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 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!