other "test" tips?

[mic08hael]

---

Members don't see this ad.

i am new here and am planning on taking the DAT in mid-august. i was reading through some of the mcat threads (i am a true pre-dent .... just surfing through mcat stuff out of boredom).....there was an interesting thread that asked what other tips people had for taking the macat (other than study related stuff).....ie sleep schedule/what to eat the day of the test/ what to wear/what to do the 2-3 days before the test.

i know that we all know how to study for this "beast of a test", or at least those things can be easily found here on SDN.......so for everyone who has taken the DAT and scored very well (let's say 20+) could you try to pass on some advice on what you did as prep for the test (again not including how you studied)

thanks in advance......

 

[Sprgrover]

First off, welcome to the dental forums. 👍 Those pre-med students seem a little high strung and stressed out at times. While I was studying for the DAT I put in at least 6 hours and there were many days in which I had a lot of stamina and would go for 12. I tried to take regular 10-15 minute breaks every hour to hour and a half. Some people might benefit from not getting any sun, eating, sleeping, and breathing the subject at hand. I go crazy without some sort of contact with the outside world. My advice: be dedicated but don't study to the point that your mental health suffers as a result. Make sure you get a full night's rest and eat properly as a person cannot live on poptarts and soda alone. Don't let your personal problems interfere with your study habits: imagine your life as two lanes, one contains your scholastic stuff and the other is personal junk. Occassionally jump from your scholastic lane to your personal one, solve whatever is going on, then jump back. Don't mix the two - that's bad news. That is how I approached studying for the DAT (and school for that matter). Remember that although the DAT is a nice chunk of the admissions process, it is only a piece and not worth naming an ulcer after it (and you shouldn't if you study right). Since you asked, there's my two cents!

 

[mic08hael]

sprgrover,
thanks for the reply. i think that is great advice. i am beginning to get close enough to the test that every few days i get worried that i wil not be ready. it is during these times that i have to step back from the situation, and get away from it all for a little while.
i like the "life as two lanes" theory....... 👍

 

[Lumbee.Dr]

I am retaking the DAT 8/19. 🙁 So, I have a couple of suggestions since I have been there before.

1. Wear baggy, comfortable clothes (a light sweater if you get cool easily)
2. Hydrate yourself prior to the test, but don't drink alot of fluids because you don't want to end up in the bathroom before your break. (Excess caffeine will do this to you as well)
3. Bring along a brain snack for the break that they give you (The one you really NEED to take!!!)
4. Don't take anything to help you sleep the night prior to the test because you never know how they may affect you the next a.m.
5. Start a healthy sleep pattern a couple of nights before the test, you don't want to 😴 during the DAT
6. Put the keyboard up by the monitor. This gives you room to work out problems if you need to

I will definitely do these things this time around as well as study, study, study.......Any other suggestions?

 

[DrTacoElf]

Use tutorial time and break time to write down formulas.

 

[drat]

I think the biggest advantage I had was walking into the testing center knowing I was going to kick boo-tay. I don't mean to sound all egotistical, but really, if you're not confident, you'll start second guessing yourself and the answers you selected.

Something I did that actually gave me a lot of confidence was reciting really random crap to my friends. . .it made me realize that I WAS learning the subjectmatter and retaining it. I particularly had troubles with the classifications and all the details that go along with that, so I recall a couple of times, I would let everyone know that the anthropods excrete solid uric acid crystals instead of urea in order to conserve water. And they have a mouth and an anus! Just rattling off nonsense like that keeps it in the memory bank.

AAAAAAAAanyway, the morning of my exam, I was excited. I was literally punching the air like I was Muhammad Ali. I wanted to put my knowledge to use and it worked out for me. 👍

Best of luck,
drat

 

[JavadiCavity]

Study material up through the night before, take lots of practice tests, write down formulas during tutorial/break, be happy!