How Alana Aced the DAT with a 540 AA

Hi all! My name is Alana, and I am about to graduate with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Chemistry. I waited to take the DAT until the spring of my Senior year because I did not feel that my experiences were strong enough during my Junior year. With that in mind, I was determined to only take the DAT once. I researched programs with great reviews and ended up settling on DAT Bootcamp. I studied for 2.5 months while taking a full (albeit lighter than previous semesters) course load. Concentrating my classes on Tuesday/Thursday allowed me to spend Monday/Wednesday fully immersed in test preparation and Fridays doing research with a PhD student. I think that preparing amidst an otherwise busy semester is what kept me sane - I never felt like the DAT was the only thing on my mind.

Although I did most of my studying on Monday/Wednesday/Saturday/Sunday, I made sure to also study Tuesday/Thursday, even if it was just 15 minutes of PAT practice or some Bio Bites. As far as my schedule goes, I followed Dr. Ari’s schedule to a T, with the exception of not always taking a rest day. To begin, I took a practice test for each section with absolutely no preparation, just to see where my baseline was. I then began Dr. Ari’s study schedule, supplementing with Anki to keep the topics fresh in my mind. I found myself getting ahead of schedule, so I continued to fill my allotted study time with Anki, Quizlet, and PAT Generators. On average, I studied around 3 hours each day, but that got lighter as my test day approached.

Below are my general strategies and reflections about each section:

Biology (570):

My baseline for Biology was 390 and my score range after studying was 440 to 600. Biology is one of my more comfortable subjects, so I knew that I would be able to really improve from my baseline. To maximize my time and retention, I used the Bootcamp High-Yield Bio Notes and took notes on anything that I wasn’t comfortable with or didn’t know. I then followed my reading with Bio Bites for that section. The next day, I reread the passage and reviewed my notes. I then did the question bank for the section, ideally after working on another subject so that I could test myself on what I actually remembered. I found that a couple weeks out from reading about a topic, my retention really started to decline, so I began using a huge Anki deck. I wish that I had started consistently using Anki earlier because I ended up with a huge card load that would not be sustainable long-term.

General Chemistry (600):

My baseline for General Chemistry was 360 and my score range after studying was 440 to 490. Although I took GC over two years ago, I took Analytical Chemistry last semester. This course gave me a refresher and a deeper understanding of some key GC concepts such as titrations, stoichiometry, lab techniques, and more. Given this, I was pretty confident with about half of the GC content and just needed a reminder on some topics such as nuclear reactions and electrochemistry. I watched Dr. Mike’s videos and then completed the question banks. To deepen my understanding of more conceptual aspects such as gas laws, kinetics, and periodic trends, I used the Bootcamp Anki deck throughout my studying.

Organic Chemistry (480):

My baseline for Organic Chemistry was 320 and my score range after studying was 410 to 600. I took OC a few years ago, but it was one of my favorite classes in undergrad, so I was excited to relearn some of the concepts. I watched Dr. Mike’s videos and completed the question banks/reaction bites but still felt like I needed more practice. I turned again to my trusted Anki to solidify concepts and used a quizlet that had pictures of all the reactions and their reagents. I think this was what really made the difference for me in this section because a deep understanding of reagents goes a long way. I also found that I needed more practice regarding laboratory tests, so I ended up making my own quizlet to test myself on this topic.

PAT (510):

My baseline for PAT was 390 and my score range after studying was 430 to 500. As for most people, this section was really a wildcard at the beginning. I watched the PAT videos on Bootcamp and worked towards completing the question banks. I also used the generator for angle ranking and hold punching. I found that my best sections off the bat were keyholes, TFE, and pattern folding. Angle ranking in particular left a lot to be desired. Even after consistently using the angle ranking generator, it continued to be my weakest section. One thing I noticed during the middle of my studies is that I would forget to practice PAT, so I forced myself to practice for at least 15 minutes per day. I think strengthening the muscles required for PAT over time is the secret to success. I also found that this section on the real DAT was a lot easier than my practice tests, particularly hole punching and TFE.

Reading Comprehension (550):

My baseline for Reading Comprehension was 550 and my score range after studying was 450 to 550. This was the easiest and most intuitive section for me overall. I have a strong base in reading, both for pleasure and with scientific articles, so it did not require a lot of energy to study for this section. Given that my technique was solid off the bat, I did not watch the Bootcamp videos, but I did complete all of the question bank passages. My method was to quickly read over the entire passage to get a roadmap of each section before even looking at the questions. The highlight function was really helpful for identifying key sentences or words. This allowed me to read a question and rapidly find the part of the passage that discussed that particular topic. I found that the reading passages on the actual DAT were easier than many of the passages on Bootcamp. I also happened to get three topics that I was at least somewhat familiar with, which helped my confidence in answering the questions.

Quantitative Reasoning (510):

My baseline for Quantitative Reasoning was 400 and my score range after studying was 420 to 450. It has been a while since I’ve taken math and it showed. Even after studying and going through the question banks, I did not see as much improvement as I would have liked in my scores. I also struggled to consistently finish the section in time. In the last week before my exam, I finally refocused on topics in QR that were difficult for me, and I think that helped. I also noticed that out of all the sections, this one was the most dramatically different on the real DAT. I easily finished the section in time and was even able to check my work on some questions that I had bookmarked.

Overall, I am thrilled that I used Bootcamp and ended up with a 540 AA and a 550 TS. I would recommend this program to anyone that wants to succeed on the DAT. It is a daunting test but Bootcamp makes it feel far less scary.