- Joined
- Jun 21, 2020
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I've written and re-written this post a few times. I'm just going to shorten the story and say that I shouldn't have had a chance. I graduated in 2017, haven't thought about science since, accepted a promotion that came with a cross-country move (right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic), have a little 2-year-old son that just wants to play with me because I work from home, and a pregnant wife that just entered her third trimester. The odds were stacked against me performing well on the DAT.
Again, I'm shortening this, so just know that I decided to pursue dentistry again with 10 weeks to go before taking the DAT (I had to get it in with decent time to interview before acceptances and such in December). I have decent stats - nothing crazy with a 3.6 GPA and 3.4 sGPA. However, I started at nothing - I'm not exaggerating when I say I couldn't remember the difference between a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell. I even relearned what ATP was used for and even what stoichiometry meant.
What did I do? I clung to DAT Bootcamp religiously. I stuck to the study schedule and program that they suggest (although I did do a little modification in the last month). I worked until 4 or 5 every day, spent a couple of hours with the fam (Friday's were like a little extended date night), and then hit the "books" (my laptop) until about 1 am. I slept, rinsed, and repeated.
It was a freaking grind for sure. My practice test scores show it - I was in the 16s and 17s and I was anything but consistent. But I just kept at it - going over the explanations to any and every problem - especially the ones I missed. All along the way - there were tearful moments, times where I felt like I made a huge misstep in pursuing this again. But alas, I kept going. I just trusted that things were going to work out. I'm convinced that whatever study method you use will work only as well as how dedicated you are to it. For me, it was DAT Bootcamp, and you bet I was dedicated.
The last 3 practice tests I saw a consistent uptick. This gave me confidence. I was finally somewhere around 20 and felt like I could at least go into the test and perform at a decent level. 3 years out of school, 10 weeks into studying, and 8 weeks into my new move and work position, I took the test. I'm no genius. I just worked my freaking butt off and had an awesome wife that supported me throwing away my summer for this. Anyways, I scored a 25 AA. I was freaking pumped. I couldn't dream it up better than this.
If you're anything like me, you're probably reading this thinking that I'm the anomaly. Because guess what, that's what I did reading some of these posts. I'd see someone get a 24 after claiming that they studied only like 3-4 hours a day and I'd be like - "yeah, well they're a genius and I'm not". It gave me a little motivation/reassurance, but I wrote it off that they were better than me. I was still shooting for a 20-21.
Maybe one person reads this. And if you're that one person and if you're like me, seriously, YOU CAN DO IT. I don't mean that in a rah-rah or cheesy way. I mean that because I freaking did it. I didn't think I had a chance, and in all reality, I shouldn't have had a chance. I read about people that just studied what they were weak at - and concentrated their study time like that. I didn't have that luxury! I was weak in all areas! So I was at it every single night. And guess what, it paid off. It will for you too.
If anybody would find it helpful, I can share my study schedule/routine/outline or scores. But maybe what I wrote will be enough to help whoever needs it right now.
Again, I'm shortening this, so just know that I decided to pursue dentistry again with 10 weeks to go before taking the DAT (I had to get it in with decent time to interview before acceptances and such in December). I have decent stats - nothing crazy with a 3.6 GPA and 3.4 sGPA. However, I started at nothing - I'm not exaggerating when I say I couldn't remember the difference between a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell. I even relearned what ATP was used for and even what stoichiometry meant.
What did I do? I clung to DAT Bootcamp religiously. I stuck to the study schedule and program that they suggest (although I did do a little modification in the last month). I worked until 4 or 5 every day, spent a couple of hours with the fam (Friday's were like a little extended date night), and then hit the "books" (my laptop) until about 1 am. I slept, rinsed, and repeated.
It was a freaking grind for sure. My practice test scores show it - I was in the 16s and 17s and I was anything but consistent. But I just kept at it - going over the explanations to any and every problem - especially the ones I missed. All along the way - there were tearful moments, times where I felt like I made a huge misstep in pursuing this again. But alas, I kept going. I just trusted that things were going to work out. I'm convinced that whatever study method you use will work only as well as how dedicated you are to it. For me, it was DAT Bootcamp, and you bet I was dedicated.
The last 3 practice tests I saw a consistent uptick. This gave me confidence. I was finally somewhere around 20 and felt like I could at least go into the test and perform at a decent level. 3 years out of school, 10 weeks into studying, and 8 weeks into my new move and work position, I took the test. I'm no genius. I just worked my freaking butt off and had an awesome wife that supported me throwing away my summer for this. Anyways, I scored a 25 AA. I was freaking pumped. I couldn't dream it up better than this.
If you're anything like me, you're probably reading this thinking that I'm the anomaly. Because guess what, that's what I did reading some of these posts. I'd see someone get a 24 after claiming that they studied only like 3-4 hours a day and I'd be like - "yeah, well they're a genius and I'm not". It gave me a little motivation/reassurance, but I wrote it off that they were better than me. I was still shooting for a 20-21.
Maybe one person reads this. And if you're that one person and if you're like me, seriously, YOU CAN DO IT. I don't mean that in a rah-rah or cheesy way. I mean that because I freaking did it. I didn't think I had a chance, and in all reality, I shouldn't have had a chance. I read about people that just studied what they were weak at - and concentrated their study time like that. I didn't have that luxury! I was weak in all areas! So I was at it every single night. And guess what, it paid off. It will for you too.
If anybody would find it helpful, I can share my study schedule/routine/outline or scores. But maybe what I wrote will be enough to help whoever needs it right now.
