Remember, there are a lot of pre-dental students that went before you that are willing to lend a helping hand. Tely is a great example of one of these people. Instead of doing the same old “DAT Breakdown” by writing everything out he went ahead and made videos. These videos have a lot of helpful tips for taking the DAT. I hope you take the time to watch them!
DAT Breakdown: Tely
Academic Average: 23
Total Science: 26
Perceptual Ability: 25
Bio: 24
GC: 28
OC: 25
RC: 20
QR: 18
Don’t study for biology or general chemistry passively. Take notes on it. Review your notes, and then take notes on those notes! My preferred study aids were:
- Kaplan Blue Book
- predds.net
- Cliffs AP Bio
- DATQ Vault
My biggest mistake on the PAT section was spending too much time per problem. This lowered my confidence. I’d recommend spending between 1 and 1.5 minutes max per problem. Here’s how I studied for the O-chem, PAT, and Reading Comprehension:
- Kaplan Blue Book (read every day)
- High Yield Organic Chemistry (for extra problems)
- Crack DAT PAT (software with practice under test conditions)
- Eyeballing Game (play here)
- DAT Achiever PAT
- Topscore (reading comprehension practice tests)
- DAT Achiever (more reading comprehension practice tests)
The math section is also called ‘quantitative reasoning.’ I did a practice test every day towards the end of my DAT studying. I primarily used the textbooks under test conditions.
The strategy you use to take the DAT will need to fit your personality. I used exercise and music to relieve stress. The way I figure, studying for the DAT is like your job for the summer. You have to find your own rhythm for studying consistently. My main takeaway advice though is to aim for a really high score – go big or go home. Don’t take the test unless you’re very ready. Delay taking the test if necessary so you can be prepared and confident.
If you would like to contribute to DentalDAT.com in any way you can contact me by e-mail at TheCreator@DentalDAT.com.