Need some advice

[mprs]

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Okay so I'm new here. I've been reading for a week and have found this forum very helpful. So thanks to all the people who hang out here and help out.

Okay so here is my situation. I've been studying for the MCAT + DAT the past month. The MCAT is still far away, and the DAT is 2 weeks away (May 29th).

What I'm trying to decide is if I should postpone for another week or 2 (if this is even possible). Here are how things stand.

PAT: I'm doing well. 12-15 in about every section except angles and sometimes folding (based on the CDP Tests). Some more practice will surely help, and I have the entire CDP package for all my angle pleasure. So I feel fine for this section in two weeks with some more work.

QR: I'm a math minor. I know how to do every problem. At first, time was an issue (had no idea there was a calculator lol). But I've been regularly getting 23-24 on the CDP.

RC: I havn't started studying for that, did a few passages to practice search and destroy, nothing major.

Nat Sciences: I've been reviewing for a while, but I did a few tests on CDP and I was stumped. I'm pretty good at general chem, been getting about 80% right for the most part. Biology, however is a different story. I read through the entirety of Kaplan and I still felt like I don't know how to answer any of the questions. I've resorted back to my Princeton review Bio sciences book which goes into much further detail.

What I'm wondering is, will 2 weeks be enough or should I postpone? Is it possible to postpone a short amount or how does that all work? Prometric site is highly unaccessible 🙁

Also, would I need supplemental books like Cliffs AP Bio or some of the other ones mentioned, or would it not be worth it?
Thanks for the feedback!

 

[darkwalk]

I took me a long time to study for biology. I was like you after reading the blue book, so I got cliffs and barron's, took notes and made flash cards to study. Made a 24 on bio, but thought it was a fluke. 🙂

 

[whale86]

For BIO, definitely get Cliffs AP Bio. It helped me ALOT. Kaplan is not enough for the Bio section...

may I ask why your taking both the MCAT and DAT?

I would push back my DAT test date if I were you if you don't feel that your ready for Biology just yet.

Good luck 🙂

 

[mprs]

I'm writing both just to keep my options open. I've been in a tug of war for the past 3 years. My mom and my oldest brothers are dentists, and my other brother is just finishing his MD. I'm leaning towards dentistry but it won't hurt to have options.

Having said that, I wanted to use the course (TPR) to review for both (although I would only go through half of it). The MCAT is only July 29th, and I've done it before. I also only need to improve verbal as the other 3 sections were stellar last year so I'm pretty optimistic.

I feel like I can squeak out a 19-20 when its all said and done but its too dependent on other factors like what they ask and that to me is just too risky.

I bought Chad's lecture and I've been using those to study orgo when I'm tired of reading, but I will get Cliffs... that seems unanimous (sp?)

Also how does the reschedule process work? Going to go try to make sense of the prometric site.

EDIT: yay search function. so $25 apparently. I guess a follow up to this: How late is late when taking the DAT. I don't think I need more than 2 weeks but that would mean I'd write it on the 12th or 13th. Is that limiting me in anyway in terms of "late" application?

 

[UCB05]

If you want to do well enough to really have that option, make sure you know the ins and outs of the DAT, because it's a different test compared to the MCAT. Get yourself topscore or achiever and take a practice exam to see how you might do on a whole exam sitting. Also keep in mind you'll need to focus on some things on one exam that won't/don't need to be covered on the other. I scored 13BS/13PS a couple years ago and still hit the books harder than ever for the DAT. Ecology, taxonomy, plant bio are fair game for the DAT but aren't on the MCAT. Ochem is all 1st year stuff, whereas the MCAT has been phasing out nearly all of Ochem in favor of biochem (which isn't necessary for the DAT either). You'll also need to know the concepts cold. You won't get passages that give you half the info to infer out of. It looks like you've been covering your bases on PAT/QR/RC.

If you think two weeks is enough time to cover all the bio and ochem you'll need, by all means take it in two weeks, but if you want to be sure you're prepared, it would behoove you to put it off for a bit to round out your foundation.