taking the kaplan course during the school year? Best time to take the test?

[ohohitsmagic08]

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Hi,
I am planning on taking the DAT and applying to dental schools all in the summer of my junior year. I am worried about finding the right balance between having enough time to study, and applying early to dental school. I get done with class at the end of April, which leaves all of May, June, and July for my summer. How much time should I leave for studying, and when should I take the test?

Also, I am planning on taking the Kaplan course, but I want to have a good month+ after I take the class to really study on my own, so I am considering taking the course during my winter semester while taking classes. Should I take the online course? Any recommendations or experience here? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Predent68]

I would personally refrain from wasting money and time by taking Kaplan a course. I thought it was a waste of money because Kaplan's materials are too simple and they are not too representative of the actual test. You should use your money to buy enough practice materials instead such as DAT Destroyer, Cliffs AP Biology, CrackDAT software, etc.. check out DAT prep materials on SDN. That's just my opinion in terms of prep.

As for the best time to the test, it is more a personal preference because of your school/work schedule. I would say you should have at least 2 months of studying prior to taking the test.

I wouldn't recommend taking it between June and September of the same year you are applying because it is really crazy and frustrating as you try to write essays and study at the same time and not to mention schools will not look your application until you have completed your DAT.

 

[Dent010]

I would reccomend taking it in th first week of June this way you will have your scores ready by the time you aadsas application is verified and ready to be mailed. Don't use the course but just see if you can get your hands on the practice exams

 

[flying rider]

I know that a lot of the people here don't like the kaplan course and think it's a waste of money but I think it really depends on the person. If you think the course will help you, go for it. Then you'll have a lot of other practice questions and tests and if you use other materials to supplement (destroyer, topscore, etc), then you'll have some really well rounded study materials. The white kaplan book helped a lot to review things in the subjects i had forgotten (ie gen chem). I also took the course with school and it was fine. Busy... but fine. I had no life while I was studying for the DATs and doing school but it was necessary so.. yeah.

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

Hi,
I am planning on taking the DAT and applying to dental schools all in the summer of my junior year. I am worried about finding the right balance between having enough time to study, and applying early to dental school. I get done with class at the end of April, which leaves all of May, June, and July for my summer. How much time should I leave for studying, and when should I take the test?

Also, I am planning on taking the Kaplan course, but I want to have a good month+ after I take the class to really study on my own, so I am considering taking the course during my winter semester while taking classes. Should I take the online course? Any recommendations or experience here? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

Take the Kaplan online course, classrooms are not only waste of money but also waste of time.

Have them start you up in early May. After the finals in April, take a week off and relax. Then start with Kaplan in May.

Kaplan online is 3 months long. After the three months, you can extend your access to their online syllabus but you will forfeit their higher score guarantee if you do so.

While you are studying for the DAT, apply to dental schools as early as possible. Dental school application is not that long (it takes one day, inputing grades, courses, experience, etc.) the only thing that is time consuming is writing the personal statement letter.

Your ideal calendar:

May_ study for DAT
June_ study for DAT, submit dental school application (take 3-4 weeks for verification and processing)
End of July_ Take DAT and send scores, about this time your application will be verified and already mailed to schools

If you feel comfortable with the DAT, then take it in early July but try not to push it back further then end of July.

 

[ohohitsmagic08]

Take the Kaplan online course, classrooms are not only waste of money but also waste of time.

Have them start you up in early May. After the finals in April, take a week off and relax. Then start with Kaplan in May.

Kaplan online is 3 months long. After the three months, you can extend your access to their online syllabus but you will forfeit their higher score guarantee if you do so.

While you are studying for the DAT, apply to dental schools as early as possible. Dental school application is not that long (it takes one day, inputing grades, courses, experience, etc.) the only thing that is time consuming is writing the personal statement letter.

Your ideal calendar:

May_ study for DAT
June_ study for DAT, submit dental school application (take 3-4 weeks for verification and processing)
End of July_ Take DAT and send scores, about this time your application will be verified and already mailed to schools

If you feel comfortable with the DAT, then take it in early July but try not to push it back further then end of July.

I think I will definitely go with that time schedule. Thanks a lot!

 

[Tommy43087]

There is no best time to take it because it sucks at all times! Save money and yuse a chunk of that money on all the materials you can get your hands on(which will still only run you like 500 bucks tops!) I regretted taking kaplan, the only good thing is their online materials, but you can compensate that with other materials available to purchase online.

 

[ohohitsmagic08]

How exactly does the online course work? Is it just a bunch of stuff posted online that I go read?

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

How exactly does the online course work? Is it just a bunch of stuff posted online that I go read?

Yes, its an online syllabus. It includes, practices tests, quizzes, workshops, review notes, and video lectures.

In the mail, they send you their review book and a lesson book that goes with the online lectures. They also include about 900 flash cards and quick review guides.

 

[ohohitsmagic08]

Yes, its an online syllabus. It includes, practices tests, quizzes, workshops, review notes, and video lectures.

In the mail, they send you their review book and a lesson book that goes with the online lectures. They also include about 900 flash cards and quick review guides.

Hm I see... how good are these materials? I know many people here recommend the Kaplan BB. Is this review book the same thing? and if it is just materials, I dont understand why it costs over $1000? Whats so great about it? as opposed to getting destroyer, cliffs, princeton review mcat, schuams, CDP, etc. (which im planning on getting anyway)

 

[xlonghornsx]

I bought the Kaplan book at a bookstore prior to taking the classroom course, and the book for the class is almost exactly similar to the one I had previously bought. Don't take the classroom course since I found it to be a complete waste of ~$2K. I found the online material to be much more helpful than the class itself.

 

[ohohitsmagic08]

I bought the Kaplan book at a bookstore prior to taking the classroom course, and the book for the class is almost exactly similar to the one I had previously bought. Don't take the classroom course since I found it to be a complete waste of ~$2K. I found the online material to be much more helpful than the class itself.

You mean the material I would receive with the online course? Is it worth paying the 1k+ for it? Or is there any other way I can get it?

 

[Tommy43087]

Hm I see... how good are these materials? I know many people here recommend the Kaplan BB. Is this review book the same thing? and if it is just materials, I dont understand why it costs over $1000? Whats so great about it? as opposed to getting destroyer, cliffs, princeton review mcat, schuams, CDP, etc. (which im planning on getting anyway)

Nothing.

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

I know many people here recommend the Kaplan BB. Is this review book the same thing?

Yup, same exact thing.

You mean the material I would receive with the online course? Is it worth paying the 1k+ for it? Or is there any other way I can get it?

No other way to get the online material. I found the online material to be very helpful. I told you what is included in the online material in my last post. In my opinion, it was very beneficial.

 

[xlonghornsx]

You mean the material I would receive with the online course? Is it worth paying the 1k+ for it? Or is there any other way I can get it?

Yes, it's the same material that you would get for the online course. As for paying $1K+ for it, that's entirely up to you. There's definitely a lot of practice quizzes, lectures, and sample DAT tests for your benefit, and I found those to be EXTREMELY helpful.

If you want to go the cheaper route, buy the Kaplan book at a bookstore (I bought mine at Borders for about $60), and use the extra money to purchase the other study materials (Destroyer, CDP, etc.).

Hope this helps!

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

Something to note, the actual review material that really teaches you about the DAT is not in the books. It is in the SOLUTIONS of their practice exams, quizzes, etc.

 

[flying rider]

The kaplan BB is slightly different than the white book they give you with the course. The white one has a little bit more info (ie: more plant info in the bio sections) so if you're going to do the online course anyway, don't buy the BB from a bookstore. The online stuff will probably be really helpful because it has practice questions, practice tests, etc. I wanted as many practice q's as I could get so I found it helpful. I know a lot of people here don't like kaplan but I found it to be a really good source for all the overall info for the sciences. If you can borrow a destroyer book from someone then you can save money there (the destroyer book is pricey too). Kaplan's PAT section isn't very good though, much easier than the real thing, so you'll want to get something else for that section.

BUT, it really just depends on you. I did well on bio but I can't really say that was because of kaplan (i'm a bio major and remembered a lot of the info from my classes). Destroyer was really helpful for the bio part. So... when it comes down to it, it depends on how much you want to spend and how you study.

 

[icedspice]

I took Kaplan course June-August of 2008.
Classroom was a waste of time.
I studied by the BB and the online tests/quizzes were extreeeemely helpful.
With Kaplan, you can retake the course for free if you completed all their requirements while taking it the first time... So, I retook the course again Nov-January. I didnt go to the classes, but I had access to their online materials again.
I studied 5 weeks of winter only with Kaplan and I did pretty decent.

I did not know about topscore, cdp, achiever, dat destroyer until I started checking out sdn... which was a week before my dat. I didnt buy any new materials ot study with because 1. i didnt want to freak myself out 2. if i did need a retake, i had something more to work off of.

Also, I know this works for many people. but if there is any way possible, do not take a course/study for DAT during the end of your junior year.
There is already so much stress about applying -you dont need the additional stress of dat taking.
also, most people take it around that time - so there is mass feeeling of hysteria which may have a negative effect on your studying 🙁