- Joined
- Aug 17, 2020
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 8
Scores:
PAT 23
QR 30
RC 25
Bio 30
GC 30
OC 29
TS 30
AA —— 29
Hi all, I took the test in 2020 but decided to post this on here in hopes it could help someone!
Bootcamp was the only material I used, and it was fantastic. I studied for about 6 weeks (averaged out to 5ish hours a day) and worked part time. I made my own paper flashcards with whatever wasn’t sticking in my brain and carried them around with me everywhere, which helped me memorize a bunch of formulas and random facts. My best friend signed up to take the DAT 2 days after me, so we did Ari’s study schedule together. Every few days we would meet up to talk about the questions we marked red, teach each other a chapter of bio, watch video explanations together and talk about them, and make up dumb mnemonics to remember things (especially taxonomy haha). Single most helpful thing for me in prepping was a study partner. The best way to learn is teaching!!!
Bio: There were 2 super weird questions I all out guessed on, but nothing else was something I couldn’t have found on Bootcamp. I was a Microbiology major and so I had a bit of a head start on the material from all of my major classes, but the BC notes were great, and I reviewed all of those but filled in the gaps using Academy. BC alone was more than sufficient between the question banks and practice tests, I got the perfect amount of breadth to prepare me.
GC: Just like practice exams, maybe a tad easier. Mike’s videos were money, and I only had 3-4 questions with calculations.
OC: Also similar to BC, I got weird a question about orgo lab stuff so don’t forget to review basic lab concepts too! The question banks and practice tests were definitely on par with the real one.
PAT: Play the PAT training game! Angle ranking is always my worst section, but the game really helped me see the small differences. I started at question 31 (double click on the question number
and I had 10 minutes left to go through my marked questions, which was crazy since Bootcamp definitely had me pressed for time on every practice exam. Kinda weird too, but use Joel’s tip of taking PAT poops (practicing with the generator app on your phone while in the bathroom), cuz that’s a fair amount of time every day you can just use the app to improve your speed. I testify that PAT poops work.
RC: Easier than Bootcamp. My first passage was super short and I finished it in 10, the second was normal (took me about 15 mins) and the last had a lot of technical cell bio jargon in it that would’ve ruined me if I had to go quickly on it, but I had 30 mins left to decipher it. My advice is to just be mindful of your pacing and know when to move on, just in case a future passage is harder. One annoying thing was that the scroll wheel on my mouse didn’t work on the test so I had to manually click the sidebar and drag it, but it wasn’t a huge deal.
QR: I was very surprised that the questions on my form were significantly easier than BC. The last math class I took was in 2014 and so I was most rusty on my math skills, but after relearning how to algebra and practicing with all the question banks, I improved a lot. A lot of people don’t need the videos but if it’s been a while since you’ve taken a math class I would strongly recommend them!
Test day: Even though I was getting 23-25AA on the practice tests, I was so scared for the test. I typically don’t get test anxiety for anything, but in the days leading up to the test I was the most nervous I think I’ve ever been in my life (trouble sleeping, heart rate increasing randomly throughout the day, loss of appetite). It definitely helped me to *not study too much*. Which sounds weird, but getting outside and exercising is what I would recommend everyone remember to do especially in the last little bit before your test. That way on test day your mind is fresh and you don’t go in exhausted. I brushed my teeth and flossed in the break and that gave me good dental vibes.
Takeaways: Study hard, don’t forget to take breaks, be confident (even if you are nervous!), and remember that your DAT score doesn’t completely determine your future! Good luck everyone!!
PAT 23
QR 30
RC 25
Bio 30
GC 30
OC 29
TS 30
AA —— 29
Hi all, I took the test in 2020 but decided to post this on here in hopes it could help someone!
Bootcamp was the only material I used, and it was fantastic. I studied for about 6 weeks (averaged out to 5ish hours a day) and worked part time. I made my own paper flashcards with whatever wasn’t sticking in my brain and carried them around with me everywhere, which helped me memorize a bunch of formulas and random facts. My best friend signed up to take the DAT 2 days after me, so we did Ari’s study schedule together. Every few days we would meet up to talk about the questions we marked red, teach each other a chapter of bio, watch video explanations together and talk about them, and make up dumb mnemonics to remember things (especially taxonomy haha). Single most helpful thing for me in prepping was a study partner. The best way to learn is teaching!!!
Bio: There were 2 super weird questions I all out guessed on, but nothing else was something I couldn’t have found on Bootcamp. I was a Microbiology major and so I had a bit of a head start on the material from all of my major classes, but the BC notes were great, and I reviewed all of those but filled in the gaps using Academy. BC alone was more than sufficient between the question banks and practice tests, I got the perfect amount of breadth to prepare me.
GC: Just like practice exams, maybe a tad easier. Mike’s videos were money, and I only had 3-4 questions with calculations.
OC: Also similar to BC, I got weird a question about orgo lab stuff so don’t forget to review basic lab concepts too! The question banks and practice tests were definitely on par with the real one.
PAT: Play the PAT training game! Angle ranking is always my worst section, but the game really helped me see the small differences. I started at question 31 (double click on the question number
and I had 10 minutes left to go through my marked questions, which was crazy since Bootcamp definitely had me pressed for time on every practice exam. Kinda weird too, but use Joel’s tip of taking PAT poops (practicing with the generator app on your phone while in the bathroom), cuz that’s a fair amount of time every day you can just use the app to improve your speed. I testify that PAT poops work.RC: Easier than Bootcamp. My first passage was super short and I finished it in 10, the second was normal (took me about 15 mins) and the last had a lot of technical cell bio jargon in it that would’ve ruined me if I had to go quickly on it, but I had 30 mins left to decipher it. My advice is to just be mindful of your pacing and know when to move on, just in case a future passage is harder. One annoying thing was that the scroll wheel on my mouse didn’t work on the test so I had to manually click the sidebar and drag it, but it wasn’t a huge deal.
QR: I was very surprised that the questions on my form were significantly easier than BC. The last math class I took was in 2014 and so I was most rusty on my math skills, but after relearning how to algebra and practicing with all the question banks, I improved a lot. A lot of people don’t need the videos but if it’s been a while since you’ve taken a math class I would strongly recommend them!
Test day: Even though I was getting 23-25AA on the practice tests, I was so scared for the test. I typically don’t get test anxiety for anything, but in the days leading up to the test I was the most nervous I think I’ve ever been in my life (trouble sleeping, heart rate increasing randomly throughout the day, loss of appetite). It definitely helped me to *not study too much*. Which sounds weird, but getting outside and exercising is what I would recommend everyone remember to do especially in the last little bit before your test. That way on test day your mind is fresh and you don’t go in exhausted. I brushed my teeth and flossed in the break and that gave me good dental vibes.
Takeaways: Study hard, don’t forget to take breaks, be confident (even if you are nervous!), and remember that your DAT score doesn’t completely determine your future! Good luck everyone!!
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