How do you Stay Focused During Self Study?

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Longcatislong

Longcatislong

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I am planning on studying for the DAT beginning in January, and will take the DAT toward the end of March. My plan is to self-study with Crack PAT, DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer (if you have suggestions for other materials I can use, please let me know!). During this time, I will not be working or taking any courses, so I'll be devoting at least 8hours/day to DAT prep. That being said, I'm a bit worried that all this independent study time will 1) drive me a bit crazy and 2) will eventually lead me to lose focus.

For those of you who have or are currently independent-studying for the DAT, how do you maintain your energy and your focus? What kind of study schedule do you recommend?

Your thoughts and suggestions are very much appreciated 🙂
 
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personally i think this question seems unnecessary.

DAT score depends on how much you prepared for it.

if you are really desperate for a high score, then you will be studying hard, not even worrying about what you are being concerned.
if you are already scared of yourself not able to focus for 3 months, that is the DAT score that you will be getting.

Just use the time wisely. Yes having a schedule is a very good plan but the hardest thing is to keep up with the schedule. I woke up at 7am, I ate good breakfast and went to library and I studied from 10am to midnight with 1 hour break for lunch, 1 hour break for dinner, for 5 weeks and I took Sundays off (doing one full practice test on Sundays).
It was very stressful but I did not go crazy. Don't burn out yourself, take rest when needed. People study typically 1~3 months, but I think over 2 months is too long (because you will be starting to forget stuff you have memorized). I think 3 months a very long time where you won't need to study 8 hrs per day.
I studied 10 hrs per day for 5 weeks, I went over all Chad's GC OC videos, read Cliff's notes and took notes. I went ove all the Destroyer questions, all 10 sections of CrackPAT, all the practice tests of qvault and its questions per topic, all 3 tests of topscore and 5 achiever tests. I didn't rush, as I said I took notes for reviewing the materials (which is takes longer than just listening/reading), I went over the questions after correcting the tests even the questions that I got right (so basically I went over all the questions twice). It was all done in five weeks, in 300 hrs.

for more info just go to my breakdown.
what I can say is don't get distracted by dump thoughts, try to remind yourself what is your goal and you will be fine.
 
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Longcatislong said:
I am planning on studying for the DAT beginning in January, and will take the DAT toward the end of March. My plan is to self-study with Crack PAT, DAT Destroyer and Math Destroyer (if you have suggestions for other materials I can use, please let me know!). During this time, I will not be working or taking any courses, so I'll be devoting at least 8hours/day to DAT prep. That being said, I'm a bit worried that all this independent study time will 1) drive me a bit crazy and 2) will eventually lead me to lose focus.

For those of you who have or are currently independent-studying for the DAT, how do you maintain your energy and your focus? What kind of study schedule do you recommend?

Your thoughts and suggestions are very much appreciated 🙂
Click to expand...

i studied for the DAT twice. both times, i basically gaveup my social life.....and studied all day, over the summer. while my friends were all at the beach having parties, i was in my room, studying. but i want ds BADLY, and if u want it bad enough, ull just get through it and it wont technically be boring. plus i use to wake up and just be "excited" to get more studying done, bc the faster u study the faster u get done. so dont slack. just realize, its a few months of your life to get this studying done and out of the way. itll be worth it. keep ur head down and STUDY 👍
 
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Its all about balance. I had balanced social life as well once in a while to release stress. Also I had a weekely goal. I.e. finish this section in week one, etc. I don't reommend you studying more than 2.5 months.
 
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Watch Chad's videos for GC and OC they keep you involved in the lecture and they are a nice change up from reading textbooks because he uses some corny jokes to teach the material.
 
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add chads videos to your list and you should be good. Maybe some practice DAT test would be nice to (topscore, achiever, dat qvault, etc..)

And the best way to stay focused is to set a schedule. Do the same thing everyday and don't break away from it. Hold yourself accountable and just do it.
 
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I agree 100% NEED CHAD!

I had 8 + weeks to study. My hours/day could be 3 hours or 10 hours.....it varied due to my schedule. I had a plan and usually did 2-3 subjects per day. I started with what I thought was my weakest link and that was gen chem and math. I took frequent mini-breaks every 1-2 hours and sometimes allowed myself to watch a 30 min tv show when I got really frustrated.
 
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Great advice, everyone! Thank you!

I'll add Chad's and some practice test books to my list. Does anyone know about how much Chad's videos are? Is it a subscription or do you buy them once and own them?
 
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Chads and ur good

People (some, not all) "study" for 10 hours a day, but they really get work done for 5 hrs only

Make sure ur STUDYING for those 5 hours a day and You'll be goooood
Goodluck broski
 
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Just set daily goals of what you need to do and that will determine how much time it takes..
I studied for 2.5 months this summer when I took it and the 1st few weeks I was only studying for like 4-6 hours. Last few weeks I was getting 8 hours a day probably though.

I pretty much used the 8 week schedule and expanded a little. Here is the schedule I made if you want to check it out.

View attachment DAT STUDY SCHEDULE - Copy.xls
 
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Shredded Ape said:
Chads and ur good

People (some, not all) "study" for 10 hours a day, but they really get work done for 5 hrs only

Make sure ur STUDYING for those 5 hours a day and You'll be goooood
Goodluck broski
Click to expand...

This. The DAT is not an inherently difficult exam, but the toughest challenge in overcoming it lies in combating and mitigating the constant build-up of fatigue. Studying is all about quality, not quantity - remember: work smarter, not necessarily harder.
 
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The rythm I eventually got into after much self discipline was basically sitting down for 12 hours a day everyday and I would earn a fifteen minute break by studying for 1 hour...repeat over and over. Before each break I would commit to the exact time on the clock I was going to re-immerse myself in the material. I would generally cycle through Bio, GC, OC, PAT, RC, and QR (same order presented on test) every 3-4 hours switching section topics. This approach worked really well for practice tests (and the practice test review of questions answered incorrectly, esp) as well. I usually got through 2-3 sections a day towards the end.

Set small daily goals and ignore the big picture on a daily basis. Watching a pot of water boil can be discouraging (seeing too much of the macro proces). At the same time, don't forget to come up for air about once a week to take stock of where you are in the process and plan for an effective angle of attack moving forward.

An entire elephant can be eaten a bite at a time with enough time, dedication and commitment given enough time.
 
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I studied from May 15th until August 27th. I studied from 8 in the morning until 6 at night. I tried to read scientific articles for 1 hour and I spent 15 minutes on angles and 15 minutes hole punching (from Crack the DAT) everyday. I also tried to do one QR on Crack the DAT each day. I would read Cliff's and Baron's AP book as well as watch Chad's videos to break p the reading. I bought DAT Achiever, DAT Destroyer, QR Destroyer, Orgo Odyssey,TopScore, and DATqVault. I would take a full length test every other day. I had Kaplan as well, so I attended class and did the workshops, quizes, and full-length tests. My motivation was the fact that one day I was going to become a doctor (as dorky as that sounds). I also liked the idea of becoming better and in a sense competing against myself to be the best I could be. Good luck. Once you get past the first week, the studying becomes second nature. Best of luck to you! 🙂
 
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The sticky thing about this subject is that everyone seems to have VERY different techniques, and they all work out. Though it is tempting to feel that you should be something just because others are, that doesn't mean it will actually help you out. I am not intending to step on any toes in what I'm about to write, but I just want to give my honest opinion. 🙂

My studying methods were quite different than many others. I studied ~3 months, taking off days here and there when I just couldn't muster the concentration I needed to studied. Up until the last week, I never really studied more than 4.5 hours a day. I'd wake up, start studying around 8, and never study past 3 o'clock because that was when my boyfriend got off work; I'd spend all of my evenings with him. And, during the time I was studying, I'd take multiple breaks. I'd work for a while and then go take a shower, work some more and then go eat lunch with my Mom, etc. If all I had done was study from the crack of dawn until I couldn't keep my eyes open any more, I'd have burned out within the first week! Though it works for others, it is NOT NECESSARY to put in crazy hours. If you are good at preparing for tests and know how to zero in on what's in front of you, I think 4-5 hours a day is the max you need. Don't feel inadequate if you aren't putting in 12-hour days.
Also, I don't think it's necessary to get your hands on every study material out there in order to succeed. Get your hands on a few tried-and-true materials and really MASTER them. I think some people spread themselves too thinly between all of the resources available, and this results in a greatly lessened payoff because they aren't fully learning any of it. I prepared for the DAT using primarily CHAD, Cliff's AP, Barron's AP, Math Destroyer, and Crack the PAT. It's all in my breakdown. I ended up with a 26 AA/ 30 TS. And honestly, when I began studying for this test, I didn't know much of the material beyond OC. I'd had few upper-level bio classes, I had completely forgotten GC, and I haven't had a math class since my junior year of high school. I also didn't take a SINGLE practice test--I felt that I was much better off reviewing the full concepts over and over again than I would have been if I just reviewed bits and pieces of subjects through individual questions.
This test is very doable. Go into it with the right mindset, work your tail off in an EFFICIENT manner, and you'll succeed! 😀
 
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I personally have no idea how people do 8+ hour days for weeks at a time. I had that long of days when it really hit crunch time, but no way I could have done it all summer. I have to feel like they are exaggerating, but at the same time there are a lot of really dedicated people here.

Anyway, I studied 2-5 hours a day for about two months and then had a week of 8-10 hour days. I did fairly well.

And yes, Chad's is crucial. I watched each series(GC and OC) once and I feel like it saved a ton of time.

What motivated me I guess was knowing that if I slacked off, I'd have to subject myself to another few months of study. So that kept me going when the tank was running low.
 
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Glimmer1991 said:
Though it works for others, it is NOT NECESSARY to put in crazy hours. If you are good at preparing for tests and know how to zero in on what's in front of you, I think 4-5 hours a day is the max you need.
😀
Click to expand...

This is one of the truest things I've ever read on pre-dent forum.
 
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Easy, start studying two weeks before your DAT. I guarantee that you'll be focused and study at 100% for 14 hours everyday!

Sent from my Desire HD using SDN Mobile
 
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