What do all of the different DAT acronyms mean?

[glassesvar]

People on this forum refer to their scores like this: 24 AA, 23 TS, 22 PAT

What does AA, TS, and PAT mean?

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[Veni vidi vicii]

AA is the academic average which includes TS (Total sciences), QR (Quantitate reasoning), and RC (Reading comprehension). TS is total sciences and includes biology, general chem and organic chem. PAT is a separate section not included in AA or TS and involves perceptual ability which includes angle ranking, pattern folding, etc.

 

[lwergod]

you should also know that TS calculated using the raw score of SNS and not the individual averages.

 

[artist2022]

Just like how the MCAT is broken up into 4 categories, the DAT has 6 different categories.
These are:
1) Biology (BIO) - 40 questions
2) General Chemistry (GC) - 30 questions
3) Organic Chemistry (OC) - 30 questions
4) Perceptual Ability Test - 90 questions split into 6 subcategories with 15 questions each (Keyholes, Top-Front-End (TFE), Angle Ranking, Hole Punching, Cube Counting, Pattern Folding)
5) Reading Comprehension - 50 questions on 3 passages
6) Quantitative Reasoning - 40 questions

When you take your test, you get these 6 scores plus an additional 2 (all will be from 0 to 30):
Academic Average (AA) - the most important number there is. Calculated just by easily averaging the BIO, GC, OC, RC, and QR scores. Score is rounded (19.4 -> 19, 19.5 -> 20).
Total Science (TS) - second most important number. This score uses only the 3 science sections, but it's not an average of them- it's calculated by the ADA using how many questions you got right in each section (some secret formula).

PAT is not counted in either AA or TS, and that's why people report it when listing their scores.

Hope this helps!

 

[glassesvar]

you should also know that TS calculated using the raw score of SNS and not the individual averages.

Thank you, this was really helpful. How long do people typically study for the DAT to get a really good score?

 

[lwergod]

I would say 8 +/- 2 weeks is ideal, some who score really well study study 12+ weeks. Also, having a strong background in Bio/GC/OC is super beneficial in supplementing your studies.


I studied for 6 weeks, 4 hours/day and managed an ok score of 21aa/23ts, although I planned on scoring much better on RC/QR.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

I would say 8 +/- 2 weeks is ideal, some who score really well study study 12+ weeks. Also, having a strong background in Bio/GC/OC is super beneficial in supplementing your studies.


I studied for 6 weeks, 4 hours/day and managed an ok score of 21aa/23ts, although I planned on scoring much better on RC/QR.

Great advice
lwergod
but IMO your scores are not just ok, they are great!

 

[glassesvar]

Just like how the MCAT is broken up into 4 categories, the DAT has 6 different categories.
These are:
1) Biology (BIO) - 40 questions
2) General Chemistry (GC) - 30 questions
3) Organic Chemistry (OC) - 30 questions
4) Perceptual Ability Test - 90 questions split into 6 subcategories with 15 questions each (Keyholes, Top-Front-End (TFE), Angle Ranking, Hole Punching, Cube Counting, Pattern Folding)
5) Reading Comprehension - 50 questions on 3 passages
6) Quantitative Reasoning - 40 questions

When you take your test, you get these 6 scores plus an additional 2 (all will be from 0 to 30):
Academic Average (AA) - the most important number there is. Calculated just by easily averaging the BIO, GC, OC, RC, and QR scores. Score is rounded (19.4 -> 19, 19.5 -> 20).
Total Science (TS) - second most important number. This score uses only the 3 science sections, but it's not an average of them- it's calculated by the ADA using how many questions you got right in each section (some secret formula).

PAT is not counted in either AA or TS, and that's why people report it when listing their scores.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much, this finally gave me a full understanding of the DAT. for some reason it was really hard to find a summary like this anywhere. You seem to have gotten a really awesome score. How long did you study?

 

[artist2022]

Thank you so much, this finally gave me a full understanding of the DAT. for some reason it was really hard to find a summary like this anywhere. You seem to have gotten a really awesome score. How long did you study?

This is my breakdown: DAT Breakdown! 8/9/2017 - 25AA/24TS/22PAT
I studied for about 8 weeks last summer.
You can find more information on how to study here: DAT Breakdown Compilation Thread (future test takers, look here!), where it talks about materials, how the score distribution looks, and has links to other breakdowns. Good luck!