hi hi for context, im relatively experienced with sitting for the digital sat (aka dsat) cuz i've taken it not once... not twice... but A WHOPPING THREE TIMES!! 😇💀 to study/prepare, i relied on free online resources ONLY, and i saw someee amount of improvement each time?? (if u're curious, i got a 1490 [690 english + 800 math] on my first test in june 2023, and ended up with a 1550 [750 english + 800 math] on my third/final test in aug 2024). SOO if u're a lost frightened soul wondering what to expect from the dsat, u have (hopefully?) come to the right place 😎🔥 below u can find stuff abt the dsat which i wish i figured out earlier, including important info abt the test + some of my tips. also ik everyone's attention span is broken now so ive tried making this as tldr-ed as possible, U'RE WELCOME. 😌✨
(1) overview + general advice
first of all, note that the dsat is NOT THE SAME as the paper sat (for english, they're like compleeeetely different), so dont make the mistake of studying from the wrong resource (that was me two years ago 💀). u'll take the test at some test center using ur own device (usually) through an app called bluebook, starting with english (reading & writing) followed by math. results are usually 2 weeks after the test i think
format: for english (reading & writing), there are two modules (one after the other), each with 27 MCQ in 32 mins. aft finishing english, u get a 10 min break (u can eat ur own snacks during this break yay :D), then u continue with math. similarly, there are two modules for math, but each has 22 questions (either MCQ or input a numerical answer) to be completed in 35 mins. both subjects are graded out of 800 (which is calculated based on several factors, like how well u do relative to others), so the maximum possible score for the dsat is 1600. also, no penalty is given for a wrong answer so no harm to tembak
click here for a sidenote abt modules
everyone gets the same questions in module 1, but there are TWO possible sets of the second module (one supposedly easier than the other) that u may receive -- the dsat has this "adaptive feature" thing, where the second module u receive is determined based on ur performance from the first module. so if u perform well in module 1, u'll receive the "hard" module 2. and conversely, if u dont perform well in module 1, u'll receive the "easy" module 2. so dont be surprised to find out u and ur friend received a diff set of questions lol. and based on my experience, module 1 is like quite chill (ada extra time aft finishing the questions), but module 2 (the "hard" module la) kena speedrun sikit. also in caaaase u're wondering, NO it's not worth intentionally performing bad in module 1 just to receive the easier module 2, dont u dare even think abt it lmaoo
general prep advice: iirc bluebook has 4 mock dsats (there may be more now?) so pls pls do all those mocks to familiarise with the format and type of questions + train ur speed (there r many ppl who complain tak sempat). there are so many other free resources out there so cari sendiri je la, but dont serabut sangat and just stick to a few -- personally, i used khan academy's official dsat prep (which i highly recommend) and watched this one yt channel (when i was feeling lazy and wanted to be semi-productive lol), and that was abt it. also imho, tuition classes are unnecessary and not worth the price if u're disciplined enough to study/practice urself, bcs i feel like free online resources are more than enough. but ik theres a grp of ppl reading this yg dah register tuition (AHEM AHEM) so just make sure u make the most out of it la tau
maximising ur score: as a general rule for all exams, always prioritise the stuff that are highly in ur control + have a high effort-to-impact ratio. for the dsat, this applies for math and only specific sections of english (more on this later), but for now i just want to stress that u shd aim to MAXIMISE UR MATH SCORE, evennnn if u think u suck at math or wtv. the scope of dsat math is honestly quite limited and ngl rlly easy (if i had to guess, form 3 math and below? i hope my opinion is somewhat unbiased but idk). so just revise basic theory and train ur speed so u can answer all questions fast enough. in comparison, it is MUCH harder to improve ur english score bcs overall it's vry hard to significantly improve ur vocab/comprehension skills (again, more on this later). also, dont fret if ur english score is quite a bit lower than ur math score -- that's perfectly normal
superscore: in the event u take multiple sittings of the dsat, some unis accept a superscore i.e. max of eng + max of math. for example, if on my first test i scored 700 eng + 800 math, while on my second test i scored 800 eng + 700 math, i can apply to some unis (only those which accept it la) with my superscore (take the best of eng + best of math) which would be 800+800=1600 🤯🤯
(2) english tips
roughly the first half (a bit more than half la) of each module consists of vocab and comprehension questions (for comprehension, each question has its own short passage/data), while the remaining half of each module consists of grammar and english convention questions. NOW MY ADVICE IS, focus ur prep on the types of questions in the second half of the module!! it's just grammar, punctuation, transition words, etc., which are arguably very easy to score with enough practice, so rugi gila if u mess up on those parts. and personally, when i take the test, i'd start from q15/16 (i.e. the first question of the second half) and do all those questions smpai the last question, and make sure i get all those questions correct. after that, baru i'll go back to q1 and complete the rest of the module. sbb if i did the questions in order (starting from q1), lets say je la i kinda run low on time, then nnti i'll be panicking (or mybe even tak sempat) on the last few questions which are EASY so rugi la wehhh. now for the first half, im not saying dont practice at all bcs it definitely helps a lot to practice some comprehension questions so u get the hang of it + understand how they like to trick u, e.g. u have to be literal with a lot of stuff (dont answer based on ur own interpretation, just answer based on what it says in the text) and u shd also usually avoid extremes ("always," "never," "favourite"). also there are quantitative type of questions (based on table/graph) and those are quite easy to score. on the other hand, SCREW VOCAB BRO. istg dont fall for those "10 mUsT-kNoW wOrDs fOr tHe dSaT!!" vids on yt, or those "dSaT vOcAb liSt"s online BECAUSE NOO THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY 100% NOT WORTH UR DAMN TIME. the truth is that dsat vocab can keluar ANYTHING (sadly theres no magic list okay) so pls dont waste ur time memorising the dictionary and just invest ur effort elsewhere where it's likely more fruitful. soalan vocab tu just trust in god la ye hahahasjdhasj.
(3) math tips
btw, calculators are allowed and theres a built-in graphing calculator + formula sheet in bluebook so YES UR LIFE IS HONESTLY RLLY EASY. theyll also provide u scrap paper nnti (u're not allowed to use ur own). said this already but just make sure yk all the theory and practice to train ur speed. uhh hmm idk what other advice to give for math :// (full disclosure: i didnt prep for math so im not the best person to give advice -- u might wanna ask someone else who actually worked on improving so they can share tips/strategies that worked for them)
...and thats abt it!! hope this helps and feel free to ask below (u have the option to ask anonymously here) (btw just refresh if it doesnt show up at first, it lags sometimes lol) or contact me if u have any other questions abt the dsat -- i'll be happy to answer them. all the best!! 🫡🙏🏻