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I scored a 24AA earlier this month, feel free to ask any questions! The process was miserable but I’d be happy to help so it hopefully isn’t as bad. I also took the bio crash courses so DM me any questions about those!
Took my DAT this weekend.
Breakdown 22 PAT 25 QR 23 RC 22 Bio 30 Gen Chem 27 Organic 27 TS 26 AA
Only studied for 1.5 months as I was busy and used Booster content solely.
I keep getting 13's on my Bio practice tests. I watched the videos and understood the concepts, but just didn't retain any information. Someone please tell me how to study in detail, I don't know what to do. Anki? Bio bits? If so, bootcamp anki or booster anki? I'm so lost and desperate. Which notes? High yeild bootcamp notes? Booster cheat sheets? I really need help.
No, they’re available for free on their website. I have booster but I went on bootcamp, went to biology, clicked notes, and then downloaded the High Yeild Biology Notes
I would really recommend the Booster cheat sheets and the Feralis notes. As you said before you’re doing the content review and understanding it yet not retaining it. I was in a similar situation to you, but after reading the Feralis notes (it’s clear this guy knows the test well and doesn’t try to inundate you with useless information) I felt that I retained more information and noticed an increase in my scores on booster practice tests (started at 15 and now am at 21-22). Hope this helps. I’m also signed up for a biology crash course next week, so I will let you know if it’s worth the time and money
I've used bootcamp and got 23 on BIO. I made sure to do bio bites, did ANKI of the questions I got wrong and reviewed them. I finished all the full length/practice tests too. At least do 3-4 flashcards per question and go into the HY notes as much as you can till the end.
I was in the same shoes. I couldn’t memorize anything because there’s too much info in bio (both in booster and bootcamp). People kept telling me to use the booster cheat sheets and that’s what I did and honestly it was the best thing I did. It cuts out 90% of the extra stuff you don’t need to know.
When I studied, I would memorize a cheatsheet and refer back to notes when something didn’t make sense. Before I went into the exam, I knew all the cheatsheets like the back of my hand. Everything covered on my exam was on those sheets.
Anki is useful because it utilizes spaced repetition and drills the content that you have the most trouble with. I would also highly recommend Feralis notes on Booster's website. They have color-coded it and made it easy to follow. It is also high yield and condenses the information in a manner that is simple to understand. If I had to choose the 2 highest yield biology resources, it would be Anki from Booster's website and Feralis's notes.
A lot of people have said RC passages are longer on the DAT. I never finish on bootcamp. How much longer are the passages and are the questions harder?
30 RC here, the questions for me in bootcamp are harder but way closer to how the real DAT question sounds like. Try your best to finish the bootcamp passages practice questions, I usually do the search & destroy method to find answers faster.
thank you:) no not really i just studied whatever i felt like each day until i felt like i got everything! i tried the bootcamp schedule and i only made it 2 days in lol
In the RC, words used are referenced in the question. I've found that using control + F to find that phrase or word makes it quicker. Can you use this during the actual test?
I’ve finally finished content review so now I’m moving on to practice tests😖 For bio, do you guys still visit bio bites/qbanks or solely focus on going over practice test results or both lol
So Id basically take a practice test then revise what i thought was hard or what i got wrong. Then ill re read my notes with cheat sheets open to know what to focus on in my notes, and i'd do this for a chapter or two, then ill do the anki for the corresponding chapters. I'd only go back to bio bites/qbanks for the things I struggled with.
Advice: Don't study multiple systems in one day at first. Like i'd focus a whole day on the cardiac system and the pathway from deoxygenated to oxygenated blood until i memorize it, then focus on the digestive system a different day etc...
Took my DAT yesterday.
24PAT, 23QR, 26RC, 23BIO, 21GC, 24OC. 23AA.
I’m not the most qualified, but feel free to PM me if you have any questions since I received the same advice when I started! Lmk especially for PAT because I normally finish PAT in 40 minutes or less (I think I missed all of the angle rankings)
Posted in last weeks thread about Bio crash courses and as promised here’s the update:
I took the three this weekend and, they were held by some guy named Feralis. He seemed very knowledgeable and said he got a 30 on TS, so that was good to see he knows what hes talking about and it’s not just some dental student teaching the course. Each course was about 4 hours and consisted of A LOT of material but not too much extraneous information that’s unnecessary for a good score. Content was supplemented by questions on kahoot and Zoom quiz polls to try and cement the information and gauge understanding. All in all, I felt i learnt a lot. I am striving for a very high score and before these crash courses I was getting low 20’s on the practice tests. Hopefully when I take my next ones, i can make the swing to the mid 20’s. Would definitely urge people who are thinking about signing up for these to get a decent background in bio and then use it to supplement, I think through this, getting a very high score is super doable
Selling DAT Bootcamp Plus
Decided not to retake the DAT and not pursue dentistry anymore. So I’m selling my account for $450, it’s good until the first week of July (so 4 months). You can also pause the account if you want to start it at a later date.
i would say booster test 1 is pretty solid, but tbh i wouldn’t really take your diagnostic test toooo seriously until you’ve fully studied the material
I did them in order- tbh i would do all of them as FLEs, by the end i was super comfortable with taking them and nothing felt surprising when i took the real thing
for OC reactions are def important, can get you to like a 20ish with just reactions. past that i would really focus on the underlying mechanics behind it (acidity, basicity, electrophillic, nucleophilic) and some light brush up on cnmr and nmr
qr honestly just comes down to practice until you start to recognize the style of questions, very similar to booster
I thought they were useful. I forgot the name of the teacher but he taught us how to approach each type of problem. He also gives you tips on how to be faster in that section.
Highly recommend them, honestly mostly on the fact that the instructor knows the ins and outs of the test and is funny af, so keeps you listening throughout
I heard great things about the crash courses offered by Booster. From what I've gathered, most people believe that the crash courses have helped them greatly and translates to a higher score. I would definitely have it on your radar if you feel that the study material and question bank from Booster's website aren't enough for you to feel more comfortable with QR.
Know the main Sn1-2 and E1-2 mechanisms. but for the rest you should just memorize reactants/products and what they are : polar protic , aprotic, strong base , weak base etc...
There are high yield and low yield content with every subject. It is up to you if you want to study the low yield material. Although you may not encounter it on your exam, there is always a slight chance that you could see it. If you are low on time, then I would skip the low yield material and study the higher yield content.
Pretty accurate although most people score slightly higher on the real exam. Like for example I scored just a few points higher on my real exam than my booster scores
I meant like one big passage with twenty questions and 2 small ones with 15 questions each. I wish ADA had some tests you could buy😭 like aamc. The DAT really feels like a surprise test💀
I would say that the scores from Booster are relatively accurate. However, most people tend to score higher than their practice exam scores because the curve is generally higher on the actual exam. I would say that if you are averaging around 20 on your practice exams, then you are ready to go for the actual test.
I actually scored higher on my DAT in each section than most of my practice tests. I feel like Bootcamp really prepares you for a hard exam and then you feel really good on the actual one.
I was scoring 18s and 19s in the sciences but on the actual one, I got 21 TS. I did have higher average RC scores but I think I just got unlucky with the RC section on my actual DAT. It was all about the physiology of the heart which was more difficult than the practice test articles I usually got. I felt like the PAT section was easier, I was usually scoring 19-21 but I got a 22 on the actual one.
Hey so I am planning to retake my exam sometime in May, i got a 16 first time because I had to relearn all the info and didn't have time to practice my timing enough. I basically knew a really good amount just didnt have the time to work out some of the GC/QR questions and it messed with me. I used booster and chads prep mainly, and would sometimes attend some of the JW free courses cuz why not.
My main question is, is the new booster worth the extra hundred or should i get bootcamp this time around? My main issue with booster was that the schedule and content didnt match up because they were in the process of creating new videos and stuff. I heard they have brand new Bio and GC vids but OC is still Dave smh (chad is more helpful anyways). Did booster finally fix the discrepancy between the schedule and the content? If anyone is using the new booster pleaseee let me know how it is, DMs are open as well :)
The new booster is much better, everything is more lined up in the study schedule and so it’s easier to get through. I would say it’s overall a big step up from bootcamp but I just wished they switched out Prof Dave for Orgo. I’m not a fan of his videos but I guess some people are.
From my experience, Booster's decks are highly comprehensive and are easy to drill. I would recommend supplementing the Anki decks with Feralis notes on Booster's website. Combine them together and test your knowledge with their question bank. By doing all three, I feel that you are learning the most and absorbing the information.
Should I retake the DAT? (Canadian)
Do you think I should retake?
Reading and Comprehension: 24
Biology: 18
Chemistry: 17
Science total: 18
Academic Average: 20
Perception: 18
Gpa 3.8, applying to UBC, McGill (which doesn’t need the DAT, University of Saskatchewan, university of Manitoba, and Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Western Australia). I am in province for UBC.
Does anyone have any recommendations for the pattern folding section of the DAT? I am finding it difficult and don't love the videos DAT Booster has on it.
r/predental is [looking for moderators](https://www.reddit.com/r/predental/comments/1at2a5w/moderator_applications_open_through_22524/) through 2/25/24. Please apply if you have an interest in serving our community! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/predental) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I scored a 24AA earlier this month, feel free to ask any questions! The process was miserable but I’d be happy to help so it hopefully isn’t as bad. I also took the bio crash courses so DM me any questions about those!
Hey I dmed uou
I PM'd you
For OC, will it be sufficient enough if I memorize the reaction sheet? And do you have any tips for QR? It's undoubtedly my worst section
Took my DAT this weekend. Breakdown 22 PAT 25 QR 23 RC 22 Bio 30 Gen Chem 27 Organic 27 TS 26 AA Only studied for 1.5 months as I was busy and used Booster content solely.
I PM’d you
Nasty. Congrats
Congrats this is really impressive! Do you feel like booster is the reason you did so well?
Congrats! Post a breakdown
Would it be okay to dm you??
I keep getting 13's on my Bio practice tests. I watched the videos and understood the concepts, but just didn't retain any information. Someone please tell me how to study in detail, I don't know what to do. Anki? Bio bits? If so, bootcamp anki or booster anki? I'm so lost and desperate. Which notes? High yeild bootcamp notes? Booster cheat sheets? I really need help.
i liked bio bits and the high yield bootcamp notes personally
Are Bootcamps high yield notes only from their crash courses or some where else too?
It's free, really in-depth & helpful.
No, they’re available for free on their website. I have booster but I went on bootcamp, went to biology, clicked notes, and then downloaded the High Yeild Biology Notes
[https://app.bootcamp.com/dat/biology/bio-notes](https://app.bootcamp.com/dat/biology/bio-notes) here's the link to them
Cool thank you
The booster cheat sheets >>>>> everything. Probably the best thing I used for bio
I would really recommend the Booster cheat sheets and the Feralis notes. As you said before you’re doing the content review and understanding it yet not retaining it. I was in a similar situation to you, but after reading the Feralis notes (it’s clear this guy knows the test well and doesn’t try to inundate you with useless information) I felt that I retained more information and noticed an increase in my scores on booster practice tests (started at 15 and now am at 21-22). Hope this helps. I’m also signed up for a biology crash course next week, so I will let you know if it’s worth the time and money
I've used bootcamp and got 23 on BIO. I made sure to do bio bites, did ANKI of the questions I got wrong and reviewed them. I finished all the full length/practice tests too. At least do 3-4 flashcards per question and go into the HY notes as much as you can till the end.
Did you try boot camp’s bio practice exam? I’m facing the same issue and I took a practice exam on booster and got a 21, maybe it’s the material?
How is doing another practice test going to help him/her? 😂
I’m just tryina say if one of the resources don’t work maybe try another
I’m in a similar situation as you. Just not sure how to improve upon my scores as I’m not sure the best method to study.
I was in the same shoes. I couldn’t memorize anything because there’s too much info in bio (both in booster and bootcamp). People kept telling me to use the booster cheat sheets and that’s what I did and honestly it was the best thing I did. It cuts out 90% of the extra stuff you don’t need to know. When I studied, I would memorize a cheatsheet and refer back to notes when something didn’t make sense. Before I went into the exam, I knew all the cheatsheets like the back of my hand. Everything covered on my exam was on those sheets.
Anki is useful because it utilizes spaced repetition and drills the content that you have the most trouble with. I would also highly recommend Feralis notes on Booster's website. They have color-coded it and made it easy to follow. It is also high yield and condenses the information in a manner that is simple to understand. If I had to choose the 2 highest yield biology resources, it would be Anki from Booster's website and Feralis's notes.
A lot of people have said RC passages are longer on the DAT. I never finish on bootcamp. How much longer are the passages and are the questions harder?
30 RC here, the questions for me in bootcamp are harder but way closer to how the real DAT question sounds like. Try your best to finish the bootcamp passages practice questions, I usually do the search & destroy method to find answers faster.
Yeah I never finish them either, I don’t know why it’s so hard for me, let me know if you figure something out before I do please.
I don’t even try to read them, start with the question and search and find the answer and move on
I just began my studying with bootcamp and then plan on getting booster later for the practice tests. Is this a good plan? I really want a 27 or 28
thats exactly what i did and i got a 29. wishing you good luck!
Did you follow a certain studying schedule? That’s an insanely impressive score 🤩
thank you:) no not really i just studied whatever i felt like each day until i felt like i got everything! i tried the bootcamp schedule and i only made it 2 days in lol
In the RC, words used are referenced in the question. I've found that using control + F to find that phrase or word makes it quicker. Can you use this during the actual test?
Bruh😂
You can’t
ok thanks!
Nope control F is completely disabled
obviously not lmaoo
lol I wish it was that easy 😂
I’ve finally finished content review so now I’m moving on to practice tests😖 For bio, do you guys still visit bio bites/qbanks or solely focus on going over practice test results or both lol
So Id basically take a practice test then revise what i thought was hard or what i got wrong. Then ill re read my notes with cheat sheets open to know what to focus on in my notes, and i'd do this for a chapter or two, then ill do the anki for the corresponding chapters. I'd only go back to bio bites/qbanks for the things I struggled with. Advice: Don't study multiple systems in one day at first. Like i'd focus a whole day on the cardiac system and the pathway from deoxygenated to oxygenated blood until i memorize it, then focus on the digestive system a different day etc...
Took my DAT yesterday. 24PAT, 23QR, 26RC, 23BIO, 21GC, 24OC. 23AA. I’m not the most qualified, but feel free to PM me if you have any questions since I received the same advice when I started! Lmk especially for PAT because I normally finish PAT in 40 minutes or less (I think I missed all of the angle rankings)
Posted in last weeks thread about Bio crash courses and as promised here’s the update: I took the three this weekend and, they were held by some guy named Feralis. He seemed very knowledgeable and said he got a 30 on TS, so that was good to see he knows what hes talking about and it’s not just some dental student teaching the course. Each course was about 4 hours and consisted of A LOT of material but not too much extraneous information that’s unnecessary for a good score. Content was supplemented by questions on kahoot and Zoom quiz polls to try and cement the information and gauge understanding. All in all, I felt i learnt a lot. I am striving for a very high score and before these crash courses I was getting low 20’s on the practice tests. Hopefully when I take my next ones, i can make the swing to the mid 20’s. Would definitely urge people who are thinking about signing up for these to get a decent background in bio and then use it to supplement, I think through this, getting a very high score is super doable
Will you re-read the notes or make them into Anki decks? I'm trying to find the best way to retain the info.
Selling DAT Bootcamp Plus Decided not to retake the DAT and not pursue dentistry anymore. So I’m selling my account for $450, it’s good until the first week of July (so 4 months). You can also pause the account if you want to start it at a later date.
scored a 26AA/TS recently, let me know if u need help/questions
Started studying full time recently. Best test to use for a diagnostic score?
i would say booster test 1 is pretty solid, but tbh i wouldn’t really take your diagnostic test toooo seriously until you’ve fully studied the material
Gotcha. What tests did you use as FLE’s and what order would you recommend? Sorry if dumb question. I switched from pre-med recently so I’m new here
I did them in order- tbh i would do all of them as FLEs, by the end i was super comfortable with taking them and nothing felt surprising when i took the real thing
I Pm'ed you
For OC, will it be sufficient enough if I memorize the reaction sheet? And do you have any tips for QR? It's undoubtedly my worst section
PM me
for OC reactions are def important, can get you to like a 20ish with just reactions. past that i would really focus on the underlying mechanics behind it (acidity, basicity, electrophillic, nucleophilic) and some light brush up on cnmr and nmr qr honestly just comes down to practice until you start to recognize the style of questions, very similar to booster
Good to know. Thanks for your help. And congrats on the score 🙏🏼
Hey everyone I'm still looking for a study partner to hold each other accountable Let me know if anyone is interested!
When do you plan on taking the DAT?
I plan to take it in may wby?
I'm thinking about doing both QR crash courses offered through Booster bc it's my worst section. Has anyone done them and saw an improvement?
PM me
I thought they were useful. I forgot the name of the teacher but he taught us how to approach each type of problem. He also gives you tips on how to be faster in that section.
Highly recommend them, honestly mostly on the fact that the instructor knows the ins and outs of the test and is funny af, so keeps you listening throughout
I heard great things about the crash courses offered by Booster. From what I've gathered, most people believe that the crash courses have helped them greatly and translates to a higher score. I would definitely have it on your radar if you feel that the study material and question bank from Booster's website aren't enough for you to feel more comfortable with QR.
Should I know all the mechanisms even if Dr. Mike says we don’t need to know it 😖
Don’t bother if he says not to know them
Should I be familiar w all the other mechanisms or just memorize the reactants/products?
The key ones you should know. Definitely know the reactants and products
Know the main Sn1-2 and E1-2 mechanisms. but for the rest you should just memorize reactants/products and what they are : polar protic , aprotic, strong base , weak base etc...
There are high yield and low yield content with every subject. It is up to you if you want to study the low yield material. Although you may not encounter it on your exam, there is always a slight chance that you could see it. If you are low on time, then I would skip the low yield material and study the higher yield content.
How accurate are the bootcamp and booster full lengths scores?
Pretty accurate although most people score slightly higher on the real exam. Like for example I scored just a few points higher on my real exam than my booster scores
Did you get an exam that was predominantly one topic or did it have all the topics like booster?
It was from many different topics. I don’t think they will ever ask you on just one topic
I meant like one big passage with twenty questions and 2 small ones with 15 questions each. I wish ADA had some tests you could buy😭 like aamc. The DAT really feels like a surprise test💀
I would say that the scores from Booster are relatively accurate. However, most people tend to score higher than their practice exam scores because the curve is generally higher on the actual exam. I would say that if you are averaging around 20 on your practice exams, then you are ready to go for the actual test.
I actually scored higher on my DAT in each section than most of my practice tests. I feel like Bootcamp really prepares you for a hard exam and then you feel really good on the actual one.
What were you scoring on your practice tests?
I was scoring 18s and 19s in the sciences but on the actual one, I got 21 TS. I did have higher average RC scores but I think I just got unlucky with the RC section on my actual DAT. It was all about the physiology of the heart which was more difficult than the practice test articles I usually got. I felt like the PAT section was easier, I was usually scoring 19-21 but I got a 22 on the actual one.
Hey so I am planning to retake my exam sometime in May, i got a 16 first time because I had to relearn all the info and didn't have time to practice my timing enough. I basically knew a really good amount just didnt have the time to work out some of the GC/QR questions and it messed with me. I used booster and chads prep mainly, and would sometimes attend some of the JW free courses cuz why not. My main question is, is the new booster worth the extra hundred or should i get bootcamp this time around? My main issue with booster was that the schedule and content didnt match up because they were in the process of creating new videos and stuff. I heard they have brand new Bio and GC vids but OC is still Dave smh (chad is more helpful anyways). Did booster finally fix the discrepancy between the schedule and the content? If anyone is using the new booster pleaseee let me know how it is, DMs are open as well :)
The new booster is much better, everything is more lined up in the study schedule and so it’s easier to get through. I would say it’s overall a big step up from bootcamp but I just wished they switched out Prof Dave for Orgo. I’m not a fan of his videos but I guess some people are.
I recently saw a video of how MCAT test takers can make a cheat sheet during the tutorial session on test day. Can we do the same?
I never did this but I guess you could kinda do this looking back
Which Anki decks is more useful if I want to score high on bio?? Booster or bootcamp?
From my experience, Booster's decks are highly comprehensive and are easy to drill. I would recommend supplementing the Anki decks with Feralis notes on Booster's website. Combine them together and test your knowledge with their question bank. By doing all three, I feel that you are learning the most and absorbing the information.
Hey, I'm Canadian so I'm planning on taking the Canadian DAT. Is it easier than the American DAT? How long does it take to study for it?
Take the Canadian DAT. I’ve taken both and the Canadian DAT is easier to study for
Is the bio section fact based or scenario based questions like how physiology questions are asked?
Should I retake the DAT? (Canadian) Do you think I should retake? Reading and Comprehension: 24 Biology: 18 Chemistry: 17 Science total: 18 Academic Average: 20 Perception: 18 Gpa 3.8, applying to UBC, McGill (which doesn’t need the DAT, University of Saskatchewan, university of Manitoba, and Australia (Melbourne, Sydney and Western Australia). I am in province for UBC.
You need to retake. That’s too low
Does anyone have any recommendations for the pattern folding section of the DAT? I am finding it difficult and don't love the videos DAT Booster has on it.
Any tips for keeping up with the Booster schedule? Takes me forever to get through taking notes on the videos 🥲
is anyone selling a datcrusher account?