Is it a bad idea to start studying a year in advance for the DAT? Read my reasoning!

Pre-Dentistry & Dental School
1

I am a junior now and will be applying to dental school in the summer of 2019.

I was always interested in the medical field but only committed to dental, second semester sophomore year and realized I needed organic chemistry to do so. I had also already committed to going abroad junior year fall and I did not want to give up the program I got into as going abroad was a dream of mine. My school is also a small school and doesn’t offer classes off sequence so I could not take organic chemistry 1 when I returned in the spring. I decided that I will bang out both orgo 1 and 2 in the summer, at a large university near me. That didn’t end up working out for me for financial reasons and I wasn’t comfortable with taking organic chem in a large school anyway.

This is how I ended up deciding that I will take organic chemistry senior year. I want to start studying for PAT, bio and gen chem this summer and then review and study for organic chemistry during the year. Some of my friends who are also pre-dental said that it is not a good idea. I also read a bunch of threads that had people studying 3 months before the DAT. That makes me a little uncomfortable and I don’t want to wait that long. I am afraid that I will need a lot more studying/reviewing than 3 months prior to the DAT.

So I am curios to see what you guys think. Is it a bad idea? I know I will probably forget a lot of the things I study this summer, but I feel like its a good idea for me to get a feel for the test as well as how I do.

If you have any recommendations for materials/books or any advice at all, that would be greatly appreciated!

2

When do you plan to take the DAT? Spring of senior year? You should take it early enough so that if you need to retake it, you would do that in the summer of 2019, 90 days after the first try. Since you haven’t taken orgo yet, you probably would take it mid-April 2019, with the second date (if needed) mid-July.

There are several books and online programs to prepare you for the DAT. You might want to take a free test first to see where your deficiencies are. My daughter did the on-line DAT boot camp that has an 8 week intensive program. Just be sure you block out the time and commit to it. Take practice tests and work on the areas where you are weak. You need to master the material AND the timed test format

Do you have a pre-health advisor at your school?