In general, how much time do you need to study for the DAT? I haven't started yet (and I know nothing about the test yet), but I'm planning on taking it around May. So how many months in advance should I begin and how should my study schedule look?

thanks

In general, how much time do you need to study for the DAT? I haven't started yet (and I know nothing about the test yet), but I'm planning on taking it around May. So how many months in advance should I begin and how should my study schedule look?

thanks

I gave myself a good month to really focus on just the exam... I took Kaplan and studied from their book, for the most part.

I think it would take a few months to get a good grasp on the material. I think Kaplan does a good job pacing you to learn the material well.

Spent 5 weeks, 6 days a week and 8 hours a day studying.

Spent 5 weeks, 6 days a week and 8 hours a day studying.

wholeheartedly agree with dmdhopeful. cramming all that info in one intense month of studying is more useful than cursory study spread out over 3 or 4 months.

I would definatley say spend a couple hours a day for 2 to 3 months. Better to do it right the first time!

I spent 2.5 months studying whenever possible.

It depends on what kind of sci. background you have.

If you did well in all your pre-req classes and knew most of the info in Kaplan at one point, I think 3-4 weeks 6-7 hours a day would get you a great score.

If you were not adequately prepared in your pre-req classes and you will be learning more of the info for the first time, you will need several months at 3-4 hours a day to learn and then a couple weeks before the exam to cram. Why? Because there is a limit to how much info you can store in short-term memory and it takes weeks of repition for a bit of info to be stored in long-term memory.

So, flip through Kaplan and see if most of it looks familiar. If you have never seen a lot of it before, then get ready to start well before the exam.

-P

As Podil said, it depends on your sci background... and it also depends on your situation. I haven't studied anything science oriented in over 7 years.. Ochem and Bio in 9 years, GChem in 10 years. So it may take longer or shorter depending on your situation.

I would recommend using Kaplan Blue Book as your base of knowledge. If you feel comfortable that you know most of that material, there are other resources out there that you may want to check out...especially in Bio. Once you start taking practice exams and start doing practice problems, that will give you a more genuine assessment on where you stand.

I personally spent about 3 weeks getting reacquainted with the sciences, another couple of weeks doing practice problems, and the last month will be exams. In all, it will be a total of 2.5 months/about 5 hours a day. I never lost the QR, and PAT you'll acquire with practice. The last month of my studying is going to be practice exam intensive with occasional comprehensive reviews of the sciences using Kaplan BB. If I'm scoring well on practice exams, I'll stay on schedule and take the DAT in January. If not, we have the luxury of rescheduling if need be.

Good luck.