Studying too much in advance?

[xaznxcountx]

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So I'm planning to take the DAT around October or November. Do you guys think its a little too early to start studying the Sciences? What I'm scared of is forgetting the stuff if I study months in advance. I'm taking the Kaplan course at the beginning of August as well. Were you guys able to retain the Biology, O-Chem, and G-Chem parts if you indeed did study about 3 months in advance? Let me know please, thanks.

 

[raiden117]

Hey, I took my test at the end of March and started studying at the beginning of January. I thought that was plenty of study time, even studying only ~3 hrs a day or so. It's always a good idea to keep going over the stuff you reviewed though, because inevitably you will forget stuff that you studied 2 or 3 months ago. Repetition is key!

 

[Saied]

although im a high school student i belive its never too soon to remember stuff. the trick is to review each night before you go to bed. just a quick review does it. read one chapter, remeber the stuff. the other nights just skim the chapters and review when ever u have time.
remeber the ocean is just one molecules of water. or in other words little by little makes something huge

 

[F430]

First off, don't sweat the DAT. If you're a decent student, with decent intelligence, it's not that hard. None of the questions are difficult, it's just that the amount of material covered is quite a bit. There will be questions over material you've never even encountered. Still though, it's not that bad. To be 100% honest, I didn't study for the thing. I've never been a stellar student as far as studying, note-taking, or even going to class is concerned, so it's not really a surprise. Overall I got an 18, which isn't stellar, but was good enough for me to get accepted my first try. My score was also hurt by my math score, which was a lowly 15. It seems when time had expired I'd only made it to question 28 of 40, & had skipped a couple others. Studying math, which I hadn't taken in 4.5 years, probably would have been a good idea. Don't sweat it, and honestly, if you haven't already paid, forget the Kaplan course. Some people I know took it and said it wasn't worth the money, but then again, everyone's different.

 

[lucid moments]

First off, don't sweat the DAT. If you're a decent student, with decent intelligence, it's not that hard. None of the questions are difficult, it's just that the amount of material covered is quite a bit. There will be questions over material you've never even encountered. Still though, it's not that bad. To be 100% honest, I didn't study for the thing. I've never been a stellar student as far as studying, note-taking, or even going to class is concerned, so it's not really a surprise. Overall I got an 18, which isn't stellar, but was good enough for me to get accepted my first try. My score was also hurt by my math score, which was a lowly 15. It seems when time had expired I'd only made it to question 28 of 40, & had skipped a couple others. Studying math, which I hadn't taken in 4.5 years, probably would have been a good idea. Don't sweat it, and honestly, if you haven't already paid, forget the Kaplan course. Some people I know took it and said it wasn't worth the money, but then again, everyone's different.

Same here, what you need to remember is that if you are actually considering taking the dat you should have decent grades in the sciences. Im taking it in the middle of june and will start studying the 6th, my biology and organic knowledge are very good. My general chem and math will need some time. The questions are there to make you think and being able to relate things together. If you have a good gpa i wouldnt worry to much.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

Same here, what you need to remember is that if you are actually considering taking the dat you should have decent grades in the sciences. Im taking it in the middle of june and will start studying the 6th, my biology and organic knowledge are very good. My general chem and math will need some time. The questions are there to make you think and being able to relate things together. If you have a good gpa i wouldnt worry to much.

I have to disagree with you and f430. I think the DAT is something you should be sweating. It's a critical test and requires serious preperation. If f430 got in with an 18 overall, he likely had to compensate that with a very good GPA and/or have reduced expectations on which school he'll be attending. And if you can prepare for the DAT in just a week and still score above average, than you are an exception and your method won't work for most other people.
I would recommend to the OP to start studying as soon as you think is necessary, but don't leave a gap between when you stop studying and take the test. Most people normally continue studying and reviewing up to a day or two before the DAT.

 

[xaznxcountx]

well I need to get 21+ because by the time I apply by GPA will be around a 3.0 I want to take the Kaplan course to set my foundation but I'm hearing lots of negative things about it. I'm just worried about the PAT and QR sections since I suck at math and honestly have no idea what the PAT is about yet since I haven't started studying.

 

[F430]

I have to disagree with you and f430. I think the DAT is something you should be sweating. It's a critical test and requires serious preperation. If f430 got in with an 18 overall, he likely had to compensate that with a very good GPA and/or have reduced expectations on which school he'll be attending. And if you can prepare for the DAT in just a week and still score above average, than you are an exception and your method won't work for most other people.
I would recommend to the OP to start studying as soon as you think is necessary, but don't leave a gap between when you stop studying and take the test. Most people normally continue studying and reviewing up to a day or two before the DAT.

Sure, not everyone can "wing" the DAT, but, I do think those that haven't taken it, or haven't been through the entirety of the application process overestimate its' importance. And yeah, studying would surely help, and would have definitley helped my score. But, my point was that I was able to get 18 without doing any preparation. And to be honest, an 18 is good enough for the majority of schools, especially if they are state schools. People who think they need a 24 on the thing, so they can go to Harvard or somewhere similar, really need to look into national board scores. Since there's no ranking system for dental schools, board scores are the only good way of comparing them. And some, that seem to be everyone's wish list, aren't necessarily at the top. Now if you're into the research aspect of dentistry, that's another matter. At any rate, you only need a high score if you have a lower GPA. Otherwise, work on shadowing, extracurriculars, and the like. Many people focus on grades and the DAT, only to get denied because they didn't have the rest of the stuff.

Oh, and another thing. A lot of people also aim to score very well on the DAT for bragging rights. The vast majority of us are competitve people, and can often get caught up in the "we're smart" BS. Well, if this is true, that' fine. But conversely, there hasn't been a very high correlation with high DAT scores and being at the top of the class. Likewise, there hasn't been a correlation at all between those attending Ivy League (or similar) undergrads and those who came from small schools.

 

[doc3232]

no such thing IMO.