Taking DAT summer after soph year?

[ugapharm]

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I'm just trying to decide when would be best to take it. I'll probably be taking one class this summer(either bio or physics 2), but that would be one hour of class and two labs per week. I might also be working part time(~20 hours). However, this to me seems like I'd still have a lot of free time and it would be a very relaxed period to study.

Spring of junior year seems typical for a lot of people, but I feel like it would be better to get it over with and not be stressing like my other predental friends. Studying that much while taking genetics/microbio/physics doesn't seem too fun.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

I'm just trying to decide when would be best to take it. I'll probably be taking one class this summer(either bio or physics 2), but that would be one hour of class and two labs per week. I might also be working part time(~20 hours). However, this to me seems like I'd still have a lot of free time and it would be a very relaxed period to study.

Spring of junior year seems typical for a lot of people, but I feel like it would be better to get it over with and not be stressing like my other predental friends. Studying that much while taking genetics/microbio/physics doesn't seem too fun.

Take it when you've finished organic chem. That's probably the hardest section to come back to and re-learn. And QR, but I'm sure you took some sort of math in first year anyway.

 

[Maygyver]

Take it after you have finished your pre-reqs. I don't think the thought of taking an exam in a couple years should stress you out too much. If you ruin your chance of going to dental school because you took it before you were read and bombed it, then you will be stressed. Don't be in such a rush to take it. It's just a test and everybody takes it. Don't stress over it too much, and don't stress over it at all right now.

 

[hopefullyadent]

Take it after you have finished your pre-reqs. I don't think the thought of taking an exam in a couple years should stress you out too much. If you ruin your chance of going to dental school because you took it before you were read and bombed it, then you will be stressed. Don't be in such a rush to take it. It's just a test and everybody takes it. Don't stress over it too much, and don't stress over it at all right now.

wut happens if u haven't taken all ur prereqs (particularly bio, and i heard genetics is really covered hard on the dat)..should we still take it?

 

[Maygyver]

wut happens if u haven't taken all ur prereqs (particularly bio, and i heard genetics is really covered hard on the dat)..should we still take it?

Hopefully you would have taken at least general biology. All of the material on the DAT as far as the biology goes, is pretty much covered in the general sequence. The section itself covers a pretty broad range of topics, so although it will have helped to have covered them in depth in courses, by no means is it necessary to have taken all of the upper level biology courses that are recommended/required.

 

[ToldYouSo]

I'll be taking the DAT after finishing my sophomore year because I would have just finished organic chem and want it to be fresh in my mind, so I'll study the whole summer then take.

 

[predent3ke]

Definitely take it after you've had Organic Chem or Biochem. I took Biology the summer before my Freshman year and didn't remember a thing when I took the DAT Christmas break of my Junior year. It killed my bio score. If you're having a hard time trying to decide when to fit the DAT into your schedule Christmas break was actually a perfect time to take it. Limited distractions (bad weather), no school work (after exams at least), and about 5 weeks to study! Genetics is definitely a part of bio you want to get really good at. The questions were easy but if you haven't studied it (like me) you won't have the slightest clue.

GOOD LUCK 🙂