22AA, 22 TS, 21 PAT, but low scores in two subsections. Retake?

[thelilyhammer]

Howdy ya'll,

I took the DAT last week and walked away with:

BIO: 27
OC: 24
GC: 17
PA: 21
RC: 25
QR: 18
AA: 22
TS: 22

My emotions are conflicted as hell. On one end I'm pumped about the sections I did well in. On the other, I'm bummed and a bit frustrated about GC and QR. I absolutely could've done better in QR as the questions didn't seem all that hard. My best guess is I made dumb mistakes but frankly, I sort of saw a lower QR score coming. What I'm most frustrated about however is GC. I'm actually a decent chemistry student and I can't figure out what the hell I did to get a 17 in GC. I walked out of it wondering if I'd left a bunch of answers blank. My best guess is that I just made dumb mistakes as a result of nerves (I tackled GC first) and not practicing the fundamentals hard enough (I knew all about thermo, equilibrium, redox, etc but got a bunch of qualitative/conceptual questions I wasn't sure of).

Just about every doc/dental student I know said to not worry and that my AA/TS scores are competitive enough and that my stronger performance in the other sections could make up for it. If I had a solid GPA and more academic achievements, I'd agree but as it stands I'm academically questionable. Non-trad, a ton of dental experience, and an upward trend in remaining pre-reqs/retakes, but a lower GPA and an overall lack of upper level sciences. My hope was that a strong enough DAT would do some heavy lifting for me on my app, but now I'm unsure.

I feel that I should retake but was hoping to get some opinions from ya'll.

Thanks!

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[DAT Destroyer]

Hi Lily.

Congratulations! From previous post I see you are a non-traditional student and you had to put in hard work to obtain your scores and dental schools will like that. I know the 17 in GC is not what you wanted but I agree with what others have told you, your other scores offset that. Love your Bio and Orgo score, and the QR score if fine, most schools don't focus QR scores, 18 is good enough. 25 reading is what dental schools like to see.

I would not retake the DAT unless a school you really want to attend suggests you do so, but that is highly unlikely. If you get asked on an interview about the 17 in GC just be prepared with a good response.

Wishing you the best and hope something I said helps.

Nancy

 

[thelilyhammer]

Hi Lily.

Congratulations! From previous post I see you are a non-traditional student and you had to put in hard work to obtain your scores and dental schools will like that. I know the 17 in GC is not what you wanted but I agree with what others have told you, your other scores offset that. Love your Bio and Orgo score, and the QR score if fine, most schools don't focus QR scores, 18 is good enough. 25 reading is what dental schools like to see.

I would not retake the DAT unless a school you really want to attend suggests you do so, but that is highly unlikely. If you get asked on an interview about the 17 in GC just be prepared with a good response.

Wishing you the best and hope something I said helps.

Nancy

Hey Nancy! Thanks for the response and encouragement

I feel like I'm talking to a celebrity! I'm no stranger to you and Dr. Romano's videos, thank you for those!

I am hoping for the best this cycle!