Pre-req's leading up to DAT

[HawkJ2010]

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Is 1 year General Biology, 1 year General Chemistry, 1 year Anatomy&Physiology, and 1 year Organic Chemistry enough to do well on the DAT? I know a lot of people recommend taking Microbiology and Biochemistry but I had decided to save those courses for my "gap" year. Will my DAT scores suffer due to that decision or should I (with proper studying) be able to receive acceptance-level scores?

Thanks.

 

[LaughingGas]

It's really up to you. But no, you don't need those classes to do well in bio section. I'm taking micro bio, and had 0 question about microbio. Biochem, you will get a better understanding, but it's overkill for DAT. You don't need to know the structure or how to calculate Km values.

 

[HawkJ2010]

Okay, I appreciate the input! I will be taking Anatomy/O. Chem 1 next Fall and Physiology/O. Chem 2 in the Spring with hopes to study for and complete the DAT in the Summer 2014 and apply to dental school. Do you know how I would fair in an interview process with 1 year of Physics and Microbiology/Biochemistry in progress during my "senior" year?

 

[Volvoxy]

Anatomy and Micro didn't help that much on my DAT but I remember getting a few questions in the bio section thanks to taking biochem. Then again the bio section is so random, it's hard to tell for sure what will help you cover your bases the best. So take my advice with a big grain of NaCl- part of it is just the luck of the draw.

 

[predentalguy20]

Is 1 year General Biology, 1 year General Chemistry, 1 year Anatomy&Physiology, and 1 year Organic Chemistry enough to do well on the DAT? I know a lot of people recommend taking Microbiology and Biochemistry but I had decided to save those courses for my "gap" year. Will my DAT scores suffer due to that decision or should I (with proper studying) be able to receive acceptance-level scores?

Thanks.

For the bio section, in my opinion take as many upper level bio classes as you can. This section is so random and you will never know what you are going to get. I had bio 1&2 as well as intro biochem and cellbio & neuro and memorized like 80% of AP cliff bio book before the DAT and only got an 18. No biochemistry or cellbio stuff on my DAT. I had quite few questions about anatomy and physiology (lucky me🙁

 

[r2thekesh]

I highly recommend speaking with someone that has taken the DAT from your school. Most pre-dents at my school would've agreed that they didn't need to take orgo 2 to get all the concepts on the DAT. But then the curriculum changed so that opinion changed. Another example is a biochem in undergrad I took involved memorizing each reaction and redrawing it verbatim for each cell process. Other biochems don't do that. It really depends on the school.

 

[HawkJ2010]

Anatomy and Micro didn't help that much on my DAT but I remember getting a few questions in the bio section thanks to taking biochem. Then again the bio section is so random, it's hard to tell for sure what will help you cover your bases the best. So take my advice with a big grain of NaCl- part of it is just the luck of the draw.

For the bio section, in my opinion take as many upper level bio classes as you can. This section is so random and you will never know what you are going to get. I had bio 1&2 as well as intro biochem and cellbio & neuro and memorized like 80% of AP cliff bio book before the DAT and only got an 18. No biochemistry or cellbio stuff on my DAT. I had quite few questions about anatomy and physiology (lucky me🙁

I highly recommend speaking with someone that has taken the DAT from your school. Most pre-dents at my school would've agreed that they didn't need to take orgo 2 to get all the concepts on the DAT. But then the curriculum changed so that opinion changed. Another example is a biochem in undergrad I took involved memorizing each reaction and redrawing it verbatim for each cell process. Other biochems don't do that. It really depends on the school.

Thank you, all! I was planning on taking the classes listed above plus the DAT and if not satisfied with the results, follow up the following year with Biochemistry/Microbiology and more EC's then retake the DAT. Taking Anatomy, O.Chem. 1, and Microbiology all in one semester could damage my overall package (i.e. GPA and memory retention for the DAT) rather than help.

 

[Dgeorg6]

Take it after your sophomore year. All you need is Bio 1 and 2, Gen Chem 1 and 2, and Orgo 1 and 2.

Your going to relearn everything anyways so it doesnt matter. I remembered hardly anything from Gen chem and Orgo when i took it the summer after sophomore year and Chads will teach you everything you need to know. I had only taken Micro and Genetics besides my normal biologys and the micro didnt help at all but genetics definitely made the 2-3 genetics questions I got super easy. It also helped with a few of the evolution ones I got as well.

Either way its all covered in cliffs ap biology anyways

 

[Bobby Fischer]

I did a-okay with the basic 2 semesters of bio, gc, and oc. Organic Chem lab is a separate semester and I took the DAT prior to taking the lab, too. Nothing more, nothing less.

My feeling is that if you can aquire the specifications for the various sections of the SNS portion of the exam, and cover all those bases DEEPLY...there isn't much more to the scope of the exam. But don't be fooled: there is a lot of information to be mastered in all 3 topics.

 

[Msmouth]

Just FYI, physics may need to be completed or at least physics 1 to be invited for an interview at some schools. At least the school I got an interview at required it. I had to do it over the summer before I completed my application. Just check websites or call around to be sure.
I am currently taking Microbiology and Genetics and I don't think they are needed. Just know cliffs AP bio and have a solid understanding of Bio 1& 2, brain function, evolution, animal behavior, transcription, etc etc. Good luck!