Devin S Harrison, pre-DDS

This week during orientation we had a learning specialist speak to us. She offered some good information for study habits, and suggested that strategies that worked in college may not work in dental and medical school. One thing she stressed from the beginning is that she is a great procrastinator, and that procrastination is just a style to getting things done. She disagrees with the stigma on procrastination in our society.

As everyone has been, Linda stressed time management. Time is very limited in dental school (arguably more limited than for first year medical students). The week should be used for keeping up on readings and lectures, and going to class attentively (if you’ll be falling asleep in class, it’s probably better you stay home and get an extra hour of sleep). The weekend can be used to catch up on material that didn’t sit well, or for things that you didn’t quite get to understanding.

Extending time management to sleep, she stressed that it’s important for us to get sleep during normal sleep hours: 11:00pm to 8:00am. And, we should be getting 7-8 hours per night to achieve enough REM sleep. I’ve looked up some sleep studies that suggest not waking during REM sleep. Setting an alarm at a 90 minute interval can benefit, since the average sleep cycle is 90 minutes. Getting eight hours of sleep would be great, but for me I always wake up tired. So I’ve shortened that to a bit longer than 7 hours (7.5 hours is a 90 minute interval). So that will be my goal per night this year; perhaps an extra cycle on the weekends.

She introduced a technique that she thought would be novel to us: addressing exercises prior to doing the reading. Here, we know what to look for in the reading. We know what is being asked of us, and learning can then proceed (Isn’t learning just finding answers to questions anyway?). I think this has great pertinence to those applying to school and taking the DAT. When dealing with the Reading Comprehension section, it is useful to read questions and find the answer in the text. At the time I took the DAT, I preferred to skim the reading first, then look at each question and find the answer in the text (skimming will help find the answer faster, as they aren’t always in sync with the text). Perhaps it may have been better to read the questions, then find the answers without skimming at all. It’s just another strategy, but it comes from a learning specialist. I think I’ll be trying it out this year.

A recent college graduate, Emma, submitted a comment about some issues she’s having with the DAT (emphasis mine):

Hey, first of all I wanted to tell you that I think it’s really cool that you are blogging about this experience. I have searched and searched the web and your blog is the only substantial one with information that has helped me in my process of applying to dental schools. I don’t know anyone who has applied to dental school so I figured that maybe you could give me some advice. I just graduated from a top 25 school in the nation (if that even matters?), with a GPA of 3.33 (overall) and around 3.2 (science). I didn’t do very well fall semester Sophomore year, but other than thatI have gotten above a 3.5 every semester. I am not scoring too well on the practice DAT tests I am taking. I am averaging around a 17/18 overall academic average, and a 20/21 on the PAT. Do you think I should wait to take the DAT when I am scoring better? I am really uncertain about whether or not I will get any interviews/ acceptances. Any advice would be super helpful. Here are the schools I have applied to:
NYU, BU, Tufts, Columbia, U of Colorado, U of Texas (san antonio and houston), Baylor, U of Alabama, U of Maryland, USC in la, MUSC, UCSF, U of Washington, Marquette, U of Florida, U of Pennsylvania

Keep posting about your experience, and thanks a ton for your help.

I think more pertinent than the school you attended is what you made of that school. Union College (where I went) is small, and not extremely well-known. It is, however, known as a great school for student research, and its chemistry department is very well-respected. I took advantage of those aspects, and did plenty of research in the chemistry field.

As far as GPA is concerned, you’re doing well. There are plenty of us in my first-year class that are below the average GPA (there have to be some of us, correct?), but there are others with much higher GPAs that balance out the curve. A rough time in school (your fall semester Sophomore year) is a great way to show dental schools that you were challenged, and that you worked and over-came that challenge. If this comes up in an interview, be sure to talk about how you came over that hurdle.

As with GPAs, DAT scores vary. Academic averages of 17 or 18 should be at least 50th percentile if I remember correctly, so congratulations on that. I think the average DAT score for my class is 22; that means there are students who scored higher and students who scored lower. As I mentioned in my DAT post, I think preparing for a test is best done having experience with that test. Go ahead and take the real DAT to avoid the cancellation fee. You’ll get an idea for how the test operates, and what it’s like in the hot seat. I don’t recall how long the wait is before you can retake the DAT, and it may not be until after this application cycle. If you don’t get in this round, don’t give up. And retake the DAT; an improvement over your first score can only support your application.

As a side note, I think that students should set themselves up so that they have a real DAT score in hand before applying. It’d be unfortunate to spend the money applying, then take the DAT and achieve a non-competitive score. I took the DAT twice before applying; I couldn’t handle the stress of applying before knowing my DAT score.

Thanks, Emma, for reading and for commenting!

In regards to a standardized exam, I execute my best performance when I know what to expect. The first time I took the SAT, I did little studying and went in for the kill to find out what taking the exam really felt like; to see what was really on the exam. Afterwards, I could rehearse my weaker points so as to perform at my highest level.

In preparing for the DAT, I prepared much the same way. Prior to taking it for the first time, I glanced at all the sections that I’d be presented with. Everything I’d had encountered before, save Perceptual Ability. So I became accustomed with the various ways the exam tested my perceptual skills, and went and took the exam. I came away scoring an overall 63rd percentile. At face value, this score impressed me; I’d scored better than 63% of the people taking the exam! But I knew I’d take it again. I needed to improve for my own sake. Not to mention, 63rd percentile on the DAT is not exactly what admissions committees might consider ‘competitive’. My science and perceptual ability scores suffered the greatest. I know knew my weaknesses.

I’d like to say that I sat down and spent a lot of time preparing for my second attempt at the DAT. In a way I did, but not as you would expect. Mainly, I prepared myself mentally. Stress and feelings of inadequacy greatly hinder my performance. I did my best to bring my relationship with the DAT into a healthy mindset. I spent only a few hours studying actual exam material, namely perceptual ability and science topics that had slipped by the wayside since I’d taken Organic Chemistry (it was suprising how easily those topics returned).

Towards the end of the five hours, I was becoming very nervous. I didn’t think I’d score very well, let alone improve over my first attempt. To my surprise, I’d gained 2 points overall, and climbed to the 87th percentile! I rested easy, calling friends and family to share in my achievement. Still, it wasn’t the best of scores as far as the DAT scores, but an improvement was what I was looking for. And I was thrilled with my percentile standing.

Later on, while I was waiting to receive interview invitations from schools, I spoke with a dentist who sat on the admissions committee at a mid-western dental school. He quoted my DAT score and assured me that I’d be accepted. Certainly, mid-western schools differ from the schools I’d applied to in the northest. Nonetheless, I was thrilled to have a vote of confidence from an admissions committee member.

* I detest being judged by numbers, grades, etc. Not everything we have learned can be reflected in an exam score. As such, I’ve refrained from releasing my specific DAT scores.