BYU-Idaho Pre-Dental · 2026
510
Academic Average · 98th Percentile
What worked, what didn't, and what I'd do the same if I started over.
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Official Test Results
My DAT Score Report
Subject
Official
Best Practice
Practice Avg
Survey of Natural Sciences
The Most Important Thing
Practice Tests
⏱
Time Management
Building real experience working under pressure, before the real thing
🎯
Question Style
The DAT phrases things in a specific way — familiarity reduces surprises
📍
Weak Spots
Pinpoints exactly where to focus, so no time is wasted on what you already know
DAT Bootcamp — what I used.
3-month plan ≈ 10 full-length tests ·
6-month plan ≈ 15 full-length tests
ADEA also sells official practice tests (~$60–80) — worth it if you run out of Bootcamp tests.
Where to Start
Take a Diagnostic Test First
- Treat it as a map, not a grade — there's no failing a diagnostic
- No need to review every answer — the score breakdown is what matters
- Prevents wasting time studying things you already know or that aren't high-yield
- Most BYUI students have taken Bio, Gen Chem, and Ochem — the diagnostic shows what's actually still weak
I took mine on January 18, 2025 — before doing any dedicated DAT studying.
That one test told me exactly how to spend the next several months.
Diagnostic — Jan 18
Overall AA: 440
Organic ChemistryStrong
General ChemistryDecent
Reading ComprehensionDecent
Quantitative ReasoningDecent
Biology→ Focus here
Perceptual Ability (PAT)→ Focus here
The Big Picture
Three Phases of Studying
Phase 01
Learn
New content, videos, notes
→
Phase 02
Review
Fill gaps, targeted study
→
Phase 03
Practice
Full-length tests + deep review
- Don't rush Phase 2 — make sure you actually know the material before hammering practice tests
- Practice became its own form of review: take a test, then spend the next day going deep on everything missed
- Most of my study time ended up in Phase 3
The Arc
Score Progression
● Burnout dip
● Best practice — FLT #14
● Official DAT
Study Calendar · 2025
When I Took Each Test
Pacing
My Practice Test Schedule
Early / mid prep
—
~1 full-length test per week
Final 2–3 weeks
—
1 full-length test every other day
Final week
—
4 tests in the last week
"By the time I sat down for the real DAT, I'd taken 15 practice tests. Walking in felt like just another one."
- After each test: rest the same day. Do the deep review the day or two after.
- Stamina is real — you have to build it like a muscle
Testing Environment
Simulate the Real Thing
What the Test Center Gives You
- Laminated paper + fine-tip dry-erase markers — not pencil and paper
- This feels different from what you're used to. Practice with it before test day.
My setup: a plastic binder sleeve with a piece of paper inside,
written on with Expo markers — exactly what I used for every practice test.
Simulate the Conditions
- Lock yourself in a room — no interruptions, no phone
- Do the full-length test every time — don't split it up
- Full-length tests are too valuable to use halfway
- The test is 5–6 hours — endurance is part of the challenge
After Every Test
Reviewing Is Where the Learning Happens
- I went through every single question — not just the ones I got wrong
- During the test, I flagged any question I wasn't 100% sure of, even if I ended up guessing right
- After the test, I revisited every flagged question and made sure I understood why the correct answer was correct
- Bootcamp tracks performance by topic — I used that data to plan what to study next
The practice test isn't over when you click Submit —
the review is often the most valuable part of the whole session.
Section — Biology
Biology — The Hardest One
How I Took Notes
- Started with thorough notes — quickly realized that was too passive
- Shifted to asking "how will I remember this?" instead of just writing it down
- Most notes ended up being mnemonic-based, not content summaries
- Only wrote down things I actually didn't know
The Study Flow
- Watch Bootcamp video → immediately do Bio-Bites
- Bio-Bites after every video, every unit, no exceptions
- Once comfortable: move to Question Banks
- Question banks are harder than practice tests — they're closest to the real exam
- Last few units (heavy memorization): just the high-yield notes
Flashcards work great for some people — not for me. What mattered most was the question banks.
Biology — Visual
The Biology Study Loop
Watch Bootcamp Video
↓
Do Bio-Bites immediately
↓
Score well enough?
↓ Yes
Question Banks
↓
Review Missed Questions
↓
Next Unit →
- The Bio-Bites are short — don't skip them just because you felt good during the video
- The Question Banks were what actually prepared me for the real DAT — harder, closer to the real thing
- The sections where I scored highest were the ones where I consistently did both Bio-Bites and Question Banks
- For the last few units (pure memorization), just the high-yield notes was enough
Sections — Chemistry
General & Organic Chemistry
General Chemistry
- Most BYUI students already have a decent foundation — the diagnostic showed where I was actually weak
- Dr. Mike's videos on Bootcamp were really good for filling in conceptual gaps
- For topics I felt solid on, I watched videos passively — driving to school or doing dishes
- Question banks for targeted practice on weak spots
Organic Chemistry
- Strong background from Ochem 1 & 2 — this became a real strength
- First diagnostic after finishing Ochem 2: already scoring well — didn't over-invest time here
- Mostly reviewed questions I got wrong and taught myself anything I'd never seen (certain named reactions)
- Got a perfect score on the official DAT — one strong section meaningfully lifts your AA
Perceptual Ability Test
PAT — It's Mostly Time Management
Sub-section
Keyhole
3D shape → which 2D opening does it fit through?
Sub-section
Top / Front / End
Which 2D views match the 3D object?
Sub-section
Angle Ranking
Rank 4 angles from smallest to largest
Sub-section
Hole Punching
Folded + punched paper → what does it look like unfolded?
Sub-section
Cube Counting
How many cubes touch exactly N other cubes?
Sub-section
Pattern Folding
Which 3D shape does this 2D net fold into?
PAT — Data
Points Per Minute by Sub-Section
Key takeaways from my practice data:
- Cube Counting — most efficient at 2.0 pts/min; fast with near-perfect accuracy
- Angle Ranking — surprisingly efficient (1.4 pts/min) because questions are fast even with lower accuracy
- Hole Punching — 95% accuracy; I realized I was spending too much time on something I almost always got right
- Keyholes — least efficient at 0.8 pts/min with only 48% accuracy
PAT — Strategy
How I Ordered the PAT
1
Angle Ranking
Fast — go through quickly and move on
≤ 30 sec/q
2
Cube Counting
Highest pts/min — take time to get these right
Aim for 100%
3
Hole Punching
High accuracy — move fast, don't overthink
Aim for 100%
4
Pattern Folding
Good accuracy — allocate solid time here
≤ 1 min/q
5
Top / Front / End
Good accuracy — allocate solid time here
≤ 1 min/q
6
Keyholes — Last
Lowest efficiency — spend whatever time is left
Remaining time
This ordering was specific to my strengths and weaknesses. The reason to practice PAT so much is to figure out your own version of this ordering.
- For "rock" keyhole questions that look impossible — don't spiral. Make your best pick and move on.
- With 5 min left in the Nat Sci section, I got fresh paper and pre-drew my hole-punching grid and cube-counting table
PAT — Habits
Daily PAT Practice
"I practiced PAT questions every single day — while waiting in line, walking between buildings, using the Bootcamp app."
- Even a few minutes of daily PAT practice compounds quickly over weeks
- The Bootcamp mobile app makes it easy to practice angle ranking and other types on the go
- I tracked my time and accuracy per question type after each practice test and used that to guide where to improve
Additional resources I found helpful for the PAT:
Booster DAT and Crack the DAT — good video explanations for angle ranking and top/front/end.
Section — Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension — The Hybrid Strategy
The Method
- Read the first half of the passage carefully, for comprehension
- Highlight what each paragraph is about — one phrase per paragraph
- Go into the questions without reading the second half yet
- First-half questions → go right to where you remember it
- Second-half questions → Search & Destroy to find the answer
- Questions that will take too long → best guess, flag, come back
The Result
- Almost always finished with 5–10 minutes to spare — enough to revisit flagged questions
- First time I used this approach: scored a 550
- I stopped studying RC after that, and my score did dip a little — worth maintaining
Don't read the whole passage before the questions — you'll run out of time.
Reading Comprehension — Visual
How the Strategy Works
The Passage
First Half
Read carefully · note key idea per paragraph
Second Half
Don't read yet · search & destroy only
↓
Go to questions
Answer all questions you recognize from the first half
→
Second-half questions
Search & Destroy to locate the answer in the second half
→
Slow questions
Best guess → flag → come back with remaining time
↓
5–10 minutes left at the end
— revisit flagged questions
Section — Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
What's Usually Fine
- Algebra
- Work and rate problems
- Basic arithmetic and fractions
What Caught Me Off Guard
- Statistics — standard deviation, distributions
- Probability — combinations, permutations
- Only a few questions, but avoidable losses
Most of my time stayed on Biology, a bit on Gen Chem, and the PAT.
I'd only put QR time into the specific types I was actually missing.
On the Exam
Time Management Across Every Section
The rule I used everywhere: if a question was going to take more than ~1 minute,
I clicked my best answer, flagged it, and kept moving.
Then came back at the end with whatever time was left.
- This is how I finished the biology/natural sciences section with ~5 minutes to spare
- I used those 5 minutes to raise my hand, get fresh scratch paper, and pre-draw grids for the PAT
- For bio: 40 questions — it's really either you know it or you don't; flag and move if not
- The flagging strategy applied everywhere: RC, PAT, QR — never sit on one question too long
Study Tools
Resources
DAT Bootcamp
Full-length tests, question banks, bio-bites, videos, cheat sheets — the core of my prep
ADEA Practice Tests (~$60–80)
Additional full-length tests — worth it if you run out of Bootcamp ones
Bootcamp Cheat Sheets
Great for quick review in the final days before the test
Booster DAT
Supplemental PAT strategies — good video explanations for angle ranking and TFE
Crack the DAT
Additional PAT walkthroughs and strategy videos
Bootcamp Mobile App
PAT practice on the go — angle ranking while in line or walking between buildings
That's Everything
Questions?
Happy to go deeper on any section, talk through resources,
or share anything else that helped along the way.
DAT Bootcamp
ADEA Practice Tests
Booster DAT
Crack the DAT
Bootcamp App