should I be upset about my DAT score

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I am a junior who will be applying in summer of 2013. My current GPA is a 3.7 for both science and overall.
here we go:

PAT 18
QR 18
Bio 18
RC 17
Gen Chem 20
Ochem 21
TS 19
AA 19

My goal is to get into USC or NYU as an out of state students but I am open to other schools as well.

Your GPA is better than average, your DAT is at or below average. USC and NYU are schools that don't care what state you're from so you've got that going for you. Typically their students end up with higher DAT scores and lower GPAs.

Some people may disagree with me but if you go to a top 50 school and are in a strong science or engineering major with that 3.7 GPA, then you're set. If you go to a CSU or a Eastern Kentucky or Eastern Illinois with that GPA I would be hesitant to say you're in great shape.

So the other thing is, what do you have planned between now and June 1st (when applications open) to improve your application? If you have 0 shadowing hours, I would shadow. If you have a 1000 shadowing hours another few hours won't do as much as raising your DAT a single point. Community service and doing well in classes will always help your application too.

So to sum it up, if you have a lot of free time and are willing to stress yourself out, retake the DAT. If not, I wouldn't worry too much. But if you don't have any interviews around November next year, I would start planning to retake the DAT in the spring of 2014.

Originally Posted by RVCA7

I am a junior who will be applying in summer of 2013. My current GPA is a 3.7 for both science and overall.
here we go:

PAT 18
QR 18
Bio 18
RC 17
Gen Chem 20
Ochem 21
TS 19
AA 19

My goal is to get into USC or NYU as an out of state students but I am open to other schools as well.

To answer you question, "should I be upset about my DAT score", here is what I have to say:

No, you should not be upset about your DAT score. Rather than spending time worrying about your test score, which I thought was already fairly competitive (for USC and NYU) given your GPA, you should spend more time thinking about EC's and enjoying a good life.

I would not be upset with those scores with your GPA. As long as your EC's are solid and your interviews go well you should be good.