Pandabutter
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- May 11, 2023
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Hi everyone! I’ve really enjoyed these posts and think they are super helpful to gain an idea of what to expect for the exam and how to best prepare. Obviously, everyone prepares for these exams a little differently, however here is what worked best for me.
A little background: I just graduated with my undergraduate degree in Biology, have a 3.94 GPA and am applying this cycle.
My Scores are as follows:
Materials I used:
To preface: I ended up pushing my DAT back from April 21st to May 1st around April 9th. I wasn’t fully confident with my scores, and it was such a good decision. I used the extra few weeks to really dial in with what I wasn’t comfortable with.
Biology: The exam had biology being very similar to DATBoosters level of bio. Typically, questions aren’t very deep and sophisticated, they usually are simple questions with a more obvious answer. I had a couple that were deep questions but that's how the exam goes. I HIGHLY recommend printing out hard copy bio notes whether it be Feralis’ notes from DATBooster or other notes. Everyday go through one chapter and read it twice, marking and annotating both times. The next day, re-read that chapter and try to understand concepts you are unsure of. Rinse and repeat. It isn’t fun at the moment, but it will pay off heavily.
General Chemistry: I took gen chem my freshmen year and so haven’t seen the material in four years so to say it was a struggle was an understatement. I really had to focus on this section and try to understand the concepts. Each day I read a chapter and would practice practice practice. I would recommend redoing questions as much as possible. Also make sure to look at the formula sheet and try to memorize that. Take a section (i.e. Acid & Base) and really try to understand how the concepts relate to the formulas.
Organic Chemistry: This section is straight ford. The exam was very similar to DATBoosters arrangement of questions. I had some multistep synthesis problems that I would suggest being prepared for. Also, each day just take a reaction type (i.e. alkenes) and really try to memorize them. Do this each day and you will be familiar with the reagents in no time. I really liked organic chemistry because it’s fun problem solving trying to get from one thing to another.
QR: Very similar to the practice problems on DATBooster. For this section, do a practice test and see what you are struggling with most. For me, I had a harder time with probability-based questions and so I would hyper focus them. If geometry isn’t your thing, then focus on geometry.
Reading: Man, my score bummed me out on this one. On all the practice tests I took, I used a search and destroy method and nailed it. I was scoring 26’s on each practice test thinking that method was a perfect one for me. During the exam that method failed brutally. The exam made it impossible to use that method and it threw me for a loop. I would recommend being comfortable with a few strategies, knowing that this section could easily be made extremely difficult and to be ready to use a different method.
PAT: I didn’t study a ton for the PAT, I primarily did TFE, Keyhole, and some pattern folding a few times a week. I loved this section because it was a break from all the memorizing material. For this section, I think focusing on what you are bad at and doing practice for it is the most beneficial. DATBooster had an incredibly representative question bank for these that was honestly harder than the actual exam.
Additional comments: The day of the exam just be confident that you have put in all this work and know the material by now. Day before the exam, just enjoy it and relax. I watched Star Wars and played Xbox lol. At this point, the last three months you have worked so hard and deserve to relax. Go on a walk, get outside, even workout. Studying for the DAT can get overwhelming, but just take it one day at a time. Be proud of yourself! It’s an incredible feeling being done with this exam that you will soon have!
A little background: I just graduated with my undergraduate degree in Biology, have a 3.94 GPA and am applying this cycle.
My Scores are as follows:
Materials I used:
- DATBooster: This program was so good. I felt like it had everything I could have needed. There was a distinct section for each of the DAT sections which I believed correlated very well with what was on the real exam. DATBooster also was a little more difficult than the actual exam, which helped me prepare. Not to mention it is a cheaper program than its top competitor- DATBootcamp. The PAT section was super representative on this program and it also supplied great tactics for each type of section.
- Chads DAT Prep: I really enjoyed using Chads prep with regards to general chemistry and organic chemistry. He did a great job at making his videos very personable- it practically felt like I was in the classroom with him. I would recommend using his program if you are struggling with Chemistry. His bio sections were not as representative as DATBoosters I thought, but still good.
To preface: I ended up pushing my DAT back from April 21st to May 1st around April 9th. I wasn’t fully confident with my scores, and it was such a good decision. I used the extra few weeks to really dial in with what I wasn’t comfortable with.
Biology: The exam had biology being very similar to DATBoosters level of bio. Typically, questions aren’t very deep and sophisticated, they usually are simple questions with a more obvious answer. I had a couple that were deep questions but that's how the exam goes. I HIGHLY recommend printing out hard copy bio notes whether it be Feralis’ notes from DATBooster or other notes. Everyday go through one chapter and read it twice, marking and annotating both times. The next day, re-read that chapter and try to understand concepts you are unsure of. Rinse and repeat. It isn’t fun at the moment, but it will pay off heavily.
General Chemistry: I took gen chem my freshmen year and so haven’t seen the material in four years so to say it was a struggle was an understatement. I really had to focus on this section and try to understand the concepts. Each day I read a chapter and would practice practice practice. I would recommend redoing questions as much as possible. Also make sure to look at the formula sheet and try to memorize that. Take a section (i.e. Acid & Base) and really try to understand how the concepts relate to the formulas.
Organic Chemistry: This section is straight ford. The exam was very similar to DATBoosters arrangement of questions. I had some multistep synthesis problems that I would suggest being prepared for. Also, each day just take a reaction type (i.e. alkenes) and really try to memorize them. Do this each day and you will be familiar with the reagents in no time. I really liked organic chemistry because it’s fun problem solving trying to get from one thing to another.
QR: Very similar to the practice problems on DATBooster. For this section, do a practice test and see what you are struggling with most. For me, I had a harder time with probability-based questions and so I would hyper focus them. If geometry isn’t your thing, then focus on geometry.
Reading: Man, my score bummed me out on this one. On all the practice tests I took, I used a search and destroy method and nailed it. I was scoring 26’s on each practice test thinking that method was a perfect one for me. During the exam that method failed brutally. The exam made it impossible to use that method and it threw me for a loop. I would recommend being comfortable with a few strategies, knowing that this section could easily be made extremely difficult and to be ready to use a different method.
PAT: I didn’t study a ton for the PAT, I primarily did TFE, Keyhole, and some pattern folding a few times a week. I loved this section because it was a break from all the memorizing material. For this section, I think focusing on what you are bad at and doing practice for it is the most beneficial. DATBooster had an incredibly representative question bank for these that was honestly harder than the actual exam.
Additional comments: The day of the exam just be confident that you have put in all this work and know the material by now. Day before the exam, just enjoy it and relax. I watched Star Wars and played Xbox lol. At this point, the last three months you have worked so hard and deserve to relax. Go on a walk, get outside, even workout. Studying for the DAT can get overwhelming, but just take it one day at a time. Be proud of yourself! It’s an incredible feeling being done with this exam that you will soon have!
