Studying DAT and working full-time. Advice?

[Jessie504]

Hey y'all!

I work full-time and am studying for the DAT. While its not the ideal situation, its life and someone has to pay the bills, and since there are no volunteers- I work! haha humor.

I have no date set in mind yet, but I want to plan a date out once I get a steady schedule underway. I was wondering if anyone has done this, with success, and wouldn't mind sharing their regular study schedule and how their typical work week was combined with studying? Any advice is appreciated.

Most of everyone I talk to and hear about says the same, "I studied 8 hours every day, for months in advance" and while I wish that could be me, I just don't have that luxury. So I'm desperately seeking some tips on how to balance work and studying alone.

Thanks

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[1Overdrive]

I studied for it while taking full time classes and doing research/shadowing along with that. 2-3 months of that, but I found weekends to be a huge luxury in allowing me to pull off 30 hours between Friday-Sunday. I ended up with 24AA/24TS.

It really depends on how you manage your time. I'm sure if you give yourself at least 300 hours of studying ( just find time, even if 30 minute sessions) you'll blow it out of the water.

 

[PinkZinfandel]

I am in the same situation. I am a non-trad and have been out of school for a few years.

 

[kayden28]

When I was studying for the DAT, I was working a full-time job (40 hours a week and sometimes overtime), and attending 2 classes after work (3 hours each per week, on top of assignments, midterms, and finals for the courses). My scores ended up being:

TS: 19
AA: 20
RC: 21
PAT: 23

It is difficult but it is do-able! This was a typical day (without school):

8 am - 4:30 pm : WORK
- I would get up at 7 am, make breakfast, pack lunch and drive to work.
- I had a one hour lunch break which I'd sometimes use to do a few PAT problem sets (because one hour isn't enough time to dedicate to learning bio or chem). This was often difficult though because co-workers always wanted to eat together and go out for lunch so I eventually gave up trying to do this and just used the hour to kick back and relax.

5 pm - 5:45 pm : RELAX & EAT
- I'd usually be home by 5 ish after work, and I'd eat a snack, watch tv or take a power nap. Whatever I needed to do to get in the mood to study.

5:45 - 8 pm: STUDY
- TIP: It helps HUGELY if you don't have to move around often to study. If you have one space in your house or room that's constantly set up for studying and you don't have to pack up and move your books every time you want to study, this will save you tons of time everyday! I strongly suggest this because at first, it was taking me about 15 minutes to get set up and start studying. Those minutes add up over time.
- I'd focus on one area during these two hours. Namely bio or chem (whatever I needed more help with) because you're likely more refreshed at this time than later in the evening.

8 - 8:30 pm: RELAX & EAT
- I'd eat again to re-fuel and watch a quick tv show. I tried to avoid lying in bed or getting too comfy because that would deter me from getting back up and studying.

8:30 - 10:30 pm: STUDY
- I'd use this time to do practice science questions or PAT.
- If the day felt too long and I was tired by this point already, I'd just review the concepts that I'd learned before or watch Chad's videos because it's not worth it to try and take in new info when you're in a tired state.

11 pm: SLEEP
- I'd usually be in bed about this time because I really need 8 hours of sleep to function.

Then wake up at 7 and do it again. Of course there were two days a week I couldn't do this because I had to commute to another city to attend class and then commute home after to get up and go to work. Weekends were my savior! I'd sleep in until 8:30, get up and do a practice PAT test, read a science journal article over breakfast, and then get started on a full day of studying.

Don't forget to leave yourself room for error and time to catch up if you fall behind. Sometimes you just need an evening or a whole day off, and that's okay. It's better to take some time to recuperate than burn yourself out and lose focus.

The most important thing though is your mental attitude towards studying. You have to find motivation in yourself and have a rise-and-shine attitude everyday because there just simply is no time to waste if you want to be a dentist. This next little bit of your life will be a structured routine. You will probably be anti-social, overworked, underfed, and eventually overtired. But it will all be worth it when you see your scores.

I hope this helps a bit and if you need more info, definitely ask! I'd be more than happy to help having been in your position not too long ago. GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Dentalguy8621]

I'm doing this now as well. I work three 12 hour shifts at the hospital and have 4 days of straight DAT. Time management is key. We are gonna need that in Dental School. That's my mentality.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

I would much rather work and study DAT then take 12 credit hours and study DAT. Work doesn't come home like studying for classes does.

 

[customx]

I studied for the DAT and worked full-time. Discipline is the key. Set a test date, that way you'll feel the pressure to study when you don't want to. I set up a countdown on my phone so I would constantly see how many days and hours remained. Be prepared to make sacrifices and study at every opportunity. After you take the DAT and get great scores it will all be worth it.

 

[Dentalguy8621]

Great support and input from everyone. *as I sit here on my work break practicing organic nomenclature* lol

 

[Jessie504]

When I was studying for the DAT, I was working a full-time job (40 hours a week and sometimes overtime), and attending 2 classes after work (3 hours each per week, on top of assignments, midterms, and finals for the courses). My scores ended up being:

TS: 19
AA: 20
RC: 21
PAT: 23

It is difficult but it is do-able! This was a typical day (without school):

8 am - 4:30 pm : WORK
- I would get up at 7 am, make breakfast, pack lunch and drive to work.
- I had a one hour lunch break which I'd sometimes use to do a few PAT problem sets (because one hour isn't enough time to dedicate to learning bio or chem). This was often difficult though because co-workers always wanted to eat together and go out for lunch so I eventually gave up trying to do this and just used the hour to kick back and relax.

5 pm - 5:45 pm : RELAX & EAT
- I'd usually be home by 5 ish after work, and I'd eat a snack, watch tv or take a power nap. Whatever I needed to do to get in the mood to study.

5:45 - 8 pm: STUDY
- TIP: It helps HUGELY if you don't have to move around often to study. If you have one space in your house or room that's constantly set up for studying and you don't have to pack up and move your books every time you want to study, this will save you tons of time everyday! I strongly suggest this because at first, it was taking me about 15 minutes to get set up and start studying. Those minutes add up over time.
- I'd focus on one area during these two hours. Namely bio or chem (whatever I needed more help with) because you're likely more refreshed at this time than later in the evening.

8 - 8:30 pm: RELAX & EAT
- I'd eat again to re-fuel and watch a quick tv show. I tried to avoid lying in bed or getting too comfy because that would deter me from getting back up and studying.

8:30 - 10:30 pm: STUDY
- I'd use this time to do practice science questions or PAT.
- If the day felt too long and I was tired by this point already, I'd just review the concepts that I'd learned before or watch Chad's videos because it's not worth it to try and take in new info when you're in a tired state.

11 pm: SLEEP
- I'd usually be in bed about this time because I really need 8 hours of sleep to function.

Then wake up at 7 and do it again. Of course there were two days a week I couldn't do this because I had to commute to another city to attend class and then commute home after to get up and go to work. Weekends were my savior! I'd sleep in until 8:30, get up and do a practice PAT test, read a science journal article over breakfast, and then get started on a full day of studying.

Don't forget to leave yourself room for error and time to catch up if you fall behind. Sometimes you just need an evening or a whole day off, and that's okay. It's better to take some time to recuperate than burn yourself out and lose focus.

The most important thing though is your mental attitude towards studying. You have to find motivation in yourself and have a rise-and-shine attitude everyday because there just simply is no time to waste if you want to be a dentist. This next little bit of your life will be a structured routine. You will probably be anti-social, overworked, underfed, and eventually overtired. But it will all be worth it when you see your scores.

I hope this helps a bit and if you need more info, definitely ask! I'd be more than happy to help having been in your position not too long ago. GOOD LUCK!!

Thank you SO much for sharing your schedule of how you did it! Definitely feels good to know I'm not alone, and I appreciate hearing other's schedules to try and adapt to one myself. I like that you gave yourself little breaks in between. Thank you for sharing! )

 

[Dotoday]

It is definitely possible. Study a little bit at a time. Start slow, with Organic chem as a second language, Cliffs and Feralis notes for bio, Schaums outlines for gen chem. Then do Destroyer, Odyssey and CrackDAT. However, do 20-30 questions at a time and look up all the info you did not know.

 

[SmileDesignersDDS]

Bro in life we all have obstacles and with hard work and determination anything is possible. If you want it bad enough you will make it! Set up schedules, record yourself speaking and listen to those recordings on the way to work. Maybe while you work on breaks think about (hey damn I just saw an earth worm outside, that's an annelid right, oh and it's segmented right) etc or wow I totally stepped on an arthropod on my way to the bathroom and it's blood (hemolymph) splattered everywhere maybe that means it doesn't have a closed circulatory system. Lol just throwing ideas out there. I myself test myself throughout the day even at the gym! When I lift weights sometimes I think of the actin and myosin sliding past each other!

 

[CoFe2]

This brings up a fun little point!

The DAT often feels to me like a test of how well you understand yourself.

By this point in your academic career, you should have a decent idea of what kind of student you are. Some people, without a doubt, can multitask a billion different things at once and finish them all with a high degree of excellence. Others, like me, work best when we focus on one thing at a time. The answer to this question is going to be different from person to person. I advise doing some self reflection and being very, very honest with yourself about where you believe your strengths lie. Also, I, like countless others, had to make a bit of a sacrifice in order to get the time and breathing room I needed to prepare. In deciding to take just one real class and a couple filler classes, I became a "part time student", which I'm sure does not look good on a transcript.

Yet I decided to do this because I knew (having tried the previous quarter) that I just could not at all prepare for the DAT alongside a full load. For me, it was just not possible.

WOW I really like this! Excellent point!!!

 

[Jessie504]

Bro in life we all have obstacles and with hard work and determination anything is possible. If you want it bad enough you will make it! Set up schedules, record yourself speaking and listen to those recordings on the way to work. Maybe while you work on breaks think about (hey damn I just saw an earth worm outside, that's an annelid right, oh and it's segmented right) etc or wow I totally stepped on an arthropod on my way to the bathroom and it's blood (hemolymph) splattered everywhere maybe that means it doesn't have a closed circulatory system. Lol just throwing ideas out there. I myself test myself throughout the day even at the gym! When I lift weights sometimes I think of the actin and myosin sliding past each other!

haha totally have me laughing!! I love this!! Thank you, it actually is very smart and a great way to stay multi-tasking and on top of things. Thanks

 

[SmileDesignersDDS]

No problem. Your personal hurdles shouldn't hold you back from your passion of being an artist in the field of dentistry!

 

[tandem7]

I worked full time and took classes. I studied for the DAT any chance I could--weekends especially, but also in the evenings and during lunch. I used my vacation time to take off the last 3 weeks before I was scheduled to take the test, which really helped, so if you could swing it, I would suggest taking the last couple of weeks off before the DAT AFTER you have spent weeks studying while working. I finished with a 25AA/26TS/20PAT.

 

[Jessie504]

I worked full time and took classes. I studied for the DAT any chance I could--weekends especially, but also in the evenings and during lunch. I used my vacation time to take off the last 3 weeks before I was scheduled to take the test, which really helped, so if you could swing it, I would suggest taking the last couple of weeks off before the DAT AFTER you have spent weeks studying while working. I finished with a 25AA/26TS/20PAT.

Thank you for the feedback!

Its a daily challenge to stay on top of it all, but when I hear how you and others have been in this position and managed to do it all, its a great motivation booster!