Taking a semester off to study for DATs?

[dniper71]

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I was thinking of taking the 2008 Spring semester off from undergrad to give my self plenty of time to study for the DATs from lets say January 2008-March/April 2008.

I am 2 classes away from getting a BS in Bio and about 4 classes away from getting a minor in psychology so I figured I would take the spring semester off to study and prepare very well for the DATs. So I take the DATs in April lets say, apply to school and wait and hope to get into a Fall 09 dental class. The year gap between applying and dental school I would use the Fall/Spring semester of 2008 to finish up my degrees.

Has anyone ever done anything similar to this? How would this look on an application for example...... if you guys can give me some general info about this type of move it owul dbe greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Regmata]

You don't need that much time to study for the DAT

 

[IamJetLi]

i am taking 16 credits in the spring to graduate and taking the dat during that time. I study on the weekends and in the weekdays i do my school work.

 

[dniper71]

You don't need that much time to study for the DAT

I'm a little nervous about the size of the test so I thought taking as much time as possible could be rewarding in the end. I guess I'll have to look at an actual study guide and do an estimate of how much time I'll really need.

i am taking 16 credits in the spring to graduate and taking the dat during that time. I study on the weekends and in the weekdays i do my school work.

You answered almost all of my questions with this post and at the same time informed us that you're an amazing individual. 👍

 

[teefy16]

I was thinking of taking the 2008 Spring semester off from undergrad to give my self plenty of time to study for the DATs from lets say January 2008-March/April 2008.

I am 2 classes away from getting a BS in Bio and about 4 classes away from getting a minor in psychology so I figured I would take the spring semester off to study and prepare very well for the DATs. So I take the DATs in April lets say, apply to school and wait and hope to get into a Fall 09 dental class. The year gap between applying and dental school I would use the Fall/Spring semester of 2008 to finish up my degrees.

Has anyone ever done anything similar to this? How would this look on an application for example...... if you guys can give me some general info about this type of move it owul dbe greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I actually asked one dental school's Dean of Admissions whether it would be okay if I took a lighter course load (say 12 credits) in the Spring to study for the DATs and he did not recommend it at all. I suggest you either find time to study during the week/weekends or study during winter break or right after your Spring finals.

 

[Lurchdubious]

i took last spring off to study the DAT, all except for a couple research credits. what i found was that i did not study the DAT very much at all. i ended up playing xbox 360 for the entire month of january, and part of feb. 😉 i would have studied more had my schedule been a little more busy, as odd as that might sound.
i did spend 4-5 hours per day for around 3 weeks before taking it in march tho. my scores weren't great, but i've had 4 interviews so far and not a single one has said anything about my taking that semester off.

 

[ElDienteLoco]

I spent two weeks solid (Christmas Break). There's really no need to take a whole semester. It would look better for your application overall if you were to finish your degree now and work/peace corps, etc. for a year than to take it slow and easy...IMO

 

[tinman831]

People take less time than that to study for Part 1 and 2 of the board exams, and still manage to do quite well. You definitely don't need a whole semester to study for the DAT.