DAT Study Motivation!

Hey! How’s studying for the DAT going? Great? Just all right? Let’s take a minute to talk about motivation. The Dental Admissions Test is no easy feat and the many (necessary) hours preparing for it can be grueling. The feeling of burning out is a common occurrence for many and can really throw you off track of your path to DAT domination. The ole saying rings true: if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Plus Gandalf shall not let you pass! (In this case, he’s the czar of the DAT exams because why not?)

shall not pass

Here are a few tips for motivation and keeping yourself on track:

– Stop & Take a Practice Test: If you’re in the middle of a studying block and suddenly hit a brick wall: Take full timed practice test. Your score just might give you the kick in the rear to knock you back into focus. With DAT Cracker you’ll even pin point exact weak spots in your preparation thus far.

– Change it up: A swift change in the subject you’re studying or change in normal study location can revive your spirits and give you boost in motivation! But don’t change too often be sure you’re sticking to the 50/10 rule…

– Be strict with yourself: The 50/10 rule of studying really does work! That’s 50minutes of straight focus studying then a 10minute break to refresh your brain! Do it. Discipline. “There are no short cuts to any place worth going.”

– Turn off everything: Echoing the last tip, be hard on yourself and put all things you don’t need to study away, really. It may seem harmless to leave open Facebook open in a tab or have your phone lying there beside you but come test time these things won’t be there. You want to your studying environment to emulate that of the test day. So put away all distractions and save them for your breaks!

Now get out there and get to it! Study study study and practice practice practice (3Xs for emphasis). What are you waiting for? Gandalf will not be pleased! “Fly Study you fools!”

Applying to Dental School: AADSAS Personal Statement Writing

In case you missed the memo, the ADEA AADSAS, aka the big dental school application, for next fall is officially opened! The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has a general online application called the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS) and there is a PERSONAL STATEMENT required **cue the music** Although the essay is about YOU, you still have an agenda: it still needs to be written in a professional manner and highlight your professional skills, experiences, and interests. That doesn’t have to be so scary! Think of it kind of like answering that classic job interview inquiry: “Tell me about yourself.” Oh no. Did I just make it worse? **cue the music again**

tell me about yourself

Your AADSAS Personal Statement is a place for you to “organize your thoughts about why you are seeking a dental education” all under 4,500 characters (including letters, spaces, punctuation (like on twitter)), which is about a page long. Unless you’re applying to a Texas school, then the Texas Dental School Application System (TMDSAS) has a 4,500-character limit. “Why are you seeking a dental education?”, you need to articulate that you motivated, academically prepared, plus knowledgeable and passionate about the profession. This can be a little tricky; the key is balance. You want to sell yourself professional while remaining personable. By no means is this a creative writing piece; you want to be clear, concise, and professional. Keep in mind: dental schools are making first judgments on you based on this AADSAS application, and the AADSAS Personal Statement is the ONLY place to make a case for yourself IN YOUR OWN WORDS!

Remember that you’re selling yourself as a great addition to the dental profession. This is where you talk about your strengths, passion for the field, and all your extra-curricular hard work you’ve done in preparing for dental school (and let’s face it also for this particular essay here).

Three key points to hit:

o   Why Dentistry? – The lifelong childhood dream is all good and fine really but if that’s not the case be candid and honest and talk about your road to discovery, that’s interesting! Your journey to writing this AADSAS Personal Statement may be long and winding. How did you land on dentistry?

o   Shadowing or Assisting Experience – Talk up your observation hours in a dentist’s office setting and how these times increased your knowledge and understanding of the field. These experiences show you really know what’s like in the real world application of the dental school.

o   Volunteerism – show your interest in working with/for the community and commitment to helping other. It’s important to include both volunteer activities that are relevant to the field and even some that isn’t. For example, working at an animal shelters shows your well rounded not just in a pre-dental mode all the time. Also include the volunteer work related to the dentistry profession that you may have done with a pre-dental society (that’s how you work that you were active in the club in the essay too)!

The ole phrase “writing is rewriting” rings true here this case. Have a trusty professor or dental professional read and give you feedback. They know what admissions committees are looking for and have insight on how to relate your experiences to the field. Final piece of advice: you can upgrade your DAT Cracker account and unlock the all the practice tests for $49 instead of the regular $99 sooooo go do that and you’ll have gleaming DAT scores to match this beautiful essay!

If you need any help on your personal statement, we recommend the people over at Grad Personal Statements at www.gradpersonalstatements.com

Applying for Dental School: AADSAS 2015 Is Now Open!

As a pre-dental student you’ve been tirelessly working in preparation to get to grad school. Joined a pre-dental society? Keeping that GPA up? Got glowing DAT scores? Well, now it’s time to prove it! For anyone applying to dental school for the 2015 – 2016 school year, as of June 2nd the ADEA AADSAS aka the big dental school application for next fall is officially opened! The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has a general online application called the Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS). It is the required application when applying to any dental programs in the US with the exception of Texas schools. The three Texas schools use the Texas Dental School Application System (TMDSAS) and one application fee covers them all! That’s the TMDSAS for Texas residents only and the AADSAS for all other applicants. So really moral of the story: you should just read each program’s individual application instructions carefully! Stressing out? Hey, relax…

relax dentist joke

First thing’s first, you’ll need to create a Portal account here and have your DENTPIN ready because you’ll need it! Ugh, don’t have one of those? You need one to register to take the Dental Admissions Test aka the DAT, get it here. You do not necessarily have to have taken the DAT by now but geez do it already. If you’re stressing about the big test, well DAT Cracker will give you great practice for the real thing.

When completely the AADSAS it is $244 for first school you apply to and then $90 for each school after that, whoa. In fact, the whole application process can quickly become expensive with taking the DAT, completely the AADSAS, then individual schools secondary application fees, traveling to interviews, etc. so you want to do your research and narrow down the programs you really want to apply to. With all this expense, here’s a little secret to ease the load: Want to get 30 FREE days added onto your DAT Cracker account? Mention “DATCracker” on any forum, mention it in a blog, refer a friend, Facebook post to your pre-dental society, etc. and we will add 30 extra days to your account! Email us at support@datcracker.com so we can help you out for your upcoming Dental Admission Test. Plus we just added more DAT tests to DAT Cracker bringing it to a total of 37 DAT Practice Tests! With all the stress of applying to dental school don’t let the DAT be one of them. Ace it with DAT Cracker!

In review, get on that AADSAS application and get 30 FREE days added to your DAT Cracker account!