Taking DATs Sophomore-Junior Summer?

[Cheesecake1]

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Hello everyone!

I am currently a sophomore, and I am taking Physics I and Organic Chemistry I right now. I will be taking 2 upper level bio courses (Intro to Cancer and Essentials of CBN) and Orgo II next semester (I might take Physics II in the summer or in the fall of my Junior year)

I took Gen. Chem I & II last year as a freshman, and I "AP'ed out" of Gen. Bio I & II.

My school advisor (not pre-health advisor) told me that I should just go ahead and take the DATs over the summer, but I was wondering what everyone here thought about this 🙂

I guess it makes sense, since I will have taken all the classes I really need for the DATs by the end of this year, and chem and orgo will be fresh in my mind. The problem is, however, I haven't really taken any bio courses in college, and I don't know if the upper level bio courses I'll be taking next semester are really going to help for the test.

If I were to take the DATs in the summer, my plan would be to just study from may-july, take a kaplan course, and then take the test in August...

Do you think that'll be okay?

HELP D:

 

[qnzbabi91]

I was planning to do that as well, but I chickened out in August. I mean, definitely take Kaplan just to be exposed to the material on the DAT, but do not rely on it completely. Sophmore summer I used Kaplan only and then locked it in, whatever that means, for junior summer so I took the course twice for the price of one through kaplan. Junior summer I also purchased DAT destroyer, Achiever, Barron's AP Book, Cliff's AP Book, Topscore, Crack the Pat, and DATqVault to study more. It also works out because spending all that money on Kaplan one summer is less than buying it all at once with all of the study materials I listed. I mean if you want, purchase everything this summer and do it once and do it right. I took the DAT only once, although I was orignially planning to take it sophomore summer like you. Looking back on it, I am much more mature than I was sophmore summer when it comes to things like RC. I was scoring much worse sophmore summer, but taking more philosophy classes in school trained me in speed-reading and retaining information more efficiently. In all honesty, I don't suggest taking the DAT sophomore summer regardless of what Kaplan and your advisor says.

 

[magriva]

That's a great idea.you will have everything fresh and it will take you less time to study for the DAt.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[ccm5166]

Just remember that DAT scores expired within two years.. So if you won't be applying next year don't take it yet..

 

[yappers2009]

..

 

[Cheesecake1]

Ahaha thank you everyone!! 🙂

I always get mixed answers for everything, and I guess this is no exception...😳

Yes, I thought it would be great if I could just take it this summer and get it over with so that I could just focus on working on my application during Junior year summer!

And I do feel like I will chicken out too, qnzbabi91. ahhhh

Maybe I should just study this summer, and then continue to study junior summer, and then take it then? I don't know...

Anyone else with good advice??

 

[wylde923]

i took my DAT that summer and it worked great for me. I got to get my scores early and worrying about working on the rest of my app and if i needed to i could have retaken it. Not to mention the fact that if you study one summer and take it u get to find out what works best for studying and what materials to use AND u'll remember stuff from last summer and be able to improve on it during the school year if you have some weakpoints (i feel like RC is something that could be improved over a school year).

Either way good luck to u!

 

[qnzbabi91]

And I do feel like I will chicken out too, qnzbabi91. ahhhh

Maybe I should just study this summer, and then continue to study junior summer, and then take it then? I don't know...

Anyone else with good advice??

I would have scored without a doubt ~22 the sophmore summer versus what i scored my junior summer. Just take Kaplan to calm your nerves and convince yourself that you can do it and junior summer when you do the money back gaurantee thing and retake the course, you will feel super smart because no one will know anything, but you will

 

[Cheesecake1]

i took my DAT that summer and it worked great for me. I got to get my scores early and worrying about working on the rest of my app and if i needed to i could have retaken it. Not to mention the fact that if you study one summer and take it u get to find out what works best for studying and what materials to use AND u'll remember stuff from last summer and be able to improve on it during the school year if you have some weakpoints (i feel like RC is something that could be improved over a school year).

Either way good luck to u!

I mean, hopefully, I can just take DATs one time and be done with it!!!

But yes, that's true. Sounds like good logic.

So, you don't feel like you rushed into taking the DATs so early?? What courses did you take before that summer?

 

[Cheesecake1]

I would have scored without a doubt ~22 the sophmore summer versus what i scored my junior summer. Just take Kaplan to calm your nerves and convince yourself that you can do it and junior summer when you do the money back gaurantee thing and retake the course, you will feel super smart because no one will know anything, but you will

LOL GASP. I see...

Ah!! Decisions, decisions. Thank you for your advice 🙂)

 

[wylde923]

I took gen bio I and II, gen chem I and II all freshman year
organic I and II, Cell bio and calculus I and II sophomore year

I feel like i did the best thing for me, it really took a lot of stress out of this past summer since all I had to do was worry about getting my application out and like i said if i did need to retake i would've had the time to prepare and do it.

On a side note, studying all summer helped me to solidfy how I best study. every semester since that summer have all been 3.8+ for me because i know how i study/learn best. and it was thanks to studying that summer for the DAT.

 

[Cheesecake1]

I took gen bio I and II, gen chem I and II all freshman year
organic I and II, Cell bio and calculus I and II sophomore year

I feel like i did the best thing for me, it really took a lot of stress out of this past summer since all I had to do was worry about getting my application out and like i said if i did need to retake i would've had the time to prepare and do it.

On a side note, studying all summer helped me to solidfy how I best study. every semester since that summer have all been 3.8+ for me because i know how i study/learn best. and it was thanks to studying that summer for the DAT.

Oh wow. I see. Alright, thank you for your advice as well!!! 🙂

 

[MedDevil]

I took it during the summer before my junior year and it was a great decision. You'll avoid having to study during school or application season, which gives you much more time to focus on one thing at a time.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I took my DAT the summer before my junior year (as you are thinking about doing) and it was a great decision. Unless I am sadly mistaken, most schools will accept scores for 3 years after they were taken (not the 2 that was posted above). True, the bio classes you're taking may not be the greatest prep for the DAT section, but you can always prepare for it on your own over the summer. I had taken few upper-level bio courses and knocked the bio section out of the park. It sounds like you're in a similar situation to me, so I'd highly suggest you read my breakdown! I think taking it early is a wonderful idea; it keeps you from having to study for it during the spring semester of your junior year and/or studying for it while filling out your applications. Best of luck!

 

[Predent36]

I recommend summer before junior. I took mine summer before senior and it was quite a hectic summer.

 

[colombianDDS]

Take it. As long as you have taking physiology n some sort of molecular biology (doesn't have to be a high level class) you will be fine, given that you have taken gen chem n orgo. I have a friend who took it that summer and got a 24 (without taking any high level biology). I took it in the summer between junior and senior and got a 24 as well. At that point I had taken high level biology (biochem 1 & 2 genetics, microbiology etc). Did those classes help? Absolutely. Do you have to take them to do well on the exam? No. If you study right you should be fine. DAT isn't all that bad if you put in a full summer of studying and take it in August right before you start your junior year and you should do well! Worse comes to worst, you don't get what you want then you can take it again right before applying. Look at how many people have taken it multiple times on this forum. If you do take it early, do pay attention to the expiration dates. Good luck!

 

[Dgeorg6]

I took the DAT the summer after my sophomore year and I think it was the best decision I have ever made. All of the information you need will be fresher in your mind and it gives you the whole summer to study for it. This allows you to apply early in the 1st batch the next summer or if you do bad TONS of time for a retake to still be an early applicant.

I would advise you do self studying and not the Kaplan course but that would be a better discussion for a later time on the DAT discussion bored. As for the guy who is saying to just take the Kaplan course this summer to get a grasp of the material then do it again next summer that just seems like a huge waste of time, effort, and money. But obviously whatever you did worked out well for you so to each his own.

 

[Vaheb]

I took my DATs in September right before my Junior year began. I had taken both Orgos and all Biology courses except genetics. Genetics on the DAT is a joke anyways..

I say go for it.

 

[Dentalkid434]

Hello everyone!

I am currently a sophomore, and I am taking Physics I and Organic Chemistry I right now. I will be taking 2 upper level bio courses (Intro to Cancer and Essentials of CBN) and Orgo II next semester (I might take Physics II in the summer or in the fall of my Junior year)

I took Gen. Chem I & II last year as a freshman, and I "AP'ed out" of Gen. Bio I & II.

My school advisor (not pre-health advisor) told me that I should just go ahead and take the DATs over the summer, but I was wondering what everyone here thought about this 🙂

I guess it makes sense, since I will have taken all the classes I really need for the DATs by the end of this year, and chem and orgo will be fresh in my mind. The problem is, however, I haven't really taken any bio courses in college, and I don't know if the upper level bio courses I'll be taking next semester are really going to help for the test.

If I were to take the DATs in the summer, my plan would be to just study from may-july, take a kaplan course, and then take the test in August...

Do you think that'll be okay?

HELP D:

It is most preferably to take the DAT summer after sophomore year. This way you can re-take the DAT if you did not perform as well as you would have wanted to, before the application cycle. It will give you an advantage in the application cycle, and you will avoid un-necessary worry and uncertainty (as I am going though).With this, you will hear from dental schools sooner, and have an edge in the application cycle.

 

[Cheesecake1]

Oh WOW, thank you everyone!!! 🙂

I'm now definitely leaning towards taking it this summer, but I guess we shall see, in the summer!

 

[Cheesecake1]

Oh, and if anyone who has taken it during the summer before Junior year would like to share some of their secrets on how they prepared... 😛 that would be really great. 😍

As in, when I should buy all the DAT Prep Books, when I should register to take the exam (month before or a couple of weeks before), what I should be doing now.... :/

 

[aqz]

This is getting old but....

The best decision that I've made so far pertinent to my preparation for dental school has been taking the DAT my sophomore year summer.

Hopefully paraphrasing that advice made it seem less repetitive, or maybe re-emphasis was just what you need.

As for the actual plan, my personal opinion is to NOT take Kaplan. I'm not the smartest person nor the most proactive person. I signed up during May for an August 23rd test date and didn't start studying for it until late July. Perhaps Kaplan will work for you, but from other people's experiences, it didn't seem too helpful, and for me I knew that it would simply create a false sense of confidence and pace that would have diminished my motivation...whereas when I procrastinated until late July with nothing but my own plan, I felt more urgent and more pressured to study and ended up doing extremely well.

Good luck.

 

[colombianDDS]

Oh, and if anyone who has taken it during the summer before Junior year would like to share some of their secrets on how they prepared... 😛 that would be really great. 😍

As in, when I should buy all the DAT Prep Books, when I should register to take the exam (month before or a couple of weeks before), what I should be doing now.... :/

I registered for the exam right after my finals, and chose a date of august 26th. So that basically gave me a whole summer of studying. I did take Kaplan. The class itself is really not that great. They do give you some decent tricks (specially-specially-specially for PAT and Math). What I liked about the class though, was the fact that they gave out a lot of 'homework' and full length exams. Full length exams are absolutely required. I took a lot of them. So the Kaplan class gave me the background info to the stuff I needed to know because they give you a big book that has theory info in it and you learn it all throughout the time your enrolled. After the class was over, I had about a month of free studying. During this time I did DAT destroyer (multiple times). I also had DAT achiever (or whatever it's called and I did each exam once since Kaplan had already given me about 6 full lengths). Sacrifice your summer but still have some fun. Don't just study 7 damn days a week or you'll go crazy. I studied about 5 days/week about 6 hours each day and worked about 25 hrs a week. I also went out fridays/saturdays.

 

[echo90]

I didn't take a Kaplan course, but I bought the Kaplan book, watched all of Chad's videos for both ochem and gen chem, took advantage of the free kaplan practice exams, bought practice exams, etc. I basically studied on my own. I studied over all of winter break and during a little bit of the first month of the spring semester (so about 8 weeks), took the DAT late february and did fine. I do NOT suggest doing this. It was very stressful and my winter break wasn't fun at all. I really do recommend you take the DAT at the end of your summer going into junior year. Unless you're taking a full summer course load, studying for DAT the whole summer will be less stressful, you'll have more than enough time, and it is better than studying for it during school. It's really not as bad as it sounds, and you'll be glad you did it. And if you don't do as well as you hoped, you have more than enough time to retake.

 

[Cheesecake1]

Wow wow wow~ Okay, so the general consensus is to take it during the summer between sophomore & junior year.

And I guess Kaplan isn't as helpful as I thought it would be?? But I think I'm one of those people who need a little extra push to study, so I think forcing myself to go to class and doing the homework they give me will help 🙂 And I definitely would like to take mock exams in a more classroom setting rather than at home...

Yes, I was definitely planning on purchasing the DAT destroyer, and I have heard that Chad's videos were very helpful as well!

But again, thank you, everyone who answered! Much appreciated!!!! 🙂

 

[II H5 II]

I registered for the exam right after my finals, and chose a date of august 26th. So that basically gave me a whole summer of studying. I did take Kaplan. The class itself is really not that great. They do give you some decent tricks (specially-specially-specially for PAT and Math). What I liked about the class though, was the fact that they gave out a lot of 'homework' and full length exams. Full length exams are absolutely required. I took a lot of them. So the Kaplan class gave me the background info to the stuff I needed to know because they give you a big book that has theory info in it and you learn it all throughout the time your enrolled. After the class was over, I had about a month of free studying. During this time I did DAT destroyer (multiple times). I also had DAT achiever (or whatever it's called and I did each exam once since Kaplan had already given me about 6 full lengths). Sacrifice your summer but still have some fun. Don't just study 7 damn days a week or you'll go crazy. I studied about 5 days/week about 6 hours each day and worked about 25 hrs a week. I also went out fridays/saturdays.

This is exactly how I feel about Kaplan and what I did the summer after my junior year.