Hello everyone! I took the DAT on April 28th and got a 20AA and then took it again on August 9th and improved to a 26AA. I mainly only used Bootcamp and purchased the Plus package for the second time around to get the extra 5 full length tests. My first time around studying I followed the 3 month schedule but the second time studying I condensed it into my own 1.5 month schedule. Also don’t feel discouraged by your Bootcamp practice test scores, I got a 20 on pretty much every single one but their purpose is to expose you to as many questions as possible and learn from what you get wrong. Anyways, here is a breakdown of my scores:
PAT: 24
QR: 30
RC: 23
Bio: 27
GC: 24
Orgo: 24
TS: 25
AA: 26
PAT: It is so important you feel comfortable with the questions before taking timed practice tests. Start by taking your time and perfecting the methods for each before focusing on timing. I completed it in this order and felt it worked best for me to get the “easier” type of questions over with first: Angles→Hole Punching→ Cube Counting→folding→keyhole→ TFE.
Reading comprehension: Search and destroy!! I felt the real DAT had much more straightforward questions and the paragraphs were easier to navigate. Definitely train yourself to highlight key words while you read, it makes it a lot easier to find answers to questions. I limited myself to 20 minutes per passage and if I started to go over I would just move onto the next one.
QR: I found the Plus practice tests to be a lot harder than the original pro ones. I think this was extremely helpful as it prepared me to encounter harder questions and breeze through the easier ones more accurately. For this section I thought it was so important to consistently expose myself to questions everyday so halfway through I also purchased the Math Destroyer book once I was finishing up all of the Bootcamp tests. The bootcamp tests were more similar to the real DAT in terms of timing and difficulty, the Destroyer ones I completed without timing myself.
Bio: The first time around I didn’t take notes and only read/highlighted the outline. The second time around I wrote out everything and it helped me memorize and retain the material a lot more. I strongly recommend writing out your own guide based off of the outline in your own way. I also redid all of the question banks in the 2-3 days before the test as a final review.
GC: Definitely watch and take notes on each and every one of the videos offered! That was the best way for me to review and relearn everything. I also wrote out my own study guide for this to condense all of the equations, laws, etc. and reviewed that pretty often before taking each practice test. My GC scores flunctuated the most out of all the sections on my practice tests so I mainly just focused on reviewing what I got wrong and not as much on the scores.
Orgo: I took orgo during the pandemic so basically knew close to nothing before learning it for the DAT. I watched all of the videos but I only saw improvement after my second time studying because I genuinely started understanding the material better. I completed the reaction bites as review a couple times until I was able to breeze through them while fully understanding, not just memorizing. The cheat sheet is also SO helpful. Use that as you review questions you got wrong to help you organize all the different types of reactions in your head.
I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out with any questions. I would love to help whoever I can and can also send any study guides. Bootcamp is all you need to do amazing!! Just find what works best for you and take every FL test you can! Good luck to everyone
PAT: 24
QR: 30
RC: 23
Bio: 27
GC: 24
Orgo: 24
TS: 25
AA: 26
PAT: It is so important you feel comfortable with the questions before taking timed practice tests. Start by taking your time and perfecting the methods for each before focusing on timing. I completed it in this order and felt it worked best for me to get the “easier” type of questions over with first: Angles→Hole Punching→ Cube Counting→folding→keyhole→ TFE.
Reading comprehension: Search and destroy!! I felt the real DAT had much more straightforward questions and the paragraphs were easier to navigate. Definitely train yourself to highlight key words while you read, it makes it a lot easier to find answers to questions. I limited myself to 20 minutes per passage and if I started to go over I would just move onto the next one.
QR: I found the Plus practice tests to be a lot harder than the original pro ones. I think this was extremely helpful as it prepared me to encounter harder questions and breeze through the easier ones more accurately. For this section I thought it was so important to consistently expose myself to questions everyday so halfway through I also purchased the Math Destroyer book once I was finishing up all of the Bootcamp tests. The bootcamp tests were more similar to the real DAT in terms of timing and difficulty, the Destroyer ones I completed without timing myself.
Bio: The first time around I didn’t take notes and only read/highlighted the outline. The second time around I wrote out everything and it helped me memorize and retain the material a lot more. I strongly recommend writing out your own guide based off of the outline in your own way. I also redid all of the question banks in the 2-3 days before the test as a final review.
GC: Definitely watch and take notes on each and every one of the videos offered! That was the best way for me to review and relearn everything. I also wrote out my own study guide for this to condense all of the equations, laws, etc. and reviewed that pretty often before taking each practice test. My GC scores flunctuated the most out of all the sections on my practice tests so I mainly just focused on reviewing what I got wrong and not as much on the scores.
Orgo: I took orgo during the pandemic so basically knew close to nothing before learning it for the DAT. I watched all of the videos but I only saw improvement after my second time studying because I genuinely started understanding the material better. I completed the reaction bites as review a couple times until I was able to breeze through them while fully understanding, not just memorizing. The cheat sheet is also SO helpful. Use that as you review questions you got wrong to help you organize all the different types of reactions in your head.
I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out with any questions. I would love to help whoever I can and can also send any study guides. Bootcamp is all you need to do amazing!! Just find what works best for you and take every FL test you can! Good luck to everyone
