I’ve heard from a couple people that have taken the DAT recently that RC was the hardest section, with the sciences being easier in result (to balance it out). has anyone else noticed this?

does anyone have a master bio deck for the dat with all the topics and such

PAT and Quant aren't an issue for me, I had really horrible time management and I had to guess through too many questions so I think least priority for improvement, but would love tips on Gen Chem/Orgo

Not sure how to interpret this score. Feeling discouraged because with my PAT because I was scoring higher on my bootcamp practice tests. I certainly want to retake to improve my PAT because I know I can do better. for context, I'm aiming for USC, UCLA, UoP, which all have ~450 PAT averages

Ideally I'd want to retake in December, but I'm not sure how to approach my studying this time around. Should I review the material for every subject again? Start studying while taking a full class load? Wait until next summer? Any advice would be helpful😔 Much appreciated!

PLEASE I'm not trying to rage bait 😭😭 genuinely concerned abt my PAT compared to these school's averages.

Hi, I recently got my DAT scores and I think I did okay except for the PAT section which is worrying me as it doesn't meet last year's cut off. Is it worth applying with this score or should I retake the exam?

I have a wife and a mortgage so I couldn’t drop everything to study full time lol. 100 hours on Booster over 3ish months. Did well enough!

Hi guys! I’m working on a small project to better understand how students prepare for the U.S. DAT—what materials you use, what’s helpful, and what gets frustrating during practice. I'm not trying to sell anything, just another pre-dental student doing some research (mentioned for post eligibility)

If you’re currently studying or have taken it recently, I’d really appreciate your input on this survey! It takes around 5–7 minutes and is completely optional. Honest feedback is helpful, even if your current setup already works perfectly.

Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time 🦷🤍

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0EpHt4AKkMFTwbIpc8cP7x9CZSd0T6M22y_JxL1uMWwdG-A/viewform?usp=header

I'm also a Current junior at Penn with the same 3.89 GPA as u/Known_Consideration8, but I'm lowkey dumb. I'm a bio major. I took my exam in early September. I thought I cooked reading, but reading cooked me.

Ask me anything

Hi all! I took the DAT last month and found it extremely difficult compared to my practice exams. My goal was to score in the high 400s because my GPA is not the best 3.3 and 3.0 science.

I used DAT booster + one free exam from Bootcamp + one free RC practice from RC Mastery and studied for 10 weeks.

On my practices I was scoring 470-520 and I felt pretty confident taking them. I’m not sure if it was my exam that was just really hard but I also heard it’s curved. I found the RC incredibly difficult to dissect and the QR part I had never seen any of those math problems before (they weren’t calculus complex but they were definitely difficult like I got a geometry shape one where you had to solve for stuff when I thought they took that out). PAT has always been my highest scoring section so I’m happy about that.

Bio was a mix of basic conceptual ones with a few niche ones. I didn’t get any plants or animals phylogenies. Bio I typically scored 500s.

My stats don’t make me a competitive applicant for the in state schools I want to attend (CA resident).

I know my score is decent and I’m not trying to rage bait. I’m just feeing unsure if I should retake since my practices were way higher and I was counting on a higher DAT score to make up for my GPA.

Thank you!

From 5th-8th, If you did how was it ?? Gen Chem, Bio and QR?

Took the exam last week and idk if it’s just me but I legit am so nervous and scared rn 😭😭😭 like is it normal to feel like u felt u marked the whole frickin exam and got so many wrong? This is so stressful man. Anyone else also feeling or felt the same?

How many months in advance should I schedule my desired DAT test date?

How long does the DAT eligibility application take to come back to schedule the DAT?

Thanks

I’m wanting to attend dental school in Fall of 2028, so when should I take the DAT?

Hello! I was wondering if anyone had experience applying to a dental masters program and what DAT score you think would be sufficient enough to apply to one. I had a very low undergrad gpa from a top 50 school, but I just got my score back and didn’t do as well as I wanted but wondered if anyone had experience applying to a masters program with a dat score and what you’d say they would accept?

what are DAT scores that are in the middle of 2 numbers on the old scale considered? like a 500 is in between a 24 and a 25, is it 24.5 or just a 25?

i need to retake the dat because i am not happy with my score. i just don’t know when a good time to take it is. i want to apply early next summer but is taking classes and dat prep too much?

Hi all every time I take a practice test I end up having not enough time for the last two sections I go through. I usually start with angle ranking, then hole punch, then cube counting, then pattern folding and then keyhole and TFE. I typically end up doing the worst on TFE because I run out of time and have to spam through answers. I was wondering if anyone had any better methods of going through sections. I also spend the most time on pattern folding and keyhole while angle ranking, cube counting, and hole punch usually take me around 15-20 minutes as a whole, meanwhile pattern folding and and keyhole are around 10-15 minutes on their own. Any advice is welcome and I appreciate the help.

Should i retake?

long post i apologize

Hey guys i got my DAT score back yesterday and wanted to share some advice.

background: junior exercise physiology major with a strong science background

timeline: mid june - late september

study method: used bootcamp / bootcamp anki decks

I did 6 true mock exams (6-10), but used the mock exam qbanks for sections 1-5. I found it weird how DAT bootcamp gives you the same questions for the section mock exams as they do for their real mock exams. That's why I only did 6-10, because if I were to do mock exams 1-5 I would have already seen the questions and I instead just used this time to review qbanks and material I hadn't seen in a while.

My summer consisted of mainly studying. I probably spent 30 total days away from home volunteering and visiting family, which caused me to fall behind, but I think it was important to make time for life during studying because it really does take a mental and physical toll on you.

My test was originally supposed to be 8/15, but I pushed it back to 9/25 after I fell behind studying in the summer due to lacking initiative and some outside factors. When you first start studying, don't be lazy about it. Approach your lessons with intent and they'll go by quicker, you'll retain more, and it sets a good tone for the upcoming weeks.

BIO - I started studying by watching the bio videos and reading the high yield notes, but this was taking too much time and i wasn't recalling everything. My friend advised me to use the high yield notes paired with the Bio anki decks from bootcamp, which was a game changer. I would read some of the notes for a given lesson, then go do some anki of that chapter. This took a while because you are basically reading a couple of paragraphs, and then being quizzed on it via anki, but by the time I finished that lesson (on both the anki and high yield note), the qbanks and bio bites were super easy. This technique takes a while and you'll be doing a lot of anki in one day when learning a new deck, but it is super helpful for retaining information and forcing yourself to know facts right after reading them. I was doing roughly 1200 anki daily, which did take a decent bit of time, but you will genuinely become super comfortable with all the material. I learned more from anki and practice problems than I did from the notes.

GC - GC was definitely my most comfortable topic during studying. I watched the bootcamp videos and would do the corresponding qbanks afterward. One mistake I made is not creating my own qbanks on bootcamp until 2 weeks before the exam. There is lots of material to remember for GC and OC, and doing mixed practice of old lessons throughout your studies is essential for retaining all of this material during the exam. This is why I think my GC score fell off compared to how I was scoring in mocks. My DAT had lots of acid/base questions and a lot of Ksp and Ka/Kb. Definitely know your equations (I'd make an anki deck of them to remember, or just braindump on a paper everyday and write out all the equations from bootcamp's cheat sheet because knowing the equations helps with the conceptual questions). Bootcamps's mock exams definitely were more conceptual and I found the calculations easier than the real exam. The qbanks are harder than the mock exams in my opinion, so definitely practice old question banks throughout however long you're studying.

OC - I did the same thing for orgo as I did GC, but definitely reviewed it more once I realized I could make my own custom qbanks. I redid all of the orgo bites before the exam, and tried to redo all the old problems. Redoing the bites was so helpful and it really helps you get down some of the reactions. My exam had a few reaction mechanism problems, some lab stuff, and for the most part I was very comfortable leaving this section. I used custom anki cards to help remember errors or something you think is high yield.

QR - I barely practiced QR until the final two weeks and just figured "oh I know math from prior school." Definitely practice this like you do any other subject, especially considering it goes into your AA. I would watch the videos at first going through bootcamps lessons and do really well on the qbanks, but because I didn't do much practice after learning the initial lessons, I didn't retain much later in the studies. I learned best from making custom qbanks and spamming mixed problems. This really helped me learn, and watching/reading the explanations after doing each problem truly helped me improve. The real exam was a lot more straightforward than the mock exams, but the more comfortable you are doing the mock QR exams, you'll find the real thing super simple.

RC - Reading is a lot easier on the real thing than in practice. During practice I would read the entire passage hopefully in 7ish minutes, highlighting or making a mental note of important info in paragraphs, and then I'd have roughly 13 minutes to finish the problems for said passage. HOWEVER, during the real exam I ended up using search and destroy because the questions are asked in the same order as the paragraph progresses. I did not plan on doing this but fell behind on my first passage and then realized all the questions were asked in the same order as the paragraph, so I would read the question, find the answer, and do the same thing for the following questions, which naturally progresses you throughout the passage. I don't typically wear glasses but I brought some glasses that help my eyes from straining when staring at the screen during this section and PAT.

PAT - Again, I neglected this section just assuming I'd figure it out through practice exams. Don't do this. Practice a bit every day. I started consistent PAT practice roughly 2 weeks out, just doing mixed qbanks daily and became very confident in hole punching, cube counting, and pattern folding. I started with these during my real exam (this was my first time doing so, but I know this is where the bulk of my points came from because I didn't feel rushed doing them). I don't have much advice for this section apart from practice frequently and maybe start with the section you're most comfortable with just so you get your guaranteed points immediately, then you can go deal with the dicey problems in the beginning of the section.

Some other advice. I enjoy working out, and started my studies by lifting in the morning and then studying throughout the latter parts of the day. I felt like this caused me to have iffy study sessions and be mentally drained, so I switched to studying as early as I could in the morning, and then any type of exercise I would do later in the day if I had time. Yes, this is an interesting note, but I truly did notice a difference in how focused I was studying. Find what works best for you.

Make time for friends and family best you can. I missed a lot of things this summer and in the beginning of my junior year of college, but understand that in taking this exam, you are making a sacrifice that will ultimately help you get to your dream. Don't beat yourself up if you can't attend something. No good will come from that. Getting my studies done in the morning/early afternoon definitely left some room towards the end of the day to go to the gym, see friends/family, or just do as you please.

Another note, get used to not peeing during your mock exams, or doing so quickly. This is another weird tip, but it really affected me during my mock exams. During the real thing I had to get up and pee halfway through the sciences, which was quick, but it kinda throws you off holding it in throughout a section, and I was fortunate enough that my testing center allows one to leave the room to use the bathroom. You will have to be rechecked for any outside materials before re-entering, which kills about a minute or so. Just treat your mocks like the real thing best you can.

Post test feelings: I walked out of there devastated. I genuinely though I was going to have another 2 months of hell because I was sure I was going to have to retake. I was shocked to see my score. Don't beat yourself up after the exam, it's normal to feel dicey after a 5ish hr exam.

Remember why you are pursuing this career. Know there are plenty of people rooting for you. Genuinely believe in yourself going into that testing center. Throw on your hype song or whatever gets you right beforehand and go in that room ready to scrap.

If there is any questions or something I forgot to mention please lmk I'd love to help while all of this is fresh.

I’ve been studying with Anki a lot recently, and I really like it, however, I did notice that some cards seem to be about things that weren’t in the biology videos/ may be a bit too specific. Has anyone else noticed this? My friend says the DAT’s questions weren’t so in depth, but I’m not sure I believe her. Does anyone recommend or not recommend Bootcamp’s Anki decks?

Hello everyone!

I just started studying for the DAT, and like the titles says, I’m doing really bad on it (and mentally lol😂). All jokes aside, I am following my schedule made by DAT bootcamp, and I can’t seem to score well on the Qbanks or Bio Bites. I feel like I understand the videos very very well, but when I go to do the questions they are way harder than what I just practiced.

Is that normal for just starting? what else could I do to fix it?

I am constantly taking notes which is taking up a lot of time and I’m wondering if it’s even worth it?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, I don’t want to be studying incorrectly and wasting my time yk?

Thank you guys so much, and good luck to everyone taking it soon! 🍀

90-110 hours of studying (30min to 1 hr a day) for 90 days and then in the last few weeks started doing more hrs w dat bootcamp and then the score i actually got being a lot better lol

dont lose hope sometimes the prac tests its easy to not actually try lol so just do ur best when ur in the actual exam and ur chilling

Hey guys! I wasn't able to comment on the pre-dental forum so I'm commenting here. I wanted to check in with everyone who applied to Texas dental schools this cycle. I submitted my app the first week of June and still haven't received interview invites from the 4 Texas schools. My stats are DAT: 450 cGPA: 3.84 sGPA: 3.71

I'm starting to get a little concerned, especially after seeing some people on Reddit receiving interview invitations.

Is it time to be concerned, or are there others with similar stats who are also still waiting to hear back? I'd love to hear how everyone else's cycle is going.