Taking only one class while studying for the DAT? Good or Bad?

[IdleKoala]

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Hey guys, hope all is going well.

My question, as you saw by the title, is whether or not taking one class while separately studying for the DAT is a good or a bad idea. This question will make more sense once I explain my situation.

I started taking college classes when I was in high school by dual enrolling. I only took a few Gen Ed. classes, and most notably took Gen Chem I and II. So when I ended up officially starting college I already had some classes under my belt, and I took Organic I and II my Freshman year.

So I was already on track to Graduate a semester early (Fall 2018). But when I sat down and started planning when I would study for and take the DAT, I realized that I could schedule a light semester for Spring 2018, so I could study for and take the DAT, and push those classes I missed out to Spring 2019.

There are several reasons why I think this would be beneficial to me, let me explain:

- I would only be taking one class (Physiology), which would give me plenty of time to study.

- Since I started in taking classes in High School, by the time I take the DAT in Spring 2018, it would have been 3 years since I took Gen Chem II and 2 years since I took Organic Chemistry II. So I feel like I might have more studying to do than someone who just took organic/gen chem and then takes the DAT.

- It allows me to Graduate with my class ( Spring 2019).

- Gives me extra time to shadow and volunteer.

So those are reasons why I would want to take only one class while studying for the DAT, now here are the reasons I'm apprehensive.

- What if, even after studying hard for the DAT and only taking one class while doing so, I some how manage to do bad. I feel like that would reflect very negatively on me. More so than someone who did their studying while taking a full load of classes and working etc.

- Most schools want to see that you are efficient and effective with your time, and want too see that you can balance the riggers of academic and personal life to gauge whether or not you can make it in Dental School. And even though I will still have a busy schedule, I will be studying full time, taking Physiology which is hard enough on its own, shadowing and volunteering, being involved in our Pre-Dental Society, I feel that doing this might reflected negatively on me in that regard.

So I hope this hasnt been too long, and I hope you guys can understand were I am coming from. Any advice or opinions are welcome! Thanks!

 

[helloboys]

You shouldn't be thinking what will happen if you fail. You need to understated if you put in the time, you will get a good score. This is not like the SAT, where no matter what you do, you won't be able to drastically improve your score. This is a test that basically requires memorization and comprehension of the material. If you could do that, you will do good on the exam. Most people spend roughly 2 months during the summer studying. Since you will be doing it during the school year, I think 3 to 4 months should be fine. Don't worry about if you do bad on the exam. So yes, take one class during the spring and study for the exam and take it.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

I assume you plan on applying during the upcoming cycle (Summer 2018). I think you could easily study for the DAT while taking one class, but you may be expected to explain during interviews why you suddenly switched to being a part-time student for a semester before resuming a normal course load. A lot of your fellow applicants had to balance their time during the semester to study for the DAT.

Don't worry too much about how long it's been since you took your basic pre-req classes - you can re-learn it all quickly with focused review. I honestly think you could take a normal course load and study for the DAT, especially if your school's spring semester ends before the application cycle opens (June).

 

[ab117]

Last spring, I took physiology, biology 2 and lab, organic Chem 2 and lab, and molecular biology, and a credit of research for 17 credits overall, and studied to take the DAT in May, and then scored a 21 with a 3.85 for the semester. I was definitely busy, but part of my plan was to take classes that focus on material that’s on the DAT, so my studying throughout the semester and for finals also helped get me ready for the DAT. You’re going to be taking like 25 credits a semester in dental school. If you already feel like you’re cut out for dental school, you should be able to do something similar now and do well. It’ll be hard and you’ll need to commit to doing a lot of studying and maybe not having as much free time as you’re used to, but I’d say the benefit greatly outweighs the cost of adding another semester. Succeeding in a heavy credit load also looks really good on your app and I think that directly contributed to how many interviews I received.

 

[toothyprincess]

I took a class while I was studying for the DAT! I re-took Gen Chem I because I was not happy with my grade the first time around. I actually found it super beneficial as it allowed me to focus more on other sections of the DAT because I was essentially learning Gen Chem every day.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Doesn't matter as long as you do good in all of your classes and DAT

 

[aj30]

Here's what it comes down to: if you feel that taking only one class will give you a significant advatage in enabling you to do much better than otherwise, then do it. For example, if you feel that by taking only one class you can realistically achieve a 24, and by taking a full courseload it will be much more difficult, and hence you're life likely to score a 22, then you should not take more than one class.

All calculations of what dental school will be like and whether ADCOMS will want to see a heavy courseload fall away in place of a significant difference in DAT score. You don't need to build up endurance at the expense of your DAT score, and ADCOMs generally don't go over people's transcript with a fine tooth comb to see how much you did when. What they will immediately notice and focus on is whether your file says DAT:20 or DAT:25.

 

[I-hate-alginate]

I took biochemistry, physiology, and physics while preparing for my DAT. Was able to get As in all classes and 23 on the DAT... does it really matter, not really, I only got 2 interviews so far. Just do your best to get the highest score on the DAT. Don't put too much pressure on yourself especially if you know that you won't be able to handle it because at the end of the day, I don't see the workload making a huge different when it comes to interviews/admission.