Is June 20th late to take DAT for early reviewing schools?

[10799102]

Hi, I'm applying this cycle and trying to figure out the best time to take DAT. my semester ends around April 20th, so I was thinking about taking it around June 20th, that way I'll have solid two months for studying. However, I hear that some schools such as Midwestern, Nova and etc start reviewing and inviting people for interviews pretty much as soon as the application cycle is open. If that's the case, would it be better if I push and take DAT sometime during May? or is June 20th still okay to be a competitive applicant for those early reviewing schools?

one more question, I can still start working on the app and should be doing that even before I take the DAT, right?

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[wengerout]

Nope I took mine the 27th of June and was fine. Just make sure to apply the first week.

 

[Sweet_Tooth]

That sounds fine, I took mine's June 13 and my app was in by end of June. If you are concerned about being early then make sure every other aspect of your application (letters of recommendation, personal statement, transcripts, supplementals for schools, etc) are all complete and so the only thing left is your DAT, that way most likely you can be complete by end of June/early July. Good luck!

 

[Arthur Jeffries]

you're good i didn't retake mine until july 20th and was still fine

 

[pinwheeels]

Ok, so if I might request a little input on this same subject, what about taking the DAT at the end of July? My spring semester finishes June 17th here, and then that will give me 6 free weeks to study for the DAT and take it the end of July. I plan to have everything else complete before then, so the DAT score will be the final item going into my application. Am I still submitting my application early enough to get a chance for pre-Dec interviews?

 

[pinwheeels]

you're good i didn't retake mine until july 20th and was still fine

How many schools did you apply to and how many interview invites did you receive? Was your application complete once you took the DAT?

 

[lolalouise]

Just for some more perspective on the matter...I took the DAT on Aug. 30th but didn't submit my app until Oct. 1st. I had three pre-December interviews and two interviews in January (invited in November) and received a Dec. 1st acceptance. Although this worked out for me, it was super stressful and I DO NOT recommend applying so late haha.
That being said, taking the DAT June 20th, or even at the end of July is still pretty early. I definitely agree that its better to apply as early as possible to give yourself the best chances, but you don't need to freak out over the timing of every little thing. If you have a good application and are a well rounded candidate, schools will invite you to interview even if you apply a little later than some. Just get everything in order as early as possible and submit when it is best for you (probably no later than end of July if you're worried about being considered early).

 

[Arthur Jeffries]

How many schools did you apply to and how many interview invites did you receive? Was your application complete once you took the DAT?

i applied to 10 schools, received 5 interview invites so far and my app was completed once i took the DAT. i submitted the first week of july and had everything in and verified about a week or so before i took my DAT

my friend took it at the end of july and submitted then and has received 3 interview invites so far with a lower DAT than myself

 

[pinwheeels]

Awesome, that's a few more butterflies released!

Congrats for both of you @lolalouise and @azucker10!

 

[pinwheeels]

Actually, if that's the case, I might even consider adding another couple weeks to take the DAT, just to give myself a solid 2 months to study. If I did register for an end of July date, and wish to push it back to mid-Aug, is that possible once I've registered? I just wanted to have a little breathing room to travel and visit my mom out-of-state and then dad out-of-country before fall semester starts mid-end of Aug.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Actually, if that's the case, I might even consider adding another couple weeks to take the DAT, just to give myself a solid 2 months to study. If I did register for an end of July date, and wish to push it back to mid-Aug, is that possible once I've registered? I just wanted to have a little breathing room to travel and visit my mom out-of-state and then dad out-of-country before fall semester starts mid-end of Aug.

You can change the date after you've registered, you just have to pay a fee. I would try to take the test before mid-August though, that starts to push into your application getting finalized a little later than ideal.

 

[weaselodeath]

Ok, so if I might request a little input on this same subject, what about taking the DAT at the end of July? My spring semester finishes June 17th here, and then that will give me 6 free weeks to study for the DAT and take it the end of July. I plan to have everything else complete before then, so the DAT score will be the final item going into my application. Am I still submitting my application early enough to get a chance for pre-Dec interviews?

6 weeks is a long time! Just make sure that you know for an absolute certainty that having that long to just do the DAT isn't going to lead to you wasting a month procrastinating, because I know that's what I would do.

 

[Carlsaganlvr10]

Actually, if that's the case, I might even consider adding another couple weeks to take the DAT, just to give myself a solid 2 months to study. If I did register for an end of July date, and wish to push it back to mid-Aug, is that possible once I've registered? I just wanted to have a little breathing room to travel and visit my mom out-of-state and then dad out-of-country before fall semester starts mid-end of Aug.

I took my DAT July 31 (I think), but at the time of the DAT everything else was submitted. So, my transcript had been verified and LOR received. After my DAT, it took exactly 2 weeks for my scores to be uploaded to AADSAS. Two weeks later received all my interviews.