How Long Did You Prepare For the DAT?

[476515678234896]

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Probably seems like I'm spamming the boards w/ useless threads but I see people saying "DAT done dd/mm/yr!!" so I'm just a little curious.

 

[Avery07]

I've been at it since mid December.. take the DAT in a month.

Most people take ~ 2 months

 

[476515678234896]

7-8 months is a long time, how confident do you feel? what's your schedule like?

 

[Avery07]

7-8 months is a long time, how confident do you feel? what's your schedule like?

I feel very confidant. My initial goal was to score an AA of 20 or higher and I'm pretty certain I've achieved that level of knowledge.

My schedule is very random. I spent December through May learning everything I possibly could about biology. I do not recommend doing this whatsoever. It was a huge waste of time. Will it gain me an extra few points on biology? No doubt. Would I do it all over again? Yes.

I spent the last month perfecting general chemistry which is so much easier to master. A motivated person could learn gen chem to a 20 over a weekend.

Now I'm working through Ochem and Math for the next couple weeks. I'll then spend my last 2 weeks going through an entire subject each day until the day of the test.

Throughout the last semester, I've been plugging away at CrackPAT and have my score up in the 20's now. However, I think this really isn't needed until a week before the exam. It always takes me a couple exams to get back in my near-perfect zone so it helps to have the PAT mindset very fresh. Of course it took me a while to develop most of my strategies so perhaps starting a while out is good.

If you start too far out, you will find yourself forgetting things. If you remember to stay on top of old material and go back and review it every few days, you'll be much better off. I make sure I do several chapters of gen chem problems each day.

On average, I spend 5-9 hours a day studying. I am working two jobs and also attending summer school so things are rough.

 

[476515678234896]

Wow. After reading your post, I'm starting to get a better idea about how to prepare for the DAT. Thanks a lot!

 

[Avery07]

Wow. After reading your post, I'm starting to get a better idea about how to prepare for the DAT. Thanks a lot!

Take my study methods with a grain of salt. I've never met someone on these boards who has taken a route this difficult. I really do not recommend it as I doubt most people could stick to something like this. My road was long, difficult, and lonely. I don't want to come off sounding arrogant but I am very, very ambitious and will do whatever it takes to get to where I want to go. I know I don't want to be sitting out a year from dental school so in my mind, severally overkilling the DAT study was what made the most sense in my mind.

And who knows?? I might come back a month from now with a 17 AA. I pray that's not the case, but it's something I worry about every day.

dentalWorks laid out a much more appropriate study schedule which you can find here. This is an 8 week program that I think would be most beneficial for the time invested.

 

[476515678234896]

bump

 

[Erhatstil]

I feel very confidant. My initial goal was to score an AA of 20 or higher and I'm pretty certain I've achieved that level of knowledge.

My schedule is very random. I spent December through May learning everything I possibly could about biology. I do not recommend doing this whatsoever. It was a huge waste of time. Will it gain me an extra few points on biology? No doubt. Would I do it all over again? Yes.

I spent the last month perfecting general chemistry which is so much easier to master. A motivated person could learn gen chem to a 20 over a weekend.

Now I'm working through Ochem and Math for the next couple weeks. I'll then spend my last 2 weeks going through an entire subject each day until the day of the test.

Throughout the last semester, I've been plugging away at CrackPAT and have my score up in the 20's now. However, I think this really isn't needed until a week before the exam. It always takes me a couple exams to get back in my near-perfect zone so it helps to have the PAT mindset very fresh. Of course it took me a while to develop most of my strategies so perhaps starting a while out is good.

If you start too far out, you will find yourself forgetting things. If you remember to stay on top of old material and go back and review it every few days, you'll be much better off. I make sure I do several chapters of gen chem problems each day.

On average, I spend 5-9 hours a day studying. I am working two jobs and also attending summer school so things are rough.

you better drop a 30 in a bio with that text book you wrote. i hope it pays off for you

 

[Avery07]

you better drop a 30 in a bio with that text book you wrote.

Haha.. you have no idea..

 

[jimlaner]

studied 14 hours per day.

Pulled 23AA..

Priceless