Need Advice About DAT

[djidjie]

Hello,

My test is in 10 days and I have taken all the practice tests on DAT bootcamp and these are my average scores:
BIO: 15
GC: 20
OC: 15
RC: 23
QR: 20
PAT: 16

I am feeling anxious and disappointed in my scores. I have a weak organic chemistry background so I am struggling with that section a lot. For Biology, I know the information but I am just having trouble retaining it. The PAT has been super difficult for me, I know people say angle ranking and pattern folding should be easy but I keep doing terrible in those sections. I am not sure what to do, should I just take it and see what happens? I don't really feel prepared but I am applying this cycle so I don't know when will my DAT be too late. I started studying in late May/early June and have been using DAT bootcamp. I have a destroyer book but I felt like I should learn the material first and then use it to test myself/practice? Please help me with any advice to improve my scores and when I should take my DAT. If anyone has any study tips or a schedule I can follow, I would appreciate it. I feel very hopeless, scared, and stressed. I have been studying a lot but my scores are not reflecting that. I really want to get in this cycle and don't want to re-apply next year. I have been looking at re-scheduling and have found these dates: July 21, August 4, and August 11. My DAT eligibility ends on August 14. Would extending my date from July 11 to any of these dates make a difference? Or should I just take it on July 11? How much more time do you think I will need to improve? When is it too late to take it for this cycle? Please help with any advice, I would really appreciate it.

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[knewstance]

Which biology classes have you taken?

 

[djidjie]

Which biology classes have you taken?

General biology, human anatomy, human physiology, and biochemistry. But for general biology, it has been a while since I have taken that class so I re-learned everything.

 

[knewstance]

With that much background, I feel like you should be doing 20+ in the Bio section.

I wouldn't recommend taking the DAT until your minimum score for all sections is 18. I personally wouldn't feel confident applying to dental school with scores under 18 unless you have some special considerations which would improve your chances.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Agreeing but I suggest 20s across the board on practice exams.

 

[Ogchopsticks]

On Bootcamp, I took the practice full length test #1:
AA: 20
Biology: 18
General Chemistry: 19
Organic Chemistry: 18
PAT: 18
RC: 26
QR: 17

On the real DAT:
Perceptual Ability: 18
Quantitative Reasoning: 17
Reading Comprehension: 28
Biology: 30
General Chemistry: 19
Organic Chemistry: 22
Total Science: 22
Academic Average: 23

Personally, the practice test was a fantastic study tool and benchmark for the real deal. I do think the Bootcamp version is more challenging than the real DAT. However, it helps to be more prepared than not. I relied heavily on the daily question banks on Bootcamp. It helps you learn in many ways. You're constantly introduced to new and various information; additionally, applying your knowledge and learning from your mistakes is more effective than just studying/reading notes. I posted a DAT breakdown in the forum if you're interested in that. I wish the best of luck for you! I experienced my fair share of panic.

 

[PurpleSails]

I used datbooster, but I feel like it's similar enough that I can comment. If you are scoring 15 on biology and organic chemistry which are really important sections, I would not take it in 10 days. I would actually recommend you move it to mid august. If you're having trouble retaining information that you learn for biology, I really suggest using Anki cards. That was my holy grail. Datbooster had pre-made Anki cards that I used, and it was amazing, I assume bootcamp has something similar? Pat's just practice, practice, practice. Every single day, 30 minutes before you go to sleep at least. Pat used to be one of my lower scoring sections, so I just had to practice until I feel numb in my brain. I was never good at organic chemistry, I was actually really, really bad. I had to brute force my way into it, I bought the DAT destroyer and memorized all the road maps that they had. I'm pretty sure I got most of the conceptual question wrong, but the ones that I memorized for I got right, so I ended up with a fairly good score, but I will probably work to understand it better than I did. Good luck!

 

[ChemistryDentist]

I know it’s already July 11th, but for perpetuity, I agree with a lot of the comments above. Although practice test scores really may not be good indicators of how well you’ll do on test day (you could very well do way worse, or way better!), you should probably be scoring higher by now if you’re mastering the materials.

I think you should push the exam back as far as you can for now so you can re-evaluate how you’re studying and if you’re retaining what you have gone through so far. It would also be a good time to pick up and start working away on the Destroyers. They’re intimidating and cover an absolute ton, yes. But at this point, you have the background to begin working on them. Chances are, you’ll get <50% questions right in the first time around - but that’s entirely normal! Just review every question and the solution in the back of the book as thoroughly as possible.

If push comes to shove and you’re not ready by August, it may be worth just pushing it back again and renewing your eligibility. No harm in doing that! Better to take it once and get it done than take it multiple times and waste all that time and money.

Hope this helps some!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Please update us, if you didn't change the date you are probably in the exam now! Wishing you the best.

Nancy, co/owner, Destroyers