Has anyone participated in the uconn track I program? Please venture and give me some insider information on if its worth it for dat or mcat prep.
Dat/mcat prep at uconn
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I participated in Track 2 and the Clinical Research Program at UConn so I know many people personally who did track 1 and could possibly give some insight.
From what I understand they basically use MCAT/DAT Kaplan materials and stretch the course out over a period of six weeks. You have "class" with your instructor from 8am-12pm every weekday, lunch 12pm-1pm and do other med/dental related activites (mock interviews, app tips, guest lectures, etc.) from 1pm til the end of the day (which is supposed to be 4:30pm but people almost always leave the health center early for one reason or another). I've heard the workload for Track 1 is fairly intense as you have homework and problem sets to complete almost every night and a practice test about every one-two weeks.
Overall the program is a great experience. You have the opportunity to network with some very important people, especially if you want to go to UConn (I had the assistant dean of admissions personally review my application and edit my personal statement) and the other students in the program are usually cool and willing to have fun whenever they can. I made a lot of great friends during the two summers I participated. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
From what I understand they basically use MCAT/DAT Kaplan materials and stretch the course out over a period of six weeks. You have "class" with your instructor from 8am-12pm every weekday, lunch 12pm-1pm and do other med/dental related activites (mock interviews, app tips, guest lectures, etc.) from 1pm til the end of the day (which is supposed to be 4:30pm but people almost always leave the health center early for one reason or another). I've heard the workload for Track 1 is fairly intense as you have homework and problem sets to complete almost every night and a practice test about every one-two weeks.
Overall the program is a great experience. You have the opportunity to network with some very important people, especially if you want to go to UConn (I had the assistant dean of admissions personally review my application and edit my personal statement) and the other students in the program are usually cool and willing to have fun whenever they can. I made a lot of great friends during the two summers I participated. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
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I have also participated in the Track 1 program and will being doing track 2 this summer. Just as the other poster described track 1 was definitely a lot of work but when you see your DAT score after all that hard work you cant help but be glad you went through it. If you are planning on doing the program just take it seriously and put all the hard work into it and you will not only have fun but you will also have an excellent dental app season. If you have any specific questions about it feel free to PM me hope to see you this summer if you are attending
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I also have a few questions for anyone who has participated in this program.
I was wondering what the typical day is like and if you felt they prepared you well for the DAT?
Did many of the students end up scoring well afterwards?
I appreciate any feedback, thanks!
I was wondering what the typical day is like and if you felt they prepared you well for the DAT?
Did many of the students end up scoring well afterwards?
I appreciate any feedback, thanks!
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i did smdep at ucla and mdpp track 1 at uconn. they're entirely different.
mdpp track 1. you spend your mornings doing the kaplan course. have lunch. then afterwards you either study, go shadow at the emergency dental clinic, or they have guest speakers come in.
i enjoyed both experience. uconn definitely gave me a lot of exposure in the dental clinic. but that happened midway through the program.
i highly recommend mdpp! i'm from cali and it was my first experience on the east coast.
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aphorth, thanks for the info! Was the UCONN DAT prep worth it? Did you and many of the students end up scoring well on the DAT? Thanks!
you're welcome!
yeah it was worth it. my friends got 20+ on their DAT. for me, i wasn't applying for that cycle when i was doing mdpp so i didn't study as hard, thus i didn't get a score as high as them
but it was definitely a good experience!
yeah it was worth it. my friends got 20+ on their DAT. for me, i wasn't applying for that cycle when i was doing mdpp so i didn't study as hard, thus i didn't get a score as high as them
but it was definitely a good experience!- Joined
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you're welcome!
yeah it was worth it. my friends got 20+ on their DAT. for me, i wasn't applying for that cycle when i was doing mdpp so i didn't study as hard, thus i didn't get a score as high as them
Nice, that's really good! I am currently studying pretty hard for it right now and am trying to learn as much as possible before going to the program. So, I was hoping this can then give me that extra edge to hopefully hit 20 or higher.. I have been worrying about this test for a long time now and just want to put my best possible effort in. With that said, I don't want to do a program that would be wasting my time for 6 weeks ya know.
http://medicine.uchc.edu/prospective/enrichment/hcop/meddent_prep.html
check out the website for more info
another excellent website for different programs
http://www.naahp.org/resourcesminopp.htm
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Just got accepted. Can anyone provide anymore insight on this program? Do most of the students who go through the prep do well on their DAT (i.e. will it prep you properly)? I need to make a decision quick! Help!
i had a friend who did this program actually, she applied to their dental school after junior year & wasnt accepted but they told her shed been accepted to this step1 program or whatever its called to help her with her DAT score
from what i remember she loved it, she was there for like all of july or something, a few weeks. It did help her raise her DAT a bit but then again her DAT was really low to begin with.....and she never ended up getting into dental school even afterward but that may be bc she lost her drive/motivation & ended up getting married.....anyway
imo, from what she use to tell me, it seems like a good program (I feel like i rmbr her telling me they used a kaplan prep DAT course tho, which to me is nothing special/not worth it) i believe there was clinical aspects of the program too, so it seems like it'd be a good program if u take it seriously
OR....just study for your DAT alone with your own materials on your own time, which may be more beneficial.
from what i remember she loved it, she was there for like all of july or something, a few weeks. It did help her raise her DAT a bit but then again her DAT was really low to begin with.....and she never ended up getting into dental school even afterward but that may be bc she lost her drive/motivation & ended up getting married.....anyway
imo, from what she use to tell me, it seems like a good program (I feel like i rmbr her telling me they used a kaplan prep DAT course tho, which to me is nothing special/not worth it) i believe there was clinical aspects of the program too, so it seems like it'd be a good program if u take it seriously
OR....just study for your DAT alone with your own materials on your own time, which may be more beneficial.
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i had a friend who did this program actually, she applied to their dental school after junior year & wasnt accepted but they told her shed been accepted to this step1 program or whatever its called to help her with her DAT score
from what i remember she loved it, she was there for like all of july or something, a few weeks. It did help her raise her DAT a bit but then again her DAT was really low to begin with.....and she never ended up getting into dental school even afterward but that may be bc she lost her drive/motivation & ended up getting married.....anyway
imo, from what she use to tell me, it seems like a good program (I feel like i rmbr her telling me they used a kaplan prep DAT course tho, which to me is nothing special/not worth it) i believe there was clinical aspects of the program too, so it seems like it'd be a good program if u take it seriously
OR....just study for your DAT alone with your own materials on your own time, which may be more beneficial.
haha that is amazing that you brought that up because the woman I was talking to at Uconn brought that same person up! She was like yeah we had this one person who decided to change career paths because of marriage. That's crazy you know that person! Thank you very much for your response, it is much appreciated. Do you happen to know what she scored on the DAT?
ALSO, does anyone have any more input on this program?
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no one knows anything about this program?
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i know this is an old thread, but i was wondering about this program. i am applying to it and I was wondering is it worth it?
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two of my friends have taken this course (both for MCAT though), and they didn't find it useful. It is a good refresher course, in case you've forgotten a lot of earlier sciences and want to review. But if you are a bio, mcb or pnb type of major you probably do not need it and are better studying on your own. That being said, some people simply like the classroom setting and it motivates them to do that studying on their own. You can certainly take the class, I dont think its overpriced or anything. but dont expect it to be the miracle that gives u a high score. you still gotta put in lots of effort.
