AhEng16 Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 Hello , I am thinking to write the Canadian DAT this November, but I'm hesitating a little bit and I need your advice. I'm more concerned about the biology section as I have not taken any biology in my undergrad. I know that it is a pre requisite for some dental programs and I'm planning on doing a whole year to satisfy all the pre requisites but not until I graduate ( August 2017). So my question is if I do need that biology background in order to do well on the DAT, or It is still doable to get a good score without the biology background? If so what do you recommend for resources to prepare myself well? Please share your thoughts, and thank you in advance in taking the time to read my concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BScDMD Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 From my experience I'd say that a Bio background is pretty crucial to fill in the blanks in the DAT study materials (Kaplans, Ferrali's, etc.), For the most part these resources give you the bare bones, which in my opinion isn't enough for a "good" score. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Watson Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 Hello , I am thinking to write the Canadian DAT this November, but I'm hesitating a little bit and I need your advice. I'm more concerned about the biology section as I have not taken any biology in my undergrad. I know that it is a pre requisite for some dental programs and I'm planning on doing a whole year to satisfy all the pre requisites but not until I graduate ( August 2017). So my question is if I do need that biology background in order to do well on the DAT, or It is still doable to get a good score without the biology background? If so what do you recommend for resources to prepare myself well? Please share your thoughts, and thank you in advance in taking the time to read my concern. In my opinion, the DAT that I wrote had a pretty easy biology section. But you're still going to want to know what you're doing. I'd say get some 1st year bio notes from a friend, familiarize yourself with major concepts from Kaplan and other DAT materials (Dat destroyer, DAT boot camp etc) for bio sections... I would agree with the above post suggesting to use Ferrali's notes, and I did also find that it was very much just summaries of topics and I remember thinking to myself when looking at those notes that I was glad that I already knew the material because I felt that Ferrali's notes really just briefly reviewed topics. Nevertheless, it touches on almost everything. Its something good to use towards the end of your studying for bio to keep things locked down and fresh. Why not take a biology class in the fall? That way you'll be immersed in it, and worst case scenario you can take the DAT again in Feb after having covered a lot of the bio stuff. Good luck! For what its worth, I found the PAT to be the hardest part on the Nov DAT from 2015... and I would say that I have really good spatial reasoning ability, and I always scored high on PAT practice tests! Study hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhEng16 Posted July 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 Thank you for your responses, they're highly appreciated. I am enrolled in a program that requires me to take 6 courses every semester, and have no room to take a biology course. Chemistry was one course I had to take to fulfill my requirement for my degree, so I have the baseline for that to build on. the time off school is filled with mandatory Co-op terms, and not allowed to take courses along with them. so pretty much i have no time to squeeze in a biology course throughout my study. My preparation plan for the DAT was to read the whole Campbell textbook (about 55 chapters). I went through about 20 chapters, but I find it time consuming and I feel that I might just be over preparing for one section over the others. Also, that book includes some topics which are not required for the exam. I am the type person that I write what I study so I retain information and Understand the fundamentals, and that means I will have to rewrite about 1000 pages for Campbell book. I will be preparing for the DAT starting mid August, so that will give me about 2.5 months prep time. I was thinking to schedule my preparation study for bio section as follow: 1. read what is left for me for the Campbell textbook (only reading, and no notes) within the first week max 2. Study the Cliffs Ap Bio 3rd edition + Making notes and flash cards (two weeks) 4. Ferrali's notes on going to retain all stuff, since I find it easy to forget things from the biology section 3. Study Kaplan, Destroyer for both Biology and Chemistry sections (3 weeks). I was thinking of Kaplan in class course as well 4. RC and PAT on going through studying Kaplan, Crack DAT PAT 5. Do as many practice tests as possible. I will be using Bootcamp for this Let me know what do you think of this, and also if you recommend any additional sources for preparation and for practice tests Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dent2020 Posted July 8, 2016 Report Share Posted July 8, 2016 I would not recommend using Destroyer for Chemistry. It was intended for the American DAT and is much much harder than the Chemistry section on the Canadian DAT. The level of steps and calculations for the chem questions are much longer than what is expected for the Canadian DAT. If you want the best representation of the Canadian DAT for the Natural Sciences (Biology and Chemistry), I'd recommend DATready practice tests (However, the RC practice tests for DATready are not very good and PAT section is too easy in comparison to Bootcamp). These practice tests literally follow the same format and style as questions from the Canadian DAT. Tests even look identical to the real thing (i.e. paper tests rather than electronic), and they have good explanations. I think it's good to practice the PAT on paper and electronics. You'll find that a lot of sections (i.e. Hole punching and cube counting) go a lot faster when you can actually write directly on the sheet. Crack DAT PAT is too easy in my opinion. I was scoring 23+ on it compared to my 20-21 on Bootcamp. I ended up with a 24 on my real PAT after continuously practicing Bootcamp, so I think it was more helpful than Crack DAT. Don't bother with Campbell Biology. Very useless and tedious to read the whole thing. That being said, I do have a background in Biochemistry so I don't know if that's influencing my opinion on Campbell. I don't know if you've taken biochemistry, but it will help with certain concepts (Kreb cycle, Oxidative phosphorylation, macromolecules). I only used Feralis notes (especially useful for the Human Physiology section) and AP Cliffnotes. To be honest, Biology on the DAT is all knowledge-based, no real application questions. So just memorize memorize memorize. If making flashcards helps you, go ahead, but personally I never seen a benefit from flashcards. I just highlight and re-read to save time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhEng16 Posted July 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 Thank you Dent2020 for your reply! so you think Cliffs, Kaplan, Destroyer, and Feralis notes would be enough to LEARN the biology section, and use Campbell as a reference textbook only to clarify some concepts when needed ? I have not taken Biochemistry through my previous years. Also, do think of taking a Kaplan course ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dentistry2020 Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 I think that there is no harm in trying and a background in grade 12 biology could be enough. I found that Princeton went into a little bit more detail than Kaplan and so would suggest reading that instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Watson Posted July 10, 2016 Report Share Posted July 10, 2016 Although I did enjoy boot camp for PAT, I would say that when I sat down to write the actual PAT, I was unpleasantly surprised at how dissimilar it appeared. For me, I would honestly say that the cDAT prep manual probably had the most accurate representation of PAT material. It's just in the way they appear on the page. They're kind of grainy. This is something you absolutely do not get from Bootcamp. While Bootcamp is a beautiful resource and allows 3D manipulation of shapes, it doesn't look like the real thing at all. It's too perfect. I would also say that the IQ publications PAT manual was decent too, in terms of application to the DAT. If others disagree with me, they should weigh in on this. After all, it's pretty subjective. Also, watch out for the rock/Boulder shapes on the keyhole questions! It's a new thing. It's also tough to find resources for it. These are highly complex 3D looking shapes, much more difficult than traditional keyhole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhEng16 Posted July 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thank you so much guys for your feedback So I will prepare myself for the coming up test, and modify my studying material after sharing your experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhEng16 Posted July 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Now does anyone know about the cancellation of the DAT? So if incase I don't feel prepared enough near the end, can I still cancel and not do the test or do I have to take it once I'm registered for it? Im waiting on a helpful response ???? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member_225 Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I think you can cancel or at least not go...but they made it clear that they won't refund nor transfer the money for another test date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member_225 Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Also, does anyone know how PAT scores are calculated? What would 50/90 questions answered correctly be, for example? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skye204 Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 http://www.aboutdentalschools.com/images/score_calculator.jpg is a pretty good estimate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhEng16 Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Yea the refund policy is very clear But if I just don't go, would they not assign a grade of zero for that attempt ? Or Would I just be considered not taken it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BScDMD Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I don't think you would get zero. You need to write your DAT ID# on all the bubble sheets that you hand in (SNS, RC, PAT). There are also stickers that identify you that you place on the bubble sheets. If the bubble sheets are left blank then they can't be traced back to you. I don't know how they would mark you as "missing", but I doubt they give you 0 as that would needlessly affect the standard scores. Having said that, if the schools you're looking at only take you best DAT (and not an average of your DATs - I don't think any of the Canadian dental schools do this), I'd recommend you sit through it and write either way if you've already paid for it. Even if you're not fully prepared! It's a great way to see what you're up against and what you need to focus on for your next DAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ablb Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 I would use course savers for chem and they have a decent biology section. I'd use A P biology as well! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhEng16 Posted July 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 Yea I checked with them also, and they said that I can withdraw but I will not get the refund as it was noted clearly. Can I register for the DAT and choose not to send my scores to any school ? It is asking me to select at least one .. I am thinking to write it and see how well I do on it before sending the scores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BScDMD Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 If it's not letting you advance without choosing at least one school then probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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