Courses before DAT

[malikhind]

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Hi, I am currently a sophmore but was in engineering my freshman year so I am somewhat behind in my science courses. This semester I will have bio 1&2 and gen chem 1&2 completed. This summer i plan to take ochem 1&2 in a 10 week program. I want to take the DAT the 2017/18 winter break. I was wondering which classes I should take that will benefit me besides the required ones. I searched the forums a lot but I feel like there was no general consensus.

Options are Biochem, Physiology, Cell bio and Microbio. I feel like most people said physiology is very helpful, however the other 3 had mixed responses. I might be able to take 3 of these in one semester and still land A's on top of research/teacher assisting, however I'd prefer to only take 2 so I could still have some time to study for the DAT prior

I also want to try my hardest to take the DAT once, however if i'm not happy with my score I plan to retake it over 2018 summer, once I have all 4 of these completed.

Thank you in advance!

 

[digzthis]

I think the best thing you can do is take the 10 week ochem 1 then ochem 2 in fall, 10 weeks to learn both is too rushed in my opinion and i think youd be better off spending more time with it. Is there a reason you have to do both in 10 weeks? My suggestion still works with your timeline and no other classes past bio 1 and 2 will make a significant difference.

 

[averageasian]

i agree above ^. definitely dont rush o-chem. Organic 2 is a lot of reactions and definitely something you do not want to rush. However, i would use chemprep (chad) videos to help you along through the course if u run in to trouble.

besides physiology, maybe cell molec bio or genetics.

 

[malikhind]

I think the best thing you can do is take the 10 week ochem 1 then ochem 2 in fall, 10 weeks to learn both is too rushed in my opinion and i think youd be better off spending more time with it. Is there a reason you have to do both in 10 weeks? My suggestion still works with your timeline and no other classes past bio 1 and 2 will make a significant difference.

i agree above ^. definitely dont rush o-chem. Organic 2 is a lot of reactions and definitely something you do not want to rush. However, i would use chemprep (chad) videos to help you along through the course if u run in to trouble.

besides physiology, maybe cell molec bio or genetics.

My university only offers 5 week programs for both, so if I did do just orgo 1 it would be over 5 weeks not 10. Another option would be to take orgo 1 over 2 months in the summer but at a community college, where I probably would not get as good of an experience as i would at the university. The reason i want to take both over the summer was so that I could take biochemistry prior to taking the DAT because I thought it would help me a lot.

Also if I do this, I could knock out cell bio and biochem my junior year (orgo 1/2 required for both) and have a relaxing senior year.

 

[Ari Rezaei]

I would double check with the dental schools you want to attend about taking orgo 1 at a community college. When I last checked, your pre-reqs had to be done at a university, community college didn't count.

Also, agreeing with everyone else here - I wouldn't recommend rushing these classes if you can avoid it. Orgo 1 and 2 count towards your BCP GPA, you really want to try to ace these classes. Plus, it'll be easier to study for the DAT and you'll have a better chance of getting a high DAT score.

 

[digzthis]

If you can take it at a community college do orgo 1 over the 10 weeks, seems like there's only a few schools that mention limits on cc classes in the adea guide. Get David Kleins 2nd edition organic chemistry book as a pdf online, i got mine for $5 and the answer key guide for like $10. Go through the chapters meticulously, answer every problem throughout the chapters and every problem at the end and if you can get comfortable with all of those it will not matter if you took at a cc or university, you will have learned it. He has his organic as a second language books as well for more practice. Orgo is not really that hard, just takes practice, that book is cool though and really walks you through everything.

solution guide- Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual Organic Chemistry 2nd Edition EBook

book- Organic Chemistry 2nd Edition by David R. Klein w/ Solution Manual (eTextbooks)

 

[FeralisExtremum]

I second what everyone else has said about not rushing orgo over the summer, if you can avoid it.

Aside from physiology, I don't think which course you take will matter all that much for the purpose of the DAT. College courses in biochemistry, microbiology, and cell biology tend to go into way more detail than you'll ever need (or realistically benefit from) when taking the DAT, which has a biology section that is mostly very surface level intro bio stuff. Pick whichever is most interesting for you.