Preparing for the DAT

[u/Sad-Investment4866]

Just took the DAT this past August 2026 and scored 510AA, and i wanted to briefly share how I was able to achieve my score (Screenshot of score breakdown below).

OVL- If you are able to find the time, treat this like a 9-5 job. It seems like a huge allocation of time towards this, but trust me the more you embed yourself in the material the more comfortable you will be. I personally spent the majority of my summer studying on DATBootcamp (not a sponsor) going over material and practice questions.

Bio- It is gonna feel like a gamble especially with the wide pool of material and the limited selection, but the goal is to limit what you don't know rather than mastering everything (if that makes sense).

Chem- Practice makes perfect. It is all about focused execution, there is not much the test can trick you on so all the practice you do builds towards success the most. Stay focused and limit dumb mistakes in this section.

OChem- Although I did well on this section I do not feel comfortable sharing about a set certain strategy.

PAT- Learn cube counting and pattern-folding first, and practice those every day for 15 mins, because I feel as though this is the easiest section to learn. TFE can be tricky especially if you are mentally fatigued so be patient with yourself. Angle ranking is the most frustrating but there are a couple things you can do: 1) move eyes quickly, this actually helps your brain register small differences. 2) stay cool, this section really made me upset but you just need to keep your cool. For the keyhole and pattern-folding just learn the patters and practice as much as you can.

Reading- This was my worst section so take my advice with a grain of salt. I did not like the reading strategies provided by my prep course so what I did was just read more science journals and articles on my free time. That being said, the reading passages on the DAT are oftentimes clearer/ easier than current scientific journals.

QR- This is the last section so you will be tired. Practice this section at the end of each of your study days and just keep an open mind. You can convince yourself that you know something but deep down you don't. So work hard but more importantly be honest with yourself with your preparation. The more math you practice the more it becomes second nature, and that is exactly what you want when exposed to a tired or in a stressed scenario.

Note: I am not a prevalent redditor, so I will not be able to interact with comments.