DentalDat

Becoming a dentist: Is it worth it?

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 14:00:00 +0000

Many of the viewers here at DentalDAT are students who are thinking about becoming a dentist, just getting started on the path to becoming a dentist, applying to dental school, or dental students. Throughout this entire process, where ever they might be, the question that is in the back of their minds remains "Is it worth it to become a dentist?".

Becoming a dentist is what I've wanted to do since I could remember. I never doubted my desire to become a dentist but throughout the process I did ask myself if it is worth the time and effort. I never was able to come up with a good answer. Many dentists that I spoke with "liked" their job and didn't regret their decision to become a dentist. I've occasionally come across a dentist who wished they would have chosen a different career but that was few and far between.

In all truthfulness the answer to this question is going to come down to your definition of "worth". Dentist graduating 20 years ago could come out of school with $60k of debt and get it paid down in a reasonable amount of time and begin saving. Now days you are looking at between $200k to $550k on top of your college loans. At a 7.1% interest rate this begins growing rapidly. Payments ranging from about $1k to $3k+ a month can be daunting and overwhelming for some.

So what does "worth it" mean? To me "worth it" means being involved in a profession that has prestige and that allows for me to impact the lives of other. Every day I work with patients who gain functionality or increase esteem because of the dental work performed. Whether it is an esthetic case of anterior crowns, delivering a set of dentures or extracting a tooth that has been hurting. I am continually studying the art of dentistry so that the results my patients receive are high quality. Dentistry allows for me to be involved in a profession that encourages a lifetime of learning and continual practice to improve skills.

Despite the satisfaction resulting from patient care, "worth it" also means being able to provide a comfortable life style for my family. Financial rewards (AKA the paycheck) and of course time are both very important. Having only been out of school for just under a year this aspect will be something that continues to change througout my career. However, even at this very early stage my family lives comfortably. I am able to spend time with my wife and kids. I am able to treat them to experiences that take many households years to obtain. In addition, I am able to give to those in need without feeling like I am strapped for cash. Despite the large monthly loan payments I am happy with the financial rewards that my carear offers.

Is it "worth it" to become a dentist? My short answer is, absolutely. Is it without sacrifice or compromise? No. If you want to get rich quick this is not the profession for you. It is going to take at least 8 busy years and a lot of debt to get to the point of earning a paycheck. However, if you want a solid and relatively stable career this just might all be "worth it".

Doing well on the PAT section of the DAT

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:35:00 +0000

For many of us the PAT section of the DAT can be very intimidating. Within the PAT there are several challenges. Remember, this section is new to everyone taking the DAT! There will be some of you who are naturals but the majority will struggle at first. Just like a video game the more you play the better you get!

There are 5 sections within the PAT:

a) Key Hole

b) Hole Punch

c) Top/Front/End

d) Cube counting

e) Pattern Folding

It will be essential that you become efficient in all of these areas if you want to do well. The following are steps that will help you to study the PAT section.

1) Be familiar with ALL the rules for each sections. Some times you may get one correct but for the wrong reasoning. To eliminate this know the rules. There are a few good resources for the rules including but not limited to Kaplan Blue Book, Studentdoctor.net (use search feature), The Gold Standard, and Crack DAT PAT.

2) Once you've learned the rules you can practice, practice, practice. In general, Kaplan's resources are the easiest for this section, so you may want to start out with these. Just do a few at a time until you get the hang of them.

3) With a good foundation, you can now begin testing yourself! I would suggest starting out with Crack DAT PAT because they offer a large number of tests. I would save the Top Score Pro and DAT Achiever tests for when you do full length practice tests (meaning all the sections together just like you would on the real DAT). Crack DAT PAT has 10 tests total but you can also randomize the tests. (Take a look at my DAT Breakdown in order to see how my real scores compared with my practice scores.).

4) Start by completing a single Crack DAT PAT test or test from another source. Taking a full PAT test will allow you to find your weaknesses.

5) After finding your weakness go back and look at your score breakdown. What type of questions did you get incorrect? Once you identify your weakness go back and practice, practice, practice. Do a lot of the same type of problems over and over again. Do the same thing for any other section that you struggled with.

6) Now you can move on to PAT test number two. Repeat step 5 for this test. This process will continue all the way until test number ten. Don't try and knock these out in a couple of days. Give yourself some time between tests. Between tests is when you should be doing practice problems and reviewing rules on sections that you did not accelerate at.

7) It is going to be important that you take full length practice tests such as those sold by Top Score Pro or DAT Achiever. If you struggle with this section during the full length test do step 5 for each of those tests also.

8) If you complete all of Top Score Pro, DAT Achiever, The Gold Standard and Crack DAT PAT and you still do not feel comfortable then I would suggest taking randomized Crack DAT PAT. However, this should not happen if you took your time learning the rules and analyzing the problems you get wrong on each test!

When I receive an e-mail regarding the PAT test it typically has to do with the angle ranking section. This section can be very deceiving and can impact your score dramatically. Some sources like Kaplan make this section way too easy and may instill a false sense of confidence. Crack DAT PAT is much closer to the real DAT by way of difficulty for the angle ranking.

This section takes a lot of practice. I came up with a proprietary software that is meant to assist pre-dental students in mastering this section of the DAT. The first test begins with angles differing by 6 degrees. The second test has the angles differing by 5 degrees, while the third test has the angles differing by 4 degrees. The final test all of the angles differ by 3 degrees. This allows for you to begin to train your eye systematically in order to differentiate between the small difference in angles.

The software is free! Just enter your e-mail into the below form and I will give you access to the software.

Software Preview:

The Gold Standard DAT Review

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Fri, 14 Mar 2014 02:36:00 +0000

The Gold Standard provides a comprehensive resource for students studying for the Dental Admissions Test (DAT). Many of the viewers here at DentalDAT have expressed an desire for a complete review of this resource. The review includes but is not limited to the physical quality of the book, completeness of the material, quality of explanations, and quiz questions.

Physical Quality = A+

When I studied for the DAT I was exposed to several different books including Kaplan, Barrons, Cliff Notes, and DAT Destroyer. None of the materials that I used rivaled the physical quality of The Gold Standard. The Gold Standard consists of four complete books. These books are housed in a very sturdy sheath that adds protections during storage. Although not a hard back, the cover of each individual book is a very thick laminate adds for greater protection while remaining flexible and easy to use. Lastly, each of the books are printed on a heavy weighted gloss paper like that of a quality text book. Each page is printed in full color which adds dimension and helps with understanding pictures and diagrams. You will not find another resource for the DAT that is better quality than The Gold Standard!

The PAT = B+

Overall, a great resource for the PAT section plus much more. Although this book has very good explanations for each portion of the PAT , this book earned a B+ due to the lack of practice problems. In order, to be able to exclusively use this book for the PAT section many more practice problems would need to be included. None the less, a great resource for the PAT!

The Gold Standard PAT includes much much more than just information on the PAT. This book begins with a brief section on "Dental School Admissions". Included is everything from how to improve your academic standing to the dental school interview. If you already have a solid handle on studying and you are doing well in school the most helpful part of this section will be the dental school interview. This has eight fantastic pages on how to prepare for your interview starting with a solid overview and ending with a couple of pages of strategies for answering questions. Overall the section on dental school admissions will be helpful for those who consider themselves a newbie to the dental school admissions process.

The second section in this book is called "Understanding the DAT". No surprises here! This book does a great job of giving an overview of the format of the DAT including a time breakdown of each section and the number of questions for the the given time. There are some very good study tips included in this section. However, there is no substitute for the ADA DAT Guide.

The third section is the text for the PAT section. This section does a great job of utilizing the color pages to explain each section of the PAT. If you have no idea how to go about solving any of the PAT sections then this is the resource you need. It is very important that you know how to solve each type of questions. However, it is just as important that you practice, practice, practice. Unfortunately, there are only 15 questions per section in the PAT. This is not nearly enough questions to become proficient in solving these types of questions. I would still highly recommend doing several full length practice tests. If you are still not getting the hang of this section I would supplement with Crack the PAT which provides more than enough practice tests for the PAT section.

The final section in this book is a full length practice test. The test appears to have very good quality questions with each answer having an explanation and a page reference for further studying. Having been over 5 years since I took the DAT exam I cannot accurately judge the difficulty or relevance of the questions. At the very least, the more questions you do the better prepared you will be for your exam.

Quantitative Reasoning and Reading Comprehension = B+

The math section is all about understanding how to solve the problems and then practice practice practice. The Gold Standard quantitative reasoning section does a great job at breaking down everything from simple multiplication to your algebraic equations to your more difficult trigonometry problems. This makes a great resource that includes a solid foundation for the math section. Once again, I felt like the book it self was lack in practice questions. There seemed to be about 10 questions at the end of each subsection in this portion of the book. You will want to have additional study resources that allow you to practice what you learned. After all, the quantitative reasoning section is all about practice.

Also included in the same book is the reading comprehension section. I feel like this resource has the potential to really help those who are either struggling to do well or want to learn some more efficient techniques to do even better on the reading section. When I studied for the DAT I searched forums and other resources to find a variety of techniques for improving on the reading section. This book includes just about everything I was able to find and more. In addition, it breaks down the individual types of questions and shows you how to go about answering each type of question. Overall, this is one of the better resources that I have seen available for the DAT.

General and Organic Chemistry = A

I am not going to go into too much detail with this one. If you have forgotten some of your general chemistry then this book is for you. This simplified text book provides great information on the basics of general chemistry with a little bit more in depth explanation when compared to some of the other available DAT specific resources. If you feel like you need to relearn any part of gen chem but you do not want to go through an entire textbook to do it then I would definitely give this a chance. As with the other books you may want to supplement this book with a lot more practice questions (By the way, the questions they do provide have very good explanations making it easier to learn from the practice questions). Resources like the ACS Gen Chemistry would be a great supplement.

The organic chemistry section of this book had reaction after reaction. This book appears to be well organized and provides very concise explanations for numerous organic chemistry reactions. It has been some time since I have done organic chemistry but this book brought back to memory a lot of reactions that I had learned in the past. With that said, I cannot say whether this book provides all the necessary reactions to score a 30 in this section as it has been a while since I took the DAT. I can say that it will lay a solid foundation for your DAT preparations. Once again try supplementing this with more practice problems from the ACS Organic Chemistry books or other resources.

Biology = A

Last but definitely not least is the DAT Biology section. This book is 380+ pages just for the biology section. Included are some great explanations, colored pictures, charts, and diagrams. The biology section of the DAT requires a broad knowledge of all topics. This book breaks down each of the subtopics provided by the ADA DAT Guide. Everything from microbiology, to biology of the different systems, to genetics, to evolution to ecology... And the list goes on. I know many of you do not want to study unnecessary topics or information. This book provides solid information without going overboard. I think this book is a definate winner for The Gold Standard DAT books.

Overall, had I realized the potential of a resource such as this I probably would have spent the $199 on this resource. Yes, you can piece together a bunch of resources which worked for me and many others but this is a simple way of getting everything you need from one source. Also, don't forget to go to www.dat-prep.com where they have online resources, videos, and practice test also available for sale. And... A little plug for the Top Score practice tests. These I did use and would highly recommend the investment. By far the best overall practice tests you can get for the DAT. Very close to the real deal. Checkout some of my other posts if you want details on what I thought about the Top Score practice tests.

Hope this helps some of you make a decision. If you have any questions or want to provide feedback from your own experience please comment below!

DAT Bootcamp

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 00:40:00 +0000

What is DAT Bootcamp?

DAT Bootcamp provides the highest quality DAT practice tests available in a convenient online format. DAT Bootcamp practice tests are designed to be the most focused and high-yield prep a pre-dental student can use in their journey to conquer the DAT. We also offer a strategy blog, dedicated solely to the DAT. It’s called a Bootcamp for a reason – the material is challenging, but focused to give you the highest-yield prep by going over common questions, topics, and themes that appear on the DAT.

Who built DAT Bootcamp?

My name is Arian “Ari” Rezaei, and I’m a dental student at Columbia. I’ve recently taken the DAT and scored well (view score report). I did my undergrad at the University of Florida (Go Gators!). Typically during my downtime you can find me cooking spicy food or practicing the piano. While I was preparing for the DAT, I felt that a lot of the DAT prep material wasn’t up to par. The DAT market is too small for Kaplan to care about, so they recycle their MCAT material and slap a “DAT” label on it. There are a lot of third party products, but most were made by people who have never taken the DAT. I had to use several different products – practically one for each section on the test – and it still was not an accurate representation of the real exam. As a result, I had to work a lot harder to score high on the DAT. I set out to make DAT Bootcamp to help future pre-dental students conquer the DAT by providing them with everything they need to get into the 90th percentile and up. Everything is designed purely for the DAT by people who aced the DAT, including the wording of the questions, the design of the distractor answer choices, and the content tested.

How similar is DAT Bootcamp to the actual exam?

DAT Bootcamp was designed to mirror the difficulty level and breadth of subject matter of the actual 2013 DAT exam. By talking to students who have used our practice tests and recently taken the DAT, we’re able to adjust question difficulty and relevance to give you the best representation of the actual DAT exam.

Sign up for DAT Bootcamp and begin taking DAT practice exams for free.

The Hottest DAT Material 2012

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 06:34:00 +0000

Image taken from chemedddl.org

I would like to present the Top 10 Hottest DAT Material for 2012. These study materials were chosen by your peers! Those who participated in choosing the top ten where students who previously studied for and took the DAT. Each of these students knows the time, money and effort that goes into being successful on the test. Like wise, they know which materials did and did not work for them and which ones best prepared them for the DAT. Without further adieu, I present to you the Hottest DAT Study Material for 2012!

#1 - DAT Destroyer

Overall, this is a fantastic resource for the sciences. The problems are difficult and as it states it will "Destroy" you your first time through. It is essential that you don't just memorize the answers but understand everything possible about each answer choice given. The problems are organized according to Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Quantitative Reasoning. However, the problems within each section are not organized by topic but randomized. Because of this and the difficulty of the problems it is important that you have a good base knowledge of the subject before you begin. If you do not have a base knowledge DAT Destroyer will only frustrate you and make studying difficult. Excellent resource if you are looking to score high on your DAT. It includes biology, organic chemistry, general chemistry, and math all of which are an excellent resource and highly recommended by the predental community. There is no doubt that this is a helpful resource and has jumped from #3 spot in 2011 to the #1 spot in 2012!

DAT Destroyer was ranked #3 in 2011

#2- DAT Achiever (#1)

DAT Achiever dropped from the #1 spot in 2011 to the #2 spot in 2012. One thing you have to know about DAT Achiever is that it is a lot more difficult than the real test. I am sure it is called "Achiever" for a reason. If you look at breakdowns of students who used DAT Achiever and compare their scores to that of their actual DAT scores you will see that, on average, they score 2 to 4 points higher. The questions presented are challenging but not unrealistic. DAT Achiever is preparing students for the difficult questions because those are the questions that can make a difference between getting 18 or a 21 academic average. In order to make DAT Achiever an effective study tool it is essential that you know why each answer given is either correct or incorrect. Feel like you have organic chemistry down? What about general chemistry or perceptual ability? DAT Achiever will challenge you in any section, so if you are looking for an edge over the other dental students this is the program for you. DAT Achiever accelerates in several areas including usability, question clarity, consistent upgrades, and solid customer support. For all these reasons and more DAT Achiever is the #2 Hottest DAT Study Material for 2012!

DAT Achiever was ranked #1 in 2011

#3 - Crack DAT PAT (#2)

Crack DAT PAT is the best resource that you can buy for the perceptual ability section of the DAT.Whether you feel that you can succeed or not Crack DAT PAT will help you to improve. There are 10 full length tests along with thousands of bonus practice problems! The problems provided are unbelievably close to the real DAT. In fact, when I was taking the DAT I felt as if I was just taking another Crack DAT PAT test. This program is more than enough to do well on the PAT and there is no doubt that this program belongs in the Top 3 Hottest DAT Materials of 2012!

Crack DAT PAT was ranked #2 in 2011

#4 - Chad's Videos (Organic and General Chemistry) (#4)

Were you ever frustrated because your chemistry professors did not seem to be able to make chemistry simple, interesting or easy to understand? I know I was but when I watched Chad's Videos I was amazed at how simple and clear chemistry was. Both the General and Organic Chemistry videos are a great resource especially if its been a few years since you have taken the course. The videos are invaluable and definitely worth the minimal price he charges to gain access to the videos. I don't have much to say except, CHECK THEM OUT! You definitely will not be disappointed with your purchase. The current videos are high quality HD videos. Ever since the videos came out they have been gaining popularity and I suspect that they will maintain their spot in the Top 5 Hottest DAT Study Materials in the future.

Chad's Videos were ranked #4 in 2011

#5 - Math Destroyer (#6)

Just like the DAT Destroyer the Math Destroyer will also destroy you. This is an excellent resource for studying the math section. The problems are difficult and much like the real DAT. I was only able to go over the first few tests right before my DAT and I wish I was able to go over more! I saw problems on the DAT that were just like the MATH Destroyer. Need help with the quantitative reasoning section? Get the math destroyer! Not only are the problems good but the solutions are excellent. Like the DAT destroyer the only thing this lacks is structure to the problems (which is intentional). You may want to supplement this with the outline from the ADA, a good textbook, and the internet in order to have a clear understanding of all the material you need to know for the DAT. I am not surprised that Math Destroyer climbed into the Top 5 on the Hottest DAT Study Materials for 2012.

Math Destroyer was ranked #6 in 2011

#6 - Cliffnotes AP Biology (#5)

Not much to say here, except that the notes are clear, concise, and contains just about everything you need for the DAT in terms of biology. It does lack a little in the physiology portion and a few other small topics so if you are looking to get the 21+ you may need to supplement this with Kaplan or Wikipedia. However, for the $10 that you spend on Amazon for this book it is definitely worth the money. It is basically condensed notes ready for memorization. There is not a lot of fluff to sift through and is an easy read, unlike some of the other more boring materials such as Schaum's Outlines. For the price this is a must have resource!

Cliffnotes AP Biology was ranked #5 in 2011

#7 - Top Score Pro

If you are looking for the most accurate representation of how you are going to score on the DAT then take the Top Score Pro tests. Throughout the predental community the consensus is that Top Score Pro will give you the most accurate judgment of how you will do on the DAT. However, remember that while some students, like myself, will have nearly identical scores others will have as much as +/- 4 points on the real DAT. Most commonly scores are with in +/- 2 points. With that said Top Score Pro does lack in a few areas. The biggest area is the biology section. Don't get me wrong, the questions in the biology section are great but they add a lot of taxonomy questions (5-7 per test) to the test which causes students to score lower on their practice test. The actual DAT may only have 2-3 taxonomy questions. Also, if you are scoring 17-18 on the quantitative reasoning section you may want to do some extra practice (perhaps with Math Destroyer) because often times students quantitative reasoning scores decrease from what they were getting on Top Score Pro. All in all, this program is well worth the money and once again I am surprised that it is not in the top 5 Hottest DAT Study Materials for 2012!

Top Score Pro was ranked #7 in 2011

#8 - Chad's Practice Material (Quiz) (#10)

I never had the opportunity to use these materials but they have made the Top 10 both in 2011 and 2012. Don't worry about purchasing these separate because they are included with your purchase of Chad's Videos (#4). It sounds like Chad continues to make improvements on his material and that is why it has climbed to the 8th spot on the top 10 list!

Chad's Practice Material was ranked #10 in 2011

#9- DATQVAULT

DATQVAULT is one of the newer DAT study materials on the market. Last year this product was just getting recognized by the pre-dental community and now it has made the top 10 list. More and more students are finding that the sets of questions offered are helpful for learning and accurately testing their knowledge. I can't say much more than this about it as I have not had the chance to use it myself. This sounds like it is a quality product and that is why it made the Top 10 Hottest DAT Material 2012!

DATQVAULT did not make the Top 10 in 2011

#10- Crack DAT Reading

The reading section is a crucial section on the DAT. More and more students are looking for ways to do better in this section. Crack DAT Reading provides high quality practice exams that mimic the real thing. The difficulty level is high and will prepare you for passages on the real DAT. Crack DAT Reading provides plenty of practice tests so that you can find a reading strategy that works for you. This is a great resource and I am glad to see that it made the Top 10 in 2012!

Crack DAT Reading did not make the Top 10 in 2011

Let us know what you think of the results. Remember, we didn't pick them, you did!

Dental School Application Opens June 4, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Tomorrow is an exciting day for all dental school applicants! Yes, it is the day that the application process begins. On June 4, 2012 the ADEA opens the application and there will be a mad dash to see who can get their applications in early and score a highly coveted interview. For those of you planning on joining the mad dash, let me warn you. Do not sacrifice a quality written application just to get your application in on the first or second day. Most of the students getting the application in on those days have a copy of last years application and have pre-written much of the information. Having grammatical errors and poorly written sentences can hurt your chances of getting an interview. So just take a deep breath, calm down, and take your time writing a quality application. Getting your application in during the first one to two weeks will still be considered a very early application.

Good luck to all with the application process! It can be stressful but the effort you are putting in now will definitely pay off in the end.

Link to the application: https://portal.aadsasweb.org/

ASDA Simulation Course

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Image taken from MWU

The ASDA Simulation Course in Glendale Arizon is a fantastic for anyone who is considering going to dental School. The 2 day simulation course gives pre-dental students a good idea of what dental school is really like. This will give you an opportunity to know what you are getting into before you drop thousands of dollars on applications, interviews, and tuition. The last date to register is June 8 and the cost is only $100. Check out their website for more information at ASDA Simulation Course. Take a look and let me know if you sign-up!

Top 3 DAT Biology Study Materials

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:26:00 +0000

Image from gradprofiles.com

You have probably seen the article "The Hottest DAT Study Material 2011" which ranks the Top 10 DAT study aids. However, the best study aids do not necessarily translate into the best resource for each section. This is why it is highly recommended that you take the time to find the right combination of DAT material for you. In order to help you find the best materials for the biology section of the DAT, I have put together a Top 3 list of materials. I did not do a Top 10 or even a Top 5 list simply because the Top 3 materials that I am going to list blow the others out of the water. Yes, in my opinion and many others these are far superior study materials for the DAT biology section than any of the others.

#1- Cliffs AP Biology

I have written several articles now about Cliffs AP Biology. I cannot say enough about this resource. It outlines, in an easy to memorize fashion, just about everything you need to know for the biology section . The book isn't written on fancy paper but the simplicity and content that is included makes up for that. Oh, did I mention that this book can be purchased at Amazon for less than $10! I do have to warn you that Cliffs AP Biology does lack a little bit in the physiology portion and maybe a few other small areas.I would recommend checking the ADA specification outline to be sure you covered all the material.

Links:
DentalDAT: Give It Away #2
Cliffs AP Biology: The Rave

#2- DAT Destroyer

DAT Destroyer is another one of those that you cannot go wrong with. This actually supplements Cliffs AP Biology very well. The thing that separates this from many of the other typical study materials is that it is just a bunch of questions. Believe me, these questions will "destroy" you your first time through. Just remember it is not about getting the questions right or wrong it is about learning from every question. Thankfully, the DAT Destroyer has very detailed answers in the back and this is where you learn.

Links:
The Hottest DAT Study Material 2011

#3- TIME

Alright, I know time is not a material but reality is I couldn't choose a third resource to put in the #3 spot. If you know Cliffs AP Biology and work your way through DAT Destroyer (more than once) you can land yourself at least a 19 in the biology section. So my advice is to go out and get the 2 best study materials and start studying. You can spend hours debating on which study materials to use but the reality is, you just need to put the time into studying.

Honorable Mentions:

Top Score Pro: Test yourself using this DAT simulator software. Probably one of the most accurate software programs that you can buy. If you want to know what you will score on the real DAT take a couple of these tests. You will probably score a point or two lower on the biology section in comparison to the real DAT as they do put in a few extra taxonomy questions.

DAT Achiever: Test yourself using this DAT simulator software. Don't be discouraged if you end up with only 15 or 16 in the biology section as many of these questions are far more difficult than the real DAT. This will be a good 3 to 4 points lower than what you will score when you get to the real test.

Kaplan Blue Book: Often times Kaplan gets negative feedback on their material because it is too easy in comparison to the real DAT. However, they do a pretty decent job in the biology section. This will definitely pick up anything that is lacking in Cliffs AP Biology.

Hopefully this saves you some time and helps you to get a higher score on the DAT. The study material that you choose can really make a difference. The Top 3 materials that I have presented to you today are materials that have been used by thousands of pre-dental students to get high scores on the DAT. Good luck to all! Just remember... IT'S WORTH IT!

DAT Breakdown by: AHugeDeadWhale

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:32:00 +0000

Thanks to "AHugeDeadWhale" DentalDAT was able to add another quality DAT breakdown to the archive. The scores that he earned are nothing to be ashamed of. Just about anyone with scores in this range has an excellent chance at getting multiple interviews and ultimately multiple acceptances. Read through this carefully as he gives some great feedback on study materials and some excellent tips for studying for the DAT.

AHugeDeadWhale DAT Breakdown

BIO: 19
GCHEM: 21
OCHEM: 22
PAT: 21
Reading: 22
QR: 21
AA: 21
TS:21

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this forum for their help and tips. Definitely couldn't have done it without you guys. If anything, your posting of 21+ scores scared me into studying hard lol.

I took a Kaplan online course and used their online tests as my practice tests. I had never gotten higher than 17 on Science on any of the Kaplan tests (I think they are supposed to be fairly easy). I don't know what magically happened on Test Day, but somehow I pulled it off. I didn't do a single full-length test for the 3 weeks leading up to the test (idk why lol) so maybe something clicked for me in that time?

Bio: Cliff's, Kaplan, DAT Destroyer. Bio is my weakest subject, as you can see. Everything was pretty straightforward on the test but like other people have said, it was really random. There were a couple that I just had no idea about. When I read the first question, I was completely clueless and had to mark it. Thought to myself, "Well this isn't going to go well." I read through Cliff's once and Kaplan bio once. Then randomly in the weeks before Test Day I would just open up a random chapter and read it. I only went about halfway through DAT Destroyer Bio because honestly it was kicking my butt and I was getting really frustrated. I think it is overkill and the only helpful quality of it is that it gives you reality check on how much material there is to know. I don't remember much about Bio now, probably because I was so freaked out while taking it lol. I do remember I had several ecology and evolution questions and only one basic taxonomy question. I would say to expose yourself to as much material as possible and favor "breadth over depth" if you are short on study time.

GChem: Chad's and DAT Destroyer were enough for this section. I watched Chad's twice over the course of a few months. The first time through I took super detailed notes, but the second time I was sat back and watched and tried to pick up on things that I hadn't seen before. Again, Destroyer is a little much here. The math on this section of the test wasn't that bad at all, pretty straight forward. A lot of them were the "setup" type problems where you just pick the answer that has the right calculation setup. I probably made some stupid mistakes here.

OChem: Chad's and DAT Destroyer. Watched Chad's 2X. I didn't finish Destroyer for this either . I'm also retaking Organic I right now in the summer so I think that really helped out a lot. The test was definitely heavier on Organic I material, so pretty basic reactions. There were I think 3 or 4 EAS reactions as well. I used to hate organic chem but now I think I understand it (well, at least on a DAT level) and actually kind of like it. I finished the Sciences with about 10 minutes left and used that time to go over my marked problems.

PAT: Crack DAT PAT. Once you know how to approach each type of problem and have developed a strategy for solving it, CDP is all you really need. Kaplan PAT is too easy, don't use it. For example, I had been able to use line counting for TFE on Kaplan, but on the actual test most of the answer choices have the same number of lines and so I had to actually picture the shape in 3D. The difficulty level is about the same as CDP, which surprised me because I thought CDP was supposed to be harder. I had been getting 20-22 on CDP. I will say that angles on my actual test are FREAKING HARD. I wouldn't be surprise if everything I missed came from the angle section. They definitely don't care about lining up the angles for you at the same size and rotation. And even when they did, I still couldn't tell them apart. I just went with my "gut" on most of them. There were also a few (2 or 3) keyholes that were quite outrageous and I had to mark them and basically use an educated guess. Everything else was straightforward. Hole punching and Cubes were a little easier than CDP, I thought. I only had a max of 16 cubes to count, not bad at all. I finished with about 90 seconds left.

Reading: I did not prepare for this section at all. I had been getting 21 on the Kaplan practice tests and I wasn't sure how else to prepare for it. I actually spent 5 minutes of my break time deciding whether I was going to read the whole thing through or just go straight to the questions. I am not a good reader so I used the search and destroy method, which worked out for me. I hardly got any tone questions at all. Oh yeah, I got the ETHICS passage. I actually thought I got every question right on this whole section and I finished with 20 minutes left (wtf right?). SO maybe the Ethics passage tricked me or something, but I thought it was fairly easy, not nearly as hard as other people have said. Maybe I got a different Ethics passage?

QR: Math Destroyer. I am pretty good at math, or so I thought (5 on AP Calc BC, that is my claim to fame lol). I went through all of the Math Destroyer because it helped me gain some of my confidence back haha. Some people have said to go through it twice, with and without timing. I was pretty confident so I just put 45 minutes on my timer and dove straight in. The first few practice tests I only got through about 30-33 questions and getting a lot wrong. So I looked over the answers carefully, found out the "quicker" ways of doing those problems and brushed up on my equations and formulas. After Test 4 or so, I was able to finish an entire test basically right on time with getting only a few questions wrong. To be honest I was aiming to get everything right on this section, but that didn't work out I guess, LOL. I think my mistake was that I got caught up on one problem and I didn't want to give up so I wasted like 4 minutes on it. Then I had to rush through everything else half-assed. Poop. I finished the section with about 1 minute left.

Even though I think 21 AA is quite good, I don't think it will be enough to get me in during this cycle. I have 3.0 scGPA and 3.3 cumGPA with lots of volunteering. Still, I am applying to all the Texas schools (resident) and a few of the OOS friendly ones around the country to test the waters.

Thanks for reading and good luck to you all!

Thanks once again to "AHugeDeadWhale" for donating his DAT Breakdown! If you have a DAT Breakdown you would like to donate you can contact me vie e-mail at TheCreator@DentalDAT.com

More DAT Breakdowns

DentalDAT: Give It Away #2

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:51:00 +0000

Give It Away!

Announcing DentalDAT's second "Give it Away". This is a chance for you to win CliffsNotes AP Biology book. This is an excellent resource for studying the biology section of the DAT. In fact, it is ranked #5 on DentalDAT's "The Hottest DAT Study Material 2011".

Product Breakdown

275+ pages of easy to read biology outlines
Practice questions after each chapter
2 Sample practice tests at the end of the book to test your biology knowledge
Best of all it follows the ADA biology outline very closely (Check out "Cliffs AP Biology: The Rave")

How To Win

Unfortunately, I am unable to give this book to everyone who visits DentalDAT. However, I will choose one lucky winner who will receive this book at no expense! Every student is allowed to enter their name up to one time. This is how you can enter your name for the drawing;

Facebook: "Like" DentalDAT. The "Like" button can be found at the top left corner of DentalDat.com, on the bottom toolbar of DentalDat.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/DentalDAT/. If you already "Like" DentalDAT on Facebook please go to the page and "Share" it with your friends! Remember to fill out the form below and check the corresponding box in order to have your name entered.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

The drawing will take place after the DentalDAT Facebook page has received 100+ likes or April 1, 2012 which ever comes first. Need the book soon? All the more incentive to get your friends to "Like" DentalDAT!

I will notify the winner by e-mail and subsequently I will post the winner in the comments section of this post. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours of the drawing. I will draw a second winner.

Rules and Regulations

1. There is a limit of up to 1 entry per person.
2. In order to be considered an entry, each person must "Like" the DentalDAT Facebook page or make a status update suggesting their friends "Like" DentalDAT AND submit the above form.
3. This "Give It Away" is open to readers with US shipping addresses only.
4. Free Shipping to the WINNER! (remember US shipping address only!)
5. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the drawing or another winner will be chosen (no exceptions)
6. The item cannot be exchanged for another item or money.

Disclaimer: I plan on everything going smoothly and without a problem. However, in the off chance that I encounter an unexpected hiccup please be patient as I rectify the situation.

Any feedback can be posted in the comments section of this post. If you wish you may also e-mail me at Thecreator@dentaldat.com for any suggestions or feedback.

THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

Top 3 Pre-Dental Websites

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:52:00 +0000

It seems like pre-dental students are always looking for good helpful websites to aid in their quest to become dental students. As many of you may have already found out it is very difficult to find resources that give you the information you are looking for. What I have done is used my knowledge, along with recommendation of other dental students, to find the most helpful websites available to pre-dental students. Without further adieu I present to you the "Top 3 Pre-Dental Websites" of 2012.

1. ADA.org: If you are just starting to look into applying to dental school or becoming a pre-dental student then you should spend a small amount of time browsing the ADA website. The ADA provides information on numerous subjects such as "Be a Dentist" for high school students and college students, dental school admissions, DDS/DMD programs, and Dental Admission Test. This is a small sample of what the ADA has to offer. Be sure to take the time to look around as some of the information provided can be a game changer.

2. Student Doctor Network: This website is by far the most helpful resource that a pre-dental student could ask for. The value comes from the ability to interact in a forum format. This means that you can read questions, information, and insights by hundreds of pre-dental students that are going through the same thing you are. Students on this website are more than happy to answer your questions along with posting information that helped them successfully gain acceptance to dental school. There is no possible way that I could possibly convey to you the helpfulness of this site. Check it out for yourself!

3. PreDents.com: PreDents is a great way for you to compare your statistics with others. Each student can create an account that allows him or her to input their statistics along with which schools they are applying to, interviewed at, and accepted to. What does all of this do for you? First off, I used this site to check out what schools I actually have a chance at. Yes, the ADA does put out some statistics that help but this way you can see the exact statistics of specific students. Secondly, if you ever wonder when interviews are being handed out or rejections this site allows for you to see the progress of other students thus enabling you to know whether schools are handing out interviews, rejections, or acceptances. A great supplement to Student Doctor Network.

Honorable Mentions

DentalDadDiaries.com: Take a glimpse into the life of a current dental student as he shares his experience with the world. You will see a variety of posts that include everything from descriptions of exams to detailed examples of projects that you will be working on in dental school.

DMDStudent.com: This is another website created by a student. There is a lot of information pertaining to dental school projects which makes this another great place for you to see what you will be doing in dental school. In addition, this website also contains some helpful information for the dental application such as example personal statements that were written and used by real applicants.

PreDDS.net: If you are looking for more information and about studying for the DAT or applying to dental school you may want to check this website out. Unfortunately, not all of the information or helpful resources are free on this website but still well worth a look.

Stu-DentDiaries.com: This is yet another website created by a student. You will find a lot of examples of what you will be doing in dental school here. Although very similar to the other student websites mentioned it is definitely worth a look. If nothing else it just gets you excited to go to dental school and could add a little more motivation to work hard.

Post your favorite pre-dental websites in the comment section below. I know that there are a lot of helpful resources out there so be sure to share them with the pre-dental community!

Scholarship Opportunities for Dental Students

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:21:00 +0000

Image courtesy of Anankkml

Anyone applying to dental school knows it is going to be an expensive four years of school. Once someone is accepted to dental school and they realize that tuition is going to be $250,000+ the natural thing to do is to start looking for scholarships. When it comes to dental school there are not a lot of ways to get a scholarship. If you have done well in school and you are lucky the school you were accepted to may be willing to offer you a part tuition scholarship. However, this is few and far between. In addition, your school may offer small scholarships ($100 - $5,000) through local scholarship donors. This may cover some books for a semester but will not put much of a dent in your tuition. If you want your entire schooling tuition paid for you are probably going to need to look towards a government scholarship through the Army, Navy, Air-force, or other program. Below I listed as many scholarship opportunities as I could find. If you are a pre-dental student it is best to be looking into these programs now as some of the applications require a lot of work and early submission.

1. Army HPSP Scholarship: The Army offers a 3 or 4 year full tuition scholarship for dental students. Along with a $20,000 signing bonus they also give you a $2,000 monthly stipend to live off of while attending school. If you receive the 4 year scholarship you will be required to pay the Army back by working for them for a minimum of 4 years. This is a great opportunity if you are attending one of the more expensive dental schools or if you are just interested in joining the Army.

2. Navy HPSP Scholarship: The scholarship for the Navy is going to be very similar to that of the Army. Each of these are great opportunities and it is going to come down to which branch you would prefer joining.

3. Air-Force HPSP Scholarship: Once again the Air Force scholarship is similar to the scholarships offered by the Army and the Navy. In general the Air Force scholarship is more competitive than that of the Army and Navy. This is probably due to the fact that they have less scholarships to offer and still have a large amount of applicants. In addition, to a monthly stipend and the year of year payback the Air Force offers an opportunity for an Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) to each of the new dentists.

4. National Health Service Corps: Not interested in going into the armed forces in order to get a scholarship? The NHSC offers a very enticing scholarship program. Like the armed forces NHSC offers a year for year payback system. This means that if you receive a 2 year full tuition scholarship you will payback the scholarship by working at an NHSC approved site for 2 years. The benefit to this program is that you get to apply to a variety of jobs that are approved by NHSC and choose the location you want to work at. In general, these sites are in low income areas helping people with a lack of access to care.

5. Indian Health Service: Like all of the previous scholarships you have a one year for one year payback system. The IHS requires a minimum of a 2 year commitment from the students. The catch with this scholarship is that it is only "For qualified American Indian and Alaska Native students...". If you are either of these two then you are in luck and have an additional scholarship opportunity.

These are the five main scholarships offered for dental students. I will continue to add more as I come across them. If you have any that you know of please post them in the comments section. Good luck in landing that big money scholarship that you are looking for!

DAT Breakdown by: SLYgUY2098

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:40:00 +0000

To Start of this new year "SLYgUY2098" wanted to lend all of you pre-dental students out there a hand by posting his DAT breakdown here on DentalDAT. First of all congratulations to "SLYgUY2098" for a job well done. Scoring in the 98th percentile is not an easy task when it comes to the DAT. I highly recommend that you read this breakdown along with the others that are posted in the DentalDAT archive. Use the information that you gather from these successful students to formulate a winning strategy for yourself. Once you formulate a strategy that fits you and your schedule stick to it and you will see the results that you have been longing for.

SLYgUY2098 DAT Breakdown

PAT: 21 (87.9%)
QR: 24 (99.0%)
RC: 23 (89.8%)
Bio: 21 (92.3%)
GC: 21 (87.0%)
OC: 27 (98.7%)

TS: 22 (95.6%)
AA: 23 (98.7%)

Generally speaking, I thought the actual DAT exam was easier in respects to the practice that I've been doing. The only section that I thought was harder was the PAT, specifically pattern folding. All in all, as many have stated, if I can do it, so can you.

I would like to thank everyone on SDN that has helped me throughout this summer and dentalworks for his DAT 8-week study guide that I based my study schedule on. My family, friends, and you SDNers truly made these scores possible. I am humbled and deeply grateful. I will be posting a complete breakdown later tonight.

Here's my breakdown:

Practice Tests:
TopScore:
Bio/GC/OC/QR/RC/PAT/TS/AA
Test 1: 29/28/30/22/22/20/30/26
Test 2: 22/28/30/30/29/25/27/28
Test 3: 24/28/30/26/22/21/28/26

Achiever:
Test 1: 17/19/19/18/18/16/19/18

**Before I begin the actual breakdown of how I tackled my studying for the DAT, a quick note about materials. KBB was not the best. I read it as a foundation but didn't rely on it at all. Pretty much none of it stuck after I finished with it. Achiever was ridiculous and killed my confidence. TopScore was pretty accurate in its difficulty. Nearly matched that of the real DAT.** Additionally, I modeled my study schedule after dentalwork's 8-week study program.

Biology:
Materials: KBB, Destroyer, DAT QVault, Cliff's AP Bio, Alan's Notes
Comments:
I first started with KBB and realized that practically nothing I read was sticking. Asking advice from a friend who already took the DAT last year, I then bought the Cliff's AP Bio. Solid investment. Cliff's goes through almost everything you need for the biology section of the DAT. It lacked on details regarding the skeletal system (bone anatomy) and special senses (eye and ear).

Next, after reading through Cliff's twice, I then did Destroyer. First time through, I got about 50-60 wrong. Then my second run, I got 10 wrong. After Destroyer 2x, I then reviewed Alan's notes. They are detailed, but very succinct. You really have to know your material to find Alan's notes useful (and they are!).

I intermittently did DAT Qvault (bought the subscription) and it really helped. Started out at 18 for benchmark test #1 and went up to 23 for benchmark test #9 and #10. Very good investment and helped broaden the range of questions I came across.

Overall, I felt quite prepared for the bio section of the real DAT.

General Chemistry:
Materials: KBB, Destroyer, Chad's Videos
Comments:
I watched Chad's videos once, then did Destroyer once. Took notes using the handouts provided by Chad and then ran through Destroyer. I initially tried Destroyer prior to watching Chad's videos and I knew next to nothing. Chad's videos are VERY helpful. It was worth my money!

Overall, I felt super prepared for this section.

Organic Chemistry:
Materials: KBB, Destroyer, Chad's Videos
Comments:
Same thing as General Chemistry. Did Destroyer twice, and looked at the roadmaps too! (They help!)

Overall, I felt really prepared for this section as well.

Quantitative Reasoning:
Materials: KBB, Math Destroyer, Chad's Videos
Comments:
Judging from the success I had with Chad's videos for GC and OC, I plunged into his latest collection of videos, the ones for the QR section. It turns out I made the right decision. I tried Math Destroyer before watching the videos and I ran out of time about 25 problems into it. Post-watching the videos, I nailed all 40 with a few minutes to spare. I did Math Destroyer once through.

Overall, I was really surprised at the QR section. I know it has a nasty reputation for being the section people run out of time on, but I finished with 5 minutes left. There was nothing I didn't know or see before between Chad's videos and Math Destroyer.

Added advice: Please do not underestimate this section! I know I first did because I assumed I knew everything due to my perfect math SAT scores, but that's not the case! Take this section seriously too!

Reading Comprehension:
Materials: Crack DAT Reading (10-test), TopScore, Achiever
Comments:
Crack DAT Reading was nice, I used the 10-test version. Went through all of them, scored 23-25 on each one. It had more history and philosophical passages, very few on science. It helped build my speed and focus.

TopScore reading passages were far more like the real DAT because they were highly technical and science-based. Achiever was a bit overboard in my opinion.

Overall, I was confident going into the RC section. I read every passage (taking 10 minutes maximum), then answered the questions (10 minutes max). I didn't run out of time.

PAT:
Materials: KBB, Crack DAT PAT (10-test), TopScore
Comments:
Well I knew this was going to be a killer. Started out with CDP at a 16, worked my way up to 25 by the end of test 10. CDP was great because it had excellent explanations, and the range of figures/patterns/hole punches were great. Timing is key. But the most important part was practice. Practice, practice, practice. This isn't something you can "learn" how to do, it is simply practice-driven.

Overall, PAT wasn't terrible. Keyholes, hole punches, and cube counting were easier than CDP. Angles and TFE were the same difficulty. Pattern folding was pretty tricky, definitely harder than CDP. The pattern folding on TopScore was more representative of the difficulty of the real DAT though. Actually, TopScore PAT in general is quite representative of the actual DAT. Again, Achiever is pretty nuts.

Overall:
My experience with studying for the DAT has proven to me one thing: with hard work, anything can be achieved. I started my studying on July 5th, and concluded it on August 21st. I worked 8am-5pm Monday-Friday during that timeframe, and yet I still managed to study effectively and efficiently. I guarantee you that your hard work will be bountifully rewarded at the conclusion of your studies.

Other DAT Breakdowns

Thanks once again to "SLYgUY2098" for donating his DAT Breakdown! If you have a DAT Breakdown you would like to donate you can contact me via e-mail at TheCreator@DentalDAT.com.

DAT TIPS and Help: By Tely

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:55:00 +0000

Remember, there are a lot of predental students that went before you that are willing to lend a helping hand. Tely is a great example of one of these people. Instead of doing the same old "DAT Breakdown" by writing everything out he went ahead and made videos. These videos have a lot of helpful tips for taking the DAT. I hope you take the time to watch them!

DAT Breakdown: Tely

Academic Average: 23
Total Science: 26
Perceptual Ability: 25
Bio: 24
GC: 28
OC: 25
RC: 20
QR: 18

Other DAT Breakdowns:

If you would like to contribute to DentalDAT.com in any way you can contact me by e-mail at TheCreator@DentalDAT.com.

DAT Breakdown by: Dental2000

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Taken from Off the Dribble...

Once again one of your predental peers has graciously donated their DAT breakdown. Please take the time to read through this breakdown as there is a lot of solid advice that is beneficial to anyone preparing to take the DAT. Please show your appreciation to "Dental2000" by leaving a comment at the bottom of the post!

Dental2000 DAT Breakdown

I took this test in 2010 and got a 17AA/15PAT

2011
PAT - 21
RC- 20
QR- 22
Bio- 19
G-Chem-20
O-Chem-21
TS- 20
AA- 20

Bio
Materials used: KWB (Kaplan White Book), Alan's notes, DAT destroyer, Datqvault, Cliffs AP Biology, Schaum's (a little), flashcards, various bio websites, 2009 ADA exam
All I can say here is keep studying it over and over again over the span of your study schedule. Use Cliff notes for sure, DO NOT use KWB as your only source, you are bound to mess your bio score up. Make your own notes from Cliffs AP Biology and KWB and make your own flashcards and study them over and over. The more you revise something the more it will get embedded in your long term memory. DAT Destroyer is a great source which doesn't get enough credit. DO IT. Definitely will surprise you as to how many similar questions appear on the DAT from the destroyer.

G-Chem and O-Chem
Materials used: Chads Videos, KWB, DAT destroyer, various websites of chem, 2009 ADA exam
Chad is great, Amazing for the DAT...His concepts are pretty sweet and concise for the DAT. Look through his videos and treat it as if you were in the classroom with him, make your own notes and try to answer his questions when he asks them in the videos. General chemistry is straight practice after you understand the concepts. Organic chemistry you have to keep practicing reactions in order to remember them. DO the destroyer road maps, you may think they don't help that much but trust me, the more you practice the road maps the more you will learn some of the reactions and reagents that correspond to them.
Do the destroyer over and over for the Chem sections, great practice and great help.
Best Advise: GET CHADS!

PAT
Materials: CDP, Kaplan PAT, Ross videos, 2009 ADA exam and Ross's free PAT practice test on his website from http://predds.info/.

This is just Pure practice, CDP is the key. I just practiced CDP 5 times a week and went over my mistakes. Ross's free PAT practice exam is a good representative for how you might do on the actual DAT.

Keyholes and a bit harder than CDP, but very doable
TFE was just a point harder than CDP but overall comparable
Angles were easier
Hole punching was way easier than what i expected, folds were very straightforward and I didn't get any half punches or 'punch over a punch'
Cubes were very easy, no illusions like CDP
Pattern Folding has always been my Achilles heal, could not figure some out so i just picked the best out of the 4. I probably lost most points here. If you can do CDP then you are golden on the DAT.

RC
Prepared the least for this section. Wasn't expecting the score I got. My passages were simple. I would look over a question and then read the passage and if I came across the keyword in the paragraphs that matched the question I would answer the question. Can't really give you guys tips here except train yourself to not get bored while reading them. Every time you yawn while reading it wastes time, lol .

QR
Materials: MATH Destroyer and Kaplan math

I was least worried about this section since I was good at math in high school but Math Destroyer is all you need. Do their problems over and over again until you understand their concepts.

Very Importanto - Do not spend to much time on one question. If you don't understand it, mark it and move on. It's basically a race against time type of test. Do what you know and if you have time redo the stuff you are not sure of.

Overall I'm pretty happy with what I got based on my studying. If I could do it again I definitely would change some of my studying habits and work harder in general chemistry and biology.

Advice to my fellow DAT takers: You Can do it if you push yourself. Don't give up if people say you can't do it. Remember it is not what you do when your down but what you do when you get back up. Hard work always triumphs.

Pray and ask for his guidance, He always answers. Ask and you shall receive.

Other DAT Breakdowns:

Thanks once again to Dental2000 for donating their DAT Breakdown! If you have a DAT breakdown you would like to donate you can contact me by e-mail at TheCreator@DentalDAT.com.

Dental School: Application Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Image taken from england.edu

Many of us, at some point or another, has inquired about when at what we should do in order to apply to dental school. Unless, you have a close friend/family member who has applied to dental school, or you asked your schools pre-dental adviser you are probably pretty clueless on where to begin. Below is a detailed time line of what you should do and when.

Dental School Application Timeline

Now:

In order to register for a the Dental Admissions Test or for a dental school application you will need what is called a DENTPIN. You can register for a DENTPIN on the ADA website by following this link https://www.ada.org/1225.aspx.
Now that you have your DENTPIN go to the ADEA AADSAS web site and register for an application for dental school. This will not obligate you to submit your application but will allow you to view the current application so that you can get an idea of what you will need to prepare and the types of questions that are asked.

I suggest copying the application and putting it into a Word Document. The web site is closed to registration during the month of May which is immediately before the next cycles application is posted (June 1st).
Fill the application in as you go. When the new application opens on June 1st all you will need to do is copy and past your information into the online version and check for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.

November-February:

Make an appointment with your pre-dental adviser. Become acquainted with him or her and inform them that you are preparing yourself to apply to dental school in June. At this point your adviser may be able to give you additional information or resources.

This is a good time to find out if your school does committee letters or not. Some schools will have you send your letters of recommendation to them and give you a small interview. In return, a committee will write a summary letter to go along with your letters of recommendation.

Explore different resources for the Dental Admissions Test (DAT). Find out what you want to use in order to prepare for the test and when you will begin your preparation.

Helpful Articles

February-March

Begin requesting letters of recommendation. Some professors get several requests, so you will want to be one of the first. See "Obtaining Quality Letters of Recommendation" for details.

If your school does a committee letter you should be able to have your letter writers send you letters to the pre-dental adviser. Before you request your letters be sure to talk with your adviser and see where they would like you to have the letters submitted.
If you do not have a pre-dental committee you will want to have your letter writers hold on to the letters until June 1st (or when you register for your application after June 1st). At this point the ADEA AADSAS application will give you and your letter writers instructions on how to upload or send your letters.

Prepare for the DAT and/or take the DAT if you have had adequate preparation. I would highly recommend to plan on taking the DAT only one time. Many will say that they are just going to take it the first time for "practice". NOT A GOOD IDEA. You will have to wait 90 days to take the test again if you so desire and it some schools will average your first scores with your second (most take the most recent). You also only get three chances at the DAT and you do not want to waste one on a "practice" run.

March-May

Follow-up with the professors and dentists who are writing your letters of recommendation. Make sure they have everything they need to write your letter. Remind them of when you need the letter completed by.
If you are going to receive a committee letter meet with your pre-dental adviser in order to set up an interview.
Continue your preparation for the DAT and/or take the DAT if you have had adequate preparation.
Begin writing your personal statement. See "Writing a Personal Statement" for more details. You will want to plan on having this complete by June 1st (this is when the application opens for the new cycle).
Make sure that you have accounted for and documented all of your hours for shadowing, volunteering, and service opportunities.
Get contact information for any and all colleges that you have attended in your entire life. When the application becomes available on June 1st you will need to request transcripts from each college.

June-July

The application will open on June 1st. You will have to register for a new account even if you already registered for one during the previous cycle. Remember you will need your DENTPIN for this.

Filling out the application can take some time. It will take a lot less time if you already printed and filled out the previous cycles application in a Word Document. All you will need to do is copy/paste the text into the online application and check for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.
In order to have the best chance at getting an interview you will want your application in as early as possible. If you have it complete within the first 2 weeks of the application you will definitely be considered early. You will still be early in the cycle if you submit it any time in June or the beginning of July. Much later than that and other applicants may have a slight upper hand on you.

Do not rush taking your DAT just to get your application in early (Note: You can submit your application without your DAT but it will not be considered complete until you take your DAT and submit your scores). If you can, prepare and have it taken before the middle of June. If for any reason you are not ready, take extra time preparing and do well on it the first time. Remember, if you do poorly you will have to wait 90 days to retake it which will set your application back to September (assuming you took it for the first time in June).

Have your letters of recommendations submitted in order to complete your application.
Request transcripts from all previously attended colleges.
FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE APPLICATION!

This may seem obvious but be sure to follow all of the directions on the application. This application is not something you want to throw together so be sure to take your time and triple check for any mistakes or errors.

July-August

You will receive "secondary" applications from many of the schools that you apply to. They will ask for additional information and money(approximately $50-75 for each school). Be sure to make each of these application quality and at the same time get them in quickly. The sooner you can send these the sooner you will receive an interview.
Some of you may begin receiving interviews near the end of July and towards the beginning of August. You will want to prepare yourself for each interview. Contact your pre-dental adviser to see if your school does mock interviews.

Helpful Links

September-November

Interviews and interview invites continued.
During this time feel free to follow up with each school, especially if you have not heard back from them. Do not bother them with questions such as "have I been rejected" or "what are my chances of getting an interview" but you can ask confirm that your application is complete and that they do not need anything else from you. In fact, I would highly recommend doing this as sometimes they may, for one reason or another, be missing a part of your application such as a required letter of recommendation or even your DAT scores.
Some Schools may begin sending out rejection notices. Never call a school to "see" if you are rejected. If they haven't sent you a notice this means they are still considering your application or they are waiting to send them at a later date.

December-April

December 1st is the first day that schools send out acceptances! If you don't receive one on this day don't worry. There is still plenty of time as many students will receive multiple acceptances and will have to choose to give up their seats at all but one school.
Interviews and interview invites continue

Many schools will have interviews during December and throughout the spring.

Acceptances will continue to be sent out throughout this time also. Some schools may handout acceptances as late as May or June.

The key to having a good application is to be proactive. Get yourself organized and be sure that you are getting things done on time. Remember the earlier you get your application turned in the greater your chance of getting interviews. Good Luck!

Low GPA: Alternative Routes to Dental School

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Do you have a low GPA and still want to gain acceptance into dental school? Are you wondering if there is still hope? I am writing this article to help anyone who has doubts about there ability to get into dental school (due to GPA) find out if it is truly possible for them to fulfill their dream and the best ways to do it.

In order to ask yourself the question "is it possible for me to be accepted to dental school?" you must first know where you stand statistically. Statistics play a key role in deciding whether a student is or is not qualified for dental school. The main statistics are GPA and the score for the dental admissions test (DAT). I am first going to briefly mention the DAT and then move onto GPA and what to do if yours is low.

The nice thing about the DAT is that you can retake it up to three times. However, you will want to make sure you do well on it the very first time. So, what is the average for the DAT? The average student that takes the DAT, according to the ADA statistics, receives a 17.5 academic average, 17.5 total science, and a 18 on perceptual ability. Note that these are the statistics of those who attempted the exam. The actual statistics of those who matriculate into dental school are in the range of 19 academic average and 19 total science. Each individual school is going to be different and this will have to be taken into consideration when applying to dental school (view "Dental Schools Ranked by DAT Scores" for more details). So if you have a low DAT then you will want to make sure you study hard and retake it for a higher score. No way around this!

Often times I hear predental students say "I have a low GPA can I still get in?". The answers to these questions are not that easy. Simply put, it depends. No one really knows until you give it a shot but hopefully by the end of the article you can make a sound judgement on whether your GPA is good enough and what to do if you have a low GPA.

The first question you ought to ask yourself is "where do I stand in regards to my GPA?". Let me help you out. The average GPA for matriculating dental students is about a 3.5 overall GPA. Once again, there are going to be several schools with a higher average GPA and schools with a lower average GPA (view "Dental Schools Ranked by GPA" for more details). However, many students still pose the question of whether their DAT score is high enough.

Most dental schools have a cutoff GPA for both an overall and science GPA of 2.75. This means that if you have anything below a 2.75 that your application will automatically be rejected. In addition, if your GPA is anywhere close to or below a 3.0 it is going to be difficult to land interviews for dental school.

What do I do if my GPA is too low?

There are several options but some may be better than others depending on where you stand in regards to your GPA.

1. Post Baccalaureate Program: If you have a GPA that is lower than a 2.75 you will need to find a post baccalaureate program to attend as your current GPA will not pass the cutoff for dental school. I would also recommend this option for anyone with a GPA that is lower than a 3.0. The reason for this is that the credits earned in these programs will directly affect your undergrad GPA. It will be essential that you make it a priority to get an A in every credit as this will maximize the opportunity of bringing your GPA above a 3.0. Not only will 2.75+ GPA now qualify you to apply to dental school but the dental school will be able to see that you have an upward trend in your GPA and that you are capable of doing well in your classes.

Note: Other programs such as a masters program and dental hygiene school will not raise affect your GPA and thus will not help you qualify for dental school if you have a sub 2.75 GPA.

2. Masters Program: If your GPA is above a 3.0 but still not optimal you may want to think about getting into a masters program. I would recommend finding a 1 year program to apply for, as this will allow you to beef up your application in a short amount of time. A masters program allows you to show dental school that you are capable of doing well in grad level courses. This also gives you the opportunity to stay academically active which is a plus on your application. If you are not accepted you the first time that you apply to dental school a masters program is a good option. Each year there are more and more students being accepted to dental school that have a master's degree.

3. Dental Hygiene: Applying to dental hygiene school is similar to doing a masters program, however, dental hygiene is a 2 year program which means that it will take an extra year before you are able to apply to dental school. This option may be good for some students but if you know you want to be a dentist I would recommend taking a faster route.

4. PHD: If you feel like you need to go this route then do what you need to do but enrolling in a 4 year PHD program is not the most efficient way to getting into dental school. There may be a few students out there who went this route but this is definitely not the easiest or even the best way of compensating for a low GPA.

5. Going Foreign: The idea of going to a foreign dental school usually crosses through the minds of students who are struggling to get into dental school here in the United States. There is a lot more to this issue than I am qualified to talk about but I will say that it is not a short or easy process of taking your foreign degree and making it valid in the states.

Yes, this was a long answer to a short question. However, I wanted to help you realize that there a select few ways of increasing your chances at getting into dental school with a sub-par GPA and that each will take considerable effort at proving yourself academically. There is no short cut around this one. If you are in a situation where you feel your GPA is low put in all the energy you have possible to get As in your courses from here on out. An upward trend is a positive in the eyes of the admissions committee and it is never to late to start!

5 Reasons Why You Did Not Get Accepted To Dental School

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:41:00 +0000

Taken from quickpwn.com

I was recently contacted by a student asking if I had any tips for students who are applying to dental school for a second or even third time. Because I did not know the details of this students application, just like I don't know the details of your application, I came up with five general scenarios of why students do not get into dental school. It is important that you evaluate your situation so that you can make the weak areas of your application strong. Reapplying without evaluating and changing the weaknesses of your application will likely land you many more rejections in the future.

Scenarios of Why an Applicant Might Be Rejected From Dental School.

1. Low GPA- The average GPA for students matriculating into dental school is about 3.5. If ones GPA is 3.3 or below they may have difficulty receiving interviews. In this situation I would definitely focus on getting As in the upcoming semesters. If you are near graduation or have already graduated I would recommend checking into a post-baccalaureate program in order to raise your GPA. In addition, I would advise dropping any extracurricular activities that may be hindering you from receiving As in your courses, as those activities will do you no good if their GPA is too low.

2. Low DAT- The average DAT score for students matriculating into dental school is about a 19AA. Students with an AA of less than a 18 will definitely have difficulty getting accepted into dental school. Also, if the student has any section below a 17 (with the exception of math which can be 16 or maybe even a 15 depending on the other scores) they may want to heavily consider the option of retaking the DAT. A low science score, reading score, or perceptual ability score is a red flag to the admissions. To give yourself the best shot at getting in plan on getting an academic average of 19 or higher with no sections below a 17. If you fit into this category remember to give yourself adequate time for preparation. Only reschedule your DAT when you know that you are prepared and can score achieve your desired scores. Use practice test software such as Crack DAT PAT, Top Score Pro, and DAT Achiever to judge whether you are ready or not for the exam.

3. Did Not Apply to Enough Schools or Even to the Wrong Schools - There are two scenarios within this topic. The scenarios are as follows;

a) The student has good GPA and good DAT scores but did not apply to enough schools. For the sake of this example lets say that the student has a 3.7 GPA and a 19AA with a 20TS. This students statistics are very good but if they only applied to 3 or 4 schools they still may not gain acceptance to dental school. Keep in mind that there are 1,000-4,000 students applying to each school and there may only be 50-120 seats available. In addition, if this student only applied to schools such as UCLA, Harvard, University of Washington, or any school that is not out of state friendly, their chances of getting an interview invite is much less due to the competitiveness of these schools statistics. If I were in this students situation I would apply to 8-12 schools with 2-3 schools that may challenge my statistics and the remainder of the schools matching my statistics a little closer. If you are one of these students keep in mind that statistics are not everything. Evaluate your application to make sure you have a good personal statement, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation.

b) The student has slightly below average or average GPA and DAT score (3.4 GPA with a 18AA). This students statistics are slightly below average however, they definitely still have a chance at getting an acceptance as long as there are no major red flags on the DAT (scores below 17). However, a student with such statistics needs to apply to at least 15 schools. Yes, this may cost them money but it could save them a whole year and the application fees. In addition, this student should plan on applying at the beginning of the cycle (June 1) in order to give them the best chance at gaining an interview. If there are any red flags with the DAT score a retake is recommended before applying for a second or third time. As mentioned above, this applicant should evaluate their application to ensure they have a good personal statement, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation.

4. Interviewed but Not Accepted - For the most part, once a student gets an interview they are on an even playing field with the other applicants. The interview is for the schools to see who you are and to see if you are who you say you are on your application. Remember, if you have an interview this means they like the way you look on paper! Remember, even if you have a 23AA if you blow the interviews you may not get accepted to dental school. Tip: Practice being interviewed by attending mock interviews put on by a near by university, and have family members or friends ask you interview questions. This will allow you to polish your interviewing skills so that you can give clear confident answers during your interview.

5. Applying Too Late in the Cycle - Some students do not realize the importance of applying early. I personally did not take the DAT until late August which caused my application to be incomplete all the way up until mid-September. However, I was not planning on applying until the next year but decided to give it a shot anyways knowing that I may not get as many interviews or even an acceptance. That was a risk I was willing to take. There is definitely still a possibility of getting in if you apply late but chances are much smaller. I was told by about 4 to 5 schools that if I would have applied earlier I probably would have received an interview. As long as your DAT is done and it is done well then I would plan on completing the application on or as close to June 1st as possible. Tip: Copy the current application to a word document and fill it out during the spring. Make sure that you have professors/dentists that can have letters of recommendation completed by June 1st and then plan on spending the first few days after June 1st finishing the application and getting everything completed.

As mentioned several times throughout this article, statistics are not the only thing that make or break an application to dental school. A well written personal statement, quality letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, and a successful interview all play a role in whether you are will be accepted to dental school.

DentalDAT: Give It Away

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:49:00 +0000

Give It Away!

Announcing DentalDAT's first "Give it Away". This is an opportunity for you to get free material while helping DentalDAT to gain exposure and a larger audience. As the giveaways become more popular and more effective I will be able to giveaway bigger and better products. Until then I will be posting small but useful items for predental students. The first item up for offer is Cliff Notes AP Biology Flashcards! These are a great supplement to the Cliff Notes AP Biology book that a large percent of predental studenst use in preparing for the biology section of the DAT. This is a set of cards that I used for reviewing information on the go. They are virtually brand new and were gently cared for. If you are not familiar with this resource check out "Cliffs AP Biology: The Rave".

Product Breakdown

A total of 1,000 flashcards organized by topic
50 Blank flashcards are available for writing down extra definitions and/or processes
Great for studying on the go or for quick constant review
Closely follows the outlines of the Cliffs AP Biology book

How To Win

Unfortunately, I am unable to give these flashcards out to everyone who visits DentalDAT. However, I will choose one lucky winner who will receive this set of flashcards at no expense! Every student is allowed to enter their name up to three times. This is how you can enter your name for the drawing;

1. Facebook: "Like" DentalDAT. The "Like" button can be found at the top left corner of DentalDat.com, on the bottom toolbar of DentalDat.com, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/DentalDAT/. If you already "Like" DentalDAT on Facebook please share the link www.dentaldat.com with your friends by commenting on Facebook. Remember to fill out the form below and check the corresponding box in order to have your name entered.

2. Twitter: "Follow" me on Twitter @DentalDAT and post "I am following DentalDAT and so should you!". If you already are following me on twitter please tweet "I am following DentalDAT and so should you!" in order to enter your name via Twitter. Remember to fill out the form below and check the corresponding box in order to have your name entered.

3. DentalDAT Forum: Register and make a comment on the NEW Forum. You can get to the forum by clicking the "New Forum" link at the top of the page or by going to http://dentaldat.forumotion.com/. Remember to fill out the form below and check the corresponding box in order to have your name entered.

&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;

Note: If you submitted the form with all three boxes checked your name will be entered into the drawing three times. If you checked two boxes then your name will have two submissions and if you checked one box your name will have one submission.

The drawing will be on OCTOBER 4, 2011 at 6 P.M. Eastern Time.

I will notify the winner by e-mail and subsequently I will post the winner in the comments section of this post. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours I will draw another winner on October 6, 2011.

Rules and Regulations

1. There is a limit of up to 3 entries per person.
2. In order to be considered an entry, each person must complete the task ("Like" me on Facebook, "Follow" me on Twitter, or Register on DentalDAT Forum) AND submit the above form with the boxes checked of the tasks that they performed.
3. If you have already completed the tasks before the giveaway started you can still check the box in the form above and receive the entry.
4. This "Give It Away" is open to readers with US shipping addresses only.
5. Free Shipping to the WINNER! (remember US shipping address only!)
6. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the drawing or another winner will be chosen (no exceptions)
7. The item cannot be exchange for another item or money.

Disclaimer: I plan on everything going smoothly and without a problem. However, this is the first giveaway that DentalDAT has done and there may be some minor glitches in the process. In the case of any glitch, please be patient as I rectify the problem.

Any feedback can be posted in the comments section of this post. If you wish you may also e-mail me at Thecreator@dentaldat.com for any suggestions or feedback.

THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

Question & Answer Session With "Lucky Tangerine"

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

"Lucky Tangerine" is a student who had an amazing performance on the DAT. He received an astounding 26 academic average, 28 total science, and 30 perceptual ability all of which are in the 100 percentile range! "Lucky Tangerine" was already gracious enough to write a detailed breakdown of his DAT experience.

In addition to his breakdown I had a few other questions for him which I thought would be valuable to the pre-dental community. Please enjoy the responses and let us know what you think in the comments section!

1. How many months did you study for?

I set aside my entire summer to study for the DAT, so it was about 3 months. I knew that was more than enough time to prepare for the DAT so I took many days off to relax, hang out with friends, and go out.

2. What was your study schedule like?

During my review phase, which was from mid-June to end of July, I believe I studied at most 8 hours a day if I was feeling productive. Most days I would probably average around 6 hours of studying time. I usually took Fridays off, or if I did study on Friday, then it would just be for an hour or two.

Three weeks up until my test day, I kicked my studying into overdrive. I studied everyday of the week for about 9 hours. I remember each of those days was a daily routine for me. All I basically did was wake up, workout, eat, study, eat, study, eat, study, browse SDN, and then sleep. During Friday nights, however, I hung out with my best friend just to get outside and give my brain a break from studying

3. Were you able to still have fun while studying for the DAT?

Of course! If I studied every single day of those three months I dedicated for DAT studying, I would go crazy.

During my review phase, I had a lot of free time during my days since all I was doing was reading through my Kaplan book+highlighting, Cliffs AP Bio+highlighting, or watching Chad's videos+taking notes.

4th of July weekend I had a few friends come down to visit so I essentially took the entire weekend off to go to the beach and stuff. I also ran a 5k on 4th of July back in my hometown.

Every Friday during the month of July, I watched a movie at the theaters with my roommate. It definitely helped to get my mind off of studying.

I also did a mud run during July as well. I did that with a group of friends and that was definitely fun!

I took one weekend off to go down to Ensenada for a humanitarian trip. I volunteered during the day and lived it up during the nights. It served as a mini-vacation for me.

I also went go-karting with my best friend one of the Friday nights leading up till test day. This was a huge stress reliever honestly. Who knew go-karts could be so fun?

All throughout the three months, I went to the pubs to enjoy a beer or hit up some happy hour specials just to be out of the apartment and away from studying. I did this maybe like once a week and I usually used these moments to see a few friends who were available at the time to refrain from being antisocial.

I definitely worked as much as I can. I would usually go out for a run or lift some weights here and there. I felt that I have to keep myself physically fit in order to keep up with the excessive studying. And, of course, sitting all day studying is definitely not good for my health so trying to stay active is essential for the mind and body.

Overall, it seemed like I did a lot, but that's because I set aside more than enough time for myself to study for the DAT (3 months). I knew I wouldn't be able to study consistently everyday, so 3 months gave me plenty of days to relax and to have some fun. Of course, if I was going to take a day off from studying, then I would make the most of it!

4. Can you give some of the details of your schedule for the day before and day of the DAT?

Day Before
The day before I went to grab some Chick Fil A with a couple friends since, at the time, Chick Fil A was having a promotion to enjoy a free breakfast entree. Afterwards, I stopped by a Target to buy Cliff bars and Gatorade for my break during the DAT. My friends and I also went to the mall afterwards just to walk around and talk about things to do the following week before summer was about to end for most of us. During this entire time, I had completely forgotten that I was going to take the DAT. It wasn't even on my mind at all! I definitely encourage others to relax and go hangout the day before the DAT.
I got home around mid afternoon so I just skimmed through Alan's Bio Notes with the supplemental notes I added on while studying. I enjoyed a salmon for dinner and looked through Destroyer Road Maps for O chem. I tried sleeping early but my sleep schedule at the time wouldn't let me sleep until 3AM (fortunately my DAT was scheduled at 12:30 the following day.So I just watched random YouTube videos until I felt tired.

Day Of
I woke up around 9AM. Worked out for half an hour. Watched three episodes of Fresh Prince of Bel Air while eating breakfast. Afterwards, I showered and got ready. I left for my test center at 12 and arrived there about 20 minutes before my appointment. It took a while to sign in since a lot of people were coming in to take their GREs I believe. I entered the testing room around 12:34 and it was showtime!

5. If you could do one thing different what would it be?

Not take the Kaplan course. It's not worth the money honestly. The class wasn't very helpful since the teacher just regurgitated basic information that we already reviewed from the Kaplan book. My teacher also kept rushing through the lessons making a lot of mistakes while trying to explain stuff. The online materials were good though, but I'm sure the other studying materials I had would've been sufficient.

DAT Breakdown by "Lucky Tangerine"

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:50:00 +0000

Image from: Avedaflorida.com

Thank you to "Lucky Tangerine" DentalDAT has begun an Archive of DAT breakdowns! "Lucky Tangerine" has some of the highest scores that I have seen on the DAT. If your scores do not match up, don't worry! The DAT breakdown is not meant to discourage anyone, but to encourage everyone to do well. Read through this breakdown in order to get an idea of what it takes to do well and what materials you should use. Good luck to all of you preparing for the DAT!

DAT 9.9.11

PAT: 30 (100.0)

QR: 23 (98.8)

RC: 23 (89.8)

Bio: 26 (99.5)

GC: 29 (99.7)

OC: 29 (98.9)

TS: 28 (100.0)

AA: 26 (100.0)

I studied beginning in mid-‐June all the way up to a week into September. I divided my studying into two phases: the review phase and the practice phase. During the review phase, I studied the material for biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and math for content and understanding of the topics. During the practice phase, I tested my knowledge and mastery of the material to ensure that what I reviewed was engrained into my head. If I missed I problem during the practice phase, I read the solution in its entirety and understood why the correct answer is what it is. If I was still rusty on a certain topic, I referred to my books/notes to solidify my understanding of the material so that I would not miss a question on the topic again.

PAT [Kaplan + Crack DAT PAT + Topscore + Condog’s PAT videos]

Review: I learned about all 6 sections of the PAT and the rules through Kaplan to get

a general idea of how to attack the questions. Then I watched Condog’s videos (I’m not sure if they’re still up on YouTube) for tips on how to manage the different sections.

Practice: I first did all the practice material Kaplan had for the PAT. The material

was okay since it served to help build my perceptual ability. As many others have said, the angles are way too easy compared to the real thing, but the other sections are good. I purchased CDP afterwards to really develop my perceptual ability. At first I practiced just trying to get the right answer and ignored how long it took me to complete all 90 questions. After a few tests or so on CDP, I started to get the hang of it pushed myself to complete the section within an hour. The most important thing is to just keep doing these PAT tests throughout the time you spend preparing for the DAT. Not only does it help you get used to the PAT section, but it also serves to keep your perceptual ability at its prime when it comes test day. After going through CDP once, I did the tests over and was getting at least 24s on the tests.

Test

Keyholes: I wasn’t sure what people meant by proportions on this section since all

the keyholes I had matched the figure pretty well. This section was comparable to CDP but the ones on the Kaplan practice tests were good in preparing you to reorient the figure and deciding which keyholes is the best.

TFE: CDP was a good representation of this section. I visualized what the object would look like and determined the answer. This section was one of the harder sections for me while studying but by the end of my studying, this section was my strong points due to practicing these problems repeatedly.

Angles: CDP was definitely harder than what appeared on my DAT. I always struggled with this section the most on CDP because I honestly could not tell the difference between some angles on those practice tests. The angles on the DAT was much more discernable! Plus, boxes surrounded each angle so that might’ve helped with orienting the angles to do the “hill method.”

Hole Punch: CDP was harder than the real thing. I used the “grid method” to keep track of the holes just to make sure where the holes lie. A lot of the hole punches was doable in my head after practicing with CDP so I probably could’ve skipped on using the grid method.

Cube Counting: A lot easier than CDP! The figure was huge on the screen and there are way fewer cubes to count. I kept track of my cubes by making tallies for each figure.

Pattern Folding: Everyone is right in saying there were fewer patterns/shading and more complicated shapes. CDP was good for folding with patterns, but Kaplan practice tests and Topscore were good for folding with more complex shapes. I shouldn’t have spent too much time double checking my answers for this section. By the time I got to the last few questions for pattern folding, I was pressed for time and had to quickly figure out the correct answer by going with my gut. So if you confidently determined an answer to be right, then it is 100% right and all the other choices are completely wrong!

QR [Kaplan Book + Chad’s QR Videos + Math Destroyer + Practice Tests] Review: I read through all the chapters for QR in the Kaplan book (the one that came with the class) and by the time I finished going through that, Chad released his QR videos so I went through the videos in a couple of days. Chad’s QR videos were pretty good, but they were especially good for permutation/combination problems with his method of simplifying these types of problems.

Practice: Math destroyer is the one of the greatest investments in doing well in the QR section. A lot of the math is from high school, so you’ve probably done a lot of these problems back in the day. It’s just that you haven’t done it in so many years! At first I went through all 12 tests in Math Destroyer just trying to figure out how to solve the problems. This was such a grueling process since this would take me more than double the time allotted for the QR section. The most important part is reading the solutions and understanding why and how they solved each question. After enough practice, the questions they ask on destroyer become so limited that you will be able to set up and solve for the answer quickly. After going through Math Destroyer once, I practiced all 12 tests within 45 minutes. This is the most important part since you have to practice and get used to doing the QR section under limited time.

Timed Math Destroyer Scores (out of 40): 37, 31, 37, 38, 40, 37, 38, 37, 38, 39, 24, 30

Test

The DAT QR section was much easier than Math Destroyer. Time is money on this section so you want to be able to go through all the easy problems (they definitely appear around questions 35-‐40 so don’t dwell on the earlier problems; this is how they get you!). If you see a problem that is time consuming or simply do not know what to do; pick an answer, mark it, and move on! I think I had about 5 or so questions that I’ve guessed on and marked, so with 2 minutes left I just made educated guesses before time ran out. Know your conversions (lbs, oz, kg; ft, mi, km). Know how to do those rate problems, Distance = Velocity *Time problems, and probability problems stone cold! Keep in mind that the calculator lags. Try clicking hard since it seemed to help with registering my inputs. You’ll be able to test out how reliable the calculator is during the tutorial before the exam.

RC [Kaplan + Crack DAT Reading + Practice Tests]

Practice: I practiced with the Kaplan reading sections in the book as well as the ones

online. I thought these were a bit easier, but the passages were about the same. I also used CDR to practice with more tone, inference, main idea questions and thought it was a pretty good. Pure search and destroy doesn’t’ work for me since I end up wasting more time trying to find the answer as opposed to reading and answering the questions. I don’t’ write anything down since I find it time consuming (even if it’s just a few keywords) and my handwriting just comes out sloppy anyways. Kaplan practice tests and Topscore had comparable passages but I found their questions to be very tricky and much more difficult.

Test

The RC on the DAT was much easier than any of the practice material I used. The passages I got were antibiotics, herbal medicine, and bone fractures. They were all

14 paragraphs each. The first passage I read all the way through and answered the

questions accordingly in the order they came up on the test. This method took me longer than expected but I continued using this method for the second passage as well.

This left me with ~15 minutes for the last passage. I had to change up my strategy here so I could finish on time. So what I did was read the first two paragraphs and the last two paragraphs. This was usually sufficient to tackle the tone/inference questions (there aren’t too many overall and they were fairly easy to answer). And then I skimmed through the middle paragraphs taking note of the topics in my head. I had to haul ass with the 5 or so questions left since time was ticking by now. I read each question quickly, determined where in the reading it referred to, skimmed for the answer, and answered the question hoping it would be the correct answer. I did this for the remaining questions and had 10 seconds to spare. I didn’t have time to go over any marked questions so I just hoped that the answers I picked were good enough and hopefully I’d get at least a 20 in RC.

Somehow I scored a lot better than any of the practice reading I’ve done since I

could only manage to get as high as 21 if I was lucky. Just to add on, I was never able

to finish any practice reading on time and was always rushed to answer the last few questions.

Bio [Kaplan Book + Cliffs AP Bio + Wikipedia + Alan’s Notes+ Destroyer + DATQvault]

Review: I went through the Bio section in the Kaplan Book and then went through

the corresponding topics in Cliffs. I tried taking my own notes but didn’t find it too efficient so I just read through those two books and highlighted main points/terms. I used Wikipedia for further explanations on some topics I wanted to get clarification on. I ended up just reading through both books just once and applied what I learned through practice problems.

Practice: I honestly thought that doing practice problems was the most important part in studying. After reviewing through Kaplan and Cliffs, do I really know what I reviewed from those two resources? It all comes down to applying the material learned through practice problems. Destroyer was especially good in testing how well you actually know the biology topics. Though the questions weren’t representative of the actual DAT, it served to elaborate on biology topics and teach you new information through reading the solutions for each question. I went through Destroyer bio two times and moved on to DATQvault after.

DATQvault is very good in that the format of the questions were similar to the DAT. They have a good amount of questions that tests how well you know your bio by making you apply what you know when given a new situation-‐the DAT loves to test you through these types of questions. I suggest going through all the questions that’s on DATQvault just to expose yourself to more practice problems and to solidify your bio knowledge. I also found the exhibits for taxonomy very good in reviewing the different phyla and such. Remember to review all the questions, even if it’s random. Who knows, it might show up on your DAT and at least you’ve exposed yourself to the topics.

DATQvault Benchmark scores: 21, 20, 20, 21, 21, 20, 22, 22, 19, 21

I also used Alan’s Notes, which is very good to look over after going through Kaplan, Cliffs, and Destroyer. I added onto the notes with information from DATQvault.

Test

The questions that appeared on the DAT were a bit easier than Kaplan practice tests

and Topscore. After going through Destroyer, DATQvault, and practice tests, the majority of the questions on the DAT were mentioned in those resources in some shape or form (which is why I think the more exposure to bio problems, the better).

I was so happy to have Destroyer because some of the random facts from it actually appeared on the DAT and saved me!

GC [Chad’s Videos + Destroyer]

Review: I went through Chad’s videos once and took notes. After each video I did the

quizzes. A little more than a week before my DAT, I reviewed my notes and did the quizzes again.

Practice: I jumped right into the Destroyer after finishing the videos. I got 83% the first time through and 94% the second time. It’s very good for practicing calculations and testing concepts. Chad’s quizzes are actually more on par with the real thing.

Test

The questions were pretty much straightforward. No tricks or surprises. Chad’s + Destroyer were sufficient in preparation for this section. There was a lab technique question but it was fairly easy to figure out if you’ve taken chem lab.

OC [Chad’s Videos + Destroyer]

Review: Exactly the same as GC

Practice: Again, after finishing Chad’s videos I started working on Destroyer. This was the hardest for me the first time through (69%), but I was able to learn from my mistakes and understand all those rearrangements and tricks the second time through (88%). Chad’s quizzes, again, were similar to the DAT.

Test

The questions asked on the DAT were very basic and straightforward. Destroyer + Chad’s was more than sufficient for this section. There was also another lab technique question for this section as well, and again, it was pretty easy to figure out if you’ve taken o chem lab.

Practice Tests

I did the Kaplan Diagnostic in mid-June, then the Midterm sometime mid-July. A week before my exam, I did 7 practice tests every day at the same time as my actual DAT to build up my testing endurance and to get used to doing a full length exam. I did the following 7 in order: Kaplan Final, Kaplan Practice Test 1, Kaplan Practice

Test 2, Kaplan Practice Test 3, Topscore 1, Topscore 2, Topscore 3. Here are all my practice test results:

Test---------PAT--QR--RC--Bio--GC--OC--TS--AA

KapDia------17---20---19--18---17---17--17--18

KapMid------25---16---17--18---18---16--17--17

KapFin-------25---24---21--19---18---25--21--21

Kap1---------24---22---22--20---21---25--22--22

Kap2---------25---25---21--20---20---21--20--21

Kap3---------22---24---20--26---18---20--22--22

Top1---------26---25---21--29---28---30--30--27

Top2---------25---22---20--26---25---28--27--24

Top3---------25---30---20--29---28---30--30--27

CDP: 21, 23, 23, 22, 24, 23, 25, 23, 25, 22

CDR: 18, 20, 19, 19, 20

Personally I thought the Kaplan tests were pretty difficult compared to the actual DAT. I found the Topscore tests closely matched the real DAT spot on. If anything they were slightly harder but I can definitely say they’re a good predictor of how you’d perform on the real DAT under the same testing conditions.

Day Before DAT

The day before, I looked over Alan’s Notes w/ the notes I added on and looked over Destroyer’s Roadmaps. Besides that, I did nothing else but hung out with a couple friends and enjoyed some sunlight. Man did it feel good!

Thoughts/Advice

-‐Take a day off or two if you need a break from studying. I personally ended up watching a movie every Friday at the theaters during the month of July.

-‐Keep track of your break time. It takes a while to check in/out. By the time I returned, there was a pop up that said my break was already over. Fortunately it didn’t start the RC until I sat down. I guess I got pretty lucky there.

-‐Bring ear plugs if you have them

-‐Work hard, stay positive, and stay motivated!

-‐Try to stay calm during test day and during the test. It helped me to imagine how good it will feel once I finish.

-‐Pray. I could not have done this on my own without God.

Other DAT Breakdowns:

If you would like to submit your own DAT breakdown to DentalDAT please contact me at TheCreator@dentaldat.com.

DentalDat Now a Dot Com!

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Yes, I have taken the leap and purchased the domain name www.DentalDat.com! Some of you may be wondering if anything is going to change here at DentalDat. The answer to this question is YES and NO. I plan on continuing to post new articles and make frequent updates to the content (as I have done for the past 6 months). I ALSO, plan on utilizing the new Google Apps that are now available to DentalDat as a domain owner. Nothing is going to change over night since I have a big test coming up in a week. However, you can look for some cool additions in the next 1-2 months. And when I say cool, I mean COOL!

Thank you all for coming and visiting DentalDat. Pass the word onto all of your pre-dental friends. The more visitors I get here the more additions I will be able to make.

Recent Additions:

Free Classified Ads - I am working to find students with DAT material for sale to post here on the blog. I am looking to have quality material for a reasonable price.
Forum - The forum does not have many posts but it is meant to be a place where you can ask questions or provide useful information without the worry of getting shot down. I do my best to answer questions in a helpful manner so feel free to ask what you would like.
Frequent Twitter Updates- Follow me on Twitter! I make it a goal to keep you up to date on what I am doing throughout the day. See what life as a dental student is really like!

Like I said I have some fun ideas for the upcoming months. It is just going to be a matter of working out the logistics. If you are interested in hearing these ideas and adding your input check out the forum discussions on these ideas and post some comments.

Hope you all enjoy!

Dental Schools Ranked by GPA

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:18:00 +0000

It is very important that you take your grade point average (GPA) seriously. Most schools have a cutoff of a 2.75 GPA. When applying to dental school there are a few things that you have to realize when calculating your GPA.

1. If you get a C- or lower in any required course you must retake it in order for it to go towards the prerequisite requirements.

2. If you retake a class for a higher grade both scores will count on your GPA. For instance, if you received a D grade and retook the class for an A grade, both the D and the A will go towards your overall GPA. Many colleges will not calculate your low grade into your GPA which will make your GPA look higher than it really is.

3. When submitting your application schools will look at your GPA with the plus and minus sign (ex: A-, B+, B-, etc...). They will also look at your GPA with out the plus and minus signs which means that if you have an A- it will round up to an A or if you have a B- minus it will round up to a B.

4. Schools will not only look at your overall GPA but they look at your science GPA. The science GPA is calculated only using science and math courses. This allows for the schools to see overall how strong you are in your science courses.

5. Remember your GPA is very important! Many will say "schools don't want students with 4.0 GPAs because that means they are bookworms". This is true to some extent. If all you have is an excellent GPA but no other qualifications then your application may not be very strong BUT if you have an excellent GPA and very good extracurricular activities then you will a quality applicant with a very good chance of getting into dental school.

Many students ask the question "is my GPA good enough?". My question to them is "good enough for what?". If you have a 3.3 GPA and you want to know if it is "good enough" for Harvard then my answer would be "no". However, if you have a 3.3 GPA and you want to know if it is "good enough" to get into dental school then my answer is "yes". Is a 3.3 GPA ideal? No, of course the higher the GPA the better but not everyone getting into dental school has a 3.9 GPA.

Remember that the average student that matriculates into dental school each year has a 3.5 GPA. Each school has a slightly different average GPA. In order to make this easy on everyone I have posted the average GPA for each dental school starting with the highest and ending with the lowest. This should help you see where you fit in statistically when it comes to GPA.

GPA is not the only thing you should consider when applying to schools. You will also want to find schools that fit within the range of your DAT scores (check out "Dental Schools Ranked by DAT"). In addition, consider other factors such as your volunteering experiences, shadow experience, individual wants, family needs, and PRICE!

Dental School Rankings (Overall GPA)

Nebraska 3.83
Harvard 3.81
Iowa 3.74
Colorado Denver 3.73
Mississippi 3.71
Alabama 3.7
Stony Brook 3.7
Detroit Mercy 3.68
Minnesota 3.67
Southern Illinois 3.66
Pennsylvania 3.66
Pittsburgh 3.66
Ohio State 3.65
San Antonio 3.65
Oklahoma 3.64
Nova 3.63
Missouri - Kansas City 3.63
UCLA 3.62
Connecticut 3.62
Louisiana State 3.62
Creighton 3.62
Buffalo 3.61
Oregon 3.61
Houston 3.61
Illinois at Chicago 3.6
Case 3.6
Marquette 3.6
South Carolina 3.59
Indiana 3.58
Louisville 3.57
Tennessee 3.57
Georgia 3.56
New Jersey 3.56
Washington 3.56
West Virginia 3.56
Kentucky 3.54
Puerto Rico 3.53
Michigan 3.52
Chapel Hill 3.52
UCSF 3.51
Florida 3.5
Maryland 3.5
Columbia 3.5
Baylor 3.5
Virginia Commonwealth 3.5
UNLV 3.49
Midwestern 3.48
UoP 3.46
Temple 3.46
Tufts 3.45
New York 3.45
Loma Linda 3.43
Arizona 3.37
Western U. 3.33
Boston University 3.3
USC 3.25
Meharry 3.16
Howard 3.15

Dental School Rankings (Science GPA)

Nebraska 3.77
Stony Brook 3.7
Colorado Denver 3.67
Iowa 3.67
Harvard 3.66
Mississippi 3.65
Detroit Mercy 3.63
Minnesota 3.63
Pennsylvania 3.62
Missouri - Kansas City 3.61
San Antonio 3.61
Alabama 3.6
Southern Illinois 3.6
UCLA 3.59
Nova 3.59
Pittsburgh 3.58
Oklahoma 3.57
Louisiana State 3.56
Oregon 3.55
Connecticut 3.54
Ohio State 3.54
Houston 3.54
Case 3.53
Georgia 3.52
Indiana 3.52
Florida 3.5
Illinois at Chicago 3.5
New Jersey 3.5
Columbia 3.5
South Carolina 3.5
Tennessee 3.5
Marquette 3.5
Chapel Hill 3.49
Creighton 3.48
UCSF 3.47
Washington 3.47
Kentucky 3.46
West Virginia 3.46
Virginia Commonwealth 3.44
Baylor 3.43
Louisville 3.42
Michigan 3.41
Puerto Rico 3.41
Maryland 3.4
New York 3.4
Midwestern 3.39
UoP 3.38
Tufts 3.37
Temple 3.37
Loma Linda 3.35
UNLV 3.34
Boston University 3.3
Arizona 3.26
Western U. 3.25
Buffalo 3.22
USC 3.2
Howard 3.2
Meharry 3.02

*NOTE: The statistics that have been listed were taken from the "2010 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools".

Dental Schools Ranked by DAT Scores

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:29:00 +0000

Many students wonder what dental school suites them the best according to their DAT scores. This was I question that I definitely had when I was trying to decide which schools to apply to. Remember, the DAT is a very big portion of your application and should not be taken lightly. However, this does not mean that if you earned a 19 academic average (AA) that you cannot apply to a school that has a an average AA of 21. The statistics are just that, statistics! If a school accepts someone with an AA of 23 that means that they must have accepted several others with lower scores.

When scores are reported they are seen in three general categories including Academic Average (all of your scores averaged together except perceptual ability scores), Total Science (average of the biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry sections), and Perceptual Ability. Each of these general categories along with each individual section must be taken into account when choosing schools to apply to.

Some schools will put a high emphasis on the science sections while others may put more weight on reading comprehension or the perceptual ability section.

Other factors that you will want to consider while choosing schools to apply to include but are not limited to overall GPA, science GPA, extra curricular activities, leadership experience, volunteer experiences, and shadowing.

For your convenience, I listed the dental schools in order of highest Academic Average to lowest Academic Average. I also included a list of the schools ranked according to their perceptual ability scores. The statistics shown come from the "2010 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools".

Dental School Rankings (Academic Average)

Columbia 21.7
UCLA 21
Harvard 21
Stony Brook 21
Alabama 20
UCSF 20
UoP 20
Connecticut 20
New York 20
Pennsylvania 20
Minnesota 19.63
Nova 19.58
Maryland 19.5
New Jersey 19.45
Buffalo 19.42
Pittsburgh 19.4
Washington 19.39
Boston University 19.35
Temple 19.3
Houston 19.15
Louisiana State 19.1
Illinois at Chicago 19.1
UNLV 19.01
USC 19
Colorado Denver 19
Florida 19
Iowa 19
Kentucky 19
Tufts 19
Detroit Mercy 19
Michigan 19
Chapel Hill 19
Case 19
Ohio State 19
Oklahoma 19
Baylor 19
San Antonio 19
Virginia Commonwealth 19
Indiana 19
Loma Linda 18.79
Oregon 18.71
Southern Illinois 18.6
Midwestern 18.5
Creighton 18.48
Missouri - Kansas City 18.02
Western U. 18
Georgia 18
Louisville 18
Mississippi 18
Nebraska 18
South Carolina 18
Tennessee 18
Marquette 18
Arizona 17.84
Howard 17.7
West Virginia 17
Puerto Rico 16
Meharry 16

Dental School Rankings (Perceptual Ability)

UCLA 21
UoP 21
Harvard 21
Stony Brook 21
Minnesota 20.74
UNLV 20.24
Loma Linda 20.15
Creighton 20.11
Washington 20.02
Buffalo 20.01
UCSF 20
Indiana 20
Detroit Mercy 20
Michigan 20
New York 20
Case 20
Ohio State 20
Pennsylvania 20
South Carolina 20
Virginia Commonwealth 20
Oregon 19.93
Temple 19.7
Pittsburgh 19.6
Maryland 19.3
Houston 19.25
Georgia 19.2
Boston University 19.15
Southern Illinois 19.1
Alabama 19
Midwestern 19
USC 19
Western U. 19
Colorado Denver 19
Connecticut 19
Florida 19
Illinois at Chicago 19
Iowa 19
Kentucky 19
Louisville 19
Tufts 19
Mississippi 19
Chapel Hill 19
Marquette 19
Oklahoma 18.98
Louisiana State 18.9
Nova 18.85
New Jersey 18.73
Arizona 18.34
Missouri - Kansas City 18
Tennessee 18
Baylor 18
San Antonio 18
West Virginia 18
Howard 17.4
Nebraska 17
Puerto Rico 16
Meharry 16

*NOTE: The statistics that have been listed were taken from the "2010 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools".

Studying With Music

noreply@blogger.com (DentalDAT) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:30:00 +0000

Many of us enjoy studying while listening to music. I do not want to say that their is a right or wrong type of music to listen to while studying but there is definitely a more effective music to listen to. Yes, I turn on my favorite tunes in the car or while at home relaxing. However, I usually (like most of you) use music to take my mind off of school, work, and the other cares of the world. Frankly, if I am going to be spending my time studying I want my focus to be on what I am studying not my music.

Generally, I only put my headphones on when I am not in a quiet study area. This includes my apartment (especially when my kids are running around), the library (when people are talking, eating, or making annoying repetitive sounds such as typing or tapping a pen), or any other public location.

I have a few simple guidelines when it comes to choosing study music that I try to follow at all times. It does not matter how much studying I want to get done, if I listen to music without following these guidelines I will not get any studying done. Check them out:

1. No Lyrics: Music with lyrics distract from what you are studying. Often times one will fined themselves thinking more about the lyrics they are listening to instead of what they are studying!

2. Avoid Loud Music: Many of us like bands with jamming guitars and fast beating drums. The noise created by this music can be just as distracting as someone eating a bag of potato chips next to you in the library. It will often times break your focus and put you in an anxious mood.

3. Low Tempo: The tempo of the music can also play a big role in how one studies. I like to be relaxed (not sleeping!) while studying. Fast paced music sometimes interrupts ones ability to slow down and think deeply about what they are studying. Why do you think Hollister and all those other clothing companies play the fast beat music? Simple, if you feel like you are in a hurry you might make the rash decision of over paying for a shirt that you otherwise may not have purchased! May not make sense to you but it sure makes sense to me. Tricking myself into thinking I understand something is pretty easy when I am anxious or in a hurry.

The guidelines are simple and have definitely helped me choose effective study music. Below is one of my study playlists. This list may not be for everyone but be creative and find music that HELPS you and does not hinder your studying. You are not limited to classical music by any means. There is plenty of suitable music that involves pianos, guitars, brass instruments, and whatever else you can think of.

Feel free to post songs that you like to study to in the comment section!