toothfairy37
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Hello Everyone!
I just recently took my DAT exam around a week ago, and I thought that helping the community by providing a breakdown could be the greatest way to relieve some of the stress, as I too had once been in your shoes. First of all, I wanted to preface by saying that the DAT is a daunting test, and it took me about 12 weeks of preparation before I felt fully comfortable with the material to go into the test with some peace of mind.
Scores:
Perceptual Ability: 22
Quantitative Reasoning: 20
Reading Comprehension: 22
Biology: 24
General Chemistry: 25
Organic Chemistry: 22
Total Science: 24
Academic Average: 23
Materials Used (In Order of Importance):
Study Timeline:
I began studying around April 1st, starting the DATBooster 12-week schedule. I opted for this schedule because I would finish just a week before my exam to give me time to refresh on some of the topics that were kinda hard to get down, such as muscle contraction, VSEPR theory charts, and phyla charts.
Stage 1 (Day 0-49): During this stage of learning, I strictly stuck to the DATBooster 12-week schedule. I watched every single video, read all the notes, did all the practice problems, etc. On top of this schedule, I also realized how important it was to reinforce my biology topics since it was such a broad section of information, so I did ANKI cards every night (between 200-400) of them. I do admit, the one time I veered off schedule was during the plants section. I still don’t know why we need to know what a seedless tracheophyte is given we are entering a field in which we examine people’s teeth. I completely disregarded this section, and didn't do ANKI for it one bit. I believe the first 10 pages or so of chapter 2 on DATBooster are higher yield than the plants section, so I just went over that and briefly memorized some plant information from DAT Bootcamp notes later on. In terms of general chemistry and organic chemistry, I watched all the videos at one time speed, read through the notes, and even supplemented a little bit of Chad’s videos when general chemistry topics were a little confusing. I recall taking a practice test around 10 or so days into my schedule (because DATBooster told me to), and I did not perform to my liking on it, which is pretty discouraging. However, if you’re like me, then you should use this opportunity as a learning experience to thrive to score higher and LEARN from your mistakes. I have to emphasize the word LEARN because this is what I believe helps people achieve high scores. Learn from your mistakes 100% and master every weakness.
Stage 2 (Day 50-90): Unlike DATBooster, I revised the study schedule after I was finished with the learning phase. During this phase, I prioritized working through the remaining practice tests (I had around 8 when I first started this phase) and strictly learning from my mistakes. I would take a practice test every 5 days. The two days after the test, I would review and write down in notes anything I missed as well as expand on the topics of that question. For example, I missed a question regarding blood pressure. The answer choices were regarding aldosterone, ADH, angiotensin, renin, etc. I would write down what every single answer choice does to blood pressure so I learn the general concept the question is trying to ask me. I did this for every single exam for Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. In total I had about 30 pages of notes that I could look over when I struggled with the topic. I believe writing it down on paper helped it stick with me more and I didn’t have problems with remembering those things that I had written down. After the two days, I had 2 more days before the next test, so during this time I read a chapter of Bootcamp Condensed Notes in the morning, then did Bootcamp’s ANKI deck for that chapter at night. I filled in the gaps in my studying by looking at weaknesses and whatnot. Near the end of my studying, I didn’t have much gaps in my knowledge (or so I thought), and started taking exams every 3 days. At the end of my schedule, I had around a week left before my test. I divided up my time by retaking all 10 practice exams for individual sections. I did one day dedicated to Biology, one day dedicated to Gen Chem, and one day dedicated to Org Chem. On the day before the exam, I looked over my notes that I had taken through the course of my studying very briefly (probably around 45 mins) and also took an individual PAT test because my timing was bad on that section. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and being around family.
Day of the Exam: The day of the exam was pretty stressful. I was super anxious to go in there and just get it over with. 12 weeks is a long time preparing for the exam, so I was completely ready to be done with it. The testing center for me wasn’t bad at all. The computers didn’t really lag (at least not noticeably) and the environment was really quiet. I did not use the headphones provided since it was so quiet. My testing center was a little chilly so I wore a pretty heavy jacket and I felt nice and cozy. I would say the most stressful part of this test is clicking the submit button. For some reason, THIS is when the computer decided to lag, so I was waiting for my scores, staring at a white screen for what seemed like 30 seconds, before my scores popped up in my face.
Biology: I feel like this section was a breeze for the most part. You’ve probably heard this from other breakdowns but BREADTH OVER DEPTH. I would say nearly 35 out of the 40 questions on the Biology section are broad, while there are some questions that are extremely specific (about 5 of them). I personally feel like you cannot study this section 100%, like you either have to get pretty lucky with your exam to get a perfect score since it is SO much content, or you have to be a genius. I saw about 5 or 6 questions word for word on my DAT from the DATBooster practice exams. I also feel like ANKI helped me retain a lot of those specific questions throughout my hours of doing it, so props to ANKI I guess. I would say this section is what I prioritized the most.
General Chemistry: I always sucked at general chemistry, so I was surprised that this was my highest score. I believe that there wasn’t a single question that was really odd to me. Everything I had seen on the DAT was extremely similar to DATBooster practice exams. There might’ve been like one or two questions that I had trouble with, but I was eventually able to reach an answer by process of elimination. Overall, this section was really easy as demonstrated by my score. I would say that I prioritized this section the least in the sciences category.
Organic Chemistry: I was always good at organic chemistry, so I was surprised that I got a 22 on this section. Everything was really accurate from DATBooster’s exams. There were a couple of things that completely threw me off though. I would say about 1-3 questions I had not recognized before made me completely guess on those questions. I believe I was able to narrow down the answer but wasn’t able to get them right unfortunately. For this section just know the basics, such as acid/base, nucleophilicity/electrophilicity, all the reactions on Booster’s reaction sheet, IUPAC naming, etc. I didn’t bother learning mechanisms too much in my opinion so that might be where the discrepancy in my score lies. I do believe that my knowledge in reactions from the reaction sheet set me up for success, so try to drill those in.
PAT: Honestly, I was not expecting how easy this section is compared to DATBooster. Everything on this section was either the same difficulty or less difficult than DATBooster. Same difficulty I would say angle ranking, cube counting, and pattern folding. Everything else was ridiculously easy. On Booster exams I would probably get like 4-5 right on keyhole. This time around it felt like I got 100% on the real test. TFE was also a breeze on the real test. I struggled with pacing on DATBooster’s tests but on the actual DAT I had plenty of time.
RC: Extremely representative. I used the search and destroy method throughout my entire time studying. I would say this section might have been easier on the real test. I believe one of my passages was all search and destroy. DATBooster makes this section a little hard by asking you about the tone, whether two statements are correct or not, the definition of a word, etc. I personally don’t think those questions are representative of the test. Everything else that is search and destroy is though. Practice this method and use it on the test because they try to trick you with answer choices that are a few letters different from each other.
QR: I expected maybe a 21 or 22 on this section. Don’t know how this happened. While I do agree that DATBooster exams are really hard, my DAT exam was probably equally as hard. There were some questions that really soaked up my time, and I ended up being around 2 questions short. I quickly had to do these questions which are rough but it is what it is. I was always good at math, but from personal experience that is not a good indicator of how well you will do in this section. I prioritized this section the least out of all sections and the best way to improve in math is repetition. If you really want to get a good score, repeat all questions on DAT Booster’s exams a couple of days in advance and learn on how to do these problems.
Concluding Thoughts/Statements: I guarantee anyone has the capability to do well on this exam if they put in the time and effort. Some people might learn more slowly than others, but I truly believe that 10-12 weeks is the sweet spot. Try to aim for around 5-6 hours a day during the first 2 months of studying, then transition to 7-8 hours a day the last month. The key point you should take away from this breakdown is to learn from your mistakes. This is the key in succeeding on this test. Anyways, I hope I was able to ease some of your stress regarding the DAT. Trust me, if you prepare using DATBooster, the test will feel like a piece of cake to you. Good luck in your studies and feel free to message me regarding any questions you may have!
I just recently took my DAT exam around a week ago, and I thought that helping the community by providing a breakdown could be the greatest way to relieve some of the stress, as I too had once been in your shoes. First of all, I wanted to preface by saying that the DAT is a daunting test, and it took me about 12 weeks of preparation before I felt fully comfortable with the material to go into the test with some peace of mind.
Scores:
Perceptual Ability: 22
Quantitative Reasoning: 20
Reading Comprehension: 22
Biology: 24
General Chemistry: 25
Organic Chemistry: 22
Total Science: 24
Academic Average: 23
Materials Used (In Order of Importance):
- DATBooster: I had some friends who told me that they bought both Bootcamp and Booster to aid them in their exams. I wanted to go for one of the two options as I didn’t see it being logical to pay for both programs if they essentially did the same thing (preparing me for the DAT), so they had told me that DATBooster is more up-to-date and I would get more bang for my buck with them. So, I opted to pay for Booster.
- ANKI: I had read other people’s breakdowns when studying for my DAT and noticed that people with high biology scores grinded ANKI pretty hard. I used ANKI to supplement my learning very frequently.
- Bootcamp Condensed Notes: Bootcamp Condensed Notes were a recommendation down the line and I had used this as a way to refresh my memory based on the studying that I had done earlier with DATBooster. Overall a good, free resource to use if you want refreshers on the majority of the Biology concepts.
Study Timeline:
I began studying around April 1st, starting the DATBooster 12-week schedule. I opted for this schedule because I would finish just a week before my exam to give me time to refresh on some of the topics that were kinda hard to get down, such as muscle contraction, VSEPR theory charts, and phyla charts.
Stage 1 (Day 0-49): During this stage of learning, I strictly stuck to the DATBooster 12-week schedule. I watched every single video, read all the notes, did all the practice problems, etc. On top of this schedule, I also realized how important it was to reinforce my biology topics since it was such a broad section of information, so I did ANKI cards every night (between 200-400) of them. I do admit, the one time I veered off schedule was during the plants section. I still don’t know why we need to know what a seedless tracheophyte is given we are entering a field in which we examine people’s teeth. I completely disregarded this section, and didn't do ANKI for it one bit. I believe the first 10 pages or so of chapter 2 on DATBooster are higher yield than the plants section, so I just went over that and briefly memorized some plant information from DAT Bootcamp notes later on. In terms of general chemistry and organic chemistry, I watched all the videos at one time speed, read through the notes, and even supplemented a little bit of Chad’s videos when general chemistry topics were a little confusing. I recall taking a practice test around 10 or so days into my schedule (because DATBooster told me to), and I did not perform to my liking on it, which is pretty discouraging. However, if you’re like me, then you should use this opportunity as a learning experience to thrive to score higher and LEARN from your mistakes. I have to emphasize the word LEARN because this is what I believe helps people achieve high scores. Learn from your mistakes 100% and master every weakness.
Stage 2 (Day 50-90): Unlike DATBooster, I revised the study schedule after I was finished with the learning phase. During this phase, I prioritized working through the remaining practice tests (I had around 8 when I first started this phase) and strictly learning from my mistakes. I would take a practice test every 5 days. The two days after the test, I would review and write down in notes anything I missed as well as expand on the topics of that question. For example, I missed a question regarding blood pressure. The answer choices were regarding aldosterone, ADH, angiotensin, renin, etc. I would write down what every single answer choice does to blood pressure so I learn the general concept the question is trying to ask me. I did this for every single exam for Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. In total I had about 30 pages of notes that I could look over when I struggled with the topic. I believe writing it down on paper helped it stick with me more and I didn’t have problems with remembering those things that I had written down. After the two days, I had 2 more days before the next test, so during this time I read a chapter of Bootcamp Condensed Notes in the morning, then did Bootcamp’s ANKI deck for that chapter at night. I filled in the gaps in my studying by looking at weaknesses and whatnot. Near the end of my studying, I didn’t have much gaps in my knowledge (or so I thought), and started taking exams every 3 days. At the end of my schedule, I had around a week left before my test. I divided up my time by retaking all 10 practice exams for individual sections. I did one day dedicated to Biology, one day dedicated to Gen Chem, and one day dedicated to Org Chem. On the day before the exam, I looked over my notes that I had taken through the course of my studying very briefly (probably around 45 mins) and also took an individual PAT test because my timing was bad on that section. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and being around family.
Day of the Exam: The day of the exam was pretty stressful. I was super anxious to go in there and just get it over with. 12 weeks is a long time preparing for the exam, so I was completely ready to be done with it. The testing center for me wasn’t bad at all. The computers didn’t really lag (at least not noticeably) and the environment was really quiet. I did not use the headphones provided since it was so quiet. My testing center was a little chilly so I wore a pretty heavy jacket and I felt nice and cozy. I would say the most stressful part of this test is clicking the submit button. For some reason, THIS is when the computer decided to lag, so I was waiting for my scores, staring at a white screen for what seemed like 30 seconds, before my scores popped up in my face.
Biology: I feel like this section was a breeze for the most part. You’ve probably heard this from other breakdowns but BREADTH OVER DEPTH. I would say nearly 35 out of the 40 questions on the Biology section are broad, while there are some questions that are extremely specific (about 5 of them). I personally feel like you cannot study this section 100%, like you either have to get pretty lucky with your exam to get a perfect score since it is SO much content, or you have to be a genius. I saw about 5 or 6 questions word for word on my DAT from the DATBooster practice exams. I also feel like ANKI helped me retain a lot of those specific questions throughout my hours of doing it, so props to ANKI I guess. I would say this section is what I prioritized the most.
General Chemistry: I always sucked at general chemistry, so I was surprised that this was my highest score. I believe that there wasn’t a single question that was really odd to me. Everything I had seen on the DAT was extremely similar to DATBooster practice exams. There might’ve been like one or two questions that I had trouble with, but I was eventually able to reach an answer by process of elimination. Overall, this section was really easy as demonstrated by my score. I would say that I prioritized this section the least in the sciences category.
Organic Chemistry: I was always good at organic chemistry, so I was surprised that I got a 22 on this section. Everything was really accurate from DATBooster’s exams. There were a couple of things that completely threw me off though. I would say about 1-3 questions I had not recognized before made me completely guess on those questions. I believe I was able to narrow down the answer but wasn’t able to get them right unfortunately. For this section just know the basics, such as acid/base, nucleophilicity/electrophilicity, all the reactions on Booster’s reaction sheet, IUPAC naming, etc. I didn’t bother learning mechanisms too much in my opinion so that might be where the discrepancy in my score lies. I do believe that my knowledge in reactions from the reaction sheet set me up for success, so try to drill those in.
PAT: Honestly, I was not expecting how easy this section is compared to DATBooster. Everything on this section was either the same difficulty or less difficult than DATBooster. Same difficulty I would say angle ranking, cube counting, and pattern folding. Everything else was ridiculously easy. On Booster exams I would probably get like 4-5 right on keyhole. This time around it felt like I got 100% on the real test. TFE was also a breeze on the real test. I struggled with pacing on DATBooster’s tests but on the actual DAT I had plenty of time.
RC: Extremely representative. I used the search and destroy method throughout my entire time studying. I would say this section might have been easier on the real test. I believe one of my passages was all search and destroy. DATBooster makes this section a little hard by asking you about the tone, whether two statements are correct or not, the definition of a word, etc. I personally don’t think those questions are representative of the test. Everything else that is search and destroy is though. Practice this method and use it on the test because they try to trick you with answer choices that are a few letters different from each other.
QR: I expected maybe a 21 or 22 on this section. Don’t know how this happened. While I do agree that DATBooster exams are really hard, my DAT exam was probably equally as hard. There were some questions that really soaked up my time, and I ended up being around 2 questions short. I quickly had to do these questions which are rough but it is what it is. I was always good at math, but from personal experience that is not a good indicator of how well you will do in this section. I prioritized this section the least out of all sections and the best way to improve in math is repetition. If you really want to get a good score, repeat all questions on DAT Booster’s exams a couple of days in advance and learn on how to do these problems.
Concluding Thoughts/Statements: I guarantee anyone has the capability to do well on this exam if they put in the time and effort. Some people might learn more slowly than others, but I truly believe that 10-12 weeks is the sweet spot. Try to aim for around 5-6 hours a day during the first 2 months of studying, then transition to 7-8 hours a day the last month. The key point you should take away from this breakdown is to learn from your mistakes. This is the key in succeeding on this test. Anyways, I hope I was able to ease some of your stress regarding the DAT. Trust me, if you prepare using DATBooster, the test will feel like a piece of cake to you. Good luck in your studies and feel free to message me regarding any questions you may have!
