- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
- Messages
- 111
- Reaction score
- 38
Breakdown
Hello everyone!
I was a long time lurker of these forums during the course of my DAT preparation. I used this resource pretty much every single day, several times a day to gather information, and read others' breakdowns.
Background:
This is my final semester as an undergraduate. I am a Psychology major, with a minor in Biology. My GPA is around a 3.5, with a 3.4 sGPA. I took Ochem about 2 years ago, and I took Gchem my freshman year, so it has been a while. I took Physiology and Genetics before tackling toe DAT. I am in a Fraternity at my University, and still came out with pretty good scores while maintaining a wonderful girlfriend, and constantly socializing with brothers. I say this because it is important that you don't completely lock yourself inside your room for 2-3+ months! Keep your life running - and do what you can to not be stressed. Yes, I could have done better --- but I am extremely satisfied with my scores.
I also want to give a special thanks to Glimmer 1991 and Free99 who helped me gather the confidence I needed to tackle the DAT.
Scores
21 AA
20 TS
21 PAT
19 QR
23 RC
19 BIO
21 GC
21 OC
Study Materials:
Chads Videos!
Cliffs AP Biology
DAT Destroyer
Math Destroyer
Crack PAT
Crack Reading
Topscore
DatqVault
I studied from the end of January to my test date of April 9th. I would use a stopwatch (google it) to make sure I would at LEAST make it to 5-6 hours per day if not more. Every time I got up to eat, talk on the phone, or do anything else, I would pause the stopwatch. I think this is one of the best ways to make SURE that you are putting in enough time into your studies. You can study from 8am to 8pm and think you studied a full 12 hours, but if your on Facebook, talking on the phone, and doing other things, your just lying to yourself. I also shadowed a Dentist every weekend who I consistently keep in touch with.
Sections of the DAT:
BIO: As said dozens of times, it was a random section. I think where I went wrong here was that I concentrated on Cliffs AP Bio, and did not even pick up Campbells (which I hear great things about). I went through destroyer 2+ times -- making Anki flashcards as much as possible when I came across something difficult. I did the same for Datqvault and Topscore (which I think is a GREAT resource). I felt really stumped in this section -- honestly 10 minutes in I was telling myself, "I'm going to have to retake this test..." --- Thankfully I was wrong. All 10 of my datqvault tests were 20-22+ in score.. My topscore was 19+ so I suppose it was a good indicator of my score. This score upsets me, as I really cracked down on Bio, making sure I studied this section every. single. day. This was definitely the most annoying of the sections.
GC: I haven't taken Chemistry since freshman year, so when I started studying for this section, I was SCARED. I went through Chad's videos, took tons of great notes, and really learned this section. I did his quizzes several times to make sure I knew what to do. I went through destroyer 3 times and by the 2nd-3rd time it was really easy. I honestly don't know how I got a 21... I thought I would do a lot better. My nerves really got to me during this test. Chads. Chads. Chads. I really think destroyer was unnecessary. Do his quizzes and understand them. This section really wasn't that bad.
OC: Ahh Ochem. I made an A in both my semesters of Ochem. The reactions were extremely simple. Go through destroyer and learn the roadmaps. Make flashcards for EVERY reagent. What I did for the flashcards::: On the front, write the REACTANT and the REAGENT, and leave the product blank...... On the back (in red ink) write the REACTANT and the PRODUCT, but leave the reagent. This way you can use the flashcards both ways, and really learn these reagents quick and fast. When I first made these, I got up first thing in the morning, and went over them. I did this for about a week straight, and then after that didn't need to do it again. I really knew and understood them after that --- I went over them again maybe every two or so weeks. Chads. Chads. Chads.
PAT: I was terrified of this section. My first Crack PAT test was a 15! I then took the time to practice and learn methods, and then my tests went up to a 19, and then to a 21+. This section takes practice. That's all there is to it. The keyholes were easy, the TFE were not bad at all, I think the angles were what killed me. I was hoping they would be easier than CDP, because CDP angles were insane. I really got maybe 5/15 to 7/15 every time... There was no method that worked for me here. The hole punching was incredibly easy, pretty sure I nailed a 15/15... Use the symmetry method, and it will do you no wrong. The cube counting and the pattern folding were extremely easy as well. I think the only thing that caused me to get a 20 was the time. I had to rush myself at the end, which caused me some points.
RC: Wow... I cannot believe it was my highest score. This was actually the section I thought I was going to get an 18 or something on. It took me 25+ minutes to finish and answer the first article! The next two were thankfully easy search and destroy pieces. Only thing I did for this section was do Crack Reading. I bought the 10 tests.... only used 4. Wasted my money haha.
QR: I thought this was going to be my best section! I went through Math destroyer (the first 8 tests) and KNEW and understood those questions. I knew all of my trig functions etc.... Honestly the questions were NOT hard. They were very easy. What it came down to was time. I think I was emotionally drained from thinking that I'm going to have to retake this test. On Topscore and Datqvault I received over 25+ on each of my tests. The issue that arose was that I was on question #25.... with 8 minutes left! Where did all of the time go? I ended up plugging and chugging the rest of my answers as fast as possible and gave educated guesses on my last questions. Like I said before, the questions were not hard, and I know I got the ones that I actually worked out right. I should have practiced on my speed more. Either way, I am still happy with this score.
I am ready to start applying for Dental School in the next few weeks, hoping to get into Dental School in 2014!
Please PM me fore any questions, I am here to help! It's finally over!!
Confidence is KEY.
Hello everyone!
I was a long time lurker of these forums during the course of my DAT preparation. I used this resource pretty much every single day, several times a day to gather information, and read others' breakdowns.
Background:
This is my final semester as an undergraduate. I am a Psychology major, with a minor in Biology. My GPA is around a 3.5, with a 3.4 sGPA. I took Ochem about 2 years ago, and I took Gchem my freshman year, so it has been a while. I took Physiology and Genetics before tackling toe DAT. I am in a Fraternity at my University, and still came out with pretty good scores while maintaining a wonderful girlfriend, and constantly socializing with brothers. I say this because it is important that you don't completely lock yourself inside your room for 2-3+ months! Keep your life running - and do what you can to not be stressed. Yes, I could have done better --- but I am extremely satisfied with my scores.
I also want to give a special thanks to Glimmer 1991 and Free99 who helped me gather the confidence I needed to tackle the DAT.
Scores
21 AA
20 TS
21 PAT
19 QR
23 RC
19 BIO
21 GC
21 OC
Study Materials:
Chads Videos!
Cliffs AP Biology
DAT Destroyer
Math Destroyer
Crack PAT
Crack Reading
Topscore
DatqVault
I studied from the end of January to my test date of April 9th. I would use a stopwatch (google it) to make sure I would at LEAST make it to 5-6 hours per day if not more. Every time I got up to eat, talk on the phone, or do anything else, I would pause the stopwatch. I think this is one of the best ways to make SURE that you are putting in enough time into your studies. You can study from 8am to 8pm and think you studied a full 12 hours, but if your on Facebook, talking on the phone, and doing other things, your just lying to yourself. I also shadowed a Dentist every weekend who I consistently keep in touch with.
Sections of the DAT:
BIO: As said dozens of times, it was a random section. I think where I went wrong here was that I concentrated on Cliffs AP Bio, and did not even pick up Campbells (which I hear great things about). I went through destroyer 2+ times -- making Anki flashcards as much as possible when I came across something difficult. I did the same for Datqvault and Topscore (which I think is a GREAT resource). I felt really stumped in this section -- honestly 10 minutes in I was telling myself, "I'm going to have to retake this test..." --- Thankfully I was wrong. All 10 of my datqvault tests were 20-22+ in score.. My topscore was 19+ so I suppose it was a good indicator of my score. This score upsets me, as I really cracked down on Bio, making sure I studied this section every. single. day. This was definitely the most annoying of the sections.
GC: I haven't taken Chemistry since freshman year, so when I started studying for this section, I was SCARED. I went through Chad's videos, took tons of great notes, and really learned this section. I did his quizzes several times to make sure I knew what to do. I went through destroyer 3 times and by the 2nd-3rd time it was really easy. I honestly don't know how I got a 21... I thought I would do a lot better. My nerves really got to me during this test. Chads. Chads. Chads. I really think destroyer was unnecessary. Do his quizzes and understand them. This section really wasn't that bad.
OC: Ahh Ochem. I made an A in both my semesters of Ochem. The reactions were extremely simple. Go through destroyer and learn the roadmaps. Make flashcards for EVERY reagent. What I did for the flashcards::: On the front, write the REACTANT and the REAGENT, and leave the product blank...... On the back (in red ink) write the REACTANT and the PRODUCT, but leave the reagent. This way you can use the flashcards both ways, and really learn these reagents quick and fast. When I first made these, I got up first thing in the morning, and went over them. I did this for about a week straight, and then after that didn't need to do it again. I really knew and understood them after that --- I went over them again maybe every two or so weeks. Chads. Chads. Chads.
PAT: I was terrified of this section. My first Crack PAT test was a 15! I then took the time to practice and learn methods, and then my tests went up to a 19, and then to a 21+. This section takes practice. That's all there is to it. The keyholes were easy, the TFE were not bad at all, I think the angles were what killed me. I was hoping they would be easier than CDP, because CDP angles were insane. I really got maybe 5/15 to 7/15 every time... There was no method that worked for me here. The hole punching was incredibly easy, pretty sure I nailed a 15/15... Use the symmetry method, and it will do you no wrong. The cube counting and the pattern folding were extremely easy as well. I think the only thing that caused me to get a 20 was the time. I had to rush myself at the end, which caused me some points.
RC: Wow... I cannot believe it was my highest score. This was actually the section I thought I was going to get an 18 or something on. It took me 25+ minutes to finish and answer the first article! The next two were thankfully easy search and destroy pieces. Only thing I did for this section was do Crack Reading. I bought the 10 tests.... only used 4. Wasted my money haha.
QR: I thought this was going to be my best section! I went through Math destroyer (the first 8 tests) and KNEW and understood those questions. I knew all of my trig functions etc.... Honestly the questions were NOT hard. They were very easy. What it came down to was time. I think I was emotionally drained from thinking that I'm going to have to retake this test. On Topscore and Datqvault I received over 25+ on each of my tests. The issue that arose was that I was on question #25.... with 8 minutes left! Where did all of the time go? I ended up plugging and chugging the rest of my answers as fast as possible and gave educated guesses on my last questions. Like I said before, the questions were not hard, and I know I got the ones that I actually worked out right. I should have practiced on my speed more. Either way, I am still happy with this score.
I am ready to start applying for Dental School in the next few weeks, hoping to get into Dental School in 2014!
Please PM me fore any questions, I am here to help! It's finally over!!
Confidence is KEY.
Last edited:
