How to Select DAT Study Materials?
Studying for the dental admission test (DAT) can seem like a daunting task, but this article will help you in this endeavour. In addition to maintaining good motivation and having good mental health, it is important that one selects good DAT prep resources to study for the DAT exam. The quality of study resources you choose is vital for anyone aiming for dental school. There are a few things to consider when selecting prep materials.
- Does this resource cover all the intended content of the dental admissions test in a concise and easy-to-read way?
- Does this resource have additional video explanations that can help me when I get stuck?
- Are the practice questions that come with this resource going to help enforce active recall, and will they prepare me for exam day? Additionally, does this resource have flashcards that allow me to memorize the facts necessary to do well on the DAT?
- Lastly and most importantly, are there full-length practice tests that will prepare me for an exam day environment?
In this article, we will answer all of these questions and provide you with the best DAT prep books.
I. High-Yield Study Guides
The American Dental Association has a long list of materials that you will need to do well on the dental admission test (DAT). In the age of DAT prep books and DAT prep materials, it is almost impossible to go through all of these prep books and textbooks to compile the necessary information. Having a good study guide that compiles all of this information into one will allow you to achieve this goal much faster, creating an effective DAT prep strategy. Booster Prep offers study guides as well as schedules that tell you how to go about reading notes, reviewing questions, and doing flashcards. This is invaluable because it gives you all of these resources on organic chemistry, as well as the natural sciences, and study notes in an organized, concise and high-yield manner. Using the right DAT prep materials is the first step toward getting into dental school.
II. Comprehensive Video Lectures
Video lectures are an important component of DAT prep in addition to subject notes. They explain concepts that you might not be completely clear on and are created and curated by professionals in the subject area. This is one major downside with really large DAT prep books, such as those offered by the Princeton Review or Kaplan, is that they don’t have video explanations. Watching a video is often more engaging than reading dry prep books all day. Video lectures also allow you to review notes at the same time, especially if the notes and videos are curated by the same company. This is where Booster Prep videos come in; so many of these are free and offered on DATBooster's Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels, but in addition to this, they act as a supplement to the notes. The flexibility in how these DAT prep lectures can be used makes videos an invaluable resource to score higher on the dental admissions test.
III. Active Recall and Practice Questions
The most important part of studying is content review, and the best way to do content review is through active recall. Active recall, whether through practice problems or flashcards on Anki, is a crucial part of learning as it involves actively dredging up information that you have learned in your brain and reinforcing neural pathways. Booster Prep has thousands of practice questions that allow you to practice and reinforce your knowledge. These can be done in a subject-specific manner and also come with video explanations that explain why you might have gotten them wrong and how to find the correct answer. These test-taking strategies help you master the natural sciences and more to ensure you do well on the DAT exam. High-quality prep books are essential, but being able to supplement your prep books with video explanations is a game-changer.
IV. Full-Length Practice Tests
Lastly and most importantly is using practice tests to make sure that you are able to perform at a high level in time pressure, to build test-taking stamina, and to get used to a test-taking environment. Time pressure creates stress, which can alter your recall abilities and make it difficult to make decisions in a logical manner; therefore, it is of utmost importance to practice these skills at home before the DAT exam. You will also be able to identify sections where there is a time crunch, such as the perceptual ability section, where you have to make difficult decisions in a very short period of time.
The more full-length practice tests you will do, the better you will be able to strategize and organize your time for success on the real deal. Luckily, Booster Prep has 15 full-length practice tests that can be done as a full-length test or broken down into their respective subsections. Each practice test simulates the test environment and timing conditions in an effort to prepare you for test days. Additionally, the schedule provided will help you know when to take these tests and how to review your answers.
Even more importantly, these tests help you build mental stamina, which is incredibly important for a 4.5-hour exam. A lot of mental stamina can be built from all the DAT prep you will do all day for hours; however, it is important to strategize how you will maintain this stamina during breaks and how you will adapt to the structure of the DAT exam to score higher. Success on the perceptual ability part of the dental admissions test requires this level of sustained focus.
V. Conclusion
Having these DAT prep study resources will provide a strong foundation to help you score higher on test day. Fortunately, DATBooster provides each of these DAT prep books in its subscription package, including a higher score guarantee, plus much more! We recommend exploring the DATBooster site and testing the free content to see if the product is right for you.
Lastly, while preparing for the dental admission test, be sure to utilize various test-taking strategies such as Active Recall and Pomodoro Techniques to help accelerate your learning. These strategies will not only boost your DAT prep but also enhance your ability to perform well on exam day, securing your future in dental school. Once you choose your prep materials, hit the prep books hard and don’t look back! In case you aren’t quite sure how to begin preparing for the American Dental Association standards, be sure to check out our article on DAT prep or follow the American Dental Association guidelines. Good luck studying and getting ready for dental school!