How to be motivated to study for the DAT

[ScarletKnight24]

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I am a student who completed all of my pre-dental prerequisites at a CC and actually just transferred to a state university this spring 2012. It was definitely a pretty big transition but I was able to finish and maintain a good GPA. Now due to some other conflicts, It looks like I will be graduating after the fall 2013 semester which means that I will be applying for the 2014 cycle. I plan to take the DAT this summer and then prepare my application next year therefore I have less of a headache

Right now I have like zero motivation to study for the DAT since I feel like I deserve a break from the this spring 2012 semester. 🙂 Any advice?

If I plan on taking the DAT early september, would studying from june to august be enough? I plan to work about 4 days a week for about 4-5 hours each day as well.

Also I have zero extracurricular activities. I worked as a pharmtech for a few months and that's it. Should I even bother shadowing a dentist at this point? I will not be applying until next year.

 

[y3nd0]

I have not taken the DAT yet (nor have I started studying for it), so hopefully someone who is more experienced can come along with better advice!

From what I've read (of people who have killed the DAT), 3 months of studying should be more than enough.
It also depends on how much time you devote to studying a day. Some people studied for 7 weeks, 8 hours a day, which may be a bit overkill if you're working. A guy I talked to studied for 12 hours a day for 2 weeks (obviously a bad idea, but he got into UW Dental school. 😛) Plan out how much time you need to study each day. It's all dependent on how efficient, how well, and how much information you can retain.

As for motivation: I told myself that when I start studying for the DAT, I wouldn't bother with the Kaplan program. It dentistry is truly something I wanted to do, then the motivation for studying will come naturally. Maybe that's something you ask can yourself.
(I'm not hating on the Kaplan program, it's just a personal thing)
I also know people who take the Kaplan program just for motivation because there's a schedule to follow. A friend of mine works 30 hours a week, so she needs a reason to study after she comes home from work.

Unless EC's conflict with your classes, it never hurts to do more! Dental shadowing is actually important for an application as some schools require it and some schools recommend it. There's a forum on SDN about that... it's started by doctoothache and contains a list of all the dental schools and their job shadowing requirements. Most people shoot for 100 hours of shadowing.
Anything outside of shadowing is also recommended. Since you have about a year till you apply, you have plenty of time to rack up some experience!

Good luck!

 

[wizi]

If you dont study, you dont get in.

 

[ScarletKnight24]

If you dont study, you dont get in.

Hi Wizi,

I read one of your threads and we literally are in the same exact position

I was also an ESL student who moved here about 6 years ago( I am 22 now). I went to CC as well and transferred!

WOW. You are my motivation now. Do you mind telling what school you got into?

 

[jeffity]

Should I even bother shadowing a dentist at this point?

Clarify this. Does this mean you haven't ever shadowed? I assume you have. If not, start there before doing anything. It's a nice, productive thing to do while you decompress from the semester before ramping up for DAT studying.

Motivators: Shadowing or volunteering in dental-related activities were my motivation a lot of times. It reminded me why I was doing all this work in the first place. It's easy to get lost in studies. Also, you only want to take the DAT once and apply once. If you're definitely applying next cycle (a year from now) and have set aside this block of time this summer to focus on just the DAT, be grateful and take advantage of that time. Make it count. Scoring well will take a lot of pressure off. A lot of people find motivation from the monster scores in the DAT forum. There's a link somewhere taking you to a list of monster scores and their breakdowns. If it discourages you, get away. If it motivates you...dig in.

 

[ScarletKnight24]

Clarify this. Does this mean you haven't ever shadowed? I assume you have. If not, start there before doing anything. It's a nice, productive thing to do while you decompress from the semester before ramping up for DAT studying.

Motivators: Shadowing or volunteering in dental-related activities were my motivation a lot of times. It reminded me why I was doing all this work in the first place. It's easy to get lost in studies. Also, you only want to take the DAT once and apply once. If you're definitely applying next cycle (a year from now) and have set aside this block of time this summer to focus on just the DAT, be grateful and take advantage of that time. Make it count. Scoring well will take a lot of pressure off. A lot of people find motivation from the monster scores in the DAT forum. There's a link somewhere taking you to a list of monster scores and their breakdowns. If it discourages you, get away. If it motivates you...dig in.

Right, I have NEVER shadowed a dentist in my life

I am going to focus on studying for the DAT and maybe shadow a dentist a little bit. The DAT scores that I see on this forum are really intimidating 😳

 

[Seahawk]

I'm going to nominate this for the top 5 stupidest threads of 2012.

 

[orthosm2021]

Right, I have NEVER shadowed a dentist in my life

I am going to focus on studying for the DAT and maybe shadow a dentist a little bit. The DAT scores that I see on this forum are really intimidating 😳

You really want to get some shadowing done before you start anything. Are you coming from a dentist's family or something? How do you know you want to pursue this field without having shadowed a dentist? You dont want to be a person who does this: study your ass off to take DAT, gets your apps in, go to dental school spend four years, and realize that you don't want to do dentistry. You don't want that to happen. Make a wise decision buddy

 

[NOLAdentist2016]

Go to google. Search "dentist salary". View results. There's some motivation for you.

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

 

[y3nd0]

@AlbinoPolarBear

I chuckled very loudly on the inside. xP

 

[dentalprodigy]

I know that u mean op...its hard to sit down& review Cliffnotes bio phylums...its just depressing.

I found that doing some light shadowing while studying kept me motivated.I was constantly reminded of the final goal/end result every day& it was just inspirational.

valid thread topic ignore the jabronis crying out that.



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[GTA predental]

LOL this is a good one...

 

[TheToothsayer]

Shadowing is a must. If you're all numbers you won't be accepted. Many schools have a quota for minimum shadowing hours. Besides that, you use to be a pharm tech. I'm assuming you're a pre-pharm turned pre-dent. You need to shadow to find out if dentistry is right for you.


Studying for the DAT is only really comparable to studying for the SAT. Do you want to become a dentist OP? Then you better study for the DAT. Your cc standing(pre-reqs are best taken at uni) and lack of ECs don't have you in the green.