How much time for the DAT

[hockeydentist]

I just bought the KAplan and Barrons book for the DAT. I just got the bible for dental school in the mail today. I plan on appyling for the 2004 year. I really want to kick a$$ on the DAT becuase my GPA is kinda of low. I was told by my PRe health advisor that with my GPA ( 3.2) I should have no promblem getting in to any of the TExas schools. As long as I score a 18 on the DAT. to any of you who have taken the DAT is an 18 or a 20 for that matter a tough score to get.

See yah on the iceeeeeeeeee

later hockey dentist
any imput would be appreciated.

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[UBTom]

Anecdotal, your mileage may vary, po-tay-to, po-tah-to, whatever, but here's my experience when I took the DAT a few years ago for what it's worth...

While I didn't bomb gen chem, orgo, or any of the other science courses I took, my grades weren't spectacular either. I had an undergrad total GPA of 3.0 and also a 3.0 science GPA.

It took me one summer to study for the DAT, with the 8-week Kaplan crash course, and on my own I did all the Barrons, Princeton Review and Kaplan test books I can get my hands on. In the following September when I took the DAT, I ended up with a 21 academic and 24 PAT. I've only taken the DAT once (the paper exam).

I think the key is to find a reasonable uninterrupted period of time to study, like over the summer, and take the test right afterwards while all that stuff is still fresh in your head.

The worst one can do IMHO is exhausting oneself with endless studying, then postponing the test for another few months to study some more because one doesn't "feel ready." This will only wear yourself out in a vicious cycle and even risk doing poorly due to exhaustion (you know this has happened whenever you start making a lot of stupid mistakes on the practice exams and miss obvious questions). NEVER, EVER LET THIS VICIOUS CYCLE HAPPEN TO YOU. You can only sharpen a knife so much before grinding it down to nothing.

Moral of the story? As long as you adopt a reasonable approach to studying for the DAT, it should not be hard to get above a 20.

HTH!

 

[GTchick]

My advice to you is to not stress out too much about the DAT. How I did that was by only studying for about 4 weeks. I used the Kaplan book, PAT stuff from Barron's, and the Topscore CD. After 4 weeks I felt like I would shoot myself in the head if I saw any of the stuff again. I scored a 19 and I have a 3.42 GPA. I have gotten interview invites from all but one school that I applied to so my best advice is just to apply early. The Kaplan book is great so just know it. There isn't going to be a 10 step synthesis or anything that takes a lot of work in the science section so just make sure to read through the book and understand the concepts. Don't overdue it and sleep the night before the test.

Best of Luck

 

[hockeydentist]

Thanks for repyling to my post, a lot of helpfull information

the hockeydentist

 

[sjdent]

Also, don't wait until the last minute. I took the DAT at the very last possible time I could........bad idea. I was really stressed out, and was so late taking it that I didn't hear from dental schools until very late.

 

[tinker bell]

I got 20 aa and 18 pat three years ago with a 3.0 GPA and I didn't get in anywhere. I got a tons of interviews though because I applied early.
Recently, I studied again for 6 wks, with PR book and topscore, then practice all those tests over and over again the last week before my test. 2 days before the real test, I took the old real DAT that is released in the booklet. And I improved my score much better. Now I'm doing post-bac, so hopefully I'll get in somewhere.
Of course the DAT is important, but it's not the determining factor. Three years ago, I thought that I have done research, community work and a good DAT score, I would get in, but it wasn't so.
Just study your best and take the test when your learning curve is on the top, don't postpone it and don't let it wear you out.
Happy studying
T

 

[bres]

TinkerBell..

Do you mind if I ask you wat schools you applied three years ago with your stat?

3.0G.P.A 20/18 DAt look very normal to me though.

If you mind, you can PM.

Thanks

 

[grettlin]

I plan to spend a whole summer (Jun. - Aug.) to prepare for the DAT and take the test in late Aug. I think 2.5 months are reasonable for me to fresh up and memorize the whole staffs. I might take Kaplan prepare course, because even not so good reputation, there are still lots of people whol recommand me to take that. What books will you use to prepare DAT?

 

[ohgee]

Most people use the Kaplan DAT book to study DAT. It is pretty much the same as the book you will get from the class. How good the course is depends on how good the tutor is. You will only have one tutor, so if he/she sucks, drop it..unless you want to learn from the tapes. For me, I think Kaplan book for science + barron for DAT, and Topscore for practice is good enough to get a pretty score. Here and there you need some other references. 2.5 months is enough time to study. Just becareful not to slack off, time management is very important.

 

[grettlin]

Hi Ohgee, thanks for your reply. I will consider the time management staff very carefully. BTW, when are you going to apply?

 

[ohgee]

I applied this August, I am just waiting for AADSAS to send the material to the school......god knows when..

 

[juan7677]

test

 

[kpax]

Give yourself 2 months where you can solely focus on the DATs and you should do fine.

 

[Rhea]

I would say about a couple of months is more than enough time. Just make sure you are regular and put in at least 4-5 hours study time every day. During the month prior to the DAT, get your hands on various practice exams. KAPLAN practice exams are great. Practice is the key for success on the DAT. For the PAT, if you practice enough you will see that after a certain point, you start picking out the right answers; it just clicks.

 

[hockeydentist]

Thanks for the great replies everyone






later hockeydentist

 

[ohgee]

Yeah, keep practicing for the PAT section, no matter how confident you are. I was very confident on PAT before taking the test because I did well on the practice tests. It just kept improving since the first practice (from 18 to 24...) But on the real test, I got 17. Expect the real one is going to be harder than the practice tests. Don't panic like I did.