How Agata Managed Stress to Ace the DAT in a Month

Meet Agata, a happy DAT Bootcamp customer who recently conquered the DAT. Agata was able to crush her DAT retake with the help of DAT Bootcamp. I’ve asked Agata to share her DAT experience with us as the featured student of August.

How did you begin preparing for the DAT knowing you only had less than a month to study?

My worst nightmare was the PAT. I watched all of the videos about each sections, and I still was not doing as well as I wished, so I kept practicing. The short amount of time I had to study did not help either. In fact, I wish I could have practiced much more. I know I could have gotten a better score, but the practice tests were definitely helpful for improving.

Even though I had little time to practice, I knew that I only had to review the content (rather than learn it) because I had already studied it in college for the past two years. Don’t underestimate the notes you take in class, or the summaries you use to study for exams, because they can save a lot of time and make your preparation much more smooth!

How did you manage the stress of studying for the exam in a short period of time?

I have to admit that it was a very stressful month, but I knew that studying all day was not going to help me manage the stress. I decided to have a study plan that would leave me a few hours free every day. This free time could be in either the afternoon or at night, so that I could still see my friends and relax a little bit. Giving myself time to breath and not think about the exam was essential, as well as finding the right time to be focused and concentrated. If you already know what time your exam is at, make sure to review and do practice at the same time of day.

Building stamina is also important, but I did not get the chance to work on it much in such a short amount of time; after the PAT, I ended up being quite exhausted. Sometimes there are a few techniques that could help with keeping your focus: just try a few of them and see what works best for you!

What was your favorite thing about DAT Bootcamp?

I liked a lot of things about DAT Bootcamp, but I think the best thing is how similar it is to the actual exam. The practice tests are realistic, both in difficulty and in setting. Taking the exam felt like taking one of the practice tests, because I was already accustomed to the visual part of it, and trust me, getting through test day took a big burden off of my shoulders. There are so many practice tests on DAT Bootcamp, and I wish I would have had more time to take them all. Even still, I still managed to do well on the actual DAT, even though I only completed one of the practice tests.

I also found Mike’s Videos unbelievably helpful because they were straight to the point, and concise enough to help review what actually mattered for the DAT. Watching those videos allowed me to save a lot of time I would have spent reading books which would not have given me examples on how the topics can show up on the exam.