Reaching 600: Mohammed's Organic & General Chemistry Success Story

Hello everyone,

I took the DAT at the end of May, then applied to dental school in June. Because I wanted to apply early, I decided to start studying during winter break and all throughout the spring semester. I definitely would not recommend this because it is extremely tiring and can cause burnout. During winter break, I just studied according to the Bootcamp schedule. I didn't really plan any days off at this time because I knew if something came up or if I needed a break I would take it. Once school started, I used the rebalancing feature on Bootcamp to give myself five days off per week, so I would only study on the weekends. I still studied throughout my whole spring break too. Once April came around, I began to up my study time per week and would go to the library after classes to study for the DAT. Once I got done with final exams, I locked in and studied everyday for three weeks, taking 11 full length practice tests and reviewing all of them. My case is unique and I think taking a good 12 weeks during the summer would be better than this.

My biggest struggle with the DAT was my mental health. I have anxiety and was having nightmares about this test, I always was putting myself down if I got questions wrong, and I really felt like I could not succeed. One thing I had to remind myself was that not every day will be perfect. One day you can get through 3 bio chapters and score super high on a practice test, and the next you can barely focus and get the easiest questions wrong. This is not a reflection of you. When you are in dental school you will have hard days, so it's infinitely better to set up good habits now so you can thrive in the future. Honestly, just be confident and tell yourself that you will succeed (even if you don't believe it). I put my laptop wallpaper as "Dr. Mohammed, DDS) to motivate me every time I had to study.

Biology:

I felt very intimidated by bio because it was so much content to cover. I followed the Bootcamp schedule, so I watched the videos, then I did anki. For biology I recommend doing anki because it really helps it stick into your mind and you will be able to recall it later (even six months later). I then did the bio bites (usually same day) and the Qbank the next day. Anki was really hard to keep up with but if you stick to it you'll do great! Also, when I was taking the practice tests and reviewing them, I created a google doc for each practice test and added the facts that I did not know (ie Hypothalamus regulates temperature) and I reviewed those notes before taking the test. I also redid ALL of the bio, gen chem, and ochem practice tests the last week before my exam. Bio on bootcamp was slightly harder than my real test, and on the real thing I had barely any anatomy/physiology questions but a lot of molecular biology.

General Chemistry:

I watched the videos for topics I was not 100% on then followed up with the Qbanks. I also wrote notes afterwards if I kept getting things wrong. I was a gen chem tutor for three semesters so I really didn't face any difficulty with this section. Best thing I can tell you is to do the practice problems, write why you messed up, and repeat all of those sections (qbanks, practice tests).

Organic Chemistry:

Again, I was an orgo tutor for a semester and was really comfortable with the class. My study method was the same as gen chem, watching videos and doing the Qbank and reaction bites. I recommend understanding why each reaction occurs and why x is more stable than y.

PAT:

Honestly, I just had to practice over and over again. I never really did amazing on PAT, so I was surprised by my score. I had a LOT of trouble with angle ranking (7-10/15 on all the practice tests) so what I did during full lengths and on the real test was skip to angle ranking immediately and answer those questions as fast as possible. I didn't want to waste any time on this section so I just got it out of the way. Then I continued with hole punching, cube counting, and pattern folding. Then I went back to TFE since I was pretty good at it and left keyholes for last since they took the longest for me. I followed all the methods outlined in the Bootcamp videos, and the real test was almost exactly the same (if not slightly easier) than the practice tests.

RC:

I really struggled with this section because I felt like all of the answers could be true and I was generally a slow reader. I just forced myself to do practice problems and what I realized I needed to do (and it boosted my score) was not put down an answer without DIRECTLY READING IT IN THE PASSAGE! I realized that I would guess sometimes without looking for evidence from the passage and it caused me to get many questions wrong. I marked any complex questions (inference, what would the author feel, etc...) and came back to them at the end of each passage. I was consistently getting 9/17 on all of the practice tests but slowly my score climbed. The real test was so much easier because it had mostly fact based questions and the questions went in chronological order with the passage.

QR:

I thought the QR section on the real test was so easy, but it ended up being my lowest score. I just watched all the Bootcamp videos and did a lot of practice problems while also reviewing all of my mistakes. There really isn't anything else you can do besides practice.

Note: When taking practice tests, resemble the testing environment as much as possible. I took all my tests in the library, in a cubicle, at 8am, and took the structured thirty minute break to walk outside and eat a snack (and I did the same on test day). I highly recommend Anki for biology, do as many practice tests as possible, and review those tests multiple times to make sure you know all the obscure facts that you were missing. Overall, the DAT bio, rc, and qr were easier than the practice tests, and the rest was the same!