Timing is key... opinions?

[HawkJ2010]

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Hey there ya'll,


I would like to first of all start off by saying thanks in advance for being patient with this rookie. I have a lot of questions pertaining to the DAT and applications to dental schools however I do believe I have done a fair bit of research (the SDN forums are loaded and I can't read it all… although I am trying). Anyways, my main questions for you all are


I am currently taking Bio 1&2, GenChem 1&2, as well as Pre-calc and Calculus for the Fall 2011-Spring2012 school year. I hope to get my application in early, take O-Chem 1 in the summer, spend 4 weeks studying for the DAT, and hopefully taking the DAT in mid-July (while getting good scores). Do any of you think that this is feasible to do with minimal classes and still get a good score on the DAT? I have read that many people recommend biochem, o-chem 2, physio, etc. However my timeline is crunched down to those classes if I want to make this upcoming year's application cycle (2012).



Also, my gpa is 3.76 and I hope to keep it above 3.5 and I also am working on my volunteer hours at a dental clinic where I assist with sterilizations, stocking, and operating other minute equipment during dental exams/check-ups.



I realize any of you may believe that this is not the smartest choice in the world… and I would like you to voice your opinions here. Because the other route I could take would to be finish all my pre-req's and some other high level bio classes in the Summer of 2013 and apply for a Fall 2014 position (I just prefer to skip the glide year, if at all possible).



Any advice would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,
Hawk.

 

[jevan]

I'd say all that sounds nice except for taking the DAT before you take orgo 2. I had plenty of orgo 2 material on my dat and i think most would agree that its a must- as for the upper level bio courses, i dont think u need them for the dat..i was fine without them (26 bio) and i felt it was just important to know everything in campbells-so when ur bio prof decides to skip a chapter here and there about plants/ecology/evolution/taxonomy etc... be vigilant and try to read it anyway, itll do wonders for u when ur cramming for the dat if uve already seen the material once before....
maybe take both orgos in the summer, then study for the dat until late august which is still early enough in IMO as long as the rest of ur app is complete and submitted before u take the dat.also, i think u should start doing some pat, rc and dat math refreshing bfor the summer starts, thatll save some time during ur august studying craze.

 

[SEAirLand]

I think you'd be fine. Any Orgo 2 stuff you could get from Chad's videos.

I'm also taking this plan as being excelerated and not having to wait another year to take the DAT. If you can, then why not wait? Get all your stuff done and spend 2 months studying for it?

 

[HawkJ2010]

I think you'd be fine. Any Orgo 2 stuff you could get from Chad's videos.

I'm also taking this plan as being excelerated and not having to wait another year to take the DAT. If you can, then why not wait? Get all your stuff done and spend 2 months studying for it?

I'm a little confused here... it seems like at first you said I'd be fine with that plan but then afterwards you made it seem like I should wait. Did you mean to say "If you can, why wait?

Thanks

I'd say all that sounds nice except for taking the DAT before you take orgo 2. I had plenty of orgo 2 material on my dat and i think most would agree that its a must- as for the upper level bio courses, i dont think u need them for the dat..i was fine without them (26 bio) and i felt it was just important to know everything in campbells-so when ur bio prof decides to skip a chapter here and there about plants/ecology/evolution/taxonomy etc... be vigilant and try to read it anyway, itll do wonders for u when ur cramming for the dat if uve already seen the material once before....
maybe take both orgos in the summer, then study for the dat until late august which is still early enough in IMO as long as the rest of ur app is complete and submitted before u take the dat.also, i think u should start doing some pat, rc and dat math refreshing bfor the summer starts, thatll save some time during ur august studying craze.

So although you did not take any upper biology courses you would recommend knowing the entire Campbell's textbook like the back of your hand? Taken into consideration.

Going off of the syllabus for Gen.Chem., and seeing how many people struggle with O-Chem, I must say that taking O-Chem 1 in the summer may be a lot of work even without O-Chem 2. Maybe I can just refer to Chad's video like the poster above recommended?

I was planning on getting my application in (although there may not be much on it other than my base requirements and my plan on how to knock out the future courses before matriculation) I was planning on submitting it after this semester so I have something to show for a science GPA. So somewhere around January, unless you think I should wait until the entire year is over in May and then submit it once grades are posted?

Thanks for the heads up on starting my studies earlier and spreading it throughout the entire summer.

 

[jevan]

about knowing the entire campbells like the back of ur hand- obviously this is nearly impossible, but u can make an effort to read everything in it at least once, i dont think thats impossible-

i dont know how u can just watch chads orgo 2 videos and be as prepared as u would be from taking an actual orgo 2 class-but if its worked for others, then hey be my guest....that said, I think pple downplay how important it is to actually learn the material in class and digest the information- for me it made all the difference, bcs i was able to comprehend the material rather than just memorize stuff that wouldve otherwise been utter nonsense...these prep courses make it sound like u will kill the dat with no knowledge other than the information they provide- u think some bozo that has never looked at an orgo book and watches chads orgo review videos will score as high on the dat as someone who has completed 2 semesters of orgo? chads videos r a review of orgo (and a good one at that) but they cannot replace taking the course...u r competing against applicants who have taken orgo 2- why put urself at a disadvantage?
I understand taking both orgos in the summer is alot- but thats y most pple dont do what ur doing...i still think that it would be in ur best interest to take both semesters bfor the dat, or u just wont scor as well as u couldve on the dat- and that my friend could be the difference between becoming a dentist and flipping burgers(not that theres anything wrong with that, but apparently u want to be a dentist)

as for the application...im confused- r u trying to get into dental school for this year?? thats not a good idea, if that is the idea, bcs most, if not every school will simply have no room for u by june- no matter how well u do on the dat.
if ur applying for next cycle, to start d-school in fall 2013, the application only opens around june of 2012, so u cant submit earlier than that

These r just my opinions and im only trying to help,and in the end its obviuosly up to u- i kno im arguing with seairland on this one, and im sure his advice is good too, but this is my 2 cents

 

[HawkJ2010]

if ur applying for next cycle, to start d-school in fall 2013, the application only opens around june of 2012, so u cant submit earlier than that

That is right. I am looking to attend dental school in the Fall of 2013... so I will submit my application in June of 2012.

I will see what I can do for O-Chem classes because I know for sure that the university I attend will have Part 1 available but I am not sure about the 2nd section.

I doubt you would know this information but would a Dental School frown upon it if I went to another school to take my O-Chem 1/2?

For example I live on the state border and there are many fine institutions in the neighboring state who may have a O-Chem1/2... I don't see a problem with it as long as it transfer to my university however it's not up to me.

 

[lol105]

I don't think dental schools care unless you take o-chem from a non 4yr university.

 

[jevan]

D-schools hav no problem with u taking ochem 1 and 2 in diff institutions as long as ur transcript shows that it wasnt dropped in one institution and taken in another "less prestigious" institution...however, d-schools do factor in which schools were attended when judging ur grades. But, if u take orgo 1 in harvard and get a C, then take orgo 2 in Simmons College (I dont expect uve heard of that) and get an A, dont expect d-schools to be impressed with u...that A will look like a cop-out. so i'd suggest going to a good school but make sure ur grades dont suffer bcs of it... it probably also depends not only on the school reviewing ur app,but even who is reviewing ur app,or even what mood that person is in when he/she is reviewing ur app...that said- there r too many unknowns to concern urself with, so take it where u can and do ur best!

 

[HawkJ2010]

Within a days research I have found one college that offers

O-Chem 1 from 6/20-7/8
O-Chem 2 from 7/11-7/29
O-Chem 3 from 8/1-8/21

These classes were 2 hours a day 5 days a week.

If I were to take these I would have a few concerns...

1) The end date of August 21st pushes my DAT exam date back quite a bit and I don't know if that would be a good idea.

2) Taking all three courses over the summer while trying to study for the DAT may be quite the task (not impossible, however, and if anything I guess I'd have the subject pretty fresh in my mind.


I have taken a few summer classes before (non-science) and I will admit the past is pretty fast. Seeing how O-Chem is a very important topic do you think I will get the information out of it that I need to do well on the DAT (This may be more of a personal question regarding study habits and what-not but just looking for opinions.

Thanks!

 

[jevan]

idk what ochem 3 is but u only need ochem2...

 

[HawkJ2010]

idk what ochem 3 is but u only need ochem2...

Its a quarterly school so they have Fall, Winter, Spring, in which each one of the three O-Chem classes would fall into... and then throughout the summer session they merge all three together within a 2 month period.

So it is the equivalent to 2 semesters of chemistry.

 

[bellos]

chads videos? sorry I'm new here and I'm not sure what this is referencing.