When to take the DAT

[sonia11]

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I am in my 4th semester of undergrad. I have finished the general chemistry and biology. I will be finishing o chem by fall of 2018. I plan to take biochem and physiology in spring of 2019. I want to know when exactly should I take the DAT? I also want to how do I find out how many recommendation letters are required by different schools?

 

[Life of Pablo]

You can take the DAT the summer between your Junior and Senior year. In terms of LORs, I’d say a safe number to have is 2 science, 1 dentist, and 1 non-science letter.

AADSAS only allows 4 letters to be uploaded, so any additional letter will have to be sent by the writers directly to the schools you’re applying. I did those 4 letters and have had no problems at any of the schools I applied to.

 

[DynamicDental]

I always advise people to take the DAT right after completing Orgo, that way it is fresh in your mind. So if you wanted to do that, you could start studying Fall 2018 semester and take it during the winter break. If you feel that you need more time to study, I would put it off to the summer between your Junior and Senior year.
As for letters, I say 2 Science, 1 Dentist, and a Committee Letter if you can get one.

 

[Jyggaswoop]

I recommend taking it Summer of 2019, because it seems you will have done most of the important prereqs such as Ochem, and physiology. Biochem isn't on the DAT anyways so it's not that big of a deal to finish, but O chem and physio will definetly help. In addition, if you have to time to fit in your schedule classes that help for the DAT biology section are genetics, evolution, and developmental biology. Because you are applying summer of junior year also, I recommend taking it mid/late June and giving yourself atleast 8 weeks to do so. It's not crucial anymore to have everything submitted first week of June due to no batches; mid July is fine for most schools if your DAT score is high.