Hold off for a year?

[Mtd0588]

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Hi everyone,

I was wondering if I could get some advice.. I'm a junior and was planning on applying this year (June/July). I have a pretty good GPA (3.8 c, 3.7sci) and relatively good experience (a lot of research, dental shadowing/assisting, some volunteer), so I think I have a pretty decent shot.

However, I've recently become very discouraged by my DAT preparation progress. I just started studying January, and just finished going through GChem. I took a bunch of kaplan subject tests for GChem, and did very poorly on them (like, 13/30 incorrect avg). Soooo, I'm kind of stressed out about this, and I'm doubting whether I'm going to be ready for the DAT by May-ish, when I still have to get through BIO, OChem, PAT, and QR, on top of classes. It just seems very daunting.

So, I guess I'm just feeling very rushed; like it hasn't hit me until now just how little time one semester is to prepare. I think my application could be dramatically improved if I just waited until next year to apply. I have minimal volunteer experience, and I'm having trouble getting a solid 3rd professor LOR, so those areas could definitely use some work.

So, I was just wondering what you think, would it be worth it to hold off applying one year? Or am I being a wimp, and should suck it up.. I mean, Dental school is going to be super-challenging, so I feel like I should be able to handle this.

PS. I really want to get into UCONN because I could save 20K+ a year because I'm a NE resident, so I'm kinda gunning for that...

Sorry for the really long post..

Thanks for your help!!

-Matt 🙂

 

[kapina]

dont give up on applying this year just yet- you kinda just started your DAT prep. so dont expect to be getting 22's across the board.

some advice: DONT RELY ON ONLY KAPLAN!! definitely get the DAT destroyer.. it helped me SO much in gen chem and ochem (got a 21 and 23 respectively). also, if your struggling with gchem, try looking on this forum for CHAD's gen chem lectures. they have been posted on the forum a few times. this was also a tremendous help to me.. he goes over the basics of a lot of topics and a lot of what he lectured about helped me on test day.

so just try out some other study tools (in conjunction with kaplan) for a few months, and if after that you still dont feel prepared, then apply next year!

good luck 🙂

 

[The Anhedonia]

you sound really motivated and driven to get the ball rolling this year, so definitely do it!! i felt the same way after a few kaplan practices/diagnostics, but everything ended up working out on the real deal, so don't lose hope 🙂. i'm sure you'll be just fine (Especially with that stellar GPA of yours).

 

[NCarolinaDent]

APPLY THIS YEAR!

As far as the DAT goes, go through the subject tests of gen chem and organic religiously. If you take each one about five to seven times...no joke, and go through how to answer each question each time, then you will be fine on those sections. In addition to taking all the full length tests, that's all I did and got scores of 21 or higher on those sections both times I took the DAT. Both times I took the DAT I saw one or two questions that I had not seen in those subject tests.

Kaplan falls way short in my opinion on its perceptual ability and biology sections. It is still useful, but get something better for those such as Top Score. I have never used DAT Destroyer, but I hear that is helpful too.

 

[imtwotired]

Echoing what they said, you will probably do better on the actual test than on practice tests, especially if you still have a while to prepare. Even if you don't do well, you can retake it and most schools will either look at your best or most recent score (find out what the policy is at the schools you apply to). And even if things don't work out the first year, know that you will have a better chance of getting in the next year, as dental schools love to see that you stuck with it and reapplied. Taking time off between undergrad and dental school can be a great decision/experience as well, but if you know you'll do anything to become a dentist then apply!

 

[Mtd0588]

Yeah, I'll definitely get a wider variety of sources for the DAT. I do have the DAT destroyer, and I just ordered 2 ACS study guides. You guys are right, it'll definitely be worth it to apply this year. Thanks for all your encouragement, and good luck to all of you!

-Matt