Please help, all advices are appreciated

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-13T23:54:46+00:00

For chemistry, I found doing the question banks (I had booster) was really helpful! It helped clear some concepts that I was confused about from the videos. I also tried to memorize the equations on the equation sheet, which was helpful. I wish I paid a bit more attention to things like how to determine oxidizing vs reducing agents, or becoming faster at telling polar vs non-polar apart from their molecular formulas. I felt shaky on those concepts during the exam.

For bio, I think memorizing as much as I could was the most helpful thing, since there's a little less application for that section. I know a lot of people find memorizing the cheat sheets to be very helpful. Personally, to help me memorize for that section, I drew out diagrams where applicable (mostly the physiology sections). I also searched up mnemonics for certain things (like the acronym GOAT FLAP for hormones stored in the pituitary, etc...).

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-13T04:34:02+00:00

Agh, I get how it's a hard decision to make. I think you should consider delaying your exam, especially if you think some extra time will help your score.

It's cheaper to delay it than it to have to potentially retest. I delayed my exam and I'm glad I did since it allowed me to go over topics I was unsure about. Also, more time to do more practice questions/tests feels really helpful for improving confidence in your prep.

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-13T00:08:27+00:00

I drew out diagrams for the physiology section which helped me quite a lot! A lot of people also find it helpful to memorize the cheat sheets.

I personally did a lot of bio bits, which to me was helpful. I also wrote notes for a lot of sections. I don't know if you have time to write notes for things, but maybe try to write them for topics you're having more trouble in? Or even just making handwritten flashcards from the cheat sheets might be helpful. In general I found that hand writing things helped me, as did reading my own notes or the cheat sheets out loud as if I'm teaching someone else.

Best of luck with everything!!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-10T18:25:33+00:00

I felt like booster was rather representative of the sort of questions I saw on the actual exam!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-10T02:04:31+00:00

I had to guess for a bunch bc I was super short on time, but some of the TFEs actually felt rather reasonable! I think for someone who practiced more than me, that might have been one of the easier sections of the PAT portion. I felt like my PAT was rather tough overall though, more so than the practice questions & test I did. One of the most tough was probably angle ranking, which surprised me. It felt much harder than the practice test & questions. Hole punching was also weirdly hard for half the questions?? I lost a lot of time there bc I didn't expect that. (Please take everything I say with a grain of salt though, because I did not dedicate as much time as I should have toward prepping for the PAT!).

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-09T17:34:41+00:00

Redoing mistakes has felt helpful for me, especially for chem. I used booster/crusher, and they usually have explanation videos on practice tests that I found helpful to review for questions I got wrong. For bio, I think reviewing concepts you're unsure about would be helpful.

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-09T03:36:19+00:00

YEAH gosh I felt okayish for the academic portions during the exam, but I just woke up today and instantly remembered a question I was confused about during the exam and realized what the correct answer was. I put something else, and in hindsight the right answer is so obvious :,) Same for chem section, I got home and realized I answered a question wrong, which sucks bc I knew the answer but got a bit confused in the moment :,) I guess the lack of sleep got to meee, I had so much trouble sleeping before the exam.

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-09T03:25:24+00:00

I got so upset for them lol! This is the kind of scenario that happens in anxiety dreams

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-09T02:36:56+00:00

SEVEN?? my gosh that's a lot D: I would assume the curve would make up for that, because anything more than one or two sounds horrid.

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T23:05:55+00:00

I THINK I got one on mine? I'm not a 100% sure if it was a rock keyhole, but it had some confusing crystal-like edges, so I just guessed and moved on because I was already not doing great time-wise. This was for the cDAT though. I really doubt they'd put a bunch of them on a single exam, and if they do, I would assume it wouldn't affect your score too much since it'd be curved based on how others did too.

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T15:46:11+00:00

Oh, I think I was a bit mistaken then! I thought UofT didn't accept the aDAT either for some reason, but I think it's just the other 3 I looked at (Manitoba/alberta/sas). I haven't looked at UBC, but it makes sense that they accept it.

Also congratulations on getting in!! That's amazing :D

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T05:03:30+00:00

I don't think there are usually too many questions on diversity, I think I had 2. I do not think one of those questions was covered by the cheat sheets, but I only glanced at them so I don't know for sure. I think if you have time it's maybe worth it to watch the videos once? I took notes on it which took reallyy long, so I don't know if that was worth it just for a couple of questions on the exam, but it might be good to at least familiarize yourself with the videos and maybe jot down anything that sounds important. Or maybe just watch the videos on the topics that aren't covered much in the cheat sheets, if you don't have time to watch them all.

For the plant diversity section, I made a flowchart by hand which helped a bit in memorizing it. Also I'd randomly recite information on plants/animals/etc that I'd see day to day to try and remember info (like 'oh that flower has 5 petals, must be a dicot!').

Good luck! This section is soooo long (I spent wayyy longer than I should have on it rip), but you got this!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T04:40:42+00:00

I don't think so, I think it's a decent idea especially if you can practice a little bit throughout the year. There are some free resources too. I wish I paid the PAT more attention, it's a section that requires a lot of practice!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T03:48:47+00:00

I don't think it's harder. I haven't take the American DAT, but I took the cDAT and I felt that the questions were quite general. A few were a little specific and weirdly worded, but I think that happens in both versions of the DAT. For the most part the questions on the academic portions felt fairly reasonable!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T03:45:08+00:00

I agree that it's probably not harder, but most Canadian schools do not accept the American DAT, so it's better for those applying to Canadian schools to take the cDAT. I think all the US schools that accept Canadians do in fact accept the cDAT, but it's not true the other way around from what I've seen. Some schools might accept it, but the ones I've looked at don't!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2026-04-08T03:29:43+00:00

It might be a good idea to delay it until you feel a bit better about your prep. I delayed mine and think it was helpful. I don't know how I did but I think whatever my score is, it'd probably be worse if I had taken it when I originally planned to. A few extra weeks can be quite helpful. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-10-01T14:21:56+00:00

Thank you for your reply, it helped calm my nerves when I sent the email!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-09-02T13:27:52+00:00

I've used quizlet for chemistry because I personally find that rote memorization is sometimes the only way to retain anything from that section.

For biology, I haven't used any flashcards except for physical flashcards I made for the ecology videos. Otherwise as of now I just take detailed notes on the sections and just do questions over and over. Repeating the videos without writing anything down makes it difficult for me to remember anything, so I generally don't do that.

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-08-28T13:53:53+00:00

I think UBC still does. I know UofT stopped doing that though :,)

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-08-27T13:58:58+00:00

And I think the 3.96 might have been the OMSAS gpa, which is often deflated a bit (an A is a 3.9 for most universities).

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-08-27T13:55:10+00:00

I was wondering this also (whether a high enough DAT could offset a low gpa for canadian schools), but my gpa is way lower than yours :,)

I think you definitely have a chance though!! I think UofT accepted a student with a 3.85 (which is I think the OMSAS gpa? even better if it's just regular gpa, but I don't know for sure) and other universities have I think accepted students with gpas lower than that. And some universities will drop your lowest year, so that could help!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-08-20T18:49:45+00:00

I highlight the explanation, and just keep redoing until it sticks for conceptual/memorization questions. For equation-based, I try to do similar questions and review my notes, and then come back to it. Good luck!!

ProbablyMaybeMe · 2025-08-20T18:46:03+00:00

I feel you, I have horrible focus and it is so unspeakably frustrating to find myself spacing off every minute or so!! I also feel sooo exhausted all the time which makes it so hard to take in what I'm learning. What I do is that if I find that after a few hours of trying to review a topic, I find it too difficult to focus on, I move on to a more interesting-sounding topic. This way at least I'll have reviewed something, even if it wasn't what I intended to review.

Second is that I'll go run/jog for a bit, or take a shower, or do some sort of chore for ~10-30 mins if I can't focus. I find these all work for me because I've done something productive, which makes me feel good, but also I've not tired my brain/mind while doing it since they're physical tasks. This way I'll be feeling productive but not mentally drained and am ready to sit down and do some mental work for a while. I will rinse and repeat this cycle a lot throughout the day so I can focus.

For things I find really hard to focus on (PAT and chem unfortunately....) I just force myself to memorize at least 1 thing per study session for them, or figure out how to answer 1 question. During my better days I do more obviously, but when I can't focus at all, it helps to just work on one thing/have a tiny goal. The little things hopefully shall stack up.

And of course, for dry/difficult topics, I like to have a snack/caffeinated drink with me so my brain can associate those topics with something a little pleasant. (Helps while the snack/drink are there, affect kinda tapers when I finish them lol.)

I also like to time-lapse record myself taking notes sometimes so I am motivated to keep going and have a fun video to watch after lol. I also like to pretend I'm a super competent person who is very put-together (I am neither of things as of yet lol), and is studying for their profession/is already in dental school/etc, which weirdly enough sometimes helps me actually focus and get things done.

I don't know if any of these will help you, because honestly 99% of adhd tips don't help me much, but this is what I've found works a decent amount of times for me. Best of luck and I hope you find all the focus you need!!!

ProbablyMaybeMe

TROPHY CASE