2022 DAT Breakdown (24AA/23TS/19PAT)

[sweetytweety23]

2022 DAT Breakdown (24AA/23TS/19PAT)

Hi everyone! I wanted to make a DAT breakdown considering how helpful it was for me during my own studies. I hope that this may be helpful to you as well!

Scores:
PAT - 19
QR - 24
RC - 27
BIO - 24
GC - 22
OC - 22
TS - 23
AA - 24

Materials Used:

1. DAT Bootcamp

Bootcamp was a good starting point on learning new material and exposing yourself to the types of questions that may be presented on the DAT. Dr. Mike’s videos were top-tier and helped me relearn chemistry which I haven’t taken in a few years. However, the PAT section seemed a bit outdated. I really liked the summary/study sheets for each section and that there was an app to continue learning on the go.

1. DAT Booster

If I were to suggest one program it would be Booster. Once I became familiar with the basics and what may be tested on the exam, Booster provided an in-depth understanding for me through their question banks, study notes, and video explanations. PAT Booster was top-tier as well. I used this for the last two months of my studying and it really helped me solidify all the material I was learning. The practice exams were also extremely helpful and prepared me well for the real thing.


How I studied each section:

PAT (19): This was not a fun section for me. At the beginning of my studies, I was highly discouraged because I consistently got almost Every. Question. Wrong. I watched all of bootcamp’s videos but when I would attempt problems on my own, I would feel lost (especially with TFE!) until I got Booster. The PAT videos seemed more updated and allowed me to view the problems in a different way which helped me eliminate answer choices quicker. It helped me visualize pattern folding and hole punching MUCH better. I believe the explanations for keyholes and TFE were better on Booster as well. Angle ranking and cube counting were similar on both programs. I started each study day with 15 questions of each PAT section. I highly recommend utilizing the tiered questions and generators for practice. The only way to prepare for this section is to consistently practice, practice, practice! You’ll eventually start to notice patterns on why an answer may be incorrect which makes it easier to eliminate answer choices.

BIO (24): I had the weakest background in biology compared to chemistry, so I placed most of my studies on this. I watched all of Bootcamp’s videos, completed the Bio Bites, and read through the High Yield notes, but I was not able to retain the material well. For Booster, I read through the Feralis Biology notes and then completed the question bank associated with the chapter. The following day I would skim through the previous chapter, redo the questions that I got wrong, and then move on to the next chapter. Feralis notes have just about everything you need to know for biology. However, I know breadth over depth was emphasized (and validly so!), so I mainly read through Bootcamp’s High Yield notes to refresh the material at the end of my studies since Feralis notes were very, very detailed. I believe Booster’s question banks were much more helpful in understanding the material compared to Bootcamp. At the very end of my studies, I reset all of the biology question banks and redid the questions until I got everything correct.

GC (22): For Bootcamp, Dr. Mike’s videos were pretty much all I needed. I would watch the videos and take additional notes with the Gen Chem Outline. The practice problems on the outline represented just about any question that the DAT could possibly ask. For Booster, I memorized the equation sheet and read through all of the study notes for the conceptual aspect.

OC (22): I also watched Dr. Mike’s videos for OC and completed practice problems. On Booster, I read through the study notes for each chapter and then completed the question banks for each section. The following day, I would go back to the previous question bank and redo the questions I got wrong once I watched video explanations for that type of problem. I memorized all of the key reactions using the summary sheet and made a blank copy to test myself on the products for each reagent. The ANKI deck for this was also very helpful with memorization. I wish I had focused more on conceptual questions and really understanding the “why” aspect of things (rather than just memorizing products) which helps distinguish patterns that can be applied to various reactions that the DAT can ask.

RC (27): A mix of Search and Destroy and the Vanilla method was most useful for me. I briefly went through each question and identified some buzzwords to keep an eye out for. Then, I would read through the entirety of the passage while highlighting the buzzwords I identified in the questions as well as other information I think would be important to know. RC was very similar on both programs, so either resource would be great for this.

QR (24): I scored really low on this section at first, but I soon realized that it was usually the same type of questions being asked and just presented in a different way. Once I recognized this pattern, I focused on certain questions I always got wrong until any question I encountered became familiar and I was able to work my way through it. Once a week I would go through the QR equation sheet to memorize those as well. Booster’s question banks were very helpful and the explanations were thorough on how to solve it.

Study Timeline:

1. June-August

I started studying towards the end of June and followed Ari’s 10-week schedule for the first few weeks. I found that I was quickly falling behind and was prioritizing completing the checklist rather than taking the time to really understand and digest the material. After the third week I completely dropped the schedule and studied at my own pace. I completed the learning portion of studying by the beginning of September. I began taking individual practice tests to see where I was at with the material and went back to topics I typically struggled with. This is when I started looking into Booster for additional help on Bio and PAT.

1. September-October

I began using Booster as my main study program. I again did not follow a strict schedule but began taking full-length practice tests and then went back to relearn material that I constantly got wrong. To keep up with material I’ve already learned and mastered, I would go through the study notes for GC and OC. I would also complete the OC blank reaction sheets once a week (for the ones that I struggled memorizing, I would rewatch videos on the mechanism) and skim through the High Yield/Feralis Biology notes. These two months had a steep learning curve because I was able to identify certain topics that I struggled with and focused on additional materials to help me understand it. I would take a practice exam every few days and then go through questions I got wrong. My exam was initially scheduled for October 15th, but I did not feel fully prepared and wanted more time to go through my practice exams. I postponed it for October 27th and entirely focused on practice exams. I went through every question this time (even the ones I got correct) and read explanations on why the answer was correct but also why the other choices were incorrect. I believed this helped me the most to really master the material.


All in all, I scored about 2-3 points higher on the real thing compared to my practice exams, so I do believe that we know more than we allow ourselves to think. Please keep your mental health as a priority and remember to take breaks to prevent yourself from burning out. I had to study for this exam longer than I intended, but it was worth it in the end as I felt more confident going into it. Good luck to everyone and a big thank you to the dental community for providing a strong support system!

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[butterfly222]

Congrats future dentist, you KILLED this!! Thank you for this breakdown def very helpful!!