Chelsea2413
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2022
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 2
Hey everyone! I found these DAT forums to be extremely helpful when studying for the DAT so I thought I’d write a breakdown of my own. I just finished taking the DAT the other day and so I thought I’d write a breakdown of my own. Hopefully, someone finds it helpful.
Scores:
Bio - 22
GC - 20
OC - 22
RC - 20
QR - 19
PAT: 20
TS - 21
AA - 21
Materials Used:
DAT Booster: This was my primary resource when it came to studying for the DAT. Although I may be biased due to it being the primary program I used, I can confidently say that this (+ ANKI) is all you need to get a decent score on the exam. It is extremely representative of the actual exam, especially for sections like Gen Chem & Orgo. Personally, I stuck to their study schedule for the duration of the content review but then found it to be quite repetitive afterward. My advice would be to create your own schedule that you can adhere to after content review. This would allow you to prioritize areas of weakness instead of just spending the same amount of time going over material that you may already be good at.
ANKI: This right here is the KEY to doing well in Biology. Believe me when I tell you Bio is RANDOM when it comes to the DAT. They can literally pull questions from anywhere. With that being said, Bio is also extremely dense with material as there is just so much to know. HOWEVER, it's not as bad as it looks. If you properly use ANKI and keep up with your daily cards you literally find yourself memorizing the most random facts over time. The key is to be CONSISTENT. It may not seem like it at first, but if you remain consistent ANKI will eventually be your savior when it comes to Bio. (Side Note: the Booster ANKI deck is extremely useful for some sections but it also has a lot of extra material that I personally found too descriptive and not needed for the actual exam. I eventually ended up creating a mix between my own decks & Boosters, but creating your own deck may not be the way for everyone)
DAT Bootcamp: Not much to say here, I only used their condensed Bio notes during the content review which I found pretty useful & also created my own ANKI decks based on their condensed notes.
Short Study Timeline:
So I started studying in February and spent a total of 3.5 months studying. However, I would say that there is a good month within that period in which I kinda slacked off, so take that (somewhat) long time studying with a grain of salt. I would also say I’ve always been the type of person to study a good while before an exam, but, I also see other individuals only study like 1-2 months and do just as fine if not better.
Exam Day Experience:
Bio (22): This section was extremely random for me, so doing decently well on it felt quite nice. I cannot stress the randomness of this section, so my advice would be to study every chapter provided by Booster. Even if you think a certain topic is too light to be covered on the exam, trust me, it can pop up with multiple questions. On the bright side, however, it is still quite surface level and does not go into too much detail. The KEY is to become familiar with the vocabulary, as it allows you to figure out questions even if you are not quite sure with exactly the answer is.
Gen Chem (20): This section felt much much easier than any of the Booster practice exams, but that's in large part to how well they prepare you for the section. The calculations are not as bad as made out in booster, and most of it happens to be conceptual anyways.
Orgo (22): This section is NOT BAD at all. The key to Orgo is figuring out trends. That's what half the material is over anyways. Booster’s ANKI deck on the reactions prepares you extremely well for the reactions, which are not bad at all. This is by far the best-covered section by Booster.
RC (20): Didn’t do too hot here lol. I personally found my passages quite difficult, however, the questions are more straightforward than the practice exams on Booster. Just make sure to experiment with which strategy works best for your prior to the DAT and not actually during the exam lol.
QR (19): Literally have no clue what happened here. Felt like the easiest section, and that's coming from someone who was barely cracking 16-17s on the Booster practice exams. It is SOOOOO much easier than Booster’s QR.
PAT (20): Daily PAT Generator is literally all you got to depend on. The Key to this section is practice, practice, and…… practice. However, t is generally easier than Booster’s PAT on the practice exams (aside from angle ranking- pretty much the same)
Ending Advice: Trust me, the exam is not as bad as you might think it is at first. Just stay consistent with your schedule and don’t slack off (all the time at least haha). DAT Booster prepares you more than well for this exam. You should expect to score at least 2-3 points higher on the actual one when compared to Booster Practice Exams. The highest I ever cracked on Boosters practice was a 19. Just believe in yourself (or at least fake it) and you’ll be fine.
Scores:
Bio - 22
GC - 20
OC - 22
RC - 20
QR - 19
PAT: 20
TS - 21
AA - 21
Materials Used:
DAT Booster: This was my primary resource when it came to studying for the DAT. Although I may be biased due to it being the primary program I used, I can confidently say that this (+ ANKI) is all you need to get a decent score on the exam. It is extremely representative of the actual exam, especially for sections like Gen Chem & Orgo. Personally, I stuck to their study schedule for the duration of the content review but then found it to be quite repetitive afterward. My advice would be to create your own schedule that you can adhere to after content review. This would allow you to prioritize areas of weakness instead of just spending the same amount of time going over material that you may already be good at.
ANKI: This right here is the KEY to doing well in Biology. Believe me when I tell you Bio is RANDOM when it comes to the DAT. They can literally pull questions from anywhere. With that being said, Bio is also extremely dense with material as there is just so much to know. HOWEVER, it's not as bad as it looks. If you properly use ANKI and keep up with your daily cards you literally find yourself memorizing the most random facts over time. The key is to be CONSISTENT. It may not seem like it at first, but if you remain consistent ANKI will eventually be your savior when it comes to Bio. (Side Note: the Booster ANKI deck is extremely useful for some sections but it also has a lot of extra material that I personally found too descriptive and not needed for the actual exam. I eventually ended up creating a mix between my own decks & Boosters, but creating your own deck may not be the way for everyone)
DAT Bootcamp: Not much to say here, I only used their condensed Bio notes during the content review which I found pretty useful & also created my own ANKI decks based on their condensed notes.
Short Study Timeline:
So I started studying in February and spent a total of 3.5 months studying. However, I would say that there is a good month within that period in which I kinda slacked off, so take that (somewhat) long time studying with a grain of salt. I would also say I’ve always been the type of person to study a good while before an exam, but, I also see other individuals only study like 1-2 months and do just as fine if not better.
Exam Day Experience:
Bio (22): This section was extremely random for me, so doing decently well on it felt quite nice. I cannot stress the randomness of this section, so my advice would be to study every chapter provided by Booster. Even if you think a certain topic is too light to be covered on the exam, trust me, it can pop up with multiple questions. On the bright side, however, it is still quite surface level and does not go into too much detail. The KEY is to become familiar with the vocabulary, as it allows you to figure out questions even if you are not quite sure with exactly the answer is.
Gen Chem (20): This section felt much much easier than any of the Booster practice exams, but that's in large part to how well they prepare you for the section. The calculations are not as bad as made out in booster, and most of it happens to be conceptual anyways.
Orgo (22): This section is NOT BAD at all. The key to Orgo is figuring out trends. That's what half the material is over anyways. Booster’s ANKI deck on the reactions prepares you extremely well for the reactions, which are not bad at all. This is by far the best-covered section by Booster.
RC (20): Didn’t do too hot here lol. I personally found my passages quite difficult, however, the questions are more straightforward than the practice exams on Booster. Just make sure to experiment with which strategy works best for your prior to the DAT and not actually during the exam lol.
QR (19): Literally have no clue what happened here. Felt like the easiest section, and that's coming from someone who was barely cracking 16-17s on the Booster practice exams. It is SOOOOO much easier than Booster’s QR.
PAT (20): Daily PAT Generator is literally all you got to depend on. The Key to this section is practice, practice, and…… practice. However, t is generally easier than Booster’s PAT on the practice exams (aside from angle ranking- pretty much the same)
Ending Advice: Trust me, the exam is not as bad as you might think it is at first. Just stay consistent with your schedule and don’t slack off (all the time at least haha). DAT Booster prepares you more than well for this exam. You should expect to score at least 2-3 points higher on the actual one when compared to Booster Practice Exams. The highest I ever cracked on Boosters practice was a 19. Just believe in yourself (or at least fake it) and you’ll be fine.
