When to start taking practice exams

[Albuterol]

hello,
im really confused as to when i should start taking practice exams (topscore&achiever)...i plan on studying for 2months about 8hrs a day. is this too much time to study or just right? i was thinking about saving the 6 exams till the last 2 wks or maybe month of studying and just spacing them out so i can reuse them a few times before i memorize the answers...i would like to know what u guys think and how you incorporated the tests into your study schedule. thanks!!

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[kema]

I once sat in a Kaplan MCAT lecture before I switched to Dentistry and they made us do a diagnostic test first before studying. So I think it would be a good Idea to do a full length test before studying to see how much you know then once you have finished you will be able to see what your strong areas or weak areas are. I think 2 months is good but I would say 3 months 16 hrs a day no eating or sleeping and practice 10,000 questions if you want to get an AA of 26 or more. That is what I plan on doing. I am taking the DAT July 2008. Hope this helped. By the way this is my second time around taking the DAT and applying to Dental schools. First time I did well enough to get interviews and ended up waitlisted because my app was late according to the school. So Apply early and nail the DAT. I plan on Destroying it.!!!

 

[dentalplan]

kema- what was your dat score first time around if you dont mind me asking?

and...why did the schools say your app was late? Like, when did you submit your app exactly? And did you know when they got everything? How many schools did you apply to? sorry for the q's- just trying to get enlightened on the app process

 

[Albuterol]

thanks kema for the reply!

yea i plan on submitting AADSAS around early may-june and then following transcripts around 1st-2nd week of july b/c im taking 7 science credits which i want to reflect in my gpa. and then planning on taking the DAT at the end of august. i should be good right? since schools dont start reviewing until early september. thanks for the help.

 

[dentalplan]

hey albuterol

sounds like you got a pretty good plan. Getting aadsas around may or june is genius. I probably do that too. I'm taking 7 science creds summer too, so, hopefully my transcript will get send out in early to mid July. As long as the schools GET the app in August or September is most important. You want them to see your gpa and LOR, personal statement, EC's, shadowing, etc as soon as possible...

I also wanted to take the DAT in August, but I'm debating between taking it in early-mid or late August, like you. I'll probably take it like August 10 or something just to be on the safe side...cuz I want to be sure schools are getting my scores early. But who knows.

 

[Albuterol]

i was thinking about taking the DAT a little earlier, maybe 2nd week of aug?, but that would give me about month to review the material and take practice exams. personally i dont think that will be enough time for me...but an extra 2-3 weeks would probably help in the extra prep time and would do the trick. on top of all that my gpa isnt the greatest ~3.1... so im going to need a killer DAT (21/22+?)

also i've read of people on SDN faxing their scores in to respective schools...wouldnt that be the fastest way for schools to receive them? or would that be considered an unofficial copy since it isnt directly from the adea. ahhh already stressed out and the app hasnt even opened up haha...but good luck on the DAT and application process wish u guys the best of luck and hopefully we are all D-1 students next year!!

 

[kema]

For DentalPlan, I got overall 17 I dont have the copy again so I am not certain again exactly the others but I remember they were all about the same. Lowest I did was in the QR section. I sent my application in January 2008. Bare in mind that people have sent theirs in since May of 2007 lol. So that was extremely late. The thing is I was going the Med school route then I switched. The schools respond to you by email within a week of receiving the apps I think. I also applied to only 3 schools lol. Many people advise on applying to 15-25 schools. If you have the money go ahead but I would advise you go to each individual school's site and see what they ask for as far as DAT and GPA and match yourself accordingly. For example. If your GPA is 3.0 I would not advise you applying to schools like columbia or stony brook because they have average 3.5-3.6 I believe. So know your chances of getting in before wasting money. This time around I am applying to 5 schools. I have done research and know I will probably get accepted to all of them lol. Good luck! Albuterol -I would advise all to send in the apps May or June then take the DAT as soon as possible July preferably. But if your not ready then hold off till august. Hope this helped guys, let me know if you need anymore info guys.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

It is unwise to take the practice tests in the last two weeks. They are designed to be taken while you are studying to mainly see what your weak spots are. I recommend taking a practice DAT at least once a week.It is important to spend at least 1/2 a day if not a full day going over everything on that exam. Reviewing the exam is crucial. Look up anything you don't know in any question, even if you got the right answer.

 

[jigabodo]

It is unwise to take the practice tests in the last two weeks. They are designed to be taken while you are studying to mainly see what your weak spots are. I recommend taking a practice DAT at least once a week.It is important to spend at least 1/2 a day if not a full day going over everything on that exam. Reviewing the exam is crucial. Look up anything you don't know in any question, even if you got the right answer.

This is a good approach.

I would actually spend more time on going over what you got wrong though.

 

[Albuterol]

thanks thewirednerv and jigabodo for the tips!!

 

[visbimmer79]

I don't remember my hours spent per day, but I think it's much better to study as much as you can to complete a chapter or any number of chapters you had set. All subjects must have chapters.....Someday, you may be able to complete 6-7chapters, but the other day you may only be able to complete half the chapter.

By the way, does anyone know the importance of percentile?

Does it appear on the test score when it is sent to the schools?

I have been thought the percentile just represents how you did well among other test takers on the same test period!!

Got confused, and discovered there are some issues regarding percentile in previous forums....