Book or program to study for the DAT?

[5RWill]

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So i have officially made a switch from medicine to dentistry after studying for the MCAT for three months and doing some soul searching about where this was all leading. As well as talking to a Dentist that i've known all my life who was in the same situation. Really thinking i want OMFS. Going to shadow the OMFS in the hospital i work at sometime in the upcoming weeks and talk to him as well.

That said i need to go ahead and start studying for the DAT. I took a Kaplan program for the MCAT and it was great just extremely time consuming. Which was very hard to do working 40hrs a week. I made good progress working my PRN position i had while studying for the MCAT. That said i fell so behind i never took the MCAT because i felt i wasn't ready. I did improve a lot though, went from a 14-18 to a 23-26 and still had much ground to cover. I've then left that PRN position for a full time position in the ER as a technician on night shift. Studying for either one isn't going to be easy with a full time job. I do believe a good 20-30hrs for a good 2-3 months is necessary for a good score. But i'm going to get started none the less.

Now sorry for the ramble i guess it's just a bit about my situation. I'm sure this question gets asked a lot but what would you all recommend for a DAT prep book? Or is a program the way to go for some structure/schedule?

 

[PJDoe]

So i have officially made a switch from medicine to dentistry after studying for the MCAT for three months and doing some soul searching about where this was all leading. As well as talking to a Dentist that i've known all my life who was in the same situation. Really thinking i want OMFS. Going to shadow the OMFS in the hospital i work at sometime in the upcoming weeks and talk to him as well.

That said i need to go ahead and start studying for the DAT. I took a Kaplan program for the MCAT and it was great just extremely time consuming. Which was very hard to do working 40hrs a week. I made good progress working my PRN position i had while studying for the MCAT. That said i fell so behind i never took the MCAT because i felt i wasn't ready. I did improve a lot though, went from a 14-18 to a 23-26 and still had much ground to cover. I've then left that PRN position for a full time position in the ER as a technician on night shift. Studying for either one isn't going to be easy with a full time job. I do believe a good 20-30hrs for a good 2-3 months is necessary for a good score. But i'm going to get started none the less.

Now sorry for the ramble i guess it's just a bit about my situation. I'm sure this question gets asked a lot but what would you all recommend for a DAT prep book? Or is a program the way to go for some structure/schedule?

First off, the DAT Destroyer is a must. This book helped me tremendously. It contains a compilation of multiple choice questions for each subject (orgo, chem, bio and QR). The answer key in the back does a great job explaining all the concepts. Usefulness ranking: 10/10
For biology, AP Cliff's (3rd edition) is great. Usefulness ranking: 7.5/10
If you need a general overview of the materials, I highly recommend Chad's videos for chem and orgo. Usefulness ranking: 9/10

 

[5RWill]

Awesome that's what i'm looking for. So a program isn't truly necessary per say? I'm thinking since it isn't critically thinking based like the MCAT i don't need a teacher/program to help me learn how to actively read/MAP and answer questions.

 

[10617573]

Im taking the test in about 7 weeks using Ap cliffs 3rd edition, Ferrallis notes, Chads videos, Destroyer and Bootcamp, 2009 and 2007 practice Dat exams also. From what I've been able to gleam from the forums all the top scorers are mainly using this. Some obviously use the kaplan or CDP but those are all very expensive and out of my budget this was a very cheap alternative for me. So I guess I can let you know in 7 weeks if the materials I'm using are enough! haha sorry wish I could be of more help.

 

[brofessor91]

To study the material on the DAT I think the best is Chad's Videos for the chemistries, Feralis Bio Notes, which are free, and maybe look at Chad's videos for QR if you're rusty and Kaplan Blue Book for PAT.

After you get a good grasp on the information start testing yourself/doing practice problems with DAT Destroyer/Math Destroyer and Crack DAT Pat. These will reinforce the concepts you learned while studying, as well as teach you stuff you may have overlooked/forgotten.

And then maybe in the final leg of your prep, get DAT bootcamp and do the practice sections, either like a real DAT one after the other or section by section if you're pressed for time. In between just make sure you're understanding each wrong answer and why it was wrong, maybe keep a log in a word doc or separate notebook. I hope this helps!

 

[5RWill]

Thanks for the recommendations guys you've all been great help.


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[dbp08]

DAT destroyer!!!! Check out my breakdown for some more insight.

 

[biomolecmed]

I am personally more comfortable with books. You can flip through pages, mark pages and look through several at the same time. For ex: If you are doing Kaplan, or Destroyer and you are not sure if you understand their explanation, you can jump to Zumdahl or Brown chem book.

 

[matardug]

As others here have said. I would definitely invest in DAT destroyer! Good luck to you on your studies! Check out my breakdown

 

[Macabalony]

One thing I rarely see in the SDN forums is the use of the American Chemical Society (ACS) General chemistry and organic test booklets. Use those suckers! The questions are analogous to what you will see on the DAT and will provide another bank of questions to practice on.

 

[alexis2010]

AP cliff notes third edition. Ferallis notes. DAT and math destroyer. 2007 and 2009 ADA exams and whatever you can get your hands on.
good luck

 

[ajj70]

If you don't mind me jumping in here, I see there are several options for the DAT Destroyer. Which ones should one purchase? Is getting the 2014 book a good idea for someone taking the test in 2016 or would it be best to wait for an updated version? Is it too early to start reviewing for a text taker next winter? This is for a gift for a pre-dental student so advice is appreciated!

 

[5RWill]

So starting today, looking at the DAT destroyer it's mostly problems, which is a little different to me. I'm used to reading then answer questions i guess because i was studying for the MCAT for so long. Could i use my kaplan books as supplemental information then hit the DAT for problems?

 

[matardug]

You can absolutely use Kaplan to supplement. Check out my breakdown to see what I used to do well on the DAT. I had to retake because I chose the wrong material the first time. It looks like you're on the right track with your materials by having destroyer though.

 

[5RWill]

Will do i have it opened. Starting with Chad's videos on Organic in accordance to the DAT destroyer, though page 1 or whichever starts organic starts mid way into Organic. I don't exactly remember all the reactions it starts off with. I'm glad for the huge amount of practice problems the destroyer offers, i'm just more used to reading/studying then doing said problems. Or that's how i studied for the MCAT. Though ultimately it was doing more and more practice test that helped rather than blundering myself with constant repetition of the same information. Though i'm guessing the DAT's difficulty lies in the scope of information tested rather than how it's tested like the mcat was. I had to learn how to critically think, map passages, and logically move through the questions associated with them. I expect the DAT is pretty much straight forward randomized questions right?