Taking the DAT before Orgo II?????

[Mackchops]

Hey, question for y'all...

I'm thinking about cutting down on my time until applying by adjusting my class schedule to the following. I'd love some advice.

Fall '05
-Gen Chem I

Spring '06
-Gen Chem II

Summer '06
-Orgo I

August '06
-DAT

Fall '06
-Orgo II

I've already taken Physics and one bio and I'll take some other sciences with my chem progression. This would allow me to enter Dental school in '07 instead of '08 which would be SPECTACULAR! My question is can I still be sucessful doing things this way? I'm not expecting to boost my gpa all that much and I'm sure I'll do well on the DAT, but am I at a disadvantage trying to rush things? or should I try it out and, if things don't end up going that well just push back to the '08 app cycle? or even reapply? Anyone tried taking the DAT without orgo II? Or does anyone have any general advice about whether or not this might be rushing into the app cycle?

Thanks a huge ton,
Mack

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[heyitscyndi]

I am doing the same type of thing. I'm not going to graduate from undergrad, I'm going to go to D-school after only 3 years. In my opinion, you should be fine proceeding as you've planned. If you know that you know that you know that dentistry is for you, why not go ahead and save yourself some time. People warn me about not having a degree to fall back on if dentistry doesn't work out, but I know that I want to be a dentist. Period. I also will be taking the DAT this summer w/o having organic II, other people on SDN have done the same and done fine. Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[jhui]

i took DAT last weekend without organic II and i got a 19 on it. you just have to study more for the organic and teach yourself. youll be fine if you can learn it all.

 

[jr8047]

Hey, question for y'all...

I'm thinking about cutting down on my time until applying by adjusting my class schedule to the following. I'd love some advice.

Fall '05
-Gen Chem I

Spring '06
-Gen Chem II

Summer '06
-Orgo I

August '06
-DAT

Fall '06
-Orgo II

I've already taken Physics and one bio and I'll take some other sciences with my chem progression. This would allow me to enter Dental school in '07 instead of '08 which would be SPECTACULAR! My question is can I still be sucessful doing things this way? I'm not expecting to boost my gpa all that much and I'm sure I'll do well on the DAT, but am I at a disadvantage trying to rush things? or should I try it out and, if things don't end up going that well just push back to the '08 app cycle? or even reapply? Anyone tried taking the DAT without orgo II? Or does anyone have any general advice about whether or not this might be rushing into the app cycle?

Thanks a huge ton,
Mack

Personally, I think one could skip orgo II and do adequate on the DAT, but I would definately read through the Kaplan book very thorough. The bigger question (imho) is can you adequately prepare for the DAT while taking Orgo I in summer? My experience was that Orgo required a lot of studying and practice. Coupleing it with preparing for the DAT seems like a heavy load, but not imposible.
My advice to a youngin (I'm 35 yo, so I can say that ) who wished to take this route would be to purchase the Spark Notes flashcards (barnes and noble) as soon as possible and just start flipping through them to memorize reactions and terminology. Further, I'd say to periodically look at your bio stuff to keep it fresh...maybe 1 hr each week.
Finally, I'd suggest to any predental student to take as electives Genetics and Evolution. It will put you at a great advantage on the DAT. Good luck!
ps. life's short enjoy the ride! If hurrying through stresses you-consider accepting one more year of undergraduate and enjoy life.