Futuredentist98766
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2023
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 2
Materials used: When I first started studying for the DAT I found myself always reading DAT breakdowns which helped me understand what the process is like. Since I found them helpful I thought I’d post a breakdown and maybe it can help someone else. I first started with DAT Booster and then about one month in, began attending their crash courses. I found these courses extremely helpful in emphasizing the important material and making it easy to understand. I would highly recommend the courses to anyone that feels they are struggling in a certain area. In addition, I felt after attending the crash courses I wanted to see more questions and possibly how the same question can be worded differently. So during the Black Friday sale I got DAT Bootcamp. I found this resource to be helpful as well since I could see which topics it emphasized and how the questions were presented. In each section I’ll breakdown some of the differences I noted between programs. Before that, I found a few things I did besides studying that prepared me for the exam. First, I found taking breaks is a necessity, I always reminded myself, “by taking a break I’ll feel refreshed when I start studying again.” When studying I made sure that I had a study spot right for me. Furthermore, I liked wearing comfortable clothes, eating meals that were quick to prepare and that helped me focus (ie. oatmeal and fruit). Also I did the test drive at my local testing centre which let me stimulate the testing conditions without actually taking the DAT. This allowed me to know what the centre looked like, where the restrooms were, and what the computer was like. In addition completing the test drive reminded me to practice testing conditions with a whiteboard marker and laminate paper at home.
Study techniques and day of test
PAT: When I started this section, I found hole punch and cube counting not too bad. For hole punch I used the grid method. For cube counting I used the chart method where you tally down each face showing on the cubes. I found angle ranking difficult since I had troubles differentiating the small differences. I tried lots of different methods but ended up just quickly glancing between the angles and trying to narrow it down. I found keyhole to be challenging especially when determining the right answer came down to proportions. TFE was the toughest section for me, and only got better with constant repetition. Pattern folding wasn’t too bad since I found it easier to eliminate the wrong answers instead of identifying the right answer. I watched all the Booster videos and also found the crash course strengthened my skills in this section. I did find Bootcamps PAT to be more straightforward and less based on proportions. If you find the timing challenging, I would recommend trying to answer the questions in a different order. I left TFE till the end since I found it too time consuming and I’d still end up with incorrect answers. It was better for me to spend time on the other types of questions which I was comfortable in. Lastly, I recommend doing at least 10 questions a day from each type to get quicker.
QR: I liked watching Boosters videos and attending the crash course as it shared tips on going through the section quickly. I found just doing question after question was the best and this helped me memorize the different formulas. Booster tests were really helpful and I found Bootcamps to be a little more challenging, especially test 11-15.
RC: I originally started this section by using the vanilla method. However I quickly realized during full length tests I was running out of time. So I changed my method to search and destroy. For me it was difficult to make the change and rely on just searching for the answer. Once I got comfortable with this method I started to have 2-3 minutes left over. Side note: I did find this method wasn’t the best if the reading had a lot of diagrams. Both Booster and Bootcamp helped a lot and I really liked having a variety of readings. Lastly, I found reading 1-2 scientific newspaper articles a day very beneficial. It allowed me to understand the general structure of a scientific article and the language used.
Bio: I watched all of boosters videos and then read both Boosters and Bootcamps bio notes. After reading a chapter I would complete the respective questions for that chapter. I did find this very time consuming and near the end of reading the notes I began to forget some material. Once noticing this, I signed up for Boosters crash course and it was a lifesaver. All the important material is presented in an easy to understand manner. This is by far the best crash course! You will save soo much time and headaches! After the crash course I just did full length tests from both programs and since I had some extra time at the end, I did all the tests again. If I could go back in time, I would try to cover the bio information quickly and leave yourself lots of time to do questions. I found reviewing helpful but when I did questions I was able to review the material and see how it could be tested.
Gen chem: Here I watched both Boosters and Bootcamps videos. I enjoyed Bootcamps videos a little more than Boosters. Since I didn’t have the strongest background in general chemistry I just did question after question. Similar to QR this helped me learn the different formulas and how each topic can be tested. I liked having Booster and to Bootcamp for this section mainly for the variety of questions. My tip for this section is that it is just as important to know the calculation questions as it is to know the conceptual questions.
Ochem: I found Bootcamps videos more helpful for this section and I preferred Bootcamps reaction bank more. In this section I would watch each video set and then do the respective questions. During the reaction heavy videos, I would complete the reaction questions for that video twice. It’s not fun but I found repetition was the only way I could memorize the reactions and mechanisms. Boosters crash course for this section was good but I’d recommend doing it after you feel a little comfortable with the material. I did it before I felt comfortable with the material and felt like it wasn’t as beneficial as it could be. Side note: if you feel like the reactions are challenging to remember I’d treat them like PAT and do at least 10-15 a day. Plus focus on knowing other parts of Ochem (ie. R/S, lab techniques, naming…..).
The DAT is a hard test, but YOU CAN DO IT! It’s okay if some days are harder than other but in the end it will be worth it. Getting both programs is helpful but it does at times feel like information overload. I think both programs are good and each have different strengths. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Study techniques and day of test
PAT: When I started this section, I found hole punch and cube counting not too bad. For hole punch I used the grid method. For cube counting I used the chart method where you tally down each face showing on the cubes. I found angle ranking difficult since I had troubles differentiating the small differences. I tried lots of different methods but ended up just quickly glancing between the angles and trying to narrow it down. I found keyhole to be challenging especially when determining the right answer came down to proportions. TFE was the toughest section for me, and only got better with constant repetition. Pattern folding wasn’t too bad since I found it easier to eliminate the wrong answers instead of identifying the right answer. I watched all the Booster videos and also found the crash course strengthened my skills in this section. I did find Bootcamps PAT to be more straightforward and less based on proportions. If you find the timing challenging, I would recommend trying to answer the questions in a different order. I left TFE till the end since I found it too time consuming and I’d still end up with incorrect answers. It was better for me to spend time on the other types of questions which I was comfortable in. Lastly, I recommend doing at least 10 questions a day from each type to get quicker.
QR: I liked watching Boosters videos and attending the crash course as it shared tips on going through the section quickly. I found just doing question after question was the best and this helped me memorize the different formulas. Booster tests were really helpful and I found Bootcamps to be a little more challenging, especially test 11-15.
RC: I originally started this section by using the vanilla method. However I quickly realized during full length tests I was running out of time. So I changed my method to search and destroy. For me it was difficult to make the change and rely on just searching for the answer. Once I got comfortable with this method I started to have 2-3 minutes left over. Side note: I did find this method wasn’t the best if the reading had a lot of diagrams. Both Booster and Bootcamp helped a lot and I really liked having a variety of readings. Lastly, I found reading 1-2 scientific newspaper articles a day very beneficial. It allowed me to understand the general structure of a scientific article and the language used.
Bio: I watched all of boosters videos and then read both Boosters and Bootcamps bio notes. After reading a chapter I would complete the respective questions for that chapter. I did find this very time consuming and near the end of reading the notes I began to forget some material. Once noticing this, I signed up for Boosters crash course and it was a lifesaver. All the important material is presented in an easy to understand manner. This is by far the best crash course! You will save soo much time and headaches! After the crash course I just did full length tests from both programs and since I had some extra time at the end, I did all the tests again. If I could go back in time, I would try to cover the bio information quickly and leave yourself lots of time to do questions. I found reviewing helpful but when I did questions I was able to review the material and see how it could be tested.
Gen chem: Here I watched both Boosters and Bootcamps videos. I enjoyed Bootcamps videos a little more than Boosters. Since I didn’t have the strongest background in general chemistry I just did question after question. Similar to QR this helped me learn the different formulas and how each topic can be tested. I liked having Booster and to Bootcamp for this section mainly for the variety of questions. My tip for this section is that it is just as important to know the calculation questions as it is to know the conceptual questions.
Ochem: I found Bootcamps videos more helpful for this section and I preferred Bootcamps reaction bank more. In this section I would watch each video set and then do the respective questions. During the reaction heavy videos, I would complete the reaction questions for that video twice. It’s not fun but I found repetition was the only way I could memorize the reactions and mechanisms. Boosters crash course for this section was good but I’d recommend doing it after you feel a little comfortable with the material. I did it before I felt comfortable with the material and felt like it wasn’t as beneficial as it could be. Side note: if you feel like the reactions are challenging to remember I’d treat them like PAT and do at least 10-15 a day. Plus focus on knowing other parts of Ochem (ie. R/S, lab techniques, naming…..).
The DAT is a hard test, but YOU CAN DO IT! It’s okay if some days are harder than other but in the end it will be worth it. Getting both programs is helpful but it does at times feel like information overload. I think both programs are good and each have different strengths. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
