Dental students understandably feel stressed when it's time to take the DAT. Are you feeling the pressure about your DAT studies? You’re not alone. After all, preparing for the DAT is what most dental students say is the most intimidating and essential part of applying to dental school. Compared to this exam, the rest of your business might feel a lot easier!
It is easy to envision yourself as successful regarding your studies and the Dental Admission Test. Unfortunately, many students fail to maximize their time working with DAT study tools, DAT exam books, or fail to formulate or enact a realistic routine that enables their success.
To gain entrance to the best dental programs, students must do well on their DAT. To do well on their DAT, students must carefully maximize their study time daily and weekly. Orgoman has the DAT study tools and time management strategies to help you accomplish that.
Make a Schedule You Can Stick With
The first step towards taking your DAT is to make your appointment. Now that you’re all signed up and set a date for the dreaded exam, what do you do next? Schedule study time, of course!
While you want to begin studying as soon as possible and the furthest time from your examination date, studying without formulating a good study schedule will probably overwhelm you and result in poor productivity. It would be best if you maximize your time for success on the DAT.
Create daily study schedules to take control of your study time. Divide every day before your Dental Admission Test into time-segmented blocks. Write precisely what you’ll focus on in each time block. It may feel overwhelming, but these steps and DAT study tools are crucial to ensure you study effectively and you don’t procrastinate and cram. Cramming is never a great study strategy, especially for something as important as other people’s health.
You can customize a study schedule to your unique needs. Some students may do well writing a generalized focus like “Biology” into a larger time block while working more specific study groups into hour-by-hour sections might work best for you.
Ensure you include breaks and meals in your schedule and any obligations such as work or class. Sizeable topics often feel more intimidating, but breaking them down into manageable parts within free time helps to keep students on track while avoiding long, drawn-out cramming sessions.
Begin Your Prep Work with Content Reviews
Start each study session by reviewing and relearning the topics the DAT covers. Like many students, you may forget some crucial information between sessions. The key to success is comprehensively understanding the information on the DAT inside out.
You can't answer questions correctly if you don’t know the tested subjects well. Do yourself a favor and build your foundational knowledge with tested information. Teaching yourself how questions work instead of what an answer is will help you understand how to answer the questions instead of simply memorizing an answer.
Use Practice Testing to Your Advantage
We can look at any admissions test like a long-distance race. You must practice enough to gauge your current level while analyzing areas where you could improve. Practice tests help you accomplish both and give you a feel for the actual DAT itself.
Students can spend all day working with many DAT books but may not fully comprehend what they’ll see on the DAT exam itself. Once you feel comfortable and ready to take the DAT, you should have a few weeks to go through all the questions available in your DAT study tools like DAT Destroyer.
Manufacturers like Orgoman.com base these DAT exam books on the previous year's DAT examinations. The DAT Destroyer provides similar questions to past DAT exams. Practice testing is the most representative resource for any dental student that wants to optimize their remaining time in preparation for the DAT.
Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy
Living a healthy and balanced lifestyle is critical to life. Unfortunately, students forget these during the most stressful times (like cramming for the DAT). Proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep are crucial to successfully conquering the DAT. Treat your study routine the same way.
Start each morning before a study session with a healthy breakfast. Don’t be afraid to take a short break to eat a healthy snack and drink water throughout the day. Save some energy for physical activity outside of your study space.
Eating right and short periods of physical activity can help you reduce testing anxiety and boost your memory to maximize your study sessions. Stick to a good schedule and ensure you know when to stop so you can get adequate sleep. You don’t want to study into the early morning hours. Use your time wisely, and maximize your on-off time to your advantage.
Breathe
When studying for the Dental Admission Test, you’ll probably feel like you’re pulling your brain in one-thousand different directions. Focusing on the task at hand remains essential to study effectively.
Take time for yourself, and be mindful. While studying for the DAT requires multitasking, reducing your anxiety, and taking some time for yourself can help improve the time when you are studying while providing you with some much-needed downtime to reboot and recharge.
Preparing for your DAT exam won’t be easy. You must ensure you stay active, enjoy your life, and stay healthy. Also, get enough sleep at night throughout your testing prep. This time away from your DAT books and other DAT study tools may seem counterintuitive, your brain needs to rest, and your body.
Orgoman.com takes pride in providing pre-dental students with the resource materials they need to conquer the DAT. The DAT Destroyer is a comprehensive study guide that provides questions, explanations, and practice testing for each section the DAT presents.
Our team hopes you enjoyed these tips on how to get the most from your study time. With adequate preparation and a proper, disciplined regimen, you can score highly on the DAT. You’ll perform your best when you feel your best and when you feel most comfortable with the testing material.
Contact our friendly team for additional information to learn more about DAT Destroyer and how Orgoman.com can help you prepare for your Dental Admission Test.