I am beginning to prepare for the DAT I want a good 3 months to study or whenever I feel ready, for the test and be well prepared, also I want to submit my application as early as possible to have the best chance of getting in. The hardest part for me is getting a teachers LOR since I took a gap year and live far away from my school, I work in a dental office so I can get a LOR easily from him. I believe the admission opens up on May and I was wondering if you could help give me a general timeline on things I need to do starting from June. On another note I have all the free time so will study alot. Also lets say its unrealistic to submit my application in time, I would like to apply to short masters program (do you think its a disadvtange that adcom see that you applied for smp so they will think hey lets give this kid a year and see how he does) or take some community college science courses as well.
Some advice on DAT and being an early applicant
- Thread starter gstead245
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In my opinion, your timeline is too late. You don't want to rush yourself through this process and you want to focus entirely on getting the very best DAT score you can. An smp would not be a disadvantage, and if you have a university nearby, I would take courses with them as opposed to a CC. Taking courses at this point might refresh your basic science knowledge and give you the opportunity to establish relationships with professors who could write your LORs. Ideally, you want to take your initial DAT, at the latest, in March or April to allow for the three months required to retake the test. If you need or want to retake it, you will have that opportunity in June or July, well within the early submission timeline. I think that would be your best bet!
Okay, would you suggest for me to take some science courses at a state college or UC school (cheaper, don't have to move away from home)? Or just simply apply to short masters program? I just turned 23 so would that be suitable time frame? I have already took a gap year to figure things out and decided this is what I want to do. Also, would you recommend me to just study for the dat or wait after I take some college courses?
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State or UC is great, whatever is more convenient! CC's are simply less desirable and credit restrictions make it a little more complicated. I was in a similar situation having taken time off. The university I later attended understood I was not degree seeking, and I was allowed the freedom to take any science classes I wanted, as long as the prereqs were complete. This was nice because it was a lighter load than an mp which also allowed the freedom to study for the DAT. This lighter load also aided me in acing these classes which raised my science GPA. It was a win-win for me. Everyone is different, but the courses really refreshed what I had previously learned and I studied for three months and took the DAT in April. I would wait to start studying because with ALL the information you need to know, organization is very important. Give yourself that three month time line, study for a portion of every day, and take practice exams. But this is just a suggestion, do what makes sense for you.
