Featured Student of September

Meet Timothy, a happy DAT Bootcamp customer who recently conquered the DAT. I’ve asked Timothy to share his DAT experience with us as the Featured Student of September.

What is one piece of advice you would give to another student preparing to take the DAT?

My advice is that the amount of information may seem difficult to learn in such a short amount of time, maybe an impossible mountain to climb. I thought that too. I broke it down, and instead of studying every subject every day, I would study only a couple subjects. When I first started studying during my winter break, I looked mainly at biology and the PAT section (using DAT Bootcamp of course). I downloaded the guides that were posted on biology and supplemented those with an elementary biology textbook. I was able to study a little at a time and by the halfway mark (one and a half months into studying), I was quite familiar with most of the topics in biology. So in conclusion, study your least confident subject on the DAT first and each day try to learn one new thing about another subject such as the quantitative reasoning section or read a section or three of a scholarly paper in preparation for the reading comprehension. If you take small steps each day, soon you will be running to reach the top of that DAT mountain.

How did you use DAT Bootcamp to prepare for the DAT?

I used solely DAT Bootcamp to study for the exam, and they did not fail me. Every morning before I ate breakfast, I practiced fifteen questions each from the PAT generator. During the latter half of the day after I had finished my school work, I took a practice test on any of the other subjects. Late into the evening, I studied two sections from the condensed biology notes provided by Bootcamp or memorized reagents for organic chemistry. I didn’t always study consistently as a result of the vast load of schoolwork, but it gave me a sense of accomplishment if I was able to learn one new thing about the DAT or improve one skill each day. Unfortunately, I never have enough willpower or time to take the full length practice test. To my readers, I would implore you to take the full length practice exams provided by DAT Bootcamp. Maybe if I had, I would not have been so nervous come test day.

What would you do differently to prepare for the DAT?

If I were to go back and restudy for the DAT, I would begin studying for the DAT more than three months before the test date. My advice is to amass as much free study resources (and maybe some paid if you are really invested) to get a feel for what is in store for your DAT journey. Right now go onto the DAT Bootcamp site and download all of the free resources there in order to assess your strongest subjects and your weaker subjects. My weakest subject was reading comprehension. I began to read passages in the last month of studying before the DAT and I did not feel confident in that area. Maybe if I had created a plan and assessed my skills before purchasing DAT Bootcamp, I would have been able to use Bootcamp to its maximum potential. I hope you as readers will heed my words and hopefully utilize DAT Bootcamp to succeed. I think you have the potential to surpass my DAT score. DAT Bootcamp believes in you and so do I. Do you believe in yourself?

Timothy’s Score Breakdown

  • Biology28
  • General Chemistry26
  • Organic Chemistry26
  • Reading Comprehension21
  • Perceptual Ability21
  • Quantitative Reasoning21
  • Total Science26
  • Academic Average24