I think I may have waited too late to take the DAT.

[ThunderSplash]

Hey guys! Long story short, I'm a junior now and had planned on taking the DAT last summer between my sophomore and junior year. Some financial issues came up so I couldn't afford what I wanted to prepare and I didn't feel ready to take the DAT yet. I was under the impression that I could have the entire summer between junior and senior year to study and perhaps take it in late July before my senior year. I didn't know that you can send in applications as early as June 1st so I feel like I would be sending mine in late.

Do I cram spring semester and hope for the best in order to get my application in on time, or do I study hard all summer (thus hopefully getting a higher score) and send it in a little late? Thanks for any and all help guys, I'm starting to freak out.

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[Titus Times]

Man Honestly, Im in a somewhat similar situation, but By choice lol.

I plan to study all fall in the Mornings for at least 2-3 hours, and use the winter break as my solid month of harddd studying and practicing, then take the exam january right before school starts back up.

And as a backup if im not scoring really high, im going to skip the exam for january and do morning studying all spring then go hard for a month of summer and grow some balls and ace that DAT. By then I should be scoring well above my desired mark, but that's my plan, you craft your own destiny sir.

But I heard through the oh so unoffical grape vine that the DAT was changing in January, so I'm considering doing it December time sometime.

Feel free to validate that DAT change comment because I'm not sure.

 

[SXCoronado]

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[predent31414]

As a graduate student who is just finishing my master's..... I applied in early august and I am taking the DAT in september. Although this may not be the smartest decision, I can say DO NOT take the test until you feel you are ready. If that means taking it a little later, so be it. With an average GPA and a good DAT scores, schools will look at your application even if its sent in september you will still have a good shot. Good luck!

 

[Smiley19]

You have to think about it. How prepared are you right now to take it? If you've done well in your sciences and you know what the PAT is all about, then I'd say do a little refresher and go for it. Will you have a light class load in the Spring? Sending it in later, you risk not getting in if the seats have already been filled. True, some schools have later deadlines than others, but a lot of people submitted their application the first month it became available. I'm somewhat in the same boat, or at least I was. I'm a senior... I just took the dat last month and I just submitted my application this past Monday. I'm guessing you're not applying until next year, right?
As for Kaplan... don't pay for anything more than the book that's in bookstores. You said you had a few financial setbacks right? Well, Kaplan's DAT prep (online/in class) isn't worth the $1000.00+. The book they give you with that course is the same exact book you can get in stores for $950+ less. I paid for that crap (the in person class) and wish I would've kept my money. I didn't have that kind of money laying around and had to work extra for it. Don't get me wrong, the class is good, but it's WAY overpriced for what they're offering.
Hope this helps and I hope you do well.

 

[pilotdentist]

IMO June vs July will make NO difference. Study and do well.

I applied to 7 schools in June and then decided to add a bunch more in the second half of August. I have 3 interviews, 2 or which came from schools that I added in late August.

Long story short: get all your other items submitted and take the test when you are ready, June, July, or August preferably. From my experience submitting in June vs July/Aug may not really matter. Keep in mind it takes 2-3 weeks for them to receive the official scores from the test day.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Man Honestly, Im in a somewhat similar situation, but By choice lol.

I plan to study all fall in the Mornings for at least 2-3 hours, and use the winter break as my solid month of harddd studying and practicing, then take the exam january right before school starts back up.

And as a backup if im not scoring really high, im going to skip the exam for january and do morning studying all spring then go hard for a month of summer and grow some balls and ace that DAT. By then I should be scoring well above my desired mark, but that's my plan, you craft your own destiny sir.

But I heard through the oh so unoffical grape vine that the DAT was changing in January, so I'm considering doing it December time sometime.

Feel free to validate that DAT change comment because I'm not sure.

DAT won't change. BIO will remain the same throughout 2015. The only change is with QR. They will add some new test questions but it won't be included in your score until 2016.

 

[Titus Times]

DAT won't change. BIO will remain the same throughout 2015. The only change is with QR. They will add some new test questions but it won't be included in your score until 2016.

Wait what do you mean it won't be included in the score until 2015,

and thanks man that really pretty much clears things up for me.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Wait what do you mean it won't be included in the score until 2015,

and thanks man that really pretty much clears things up for me.

No prob man!

Well, the ADA person I emailed said that the there will be no change throughout 2014 and 2015. The QR section will start introducing new questions (like stats) but it wont be included in our score until 2016. I believe they are just testing the questions out. However, he said that the QR section will have an emphasis...not sure what he's talking about so I'm waiting on a response from him.

Here's the email in case you want to email him too:
[email protected]