How Mitchell Used Dr. Mike's Videos to Re-learn Chemistry

Meet Mitchell Rick, a happy DAT Bootcamp customer who recently conquered his DAT. I’ve asked Mitchell to share his experience using Mike’s Videos to prepare for the Chemistry section after not having taken a science course in a few years.

What is one piece of advice you would give to another student preparing to take the DAT?

My advice to someone preparing for the DAT: trust yourself and your abilities. Give yourself ample time to prepare so that you aren’t stressing out over it, but when test day comes around, just have confidence in yourself and know that you’ve done everything you can to prepare. You probably won’t be able to master everything, there is just too much content, so prepare at your own pace and trust yourself throughout the process. It is really easy to get overwhelmed. When this happens, take a study break and give your mind some time off. I assure you, I got overwhelmed a lot, but you have to just relax and try to stay focused, it’ll all work out. I spent roughly 8 weeks studying, and there were times where I literally felt like I knew nothing. On test day, I thought I was doomed. But, I surprised myself, exceeded my expectations, and scored at least 3 points higher in every category on the real thing than I did on any practice test I ever took.

Additionally, try to take a lot of timed practice tests in subjects that you have difficulty with, especially math and general chemistry because they involve calculations. I was always fighting the clock in the quantitative reasoning section, so during the last week leading up to my exam, I took every QR practice test on DAT Bootcamp to get the timing down. Also, definitely use the “mark” method for the QR section.

Overall, it really comes down to your mentality. Walk into that test with a positive outlook, know that you did all you could to prepare, and you’ll do great. Trust yourself. Not many people have the drive and dedication to do what you’re doing, so be proud of yourself for that. Remember all of the studying and hard work you put into this process, all of the sacrifices you made, and all that time spent in front of a computer instead of on the beach. Doing well on this exam puts you one step closer to getting into dental school, so have confidence in yourself and your knowledge, and stay focused on your ultimate goal. I can tell you that it is a huge weight lifted off of your shoulders when it’s all over, and all of the studying will definitely be worth it.

How did you use Mike’s Videos to prepare for the DAT?

Dr. Mike’s Videos were amazing. I printed out the study guide to every chapter beforehand and went through each and every lecture, taking notes as Dr. Mike went along. The practice questions at the end of each chapter are an extremely useful tool, also. They focus on the main ideas of every chapter that you must know, and are very similar to questions on the DAT. Throughout my studying, I would try to complete about 2 chapters of Gen Chem and Orgo every week. I would follow along with Dr. Mike as he lectured, and complete the chapter quiz at the end of each chapter. When it came time to review before my test, I went back through the study guides and quizzes that accompanied each chapter and used those to create my own comprehensive study guide for Gen Chem and Orgo. The chapter quizzes and practice questions all have detailed explanations as well, so if I got any questions wrong, I could go back immediately and figure out why I missed it.

What was your favorite feature of Mike’s Videos?

My favorite feature about Dr. Mike’s videos is that he focuses heavily on the things you need to know for the DAT. He goes into detail about the things you really need to know, but doesn’t waste time going in depth on things outside the scope of the DAT. The chapter study guides and the end of chapter quizzes are also awesome features. The study guides allow you to stay organized and take effective notes about the most important aspects of each chapter, and the end of chapter quizzes allow you to test your knowledge and see what areas you need to improve on. Dr. Mike’s videos were exactly what I needed to do well on the General Chemistry and Orgo sections of the DAT.

My lowest grades in college were in my general chemistry classes. Studying with Dr. Mike’s videos allowed me to score higher on the general chemistry section of the DAT than both the biology and organic chemistry sections, turning my worst subject into my best. For someone who hadn’t taken Gen. Chem or Orgo in over 3 years, Dr. Mike’s videos did more than refresh me on everything, they taught me the things I really needed to know for the DAT. They filtered out all of the unnecessary details that overwhelm so many people, and allowed me to focus on the important things.

All in all, studying for the DAT is a daunting task and will definitely be overwhelming at times. The main thing to keep in mind is that it will all be worth it in the end. Have confidence in yourself and your abilities. If you don’t feel ready to take the test, you’re not alone, I don’t think the DAT is something that anyone is ever really “ready” for. I never felt ready for it, but I knew that I had done everything I could to prepare. Remember to have faith in yourself and know that you’ve gotten this far for a reason.

My SDN username is rangerrick05 and I would be happy to give advice to anyone who wants it. Thanks again Ari, and great work with Bootcamp, man. It really is an awesome service, and well worth the money.