DAT what to expect

[Ms. Chip Skylark]

Hey guys, 

I'll be writing the Canadian DAT at UofT this Saturday for the first time and was wondering what to expect when I sit down. How will I be seated, what will I see on the table in front of me, whats the overall atmosphere like? Kind of hoping for a step-by-step from someone who has written so I can calm my nerves a bit!

How many pencils will we be given, erasers, blank sheets for rough work??

Also, are we allowed to write on the question sheets, will we be answering on a scantron, is it just a clock or is it a timer?

[helppls]

I wrote it at UofT the past February and here's what I can recall:

Everyone was waiting outside of the building because we got there early; I was pretty nervous but saw some old friends in the crowd so we talked and calmed each other down (definitely better than waiting alone for 15 minutes). When the proctors let us in, we waited some more in the "lobby" of the building, then they called for the MDT takers to follow them into their testing room. The rest of us were split into two and were led to where we presented our photo ID to sign in. Then, we waited some more and were eventually allowed to enter the exam room (which looked like a small auditorium).

We had to put all our belongings in the front of the room, but were allowed to keep our watches (unless they were smart watches)  and a sharpener. On the table in front of me was one big test booklet with all four sections of the exam, and four separate scantrons (if I remember correctly...), and a sticker sheet with our personal information. There were two pencils and a eraser, but you could ask for more pencils/a sharper pencil throughout the exam (I did not bring a sharpener with me but had no problems with pencils being dull, etc). . We could not have anything on our table other than the test booklet, the scantrons, our sticker sheet, and our photo ID. 

At the beginning of each section, we put a sticker on the scantron for that section. There was a countdown timer projected in the front of the room. We were prohibited from flipping ahead to the other sections. The order of the tests were Bio, Chem, PAT, RC. There was a 10 min break outside the test room at the end of each section and we weren't monitored so some people talked (although I believe they shouldn't have). There were no blank sheets for rough work, but I found enough space in the booklet (if anything, you just need to do rough work for chem and PAT). You can write on the text booklets, but all answers must be transferred to the scantron. 

The whole exam passed by in a flash for me, and I felt better coming out of it than I thought I would. Grabbed myself some treats while I was downtown and just enjoyed the rest of the day without thinking of studying. I hope the above walk-through calms you a bit. All the best on Saturday!

[yampotato]

13 hours ago, helppls said:

I wrote it at UofT the past February and here's what I can recall:

Everyone was waiting outside of the building because we got there early; I was pretty nervous but saw some old friends in the crowd so we talked and calmed each other down (definitely better than waiting alone for 15 minutes). When the proctors let us in, we waited some more in the "lobby" of the building, then they called for the MDT takers to follow them into their testing room. The rest of us were split into two and were led to where we presented our photo ID to sign in. Then, we waited some more and were eventually allowed to enter the exam room (which looked like a small auditorium).

We had to put all our belongings in the front of the room, but were allowed to keep our watches (unless they were smart watches)  and a sharpener. On the table in front of me was one big test booklet with all four sections of the exam, and four separate scantrons (if I remember correctly...), and a sticker sheet with our personal information. There were two pencils and a eraser, but you could ask for more pencils/a sharper pencil throughout the exam (I did not bring a sharpener with me but had no problems with pencils being dull, etc). . We could not have anything on our table other than the test booklet, the scantrons, our sticker sheet, and our photo ID. 

At the beginning of each section, we put a sticker on the scantron for that section. There was a countdown timer projected in the front of the room. We were prohibited from flipping ahead to the other sections. The order of the tests were Bio, Chem, PAT, RC. There was a 10 min break outside the test room at the end of each section and we weren't monitored so some people talked (although I believe they shouldn't have). There were no blank sheets for rough work, but I found enough space in the booklet (if anything, you just need to do rough work for chem and PAT). You can write on the text booklets, but all answers must be transferred to the scantron. 

The whole exam passed by in a flash for me, and I felt better coming out of it than I thought I would. Grabbed myself some treats while I was downtown and just enjoyed the rest of the day without thinking of studying. I hope the above walk-through calms you a bit. All the best on Saturday!

were you allowed to hold up your booklet during the angles section at the same level as your eyes?? Im used to doing the practices on the computer, so I want to hold it up rather than lay the booklet flat on the table during PAT.

[Starburst]

2 hours ago, yampotato said:

were you allowed to hold up your booklet during the angles section at the same level as your eyes?? Im used to doing the practices on the computer, so I want to hold it up rather than lay the booklet flat on the table during PAT.

 

lol Why are you practicing on the computer? There are DAT resources like DATCrusher with generators that let you print PAT questions 

[yampotato]

1 hour ago, Starburst said:

lol Why are you practicing on the computer? There are DAT resources like DATCrusher with generators that let you print PAT questions 

the angles from DAT crusher generation are too easy, and I dont think the real exam would be that easy because the angles differ by more than 4 degrees.

I had trouble with the angles from DAT Bootcamp, and I tried to lay my laptop flat on the table to do it, but it was too hard. lol

[yampotato]

1 hour ago, Starburst said:

lol Why are you practicing on the computer? There are DAT resources like DATCrusher with generators that let you print PAT questions 

also, this is a bit off-topic, but it seems like you've used DAT crusher to prep for your DAT, I was wondering are the keyholes(other than rocks) and TFE on the real DAT easier than the ones from DAT crusher? I found DAT crusher keyholes are soooooo hard and way harder than DAT bootcamp, but angles are way easier.... so weird

[helppls]

11 hours ago, yampotato said:

were you allowed to hold up your booklet during the angles section at the same level as your eyes?? Im used to doing the practices on the computer, so I want to hold it up rather than lay the booklet flat on the table during PAT.

I didn't hold my booklet up, but if anyone else did, the proctors didn't say anything about it. 

[yampotato]

3 hours ago, helppls said:

I didn't hold my booklet up, but if anyone else did, the proctors didn't say anything about it. 

May I ask where you wrote your exam?

[helppls]

3 hours ago, yampotato said:

May I ask where you wrote your exam?

UofT

[LightningBoltz]

On 10/31/2018 at 8:56 AM, helppls said:

I wrote it at UofT the past February and here's what I can recall:

Everyone was waiting outside of the building because we got there early; I was pretty nervous but saw some old friends in the crowd so we talked and calmed each other down (definitely better than waiting alone for 15 minutes). When the proctors let us in, we waited some more in the "lobby" of the building, then they called for the MDT takers to follow them into their testing room. The rest of us were split into two and were led to where we presented our photo ID to sign in. Then, we waited some more and were eventually allowed to enter the exam room (which looked like a small auditorium).

We had to put all our belongings in the front of the room, but were allowed to keep our watches (unless they were smart watches)  and a sharpener. On the table in front of me was one big test booklet with all four sections of the exam, and four separate scantrons (if I remember correctly...), and a sticker sheet with our personal information. There were two pencils and a eraser, but you could ask for more pencils/a sharper pencil throughout the exam (I did not bring a sharpener with me but had no problems with pencils being dull, etc). . We could not have anything on our table other than the test booklet, the scantrons, our sticker sheet, and our photo ID. 

At the beginning of each section, we put a sticker on the scantron for that section. There was a countdown timer projected in the front of the room. We were prohibited from flipping ahead to the other sections. The order of the tests were Bio, Chem, PAT, RC. There was a 10 min break outside the test room at the end of each section and we weren't monitored so some people talked (although I believe they shouldn't have). There were no blank sheets for rough work, but I found enough space in the booklet (if anything, you just need to do rough work for chem and PAT). You can write on the text booklets, but all answers must be transferred to the scantron. 

The whole exam passed by in a flash for me, and I felt better coming out of it than I thought I would. Grabbed myself some treats while I was downtown and just enjoyed the rest of the day without thinking of studying. I hope the above walk-through calms you a bit. All the best on Saturday!

 

Forgot to thank you! This helped me a ton today so i knew what to expect 

[Starburst]

On 11/1/2018 at 2:48 AM, yampotato said:

also, this is a bit off-topic, but it seems like you've used DAT crusher to prep for your DAT, I was wondering are the keyholes(other than rocks) and TFE on the real DAT easier than the ones from DAT crusher? I found DAT crusher keyholes are soooooo hard and way harder than DAT bootcamp, but angles are way easier.... so weird

Kind of late but i thought the Keyholes, TFE, and angles on Crusher were more representative of what would show up on the Canadian DAT than Datbootcamp. On the Canadian DAT the angles won't be as bad as bootcamps but the TFE and Keyholes were much more difficult than bootcamps. Thats why I honestly don't think DATbootcamp tests represent the Canadian DAT in any of the sections although its still good practice.