How do you study for bio in DAT

[als33]

I am really bad at bio, and I have read through the 120-page notes that were on Bootcamp. I tried to solve the DAT destroyer questions today and noticed that I got almost everything wrong. While I was going through the problems, I kind of knew that I got most of them wrong because it was really confusing, and some things weren't covered in the notes.

I have read a lot of posts, and I still don't know how to study for bio. I am planning to take my exam in early April, and I am thinking of postponing it...
If I read through the Cliff AP book, would it be enough? Someone mentioned that Cliff AP will not be enough for DAT...

Also, I was hesitating between the DAT booster and DAT Bootcamp. From the posts that I have read, it feels like a booster is more like solving exams while Bootcamp makes you prepare step by step (like they have problems for individual chapters). Would Bootcamp + destroyer be enough? Or is booster + destroyer better?

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[Faris_]

Personally I paid attention to Bio 1,2 in college and did very well at them, and mastered the free 120 page Bootcamp biology notes. Cost me 0$ and got me 24 in bio section on the DAT. it is worth mentioning I had no bio background before the college classes since am a first generation American who attended high school in a 3rd world country and my knowledge of bio before attending the US college was laughable at best.
imo, the only section you should read from Destroyer is the math question. I saw the bio and chem question and found them unnecessarily hard and decided to ignore them and ended up with a 23 science score. my advice is don't waste time trying to solve the bio and both chem sections but go straight to the answer and see if this is something worth learning. If you have all the time in the world, knock yourself out.

 

[2thDoc11]

read through Dat boot camp and then read through Dr. Romano’s dynamite biology notes.. read through each other those 3 times and if you don’t have it down or after that much review then I’m not sure what more you can do. Biology is mostly memorization. Repetition is key.

 

[ChemistryDentist]

I am really bad at bio, and I have read through the 120-page notes that were on Bootcamp. I tried to solve the DAT destroyer questions today and noticed that I got almost everything wrong. While I was going through the problems, I kind of knew that I got most of them wrong because it was really confusing, and some things weren't covered in the notes.

I have read a lot of posts, and I still don't know how to study for bio. I am planning to take my exam in early April, and I am thinking of postponing it...
If I read through the Cliff AP book, would it be enough? Someone mentioned that Cliff AP will not be enough for DAT...

Also, I was hesitating between the DAT booster and DAT Bootcamp. From the posts that I have read, it feels like a booster is more like solving exams while Bootcamp makes you prepare step by step (like they have problems for individual chapters). Would Bootcamp + destroyer be enough? Or is booster + destroyer better?

I remember being in your shoes looking at biology while studying and asking myself what I just got myself into. Bio is definitely one of the toughest sections because of just how broad it is and how much memorization and understanding is necessary. That being said, I think the Dynamite Biology Review really helped me perform well on the actual DAT, along with the Destroyer of course. The questions in the Destroyer do not try to perfectly emulate what you will see on test day, which is a good thing - they help you think about the topics and parse through your knowledge bank in both the questions and the answer choices. While you may be getting most wrong right now, keep on working at it and you will soon improve! Those two resources were my go-to for bio prep.

As for your last point, I have no real experience with either of these resources to a big extent, so others can advise there better than me. I just know that the Destroyers + Dynamite Bio review carried me just fine for the actual DAT.

Best of luck!

 

[0Mik3cho]

You need to read actively not passively. You need to critically engage with the material. I like to think of learning as an investigation. When I read about bio, I constantly ask myself things like "why is this a certain way", "how might evolution have caused this", "what would happen if this wasn’t a certain way", "how does this relate to other concepts", "what is the etymology of this word", "how does this concept differ from another similar concept" and so on. So basically, I don’t try to memorize but instead try to understand the fundamentals until it becomes intuitive.

And yes, Destroyer has stuff that might not be in the notes. The explanations will help you learn those concepts. I did a lot of Googling to find better, more in-depth information that help it stick.

Feel free to message me if you want some help. I can try and show you how to think things through.

 

[Abbasr2000]

When I studied for Bio I made sure to nail down the notes, I first started with cliffs notes which helped me understand the basics better. After that, I recommend that you review the feralis notes as it has all the information that you could need for the exam. As for biology practice questions, I would recommend utilizing the DATBooster biology questions, they were the most representative questions I have seen while studying. There last 4 tests also had questions that were very similar to the ones that I saw on the exam. I think that DATBooster is the only resource you need for bio, but if you need more practice buy destroyer and do some practice problems from there. However, make sure to do all the DATBooster questions and make sure you understand all the terms in the question including the wrong choices, this will help you learn all the terms covered in the biology section.

 

[als33]

When I studied for Bio I made sure to nail down the notes, I first started with cliffs notes which helped me understand the basics better. After that, I recommend that you review the feralis notes as it has all the information that you could need for the exam. As for biology practice questions, I would recommend utilizing the DATBooster biology questions, they were the most representative questions I have seen while studying. There last 4 tests also had questions that were very similar to the ones that I saw on the exam. I think that DATBooster is the only resource you need for bio, but if you need more practice buy destroyer and do some practice problems from there. However, make sure to do all the DATBooster questions and make sure you understand all the terms in the question including the wrong choices, this will help you learn all the terms covered in the biology section.

Do you not recommend DAT bootcamp for bio?

 

[Faris_]

Do you not recommend DAT bootcamp for bio?

I didn't use DAT bootcamp.. I just couldn't justify paying that egregious price for something I can find at the end of textbooks' chapters. IMO the only section you need an online help for is the PAT and for that PAT booster is far more superior and less expensive that bootcamp.

 

[2thDoc11]

just use the free resources

 

[soccerdude53149]

Bio was so hard for me and because of it I had to retake the DAT. There is so much material to learn and memorize. I found that I was less stressed out if I only used one study material which was the 120 pages of bio notes.

I would try to figure out what the best way for you to retain the information is. I originally thought that it would be memorizing flashcards (people really love anki), but I eventually learned that the best way for me was to sit down a literally read the 120 pages of bio notes. I made a schedule of reading 3 chapters every day. I basically ended up memorizing the pages and all the visuals really helped me.

But my big advice is that if it comes close to test time and you do not feel ready, just push your test back and pay the fee. The first time I took the DAT I was so nervous and knew I wasn't ready. Only take it when you feel confident!

 

[RyuTatum]

Booster practice tests + Feralis Notes are the G.O.A.T. I had very similar questions show up on my exam as the booster practice tests.

 

[Sinty_dreamer]

I am really bad at bio, and I have read through the 120-page notes that were on Bootcamp. I tried to solve the DAT destroyer questions today and noticed that I got almost everything wrong. While I was going through the problems, I kind of knew that I got most of them wrong because it was really confusing, and some things weren't covered in the notes.

I have read a lot of posts, and I still don't know how to study for bio. I am planning to take my exam in early April, and I am thinking of postponing it...
If I read through the Cliff AP book, would it be enough? Someone mentioned that Cliff AP will not be enough for DAT...

Also, I was hesitating between the DAT booster and DAT Bootcamp. From the posts that I have read, it feels like a booster is more like solving exams while Bootcamp makes you prepare step by step (like they have problems for individual chapters). Would Bootcamp + destroyer be enough? Or is booster + destroyer better?

Please do not take my message as spam, but I am interested to know how your preparation ended and how you passed the exam. What can you recommend based on your experience?
Thanks in advance for the answer!