Retake?!

[mathkitten]

I took my DAT this morning for the second time and everything went well... Except for QR

Should I retake it?
PAT 20
QR 16
RC 20
BIO 23
GC 21
OC 19
TS 21
AA 20

cGPA 3.43
sGPA 3.39

HELP FREAKING OUT

Super frustrated cause I was literally scoring 19-21 on all my QR practice tests, and I would take one every other day for a month and a half... I honestly don't even know how that happened. I got the exact same ugly 16 on QR the first time I took the DAT too. But everything else went up. I'm a CA native and I really don't want to go out of state for dental school... Am I totally screwed?

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[LFA20]

I took my DAT this morning for the second time and everything went well... Except for QR

Should I retake it?
PAT 20
QR 16
RC 20
BIO 23
GC 21
OC 19
TS 21
AA 20

cGPA 3.43
sGPA 3.39

HELP FREAKING OUT

Super frustrated cause I was literally scoring 19-21 on all my QR practice tests, and I would take one every other day for a month and a half... I honestly don't even know how that happened. I got the exact same ugly 16 on QR the first time I took the DAT too. But everything else went up. I'm a CA native and I really don't want to go out of state for dental school... Am I totally screwed?

Hell no. Stop drinking SDN kool-aid

 

[customx]

QR is a bit low. Be sure to check the cutoffs for the school's you want to apply to. The rest of your scores look good and your AA and TS scores make you a very competitive applicant. Good job!

 

[Meat Gyver]

If it makes you feel better, most school don't give much priority to QR scores anyways. Some interviewers flat out told me that their school doesn't care, and others never even brought it up.

 

[kingenamel]

QR is probably considered the least important score in the DAT exam. All of your other sections look pretty solid. I know that some schools have cut offs at 17 for certain sections but it entirely depends on the school and you can usually find that stuff out on their website. I don't think you are out of the game for Californian schools but it really depends on which one you are specifically looking at. Some of the CA schools list the cut offs on their site as well:

UCSF: All applicants must have minimum DAT scores of 17 in the Total Science and Academic Average sections; however competitive applicants usually have scores greater or equal to 20 in all or most areas.

USC: Applicants must obtain a minimum score of 15 for each DAT category. If you have taken the exam more than once, the Admissions Committee will consider the most current scores.

http://dentistry.ucsf.edu/admission...d-questions-faqs#Dental_Admission_Test__DAT__
https://dentistry.usc.edu/programs/dds/faq/

 

[emitpeels]

Your scores are pretty good. I wouldn't freak out. Could you please post a breakdown relating the study materials used to the actual test? Thanks. Also... I'm not very good at QR and I will be retaking as well. What would you have done differently to improve your QR score?

 

[Dotoday]

I think you are good, depending on where you want to go. Some schools require higher scores. Some do not. You can apply this cycle and retake later just in case.

 

[ModifiedBass]

First of all, sorry but I find it somewhat ironic that your name is mathkitten and your issue is in QR. Just had to get that off my chest.

Anywho, I think you should be fine considering there are plenty of schools in CA. Your GPAs are only just barely below average, and your AA of 20 is right on average. If you have strong ECs/volunteering/LORs/etc. I think you should be able to get interviews at a few CA schools.

 

[mathkitten]

.

 

[Member 6236]

So I assume you didn't get the piano passage haha?

 

[mathkitten]

So I assume you didn't get the piano passage haha?

No piano passage! Haha. It was about like lasers and photons or something really not interesting

 

[ichoai]

were you able to search and destroy? or was it a lot of tone questions?

 

[mathkitten]

were you able to search and destroy? or was it a lot of tone questions?

No I read all the passages. I personally couldn't do search and destroy cause it would make me anxious and make me feel like I'm missing something important. And I definitely wouldn't have been able to do search and destroy on the last passage about lasers cause it was super dense with names and numbers.

 

[Member 6236]

Good to hear!

What did you think about the sciences? Did chad cover everything well enough? Or do you think other resources helped more?

 

[mathkitten]

Good to hear!

What did you think about the sciences? Did chad cover everything well enough? Or do you think other resources helped more?

Yeah I basically tried to memorize every word Chad said... Haha. And I seriously thought I got every question right in O Chem so I was surprised to see a 19. That was my only resource O Chem and Gen Chem and I felt really comfortable taking practice tests with everything I learned from his videos. For bio I used Cliffs and I supplemented it with Kaplan. Then I downloaded Ferali's notes (which I loved) and Alan's notes.

 

[kingenamel]

No piano passage! Haha. It was about like lasers and photons or something really not interesting

Im pretty sure we had the same laser reading, it was pretty annoying lol --lots of technical names I did not really care too much for