Studying for DAT with a full-time job

[sl2obel2ts]

Hi,

I am seeking advice from knowledgeable people here. I am working full time. I can take as long as I want to study for DAT, but with one exception after work and sundays only. I asked my dentist and he said he took a DAT course and it was really helpful. I see Kaplan for 1400 but I am not sure if that will be worth the money. Well the dentist I asked only applied to UCSF and got in, I guess hes a genius. I want to be really prepared, as in, study like 1 year to be prepared for ONE SOLID test. I have b.s. engineering, so I am good with math and physics. I took a sample PAT test from a book, it was really easy for me. It has been 3 years since I took Ochem, which I think might be a problem. and I am not a native-english speaker as well. What do you recommend?

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[Bizznet]

I suggest this...don't take too long to study...For example..lets say you study for 6 months... the first 3 months you won't even remember...at least not as well. I would suggest studying for no more than 2 1/2 months before the exam to have everything as fresh as it could be for the exam. Read the kaplan book first..read schaums or ap cliffs....then do destroyer and acheiver.

The kaplan class itself will be a waste of your time and is not necessary unless your an unstructured person. It will provide a timeline for you..nothing else.

 

[sl2obel2ts]

I suggest this...don't take too long to study...For example..lets say you study for 6 months... the first 3 months you won't even remember...at least not as well. I would suggest studying for no more than 2 1/2 months before the exam to have everything as fresh as it could be for the exam. Read the kaplan book first..read schaums or ap cliffs....then do destroyer and acheiver.

The kaplan class itself will be a waste of your time and is not necessary unless your an unstructured person. It will provide a timeline for you..nothing else.

Alrite, 3 months will do. Is there a timeline that I can follow?

 

[Montserrat]

I was working full time while I was prepping for the DAT as well. I study better at night, so it worked out well for me.

I didn't have much time to take practice exams, and it hurt me badly when I took the DAT the first time. I would suggest reviewing all of the material once (it took me about 4 weeks with the kaplan blue book, some textbooks for reference, and schaum's bio book - 3 hours a night for 6 nights a week), take a practice exam from topscore or achiever, and purchase the DAT destroyer for supplemental practice on actual problems. This should give you an idea of any deficient areas, and where your knowledge base is lacking. Since English is not your native tongue, I would suggest getting your hands on the princeton review reading comprehension practice for the MCAT. It helped me with tone questions and quicker reading through practice.

I can't emphasize this enough - the format of the exam, timing, and familiarity with taking exams off a computer screen are as important as knowing the materials you study from. I'm taking the DAT for the second time at the end of October, and really, the practice has made all the difference to my timing and efficiency. The overall timeline is really up to you - how much time you can devote to being prepared, and how long it takes you get to a point where you feel you are ready.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

I agree w/ doing everything within a 3 month timeframe too. If you can study for it about 25 hrs/week, you'll reach a peak level of readiness after a couple of months. I also studied while working full time, and I think it's probably easier that way than if you were taking other classes simultaneously. Use some of your vacation days in the weeks leading up to the exam to put in some long marathon study sessions. If you have any dead time at work, bring in a few sheets of paper w/ stuff you have to memorize (or email it to your work computer). I highly recommend using Kaplan as well, but you don't need to do the classroom stuff (all they do is read from a lecture guide). The Kaplan study materials and the practice exams are excellent. Take the online course (same price I believe) so you can do it according to your schedule. I would also use any other DAT prep materials mentioned on this site (Destroyer, etc). I wasn't aware of those when I studied for it and I think it would have filled in some holes that I had from Kaplan. Since you're working you should use your financial advantage and pay for all these test prep services. Don't sweat the length of time since you took Ochem, etc. You'll relearn all the stuff you need. Your ESL status isn't evident by your writing, so your reading comp. should be affected. If your an engineer this material will be a piece of cake for you. Also, engineering major applicants to D-school have the highest success rate. Good luck.