I am planning at the moment to study for 4 weeks during my winter break to finish the DAT because I've read that I should submit my application right when it's available; so around the beginning of June. I had originally planned to study intensely for the DAT for 1-2 months during my summer vacation but it seems that I will no longer be an early applicant if I choose this route. What do you guys think? Would it be better to study for the 4 weeks and finish the DAT with perhaps a lower score or would it be better to study for 1-2 months during my summer so that I can get a better score but not be an early applicant? I am currently very stressed out about my situation at the moment. I am currently a 3rd year so I will still have one more year to go before I graduate.
When to study for/take the DAT?
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I didn't touch the study materials until I was done with school in mid-June, wrote the DAT in late July, submitted July 19th, and have interviews. Give yourself more than 4 weeks unless you are a genius. I studied for six.
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I think study time varies from individual. If you're smart and on task, 4 weeks is doable. You're only in your junior year so you have time. Even if you submitted your AADSAS, it wouldn't ship out for another month at the very least. Taking in June is very normal and gives you time if you need a retake. If you can pull it off in December, all the power to you. If anything, it gives you time in the event you don't feel ready and postpone til June. Another thing you may want to consider is what DAT scores you need for your GPA. If you have a killer 3.7+ GPA, you can be fine with a 19DAT which won't take as much studying. The DAT forum is probably more insightful because there is alot of information posted there already about DAT studying times/materials.
Thanks for the reply, dmluffy. How much of an impact on my application would it be if I decided to take it in the summer to give myself more time to study? At the moment, my GPA/sciGPA are both 3.6. I am currently a California resident and would like to be able to make it to at least one in-state school. My EC's are not all that great at the moment but I do have 150 hours of shadowing + research and 3 letters of rec.
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Depends on the Cali school you are looking at trying to get into. UoP for sure you would need a 22ish DAT. I believe UCSF and UCLA are both competitive and would require a high DAT (90 percentile). Western out in Pomona you could likely get an interview/acceptance with a 19DAT given your GPA. I don't think taking the DAT in the summer will affect your chances adversely if you take it by July sometime. Keep in mind, your application isn't complete until everything (including your DAT) is received. If you take it during August or later, your application will complete later and any benefit you may have had by submitting early is negated. If you are open to going out of state for schools, I think you'd be competitive at lots of schools with a 19DAT or higher.
what classes are you taking this semester/quarter ? if you are taking classes such as ochem 3 and physiology, it will definitely save you some time studying since those subjects will be fresh on your mind, making a winterbreak DAT doable 🙂
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I didn't touch DAT study materials until I finished my semester mid-May. I studied for about 6-7 weeks and took my DAT July 8. My app was complete late July and I have 5 interviews. I would not go any later than taking the DAT in the first week of July. 7 weeks was too long to study, and 4 weeks would have been too short for me. PM me if you have questions.
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Depends. Are you opposed to studying for the DAT while taking classes? Perhaps you could take a light Spring semester so you could study for the DAT. But for most people (including myself) there is NO way I could study for the DAT while taking classes. If that's the case, then I'd take it sometime over winter break. Maybe you could start studying during Thanksgiving break, then lightly when you go back to school, and then more intensely during winter break. That way everything isn't all crammed in just 4 weeks but more spread out over a month and a half or so, and also if you bomb it (hopefully not), you will have time to re-take before the cycle opens. Good luck!!
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I'm in the same spot as you are, I will start studying during winter break and will probably spend 2-3 weeks during the summer studying more and then take it by the end of June...
What books u r planning to study?
My classes finished around May 5th or so, and I took the test May 25th. I gave myself about 3 weeks of cramming, and I did fine. It just depends. If you feel you can get a 19-20 with that time frame, then winter is a solid option; if not, then submitting mid June isn't the end of the world. The key is just making sure you've done your organic sequence. If you haven't completed that, just wait until the summer.
Wow guys, thanks for all of your replies! I have read every one of them. So far, I have already finished my entire ochem series (finished the last one just this past summer). I will probably use all of the study materials that are listed in the "Sample DAT study routine" thread that is sticked in the DAT forum.
I end school around June 1st. I will most likely study for about 5-7 weeks before I take the DAT. I don't think I would want to study at the same time I take classes because improving my GPA past 3.7 is a big goal for me this school year so I want to wholeheartedly focus on GPA and then focus on the DAT. I think it would not be best for me if I just take a little bit more time to study to score higher. This means that I will probably study for and take the DAT during the summer and not winter break.
One question I do have for the actual studying part: How did you guys study for each of the different subjects? Did you guys study every subject everyday or did you finish studying for say, ochem and gchem, and then moved on to biology while reviewing for ochem and gchem at the same time?
In my experience with subjects like gchem or biology, they are really forgettable (the fine details that are important) if I don't actively continually go over them. Wouldn't studying for the DAT during say, winter break or spring break be a waste if I won't take it until sometime early-mid July?
My main targets at the moment are USC, UOP, UCSF, and UCLA. I know these schools are really big fish to catch but I am hoping for at least a 20 (which I know is still not enough to be really competitive for these schools). I have no qualms with going to OOS schools as well.
I end school around June 1st. I will most likely study for about 5-7 weeks before I take the DAT. I don't think I would want to study at the same time I take classes because improving my GPA past 3.7 is a big goal for me this school year so I want to wholeheartedly focus on GPA and then focus on the DAT. I think it would not be best for me if I just take a little bit more time to study to score higher. This means that I will probably study for and take the DAT during the summer and not winter break.
One question I do have for the actual studying part: How did you guys study for each of the different subjects? Did you guys study every subject everyday or did you finish studying for say, ochem and gchem, and then moved on to biology while reviewing for ochem and gchem at the same time?
In my experience with subjects like gchem or biology, they are really forgettable (the fine details that are important) if I don't actively continually go over them. Wouldn't studying for the DAT during say, winter break or spring break be a waste if I won't take it until sometime early-mid July?
My main targets at the moment are USC, UOP, UCSF, and UCLA. I know these schools are really big fish to catch but I am hoping for at least a 20 (which I know is still not enough to be really competitive for these schools). I have no qualms with going to OOS schools as well.
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You're on the right track! GPA > DAT if you can still work on it. The DAT takes a lot less time to improve than GPA so smart thinking!
I personally liked to study each subject everyday. I felt like I reviewed Biology too early and it ended up hurting me in the end a bit. It's more reflective since you're going to be using knowledge from all these subjects on the test.
USC, you should be fine with a DAT 19+. For the UC's and UoP, shoot for 22+! Good luck with the DAT!
Hi there! I was in your situation a year ago...but not with the DAT, another test...I had planned to study the summer before my fourth year, but did not get to it. Then I planned to study during winter break...did not get to it. Knowing I was in BIG TROUBLE, I studied for a grand total of four weeks for aforementioned test over spring break and the first few weeks of the quarter before taking this test and doing very AVERAGE. My heart was not into this profession at all, because I couldn't even motivate myself to study for that test...my GPA wasn't even a 3.6 at the time, I barely pulled it to a 3.6 by the end of my third year, and knowing how competitive the application process is, I said "screw it."
Needless to say my heart has always been with the dentistry profession, whether I wanted to admit it or not, a profession I had intended to pursue upon coming to college. Around June 1, I decided to apply to dental schools, having no letters, no transcripts, no DAT score ("there are three scores?!"). I scrambled around for all of this stuff near the end of June and was also writing my personal statement. Meanwhile, I started studying my BUTT off around June 15 for the DAT that would take place on Aug 13. I was VERY motivated, mainly because I was taking such a risk by applying with no score. I was missing a fourth letter, which I got in like...2 weeks ago.
Anyways, I have 6 interviews so far... Believe me, if I can do it, it is DEFINITELY possible for you to study for two months and get your stuff together. Especially with the pressure, if you're good working under that. Not to mention you are in a much better position than I am, better GPA, letters done...summer is a bonus because there are no classes you have to worry about. However, you are banking on your DAT scores- mine turned out rather good, so the fact that I applied late didn't matter too much at the end. It depends on how confident you are in your abilities. However, four weeks is not sufficient, in my opinion. It takes like a month to go over material, and a month of practicing while reviewing and touching up on things you forgot from the first month.
[How I studied was I did two subjects a day, whether it was problems or reading. Just alternate, or whenever you get bored. Do bio at the beginning and end. Do the chem first. Most important are practice tests and GOING OVER THOSE PROBLEMS! Believe me, I got destroyed in the practice tests...going over the answers is what raised my score in the final test (the only one that matters). For me, if I study too early, i remember jack later on. I read examkrackers MCAT books, AP Barrons Chem and Bio, the KAPLAN DAT...blah blah.]
*edit* sorry for long post...
Needless to say my heart has always been with the dentistry profession, whether I wanted to admit it or not, a profession I had intended to pursue upon coming to college. Around June 1, I decided to apply to dental schools, having no letters, no transcripts, no DAT score ("there are three scores?!"). I scrambled around for all of this stuff near the end of June and was also writing my personal statement. Meanwhile, I started studying my BUTT off around June 15 for the DAT that would take place on Aug 13. I was VERY motivated, mainly because I was taking such a risk by applying with no score. I was missing a fourth letter, which I got in like...2 weeks ago.
Anyways, I have 6 interviews so far... Believe me, if I can do it, it is DEFINITELY possible for you to study for two months and get your stuff together. Especially with the pressure, if you're good working under that. Not to mention you are in a much better position than I am, better GPA, letters done...summer is a bonus because there are no classes you have to worry about. However, you are banking on your DAT scores- mine turned out rather good, so the fact that I applied late didn't matter too much at the end. It depends on how confident you are in your abilities. However, four weeks is not sufficient, in my opinion. It takes like a month to go over material, and a month of practicing while reviewing and touching up on things you forgot from the first month.
[How I studied was I did two subjects a day, whether it was problems or reading. Just alternate, or whenever you get bored. Do bio at the beginning and end. Do the chem first. Most important are practice tests and GOING OVER THOSE PROBLEMS! Believe me, I got destroyed in the practice tests...going over the answers is what raised my score in the final test (the only one that matters). For me, if I study too early, i remember jack later on. I read examkrackers MCAT books, AP Barrons Chem and Bio, the KAPLAN DAT...blah blah.]
*edit* sorry for long post...
A good rule to follow: You should only take the test when you are ready to take it. I have yet to meet someone whos said I'll take it to see how I do, take the test only once. Having said that a realistic time frame is 4-12 weeks depends on how strong you are in the individual subjects areas and how much time you actually spend studying for the DAT during that time frame.
I think 5-6 weeks is pretty much ideal. As for studying, you'll quickly be able to tell what you need to spend time on. The DAT is not a hard test, it is just a test that really makes sure you have covered a lot of bases. My advice is get a good week of studying in, and take a practice test with Top Score or some similar program and go from there. You'll see what you were comfortable with, and what you weren't comfortable with. I spent a huge amount of my time on Bio, because Gchem clicked back into place pretty well.
My biggest piece of advice, would be to know Gchem and Ochem cold. The volume of information is extremely manageable, and it is very attainable to get 23-25 on both of those sections, which is a very easy way to boost your Total Science score. Biology is a bit tougher, simply because that is a much broader information pool. If I were to do it again, I'd study biology until I knew the Kaplan book and Cliff's cold, with some reading in Schaum's. From there, I'd just focus on the chemistry sections until you felt very confident.
