Would studying a year before the DAT guarantee a 21+?

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brianbellau

brianbellau

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Since the DAT is a test where your score reflects how much effort you put into studying, would studying a year before ensuring you are prepared for every little detail ensure a very good score? (21 AA or better)
 
You can't ensure anything, but if you feel like that's what you need to do to prepare yourself fully then do it.

Everyone is different!
 
are we talking about studying for the DAT 9 hours a day for 365 days? if you waste one whole year of your life for the DAT, you're doing it wrong. you're also doing life wrong. medical students don't even waste a whole year prepping for the step 1
 
I believe studying for 2 months hardcore would definitely help you earn a 21+ on the DAT. But then again, it depends on your previous knowledge on the subject material and easily you are able to absorb the material. As others have already mentioned, I wouldn't waste an entire year on the DAT!
 
Ideally, you should study consistently for 1-2 months to get in the 20's. Unless you are able to remember minute facts for long periods of time or you study several hours every day for an entire year, I would stick to the months before your test date.
 
brianbellau said:
Since the DAT is a test where your score reflects how much effort you put into studying, would studying a year before ensuring you are prepared for every little detail ensure a very good score? (21 AA or better)
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An entire summer (2nd half of may to end of aug, almost 4months) with no work or classes would be enough to get you 21+AA. Put all your time on this and use all the study materials I recommend in my breakdown below in my sig and all the study materials other people with very high scores also used. Study 5-10 hours a day 5 times a week with 2 days as breaks but not in a row. You should be golden for the DAT if you schedule it at the very end of aug.
 
Dent35 said:
by the time you have to take your DAT you'll have forgotten what you studied last year lol
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Blake1e said:
An entire summer (2nd half of may to end of aug, almost 4months) with no work or classes would be enough to get you 21+AA. Put all your time on this and use all the study materials I recommend in my breakdown below in my sig and all the study materials other people with very high scores also used. Study 5-10 hours a day 5 times a week with 2 days as breaks but not in a row. You should be golden for the DAT if you schedule it at the very end of aug.
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Very true statements. I studied from May-August as a "full time job" and I was afraid to lose things that I learned in the beginning. What I did though was to take a day after about a month or so and just spend that whole day reviewing my notes from the weeks before. This was a good refresher. That way, when it came to the last week before the test and I was in review mode, there was not one thing that was unfamiliar because I had seen it all multiple times already. I didn't get the 21 AA you speak of (rather a 20 AA) but I did get a 21 TS which is alright I guess.

NOTE: I'm not sure how differently I would study if I were to re-take it since the test is changing soon. Also, there is no magic formula for a good score otherwise everyone would follow it and have awesome scores. It's a personal thing. Some people study minimally for 6 weeks and get a 23, 24, 25+.
 
Blake1e said:
An entire summer (2nd half of may to end of aug, almost 4months) with no work or classes would be enough to get you 21+AA. Put all your time on this and use all the study materials I recommend in my breakdown below in my sig and all the study materials other people with very high scores also used. Study 5-10 hours a day 5 times a week with 2 days as breaks but not in a row. You should be golden for the DAT if you schedule it at the very end of aug.
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For me, all these "do nothing but study for 2-3 months straight" schedules are entirely unrealistic. Who is financing the basics, such as food, rent, etc? Due to the GI Bill, being enrolled in school full time is my largest source of income; summer included. This is why I will finish quickly.

To the OP, you definitely don't need that amount of time. Just learn the material as you are actively taking the classes, so the DAT prep you do will just be a review of what you already know. Think of it as studying for a final in gen chem, orgo, bio, and precalc. Certainly doable, if you give yourself an entire semester to do it.
 
Hmm, the problem is I'm not confident that I understand the pre-reqs I'm taking conceptually enough. Which is why I think it would be a good idea to passively study for a year or so and understand the concepts.
 
I say 3 months max is what will get you a good score. You study too far ahead of your test date and you'll likely forget some of the information you reviewed early on.

@Daneosaurus Every individual has their own schedule. Some people can go home where they stay with their M.O.M ("my own maid" Dx), so bills and food are no longer a problem for them.

@OP Saying what I have said above, it's definitely not impossible to fit in study time even if you have a busy schedule. I was taking a 3 credit class, working 13 hours a week, and (tried) volunteering at 4 different locations. I ended up studying for 2.5 months. Some people even have busier schedules (children, full time work, etc.). I have read breakdowns where people studied for 6 weeks, or crazily enough, 2 weeks and have still done well. It depends on what kind of person you are, but I am very sure that no one needs an entire year to study for the exam just to get a 21+ score.
 
Studying for anything for any length of time won't guarantee anything. It all depends on how motivated you are, how capable you are, and what resources you have available.
 
I would say if you have someone to help take of things like paying off your rent, cooking/cleaning etc., set aside 10 hours a day for 4 weeks and get it over with.

If not, the next best option is to take care of your responsibilities while studying part-time and take it in I'd say 2 months. I'm not saying 3 months is overkill, but rather if you set a target for 2 months and find that you need more time later, the 3rd month is still there.
 
Our teacher for bio used a test bank for his exams, which we all found, and i just memorized the answers to the test bank questions to get an A. But as a consequence, I know absolutely nothing about intro bio. I don't even know what the organelles or what mitosis and meiosis is. I feel like studying for DAT Bio a year before would definitely be a necessity to do well in my situation
 
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do whatever that fits your studying style but i think a year is very long time. Personally 2 months are eneough. Very different from undergrad materials imo.
 
There is no guarantee in life my friend, only the taxes and death...

With that said, no, prolonging the length of the studying time will not do you any good.

Instead you should focus on the prerequisite classes and make sure you understand them, which later when you actually start studying for the DAT, they will all come in to one big picture.

Research shows that studying within the limited time with high concentration generally yields a better result.

Good luck!
 
With a strong science background and familiarity with the PAT, 6-8 weeks would be enough to score 20+ without much issue

If you haven't taken a lot of biology courses or haven't taken the chemistries in a few years, I'd say another another 1-1.5 months for thorough content review before tackling stuff like Destroyer and Bootcamp.
 
brianbellau said:
Our teacher for bio used a test bank for his exams, which we all found, and i just memorized the answers to the test bank questions to get an A. But as a consequence, I know absolutely nothing about intro bio. I don't even know what the organelles or what mitosis and meiosis is. I feel like studying for DAT Bio a year before would definitely be a necessity to do well in my situation
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What...?
 
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