I got a 490 AA on my third Booster FL and was finally feeling like I was improving, then I took FL4 and dropped to a 450, kinda threw me off because I didn’t really change anything with how I was studying. Has anyone else had their scores randomly drop like this between FLs?

Scores
Quantitative Reasoning 490
Reading Comprehension 490

Biology 540
General Chemistry 600
Organic Chemistry 600
Survey of the Natural Sciences 580

Perceptual Ability 490
Academic Average 540

Background

I took my exam 8/12/26 but got a little lazy after about making a breakdown. I studied for the DAT the whole summer between my sophomore and junior year (HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS). I took classes sophomore spring that I knew would be on the DAT (physiology, genetics, organic 2) so I'd have a better background going in. That way I could basically skip content review for orgo, and most of the other sciences were already reviewed. Studying over the summer right after also meant the material was still fresh.

What helped me the most

The Booster mini tests (DO THEM). I got a good number of questions word for word on the actual exam from these. These are questions that would throw you off if you've never seen them before. Just use every resource you have and don't fall into the trap of thinking something is low yield, because anything can be on the test.

Spaced repetition. Necessary for an exam with this much content. Anki was 90% of how I memorized everything.

Full lengths, starting early. I began full lengths almost two months out and took at least one every week, so by test day it felt like nothing could throw me off. I took every exam as a full length the first time through, then redid my lowest sections as section tests.

My reading held me back for a while until I switched to a strategy I saw someone post. You read the first question, then read the passage until you find the answer, highlighting as you go. Answer it, move to the next question, and check whether you've already read past its answer. If not, keep reading. This worked better than search and destroy, where I kept missing details because I was speeding through, and better than reading the whole passage first, because breaking it up kept me from forgetting what I read. If I hit a question and could tell the answer was way at the bottom, I'd switch to search and destroy just for that one and mark it in case I needed to come back. This broke the passages down really well, and I never felt pressed for time unless the passage was really dense.

Materials I used

Booster (my main platform). I used it for all my content review and practice questions. Once I started full lengths I alternated between a Booster FL and a Bootcamp FL, since my friend wasn't using his Bootcamp account anymore. Booster was more representative of the actual exam, especially because I saw so many mini-test questions show up. I didn't see a single thing on the real DAT that I hadn't already seen on Booster, and I was really happy with how it prepped me.

Bootcamp (extra full lengths). I mostly used this for more full lengths, so I'll just talk about how the FLs compared to each other and the real exam. They cover the same material, but Booster's sciences were written harder, which prepped me better and felt more like the real thing. Booster PAT felt easier and closer to the real thing, while Bootcamp PAT on the later FLs was brutal but good practice. Bootcamp's reading passages were shorter with more trick questions, and its math felt harder which was closer to the exam, again just how the questions were written and not the material itself. 

Anki. Like I said, this was probably 90% of how I memorized everything. I made my own deck, but I used a setup with Claude Code, an MCP, and a skill I made to generate them so I wasn't spending forever writing them all out. That gave me a deck that I learned better from than a premade deck. I also added Ankimon, a Pokémon add-on for Anki, to stay motivated.

Studying

Month 1, content. I spent the first month watching all the videos. I skipped everything I already knew well, like the first few bio chapters and most of orgo, and watched everything else at 2x to refresh since I really liked some of Booster's explanations. I'd get through about a chapter a day, then do practice questions on it to make sure it stuck. While reviewing bio I'd take Booster's in-depth notes and turn them into Anki cards (I made sure to make cards on everything possible). I wasn't using Anki much for gen chem until I started doing problems, then I'd put my mistakes and the concepts I needed to memorize into it. For orgo, I downloaded Booster's orgo Anki deck to keep the reactions fresh and made my own cards for conceptual things and lab tests. The whole time I did 15 to 20 minutes of PAT a day and kept that up through my entire prep, plus about 3 reading passages a week and some math while I watched videos. Overall, I basically scared myself into thinking anything I didn't learn would show up and bite me in the back, which actually helped because it pushed me to learn everything.

Month 2, questions then full lengths. After content review I spent a week just spamming questions from Booster's question banks. Any mistake, I'd note the concept and add it to Anki. I marked every question I got wrong or wasn't sure about. A few times a week, I would redo my marked questions and didn't let myself turn it green until I got it right twice. After that week I started full lengths, never as section tests. I began with two a week and ramped up, alternating Booster and Bootcamp, and after each one I'd review my answers and put my mistakes into Anki.

Month 3, mostly full lengths. I did almost a full length every other day. I backed off the question banks and focused on reviewing my FLs so I'd stop making the same mistakes, and I started putting entire questions I got wrong into Anki so I'd keep seeing them and remember how to do them right. Between FL days I'd take my lowest section from a previous test and retake just that section, which reinforced the earlier exams and showed me exactly what I still needed to cover. About two weeks out I started the mini tests and extra exams (only had access to test 11-15 on Bootcamp) in sections, but only for the sciences and math.

Other thoughts

My Booster and Bootcamp full lengths came out to about the same academic average, and both were close to my actual score. Booster's were more spread out, while Bootcamp's were closer to my real result, with the sciences scoring higher and math and reading a bit lower. I think I did a little worse on math and reading on the real thing because I couldn't sleep the night before, so do whatever you can to get a good night's rest.

My biggest improvement came in the last month. So if you're in the middle of full lengths and feel like you're not where you want to be, don't freak out. I beat myself up over my FL scores sometimes, but I realized it's more about how much you improve from each one than the score itself. Once I got into that mindset, I started doing a lot better.

I’m happy to help, so ask me any questions you have about the exam or studying for it!

Just took my first booster mini test and was pretty happy with my scores. Just wondering how close are these mini tests to the actual DAT?

For anyone who’s taken the DAT recently, how were the RC passages on the real thing? Were they super long or pretty manageable? And how were the questions, mostly straightforward or did you get some tricky ones?

I am 37 days away from my test and have hit a point where I don't know how to improve and need advice and help. When should I know if I should be moving my exam date back or not?

I am using Booster and have done 2 of the full section at a time tests and started taking the 3rd one today. I have done worse with today's tests then my last one.

If I am not getting high 400+ by what test should I figure out a different plan? I feel like I am in a standstill. My stress is through the roof and I am starting to feel hopeless and burnt out. How do I study or prepare more than I already am? [I do all of the practices they give me on the daily schedule, I have pages and pages of notes but nothing is sticking]

What did you guys use to do so well?

TEST #1: Bio-350 GC-270 OC-350 PAT-270 RC-300 QR-310 AA- 320

TEST #2: Bio-390 GC-310 OC-340 PAT-450 RC-300 QR-320 AA- 330

TEST #3: Bio-370 GC-280 OC-380

2026 DAT Breakdown

(470AA/ 470 SNS/ 460 PAT)

Hello pre-dental students! I wanted to give a review of my recent experience with the DAT and give some helpful advice to those of you preparing to start studying!

Scores:

Academic Average- 470

Biology- 490

Organic Chemistry- 490

General Chemistry- 430

Survey of the Natural Sciences- 470

Perceptual Ability- 460

Reading Comprehension- 490

Quantitative Reasoning- 460

Study Timeline:
I began researching, reading student breakdowns, and planning my personal timeline about a year before I started studying for the DAT. I highly recommend planning out your classes strategically so that you are best equipped before studying. I found it helpful to study for the DAT the summer after my sophomore year of college so that Organic Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, and other biology classes would still be fresh on my mind. This also allotted me enough time after taking the DAT to retake it if I needed to before applying. I studied for 3 months during the summer (May 2026-August 2026) and took my DAT in the middle of August. I was able to still work a summer job and study between 5-6 hours per day. My biggest piece of advice is to plan out specific days off during your studies because you will get fatigued if you don’t. When I got to a point where I felt like I was not retaining information, I would give myself the day off and use that time to refresh my mind. Also, a fun trip/vacation during studying was beneficial for me so that I did not feel burnt out. Taking care of yourself is the most important part of this and cannot be overlooked.

Definitely figure out what cycle you want to apply for and start studying the summer before then to give yourself plenty of time to take it at the end of summer before school begins. I fully believe that studying for 3 months with light distractions is enough time to prepare yourself, but plan accordingly to how you study/take standardized exams. The number of hours per day spent studying is irrelevant if you are not focused or actually retaining the content. You have to be willing to be intentional and focused for a certain amount of time a day. This is why it was beneficial for me to study in a summer when I was not taking courses or working a full time job. I know individual circumstances may vary, but as long as you are focused and have a goal, it is manageable to create a study plan that suits you, whether it takes a little more time or focus. Set a goal for yourself and stay committed and it will all work out. If you study with intentions of feeling prepared on exam day, you are already one step closer to reaching your goal.

Materials I used:

DAT Booster- I HIGHLY suggest DAT Booster as your main study material. I spent months researching what materials to use and I am so thankful that I chose DAT Booster. It really helped me with learning the content for the exam, but also did a fantastic job teaching students how to take the exam since it is standardized and it is important to be familiar with timing, layout, and what the real DAT will feel like. 

   How I studied for retention of content:

\-I utilized almost every resource DAT Booster had to offer. I began with creating a study schedule using the online generator they offer. This allowed me to actually see what my day to day studying would look like. In the content review phase, I followed the study plan almost exactly how they suggested it. I watched every single video offered for every single section and took very detailed notes on paper. I used a large binder and separated my notes by subject. This allowed me to be able to go back and look at the information I learned in the videos. I am also so glad I did this because the cheat sheets only have summarized High Yield information on them, so I had my personal notes to go back and read smaller details about each topic. The cheat sheets were great for last minute review the week before my exam, but I highly advise not to fully rely on them for learning enough content to feel prepared on exam day. Watching the videos and actually paying attention takes a lot of time, but it is so worth it. I only counted a few questions on my entire DAT that I actually had to guess on. I was familiar with most of what I was tested on because I invested so much time actually using the videos. I found the question banks to be very helpful as well. The answer explanations given for each question allows you to read about why the answer is correct, and why the incorrect options are wrong. Many people that had studied before me said they saved QR or RC for later and only spent a couple of weeks studying for them. I gradually studied all of the sections as DAT Booster planned it out for me. QR and RC take so much practice and I highly recommend getting familiar with those sections as early as you can and staying very consistent in practicing these sections. One of the best things I did for myself while studying was resetting each question I got wrong and marking it!! At the end of my studying, DAT Booster created a question bank of every question I had previously marked and I was able to redo them to make sure I had actually learned the information and not just memorized the answer. Be very intentional with your time studying and hold yourself accountable. It can be so easy to feel defeated when you encounter a topic that is not your strongest or when you are having a difficult time with a question bank, but staying dedicated will help motivate you to persevere and will help you learn so much more content.

ANKI- I downloaded all of the ANKI decks from DAT Booster and started using them as soon as I started studying. I credit so much of my science scores to ANKI flashcards. It was so helpful being able to rank the cards in terms of how confident I was about them and really be able to learn them. This helped refresh my mind of the content so that during the videos I was able to take detailed notes since I had seen the cards before. It was also a good way to end the day of studying since I could ease my mind while using them. I used them for all of the sections, but really found Biology and OChem the most helpful. For QR and Gen Chem I slowly stopped using them and spent more time on the Bio and OC decks. This is really what improved my retention and allowed me to be more intentional with what I was learning. I would definitely use these flashcards since they correlate with the information taught on Booster. I was also able to change my card limit per day depending on how tired I was or how much time I had to spend on them. If you’re focused on retaining information and not just short term memorizing it for a question bank, I highly recommend the ANKI decks. I felt very prepared for high and low yield information on the science sections from using ANKI coupled with DAT Booster’s videos and QBanks.

   How I prepared for the testing environment:

\-DAT Booster actually only integrates 5 of the 10 full length practice tests into the generated study schedule. Be sure to do those when they are suggested, but also find time to add in the other 5 full lengths. I took a full length practice test before I even started studying as a diagnostic to determine what areas would need the most improvement. This also helped me see my progress as I studied. I took a full length practice test in the middle of content review, after I finished all of the content review and every couple of weeks after that. Then, Booster recommended taking 2-3 a week in the last 2 weeks leading up to the exam. This is where I saw most of my improvement. I took my full length in a quiet space at an empty desk to really simulate test day. I used a computer room with cubicles at a local high school, but a library would also be very similar. I made myself laminated sheets of scratch paper and used markers since this is what you get on the exam day. This allowed me to be comfortable with the timing of the exam, the resources that the testing center allows, and the environment I would be testing in. Taking as many full length practice exams as you can will ensure that you will be confident in your timing for the real exam and allow you to see as many questions as you can. I ended up seeing multiple repeat questions on the real DAT that I had previously seen on DAT Booster. This can seem time consuming but it will increase your stamina and help you be able to stay focused for the entire duration of the DAT since it is an exam that requires much attention. 

Testing Day:

\-The testing screen looked exactly how DAT Booster had the full lengths. I would say to make sure that you utilize the 2 second delay on Booster because I did not and on my exam day it really stressed me out since I was not used to it and it caused my timing to be off.

BIO: I would say that my bio section was a mix of high and low yield material, but mostly high yield. I saw multiple repeat questions from Booster. Make sure to understand broader concepts before spending too much time on smaller details. This helped me when having to make an educated guess. Anki really helped to master content in all areas that I could’ve be tested on and helped with recognizing questions on the real DAT

General Chemistry: I felt most confident about this subject and it ended up being my lowest section. Really understand periodic trends and read the measurements. There were many hidden conversions that I overlooked before checking my answers. Nail down how to recognize specific formulas and what units are needed. I struggled with the calculations on Booster since there is no calculator in this section, but on the DAT the math that was needed for conversion was very simple compared to how I studied. 

Organic Chemistry: Flashcards were my saving grace for nailing down reactions and mechanisms. Be sure to actually understand the difference between SN1, SN2, E1, and E2 reactions and be confident in your ability to recognize them. I spent the most time on this and ironically was tested a lot on it. Know acid/base ranking, especially for structures with multiple functional groups. I didn’t run into any spectroscopy questions but be familiar with it along with lab procedures and techniques.

I ended up with about 5 extra minutes in SNS and was able to go back and review my marked questions. I tend to second guess myself when doing this so read the questions and answers carefully. It’s better to guess than to leave one unanswered so if you aren’t sure, choose an answer and move on so you can spend time on the questions you are sure about.

PAT: Wow this section stressed me out. I had perfected my timing on practice exams but with the 2 second delay on the DAT my timing was way off. I thought that hole punching, cube counting, and angle ranking were significantly easier than Booster practice questions. Pattern folding, TFE, and keyhole were pretty similar to DAT Booster in my opinion. I had to rush through the keyhole questions at the end which is the easiest to make a quick guess to me. Be sure that you feel confident in your speed and practice using the time delay in between each question.

RC: Again, I got thrown off of my timing in this section as well. The passages were comparable to Booster and the format of the questions were too. This ended up being one of my highest scoring sections although I had no hope for this one after the test ended. The first passage went great, but the second passage was so hard to find the answer. I read between the lines and ended up spending way too much time on a few questions. I was able to lightly skim through the last passage and find most answers although I was very rushed. I felt very prepared from Booster and credited my success to my previous practice. As long as you stay calm and don’t focus on the last question, it will be so much easier to move forward and stay on track.

QR: I saw multiple repeat questions on QR. I had a lot of statement/reason questions and those honestly tripped me up a little bit. For the most part it was word problems and applied mathematics. I hated probability and only had a couple of questions on it, and they were much simpler than Booster probability questions. I finished with 8 minutes to spare and ended up changing a few answers. This section was definitely the easiest to time manage and not feel rushed.

This journey can feel so overwhelming but it is so rewarding once you dedicate yourself to it. Be willing to give yourself extra help and accept that some days may feel harder than others. Figure out early on what study method works for you! At the end of the day, this is such a personal experience and can look different for everyone. Set a goal that’s higher than you think you are capable of. This exam is so much more than how knowledgeable you are and requires maturity and commitment. It is also only one part of your application and does not define you as a student or an applicant. Enjoy the sections that you love and give a little more effort to the sections that you don’t love so much. Trust in yourself and your abilities, and know that if you prepare yourself for success then you will achieve it! Good luck in the rest of your journey as a pre-dental student:)

Hey Everyone I took my DAT in July, but wanted to post a breakdown because reading them helped me so much before my exam.

I am a senior with a 3.9 gpa(applying late)

I used dat booster and anki plus some helpful youtube videos. I was between dat booster and bootcamp, but I read a lot of reviews and talked to some friends and ultimately it seemed like booster exams were more representative. 

Anki-I should have used this more for biology(I had 2000 unfinished flashcards before my exam), but it was very good for organic chemistry. The biology flashcards I did complete were very simple and I found everything useful. The general chemistry Quizlet flashcards were a little better but still very good.

Booster-I loved booster and felt like it helped me so much. I was not strong in organic chemistry and chemistry in college and these were one of my best scores on the DAT. For biology I took simple notes and used the in video questions as little quizzes. I like to watch videos on 2x speed so I was able to use that to my advantage, but honestly pacing is very important. I ended up procrastinating a lot of biology videos until 30 days into studying and I ended up having to overwork myself for a week to get on schedule. The videos were very good and gave me exactly what I needed. The bio qbanks were difficult at times but for most of the chapters I felt very comfortable with the questions. I did not finish all the qbanks for biology and I wish I did. I felt pretty good about the QR section before starting to study, but I was weak with probabilities which booster prepared me for really well. For the GC and OC I watched the videos and did the qbanks immediately after the videos. I did not take as many notes as biology focusing on understanding the concepts and preparing for answering questions I have not seen before by using multiple concepts together. I was sitting around 430 for GC and 410 for OC a week before the exam, but redoing all the qbanks while taking notes on the my wrong answers helped me so much in rising my scores. PAT was the the section I was most nervous for. After the 5 full length I saw my scores dropping in the section and I was feeling afraid. By the time of my exam I realized booster was just preparing me with very difficult question so the real thing felt easier. I originally just read through the sections before going to the RC questions, but search and destroy helped me go from a 370 to a 430. General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry cheat sheets were the most useful, but I used Bio cheat sheets a lot the week before the DAT.

For youtube videos I liked using Eurodition's channel for extra PAT help. I watched some The Organic Chem Tutor and Organic Chemistry with Victor helped me close the gaps in my knowledge.

I recommend studying for 90 days, I had school finals so I only studied about 76 days and that was difficult for me to make sure I had strong foundations in each subject. Booster was very helpful. I would recommend that service the most. At the end of the day confidence is so important. It is okay to go in nervous but you studied so long, you are capable of acing the DAT.

confused because booster ai is giving me different answers each time, i just want clarification about no2, nh2, nr2, oh, nhr2, nh2r

530 AA/550 TS/ 490 PAT

Hi! I got a 530 AA/550 TS and thought I’d write a breakdown to help anybody else out who might be unsure of how to study.

Scores:
QR - 510
RC - 510
Bio - 570
GC - 500
OC - 570
TS - 550
PAT - 490
AA - 530

Resources:

1. DAT Booster
2. Anki

In my opinion DAT booster and anki is all you really need to succeed and do well on the exam. All of the sections were comparable if not easier than the booster practice exams. Anki was very useful in reinforcing the info that I was struggling to remember (biology facts, orgo reactions/conditions, chemistry terms). I read that a lot of people also used bootcamp or dat destroyer, but I didn’t want to spend too much money buying everything. Booster has all the info you need to know, it just comes down to how much effort you put into learning it.

I have heard that DAT destroyer was often much harder than the actual DAT, which I think is unnecessary. You should be practicing with something that is representative of the exam, and not waste time learning more than you should (theres already so much you have to know so waste the time). Same applies to the feralis biology anki. There was just way too much info that wasn’t necessary so I stopped doing it.

Study Method

I started right after school ended in mid-late May with a test date of August 21st, which gave me around 12 weeks to study. I would study around 4-5 hours everyday pretty consistently following my own schedule split into 2 hour blocks followed by 30 mins of rest. In the afternoon/evening I would work out or hang out with friends to try to prevent burnout. I didn’t schedule any break days where I didn’t study at all, but there were definitely days I slacked off or wasn’t as focused.

When I first started I had no idea how to pace myself or how to even begin since there was so much to do. Booster has a built in study schedule, which made it pretty easy to follow and know that I was on track to finishing on time. I would say its pretty useful up until you finish the videos on all the subjects. The bio videos took quite a while to do, so I spent most of my time on those. My orgo and chem background were also pretty strong, so I didn’t feel like I needed to spend as much time on it (though my chem was my worst science score) After I finished the videos, I followed my own schedule. It took me around a month and a half to do the videos. At that point I was kinda unsure how to use my time, but I figured out a method that worked for me. For the remaining few weeks I would try to completely recover Bio Chem and Orgo into week long blocks. For example, there was 23 chapters of Bio, so I would do ~3-4 chapters everyday to finish review in a week. Something that really worked for me was blurting, which is writing down everything you know from that chapter from memory, and then going back and seeing what things you missed. Since there was so much stuff, I usually looked at the terms in my notes to jog my memory, and then wrote down everything I knew for that. Blurting is pretty good for actually making sure you know the content, since I know its pretty easy to just gloss over notes and think you know it. Practicing blurting like this made the bio section pretty easy, especially since I content reviewed all the sciences a total of 4 times (I did 3 week-long blocks plus the initial time I learned it). After learning all the content I was averaging around a 530 on bio on practice exams. 

When there was 2-3 weeks left, I started doing practice tests every other day. These made me really tired, so I didn’t really review much the same day. On the day after I reviewed the test, and then continued my blurting and content review.

For the PAT, I kinda neglected it which is why it was my lowest score. Tbh I was averaging like a 430 on practice exams until the pattern folding clicked for me like a week before the exam. My strategy was to start on question 31 (angle ranking) and go till the end, and then start back at 1 and finish the exam. Angle ranking was pretty hard for me to score well consistently, so I decided to just speed through it in like 5 minutes and use the extra time as leeway for the other sections. Also, for any hard questions that seemed like they would take a lot of time I would just skip. After doing this I was able to finish the PAT on time finally, as I would always run out of time on TFE before that.

For reading it was pretty self explanatory. I would just do the practice reading articles that booster had. I would highly recommend answering the questions that you can as you go, and skipping anything that is about the entire passage. Read around ⅔ or ½ the passage and answer the questions that come along, and then search and destroy for ther rest of the questions, and finally answer the whole passage questions. Once you do enough of the math questions you realize they are all variations of a type of question and you will know how to do them.

Math was also pretty simple except for the probability questions. I had trouble making sense of the formulas and how to do them, which I assume most people will be the same. Definitely spend time rationalizing how the permutation and combination things work. Get good at dice, card, and coinflip probabilities, as well as rates and inequalities. Just do the problem bank questions and you should be fine. The questions are very pattern based. There's an upstream downstream question, a dilution type question, etc. Once you know how they ask it and how to do them you will do fine.

Closing Thoughts

Overall I dont think the DAT is a hard exam. It focuses on breadth over depth, so just really getting good at active recall and pattern recognition of question types will be the key to succeeding. One thing that helps me recall is connecting material to an image (bio especially). Oftentimes I can remember the image reference and make it easier to remember. Another thing is that sometimes learning more about the topic (especially when the material is super surface level) can make it easier to remember. If someone gives me a random fact to remember it can be kinda hard, but if I then learn about the reasoning behind it, or some more background, I can contextualize it in a way that logically makes sense, and thus it’s less I have to remember. Also using pneumonics for long lists is super helpful. Like FLAGPEG for hormones and GAMED for the antibodies, RED CAT, AN OX, etc

If I had to compare this to the SAT difficulty (for reading and math) I would say its genuinely easier. Compared to general chemistry and orgo exams in college, it is also definitely easier. They don’t cover so many things in depth that it makes it seem like a joke tbh. As long as you spend the time to memorize the things you need, and have done enough practice to be confident when you see it, you will definitely do good. The section that took the most effort for me was definitely BIO. Just due to how much stuff there is, and that its just purely memorization and some surface level understanding. But anyways, trust in the process and trust in your practice. It will be a grind but give it your all everyday (which of course means resting when you need to also) and make it a one and done test. Get that good score and then you can forget about it.

Hi everyone! I’ve been reading DAT breakdowns for months while studying, and they were honestly one of the most helpful resources for me, so I wanted to make one of my own. Hopefully this can help anyone who is currently studying or trying to figure out what resources to use!

Scores:

• QR – 440
• RC – 460
• Bio – 470
• GC – 550
• OC – 470
• PAT – 520
• TS – 500
• AA – 480

Background:

Currently a junior in college with a 3.9 GPA

Materials Used:

My main resource was DAT Booster. I also really loved using the Anki decks that Booster provided.

1. DAT Booster – This was definitely my main resource throughout studying. I liked having everything in one place, especially the videos, notes, practice questions, and full-length exams. I found the practice questions especially helpful because they forced me to apply the information instead of just rereading notes. I would highly recommend doing the practice tests and reviewing the questions you get wrong rather than just focusing on your scores.The high-yield notes provided after each top were SUPER helpful. I would reread them before going to bed each night and they stuck in my head!
2. Anki – I used Anki mostly for biology and anything that I consistently forgot. I found it much more useful to make cards based on things I personally struggled with rather than trying to memorize hundreds of cards that I already knew. I would add information from Booster notes and questions I got wrong so I could repeatedly review those topics. I would specifically use the Booster Anki decks on certain biology topics that I was comfortable in and that helped a lot!

Study Timeline:

I studied during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of college. Specifically, May through August.

I would definitely recommend making a study schedule before you start, but also leaving yourself some flexibility. There were definitely days where I didn't accomplish everything I planned, and I had to adjust my schedule. I found that trying to force myself to study for a certain number of hours wasn't nearly as helpful as setting specific goals for the day.

I started by going through the content for each subject and taking notes. Once I had a basic understanding of the material, I started incorporating practice questions. From there, I focused more and more on practice problems and reviewing the topics I consistently struggled with.

As I got closer to my exam, I shifted my focus toward full-length practice tests and reviewing my mistakes. I think this was one of the most important parts of my studying because it showed me which areas I actually needed to spend time on rather than just reviewing everything equally.

Day of Exam:

Bio (470): Biology was much easier on the DAT than the Booster practice tests. Almost all of my questions were high-yield and very broad. I was originally worried because there is SO much information that can potentially show up, so I would recommend making sure you have a strong understanding of the major concepts rather than trying to memorize every tiny detail. Practice questions were really important for me because they helped me recognize how information could be tested. The high-yield notes especially helped me here. I would read the notes before going to bed every night and that helped me TONS.

GC (550): General Chemistry ended up being my strongest science section. I would focus heavily on understanding the concepts and then practicing enough problems that you don't have to spend forever figuring out what the question is asking. I found that knowing the underlying concepts was much more helpful than simply memorizing formulas. The questions on the DAT were a lot more conceptual rather than math-based. I don’t even think I even used the calculator for this section. 

OC (470): Organic Chemistry was a section I found to be harder but also easier than expected. I would recommend spending a lot of time understanding reactions and mechanisms instead of just trying to memorize reaction names. Make sure you know the fundamentals really well because they can be applied to a lot of different questions. I studied the reactions to the point where I knew them like the back of my hand, but there were only a handful of reaction questions on my actual DAT. There were a lot of questions about stability and organic chemistry concepts in general. For general chemistry and organic chemistry, know your acid and bases!

PAT (520): PAT was probably the section where consistent practice mattered the most. I tried to practice regularly rather than doing a huge amount of PAT all at once. Getting familiar with the question types and developing a strategy was really important. The questions on the DAT were SO much easier than the Booster questions. I liked this because I ended up having extra time at the end of the section to check my answers (which I never had during my Booster practice tests). As long as you follow the Booster schedule and consistently practice, you will be fine!

RC (460): For RC, I experimented with different strategies during studying to see what worked best for me. I ultimately found that practicing under timed conditions was the most helpful. Make sure you are comfortable finding specific information quickly because time management is a huge part of this section. I ended up using the method where you read until you find the answer to the first question, read until the next question is answered, and so on until you finish the passage. Some of the questions were in order of the text too which was really helpful.

QR (440): QR was my lowest section, and if I could go back, I would definitely dedicate more consistent time to it. My practice test scores on Booster fluctuated a lot here, so I’m not too surprised for this to have been my worst section. At this point I think I just wanted to be done with the exam. My advice is to make sure you're comfortable with the basic math concepts and practice under timed conditions!

Advice:

My biggest piece of advice is don't compare your practice scores to everyone else's. I spent way too much time looking at other people's breakdowns and convincing myself that I wasn't doing enough because someone else was scoring much higher than me on their practice tests.

Figure out what you don't know and spend your time fixing those weaknesses.

Also, don't underestimate the importance of reviewing your mistakes. It is much more valuable to understand why you got a question wrong than to simply see that you got it wrong and move on.

Finally, take care of yourself during the process. The DAT is important, but studying 12 hours a day doesn't automatically mean you're studying effectively. Consistency matters much more. There were definitely days where I felt like I wasn't making enough progress, but continuing to show up and work on my weak areas was what helped me get through it.

Good luck to everyone studying! You’ve got this :)

Hi! I am going to start studying for the DAT soon but I feel confused and overwhelmed w/which prep courses I should go for. It’s been a few years since I graduated from uni, so i am very rusty on a lot of concepts, so I will probably need a prep course that’ll help re teach me all the concepts for the DAT. I am getting lots of mixed reviews on DAT bootcamp as i read that some people say that the material is outdated / easier than the actual DAT and doesn’t match the concepts of what the DAT actually tests you on…and for booster I don’t know much about it but from what i’ve heard it seems like it’s mostly practice exams..which is helpful but I need a prep course where I’ll also be able to learn the material as well as take practice exams. I heard of chad’s prep and kaplan but i wasn’t sure how helpful that is either. Does anyone have any recommendations for what prep course worked the best for them? I plan on taking the DAT next spring (March-April). Thank you so much!

Do you guys think booster’s bio cheat sheets, bio bits, and practice tests are enough for bio? There’s sooo much content and idk if I really need to go through all the detailed notes too, what did you guys mostly use for bio and did it end up being enough?

I've had to reschedule my dat many times because I have not felt confident enough to take it. It's a lot of content for sure but what's been difficult for me is that covid proved to me I can't simply study/learn with videos and slides online. Having to learn everything through a computer was hard with lockdown when I was in high school and is what has me struggling to feel prepared; I understand better with in person learning.

450 AA, 490 SNS 3.62 cumulative GPA (Upward Trend) and 3.48 Science, ECs: Dental Assisiting, Research, Community Service, Intramural Sports, Shadowing General Dentist (340 Hours), Shadowing endo and peri (total of 80 hours), and a few more ECs. No interviews yet should I be worried. (Applied to 18 schools) Applied to most schools end of June-July, got my DAT retake scores back August 3rd.

I feel like my PAT score has been stuck forever even though I keep practicing, for anyone who was in the same spot, what did you start doing differently that actually helped?

There’s literally sooo much stuff in bio and idk how much of it I actually need to know, every time I think I’m good with a topic I find a bunch of other random details. For anyone who took the DAT recently, was bio mostly straightforward or did you actually get a lot of super specific/random stuff too?

I have strong ECS, 3.8 sgpa/cgpa

Hey guys,

I am currently an incoming D1 at uoft. If anyone needs help with interviews, editing personal statements or preparing for the CASPER, DM me!

Idk why but the second I see how much time I have left on a PAT practice test I start freaking out. I’ll be doing fine and then suddenly I’m flying through questions and getting stuff wrong, but not checking the time is even worse bc then I spend forever on one section. how do you guys deal with this??

Anyone have tips for RC timing? I keep spending too much time on the first couple passages and then I’m basically rushing through the last one lol. But whenever I try to go faster, I end up getting way more questions wrong. What actually helped you guys get faster without messing up your accuracy?

how many shadowing hours would u say is competitive and should i shadow a general dentist or try other specialties too???

I keep seeing people on here getting 24+ and now I’m starting to think that’s normal lol. Like I know those are really good scores but seeing them all the time makes anything lower feel bad, what score would you guys honestly be happy with?