I'm a senior at UF. The O chem over the summer is fine. It is the same class as during the fall and spring you just move a little faster. I can't comment on the orgo 1 and 2, because I took the one semester organic and 2 biochem classes to fill my requirement. I was originally for med school and they only require the one semester. But if you are willing to put in some time over the summer I say go for it and get it out of your way. As far as volunteering it is a good idea to show that you know what you are getting yourself into. As far as going overboard with it..I don;t think that is necessary. I spent a few days in my dentists office when I went home last summer break. I would advise to stay away from shands...I volunteered in the ER and it was crap. You are totally ignored and feel like you are in the way!!
I would say if you want to make yourself the best candidate possible due some research. I did mine through the zoology department and got 6 credits of ZOO4905. Send out some emails and see if you can get into a lab. Also if you are chem major or something like that you can due chem research or biochem research (CHM4905 and BCH4905) Up to you. Everyone of my inteviews (I had 6) were VERY interested in my research experience and we spoke at length about it. It is not the most fun thing in the world but it is easy and you can take 3 credits a semester of it to lighten your load. Your GPA is good...is that the science or overall. I would say a 3.5 science is pretty strong. It is getting harder ever year and it seems many people that are part of SDN are very smart but keep those numbers and your good. As far as the DAT I took kaplan in january - march ($1000) but it was worth it for me. Some people say it is a waste of money but I feel I benefited greatly from it. I originally planned on studying on my own and I bought a book from the bookstore and read it cover to cover. IT took me a week and I felt like I wasted my time. Kaplan just kind of organizes everything nicely for you, so for me it was worth it. I would aim for 20's as that seems to be a pretty safe score. If you can score higher you and maintain that GPA your golden. Thing about the DAT is that there is a BIG difference in my opinion between a 20 and a 21. Many people can score in the 19 -20 range but it is tough to get over 20 you really need to put in the time. My problem was that I took orgo and biochem my sophomore year and the DAT the end of my junior year. So it was like relearning all the material over again. You will see that the math, PAT and reading comp are just sections that measure your speed ability. The math is not hard but you need to move quickly to finish, same with reading comp. The PAT is easy for some and hard for others, it just depends if you are good at visualization excercises. I tried to think of the DAT as a game and just have fun with it (I know it sounds corny but I did good). Hope it helps and if you have any other questions feel free to PM me. like I said I am here at UF and probably have the same teachers you do. If you happen to be a ZOO major I could probably find someone for you to work with for research (and also get you a good letter of rec out of it). let me know
Scott
