Newb Questions DAT etc...

[bennyhanna]

Hi. I am considering a career in Dentistry, but have little information on the pre-reqs, what the DAT is like, study guides etc...

I'm quite familiar with the MCAT and its requirements as a couple of my family members have taken it.

Are the pre-reqs for pre-dental the same as pre-med?

How similar is the MCAT to the DAT?

Are there any prep texts or courses similar to the examkrackers series for the MCAT?

Any suggestions?

Thanks to all who reply!

~BB

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[duh?]

Hi. I am considering a career in Dentistry, but have little information on the pre-reqs, what the DAT is like, study guides etc...

I'm quite familiar with the MCAT and its requirements as a couple of my family members have taken it.

Are the pre-reqs for pre-dental the same as pre-med?

How similar is the MCAT to the DAT?

Are there any prep texts or courses similar to the examkrackers series for the MCAT?

Any suggestions?

Thanks to all who reply!

~BB

If you would just take the time to google your questions or maybe even visit a pre dental adviser, you'd have most of your answers.
You can get info about pre-reqs at your schools pre-dental office or on dental schools' websites.
Description of DAT is on ADA.org, google it too.
Study guides__truckloads out there, Kaplan blue book,DAT achiever, Topscore etc.

 

[Audio]

Hi. I am considering a career in Dentistry, but have little information on the pre-reqs, what the DAT is like, study guides etc...

I'm quite familiar with the MCAT and its requirements as a couple of my family members have taken it.

Are the pre-reqs for pre-dental the same as pre-med?

How similar is the MCAT to the DAT?

Are there any prep texts or courses similar to the examkrackers series for the MCAT?

Any suggestions?

Thanks to all who reply!

~BB

Just some advice. If you keep saying pre-med and MCAT so much, some people here may have the urge to bite your head off. Of course, I'm not one of them

 

[bennyhanna]

Just some advice. If you keep saying pre-med and MCAT so much, some people here may have the urge to bite your head off. Of course, I'm not one of them

Is there animocity towards the MCAT or students who plan to become physicians, among students who want to become dentists and current dental students?

 

[duh?]

Simply put, people who think of dentistry as a back up plan if they dont get into med school will not get much respect here, at least not from moi.

 

[litlmisa]

Pre-reqs are mostly 1 year each of physics, gen chem, o chem, gen bio, some school want more ontop of that such as micro or english, go to the adea website and find links to the all the d schools..

The dat consists of 4 parts:
Sci -40 q's bio, 30 chem and 30 ochem
pat-percept. ability
qr-math up to and including trig
rc-reding comprehension
just google dat to get more info

Kaplan does test prep, i think princeton does, too. most book stores will have prep/study guides.

Talk to your advisor or do a little reseach online with the adea.org website and the schools-it will answer a lot of your questions.

predents tend to not like med converts very much-i guess it is a competition thing. it is already hard enough to get a chair with so many qualified applicants that have always wanted to be a dentist then to add the med converts...Also it is high stress for all that have applied this year and everyone is warn out answering the 'i wanna be a dentist now what' type questions. don't take it to heart, good luck with you new found interest.
also if you are serius about applying check out the ADDSAS application to see what it all contains...btw addsas is a central processing apllication service that most d schools require you to complete.
i know my spelling/grammer suck..i tired

 

[bennyhanna]

Simply put, people who think of dentistry as a back up plan if they dont get into med school will not get much respect here, at least not from moi.

Understandable... I don't plan on applying to med school, it doesn't appeal to me. But dentistry does... I was told by 3 different dentists growing up that I have no enamel on my teeth due to a chldhood fever. Thus, I have been prone to cavities and am no stranger to the dentist (all molars filled, 4 root canals, 4 crowns, 2 crowns awaiting... about to get my wisdom teeth removed).

Having understood the extreme pain of decay, having to wait for up to a month without treatment (due to no insurance at the time), and receiving care that alleviated it in one sitting, I can think of nothing else I want to do.

Having family in allopathic medicine should not give you the assumption that allopathy is my intention with dentistry as a 2nd choice. It is my only choice.

I have indeed 'googled' it, have checked the ADA, and do have quite a bit of information, but while I'm going through it, I thought that this forum would also be a good source of information.

I've found only a few guidebooks, which I am still waiting for, on what I will need to do.

So, yes, I have alot of info, and am going through it. But I'm not an expert, and must start somewhere. In the mean time, your helpful responses are appreciated.

~BB

 

[SMC2UCLA2_]

What year are u?

 

[jk5177]

One of the best ways to learn about what it takes to be pre-dental is to sort of do a search of your own on the SDN site. There are so many valuable materials here that can only be truly enlightening by doing a search on your own. For me, or anyone else to satisfactorily answer your question would require a huge investment of time in sharing our knowledge, which I for one, isn't inclined to do so, because the time is better spend to be learning my anatomy (hey, look of one of the threads I've been posting and that may give you a sense of anatomy and I).

However, you are at the right place, I say set some time aside, grab a good drink, listen to some music, grab a good shovel, and start digging through SDN. While at it, share with us what you learned, post in the threads that has been most helpful, or hyperlink all the useful threads and put them in a new post of your own. Hence, helpful for the future students, and also further build up this community. Let me know how it goes, if you need more support, many of us here are quite willing. ~ta da.

 

[bennyhanna]

What year are u?

I'm a non-traditional sophomore majoring in Molecular Biology, minoring in Spanish. Yes, I've felt I've wanted to be a dentist for a while, and am researching it. My busy life, as we all have, has made it difficult to do any meaningful research until recently.

Your posts are appreciated. I am digging the SDN forums and enjoying it... we all have homework so I don't expect lengthy posts. The posts thus far have been helpful!

~BB