DAT Completed + My Study Schedule with Tips

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letsgetit2124

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Finally took my DAT a few days ago and after a round of partying I'm here now to pass on what I learned so hopefully it'll help anyone who needs it.

(Section) (Score) (Percentile)
PAT: 26 99.4
QR: 22 96.4
RC: 28 99.7
BIO: 24 99.1
GC: 30 100.0
OC: 25 96.6

TS: 26 99.6
AA: 26 99.9

IMG_3334.png

First off I want to say I'm not here to brag or troll. I just learned a lot of things that worked and didn't work so I want to pass that on. A lot of friends helped me out with tips and now its my turn to pay it forward. I attached an image cuz when I see scores like that on SDN first thing I think is that they are trolling and aren't real so I immediately disregard what they say. Anyway, take my advice for what its worth...e.g. its worth what you make it worth.

Btw funny thing, General Chemistry was my weakest section by far. Not even close. QR was my strongest. Go figure.

Breakdown by section: (Use in order listed)

General Chemistry:
1) Chads Videos
2) DAT Destroyer
3) DATQVault
4) DATBootcamp

Organic Chemistry:
1) Organic Chemistry as a Second Language I & II by Klein
2) Chad's Videos
3) DAT Destroyer
4) DATQVault
5) DATBootcamp

Biology:
1) Cliff's AP Biology
2) DAT Destroyer
3) DATQVault
4) DATBootcamp
5) Feralis Biology Notes

PAT:
1) Crack The PAT
2) DAT Achiever

Quantitative Reasoning:
1) MATH Destroyer (Separate from DAT Destroyer, specifically focuses on QR only)

Reading Comprehension:
1) DAT Achiever

Other:
1) DATquestionaday.com


Suggestions on how to use Resources:

1) Chad's Videos: Chad is a Godsend and that's an understatement. I recommend watching about 4-5 hours a day, WITH NOTES. Taking notes is the most important part. Then complete his quizzes after every 10 videos. Don't do them right after the video cuz then it'll be pointless. You'll be answering questions off memory instead of knowledge. Also the day before the test everyone told me not to study to rest my brain. But on the other hand, I have a problem that if I don't do Chem for 1-2 days, I get out of chem mode and I forgot a lot. The perfect compromise was to watch Chad's most important videos on fastplay. During the DAT I could hear Chad's voice in my head. It really really helped.

2) DAT Destroyer: Go through about 30-60 problems at a time, then check answers. Destroyer is different that the real DAT in that their questions are mostly "Which of the following are false?" Not DAT type questions, but extremely useful b/c you learn 5 concepts in one question. When checking answers, REWRITE every statement in your own words. Don't just be like "Oh I see, okay, next." Also, (this is very important) approach Destroyer as a LEARNING TOOL rather than a portrayal of where you stand. Destroyer will kick your butt at first. You'll get like 13/40 and be upset if you care about the score. Don't. Focus on the content. Hence why I stress you look at each wrong answer because Destroyer on purpose reviews 5 facts per question so learn from the wrong answers as much as the right answers. Also, go through Destroyer about 2-3 times. The second and third time shouldn't take too long so its not that bad but everything sticks like glue. If you do Destroyer once it won't help much.

3) DATQVault: Great great great resource. Mainly because they have such a deep supply of questions. Also the site is very organized. I highly recommend it. Go through each of the 10 tests per section. (I only did the sciences, I had no patience for RC or QR and the PAT was annoyingly easy). Then click "save question" to file away any and all questions you think are high yield, even if you know you know the answer. After you finish all the tests, there is another part where you can click "Unseen Questions" and QVault pulls out like up to a few hundred more you haven't seen yet. Save these also. Later, like the last week before you test, go through the "Saved Questions" folder and fly through them rapid fire.

4) DATBootcamp + Feralis Biology Notes: I got the notes in pdf off of DATBootcamp. Its pretty much 82 pages of high yield super condensed notes on almost everything you need to know in Biology. Bootcamp is set up similar to DATQVault but they don't have as many questions and the whole set up isn't as smooth. That said, nothing against Bootcamp. I just think QVault was superb. Use both tho. Also I put Feralis Notes on my Ipad so whenever I was in the car or eating or in bed I would pull it out and go through a few pages at a time. Extremely underrated but very helpful.

5) Cliff's AP Biology: Depends on how much review you need for Biology, but Cliff's does a pretty damn good job of covering most of their bases. Overall I'd recommend if you have time.

6) Crack the PAT: Okay at first, I was pretty happy about CTP. Very user friendly and very good questions. Then I realized some of their Aperture passing and TFE were annoyingly easy. You could eliminate the wrong answers b/c they were so obviously wrong that you would find the right one without even really trying to earn it. However, now that I took the DAT, I realized a good amount of the DAT was like that too. So in hindsight, I recommend CTP pretty highly.

7) DAT Achiever: Okay I got some issues with Achiever. First, they beat the **** out of me. During every test, every single question frustrated me. That's how hard it was. Especially PAT, Biology and Reading Comprehension. I'd feel like I killed RC then my score was a 16 or 17. Going through the answers made it worse. Every explanation they gave was (in my opinion) completely BS and wrong. I got so frustrated I legit wanted to call and ask for my money back. BUT their passages are so hard and so so long that they prepare you for the real thing which (according to my score at least) was a complete joke of a section. The real DAT is much much more straight forward than anything you prepared with. As for the PAT section, WOW I can't begin to explain how brutal it was. I might need glasses after what Achiever did to me. My head hurt after EVERY test. They make you earn your PAT score..and trust me, I earned my 15-17s.

8) Organic Chemistry as a Second Language: I used this in undergrad for Organic 1 and 2. Its very very very good at teaching concepts and the majority of the important specific reactions. Klein has an extremely effective teaching style that made the books really easy and interactive to read. Actually made me like Organic, which is weird. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn organic, either undergrad or for the DAT or MCAT.

9) Kaplan: STAY AWAY. I repeat, STAY FAR AWAY. Kaplan is way way way way way way too easy. Every single section. Especially PAT. Their angle rankings compare a 95, 75, 45 and 30 degree angles. Like wtf my cat could rank those. The real DAT gives you a lot closer ones like a 35, 37, 40, 41. Not all are that close, but about half of them are. Kaplan is a complete joke when it comes to the DAT. Although I heard good things about their MCAT course (but I'm wary of that). Also the Biology section?? I took a practice test of theirs and out of 40 Bio they gave 12 taxonomy and 7 ecology. Real DAT? 1 taxonomy and 0 ecology. Stay away. Save your money. And that Kaplan Blue Book I'd stay away from unless you want to read 1048 pages of the dullest crap you ever laid eyes on. Yeah, 1048 pages.

10) DATQuestionaday.com: Not a bad resource to wake up to. Enter your email and they email you a question a day (well, duhh) and usually before I get out of bed that one question would get my mind working. Also they have an archive you can go back through months of questions.

Practice Tests:

1) 2009 ADA Test (and 2007 ADA Test): Most accurate representations of real thing. At first I thought they were too easy, but turns out it was pretty accurate. I might even go as far as to say mine was easier. 2007 might be a bit outdated, but I'd do it regardless.

2) DAT Achiever: Makes you want to cry like a 12 year old boy who took a 95mph fastball to the groin. I might even possibly say not to waste too much time on Achiever b/c its so hard its almost pointless. But looking back I'm not sure if the beating it gave me prepared me for the real DAT or not. Either way, my best advice is not even look at your score. It means NOTHING. Let me put it this way, my highest score in GChem was a 16. I scored 14 points higher than that. Focus of learning the concepts.

3) Kaplan: As I said, stay away.


Other Advice:

1) Stick with it. I got depressed and tired and stressed throughout. Its really an emotional roller-coaster ride. Try not to get caught up in emotions. Granted, thats easier to say now that I'm on the other side of the fence.

2) Motivation --> Preparation --> Confidence
Confidence is your biggest aid. I can't stress that enough. My mentality going in was "Every answer is there, just pick the right one" and "You know every damn concept by now, just think clearly and you'll be fine" and my favorite that my friend and I kept repeating nonstop up until we walked in "STRAIGHT 30's YO!"

3) BE ALERT! Sounds obvious, but I didn't think about it til my friend said it and it stuck. Its been a conscious thought ever since and really helped. Ask yourself, "Why are they asking this question? What are they trying to emphasize?" Example: Sometimes an Organic reaction is so straight forward, ask yourself, "What do they want me to see here? Oh! The carbocation rearrangement!" The concept is easy, but also easy to overlook if you aren't ALERT. Example: In E2 reactions the leaving group and the H it leaves with need to be Anti-Periplanar and in the axial positions. Sometimes the double bond won't form Zaitsev even if there is a H there b/c the H isn't anti-periplanar so it must for Hoffman. Its things like that you know but need to be ALERT to not overlook it.

4) In the end, just Work Hard, Play Hard. Put in the time and effort and sacrifice the trips to Vegas, San Diego, LA and SF that your friends are going on. Trust me, its worth it. If you don't think so, you don't belong in dental school.

5) Last week before the test, go through DATQvault saved questions on rapid fire. Day before the test, watch Chad's videos on fastplay and DO NOTHING ELSE.

This is a long post so I'll leave before it gets longer. I don't go on SDN too much so I wanted to put everything here in one post. Hope it helps all of you out there. I truly hope if Dental School is your goal that you all make it happen. Goodluck!!

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Thanks, best breakdown I have read so far. What were topics that appeared a lot in your biology section? Any tips on remembering conceptual questions for chemistry?
 
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Thanks for the breakdown! What do you mean by watching Chad's videos on fast play?

You can watch them on 1.5x speed. It's an option under "resolution" or something like that... it's been a year since I've watched the videos, though, so I can't quite remember! Click around in the video until you find it. :)
 
Great scores. Awesome job. Thank you for the detailed and usefull breakdown.

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Do you think Chad covers EVERY concept needed to get all the questions right on O-chem and G-Chem? Sometimes I feel like he doesn't when I go through Destroyer. Or if he does then he just barely touches on it and it's not even info to get the answer right.

I have done his quizzes like 3-4 times each but I still feel like I haven't covered everything
 
Thanks, best breakdown I have read so far. What were topics that appeared a lot in your biology section? Any tips on remembering conceptual questions for chemistry?
Biology: I cant really say what appeared a lot since I felt like there was 1-3 from each major unit. I would say that the questions were much more first order than some of the practice resources..(I'm looking at you DAT Achiever). Got like a lab question or two, a few meiosis/mitosis but real general, a few hardy-weinberg. Nothing you don't already know thats gonna be on there.

Chemistry: Best advice is 1) Chads 2) Chads quizzes 3) Destroyer 4) DATQVault 5) Repeat 1-4 6) Repeat 1-5 7) Repeat 1-6
 
AWESOME!!! How did your dat bootcamp scores compare to your actual scores?

Great breakdown!
DATBootcamp actually gave me the highest scores. Pretty accurate but still lower than my real scores. Bootcamp is easier than the other resources, but I say its important b/c they ask you higher yield + more general questions. They don't go deep into exceptions, but turns out that was pretty on par with the real one
 
You can watch them on 1.5x speed. It's an option under "resolution" or something like that... it's been a year since I've watched the videos, though, so I can't quite remember! Click around in the video until you find it. :)
Yupp he's right, its under Resolution. You can still hear him fine but he sounds pretty funny haha
 
Do you think Chad covers EVERY concept needed to get all the questions right on O-chem and G-Chem? Sometimes I feel like he doesn't when I go through Destroyer. Or if he does then he just barely touches on it and it's not even info to get the answer right.

I have done his quizzes like 3-4 times each but I still feel like I haven't covered everything
Heres the thing about Chad: EVERY SINGLE WORD he says is important. EVERY SINGLE WORD. Even when he transitions from one topic to another. At first I didn't hang on every word obivously, then I'd do destroyer and be like "Chad never mentioned this!!!!" Then a few days later I'd watch Chad again and be like "Okay Chad, I'm sorry I doubted you."

There are maybe a few things he doesn't cover, but between Chad and Destroyer, everything is in there.
 
Congrats on your scores, you did amazing!! Also, I really liked your breakdown. It seems to be the general consensus that Destroyer helped more for ochem than for gc. Do you think relying more heavily on Chad's for gen chem and using a combo of Destroyer and Chad's for orgo is a good method to rely on?
 
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I would recommend Chads first for learning then Destroyer 2-3 times and Chads quizzes for both Gen Chem and Orgo Chem
 
Let'sgetit I signed up for SDN to personally thank you for your post. During the whole DAT process I read your breakdown numerous times. It helped me get a 23AA/ 23 PAT/ TS 24/ BIO 21/ GC 28/ OC 29/QR 16. I think everyone that serious about the DAT should read your post it was that great. Your post kept me going more than once when I was exhausted and depressed. Thanks man! You deserve success in your life.
 
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Congrats on your score and awesome breakdown! Thank you! How long did you take to prepare for the DAT?
 
Did you also work while doing this studying or did you just live at home during a summer?
 
Let'sgetit I signed up for SDN to personally thank you for your post. During the whole DAT process I read your breakdown numerous times. It helped me get a 23AA/ 23 PAT/ TS 24/ BIO 21/ GC 28/ OC 29/QR 16. I think everyone that serious about the DAT should read your post it was that great. Your post kept me going more than once when I was exhausted and depressed. Thanks man! You deserve success in your life.
Thank you! I'm really glad to hear that you demolished the test! That's what I was going for when I made the breakdown. And you are absolutely right, anyone who is serious about doing well and is serious about putting in the effort deserves to have success. I'm glad you reached your goal. Now set another one and go for it!
 
Congrats on your score and awesome breakdown! Thank you! How long did you take to prepare for the DAT?
Congrats on your score and awesome breakdown! Thank you! How long did you take to prepare for the DAT?

I finished my masters June 1st, I took a week off to relax then hit the books. I spent the first 2 weeks reviewing (mainly cliffs bio, but that took so long plus I couldn't remember much of it so I decided to go straight into practice questions). For the next 5 weeks I just did straight practice questions whether it was Chads, Destroyer, QVault, Bootcamp or practice tests. That's my best advice, do lots and lots of practice SECTIONS. Thats where you'll see the most improvement. No need to do a ton of full length practice TESTS.
 
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Did you also work while doing this studying or did you just live at home during a summer?

I'm from Maryland but I stayed in AZ where I did my masters. I knew if I went home I'd have too many obligations to study full time. I stayed there with my cat in my friends house while he went home to Cali. I would have 10 hour study days every day, granted I did have days where I'd study for an hour then call it quits but I tried to limit those. No I did not have a job. It sucks, but I'd rather have credit card debt with a better DAT score. With my DAT coming up, I had a hard time trading every hour I could be otherwise studying for $8. My time was worth more than that.
 
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Such an amazing break down and such awesome score...CONGRATS!

Can you please give a bit more detailed schedule...for example how many chapters you did per day and how many questions you covered each day?
Thx so much
 
Congrats on your score! What schedule/plan did you use? I'm a non-traditional student who works full time, and I'm looking for a guide/template that I can follow but modify it to my schedule. Thanks in advance and great job!
 
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