My timeline of events - is it doable?

[NDPitch]

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Next Saturday, I take the final for a biochemistry course that I'm in. That will be February 4th. Shortly after that, I plan to begin studying for the DAT. I haven't nailed down what materials I'm going to use yet, still debating that one. Any inputs there are welcomed.

Anyway, the "dilemma" is that I have a full time job. I plan on studying at nights after work for 2 or 3 hours, and then maybe doing longer sessions of 4 or 5 hours on sunday afternoons/nights.

With that kind of study schedule, do you think I have enough time to pull of a 20+ if I want to take the DAT in the June-ish timeframe, and mail out my apps in the July-ish timeframe?

I ask because I read about people that don't have jobs and have the luxury of sticking their heads in the books for weeks and weeks - but I'm just not able to do that.

 

[ushaseos]

If you're going for a june admission, yeah it should totally be do-able. I worked 30-35 hours per week (excluding 1 hour drive time each way to my work place) while studying for the DAT. I spent 3 months doing so since my job was relatively light (private tutoring) and I could do practice questions while working. Since your job may be a bit more taxing, especially since you're putting in 40 hours, you might need a little more time so 4-5 months should be good. If you want to do full length practice tests though, it'll get real tough! I did most of mine almost exclusively on weekends and during thanksgiving break.

You're not in school after that final though right? School + Work + DAT = Death! Make no mistake about it.

In all seriousness, you'll know, really well, within a month as to what your limits are and that'll give you a better idea of what you can realistically do...much better than any of us here can.

 

[NDPitch]

Thanks!

Here is what I'm thinking for materials, what do you think?

I have the Exam Krackers MCAT books, so I'll go through all of those (except Physics). I also have the audio osmosis CDs, so I'll listen to those in the car on my way to and from work. I'll get DAT Destroyer coupled with Math Destroyer, and then Crack the DAT PAT.

Would that cover everything for about 4 months of studying?

EDIT: I forgot to include Chad's videos into the mix.

 

[ushaseos]

Lol I had those materials to start with too. In fact, my 1 hour daily commute made Osmosis my best friend!. The EK books are good, but not all inclusive of DAT material. If you have the EK 1001 questions books, then use them for practice.

I personally think Achiever and Top Score are essential if you want to get a great score since they are the best full length practice tests.

I didn't use Chad's since I was fairly good at chem, but pretty much everyone LOVES them so you can't go wrong with those. Apparently Chad's quizzes are pretty great too. Maybe if I used them my Ochem could have been better 😛. In my case, I just wanted to get more practice so I got a ton of practice material.

I actually listed every DAT material I used in my DAT breakdown (signature). At the end of that long post are brief descriptions of each item used and their effectiveness. Admittedly I went a little overkill on the prep part but still I have no big regrets.