7-9-12 dat

SDN Members don't see this ad. (About Ads)

Hey guys. So took the DAT yesterday for the first time and here are my scores:

Bio: 20
Gchem: 20
OChem: 20
RC: 20
QR: 17
PAT: 16
AA: 19
TS: 20

BCP: 3.70
Science: 3.75
Nonscience: 3.86
Total: 3.79

So, although I am very satisfied with my TS and AA, the PAT is punching me in my gut and I don't know whether I should retake it or not. I have read the scores of other people on here and they are AMAZING and kudos to all those people on here that get above a 22AA!

So, first and foremost, someone please tell me whether retaking it all over again for the sake of doing better in PAT is a good idea or should I take my chances seeing that I did well in every other subject and my GPAs are in good shape?

Second, I am going to give a breakdown of how and what I studied and how the test actually was in comparison to the practice tests. So sit tight. Here it comes.

Preparation time: 30 days. I started studying June 6th, after turning in my AADSAS. I tried studying in May but the first two weeks were graduation festivities and the last two were family visiting our house and parties. So yup.

I did a little bit of studying of each section here and there rather than doing one subject at a time because I tend to forget stuff VERY easily.

Biology: Barron's AP Biology, Barron's AP Biology Flashcards, Campbell Reece Textbook, DAT destroyer, and CDScience.
I spent about 5 days reading the AP Biology book cover to cover. It is GREAT. It even has 20-30 questions after each section and I answered those. I def recommend it. I had taken AP Bio in 11th grade (6 years ago) and trust me, I wiped all the useless stuff out (Taxonomy, plants, ecology and evolution). Naturally, these were the sections that I spent the most time on. I read the AP Bio book for these topics and then went back in the textbook, read, took notes, and studied them over and over again. The rest of the sections, well I just reviewed it and relied on my knowledge from the classes. I had taken Biochemistry, Histology, Immunology recently so I was set for those subjects. I took Anatomy and Physiology freshman year (I just graduated) and I spent a little time on the nervous system and muscular system.
DAT destroyer is really good but I found some parts of it annoying because it had so many random questions but I guess that's whats good about it cuz it forces you to know the stuff you really hate.
Topscore Biology scores (1, 2, 3): 18,19,21
CDScience Biology (Test 1 and 2): 19,17
Biology on the real DAT: Topscore came closest. The questions were not hard at all. Very basic and some even made my confidence boost up. I got a few questions on bone cells but I knew all about cells because of histology so I was confident. Now, I know everyone on here says that bio on the test is very representative, touches a lot of topics, etc etc. WRONG. My test was 90% cellular respiration, mitosis, and genetics. I had no questions on plants. Two random taxonomy questions (and people say they only get one random taxonomy question).

Gchem: Random notes from classes. Knowledge from working as a lab assistant and tutoring friends, DAT destroyer, Topscore, CDScience.
Okay so, maybe I made a mistake by not doing "Chad's" cuz everyone says he is great. I think if I did, my score would've been 23+ because I was already strong in my sciences. DAT destroyer is great for ghcem. I spent most of my time studying gchem because I SUCK at the math part and DAT destroyer had a lot of those questions. In college, we got to use calculators for the tests so I dominated them by getting 100s and scoring a raw score of 63/70 on my ACS final exam but for the DAT, i really practiced division of annoying decimals and what not. If you are not that good at it, you should practice because you will get some calculation questions on the test.
Gchem on the real DAT: Easier than Top Score and CDScience. Easier in the sense that you didn't actually have to calculate numbers. You just had to set up the answer. I froze a little in this section because gchem was my weak point from the sciences because it was ancient history in my head. I moved on and as I started getting faster, I went back and took a look at the questions I skipped. Overall, it wasn't bad at all.
Topscore (1, 2, 3): 15,17,18
CDScience (1 and 2): 19,19

Ochem: Knowledge from being a lab assistant and tutoring. Textbook for quick review, DAT destroyer, Topscore, CDScience.
I studied for Orgo for about 5 days. 3 days I spent reviewing and making flash cards of random little reagents that I forgot. Then I spent 2 days doing the destroyer questions. I wasn't worried about Ochem because I knew I am good at it. I just had to refresh my memory regarding specific reactions that I forgot. In Orgo 1 and 2, I never bothered to learn IR, NMR, MS, and Radicals. Whenever I had a test on those subjects, I dominated the rest of the topics and winged these. I hated these topics and well, I never learned them. So, for the DAT, I reviewed a little for CNMR and HNMR. I knew how to do them but I wasn't fast and everyone told me they didn't get a IR or NMR questions on the test so I shouldn't worry. Well..I got two solid CNMR questions, one with a graph and I had to figure out the structure. Yeah, my luck SUCKS.
Orgo on the real DAT: Easy. Straight forward reactions. One or two multi-step synthesis. If your luck sucks like mine, you will get not one, but two NMR questions. Annoying naming of long compounds. Easy but time consuming because the answer choices are VERYYYY close.
TopScore (1, 2, 3): 18,18,19
CD Science (Test 1 and 2): 18,18

Reading Comprehension: CDReading and Topscore
There is no specific way to prepare for this section. Maybe to help your reading speed, you can pick up a book and start reading a little everyday. That's what I did. My reading speed is pretty good with about 400 words per minute.
RC on the real DAT: My experience was TERRIBLE. I DID NOT get search and destroy questions. I did not get easy passages. I did not get a "few" tone questions but rather 98% of the questions were inference, deduction, and analysis. I clearly remember my entire first passage having questions which state two statements and you had to choose "the statements are true and related" or "the statements are true but not related" or "the first is true and the second is not, and they are related" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH. it KILLED ME.
My second passage was easier. Mainly search and destroy with medium level difficulty tone.
My third passage was so TERRIBLE. ALL of the questions were "if an experiment found that the disease can be transmitted, which one of koch's postulate does it agree with?" and mind you, in the passage, there was only one paragraph explaining koch's postulates. So, basically, the passage was vague as heck and the questions were so similar and hard that by the end, I almost cried. I kind of gave up for 30 seconds and just put my head down. I managed to finish in time, with 1 minute remaining for review but trust me, I was battling against time. I don't know how I scored the 20 cuz when I finished, i thought I got like a 15. It was because of the prayers.
Top Score (1, 2, 3). 20,21,23. Topscore was search and destroy and for me, it was NOTHING like the real dat. So don't rely too much on topscore.
CD Reading (1, 2, 3, 4): 19,18,20,19. CD reading has a lot more tone questions but even this did not have the comparison of statements and postulate crap. Seriously, the reading busted my knees.

Quantitative Reasoning: DAT destroyer math section, CDMath, and Topscore.
I spend about 2 weeks on this section. I reviewed all the baby math that I forgot. I am amazing at algebra so I that wasn't my weakness. My weakness was word problems so I tried to learn as much as I could and then just skip them on the practice exams and try to do as much as I could because the easier questions are near the end on the practice AND on the real dat. CD math def helped me with the timing.
The real DAT: Math is more similar to topscore than CD Math but just my luck, I got 2 questions of analysis of trig graphs and finding the x's. If I didnt get those questions, I would've gotten the 18. Oh well. By the time I was on the math section, my confidence was shot (thanks to the reading) and I was almost brain dead. I would recommend that you practice timing and do math destroyer because I found out a little too late that it is better than the math part in dat destroyer. If you feel like you are running out of time, skip and get near the end. Usually questions 35-40 as easy as heck!!!
Top Score (1, 2, 3): 17,18,18
CD Math (forgot how many I took): 17s

PAT: CDP
I studied for PAT on and off for a month. Focusing on one section at a time and then finally taking full length PAT tests. I hated studying for it but I tried my best. I always scored 17s and 18s on the CDP tests.
PAT on the real DAT:
Holes: Harder. Much more dependent on proportions and the shapes are stupid and annoying. Not big and clear like on CDP.
TFE: Almost the same. The DAT had a lot of line counting questions and answers VERRYYYY similar to the other choices. On CDP, the questions were easier, at least for me because I was better at visualizing shapes that have stuff coming out rather than just figuring out the shape from just seeing a square with bunch of lines going across.
Angles: Easier by a little. Def practice and go with your gut feeling. Do the rapid eye movement for comparison and def focus on the answer choices. They help you figure out the answer faster.
Hole punches: OMG SO MUCH HARDER THAN CDP. I had about 7 questions with 5+ folds. WTFFFFFFFFFF. Everyone on here says that holes punches are much easier than CDP and similar to topscore. Well for me, I had only about 4 easy punches and the rest were so difficult that I was just depressed near the end. I have no advice for this. Just practice. Prepare for the worst. It's just luck .
Cubes: Much easier. Straight forward. Def spend a little extra time in making sure you count them right and try to get as much correct as you can on this section.
Folding: Same as CDP. I sucked at this and never had enough time so on the test, I only had about 8 minutes left. I did the questions that I thot were easier and then went back and Christmas treed in the 45 seconds I had left.
Overall, CDP did not prepare me well. The hole punches were so much harder. Just practice ALOTTT.

In conclusion, I studied for 30 days with a minimum of 3 hrs a day and maximum of 10 hrs. I only did the destroyer once. In comparison to other people, my scores aren't as high but I didn't study for 2 or 3 months either. Everyone used to tell me that these tests are just luck but now I believe it. If you go back and read the posts, 90% of the people say that reading and pat were easier. My test was unlike every other test I read about. It was everything that apparently WOULDN'T show up. But oh well. I was depressed for an hour or so but I came to terms with it. I am happy with my TS and AA. Oh and also, I had nervous insomnia the night before, so I took the test on 2 hrs of sleep. I do not mean to scare anyone but I am just honestly telling you guys, is is luck. You can prepare as much as you can but if you get screwed over like I did, well then..don't feel too bad. It wasn't you. It was just luck and if your scores aren't good enough, you can always retake it and leave it upto God.

Hope this helped. For those of you who know more than me, please let me know if a 16 PAT is terrible or my other scores will help me out. Thanks.

what do you mean by 90% cell respiration?
were they basic questions about the cell respiration?
or counting ATP, NADH...etc?
anything on the actual enzyme names??

No. Not on actual ezymes but just where do the processes take place. Or the role of ATP. Not hard. Dont' worry.

Whew, I was kinda freaking out. I'm taking mine on the 16th.

With your GPA and DAT scores, I wouldn't worry about the PAT score.
If you are really worried, call up the schools and see what they say.

If I were you, I would NOT retake this beast!

Originally Posted by jhc83

Whew, I was kinda freaking out. I'm taking mine on the 16th.

With your GPA and DAT scores, I wouldn't worry about the PAT score.
If you are really worried, call up the schools and see what they say.

If I were you, I would NOT retake this beast!

Thanks!!
Yeah the biology questions are not specific. I just wanted to point out that my topics were just concentrated. Not that I minded that. I was good at biology overall.

I say no to a retake.

Originally Posted by jeffity

I say no to a retake.

Really? I love my other scores but I am worried about the PAT.

I am not an expert on dental admission
but I think some schools have a cutline score which is 17
you might want to check with the schools that you are going to apply
and then decide whether to retake or not.

I think that you did well. You should try and apply with your scores. See what happens.

Alright. What do the rest of you guys think I should do?

Apply. 3.8 = In.

I made 19AA 19PAT my first time but my gpa is not 3.75.............lol for me it's an obvious RETAKE!

The national accepted average is 19AA 19PAT. I think 16 on PAT is low. I pretty sure you can get some interviews if you applied.

here is Texas statistic
15% matriculated with 16-17 PAT
35% matriculated with 3.75-40 GPA
38% matriculated with 19-20 AA

https://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/Fina...Y11-Dental.pdf

Well done. Congratulations.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

I think you did great! Yes, your pat is low, but your other sections are so consistent that maybe schools will see that and just realize you had a rough section. Happens...

dont worry your gpa is fine, and so is your dat....yes your pat is low, youll have to explain that, and show the admissions committee that you have excellent visual skills. you should be able to land an acceptance, God Willing.

Great scores....PAT however very low. First off, call in all the dental schools youre applying to and tell them your scores. If they are fine with the 16 then dont sweat it.

BUT my opinion is that you retake....I think that mos schools accept a 17 on the PAT but still advise you to get it about a 19. You dont want to risk applying with these DAT scores only. I would retake and report it to Dental Schools

Originally Posted by AllahIsGreater

dont worry your gpa is fine, and so is your dat....yes your pat is low, youll have to explain that, and show the admissions committee that you have excellent visual skills. you should be able to land an acceptance, God Willing.

Thank You. I had taken a pottery class and I specifically made pieces to show in my interviews. But I am worried that If I retake it, my application will be put in another category. I applied early so I would have the best chances. All the secondaries I got ask me to tell them whether I am going to retake it again (they haven't recieved my DATs yet). So I donno. I am very confused.

So I called a few dental schools and they all said the same thing. They said that they can't tell me whether or not I should retake it. Some schools have a cut at 15 and since all my scores are above 15, they said that it is up to me. If I do plan on retaking it, my app will be put on hold and it will be pushed back. I don't know what to do. Any advice?

Kanga...I received a 16 in pat and was able to land 8 interviews, 3 acceptances, and placed on the wait list for 3 schools.

During my interview, I was never asked about my PAT and I don't think this will affect you when applying to dental schools.

Originally Posted by Hope45

Kanga...I received a 16 in pat and was able to land 8 interviews, 3 acceptances, and placed on the wait list for 3 schools.

During my interview, I was never asked about my PAT and I don't think this will affect you when applying to dental schools.

Wow. Congrats!! Were your other scores super high?
And thanks. Your reply makes me feel better.
Also, does it help that I made some ceramic pieces that I plan on taking to my interviews?

I am also in a similar boat and have a 17 PAT. I dont know what went wrong as I was doing well on the practice. My computer was so high that I literally had to move up and down to see the angle and keyholes. Does anyone know which schools weigh heavy on PAT despite having a good AA. I am still applying with those scores and hoping it would be fine. Anyone else who got acceptances with low PAT last cycle?

I took the DAT about a month ago and got similar scores to you except a 16 in RC. I talked to some of the schools that I applied to and they said that math can sometimes be "somewhat" overlooked as long as the rest of the scores are solid. However, they look hard at TS, PAT, RC. From the schools that I talked to, at least a 17 is needed (19+ to be competitive).

Honestly, we are just a bunch of pre-dent students who don't really know much. Just call the schools and they will tell you straight up. It will clear the muddy waters more than asking us.

Good job overall though. If you retake, I suggest CDP and watch youtube video strategies. I used those and scored a 23 PAT. Now I have to focus on RC for my next attempt...ughhh.

Originally Posted by jhmcknight

I took the DAT about a month ago and got similar scores to you except a 16 in RC. I talked to some of the schools that I applied to and they said that math can sometimes be "somewhat" overlooked as long as the rest of the scores are solid. However, they look hard at TS, PAT, RC. From the schools that I talked to, at least a 17 is needed (19+ to be competitive).

Honestly, we are just a bunch of pre-dent students who don't really know much. Just call the schools and they will tell you straight up. It will clear the muddy waters more than asking us.

Good job overall though. If you retake, I suggest CDP and watch youtube video strategies. I used those and scored a 23 PAT. Now I have to focus on RC for my next attempt...ughhh.

I called a few schools and they said that they don't have a minimum and that they look at the application hollistically.

Originally Posted by rocky90

I am also in a similar boat and have a 17 PAT. I dont know what went wrong as I was doing well on the practice. My computer was so high that I literally had to move up and down to see the angle and keyholes. Does anyone know which schools weigh heavy on PAT despite having a good AA. I am still applying with those scores and hoping it would be fine. Anyone else who got acceptances with low PAT last cycle?

What are your other scores like? and how many schools are you applying to?