When Should I Take The DATs?

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EyeAmCommi

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Hi,

This is my second post so I am kind of new to this. :)

So my main concern is when to take the DATs. Should I take them before I apply or after I send in the applications? I know some schools refuse to look at an application before they receive the DAT scores but which schools do you think do that?

I am planning to apply early on June 1st but the Kaplan DAT courses are offered twice in 2005. One in April-May and one in July-August. I want to take the July-Aug one so I have all summer to focus on it but am afraid that will basicly mean that I am applying late.

When should I take my DAT Kaplan course?

Thanks

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EyeAmCommi said:
Hi,

This is my second post so I am kind of new to this. :)

So my main concern is when to take the DATs. Should I take them before I apply or after I send in the applications? I know some schools refuse to look at an application before they receive the DAT scores but which schools do you think do that?

I am planning to apply early on June 1st but the Kaplan DAT courses are offered twice in 2005. One in April-May and one in July-August. I want to take the July-Aug one so I have all summer to focus on it but am afraid that will basicly mean that I am applying late.

When should I take my DAT Kaplan course?

Thanks

I would take the course July-August. I believe Kaplan encourages people to take the test at the most 3 weeks after the class, this way you take the test late August. Also, this way you are not cutting into Spring classes if you take the class in April-May. If you apply early in June and take the DAT by late August, you still have a great chance. I applied early June and took the DAT middle of Sept. and it worked out just fine... I got accepted to 4 very good schools. Good luck!
 
EyeAmCommi said:
Hi,

This is my second post so I am kind of new to this. :)

So my main concern is when to take the DATs. Should I take them before I apply or after I send in the applications? I know some schools refuse to look at an application before they receive the DAT scores but which schools do you think do that?

I am planning to apply early on June 1st but the Kaplan DAT courses are offered twice in 2005. One in April-May and one in July-August. I want to take the July-Aug one so I have all summer to focus on it but am afraid that will basicly mean that I am applying late.

When should I take my DAT Kaplan course?

Thanks

I took the Kaplan course in May-July and the DAT in late August. Personally, I would take the earlier class so I would have more time to study on my own after Kaplan.

The lecture based Kaplan course was a good start to my DAT studying, but by all means it was not enough on its own.
 
Go for April-May. Then if you take the test in May, and end up needing to repeat it, you can in August... gives u enough time to get those scores to the d-school so you can still be considered an early applicant. Especially for CA schools like Pacific. :( Have you started to write your essay and get your PHPAC file together yet? Interviews for the PHPAC file start in May.
 
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bouncy_ball said:
Go for April-May. Then if you take the test in May, and end up needing to repeat it, you can in August... gives u enough time to get those scores to the d-school so you can still be considered an early applicant. Especially for CA schools like Pacific. :( Have you started to write your essay and get your PHPAC file together yet? Interviews for the PHPAC file start in May.


I have not written my essay yet nor have I gathered materials for my PHPAC. I'm kind of stuck on the technical issues...especially the one pertaining to the DATs. This is so nerve-racking especially with time crunching down on me. Im so sloooow in my preparations...

I am very interested in UoP; it is probably my top choice school. So even though my application is sent in on June 1st, UoP will not look at the application until they receive my DAT scores? The dental.uop.edu website does not make it very clear whether or not they require it at the same time as my application.

I think i have decided to take the July-August class because i have a heavy science load for my Spring Quarter. This way I can focus totally on the DAT. But I'm still worried that my application will be deemed as "not early", cause it's not really "late."

Im still lingering on taking the class in April though...

Thanks I appreciate your feedback!
 
DMD_hopeful said:
I took the Kaplan course in May-July and the DAT in late August. Personally, I would take the earlier class so I would have more time to study on my own after Kaplan.

The lecture based Kaplan course was a good start to my DAT studying, but by all means it was not enough on its own.

For a thousand dollars I thought it should cover everything...guess not :( . What other resources did you use to study on your own? Old class notes, textbooks, Barron's?

You recommend the earlier class? wimmcs is right and that the earlier course does cut into my class schedule. I figure taking the later course will make it easier for me to study... :confused:
 
EyeAmCommi said:
I have not written my essay yet nor have I gathered materials for my PHPAC. I'm kind of stuck on the technical issues...especially the one pertaining to the DATs. This is so nerve-racking especially with time crunching down on me. Im so sloooow in my preparations...

I am very interested in UoP; it is probably my top choice school. So even though my application is sent in on June 1st, UoP will not look at the application until they receive my DAT scores? The dental.uop.edu website does not make it very clear whether or not they require it at the same time as my application.

I think i have decided to take the July-August class because i have a heavy science load for my Spring Quarter. This way I can focus totally on the DAT. But I'm still worried that my application will be deemed as "not early", cause it's not really "late."

Im still lingering on taking the class in April though...

Thanks I appreciate your feedback!

Hmmm... I know, I hated having to prepare letters of req and preparing stuff for my phpac. It's so stressful. Just make sure you ask for your letters early (ask them to write it within a month, but it might actually take them 2 months), b/c some professors lag on writing them. have you taken any courses w/ professor wheelis in micro (mic102, mic105)? he's an *excellent* person to ask for letters. very helpful and easy to approach, plus i heard he writes excellent essays. as for personal essay, essay edge is an excellent editing service. you will have to put a lot of thought into it and write it yourself for sure, but they are great at 'cleaning' essays up for improved flow and clarity. Hope that will ease your stress re: these small details.

uop definitely will not review your file until they receive everything. they held my file until i submitted my 2nd dat scores.

Good luck w/ the DAT's whenever you decide to take them. I'm sure you'll do great!
 
EyeAmCommi said:
For a thousand dollars I thought it should cover everything...guess not :( . What other resources did you use to study on your own? Old class notes, textbooks, Barron's?

You recommend the earlier class? wimmcs is right and that the earlier course does cut into my class schedule. I figure taking the later course will make it easier for me to study... :confused:

The only supplements I used were TopScore, my own Bio notes (Kaplan is a little weak) and Barrons (though I thought there were a lot of errors).

Take whichever course you feel will give you enough time to study for the exam. Did you know that Kaplan has an online course? It has all the content as the lecture based one (except live lectures, but does have taped interactive lectures online). This way you can study at your own pace.

Good luck
 
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