Next Cycle Applicant, need answers?

Smilemoncheri · Oct 24, 2009

Hi all!
After a lot of thinking thinking and all, I decided that it would be best for me to apply next cycle instead of this cycle. Mostly because I do not have much shadowing experience, my background is more research oriented plus I still have not taken the DAT. I am what people call a non-traditional applicant, I worked in the health field and then decided that I can do more to help people!

So here is my questions for current DS applicants:
How long on average do people take in preparing well for the DAT exam?

Would D-school consider the length of time it's been since I took the pre-requisite courses needed for DS? { I graduated with my Microbiology undergrad degree over 10 yrs ago. I also just recently graduated with a Master's degree in Public Health-Epidemiology 2008, so I figure DS will see that my excellent performance in graduate school as a good indication that I can handle advance level coursework material. Is there anyone who has applied who has taken pre-req courses long time ago too?}

Does applying early to DS "really" make a difference? I see on this forum that everyone saids apply early, but is that going to increase an applicants chances??

Thanks to all who answers!

doc3232 · Oct 24, 2009

Smilemoncheri said:
Hi all!
After a lot of thinking thinking and all, I decided that it would be best for me to apply next cycle instead of this cycle. Mostly because I do not have much shadowing experience, my background is more research oriented plus I still have not taken the DAT. I am what people call a non-traditional applicant, I worked in the health field and then decided that I can do more to help people!

So here is my questions for current DS applicants:
How long on average do people take in preparing well for the DAT exam?

Would D-school consider the length of time it's been since I took the pre-requisite courses needed for DS? { I graduated with my Microbiology undergrad degree over 10 yrs ago. I also just recently graduated with a Master's degree in Public Health-Epidemiology 2008, so I figure DS will see that my excellent performance in graduate school as a good indication that I can handle advance level coursework material. Is there anyone who has applied who has taken pre-req courses long time ago too?}

Does applying early to DS "really" make a difference? I see on this forum that everyone saids apply early, but is that going to increase an applicants chances??

Thanks to all who answers!

Most study 2 months for the DAT. But it depends on YOU so this number means nothing.

Some schools do not accept prereqs that are too old (10 years for example). Search all the schools you are interested in to find out.

Applying early helps. If you have high stats apply in Dec and you will be ok.

wantVCUdental · Oct 24, 2009

How long on average do people take in preparing well for the DAT exam?

i've seen ppl generally prep 1-1.5months, Depending on their backgrounds. if you are a strong person, you can read and memorize everything in 2 weeks and take 1 week to practice.

Does applying early to DS "really" make a difference? I see on this forum that everyone saids apply early, but is that going to increase an applicants chances??

Applying early will definitely increase your chance, because admission is rolling

sorry, not sure about the pre-reqs. good luck next cycle

adizzle87 · Oct 24, 2009

What doc said. Also what I've noticed on this forum is that most people who submitted later than August and after haven't heard back for most Pre-Dec interviews. I could be wrong about that but this is what I've read up on in the late-submitters threads as well the predents website

yuppers · Oct 24, 2009

Smilemoncheri said:
How long on average do people take in preparing well for the DAT exam?

Personally I don't need to many breaks and I don't get burned out to fast so I studied for about 1 month 8-12 hours per day. Other people may choose to study for 2-3 months and only 4-6 hours per day. As doc said, it depends on you.

Smilemoncheri said:
Would D-school consider the length of time it's been since I took the pre-requisite courses needed for DS?

Yes they care. But your higher education can only help you when you have to retake some of the prereqs. And like you said it will look good.

Smilemoncheri said:
Does applying early to DS "really" make a difference? I see on this forum that everyone saids apply early, but is that going to increase an applicants chances??

Yes, apply early. DSs have rolling admissions so later on in the cycle there will be more competition since there will be less seats to fill.

Smilemoncheri · Oct 26, 2009

doc3232 said:
Most study 2 months for the DAT. But it depends on YOU so this number means nothing.

Some schools do not accept prereqs that are too old (10 years for example). Search all the schools you are interested in to find out.

Applying early helps. If you have high stats apply in Dec and you will be ok.

Yes, after posting I notice the trend on the DAT forum that 2 months is just about the average studying time. I was considering to do just that, depending also on how much I remember from my older courses too.

Do you know which schools do not accept pre-req that are too old?? I have done a few searches but none really mention too old pre-reqs, instead they speak of DAT scores not older than 2 or 3 yrs... mmm..

Basically taking pre-reqs over would be time consuming and costly. I am older and do not want to delay any longer my application to DS than what I am doing now, plus if I did good in the courses back then why should I have to re-take them!?! From the looks of it people say take pre-reqs at a University, so if I were to retake a few, it would be costly considering that a CC is less per credit hour but still money I can not afford out of my pocket at this point.

Besides I was visiting my campus and notice that they were using a textbook that I used for General Biology (same author & such, just newer edition) now. Which tells me the material has not changed so drastically since I was in undergrad.

I guess the good thing is that my master's degree is recent, and that should be a plus in my application if DS admission have doubts of my capacity to handle the workload.

wwdaffodils · Oct 26, 2009

So far I haven't come across schools who won't accept older prereqs. But just look up the numbers of a couple schools you might be interested in and ask.

And APPLY EARLY, if not only for peace of mind. The application process is LONG and it'll stress you out when you come on SDN and see people getting interview invites left and right. But by all means, if you think you absolutely need the extra couple days/weeks/months to make your application better, then don't rush; just don't needlessly prolong the submit.

Smilemoncheri · Oct 29, 2009

wwdaffodils said:
So far I haven't come across schools who won't accept older prereqs. But just look up the numbers of a couple schools you might be interested in and ask.

And APPLY EARLY, if not only for peace of mind. The application process is LONG and it'll stress you out when you come on SDN and see people getting interview invites left and right. But by all means, if you think you absolutely need the extra couple days/weeks/months to make your application better, then don't rush; just don't needlessly prolong the submit.

I am glad to hear that!! I will definitely try to make a few phone calls to the schools I am interested in and ask. Another "To Do" added to my list.

I guess for peace of mind, I will try to Apply EARLY!! I am slightly stressed now about the entire process and all of what I need to get done before the next cycle comes around. :scared:

I guess I just need to focus on slamming the DAT and the rest will fall into place!! At least that's what I am hoping!

Thanks for the advice!

Next Cycle Applicant, need answers?

Smilemoncheri

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doc3232

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wantVCUdental

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adizzle87

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yuppers

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Smilemoncheri

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wwdaffodils

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Smilemoncheri

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