How Justin Achieved a Perfect Bio and OC Score on the DAT

What’s up! My name is Justin Pokrant, and I am a pre-dental student studying Natural Sciences and Psychology at Johns Hopkins University… GO BLUE JAYS! I started studying with DAT Bootcamp in January of my sophomore year, did my best to keep up with the DAT Bootcamp study schedule throughout my sophomore spring semester (semi-successfully), pushed my DAT back two weeks so I could fully lock in for final exams, and ultimately took my DAT on May 29, 2026. I received my official score report on June 10, 2026: 530 AA, 560 TS, and 540 PAT. Below, I will do my best to walk you through my scores, giving you all of my tips, tricks, and strategies for success!

AA: 530

Overall, I am happy with this number! As I mentioned previously, I did all of my studying during a pretty intense sophomore spring semester (of Organic Chemistry II, Cell Biology, Anatomy, Embryology, and also two research labs) which I would not recommend; I had to reshuffle my study schedule more often than I would like to admit. That said, many of the classes I was wrapping up actually aligned really well with the DAT science section content (particularly with Bio and OC, both of which I scored perfectly on, but more on that later). For better or for worse (probably worse), I didn't take a single full-length practice exam until the week of my DAT, which I would also not recommend; however, I made the most of it by strategically simulating the entire testing experience every day as accurately as possible (waking up at the same actual testing time, eating the same breakfast, drinking the same energy drink, going to a random public library cubicle, leaving my phone in the car, running the same 30-minute break routine, etc.). Even though there are some things you can’t control when taking a test in an unfamiliar environment, you can control yourself, so practice exactly the way you plan to perform. And if my far-from-perfect study schedule could work for me, whatever wacky study schedule you ultimately use can work for you too. Here are my brief (or not-so-brief) thoughts on each of my actual DAT section scores...

BIO: 600

This was a very pleasant surprise. In my opinion, Bio was the most frustrating science section because you are being tested on such a small sampling of such an overwhelming amount of content. As such, a lot of it felt like luck-of-the-draw, and I do believe that I got a little lucky on test day. That said, there are a few things that helped me more than luck. First, my undergraduate university has a very rigorous biology curriculum, which gave me great exposure to almost everything that was covered in the DAT Bootcamp biology lessons. So pay attention in your biology courses! Second, the DAT Bootcamp biology acronyms are great, but what worked even better for me was coming up with my own, more meaningful acronyms, all along the way. Some of mine were really weird, but weird sticks, so it worked for me. Third, I am very much a cram-everything-the-night-before-the-exam kind of guy, and knowing that about myself, I spent five hours the night before my DAT reading through the DAT Bootcamp biology high-yield notes PDF. I am certainly not suggesting that this is the universal key to getting a 600 on Bio; cramming such a high volume of content on the eve of your DAT could actually be extremely overwhelming and therefore extremely counterproductive if you aren’t a crammer, but for me (a crammer), covering all of my bases with the PDF was actually quite comforting, so again, it worked for me.

GC: 490

I hate to be that guy, but this score was frustrating for me, not because it was bad, but because I had been doing better. GC was consistently my strongest science section on every single practice exam; I am a Tutor for Intro Chem and a TA for Intro Chem Lab, after all. And honestly, other than one toss-up conceptual question that I now know I missed (I made the mistake of checking during my break), I don't know where else I went wrong on the actual DAT. But still, I wouldn't have prepared any differently; I watched all of Dr. Mike’s videos, worked through every Question Bank in its entirety, and did some last-minute brushing up with the GC Equation Cheat Sheet. I am just chalking my actual GC section score up to bad luck, an unforgiving curve, some silly mistakes, or all of the above.

OC: 600

This was also a bit of a pleasant surprise. Though this might make one of us, organic chemistry was truly one of my favorite courses, so I would always be a bit disappointed to find myself missing a few OC questions on every single practice OC exam... and I actually know that I missed an organic chemistry lab question on the actual DAT (I once again made the mistake of checking during my break), so I suppose I got lucky with a much more forgiving curve on this section. In light of the recent restructuring of OC content coverage, I would definitely focus on acid/base chemistry as a more highly tested topic, and also mentally tell yourself to slow down a little on OC to avoid silly mistakes. Another thing I will say is that although I would not recommend my crazy sophomore spring study schedule timeline at all, I must admit that taking the DAT immediately after Organic Chemistry II was very nice; all of the reactions were still super fresh in my mind, whereas now, even just one month after taking the DAT, half of organic chemistry already feels like it is fading out of my memory.

PAT: 540

Considering that my practice PAT exam average was a 460, my actual 540 was huge. For whatever reason, every part of the PAT felt exponentially easier on the actual DAT... except for working with the thick, messy markers at my testing center. The order of questions I got into a groove of using was Q31-90, then Q30-15 (working backwards), then Q1-15, then Q1-3 (because I had a bad habit of making silly mistakes at the beginning of keyholes), then Q31-end of time (because I wasn’t the best angler ranker when rushing at the beginning). Now that I critically consider, there was no real reason to be working backwards on TFE beyond it being the way I practiced it over and over again, but perhaps that is a valid reason in and of itself. The key here is just playing around with an order that can score you the most points in the least amount of time possible. Keep it moving and grooving! Magically, I finished with 5 minutes to spare, which was something that never happened to me on practice PAT exams, so I am also going to chalk this particular performance up to luck and an easier set of questions.

RC: 480

Although it wasn't my highest section score, I was very happy with this one. My mindset going into any other section of the DAT was aiming for perfection; however, my mindset going into RC was hoping and praying that I wouldn't crumble, crash, and burn. I have always been bad at reading exams, especially those that are timed, like the DAT. And like most other DAT sections, time was what made RC most difficult for me, which is probably why most people opt for search-and-destroy. Pretty early on, however, I decided that search-and-destroy wasn't working for me; my brain is already so all over the place, that search-and-destroy just amplified the cognitive chaos tenfold for me. Three days and three full-length practice exams before my DAT, I decided to switch to the good old all-natural vanilla method, reading the entire thing and highlighting as I went along… and I ultimately preferred it over any other method I tried out. I would advise anyone just starting to study for RC to not get lost in the sauce. I remember watching the RC lesson videos and feeling a little overwhelmed by all the different methods I felt obligated to try out, when I really should have just started with whatever came naturally. Most people don't naturally search-and-destroy the things they read on a daily basis... but then again, most people aren't typically timed when they read on a daily basis... but I digress. All in all, RC happened, and I didn't fail, so I considered it a win.

QR: 460

Alright. I hate to be that guy again, but this was the most disappointing score for me. To this day, I still don't know what went wrong. QR was consistently my strongest section on practice exams. I never ever struggled with it. And the real deal felt just like any other practice exam. So where I lost 140 points on test day is still a mystery to me. I would understand any other section dragging down my AA, but QR??? Oh well. One thing I did do and would recommend doing for QR is learning how to use the on-screen calculator with 1) a clicking mouse and 2) a typing keyboard. Typing numbers and functions into the calculator saves a lot of time and is what I was able to do on test day; however, I have heard that some testing centers might not have that option, so in my opinion, it is good to get some practice under the worst-case-scenario conditions (clicking everything one by one with a mouse). Other than that, memorize the DAT Bootcamp QR Formulas Cheat Sheet, spend some extra time with combinations and permutations, and practice, practice, practice!

In addition to practice, practice, practice, my final recommendation would be to pray, pray, pray. Seriously. God got me through, and God can get you through, too! Philippians 4:13 all the way!