DAT study materials
DAT study resources

DAT study plan

DAT · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Survey of the Natural Sciences

  • Build a one-page map of the four biomolecule classes and label where each is digested and metabolized.

  • Solve 60 general chemistry stoichiometry and solution problems in timed sets of 15.

  • Draw and label a eukaryotic cell from memory, then attach one function and one clinical correlate to each organelle.

  • Write 40 flashcards on amino acid properties and self-quiz until 90% are recalled cold.

Your checkpoint

A 45-question timed biology and general chemistry quiz scored at 65% or better, with every miss rewritten as a corrected one-line rule.

Week 2

Survey of the Natural Sciences & Perceptual Ability

  • Work 100 angle-ranking comparisons in blocks of 25 and chart accuracy after each block.

  • Fold and punch 30 paper models by hand, then verify each against your hole-punch prediction.

  • Drill 60 questions on bonding, molecular geometry, and intermolecular forces until each shape is named in under 20 seconds.

  • Condense acid-base and equilibrium relationships onto a single index card and solve 25 problems using only that card.

Your checkpoint

A two-column error log with at least 40 entries from perceptual and chemistry practice, each tagged with a cause.

Week 3

Survey of the Natural Sciences & Perceptual Ability

  • Complete 40 cube-counting and 40 pattern-folding items with a 60-second cap per item.

  • Apply a memorized three-step routine to 25 keyhole items and record where the routine broke down.

  • Redraw 30 organic structures from the name alone after covering functional-group charts.

  • Run 50 mechanics questions on kinematics, forces, and energy without consulting a formula sheet.

Your checkpoint

A full perceptual ability simulation of 90 questions in 60 minutes, with the raw score recorded as your baseline.

Week 4

Perceptual Ability & Survey of the Natural Sciences

  • Time-box angle ranking to 15 seconds per item across 80 items.

  • Complete 30 top-front-end items using a fixed elimination order and note which view you misread most.

  • Reread all week 2-3 error tags and rewrite the ten most frequent mistakes as explicit rules.

  • Take a 40-question biology section test and name the three weakest organ systems it exposes.

Your checkpoint

A perceptual ability retake improved by at least 15% over the week-3 baseline, plus a written rule sheet for each of the six question types.

Week 5

Survey of the Natural Sciences & Perceptual Ability

  • Drill 60 organic mechanism questions covering substitution, elimination, and addition, annotating each rate-determining step.

  • Solve 40 physics problems on fluids, optics, and circuits and record which formula you reached for first.

  • Review two organ systems per day and close each with ten blank-recall prompts.

  • Hold perceptual timing with 20 minutes of cube counting and hole punching on five days.

Your checkpoint

A one-page mechanism sheet across five reaction families plus a 50-question organic and physics quiz at 70% or better.

Week 6

Survey of the Natural Sciences & Reading Comprehension

  • Run a search-and-destroy reading strategy on six science passages and mark the supporting sentence for every answer chosen.

  • Write a three-sentence main-idea summary for 20 passages after one timed read each.

  • Complete 50 mixed biology questions weighted toward physiology and genetics.

  • Re-solve 30 previously missed natural science questions from scratch without looking at old notes.

Your checkpoint

A reading comprehension simulation of three passages in 20 minutes at 70% accuracy, with every correct answer traced to its supporting sentence.

Week 7

Quantitative Reasoning & Reading Comprehension & Perceptual Ability

  • Drill 80 quantitative reasoning problems in 25-minute sets spanning ratios, rates, and data interpretation.

  • Work through the ten most common algebra and geometry shortcuts, validating each against a hand-computed example.

  • Run two 25-minute perceptual mini-sections to hold pace under 45 seconds per item.

  • Answer inference questions on four humanities and social science passages, returning to the text no more than once per question.

Your checkpoint

A 40-question quantitative reasoning set finished in 45 minutes at 75% accuracy or better.

Week 8

Survey of the Natural Sciences & Perceptual Ability & Reading Comprehension & Quantitative Reasoning

  • Sit two full-length timed practice exams on separate days and log every section score.

  • Re-solve all missed questions from both exams and write a one-line fix beside each.

  • Rebuild the perceptual rule sheet and the formula card from memory, then diff them against your notes.

  • Run a 30-question mixed science speed set at 60 seconds per question.

Your checkpoint

A full-length score report with all four sections at or above target, plus a one-page final review sheet readable in 20 minutes.

Milestones

Week 2: At least 40 tagged errors logged, and a 30-question biology and general chemistry set scored at 65% or better.

Week 4: Perceptual ability full-length improves at least 15% over the week-3 baseline, and the biology section test reaches 65%.

Week 6: Reading comprehension simulation at 70% accuracy with supporting-sentence annotations, and natural science error re-solve at 80% or better.

Week 8: Both full-length exams completed under time with all four sections at or above target and a written fix for every missed question.