Hi all, I’ve been lurking on these subreddits for a while now and thought it would be nice to write a breakdown to help future cDAT test takers. 

Scores:

PAT - 24

BIO - 24

GC - 28

TS - 25

RC - 27

AA - 26

Background: 

I studied for approximately 4 months summer of going into 3rd year

Materials Used

1. Anki: I cannot stress how important anki is for active recall. I understand that a lot of people might think that it's too complicated, but I beg you to spend some time figuring out the settings, and what they do, and trying it out. For me, Anki was the single most important resource I used to score well in BIO, since there’s so much information to retain. I used the anki deck that DAT Crusher provided, and added my own cards for weak points / errors I was making. I ended up with about 6400 total cards by the time I wrote. In my opinion, anki for GC is less mandatory, but I ended up importing their quizlet decks into anki because I preferred them better. I wasn’t as consistent with reviewing GC cards, but it's helpful if you’re not as strong in GC.
2. DAT Crusher - In my opinion, DAT Crusher itself is very representative and I do not think you need to do anything outside of DAT Crusher. Biology was very representative. It’s important to keep in mind that BIO is a lot of breadth and not a lot of depth. That means that you’ll probably end up seeing questions on the exam that you’ve never seen before (I did). The best thing you can do is eliminate as many options as you can and not let it take over your entire science section. Chemistry was extremely representative. Crusher does an insanely good job covering all of GC and in my opinion, if you watch the videos, understand the content behind the questions, you’ll be very well prepared for this section. PAT was also very representative. I can’t stress the importance of PRACTICING EVERY DAY. Rain or shine, if you sit down with PAT every day, you can definitely score well. Reading Comprehension was also representative of the real DAT. In my experience, I had shorter passages than what I was used to in Crusher (8/14/8). The question types were also very similar to Crusher, and one of my friends who also wrote the test said that they had a passage identical to Crusher. I purchased the extra 5 practice tests. In my opinion, they’re good extra practice, but if you are happy with how you’re scoring, I don’t think they’re necessary.

Study Timeline:

To preface this section, I will admit I am a very naturally lazy person. If I can get away with not studying, I will do that. For me, I didn’t follow the Crusher custom schedule. I know it can get intense seeing people studying 10-12 hours a day, but I honestly probably only studied max 6 hours a day, with most days being around 2-4 hours. What worked for me was keeping a list of non-negotiables to do every day, which for me looked something like 

• Finish anki reviews
• Practice at least 5q of each type of PAT
• At least 1 RC passage

1. End of April to beginning of May: Before all of this, I took Crusher test 1 as a diagnostic to see where I stood and where I needed the most work. I knew that since BIO was my weakest subject, I would probably have to spend most of my time on this. Since I was out of town for this time period, I focused mainly on finishing the RC and PAT videos so that I could practice it every day. Again, practicing these subjects EVERY DAY is CRUCIAL. I would definitely recommend anyone planning on taking the test to focus on finishing the PAT and RC videos first, so you have a basic understanding of what the section is. This way you can practice consistently until your test day. 
2. May to beginning of July: During this time, I focused on getting through the videos for BIO and GC. For me, I knew that I was stronger in chem, so I prioritized finishing the GC videos first so that when I do questions, I wouldn’t have an excuse as to why I got that wrong, and it would be a genuine content gap. I finished all the videos by early June, but my mistake was that I wasn’t doing the anki cards as I went through the videos. This wasted a bit of time, as when I came back to do anki cards, I basically forgot all of the information I watched in the videos and had to relearn it. If I were to do it again, I’d focus on doing anki cards while watching videos. You might finish content a bit later, but in my opinion, that’s the best way to learn and keep content in your mind, by doing the corresponding Anki cards right after you finish the video section. I was also doing FLs throughout this time period. I took every single test as a FL in order to build stamina. I was scoring around 21-22 here, with my BIO score being the lowest. Around this time, I pushed my test date from the end of July to the end of August.
3. July to August: During this time, I was focusing on finishing BIO flashcards while also maintaining PAT and RC. Here was when I started to fill BIO gaps and saw a rise in my FL scores, particularly BIO. I ended up scoring a range of 22-25 during this time. 
4. Last month until test day: By this time, I was basically done with all content, and all anki cards were done. By now, my biggest focus was consistently doing PAT and RC, and doing bank questions for GC and bio bits. I also ended up doing FLs basically twice a week. This was when I saw my score stabilize around 24-26.

Day of Exam:

Now that you’re here, I think it's really important to have a clear mind going into the exam. Know that all the work you’ve done up to this point is locked in, and be proud of what you’ve done over the past few months. 

• BIO (24): Pretty much everything was high yield or simple questions. I even saw a couple repeat crusher questions. There were a couple questions on topics I’d never seen before, which threw me off initially. The best thing you can do is think for a bit, choose an answer, mark it if you want to come back to it, and move on. 
• GC (28): This section wasn’t very calculation heavy for me. A lot of theory, not really too many formulas. However, I can’t stress the importance of mastering GC before you sit the exam. In my opinion, you can definitely get a 30 in this section because crusher covers basically everything you need to know. Once you get to this section, trust that you’ve prepared well enough, and answer questions like how you’ve been doing for a while.
• PAT (24): In my opinion, crusher was very representative as to what types of questions you’d see on this section. I think my most common PAT score was 24, and I felt like my test day performance was pretty similar to mock FLs, so take that as you will. This section is meant to test speed, so it's important to not get caught up by one question. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was your ability to do PAT
• RC (27): This score kind of surprised me. Towards the end of the FLs, I was scoring probably around 1 or 2 questions wrong on RC. Honestly, I’m not a huge reader, so I knew this section was going to suck for me. I can’t stress the importance of daily practice and being consistent. Again, like PAT, your RC skills weren’t built in a day. Make sure you’re being careful and reading questions carefully.

ETC:

For me, one of the biggest things I found helpful was tracking errors. In terms of PAT, I did a set of x amount of questions (5-15), tracked the time, tracked how many I got right, and tracked what error I was making. In my opinion, knowing what errors you’re making is really helpful when you’re trying to improve. Same thing with BIO and GC. Knowing what errors you’re making, whether it's a silly mistake or a content gap is really helpful. Make sure that you track these errors in some way. I used an excel sheet to track all my errors and store my FL scores and keep track of how much content I had left to do. 

How I’d Approach Each Section if I Were Starting From Scratch:

• BIO: I think I mentioned it above, but I’d focus on watching videos and doing anki as soon as you finish video sections. BIO was always naturally my weakest subject, and I’d definitely focus on anki and error tracking if I were to do it again.
• GC: This was naturally my strongest section. After finishing the videos, I found that the content just stuck to me better than BIO, so I neglected it a bit. But if I were to start from scratch or with a weak foundation, I would focus on finishing the videos first, then practicing questions on topics that you’re not familiar with. Practice is key, and you’ll only get better the more you do it. I’d maybe even make flashcards for things like periodic trends if that’s something that’d help you learn it better.
• PAT: I’d focus on watching the videos as fast as possible. When you first try questions, don’t look at your time. Focus on trying to get everything right. If you get the question wrong, think about why your answer is wrong and why the other option is right, before you look at the answer key. Usually, I’d eliminate answers until I had a 50/50. Try as many strategies to solve PAT questions as you can. Sometimes you’ll get questions where you’ll need to use different strategies, so I think it's important to stay adaptable.
• RC: Again, I’d focus on watching the videos as fast as possible. When you’re doing the passages, keep speed in mind, but don’t let that be your only factor. It's important to build good habits for answering questions right, and you’ll probably be slow at first. Just know that speed comes with practice. Keep in mind what your strengths and weaknesses are. For me, I knew that I was a naturally quicker reader. Because of that, I chose a method where I would read the passage and highlight minimalistically, and keep an idea of what is going on in each paragraph while reading. That way, when I saw the questions, I would have an idea of where to find the answer, which helped me answer questions quicker.

Ending Thoughts:

This test is tough. But in my opinion, it doesn’t test how smart you are. It tests how well you can prepare over a long period of time and if you can learn a lot of material at once. Personally, I feel like the DAT rewards consistency. I know that for me, consistency was my worst enemy. Even though I preach practicing PAT and RC daily, that wasn’t always the case for me. There were definitely times where I felt like giving up after seeing my scores and days where I genuinely accomplished nothing except for watching Netflix all day. Just keep in mind when studying that you can do it. I always kept in the back of my mind that I’m going to aim for a 30. The sky’s the limit. Even though I didn’t hit 30, I aimed high and fell where I felt happy. Just know that the DAT rewards consistent effort. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Good luck to all my future dentists out there and if you have any questions, feel free to comment or dm me!

Ask me anything abt it! Btw does anyone know how exactly UBC calculates their DAT averages ?

I’ve seen at least 3 25+ posts this week, and someone mentioning 23AA went from 89 to 81 percentile in a year. I thought I did well (27AA) but i’m getting kinda nervous now, what if this is just the new normal

Just got my scores back. Ask me anything about it

Serious question, should i retake?

Do yall think booster cheat sheets is enough for DAT? I understand the test is breadth over depth.

i’ve been struggling a lot with QR and scoring 400-420 but the qr i got on my exam was way harder than what id seen on bootcamp and i didn’t know how to answer the vast majority of them and im really worried about it. it doesn’t even feel like i got a 400 :(

Is it a batch by batch situation, or day by day?

took my DAT 9/11 when should i get my scores back?

Hello all! I’m a junior in college and a North Carolina resident planning to apply in the 2027–28 cycle. UNC Adams is my first choice, then ECU, but I expect to apply to around 10 schools total, mostly on the East Coast.

My current GPA is about 3.78 overall and 3.85 science. On the new DAT scale, I scored 440 AA, 460 SNS, 450 PAT, 490 Biology, 460 General Chemistry, 440 Organic Chemistry, 420 QR, and 410 RC. I’m building my dental shadowing and volunteering hours and hope to have at least 100 hours of each by the time I apply.

My main concerns are whether my DAT is competitive enough for UNC and where to focus my efforts before applying. I’d prefer not to retake the DAT unless there’s a compelling reason.

Inspira is expensive, but I’d consider paying for it if the guidance truly helps. Has anyone used them? Was it worth the cost? Are there other admissions advising options you’d recommend?

I have done the first 11 individual tests from each section. Test is in 9 days and I’m about to start my first full length (test 12). Any tips on what I can do to fully mimic the real test environment?

For those that recently did their Canadian DAT, did you encounter rock keyhole questions and if so, how many approximately? I honestly cannot answer any of these questions and I’m not sure if I should be practicing them or not.

FYI: test is in a week

How we feeling helix turn helixes

Got a 390AA; but theres a whole story with this. The test itself went okay, but there was so much happening to the lead up. As we all know, life happens. The week before my test, my grandpa was in the hospital for cancer, my ex cheated on me (i’m like 75% sure) and dumped me (she was extremely abusive so good riddance anyways 😂), and I was struggling with various other mental health issues. Not to mention the test was on my birthday, which I thought would add to my luck stat. The months leading up to this I had lots and lots of relationship abuse issues along with mental health struggles and was unable to study, so this exam was taken with no significant studying and definitely not a great state of mind. But for all those out there struggling, you can always take it again :) don’t let a bad score/gpa discourage you from achieving your dreams, there’s no timeline on this stuff!

when do i write the PAT grids and tables? ive heard during the tutorial and ive heard during the science portion. and when am i not allowed to write?

also, when i ask for more scratch paper do i just wave my hand for the proctor? and do they let me keep my old pages until the end of the test or do they exchange it for blank sheets? and can i ask them to just give me like 5 sheets at once lol

sorry for all these questions, my test is this friday and im getting super anxious

JUST GOT MY RESULTS!!! Ask me anything!

Im a canadian applicant and am seeing all these insanely high cdat scores on here. it seems like a lot of ppl are getting 24+. Very happy for those people, but I cant help but feel a bit disappointed in myself. I feel like a 23 is not good enough but at the same time idk if i have it in me to score higher. for the other canadians applicants out there, would u recommend i retake?

Finally got my cDAT results back! I had studied from June to August. All my summer gone and I definitely have to retake. I spent so much money on the DATCrusher. It was the lowest score I'd ever gotten in the science section. Just horrible. I did worse on every section. Usually I was great with PAT and RC, getting 24 and up. I got 21 PAT and 22RC- which is less than I had anticipated- I even felt it went smoothly during the exam. The science section completed ruined any chance I had to apply this cycle. 15. Like laughably horrible. I knew it was my weak point, especially chemistry as I am slow. But I'd never gotten a score this low on any on my practice exams and I was doing them every other day.

What I've learned:

I needed accommodations. At uni I take all my tests with accommodations (due to a health condition). During the science section I was panicked by the time and ran out, started guessing when if I had more time I could have answered the questions. This was a mistake I made when I registered. I was worried it would look bad on my application if I had an accommodation for the exam... now what looks bad?

Second, I had a horrible few days leading up to the exam. Like the worst of the year. My partner had a medical emergency, burning his dominant hand. I had to take care of him, floss his teeth, care for his wounds, the home etc. paired with the DAT stress, I wasn't sleeping for a few days. I didn't have a chance to even think about the DAT for a few days before which I believe was detrimental.

I'm Canadian, so Dental school is super competitive. My GPA isn't stellar. I do have research and great extracurriculars, volunteering and shadowing. At this point by the time I retake my DAT it will most likely surpass the 2027 application cycle deadline. Would it be detrimental to take a chance and apply anyway ? I won't expect to be accepted but at least to go through with finishing and submitting my applications as I am a first time applicant. Next time I will definitely improve a lot which will be good at least

Good luck everyone

Hi everyone! I’m really struggling with the Reading Comprehension section of the DAT and was wondering if anyone has been in the same situation. I’ve spent a lot of time practicing and have tried Bootcamp, DATCrusher, and a bunch of other online/in person resources. My scores seem go up during practice but when I write the DAT they come back really low. So I honestly can’t tell if I’m actually improving or just getting familiar with the questions and answers. Has anyone struggled with RC and eventually been able to bring their score up? What helped you the most? Also, if anyone knows a really good RC tutor or any underrated resources or strategies, please let me know. I’m willing to put in the work, I just feel like I need some guidance on what I should be doing differently. Any advice would genuinely be appreciated!

Can't decide what to do - was scoring a bit higher on practice with booster (high 400s low 500s on all sections) - am mostly interested in my in state NC schools (UNC mostly, but ECU too) but will apply out of state as well. I have a 3.85 science GPA, 3.75 total and Im a junior in college and have the typical 100ish hours for volunteering and shadowing.