Ryan Heard nigga is insane he's going to any dental school in the country with that lol doesn't even matter what his fuckin gpa is or how good his application is lmao
@Just another Bird I strive for that laser focus in my life. I truly believe it is partly a genetic advantage to be able to maintain motivation and focus. I, myself, have ADHD which runs in my family unfortunately. Funny enough, even my genetic results show that I have dopamine problems whether that concerns the receptors, transporters or enzymes. I have all the major "bad" repute polymorphisms that you can quickly find talked about online. It sucks and I do not particularly like adderall due to the crash and other negative side effects. It helps and helps a lot though!
Wow, 30 on bio is amazing! I got a 24 on bio and I'm a bio major. TBH though, I didn't study for the bio section of DAT. I agree with most of what you said, but I went in a different direction. Tests and practice questions first, and then studied the areas of less than 100% certainty. Two weeks of prep, I got a 26 AA but only 24 PAT (but was pretty happy with my scores).
Hello Don! Congratulations on your excellent DAT!!!! I'm plan on taking it pretty soon, but I'm a bit overwhelmed already,LOL. How many practice exams did you take before the actual exam?
Trying to decide between the Kaplan self study and the 2017 dat bootcamp guide, any recommendations? Great vid btw, thanks man! Congrats on the crazy scores!
Hi Donny Congratulations on your amazing score! For bio I have been keeping up with DAT Bootcamp, Ferralis and youtube videos, I bought Destroyer with the packet of bio, gchem, o chem and qr, is that the bio packet you used? Also you said something else that helped you with Bio but I couldn't understand!
Hi Astrid, For bio I used cliffnotes 3rd and 4th editions to study the basics, then moved on to destroyer and bootcamp for practice. Went thru them twice, kept index cards for things I got wrong, and made sure the questions I got right I was 110% sure. I also read some parts of the Feralis notes and watched several videos of AKlectures on youtube based on where I thought I was weaker in. Also did the ADA 2009, the one free test from DAT genius, and the bio tests of the DAT Qvault. Repetition, and breadth is my best advice. Good luck!
Thank you so much Donny! I hope you are in Dental school by now and may you exceed in all your studies and become a great Dentist!!!! May God keep blessing you! Sincerely, Astrid!
yea thanks a lot man! i will definitely use that method because I'm kind of like you; better at math, and worse at reading. So I do need to practice that stuff. Also, I totally agree with you that we all put a ton of effort into the sciences and tend to "blow off" the math. Gonna try to not do that this time. also, I was just wondering, about how many Scientific American articles did you read each day? And would you time yourself for each one? I just started reading them today, and they're actually kind of interesting lol
Donny Keemz got ya. Thanks again bro. Good luck during your application cycle. I'm pretty sure like every dental school in the world is dying to have you.
Great video man. I was just wondering how often did you study? like daily or every other day etc. And was the DAT destroyer really helpful for general chem and biology? thanks man.
This is Donny Keemz. (My second account). I studied everyday for 10 weeks. I took breaks here and there but I studied at least 5-6 days a week. DAT destroyer is helpful for all of the sciences and is a MUST if you plan on getting 21+
Hello @DDS_Don. We at FutureDDS put together a collection of our favorite DAT tips, and we chose to use a snippet of your video. Wanted to say thank you for the advice which has helped us and hopefully will help many more in the future. We provided a link to your original content in our description so people can watch the full version here. Thanks again, if you have a moment to take a look, please let us know what you think! Here is a link to the video: ua-cam.com/video/O3a218OphOA/v-deo.html
Hi guys, thanks for putting this together! This will surely considerably expand access to DAT tips for students. I will recommend this video to the pre-dental society at my university. Keep up the good work you guys are doing on the channel.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the video. You crushed it in on the DAT, thought it would be great to keep spreading the wisdom. Thanks for the support, we'll definitely continue putting out helpful content!
Did you get a full ride to dental school for having such a high score on the DAT? Or any scholarships? That's what an advisor told me, I was wondering if it is true
Haha I did not, I don't think scholarships are based solely on DAT scores. Believe it or not, there are a couple of people in my class who scored higher than me, and they didn't get it either. I don't think dental schools give full rides. I think it also depends on heavily on whether they feel that your personality / values matches theirs.
Thank you for your video. I noticed that you took your DAT in July. Did you apply for that year? or the year after? I am taking my DAT in June and I am not sure if that's too late for this year's round.
Hi Robin. I applied the year after for the 2018 cycle. Taking the DAT in May at the latest is Ideal, but taking it in June certainly doesn't mean you're doomed either. I assume your application will be sent out sometime in late July or early August in that case, and that's not late, as interviews begin end of August or early September. I believe you can submit your application without your official DAT scores, so do that and send your unofficial scores to schools that accept them. Kill the DAT and you should ok! Good luck
congrats on the amazing scores!!! question on studying for bio- did you rewrite the notes when you were going over the material (for cliffs/feralis) or just read over it? I'm having a hard time getting the info to stick lol
Hi Karen, Thanks. I summarized cliff notes as I went through it, and just read over Feralis notes more as like an encyclopedia-like reference. You can memorize everything on Feralis, which will probably prepare you for anything, but that’s also a huge amount of time lost in solving problems. Also its boring. So I advise you to read it carefully and come back to it when you need knowledge supplementation on specific topics, but don’t take notes on the entire thing bc it its going to be an inefficient use of time. Best way for things to stick requires three key things imo: 1. Associations 2. Repetition 3. Active recall. Associations as in you don’t just straight memorize anything but understand the concept and rationalize in some way. Repetition as in probably read your notes a few times and run through DAT books at least twice. And always try to actively recall long concepts out of pure memory. That forces your brain to create new synapses and its probably the best way for things to stick. I like to write out entire chapters ona white board before an exam. Hope this helps -Don
So helpful!! When studying for biology, did you rewrite the notes from the books or type? Or just simply skin? I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to study bio from AP cliffs biology without wasting my time! Thanks!
Hi! I just wrote them by hand on index cards. But I didn't just copy the question and answer always. I sometimes wrote more about the topic if I needed. So say if the question I got wrong was a question arthropods, but this question made me realize I wasn't strong in other phyla as well, such as echinoderms, nematodes, and molluscs. I would make my own question around these and make an index card or two. But at the end of the day, it really depends on which method works the best for you. hope that helped!
Thanks for replying! But I mean for the actual content before the "practice quizzes" of each chapter. In the book I have, there is 10-20 pages of content and then there's a small review quiz after each section. Do you mean that you composed your own questions from the content itself and made them into flash cards? I'm going into my third year and still struggle with efficient study techniques and plan on writing the DAT in November!
oh I see! my bad haha. In terms of just the notes I took on bio, I basically summarized AP cliff notes onto a notebook. I would read and study a page or two carefully, and then try my best to recall them onto notebook. And the flash cards were only used for questions I got wrong. Techniques are important, but active recall + lots of repetition are 10x more important in mastering any material. its awesome that you are already thinking about the DAT after second year, so you're already ahead of the game than I was. good luck! let me know if you have any other questions!
Ahh thanks so much for the help! I'm really scared to take it and I'm afraid my gpa isn't high enough right now, but I'm still going to try my best! Congrats on your DAT scores they are amazing, and I will definitely let you know if I have other questions!!
Hi Don, I have a question. when you studied for the bio, you said you used Cliff's note. Did you use Cliff note - Biology - Quick Review or APBiology ?
Hey man, I'm really struggling with non-parallel obtuse angles, what are your tricks for those angles? I know everyone is a bit different , but any tips would be really helpful!
This is probably not going to be super helpful, but what I usually do is just place a card over the angles to make 180 degrees, and see the acute portion of it and compare that instead of the obtuse angles
Hi Donny! I am struggling with organic chemistry and using Chad's + Destroyer. What is your advice on understanding/memorizing organic chemistry reactions? The reactions are not sticking to my memory.
Well orgo is the study of electrons, so I suggest trying to reason through why the electrons move in such ways as you take notes on the rxns. And know when each rxns might be useful. But most importantly, practice a lot and it will eventually stick!
Hi Chloe. I think early August is THE LATEST you should take if you really want to have a decent shot. But that said, ideally you want to take it before July as it takes several weeks for the DAT to be processed through AADSAS and reach the schools. You take it in August, the schools might get your score September, or even October. Last thing you want is spots filling up to the full before they get your DAT score.
Donny Keemz Not really. But I did well enough to get into mediocre schools like Howard, Meharry, Lecom and temple. I know some people who got in off pure grades alone. However, I had to do extra curricular and supplemental things to be competitive along with my average scores. The perceptual ability part is ridiculous but I can understand how it relates to dentistry. It can be a very important manual dexterity skill to have. The reading, English and math was pretty much on the level of a GRE or SAT Test. The math was pretty much all trigonometry/PreCalculus stuff (COS, etc). With this guys scores, he would have no problem getting into ivy league dental schools like Harvard.
Hey Don, I'm not sure if you'll reply because this video is super old, but as I'm getting ready to prepare to take the DAT this summer, I realized that DAT Bootcamp is now $500 for 3 months. Do you think it's still worth it, or would you recommend that I find other resources? I'm working with Destroyer, Chad's, Feralis, and PATBooster as of now but I'm worried because it seems like everyones breakdown includes DAT bootcamp...
Bootcamp is pretty good right now, it provides a lot of good content esp the PAT generator. The exams are pretty predictive. I would not say it is a "must" to get 21AA+ if you have other study materials. But a lot of people just use bootcamp only because it has pretty much everything you need now. It's become the "goto" I think mostly because of convenience.
Hey! I'm 2 weeks away from my exam. 1st time DAT taker , you have any tips for what to approach/focus on 2 weeks prior to score well? my pat isn't that great just because I tend to spend too much time on keyhole and tfe. but I'm working on that. I strive for your score , amazing job and congrats!!
Hi Sarah, focus on filling in your weaknesses, as you have mentioned like PAT. Keep doing the practice tests as well. And the day before, rest. Good luck I'm sure you will do great :)
@@DDSDon Thanks! would u say Bootcamp is somewhat predictive of the actual Bio section? I was averaging well on the first few exams then it went down. But I know my stuff pretty well, the questions seem too "detailed" and thats making me anxious
@@Sarahh_ don't worry if you average well most of the time, just be sure to study the wrong answers really well. Study that topic again if you feel not confident of that topic. Hardest thing to do is keeping positive but you have to be positive! good luck
Did you do anything else while study? This summer I need to catch up on my shadowing but I am also studying for the test, I'm just wondering what you did if you don't mind
Hi! I actually only focused on the DAT. I think its doable, but I would say just make sure that your primary focus should be on the DAT, and shadow during times when you don't study. Know when you study the best and avoid those times for shadowing. (maybe its night, or maybe its the morning + day for you) I see that you have some catching up to do with shadowing, but make sure not to overwhelm yourself. The last thing you want is doing poorly on both. But I think shadowing while you are studying for the DAT is perfectly fine, as I have seen people do it and still do well on the DAT. Cheers!!
Yeap I had this small white board thing the testing center gave out with an erasable marker. If not, you can always just use your finger or pen I guess!
I tried to study at least 4+ hours a day. Usually 6 days a week. Less on weekends but didn't do a 5 day study + weekend break schedule. But my schedule revolved more around how much I planned to get done each day. It depends on what you like and how long you plan to study.
Hmm I wasn't aware of that. If they don't let you, then just hover the card over the screen instead of actually touching the screen? You just have to be able to compare 2 angles at a time.
Hi so ive been practicing the PAT section on bootcamp and I keep going over time. Do u have any suggestions? Im good at cubes and holes but the rest are slower
I went over time in the beginning stages as well. Like I said, practice each section separately using the generators, develop your own tricks and techniques to approach different cases in each section of the PAT, at first untimed and analyze. Once you find the techniques you prefer, start timing yourself on the generators and really be pacey. Skip the question and move onto next if you have to spend over a minute on one. Come back to it at the end if you have time. But if you start timing yourself in the beginning, you will never really have that chance to learn and develop techniques that work best for you. Best wishes!
I studied for about 11 weeks. But after about 8 weeks I felt I was ready to take it and 11 weeks seemed a little too much. I would recommend 10 weeks in general if you want to do 22+, but it really depends on how much you study each week and what kind of score you are going for.
I went through them 2 times. First time I average probably ~22/23. Started out as 19, and slowly progressed to 23s towards the end. Second time going through them I averaged ~25. I think it is pretty indicative, except for the "rock" keyhole questions. I have never seen them before anywhere. But I think bootcamp prepares you the best b/c of the infinite amount of practice you can get with the generators, and practice is the only way to get better at PAT.
I read Scientific American, but honestly any science articles that are catered to an audience comprised of everyday people should be relevant practice! But in terms of actual RC tests, you would have to buy them. I am not aware of any websites that give out free DAT RC tests. You could try SAT, GRE, or MCAT RC tests as well if you can find them. They can only help.
Donny I have a question. I'm not sure if I could message you on youtube, so I'm commenting. For the biology part of the test what do you think was more helpful the feralis notes or reading cliff bio notes? Also I know going over the dat bootcamp quizzes is another resource. What do you think was the most helpful for doing well on the Bio part of the test.
So I think all three are pretty necessary if you aim to score 21+, I wouldn't say cherry pick one or two. I think how you use them is the real question. Cliff Bio 3rd edition is a great start for studying the bio section as it gives you a fairly in-depth overview of general biology, and covers a great deal of what is on the DAT. But obviously cliff alone will not be enough, as the Bio section covers a huge spectrum of topics. But it will give you a solid foundation. I ran thru cliffs twice. (4th edition 2x + taxonomy & plants from 3rd edition 1x). Made my own summary of the entire book on a notebook. If you are aiming for at least 22+, I would say get destroyer and do it after cliffs, and run thru that 2x while making index cards for wrong answers. If not, it is fine to just move onto bootcamp from here, run thru it 2x, while making index cards. Feralis notes was just kind of at the background for reference when I needed supplementation in areas I thought I was weak in. It has a TON of info. You can memorize it all, but its probably impossible and unnecessary. Remember, the more topics you cover (and less so the depth of each topic), the better chance you have at cracking the DAT bio section. You just need to be familiar many things. But you don't need to be an expert. Good luck!
If you plan on getting 21+ I suggest getting bootcamp + cliff notes + Feralis + Chad's at the very least. But if you're aiming for like 23+ more the better, and definitely destroyer and more than 1 bio sources.
That is a very broad question! Here is my breakdown in the hopes that it will answer your question: forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-don-26-aa-28-ts-27-pat.1214351/
Hi Amy, I studied roughly 4-5 hours a day on average, but I usually studied 7 days a week. Some days I studied 3 hours. Some days 6. But it really is going to depend on how fast you tend to study yourself and how long you intend on studying. Hope this helps!
Hi! I have them listed in my breakdown along with my opinions on them: forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-don-26-aa-28-ts-27-pat.1214351/. But here they are: Materials used: 1) Chad's videos. 2) Destroyer 2016 (+ Math Destroyer) 3) Bootcamp 4) Feralis: 5) Cliff's 4th edition (book), and 3rd edition (pdf): 6) Qvault Bio: 7) Kaplan Blue Book: Only used it for the full test. The content on this is pretty basic, and should be used only as a starter, if at all. 8) DAT genius (the first free full test) 9) 2009 ADA test
26 on the DAT are you even human bro? you're a monster I can only dream to get that
coldblooded47
yea. only Asians get scores like that.
Ryan Heard nigga is insane he's going to any dental school in the country with that lol doesn't even matter what his fuckin gpa is or how good his application is lmao
not true. If that was everything, DAT averages for schools will not have stayed around 18-20 for decades or longer.
My son is a white male and he just got a 27.
@Just another Bird I strive for that laser focus in my life. I truly believe it is partly a genetic advantage to be able to maintain motivation and focus. I, myself, have ADHD which runs in my family unfortunately. Funny enough, even my genetic results show that I have dopamine problems whether that concerns the receptors, transporters or enzymes. I have all the major "bad" repute polymorphisms that you can quickly find talked about online. It sucks and I do not particularly like adderall due to the crash and other negative side effects. It helps and helps a lot though!
Wow, 30 on bio is amazing! I got a 24 on bio and I'm a bio major. TBH though, I didn't study for the bio section of DAT. I agree with most of what you said, but I went in a different direction. Tests and practice questions first, and then studied the areas of less than 100% certainty. Two weeks of prep, I got a 26 AA but only 24 PAT (but was pretty happy with my scores).
CuspofCarabelli
he's Asian. I did well to but not like that. I did well enough to get into Temple and Howard
hey! I asked you few questions several days ago and I took my DAT today. I got AA 26, TS27. Thank you for your advice :)
Amazing, welcome to the club. Congratulations!
Wow awesome! What materials did you use to study?
Awesome video! Your advice with the advice of many helped me get a 25 total science! Thanks a lot!
Amazing, congratulations Caleb!!
Dude it's crazy I found this video. I remember reading ur sdn post and I took the DATa few week after u. Again great Job!!
OMG HI DON Wasn't expecting to find this video lol you rock!
A random nursing student who is curious about DAT floats by.
SAME I AM ONE OF THEM TOO
30 on bio!! u killin it! whats ur gpa on the AASDAD?
You are an inspiration, please dont stop posting!!!!
This was amazingly helpful, thank you!
thanks for the video and congrats on your score, excellent!
Hello Don! Congratulations on your excellent DAT!!!! I'm plan on taking it pretty soon, but I'm a bit overwhelmed already,LOL. How many practice exams did you take before the actual exam?
Hi Sura. Other than bootcamp, I took the 2007 ADA, and a full test from Barrons. Good luck on your test!
@@DDSDon Thank you :)!!
Trying to decide between the Kaplan self study and the 2017 dat bootcamp guide, any recommendations? Great vid btw, thanks man! Congrats on the crazy scores!
I haven't used Kaplan so I won't know. But I followed the bootcamp guide, but not exactly, just somethings here and there. Bootcamp is very solid imo
Don Kim thanks man. Appreciate it! The only thing I worry about is the pat, how often did you do the generators?
I tried to do some almost everyday. Usually focusing on which section was weakest if I took a test that day.
Thanks!
Hi Donny Congratulations on your amazing score! For bio I have been keeping up with DAT Bootcamp, Ferralis and youtube videos, I bought Destroyer with the packet of bio, gchem, o chem and qr, is that the bio packet you used? Also you said something else that helped you with Bio but I couldn't understand!
Hi Astrid,
For bio I used cliffnotes 3rd and 4th editions to study the basics, then moved on to destroyer and bootcamp for practice. Went thru them twice, kept index cards for things I got wrong, and made sure the questions I got right I was 110% sure. I also read some parts of the Feralis notes and watched several videos of AKlectures on youtube based on where I thought I was weaker in. Also did the ADA 2009, the one free test from DAT genius, and the bio tests of the DAT Qvault. Repetition, and breadth is my best advice. Good luck!
Thank you so much Donny! I hope you are in Dental school by now and may you exceed in all your studies and become a great Dentist!!!! May God keep blessing you!
Sincerely, Astrid!
What a legend
awesome video man! thanks for that. and when I heard u got a 30 on bio, my jaw hit the floor. lol, excellent work bro
did you use any specific resource for the RC? besides the scientific american website.
Hey thanks! I did one SAT critical reading test, and did the bootcamp RC tests twice. For me mapping method worked the best. Hope that helps!
yea thanks a lot man! i will definitely use that method because I'm kind of like you; better at math, and worse at reading. So I do need to practice that stuff. Also, I totally agree with you that we all put a ton of effort into the sciences and tend to "blow off" the math. Gonna try to not do that this time. also, I was just wondering, about how many Scientific American articles did you read each day? And would you time yourself for each one? I just started reading them today, and they're actually kind of interesting lol
Haha I didn't do them everyday. If I do, one a day. So its great that you find them interesting!
Donny Keemz got ya. Thanks again bro. Good luck during your application cycle. I'm pretty sure like every dental school in the world is dying to have you.
Do you mind explaining you techniques for PAT? If you remember lol
Thank youuuu!!
Great video man. I was just wondering how often did you study? like daily or every other day etc. And was the DAT destroyer really helpful for general chem and biology? thanks man.
This is Donny Keemz. (My second account). I studied everyday for 10 weeks. I took breaks here and there but I studied at least 5-6 days a week. DAT destroyer is helpful for all of the sciences and is a MUST if you plan on getting 21+
Hello @DDS_Don. We at FutureDDS put together a collection of our favorite DAT tips, and we chose to use a snippet of your video. Wanted to say thank you for the advice which has helped us and hopefully will help many more in the future.
We provided a link to your original content in our description so people can watch the full version here. Thanks again, if you have a moment to take a look, please let us know what you think!
Here is a link to the video: ua-cam.com/video/O3a218OphOA/v-deo.html
Hi guys, thanks for putting this together! This will surely considerably expand access to DAT tips for students. I will recommend this video to the pre-dental society at my university. Keep up the good work you guys are doing on the channel.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the video. You crushed it in on the DAT, thought it would be great to keep spreading the wisdom. Thanks for the support, we'll definitely continue putting out helpful content!
Did you get a full ride to dental school for having such a high score on the DAT? Or any scholarships? That's what an advisor told me, I was wondering if it is true
Haha I did not, I don't think scholarships are based solely on DAT scores. Believe it or not, there are a couple of people in my class who scored higher than me, and they didn't get it either. I don't think dental schools give full rides. I think it also depends on heavily on whether they feel that your personality / values matches theirs.
Thank you for your video. I noticed that you took your DAT in July. Did you apply for that year? or the year after? I am taking my DAT in June and I am not sure if that's too late for this year's round.
Hi Robin. I applied the year after for the 2018 cycle. Taking the DAT in May at the latest is Ideal, but taking it in June certainly doesn't mean you're doomed either. I assume your application will be sent out sometime in late July or early August in that case, and that's not late, as interviews begin end of August or early September. I believe you can submit your application without your official DAT scores, so do that and send your unofficial scores to schools that accept them. Kill the DAT and you should ok! Good luck
thank you for your reply :) If you have to pick 2-3 books for bio which one would you pick?
Cliffs 3rd ed., Destroyer, Campbell bio. Would also pick bootcamp and Feralis but they are technically not books I guess haha
congrats on the amazing scores!!! question on studying for bio- did you rewrite the notes when you were going over the material (for cliffs/feralis) or just read over it? I'm having a hard time getting the info to stick lol
Hi Karen,
Thanks. I summarized cliff notes as I went through it, and just read over Feralis notes more as like an encyclopedia-like reference. You can memorize everything on Feralis, which will probably prepare you for anything, but that’s also a huge amount of time lost in solving problems. Also its boring. So I advise you to read it carefully and come back to it when you need knowledge supplementation on specific topics, but don’t take notes on the entire thing bc it its going to be an inefficient use of time. Best way for things to stick requires three key things imo: 1. Associations 2. Repetition 3. Active recall. Associations as in you don’t just straight memorize anything but understand the concept and rationalize in some way. Repetition as in probably read your notes a few times and run through DAT books at least twice. And always try to actively recall long concepts out of pure memory. That forces your brain to create new synapses and its probably the best way for things to stick. I like to write out entire chapters ona white board before an exam.
Hope this helps
-Don
Sweeeet this helped so much thank you thank you thank you!!!!
What do you say at the very end ? Rally's notes? Valley's notes?
"Chad's videos, Destroyer, _____ Notes, Bootcamp... I think those 4 are essential"
Feralis notes. But I believe there is also a comparable biology notes from Bootcamp now.
So helpful!! When studying for biology, did you rewrite the notes from the books or type? Or just simply skin? I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to study bio from AP cliffs biology without wasting my time! Thanks!
Hi!
I just wrote them by hand on index cards. But I didn't just copy the question and answer always. I sometimes wrote more about the topic if I needed. So say if the question I got wrong was a question arthropods, but this question made me realize I wasn't strong in other phyla as well, such as echinoderms, nematodes, and molluscs. I would make my own question around these and make an index card or two. But at the end of the day, it really depends on which method works the best for you.
hope that helped!
Thanks for replying! But I mean for the actual content before the "practice quizzes" of each chapter. In the book I have, there is 10-20 pages of content and then there's a small review quiz after each section. Do you mean that you composed your own questions from the content itself and made them into flash cards? I'm going into my third year and still struggle with efficient study techniques and plan on writing the DAT in November!
oh I see! my bad haha. In terms of just the notes I took on bio, I basically summarized AP cliff notes onto a notebook. I would read and study a page or two carefully, and then try my best to recall them onto notebook. And the flash cards were only used for questions I got wrong. Techniques are important, but active recall + lots of repetition are 10x more important in mastering any material.
its awesome that you are already thinking about the DAT after second year, so you're already ahead of the game than I was. good luck! let me know if you have any other questions!
Ahh thanks so much for the help! I'm really scared to take it and I'm afraid my gpa isn't high enough right now, but I'm still going to try my best! Congrats on your DAT scores they are amazing, and I will definitely let you know if I have other questions!!
Hi Don, I have a question. when you studied for the bio, you said you used Cliff's note. Did you use Cliff note - Biology - Quick Review or APBiology ?
AP bio! But I think this one doesn't cover taxonomy very well
HAHA I love how you recommended to speed up the video, you’re hilarious man 😂
Can you please share your angle ranking techniques?
Hmm a lot of them are kind of hard to explain,,, but I'll see what I can do when I find the time!
thank you! :) I just find it hard to compare angles at random positions...
I'd say its best if you go with your gut feelings
Hey man, I'm really struggling with non-parallel obtuse angles, what are your tricks for those angles? I know everyone is a bit different , but any tips would be really helpful!
This is probably not going to be super helpful, but what I usually do is just place a card over the angles to make 180 degrees, and see the acute portion of it and compare that instead of the obtuse angles
@@donghyunkim3123 are we allowed to do that during the test? I thought we can’t really touch the screen or use anything for references. Thanks!
is there an age limit to take the test.. I have already finished dental.school.. I think to work in usa I need to re take dental school.:/
No age limit. You're good
Hi Donny! I am struggling with organic chemistry and using Chad's + Destroyer. What is your advice on understanding/memorizing organic chemistry reactions? The reactions are not sticking to my memory.
Well orgo is the study of electrons, so I suggest trying to reason through why the electrons move in such ways as you take notes on the rxns. And know when each rxns might be useful. But most importantly, practice a lot and it will eventually stick!
Thanks for this advice! What's the latest you would say we can take the DAT to apply for this cycle?
Hi Chloe. I think early August is THE LATEST you should take if you really want to have a decent shot. But that said, ideally you want to take it before July as it takes several weeks for the DAT to be processed through AADSAS and reach the schools. You take it in August, the schools might get your score September, or even October. Last thing you want is spots filling up to the full before they get your DAT score.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
That test was so easy. The only part that got me was the 3D objects part.
Cool! Sounds like you killed the DAT :)
Donny Keemz
Not really. But I did well enough to get into mediocre schools like Howard, Meharry, Lecom and temple. I know some people who got in off pure grades alone. However, I had to do extra curricular and supplemental things to be competitive along with my average scores. The perceptual ability part is ridiculous but I can understand how it relates to dentistry. It can be a very important manual dexterity skill to have. The reading, English and math was pretty much on the level of a GRE or SAT Test. The math was pretty much all trigonometry/PreCalculus stuff (COS, etc). With this guys scores, he would have no problem getting into ivy league dental schools like Harvard.
@@peaceful4you408 is meharry really a mediocre
im hoping to get in that one specifically
Hey Don, I'm not sure if you'll reply because this video is super old, but as I'm getting ready to prepare to take the DAT this summer, I realized that DAT Bootcamp is now $500 for 3 months. Do you think it's still worth it, or would you recommend that I find other resources? I'm working with Destroyer, Chad's, Feralis, and PATBooster as of now but I'm worried because it seems like everyones breakdown includes DAT bootcamp...
Bootcamp is pretty good right now, it provides a lot of good content esp the PAT generator. The exams are pretty predictive. I would not say it is a "must" to get 21AA+ if you have other study materials. But a lot of people just use bootcamp only because it has pretty much everything you need now. It's become the "goto" I think mostly because of convenience.
Hey! I'm 2 weeks away from my exam. 1st time DAT taker , you have any tips for what to approach/focus on 2 weeks prior to score well? my pat isn't that great just because I tend to spend too much time on keyhole and tfe. but I'm working on that. I strive for your score , amazing job and congrats!!
Hi Sarah, focus on filling in your weaknesses, as you have mentioned like PAT. Keep doing the practice tests as well. And the day before, rest. Good luck I'm sure you will do great :)
@@DDSDon Thanks! would u say Bootcamp is somewhat predictive of the actual Bio section? I was averaging well on the first few exams then it went down. But I know my stuff pretty well, the questions seem too "detailed" and thats making me anxious
@@Sarahh_ don't worry if you average well most of the time, just be sure to study the wrong answers really well. Study that topic again if you feel not confident of that topic. Hardest thing to do is keeping positive but you have to be positive! good luck
@@DDSDon you're right! thanks for the advice :-)
Did you do anything else while study? This summer I need to catch up on my shadowing but I am also studying for the test, I'm just wondering what you did if you don't mind
Hi! I actually only focused on the DAT. I think its doable, but I would say just make sure that your primary focus should be on the DAT, and shadow during times when you don't study. Know when you study the best and avoid those times for shadowing. (maybe its night, or maybe its the morning + day for you) I see that you have some catching up to do with shadowing, but make sure not to overwhelm yourself. The last thing you want is doing poorly on both. But I think shadowing while you are studying for the DAT is perfectly fine, as I have seen people do it and still do well on the DAT.
Cheers!!
You said that you used a card to cover for some angle ranking problems. Were you able to do that on the exam day?
Yeap I had this small white board thing the testing center gave out with an erasable marker. If not, you can always just use your finger or pen I guess!
Hey man, appreciate the video, did you study for a set amount of time each day? If so how did you schedule it?
I tried to study at least 4+ hours a day. Usually 6 days a week. Less on weekends but didn't do a 5 day study + weekend break schedule. But my schedule revolved more around how much I planned to get done each day. It depends on what you like and how long you plan to study.
When you say you hold a card up you don't put it to the screen do you? I thought you weren't allowed to touch the screen?
Hmm I wasn't aware of that. If they don't let you, then just hover the card over the screen instead of actually touching the screen? You just have to be able to compare 2 angles at a time.
Hi did you write the canadian or the american dat?
American!
does the prerequisite classes has to be taken in a certain year to get accepted into dental school?
You just have to finish them prior to sending your official transcripts to AADSAS. You can take them any year!
Hi so ive been practicing the PAT section on bootcamp and I keep going over time. Do u have any suggestions? Im good at cubes and holes but the rest are slower
I went over time in the beginning stages as well. Like I said, practice each section separately using the generators, develop your own tricks and techniques to approach different cases in each section of the PAT, at first untimed and analyze. Once you find the techniques you prefer, start timing yourself on the generators and really be pacey. Skip the question and move onto next if you have to spend over a minute on one. Come back to it at the end if you have time. But if you start timing yourself in the beginning, you will never really have that chance to learn and develop techniques that work best for you. Best wishes!
On DAT Destroyer for Orgo and Gen Chem, what did you do to go over practice questions you got wrong?
I also wrote them on index cards, and referred back to my summary notes when needed!
@@DDSDon Sounds good! I'm starting destroyer in two days. Wish me luck!
DDS_ Don update. I got a 21AA. Not bad I guess.
@@DDSDon update I’ll be entering dental school this fall. Thanks a lot Don!
What did you say to use for gen chem and bio on UA-cam?
AK Lectures. The guy is a really good lecturer
Hi Donny!! How many weeks or months does it take for you to prepare for the DAT??
I studied for about 11 weeks. But after about 8 weeks I felt I was ready to take it and 11 weeks seemed a little too much. I would recommend 10 weeks in general if you want to do 22+, but it really depends on how much you study each week and what kind of score you are going for.
thanks man
what was your average on Bootcamp like for PAT? Do you think it's indicative?
I went through them 2 times. First time I average probably ~22/23. Started out as 19, and slowly progressed to 23s towards the end. Second time going through them I averaged ~25. I think it is pretty indicative, except for the "rock" keyhole questions. I have never seen them before anywhere. But I think bootcamp prepares you the best b/c of the infinite amount of practice you can get with the generators, and practice is the only way to get better at PAT.
Were you able to do this while going to school or you took off school?
I did it over a summer break!
Hi, what boot camp did you use?
datbootcamp.com/
hi did you handwrite your flashcards?
Yes I handwrote on a deck of index cards.
What r some good websites for extra reading comp practice?
I read Scientific American, but honestly any science articles that are catered to an audience comprised of everyday people should be relevant practice! But in terms of actual RC tests, you would have to buy them. I am not aware of any websites that give out free DAT RC tests. You could try SAT, GRE, or MCAT RC tests as well if you can find them. They can only help.
can maybe post a link to these rescources ?
datbootcamp.com/
www.predent.org.vt.edu/admissions/dat-sample-test-2009.pdf
www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html
www.coursesaver.com/video/category/dat-videos
datbootcamp.com/feralis-biology-notes/
datqvault.com/
www.datgenius.com/
ua-cam.com/users/mathdude2012
ua-cam.com/play/PL3EED4C1D684D3ADF.html
Donny I have a question. I'm not sure if I could message you on youtube, so I'm commenting. For the biology part of the test what do you think was more helpful the feralis notes or reading cliff bio notes? Also I know going over the dat bootcamp quizzes is another resource. What do you think was the most helpful for doing well on the Bio part of the test.
So I think all three are pretty necessary if you aim to score 21+, I wouldn't say cherry pick one or two. I think how you use them is the real question. Cliff Bio 3rd edition is a great start for studying the bio section as it gives you a fairly in-depth overview of general biology, and covers a great deal of what is on the DAT. But obviously cliff alone will not be enough, as the Bio section covers a huge spectrum of topics. But it will give you a solid foundation. I ran thru cliffs twice. (4th edition 2x + taxonomy & plants from 3rd edition 1x). Made my own summary of the entire book on a notebook. If you are aiming for at least 22+, I would say get destroyer and do it after cliffs, and run thru that 2x while making index cards for wrong answers. If not, it is fine to just move onto bootcamp from here, run thru it 2x, while making index cards. Feralis notes was just kind of at the background for reference when I needed supplementation in areas I thought I was weak in. It has a TON of info. You can memorize it all, but its probably impossible and unnecessary. Remember, the more topics you cover (and less so the depth of each topic), the better chance you have at cracking the DAT bio section. You just need to be familiar many things. But you don't need to be an expert. Good luck!
Thank you sooo much Donny!! :)
Are you telling us that we need to buy all of these books or you're just suggesting us to choose one of these options ?
If you plan on getting 21+ I suggest getting bootcamp + cliff notes + Feralis + Chad's at the very least. But if you're aiming for like 23+ more the better, and definitely destroyer and more than 1 bio sources.
How do you study
That is a very broad question! Here is my breakdown in the hopes that it will answer your question: forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-don-26-aa-28-ts-27-pat.1214351/
How many hours a day did you study for those 11 weeks
Hi Amy, I studied roughly 4-5 hours a day on average, but I usually studied 7 days a week. Some days I studied 3 hours. Some days 6. But it really is going to depend on how fast you tend to study yourself and how long you intend on studying. Hope this helps!
DDS_ Don it does, thank you for the video and great tips !
Do you recommend DAT Bootcamp or DAT qvault?
Bootcamp, especially for PAT. But more the better obviously.
how many hours a day did you study? and did you study all 7 days a week
I studied at least 6 days a week. Usually I studied fewer hours on weekends. It really depends on how much work you plan to get done each week.
good job man. where are you going to dental school?
Haven't applied yet. Will be applying next cycle!
Can u please list all the stuff u used in the description. I had to pause alot
Hi! I have them listed in my breakdown along with my opinions on them: forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-don-26-aa-28-ts-27-pat.1214351/. But here they are: Materials used:
1) Chad's videos.
2) Destroyer 2016 (+ Math Destroyer)
3) Bootcamp
4) Feralis:
5) Cliff's 4th edition (book), and 3rd edition (pdf):
6) Qvault Bio:
7) Kaplan Blue Book: Only used it for the full test. The content on this is pretty basic, and should be used only as a starter, if at all.
8) DAT genius (the first free full test)
9) 2009 ADA test
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i got a 22 is it a shit score
22 is in the 95th percentile. It is far from a bad score. That is the average admitted DAT scores for most top schools. Congrats!!
DDS_ Don wow thanks man!
What in the fuck are these numbers.