try to get as much exposure possible for biology and you will be fine.
 
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NilocDent said:
July 31st.. I am so close!
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You won't have any problem with the DAT. The worst is when you lie on your bed to go to sleep. Most of the time when I lay on my bed, my heart started beating really quickly from the thoughts of taking the DAT and maybe possibly fail. Try to think of something else when you lay on your bed because longer you lie on your bed without going to sleep, the more you are going to think about the DAT and keep yourself from going to sleep. Good luck, you can do it no doubt.
 
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KineticFlow603 said:
You won't have any problem with the DAT. The worst is when you lie on your bed to go to sleep. Most of the time when I lay on my bed, my heart started beating really quickly from the thoughts of taking the DAT and maybe possibly fail. Try to think of something else when you lay on your bed because longer you lie on your bed without going to sleep, the more you are going to think about the DAT and keep yourself from going to sleep. Good luck, you can do it no doubt.
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I'm gonna pop a sleeping pill. I was freaking out yesterday and my test isn't until Wednesday lol
 
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I wouldnt recommend a sleeping pill at all. It will make you drowsy for half the day after you wake up. Is better to not get enoough sleep , but still be aware
 
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Not worth it.

Might as well not sleep and CRAM and drink some coffee RIGHT BEFORE exam...

Sleeping pills are a downer....

If for some reason you take it and your body doesn't detox quickly, you will have chemicals in your body messing your game up.


You want to be a doctor right?

Think this through...

Good luck
 
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tooth knockn said:
Not worth it.

Might as well not sleep and CRAM and drink some coffee RIGHT BEFORE exam...

Sleeping pills are a downer....

If for some reason you take it and your body doesn't detox quickly, you will have chemicals in your body messing your game up.


You want to be a doctor right?

Think this through...

Good luck
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I agree
 
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Definitely DON'T drink coffee right before the exam!! You will destroy the poor bathroom at the test center.
 
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yup, coffee is a no! tress + coffee = higher chance of getting diarrhea
 
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I couldnt sleep the night before the exam and I ended up drinking a cup of black coffee 2 hours before the exam. My concern was the PAT section and I did pretty well on it so I cant really complain !
 
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definitely NO sleeping pills. If you never tried it, you don't know how long the effects are going to last. And also no to caffeine the night before or even the day of the test because it's a diuretic and it will make you want to pee. You only get one break after 2 hours and 30 minutes into the test.
 
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Thanks for advice. I guess I'll just do intense cardio the night before and finish with a warm bath and glass of milk.
 
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I'm just gonna say don't do anything out of the norm. Don't do cardio to the extent that you might wake up really fatigue. Also, make sure the milk isn't spoiled just in case you get a bad diarrhea next morning haha. I was just paranoid about everything so I ended up not eating the day of the test even though my test started at 1:15.
 
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These are my plans:
Finish re-reviewing all of my notes and get home at around midnight from the library. Tomorrow, go to the zoo, feed a giraffe, apply what I've learned in the bio section and ask as many questions as I can to the trainers and zookeepers. End the night with a crab bisque from Nordstrom bistro as well as ordering their delicious Margherita pizza. Hopefully I can get a food coma and go to bed. On Wednesday, I'll take the test at 11:30 and hopefully own it.
 
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*cough* drink beer just enough to make u feel a little bit tipsy, it easier to sleep that way ^^ lol
 
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I took the test today!! I got TS 25, AA 24, PAT 26
If you guys are taking the test soon I'd encourage you to do some light reviewing the day before the test.

I saw at least 6 science questions that I definitely wouldn't have gotten right if I didn't review the little things I knew I didn't remember. Little "memorization snippets" like trig identities, which area of mitochodria/chloroplasts do what, hormones, etc. etc. etc. are useful to review!
 
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