DAT BREAKDOWN AA 22/TS 22

[Dallas Dentist]

After studying for over 2 months, I finally took the DAT on saturday and am pretty content with my scores.

PAT: 17 (not happy about this lol)
QR: 20
RC: 25
BIO: 22
GC: 22
OC: 22
TS: 22
AA: 22

BIO (22):
-So for the first 3 weeks I tried to follow Ari's schedule and read the first 10 chapters of Cliffs. However, I found I wasn't retaining much and began looking at better ways to study. I hate reading and am not a great learner when it comes to reading books, so to me Cliffs was a waste of time. I started to watch Bozeman's videos on youtube and found that I was understanding the concepts much more. Then I began destroyer and although it was very tough, it prepared me really well. I went through destroyer about 1.5 times and made about 1300 ANKI flashcards for this section.
On bootcamp, I was constantly scoring 17-19 on BIO tests so a 22 on this section was very surprising. The actual test was a bit easier than bootcamp for the bio section. Had a few tough questions that I had never heard about, but I think by just using general knowledge I was able to make educated guesses.
DESTROYER IS KEY FOR BIO.

GC (22):
- Gen chem was a strong suit of mine from the beginning. I started by going through all of Chad's videos which were helpful to bring back understanding of concepts I was weak on such as kinetics and equilibrium. I then moved onto destroyer and went through it 1.5 times as well. The destroyer questions are all so much tougher than the actual exam but it prepared me really well. On bootcamp I scored in the range of 21-24 in all GC tests, so my actual score was pretty spot on. The actual exam was easy, so I was actually expecting a higher score, but maybe the exam was just scaled differently than bootcamp.

OC (22):
- OCHEM is my favorite science class I've taken in college so I was confident in this section. Watched all of Mike's videos then moved on to destroyer. Went through destroyer once and found that it was a little overboard, but it is definitely worth to go through it. I had one question word for word from the destroyer with the same exact answer choices too. MEMORIZE ALL REAGENTS. Use bootcamp to learn a little bit about the lab techniques you would use for certain compounds, had a few questions on that as well.
Overall, OC was much easier than bootcamp as well and on bootcamp I was scoring up to 30, so was a little disappointed with a 22 here too, but just as with GC maybe the scale was just different.

PAT (17):
- This was my toughest section and think my nerves just got the best of me. I never was able to get my timing down when going through bootcamp tests and timing messed me up again on the real exam. I set up my hole punch grids before hand but when I started the PAT section, I realized I didn't draw the grids big enough so I wasted time erasing the grids and drawing new ones, so already off to a bad start. Then went on to cubes and had two cube images that were just very hard to judge so even though this was my easiest section on bootcamp, I think i missed some here too. Pattern folding was pretty easy, but keyholes were so hard. Had about 4-5 rock questions and was honestly just guessing. TFE wasn't too bad, a little easier than bootcamp. Angle ranking was similar to bootcamp as well.
For this section, I only used bootcamp and found the generators to be way too easy compared to the practice exams and the actual DAT. Bootcamp was still a great help, but I just honestly choked on this section, so I can only blame myself.
Do y'all think this low score is going to affect me big time?

RC (25):
-If it wasn't for this section, I would say BIO was my biggest surprise, but the RC section on my test was so easy. I think I got really lucky. All three passages were uninteresting but I had the most simple questions and the first two passages had the questions in order. I had 0 questions about the "statement is true but reason is not". Literally every question was easily found through search & destroy. I can't offer much advice on this section because on the bootcamp tests I struggled and never got a good strategy down, and somehow got lucky on the real one, which isn't something you can bank on.

QR (20):
- So coming into studying, I figured since Math was a strong suite of mine that I would just push it off. DO NOT DO THIS. The math section is actually very tough mainly because of timing and the questions are worded weirdly. I did 12 destroyer tests which helped, but I think for this section Bootcamp is the most important. I was honestly expecting to do better in this section as well, but I got stuck on a few questions and on some easy questions I spent too much time entering numbers into the calculator so had to guess on 3 in the final two minutes. Use bootcamp to really understand the new QC questions because they will definitely be on there, but are a little easier than the ones on BC.

So relieved to finally be done with the DAT. It's been a stressful summer, but hard work definitely pays off. S/O to @orgoman22 & @Ari Rezaei for their great resources. Couldn't have done well without them.

For people that get anxiety like me, the best advice I can give you is continue to breathe and remind yourself that you do not want to take the exam again. That is what motivated me and kept my mind off being scared. My heart was still beating fast before I started the test, but once it started I knew I had no other choice. The day before the test, go do something fun and spend maybe a few hours just looking over note cards and OCHEM reactions. All in all, I am happy, but wanted to hear feedback about how my low PAT score will affect me. Thanks guys!

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[Auntymarkovnikov]

Wow look at that consistency

 

[Auntymarkovnikov]

Did you use anything else besides destroyer for bio? Also, what's your bio background like?

 

[Dallas Dentist]

Did you use anything else besides destroyer for bio? Also, what's your bio background like?

Sorry I didn't clarify. I also did Tests 1-8 from bootcamp and made flashcards over the explanations. Bootcamp's explanations are very helpful. Although it is time consuming, I think spending time learning these explanations is invaluable.
My BIO background is very weak. I am a finance major and I have only taken BIO 1, BIO 2, Microbio and ecology so far in biology. Now, as I senior I am taking like 3 or 4 more bio classes but before the DAT I had a weak background. Destroyer helped me a ton and I went through flashcards everyday while I ate meals to keep it fresh on my mind.

 

[zxe1996]

Howdy,

Fellow Dallas resident here, I think your scores look really good so I wouldn't be too worried about the PAT. I know your probably aiming for Baylor (or a&m whatever) and i've heard from their admissions dean that they do emphasize the PAT score. So maybe give them and whoever else your applying to a call to see what they say. Don't really see it stoping you from getting interviews as long as the rest of your application is strong.

- just my 2 cents though

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Very consistent scores overall, good job - don't worry about the PAT score too much, I don't think it gets weighed too heavily. The rock questions are crazy but unless they get removed we all just have to suffer through them.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

After studying for over 2 months, I finally took the DAT on saturday and am pretty content with my scores.

PAT: 17 (not happy about this lol)
QR: 20
RC: 25
BIO: 22
GC: 22
OC: 22
TS: 22
AA: 22

BIO (22):
-So for the first 3 weeks I tried to follow Ari's schedule and read the first 10 chapters of Cliffs. However, I found I wasn't retaining much and began looking at better ways to study. I hate reading and am not a great learner when it comes to reading books, so to me Cliffs was a waste of time. I started to watch Bozeman's videos on youtube and found that I was understanding the concepts much more. Then I began destroyer and although it was very tough, it prepared me really well. I went through destroyer about 1.5 times and made about 1300 ANKI flashcards for this section.
On bootcamp, I was constantly scoring 17-19 on BIO tests so a 22 on this section was very surprising. The actual test was a bit easier than bootcamp for the bio section. Had a few tough questions that I had never heard about, but I think by just using general knowledge I was able to make educated guesses.
DESTROYER IS KEY FOR BIO.

GC (22):
- Gen chem was a strong suit of mine from the beginning. I started by going through all of Chad's videos which were helpful to bring back understanding of concepts I was weak on such as kinetics and equilibrium. I then moved onto destroyer and went through it 1.5 times as well. The destroyer questions are all so much tougher than the actual exam but it prepared me really well. On bootcamp I scored in the range of 21-24 in all GC tests, so my actual score was pretty spot on. The actual exam was easy, so I was actually expecting a higher score, but maybe the exam was just scaled differently than bootcamp.

OC (22):
- OCHEM is my favorite science class I've taken in college so I was confident in this section. Watched all of Mike's videos then moved on to destroyer. Went through destroyer once and found that it was a little overboard, but it is definitely worth to go through it. I had one question word for word from the destroyer with the same exact answer choices too. MEMORIZE ALL REAGENTS. Use bootcamp to learn a little bit about the lab techniques you would use for certain compounds, had a few questions on that as well.
Overall, OC was much easier than bootcamp as well and on bootcamp I was scoring up to 30, so was a little disappointed with a 22 here too, but just as with GC maybe the scale was just different.

PAT (17):
- This was my toughest section and think my nerves just got the best of me. I never was able to get my timing down when going through bootcamp tests and timing messed me up again on the real exam. I set up my hole punch grids before hand but when I started the PAT section, I realized I didn't draw the grids big enough so I wasted time erasing the grids and drawing new ones, so already off to a bad start. Then went on to cubes and had two cube images that were just very hard to judge so even though this was my easiest section on bootcamp, I think i missed some here too. Pattern folding was pretty easy, but keyholes were so hard. Had about 4-5 rock questions and was honestly just guessing. TFE wasn't too bad, a little easier than bootcamp. Angle ranking was similar to bootcamp as well.
For this section, I only used bootcamp and found the generators to be way too easy compared to the practice exams and the actual DAT. Bootcamp was still a great help, but I just honestly choked on this section, so I can only blame myself.
Do y'all think this low score is going to affect me big time?

RC (25):
-If it wasn't for this section, I would say BIO was my biggest surprise, but the RC section on my test was so easy. I think I got really lucky. All three passages were uninteresting but I had the most simple questions and the first two passages had the questions in order. I had 0 questions about the "statement is true but reason is not". Literally every question was easily found through search & destroy. I can't offer much advice on this section because on the bootcamp tests I struggled and never got a good strategy down, and somehow got lucky on the real one, which isn't something you can bank on.

QR (20):
- So coming into studying, I figured since Math was a strong suite of mine that I would just push it off. DO NOT DO THIS. The math section is actually very tough mainly because of timing and the questions are worded weirdly. I did 12 destroyer tests which helped, but I think for this section Bootcamp is the most important. I was honestly expecting to do better in this section as well, but I got stuck on a few questions and on some easy questions I spent too much time entering numbers into the calculator so had to guess on 3 in the final two minutes. Use bootcamp to really understand the new QC questions because they will definitely be on there, but are a little easier than the ones on BC.

So relieved to finally be done with the DAT. It's been a stressful summer, but hard work definitely pays off. S/O to @orgoman22 & @Ari Rezaei for their great resources. Couldn't have done well without them.

For people that get anxiety like me, the best advice I can give you is continue to breathe and remind yourself that you do not want to take the exam again. That is what motivated me and kept my mind off being scared. My heart was still beating fast before I started the test, but once it started I knew I had no other choice. The day before the test, go do something fun and spend maybe a few hours just looking over note cards and OCHEM reactions. All in all, I am happy, but wanted to hear feedback about how my low PAT score will affect me. Thanks guys!

Congratulations! Love the consistent 22's with 25 in reading. PAT is not that important at the vast majority of schools. 17 is just fine, your other scores are above average. DAT Beast Destroyed once again!

Dr. Jim Romano and Nancy