From Overwhelmed to 24 AA: Julia's DAT Success

I’m a senior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), majoring in Psychobiology, and I’d like to share my DAT journey as someone who battles severe anxiety and had little background in biology. I began studying in late June and took my exam on September 25th. To be honest, after the first week, I felt completely overwhelmed and seriously considered giving up. My biology classes were online during my freshman and sophomore years due to COVID, so I never got the chance to really absorb the material. But I knew I had to push through to reach my dream of becoming a dentist (or "tooth fairy," as I like to call it).

My anxiety often got the better of me. I was studying 7 days a week, often for 10-15 hours a day, without any breaks. Looking back, I wish I had allowed myself more rest, because I would have been much more efficient. I was constantly studying—whether it was on the treadmill at the gym or eating while reading the high-yield notes. Sleep was rare, but once I got into a rhythm, I found a manageable routine that I could stick with.

Since biology is such a broad subject and I had no real foundation, I relied heavily on the high-yield notes and Anki for the bio section. If you're using Anki, make sure you utilize spaced repetition—it’s the key to making it work! I’ll admit, it takes a LONG time to go through each chapter, but active learning was the best way for me to truly grasp and remember the concepts. Everyone learns differently, but for me, it was totally worth it to keep pressing the "<1 min" or "<10 min" buttons in Anki, even though it got tedious. If you're someone who struggles to retain information by just reading, I highly recommend starting Anki as early as possible (I began right at the start of my study plan). When I didn’t fully understand a concept, I’d rewatch parts of the videos and use the AI tool along with the question banks. So, if you’re starting bio from scratch, trust me—you can do it!

For Gen Chem and Orgo, Dr. Mike’s videos and the question banks were absolute lifesavers! I highly recommend watching all his videos and going through every question, especially the reaction bites. While I had a stronger foundation in chemistry compared to biology, I had taken these classes 1-2 years ago, so I was rusty. There were a few reactions that kept tripping me up, so I used Anki to go over them daily. Repetition is key!

If I had to give one big piece of advice, it would be to take EVERY practice test Bootcamp offers. Whether full-length or partial, these tests help you get used to the timing and format of the actual exam. Timing was one of my biggest challenges, especially in the PAT and Reading Comprehension sections. Finishing PAT on time seemed impossible during my first 5 practice tests, but it gets better with practice! Using the timer on the PAT generators really helped me. The Bootcamp app was also a game-changer, letting me study on the go whenever I had a free moment.

I highly recommend taking at least 5 full-length practice tests. Doing this built up my stamina and made test day feel like just another practice session. For someone with severe anxiety, this was a huge relief—it made the actual exam feel much less intimidating.

On my practice tests, I averaged around 20 AA and 20 PAT, but on the real exam, I earned a 24 AA, 24 Science (with a 30 in Organic Chemistry!), and 21 PAT. I was absolutely shocked by my score—I almost fainted when I saw it! But if you put in the work, you’ll most likely surprise yourself, too.

Thank you so much to the entire team at DAT Bootcamp for creating such a supportive and comprehensive program! It truly has everything you need to prepare and succeed, especially if you struggle with anxiety or feel behind in your studies.

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