DAT Prep DILEMMA, please HELP!

[Dustyrose96]

You know the saying that there is a time and a place for everything? Or something along the lines of things having"bad timing"? Well, I feel like I am either not finding the right time to start my DAT perp.. or I'm just too afraid of starting because I don't want it to go downhill. I know its wrong to feel stressed about something before I have even tried it, but I guess you can call that an irrational fear.

Some back story:
I am 23 years old. I graduated from Rutgers University in May 2018 with a biology major. I have a history of a lot of B's and C's and frankly, it's because of a combination of my bad study habits, bad influences, and just no passion for anything. Excuses, I know. I started working at a dental office as a receptionist in September 2018, hoping to find some form of fulfillment in the field I have chosen, which through this job I have. I want to become a dentist one day, and I don't want to give up, but my transcript is just not good enough to apply directly. So I opted for doing a masters program to help me transition into dental school that way. I knew that a master's or post bacc would be my only hope way back when I was a junior and I was retaking yet another science elective over the summer after having failed it during the semester. I even decided to start studying for my dental exam back in 2017. I went to a lot of open houses for masters programs and a girl told me she took the GRE and got in. I immediately thought "oh! look a semi-easy route has opened up for me!". Obviously, the GRE is easier than the freakin' DAT but success does not come overnight. I did not study enough for the GRE and got a below average score. I applied to 12 masters programs regardless. And what do you know, I got 12 rejections. I didn't want to give up so I planned on taking the GRE again. I got just enough this time to hit the minimum requirement for some of my programs. I even met with a dean for the Rowan program I was applying to in order to ask him what my chances were and what I would need to do in general to be successful in my goals and in life. He gave me a lot of wonderful advice but I ended up with more bad news. After I reapplied, I got 12 more rejections. At this point, someone in my shoes would have said enough is enough, but for some reason, I couldn't let this go. In the rejection letter from Rowan, it stated that although I was rejected from the master's program, I can still come in this fall and take 2 of their courses which are part of the master program curriculum and see if I do well in them. I have a friend in the program currently who told me that there were many kids in his graduating class who transitioned into the program this way. This felt like the only ray of hope and I wanted to take this opportunity and run with it. But I also wanted to make sure that I was going to give it my all. I am taking Anatomy I and II this summer and am on track to get an A in both classes with my newly formed study habits. It took a lot of detox and self-awareness to achieve my new habits but I finally found them I even quit my full-time receptionist job to make more time this summer for my goals. I also plan on dedicating all of my efforts in the two classes at Rowan this fall to prove myself to the admissions office. The dean I met with at Rowan even told me that if I show a huge upwards trend (getting A's or B+'s) in my summer classes and in the two classes at Rowan, the admissions office has no choice but to accept me as a masters student! Highly optimistic of me to think that this is guaranteed but optimism is all I have left to keep me going.

My only issue now is my exam score. I have a mediocre GRE score and I was thinking of taking my DAT sometime between now (June 2019) and December of this year so I have one more success that I can use to show them that I am a capable student (that is, if I do well). Unfortunately, as I did in the past, I am not finding the time to study properly for the DAT. I'm doubting that this is even a good idea since I may or may not risk the amount of time I am physically able to dedicated to DAT prep AND my fast-paced classes this summer. I only just got the hang of my new study habits, who knows what will happen if I add another thing to my plate. I haven't had much success in my life up until now, so I have no idea what will happen if I do decide to cram DAT studying into my schedule at this point in time.

So I want advice; is it smart or idiotic to try and make time for the DAT exam with an intense anatomy course during the summer as well as two intense masters level science courses at Rowan during the fall. Would it even be realistic to add DAT prep to my schedule considering my situation? Should I just go to the admissions office in December with these four new good grades I will accumulate over the rest of this year (I know I will get no lower than a B+ if not an A) or should I try and add a DAT score to this and possibly risk getting an average grade in all of my classes AND on this dental exam?

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[deleted936472]

How long is the masters program? 2 years?

 

[syl2n8]

How long is the masters program? 2 years?

I think this program requires at least 30 credits and you may complete them within 3-4 semesters.

 

[deleted936472]

I’m probably not the best person to give advice on this since I haven’t done a masters program so I don’t know anything about that...but I don’t think the masters program admissions committee will care too much about the DAT scores, sure it would be impressive, but at the end of the day I would assume that they’re looking for someone that can perform well in their classes, and not someone that can do well on the DAT (even though a good DAT score can show that you’re a good student blah blah blah). I just feel like they would care more about how you perform in their classes. You also don’t want to study for the DAT if you have a very busy schedule, it would be best if you take the DAT when you have a lot of free time (even if you’re working a decent amount, it’s just difficult to balance learning a bunch of material for school and the DAT).

Ultimately you want to do well in your masters classes to get into the masters program and also show dental school admissions committees that you can do well in school, and you want to do well on the DAT so you can have a better chance at getting into a dental school. My advice is to not spread yourself too thin. Just worry about getting the masters program right now, and getting good grades in your classes to boost your GPA. Then you can worry about the DAT later.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Dustyrose96 good morning!

That was a rather long message and I will respond to this:

"So I want advice; is it smart or idiotic to try and make time for the DAT exam with an intense anatomy course during the summer as well as two intense masters level science courses at Rowan during the fall. Would it even be realistic to add DAT prep to my schedule considering my situation? Should I just go to the admissions office in December with these four new good grades I will accumulate over the rest of this year (I know I will get no lower than a B+ if not an A) or should I try and add a DAT score to this and possibly risk getting an average grade in all of my classes AND on this dental exam? "

IMO, you should focus on your classes and do everything in your power to receive an A, you can retake the DAT if necessary and that is not a big deal, but receiving low grades in those classes would not be looked upon favorable. Don't worry about the DAT right now. If you have some spare time you can maybe do Math Review, study a little PAT and do some daily reading to improve you comprehension and speed . You goal is to be become a dentist. It might not happen as quickly as you would like, but as long as you meet the objective that is all that should really matter. Never lose sight of the goal and take your time, it is not a race.

Just my 2 cents

Nancy, co-owner, Orgoman, LLC

 

[Dustyrose96]

Dustyrose96 good morning!

That was a rather long message and I will respond to this:

"So I want advice; is it smart or idiotic to try and make time for the DAT exam with an intense anatomy course during the summer as well as two intense masters level science courses at Rowan during the fall. Would it even be realistic to add DAT prep to my schedule considering my situation? Should I just go to the admissions office in December with these four new good grades I will accumulate over the rest of this year (I know I will get no lower than a B+ if not an A) or should I try and add a DAT score to this and possibly risk getting an average grade in all of my classes AND on this dental exam? "

IMO, you should focus on your classes and do everything in your power to receive an A, you can retake the DAT if necessary and that is not a big deal, but receiving low grades in those classes would not be looked upon favorable. Don't worry about the DAT right now. If you have some spare time you can maybe do Math Review, study a little PAT and do some daily reading to improve you comprehension and speed . You goal is to be become a dentist. It might not happen as quickly as you would like, but as long as you meet the objective that is all that should really matter. Never lose sight of the goal and take your time, it is not a race.

Just my 2 cents

Nancy, co-owner, Orgoman, LLC

Never had a chance to thank you for the advice, I'm definitely better off focusing on my classes and feel so much more determined to take my time and reach my goals

 

[Dustyrose96]

I’m probably not the best person to give advice on this since I haven’t done a masters program so I don’t know anything about that...but I don’t think the masters program admissions committee will care too much about the DAT scores, sure it would be impressive, but at the end of the day I would assume that they’re looking for someone that can perform well in their classes, and not someone that can do well on the DAT (even though a good DAT score can show that you’re a good student blah blah blah). I just feel like they would care more about how you perform in their classes. You also don’t want to study for the DAT if you have a very busy schedule, it would be best if you take the DAT when you have a lot of free time (even if you’re working a decent amount, it’s just difficult to balance learning a bunch of material for school and the DAT).

Ultimately you want to do well in your masters classes to get into the masters program and also show dental school admissions committees that you can do well in school, and you want to do well on the DAT so you can have a better chance at getting into a dental school. My advice is to not spread yourself too thin. Just worry about getting the masters program right now, and getting good grades in your classes to boost your GPA. Then you can worry about the DAT later.

Thanks for the advice! Just an update, I'm doing really well in my summer classes and I am going to worry about my DAT later when I am actually planning on applying to dental school!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Never had a chance to thank you for the advice, I'm definitely better off focusing on my classes and feel so much more determined to take my time and reach my goals

You are welcome and I like your plan!

 

[futureteethdriller]

I think you should focus on the classes, get awesome grades, and then study for the DAT. The DAT is a huge amount of work, and is probably equal to taking a hard course. You want to make sure you do well on the exam, as you don't want to sit for it twice (it's expensive and stressful!). I personally was not taking any classes while studying for the DAT, and that allowed me to put all my time into the exam and do well on the first try. The fact that you are even asking makes me feel like you would be most comfortable waiting to take the DAT after your classes are over. Best of luck to you! Keep your head up. Dental school is a long journey- but you will get there.