2nd year pre-dent

[siba]

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Hello! I'm a 2nd year pre-dent in college, planning to apply in 09 or 10 cycle. I want to take my DAT over the summer b/c I'll be finishing up with my relevant courses by the end of this school year. However, I know most people take it either in their 3rd year or a few months before applying. I would really appreicate it if anyone could give me any suggestion on whether or not I should take it so soon.

Also, what are/were you guys doing as a 2nd year pre-dent?

THANKS SO MUCH!🙂

 

[wigglytooth]

Hello! I'm a 2nd year pre-dent in college, planning to apply in 09 or 10 cycle. I want to take my DAT over the summer b/c I'll be finishing up with my relevant courses by the end of this school year. However, I know most people take it either in their 3rd year or a few months before applying. I would really appreicate it if anyone could give me any suggestion on whether or not I should take it so soon.

Also, what are/were you guys doing as a 2nd year pre-dent?

THANKS SO MUCH!🙂

Hi Siba... I took my DAT between sophomore and junior years and it really feels good to have it out of the way. Another advantage to taking it during that time (besides having those pre-req's fresh in your mind) is that you're given plenty of time to retake it if you need to. The disadvantage is that some schools don't accept DAT scores if they're taken before a certain date. This only affects you if you have to reapply.

 

[Turnerjo13]

I took my DAT after my junior year and it worked out really well for me. I liked the fact that I had a lot of my upper division sciences classes under my belt when I started to study. I think biochem and anatomy were both really helpful. This helped especially for bio and o-chem sections. I would suggest if this is what you want to do try tutoring or TA or something to try to keep the basic sciences fresh in your head.

good luck with your studying.

 

[Mackchops]

The TA idea is a good one. However, I would recommend taking it as soon as possible after taking Orgo and either/both anatomy/physiology. Also, make sure you have plenty of time to devote to studying because, regardless of how fresh this stuff is in your mind you're going to want to really know it. Make sure you spend some time understanding the concepts and not just the answers -- it'll make recall easier and more accurate during your test. I got a 24 (100 percentile 28 in bio) studying this way so pm me if you have any questions.

 

[dr.rex]

even though you hav ethe prereqs for the DAT done upper level courses really reinforce the material and really helped prepare me much better than i would have been if i had just taken it right after soph year

 

[siba]

The TA idea is a good one. However, I would recommend taking it as soon as possible after taking Orgo and either/both anatomy/physiology. Also, make sure you have plenty of time to devote to studying because, regardless of how fresh this stuff is in your mind you're going to want to really know it. Make sure you spend some time understanding the concepts and not just the answers -- it'll make recall easier and more accurate during your test. I got a 24 (100 percentile 28 in bio) studying this way so pm me if you have any questions.

Thanks Mackchops! 🙂 I think I only eight weeks to study during summer (mid-June to early-August) Do you think that'll be enough to study for it? Could you also expand on what you did to really UNDERSTAND the material?

Wow! congrats on your bio score! 🙂 Have u applied yet?

 

[siba]

even though you hav ethe prereqs for the DAT done upper level courses really reinforce the material and really helped prepare me much better than i would have been if i had just taken it right after soph year

Thanks Dr. Rex! Well...my problem is, first of all, I'm a non-science major. I do plan to take microbio, anatomy, and biochem in my junior year, but if I really want to avoid applying and taking DAT at the same time at the end of my junior year. I also heard the everything is basic on DAT, meaning nothing from upper div class? Is it not true?

How was your time frame like when you applied?

 

[siba]

Hi Siba... I took my DAT between sophomore and junior years and it really feels good to have it out of the way. Another advantage to taking it during that time (besides having those pre-req's fresh in your mind) is that you're given plenty of time to retake it if you need to. The disadvantage is that some schools don't accept DAT scores if they're taken before a certain date. This only affects you if you have to reapply.

Helloooo! Thanks a lot Wigglytooth! 🙂 (do you know by chance when that "certain date" might be?) I assume that you did pretty well on DAT? Congrats! Did the test reflect only on things from basic science?

Are you a junior now? Have you applied yet?

 

[Mackchops]

Applied and accepted. 90% sure heading to NYU.

By understanding the material I mean grasping the concepts surrounding the answer. For example, when I was studying for bio I would take a kaplan subject test and, when I got one wrong I would turn back to my textbook and read up all I could on that focused topic. That way I knew the answers to questions LIKE the one I got wrong and not just that specific question. A lot of SIMILAR questions to my practice questions turned up on the test. It also saves you time from having to study subjects you already know.

And yes, 8 weeks is more than enough if you're only going to be studying. I took 16 credits over the summer while taking kaplan and then just studied non-stop for the last week and a half before my test. Worked for me.

 

[siba]

I took my DAT after my junior year and it worked out really well for me. I liked the fact that I had a lot of my upper division sciences classes under my belt when I started to study. I think biochem and anatomy were both really helpful. This helped especially for bio and o-chem sections. I would suggest if this is what you want to do try tutoring or TA or something to try to keep the basic sciences fresh in your head.

good luck with your studying.

Thanks Turnerjo13! 🙂 I really want to avoid applying and taking DAT at the same time at the end of my junior year. I want to get it done this summer and only focus on applying next summer. What was your time frame like?

 

[Turnerjo13]

I studied over the summer after my junior year and I applied at the same time. I studied for about seven week with a one week break in the middle for vacation. I probably averaged four hours of studying every day. I studied in the evenings and weekends because I had a full time job. I would not worry about it overlapping with applying because you should work on you application all spring and have it done by early summer. My secondary applications came late in the summer after they had received my DAT scores and my application was complete. I took the DAT in early august which is about the latest I would recommend anyone take it if you want to be included in the first round of interviewees at most schools.

good luck

 

[wigglytooth]

Helloooo! Thanks a lot Wigglytooth! 🙂 (do you know by chance when that "certain date" might be?) I assume that you did pretty well on DAT? Congrats! Did the test reflect only on things from basic science?

Are you a junior now? Have you applied yet?

Usually the scores "go stale" after 2 years. And yeah, the sciences were quite basic. If you have read Campbell's Biology for class, nothing really goes out of that scope. Any gen chem or orgo book should do. Getting the Kaplan guide is a great way to get some idea of what topics are covered. And yup, I'm a junior and I'm applying in the spring 😱 Good luck with the DAT