As I prepare to begin dental school in a month, I like to look back on the CRAZY journey of the dreaded "junior year" and my application cycle, and periodically log into sdn, which was a REGULAR for me. I am extremely blessed and extremely RELIEVED it's over, but now I'm nervous about beginning the next four years of dental school!! Go figure. It never ends. I remember how much I appreciated advice from those who had been through it already, so I thought maybe I would give my advice of things I learned, *things I wish I'd known, and things I would have done differently.*
*The No Brainers:*
-Do your absolute best in all your courses. Especially science related ones.
-Get to know your professors. You will need good recommendation letters! Do this EARLY. And request a letter from them personally, MONTHS in advance. Trust me, you will be grateful later when you don't have to run around like a madman frantically stressing over letters. If your school requires a pre health interview and a committee letter, make sure you schedule that ASAP too. I scheduled mine in May.
-Go to your schools pre health meetings, and get into dental societies. This is honestly how I found out much needed info to get me started. I've realized that so many people go into the application cycle not knowing vital things that can truly make a difference. And If your school hosts meetings with admissions officers like my school does, GO TO THOSE MEETINGS! Why miss out when they are there in the flesh feeding you that precious information?!
-Get involved with things!*
-Try your best not to drop courses.
*The Application Cycle
-Know ahead of time when it begins, and what the application consists of. That way, you will know what you can have done before the application is even open. ( For instance, you can begin working on your personal statement.) *
-Take your personal statement seriously. I spent time writing it, let my loved ones read over it, and went to my school's writing center. It's worth it.
-The day it opens, set aside time to begin filling it out. For instance, the background info section, and the sections about your coursework. It's much easier to complete as you go, rather than trying to do it all at once.
-Send requests for transcripts to be sent to ADDSAS IMMEDIATELY. If you had any college coursework completed at a community college, send out the request for those transcripts THE DAY the application cycle opens. I cannot stress how much STRESS a community college gave me simply because they took FOREVER to mail out my transcript! I have heard similar situations from numerous people. Remember, your application will not be complete until all transcripts are in and then, your GPA must be verified ( which can take weeks).*
-Aim to have your application complete no later than September. By this time, they are already sending interview invites. As EARLY EARLY EARLY as possible is best!!!*
*The DAT
-Plan to take it once you are done with organic chemistry. When asked when is the best time, this is truly the best answer. When you're done with organic.*
-Plan to take the DAT when you don't have to focus on anything else, for instance, course work and finals. For me, this was during the summer. I can't imagine having to study for the DAT AND my class work. The DAT is truly one of the most important tests you'll have to take, and I wanted to give it my full attention.
-When it came to study materials, I would read about all the other things other people used and felt bad if I didn't have it. Truth be told, these resources can get expensive. The BEST resource I used was Destroyer. Hands down. It was hard, but it truly prepared me. The tips he gives in his explanations are amazing too. I even saw a couple questions on my actual test that I saw in that book.
Other things I used were Barron's, which is great for the reading section. Also Kaplan's, but I would not recommend it. I don't feel it was much help. For the bio section, Cliff's AP Bio was great. And as for study materials, thats all I used.
-Give yourself at least two months to prepare.*
-Study in the way that works for YOU. I would hear about people waking up and studying for hours straight every day. Really? I could not sit at a desk for that long! I probably studied four hours a day, honestly. And even then, I took breaks. It was not consecutive hours. I made a study plan for myself. For instance, I would do 25 problems in each section of Destroyer a day. Then I would designate a section to read in AP Bio, for instance, the respiratory system. Then I would do a reading exercise, and, you get the picture.*
-Do practice tests! Start them as you near closer and closer to your test date, but not too close. You want to gauge how prepared you are. And don't forget to time yourself every time! Especially for the reading section! Time is the killer in that section!
-For the PAT section, it's one of those things that you have or don't have. I am one who doesn't have it. The books were not much help for me. What did help me was YouTube videos by a guy named "condog." He scored a 25 on the PAT and gives really neat tips for the sections.
-Lastly, plan your date realistically. You don't want to spend all that money and waste it because you didn't give yourself time to prepare. Also, it looks better to have taken it one and done great! Really good, actually! Also, you want to take it and be DONE with it at a time that your score will be in ADDSAS efficiently. The DAT score doesn't hold up your application, but it's something you want in there as early as possible.
And that's it! It was stressful and crazy, but so worth it. Don't stress out too much. Just take it seriously. I don't have the perfect GPA by any means, so a couple of C's won't kill you. Just make sure you do your best. Good luck to everyone!!! Hope this helped.
*The No Brainers:*
-Do your absolute best in all your courses. Especially science related ones.
-Get to know your professors. You will need good recommendation letters! Do this EARLY. And request a letter from them personally, MONTHS in advance. Trust me, you will be grateful later when you don't have to run around like a madman frantically stressing over letters. If your school requires a pre health interview and a committee letter, make sure you schedule that ASAP too. I scheduled mine in May.
-Go to your schools pre health meetings, and get into dental societies. This is honestly how I found out much needed info to get me started. I've realized that so many people go into the application cycle not knowing vital things that can truly make a difference. And If your school hosts meetings with admissions officers like my school does, GO TO THOSE MEETINGS! Why miss out when they are there in the flesh feeding you that precious information?!
-Get involved with things!*
-Try your best not to drop courses.
*The Application Cycle
-Know ahead of time when it begins, and what the application consists of. That way, you will know what you can have done before the application is even open. ( For instance, you can begin working on your personal statement.) *
-Take your personal statement seriously. I spent time writing it, let my loved ones read over it, and went to my school's writing center. It's worth it.
-The day it opens, set aside time to begin filling it out. For instance, the background info section, and the sections about your coursework. It's much easier to complete as you go, rather than trying to do it all at once.
-Send requests for transcripts to be sent to ADDSAS IMMEDIATELY. If you had any college coursework completed at a community college, send out the request for those transcripts THE DAY the application cycle opens. I cannot stress how much STRESS a community college gave me simply because they took FOREVER to mail out my transcript! I have heard similar situations from numerous people. Remember, your application will not be complete until all transcripts are in and then, your GPA must be verified ( which can take weeks).*
-Aim to have your application complete no later than September. By this time, they are already sending interview invites. As EARLY EARLY EARLY as possible is best!!!*
*The DAT
-Plan to take it once you are done with organic chemistry. When asked when is the best time, this is truly the best answer. When you're done with organic.*
-Plan to take the DAT when you don't have to focus on anything else, for instance, course work and finals. For me, this was during the summer. I can't imagine having to study for the DAT AND my class work. The DAT is truly one of the most important tests you'll have to take, and I wanted to give it my full attention.
-When it came to study materials, I would read about all the other things other people used and felt bad if I didn't have it. Truth be told, these resources can get expensive. The BEST resource I used was Destroyer. Hands down. It was hard, but it truly prepared me. The tips he gives in his explanations are amazing too. I even saw a couple questions on my actual test that I saw in that book.
Other things I used were Barron's, which is great for the reading section. Also Kaplan's, but I would not recommend it. I don't feel it was much help. For the bio section, Cliff's AP Bio was great. And as for study materials, thats all I used.
-Give yourself at least two months to prepare.*
-Study in the way that works for YOU. I would hear about people waking up and studying for hours straight every day. Really? I could not sit at a desk for that long! I probably studied four hours a day, honestly. And even then, I took breaks. It was not consecutive hours. I made a study plan for myself. For instance, I would do 25 problems in each section of Destroyer a day. Then I would designate a section to read in AP Bio, for instance, the respiratory system. Then I would do a reading exercise, and, you get the picture.*
-Do practice tests! Start them as you near closer and closer to your test date, but not too close. You want to gauge how prepared you are. And don't forget to time yourself every time! Especially for the reading section! Time is the killer in that section!
-For the PAT section, it's one of those things that you have or don't have. I am one who doesn't have it. The books were not much help for me. What did help me was YouTube videos by a guy named "condog." He scored a 25 on the PAT and gives really neat tips for the sections.
-Lastly, plan your date realistically. You don't want to spend all that money and waste it because you didn't give yourself time to prepare. Also, it looks better to have taken it one and done great! Really good, actually! Also, you want to take it and be DONE with it at a time that your score will be in ADDSAS efficiently. The DAT score doesn't hold up your application, but it's something you want in there as early as possible.
And that's it! It was stressful and crazy, but so worth it. Don't stress out too much. Just take it seriously. I don't have the perfect GPA by any means, so a couple of C's won't kill you. Just make sure you do your best. Good luck to everyone!!! Hope this helped.
