nontrad with ~11 months to study for the DAT...

[mintysweet]

So, I'm a nontrad with almost a year to study before I take the DAT, without having to worry about a full-time job. I'm hoping to start my d-school application in May 2019 (next cycle). It sounds awesome, but the catch is that I'm missing some prereqs that are on the DAT (gen and o chem II, biochem, a & p) and the prereq courses I do have I took 5+ years ago... so I basically need to re-learn everything from scratch, especially the material from organic chemistry 1, which I have practically no recollection of. I might be able to take some of the prereqs online before then, but I feel nervous even thinking about enrolling in organic chemistry II at this point. And, since I'm not working I need to be frugal about which classes I take and subscriptions like bootcamp I purchase before the DAT.


Limitations:

• time (11 months)

• Need some pre-reqs (g chem II, o chem II, a & p, biochem)

• Overseas location (can only take classes online until at least Spring 2019 semester)

• Only enough $ to take 1-3 prereqs online

Positives:

• I have a lot of time

My general plan is, from now until May 2019: take a few prereq courses, study study study study, spend a bit of time shadowing, prepare my application.
May 2019: take DAT, start application, get a job.
Post- May 2019 until (hopefully) d-school in fall 2020: Do more shadowing and volunteering, take non-essential missing prerequisites (physics II) and a few upper-level bio courses to make my application better.

So, what would you do if you had 11 months to study for the DAT in my position? Any input on my plan or how I can become a more desirable applicant? I really appreciate any advice, especially if anyone was in a similar position previously.

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[Hnl7]

If I were you with lots of time and limited resources, I would go straight to the free resources and Destroyer.

Feralis notes and Cliffs AP bio with CrashCourse on YouTube to supplement when you feel like watching something.

Grab a DAT Destroyer used and use it as a base to find out your weak areas in gen chem and o chem.

For gen chem - start with chad’s free lectures in general chemistry to get a base. Then go to the Destroyer and try some problems. Find out what you get wrong and go to khan academy for more practice questions and a more in depth explanation if needed.

For o-chem - start with chad’s free lectures and move on to the Destroyer maps. Memorize the Destroyer maps and essential reactions and start the questions. When you find out your weakness head to the Organic Chemistry tutor and practice. Once you have a good grasp try out Paul Young’s final exams.

RC you can practice with library books and scientific articles. Look at LSAT and MCAT books if your library doesn’t have DAT books to practice your strategy.

PAT - YouTube and free apps just google and you can find them.

Feel free to ask me if you need any help finding resources.

Also - don’t forget to shadow/volunteer/improve yourself over this next year. You don’t want to go to your interviews next year without solid progress during this up coming year.

Good luck!