Help! Preparing for the DAT?

[Sonny881994]

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I'm a high school senior and about to graduate this year. However, i received an early college scholarship in my junior year and gonna have my associate degree when i'm graduating. I'm still a total noob when it comes to proper prepare for the DAT. I have completed some pre-req courses for dental school. So i have a few questions that i hope you guys can answer. I have taken both trig and college algebra so do i still need calculus in order to have the proper foundation to start studying for DAT quantitative reasoning? Second, what pre-req classes will give you the basis knowledge to prepare for studying PAT section (i'm thinking physics) or is it just something that you have to learn by yourself? For the reading comprehension section, do you need to have any advance English class in order to have a good set of skills for it or is it just basis English with a lot of reading (I came to U.S about 3 years ago so my english skill still not really great)? Last one, not really relevant with DAT but i was wondering how do you properly record your volunteer and shadowing hours? How much hours is ideal for both volunteer and shadowing? I know this is too many questions in one post and i apologize but i really hope someone can help me out. Thank you in advance 😀

 

[ushaseos]

I'm a high school senior and about to graduate this year. However, i received an early college scholarship in my junior year and gonna have my associate degree when i'm graduating. I'm still a total noob when it comes to proper prepare for the DAT. I have completed some pre-req courses for dental school. So i have a few questions that i hope you guys can answer.
I have taken both trig and college algebra so do i still need calculus in order to have the proper foundation to start studying for DAT quantitative reasoning?

No you don't. You do need to be quick in doing the math without a calculator

Second, what pre-req classes will give you the basis knowledge to prepare for studying PAT section (i'm thinking physics) or is it just something that you have to learn by yourself?

Nothing. No class will help you prepare for the PAT. Its very different from traditional classes

For the reading comprehension section, do you need to have any advance English class in order to have a good set of skills for it or is it just basis English with a lot of reading (I came to U.S about 3 years ago so my english skill still not really great)?

No need for any advanced classes. Mostly you need practice to do well. Its really not too difficult, but if you do have to read long passages pretty quickly and carefully

Last one, not really relevant with DAT but i was wondering how do you properly record your volunteer and shadowing hours?

I am pretty sure most people just approximate. Also if you get a letter of rec from the doctor you are shadowing etc, you can ask them to mention it. I wouldn't personally do this, I would just ask them to mention how long I have been working with them (i.e. 3 hours per day, twice a week or something like that rather than 100 hours).

How much hours is ideal for both volunteer and shadowing?

The more you get the better off you are. Most schools have no requirement, but most recommend over 80 hours. Just do your best and you'll probably accrue tons of hours

I know this is too many questions in one post and i apologize but i really hope someone can help me out. Thank you in advance 😀

Answers in Bold

 

[Sonny881994]

Thank you so much for the reply!

 

[ushaseos]

One thing I should mention about PAT is that if you're good at visualizing and manipulating things in your head, you will have a significant advantage. The closest class to PAT would be high school Geometry (which also has you visualize solutions more than anything else). Alternatively if you took any digital arts classes where you worked with 3D models and Autocad, that might help too. If you haven't taken these though, they aren't worth taking now just for PAT

If you're not so good at visualizing, there is no reason to worry, but you'll have to work hard to get to that level. Personally, I struggled a lot with it but through practice I managed a pretty good PAT score.