How Kayla Outperformed Her Practice DAT Scores

Hi everyone!

If you’re feeling nervous and looking for reassurance that DAT Bootcamp works, you’re in the right place because I felt the SAME way. I was overwhelmed by the amount of material I needed to learn and relearn, and I felt discouraged most of my days studying, but Bootcamp truly provided me with every resource I needed to succeed.

I began studying in June after graduating college and took my DAT on September 12. Balancing DAT prep with dental school applications wasn’t easy, so I ultimately decided to postpone my original August test date to give myself a little more time. I highly recommend using Bootcamp to track your performance and use honest judgement to determine your readiness. A few extra weeks can make a huge difference if you’re not sufficiently prepared. At the same time, know that you’ll never feel completely confident, so at a certain point, trust your study efforts and go for it.

I found that Bootcamp challenged me with tougher questions than the real DAT, which made test day feel much more manageable. Bootcamp predicted a 440AA, but I ended up scoring a 500AA. The best strategy: take as many practice tests as possible, review every question carefully, and take the time to understand Bootcamp’s explanations.

‍Biology

I studied Molecular Biology and Neuroscience in college, so I had a solid understanding of the foundational concepts but I had never taken anatomy or physiology or plant/ecology/evolutionary biology, so I had to learn many chapters from scratch, and Bootcamp has phenomenal biology videos that contain everything you need to know. I quickly learned that watching them all while taking detailed notes took far too long. Instead, I suggest first reading the High-Yield Notes, completing BioBites, and then watching videos only for weak or confusing areas.

The biggest game-changer was Bootcamp’s Anki decks. I never used flashcards in college, so I was reluctant to try them, but daily review starting a month before the exam helped me retain information across all topics. I remember wishing that I had started daily Anki even earlier than I had, but even getting through only 60% of the total cards made a huge difference in my long-term retention, and I truly think that Anki combined with practice tests is what helped me score a 600 in this section.

‍General and Organic Chemistry

I was most nervous for these sections since I deeply struggled with chemistry in college and had taken both of these courses YEARS prior. To relearn, I watched all of Dr. Mike’s videos (which were excellent), took detailed notes, and worked through every chapter’s question bank. It helped me to condense my notes down to just 1-2 pages per chapter so I could review everything more easily closer to test day.

I finished the organic chemistry videos and question banks last, just a couple weeks before my test, so I ended up having to cram all of the reaction videos and OC practice tests into my final weeks of studying (I think I subconsciously avoided it for as long as possible because of my past negative experience with the subject). Surprisingly, cramming the reactions and High-Yield orgo concepts close to the test kept them fresh in my mind, which helped me recall them clearly on exam day. Making concise cheat sheets to review right before the exam ended up being very effective.

Perceptual Ability

Every day for a month before my test, I completed either one PAT practice test or 15 questions from each of the 6 categories under time constraints. Using laminated DAT graph paper with fine-tip Expo markers helped me simulate test conditions.

I was scoring a 430 on every Bootcamp PAT test I took, so I was convinced that I was destined to get a 430 on the real thing. Shockingly, my consistent daily practice paid off on the real exam (460).

Find your preferred PAT order and stick with it. Mine was Angles first, then Hole Punching, Cube Counting, Pattern Folding, Keyholes, and TFE last. I tried to watch as many keyhole, TFE, and pattern folding explanation videos as I could to recognize similar patterns because those were the most challenging for me and took me the longest. When in doubt, GUESS AND MOVE ON!

Reading Comprehension

Bootcamp’s RC is tougher than the real DAT, which made the actual section feel easier. I tried out several strategies and the ones I ultimately gravitated towards were vanilla method, search and destroy, and passage mapping/highlighting. I switched between them and sometimes used a sort of hybrid strategy depending on the passage length, difficulty, and how bored/interested I was while reading. My main advice is to stay flexible and practice going fast.

‍Quantitative Reasoning

This section is more about timing than difficulty. If a question seems like it will take long to solve, guess, mark it, and move on. Bootcamp’s QR practice is harder than the real DAT, which helps build speed for test day. Reviewing all video lessons at the outset was essential since many of the math skills tested on the DAT dated back to middle and high school.

Expect a lot of probability and inequality questions, and memorize the QR formula sheet (it’s short and extremely helpful).

Final thoughts:

Bootcamp over-prepared me in the best way possible. The key is building stamina through consistency— if you can, treat studying like a full time job, review all mistakes and confusing topics REPEATEDLY, and be patient with yourself.

Also, it's SO important to prioritize getting fresh air, moving your body, and doing little things that genuinely make you happy every day (so you don’t go crazy). It’s a good idea to incorporate rest days or lighter study days each week, and I found it motivating to have a few exciting upcoming plans/events that I looked forward to throughout the summer. PRO TIP: At LEAST 2 weeks before the test, practice good sleep habits and train yourself to get used to waking up very early. You’ve got this!