Whens the best time for DAT?

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asdfray

asdfray

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you take it when you're ready.

Trying to take it early just to be able to submit the 1st day the aadsas app opens is meaningless. They meaning the schools don't care if you're 1st in line but you have a poor score. Its better to be close to the front but with great scores.

as for availability of test date and time, you can go to the prometric site and see their calendar based on which location you want. Not sure if they have anything posted that 8 months to nearly a year in advance.
 
asdfray said:
Hi everyone, since the Fall semester haven't started yet (stress has not set in :D), I'm trying to plan ahead and look through the calendar for the best time to take the DATs - which has to be sometime at the end of the Spring of 2012. NOTE: I'm doing this because a lot of the software and resources has a expiration date. (ex. Chad's)

So along with studying for the DAT, I'll ONLY be taking orgo 2 - which would give me enough time to study (I hope:scared:) for a good 3-4 months (starting the beginning of January) before taking it - but when's the best day? My plan is to study for at least 10-12 hours a day (trust me I can do it :D)

According to a friend that took orgo 2 last spring, the first midterm was 3/30 and the second midterm was 5/11; finals week was 5/17-5/24.

Here's the options I've come up with:
1) Take the DAT at the end of spring break, which is 4/6-4/16. This option allows me to fully concentrate on the DAT for 10 days, without the interruption of orgo 2 (lecture, lab, etc.) The only disadvantage of this is that I would have to learn the rest of the semester's material before that date. If I set it for this date, I would have had approximately 3 and a half month of studying. If I did bad on my DATs(praying that doesn't happen!!! :eek:), I can retake July 16, which isn't too late right?
2) Take DAT at 4/30, which gives me a little more study time and that's always a good thing :thumbup:! Gives me an overall 4 months of study time WOOT!!
3) Take DAT sometime after finals (mid-June). I really don't want to resort to this option because my goal is to have everything submitted by the beginning of June. :xf:

Any feedback is much appreciated. (Sorry for the rambling.. I always like to have a plan :cool: - it's just less messy that way) Also, can someone tell me how the availability of test dates are? (noob question)

Ok, I'm done..Good luck to everyone this cycle! Cheers:love:
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When does your school let out for winter break? If it lets out at the beginning of December, I would take a couple days off after finals and then study from December - February and take the DAT before your first school tests start. Nothing ever happens at the beginning of the year anyway until that first test.

Honestly, you don't need a whole semester off to take the DAT. You really need maybe a month and a half if you dedicate yourself to studying. When you study for four or more months, you don't retain anything from the beginning.

And taking only one class isn't going to look great on your transcript even if you tell them you were taking the DAT. I would definitely recommend adding a few more and taking the DAT at the end of winter break/early spring semester so classes don't get in the way.
 
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Take it when you're ready.

I rescheduled two times and thought I could study for over a month :rolleyes:. Unless your background is weak in areas, meaning you have not been exposed at all to the material, a month of straight studying (your only focus) should prepare you fairly well for the test.

I wouldn't drag it out or have a strict schedule like you have. Studying 10-12 hours is very demanding physically and mentally and no one really studies this many hours every day...you have to take into account eating, sleeping (lack of...which will definitely catch up to you during your studies...you will probably take a day off to catch up on some sleep), going to the bathroom, social life (seriously, you're not going to ignore your family and friends), etc.

Be manageable and realistic with your goal. Study smarter, not harder.

Good luck!
 
I did the following:

During fall 1 year before DAT I passively starting reading cliffs AP bio and Kaplan blue book. I went through it slowly every now and then. During fall I took ochem 1.

Christmas break I hit DAT hard (PAT, gen chem, bio, QR). I went through DAT destroyer, KBB.

Winter semester I took ochem 2, and studied DAT on Saturday's for a few hrs. Semester ended end of April.

Didn't take spring classes and studied full time (4-6 hrs/day for first month, 6-8 hrs last month).
Studied CRACK DAT, Kaplan, ACS ochem, destroyer, ADA sample, SDN.

Classes I took before DAT: anatomy, advanced physiology, genetics, ecology, evolution, cell bio, molecular bio, bio 1, all the chemistries, algebra, calc
 
Also, for the record, a lot of my friends end up taking the test (even my pre-med friends with their MCAT) early with the mindset, "oh if I do bad this time, I can always take it at a later time, knock it out and still be early for the upcoming cycle". Don't be like your friends and peers and take on this mindset. Aim to do well on your first try, no matter when you take it. Again, take it when you are ready.
 
AwesomeTeeth said:
Baylor was okay with you not taking classes for a semester? I'm surprised :rolleyes:
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It was just summer 1. Took DAT june 10, submitted app with LORs around june 20, and took classes summer 2.

(Baylor cares more about (dislikes) you having a big break between undergrad & DS, and less about summer breaks)
 
slm266 said:
It was just summer 1. Took DAT june 10, submitted app with LORs around june 20, and took classes summer 2.

(Baylor cares more about (dislikes) you having a big break between undergrad & DS, and less about summer breaks)
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Ah I see. When you said you didn't take classes in the spring, i thought you meant from Jan-May. Which I'm sure would raise a red flag at Baylor.
 
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take physio instead of micro before the DAT. Physio will help you much more.
 
I wish I can! at the college I'm at, Physio is only offered in the Spring semesters. :(
 
I'm a post bac as well and I would recommend taking it mid June. That will allow you 4-5 weeks of pure focus on the DAT. You might be surprised how much time OChem 2 will take...after studying for that every day for a couple hours its going to be hard to pick up an AP Bio book. You can still submit everything early in June and fill in your proposed DAT date in AADSAS. It usually takes around 10-14 days for AADSAS to receive your DAT scores so if you submit early June and take your DAT mid June your app will be verified and mailed around the time your DAT scores are received. As long as you submit your app in June or July you are pretty much considered "early."

If you are only taking OChem 2 then use the hypothetical 3-4 hours you will have to get acquainted with all the material you will need and begin burning it into your skull. Then use the 4-5 weeks of only DAT studying to take full practice tests and work on weak spots. I was in your shoes just a few months ago thinking I could study over the spring semester only taking Bio 2 and OChem 2...that did not happen haha...but it sounds good in theory!
 
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@twentytwelve: I'm think that's going to be my alternative, if things don't work out for that semester. thanks for that advice! amazing scores btw:D

Another noob question for yall: the topics listed in each section (bio,chem,orgo) in the DAT 2011 program guide - are those the ONLY topics that's going to be covered on the test? or are these just sample of topics that's actually on it? thx:thumbup:
 
asdfray said:
Another noob question for yall: the topics listed in each section (bio,chem,orgo) in the DAT 2011 program guide - are those the ONLY topics that's going to be covered on the test? or are these just sample of topics that's actually on it? thx:thumbup:
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That's all the science sections on the test: Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. But they might ask you ecology, anatomy, microbiology, etc. in the biology section. Nothing too crazy though. There should a further breakdown of the sub topics in that guide as well.
 
yeah I'm talking about the sub-topics.

Ex. Under Biology

  • Cell and Molecular Biology - origin of life, cell metabolism (including photosynthesis/ enzymology, cellular processes, thermodynamics, organelle structure and function, mitosis/meiosis, cell structure, and experimental cell biology

  • Diversity of Life: Biological Organization and Relationship of Major Taxa (Six-Kingdom, Three-Domain System) – plantae, animalia, protista, fungi, eubacteria (bacteria), archae, etc.

  • Structure and Function of Systems - integumentary, skeletal, muscular, circulatory, immunological, digestive, respiratory, urinary, nervous/senses, endocrine, reproductive, etc.

  • Developmental Biology - fertilization, descriptive embryology, developmental mechanisms, and experimental embryology

  • Genetics - molecular genetics, human genetics, classical genetics, chromosomal genetics, and genetic technology

  • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior - natural selection, population genetics/speciation, cladistics, population and community ecology, ecosystems, and animal behavior (including social behavior).
Are these the ONLY subtopics on the DATs and nothing besides these are going to be on the exam? Should I only focus on these subtopics?

Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. :laugh:
 
i didnt read your thread but if you think about any semester of courses youve had, im sure you could find 2-3 hours a day to study and not diddledaddle on facebook or goofing off. if you dedicate serious time to studying everyday, i'd say master PAT QR and RC first, (with QR studysheet for future review) and then spend time untill test date mastering science. the 1-2 month winter break seems like a good time to get 8hours of studying a day done! also remember if youre trying to apply early, youll need to have completed shadowing!
 
@crax: it's true.. I'll have to keep myself pretty dedicated on my DAT prep time, which is not going to be easy. Hopefully it will workout for me. :oops:

Also, I've been shadowing on and off at my local hospital's dental medicine department for about a year and a half now - so when I apply, I should have more than enough hours :D
 
asdfray said:
@crax: it's true.. I'll have to keep myself pretty dedicated on my DAT prep time, which is not going to be easy. Hopefully it will workout for me. :oops:

Also, I've been shadowing on and off at my local hospital's dental medicine department for about a year and a half now - so when I apply, I should have more than enough hours :D
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just a sidenote, you may want to check out some other dental specialties, as well as practices. i have "heard" (and take this with a grain of salt), that dental schools like to see that you have a vast array of exposure, for example unless you plan on working out of a hospital for the rest of your life, it may be necessary that you check out some private practices where you're more likely to see the day to day doings.
 
Strag said:
Also, for the record, a lot of my friends end up taking the test (even my pre-med friends with their MCAT) early with the mindset, "oh if I do bad this time, I can always take it at a later time, knock it out and still be early for the upcoming cycle". Don't be like your friends and peers and take on this mindset. Aim to do well on your first try, no matter when you take it. Again, take it when you are ready.
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The cost of $300 a test was enough to motivate me to do well the first time. Plus who really wants to take it twice... Thats more potential leisure time waisted.
 
asdfray said:
yeah I'm talking about the sub-topics.

Ex. Under Biology

  • Cell and Molecular Biology - origin of life, cell metabolism (including photosynthesis/ enzymology, cellular processes, thermodynamics, organelle structure and function, mitosis/meiosis, cell structure, and experimental cell biology

  • Diversity of Life: Biological Organization and Relationship of Major Taxa (Six-Kingdom, Three-Domain System) – plantae, animalia, protista, fungi, eubacteria (bacteria), archae, etc.

  • Structure and Function of Systems - integumentary, skeletal, muscular, circulatory, immunological, digestive, respiratory, urinary, nervous/senses, endocrine, reproductive, etc.

  • Developmental Biology - fertilization, descriptive embryology, developmental mechanisms, and experimental embryology

  • Genetics - molecular genetics, human genetics, classical genetics, chromosomal genetics, and genetic technology

  • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior - natural selection, population genetics/speciation, cladistics, population and community ecology, ecosystems, and animal behavior (including social behavior).
Are these the ONLY subtopics on the DATs and nothing besides these are going to be on the exam? Should I only focus on these subtopics?

Sorry if I wasn't clear on that. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Can someone help me answer this question? mucho gracias:thumbup:
 
Aim for this December so that you can retake later if you need to. Otherwise, spring time wouldn't be a bad idea--if your goal is to take it only once. The trick is to stick to your schedule and study VERY hard! It'll pay off, trust me.
 
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