Realistically, how much should one study for the DAT?

[TecmoFootball]

I was wondering how many months one should take in studying for the DAT. Of course you could take a long time to study but then you hit that point of diminishing returns, and maybe too much could lead to burnout.

How much did you take to study, and how did you feel about your DAT results?

The reason I'm asking is I will finish O-chem2 and Bio2 in early May. If I want to apply the same year I wouldn't have too much time to study, maybe a month or two. When is the latest you would recommend taking the DAT in a calendar year so dental schools get your apps early enough?

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[Act0fgod]

I was wondering how many months one should take in studying for the DAT. Of course you could take a long time to study but then you hit that point of diminishing returns, and maybe too much could lead to burnout.

How much did you take to study, and how did you feel about your DAT results?

The reason I'm asking is I will finish O-chem2 and Bio2 in early May. If I want to apply the same year I wouldn't have too much time to study, maybe a month or two. When is the latest you would recommend taking the DAT in a calendar year so dental schools get your apps early enough?

What score do you want? I studied for about 2 weeks (took 1 week off from work and no kidding studied 8 hours a day and pretty much memorized all of my friends Kaplan MCAT flashcards) and was only about half way through my first semester of ochem. I'm satisfied with my scores but they could obviously be better.

 

[rimmies]

how bad do you want to get into school? The higher the grade the better shot.

 

[supraman]

6 weeks of truckin

 

[oclor]

I studied for a month, 12 hours a day. This was the case in both the times i took the DAT, you can see my scores on predents. I figured if I had studied more, maybe 2 months, I could have easily gotten much better scores, but i'm a huge procrastinator...

 

[206127]

I studied for a month, 12 hours a day. This was the case in both the times i took the DAT, you can see my scores on predents. I figured if I had studied more, maybe 2 months, I could have easily gotten much better scores, but i'm a huge procrastinator...

I did the same... but I think if I would of taken 3 months I could of scored really high...

 

[ToofAche]

I studied for about a month and half...basically all day long. My scores were AA-20, TS-21, PAT-22. I think that is a pretty realistic amount of studying. Between a month and two months the most. Anything less than that probably isn't enough and anything more than that is too much.

 

[blosss]

I tried reading throughout the semester before the DAT, but it didn't work that well so I took off work the month before the test and studied literally all day. I only took breaks to eat and shower. However, I did take off some weekends for things I was required to do. It was a month of hell but I did okay. My scores are on predents. They may not be the best but I got accepted into my top choices so I cant complain!

I'd say the most important thing to consider is what studying strategies work best for you! You've been in school long enough that you should have an idea of what works best for you! Its important to do time managment so you can realistically get through all the material. Also, I think one thing that helped me out the most is doing practice tests in a setting similar to how test day would be. I would put in ear plugs and do a practice test with the time limits and timed breaks. Also, I laminated pieces of paper and used that with dry erase marker to get used to how I would be testing. Call your testing center and see what they give you for scratch paper. I hope this info helps! Good Luck!

 

[TecmoFootball]

Thanks for the responses. I should make it clear. When I say I'll be done with O-chem2 and bio2 in May, I'm talking about a future hypothetical situation. I'm trying to do some planning.

 

[War Eagle]

I took about 2 months, 6-8 hours a day, M-F, and that was perfect for me. The only warning I give you is that you must stay efficient with your time. When you are giving yourself a lot of time to study for something, it is very tempting to slack off. Find ways to keep yourself motivated. That's what I did, and it worked for me.

 

[boxdesker]

Been studying since kindergarten. When other kids were reading children's books, I was learning where each hormone is produced and secreted in the body.

You know what's expected of you. You know what you need to know. If you don't, take a practice test. Otherwise, set yourself a calendar, using self-knowledge of how long it takes you to learn things and how disciplined you are, and follow it!

 

[whlee84]

you should already be semi-prepared for the material on the DAT if you've taken the pre-req science courses thus far.

it would be beneficial to start to review some of the core material of biology, chemistry, and ochem using kaplan/barrons books from now until May, and then study hardcore for 2 months and take your DAT in July (at the LATEST). In the meanwhile, prepare everything for your AADSAS application (personal statement, recommendation letters, extracurricular info, official transcripts etc.) so that you can fill out everything on May 1st and submit it within a week of the AADSAS opening date. AADSAS takes like a month to verify your transcript and mail your application out to schools. Then, the only thing missing will be your DAT score, which doesn't take too long for the schools to receive. So essentially your AADSAS will be completed by July, which is still considered "early".

 

[losdientes]

I really don't see how beneficial it is to study for 12 hours a day. You're more likely to retain information if you study in smaller blocks.

 

[PDizzle]

I only had 10 days to study and it had been 7 years since I took bio and chem courses. I don't reccomend this but I ended up with decent scores and got into my #1 school (I admit, I got really lucky on both counts)

Now, the NBDE#1, that will make the DAT look like a pop quiz! So....look forward to that monster!

 

[btk2333]

I took the Kaplan class over the sumemr and crammed for a week- very stressful week, but I did pretty well. Just find what works for you

 

[fenderdude]

I studied for about 3 weeks 8hrs a day and did alright (19/20). If you have good study strategies, I do not think you can/need to study much more.

 

[DiNoZeRo2o9]

I studied for 2 and a half months, but it wasn't like 8 hours a day like most people here. I did a few hours here and there on busy days and days I was free I would do 5-8 hours. I wasn't efficient with my time though. I liked to chit chat online, check box scores of all the sports games going on, etc. I also was working and taking a class so that cut my study time as well. I think if you can seriously devote 8 hours a day, a month - a month and a half will do. If you are like me, I would take 2-3 months to secure a 20+ score.

 

[jhoag87]

I studied maybe an hour a day for a month. Two hours if I felt really motivated. It all depends on how well prepared you are after your pre-reqs. I took all my pre-reqs freshman year of college and took the DAT in my senior year. Not a good idea, but I did fairly well. Take some practice tests and just figure out what specific topics you are weakest at and focus on those.

 

[Flipper405]

I studied for 2 and a half months, but it wasn't like 8 hours a day like most people here. I did a few hours here and there on busy days and days I was free I would do 5-8 hours. I wasn't efficient with my time though. I liked to chit chat online, check box scores of all the sports games going on, etc. I also was working and taking a class so that cut my study time as well. I think if you can seriously devote 8 hours a day, a month - a month and a half will do. If you are like me, I would take 2-3 months to secure a 20+ score.

I was the same way except I studied for about a month (holiday break) then a couple of days before the test (took it in March) I think a lot depends on how you did in your pre-reqs, how you can recall that info, and also how well you can take tests. I agree to take some practice tests to get an idea, but I also scored significantly higher than I did on my practice test... you never know what will happen on test day. Whatever you do, just plan to do it early so you have chances to recover if necessary. (Take the DAT well before May)

edit: Re-read your OP again, and just wanted to reiterate to take it early... I hadn't finished ochem2 by the time I took the DAT (although I had taken bio2 already).