AUG 27th DAT SCORES....advice and input please!!

koogrl · Aug 27, 2003

Hey Guys,
I just took the DAT today and thought it was the most horrible test.....Bio was a lot harder than TOPSCORE, in my opinion. I was scoring 18-19 on all sections on TOPSCORE, and then scored an AA of 19
RC 20
QR 19
Bio 16
O Chem 16
G Chem 23
and get this....PAT of 16
I applied to all the California schools in addition to Temple, Tuffs, Boston, NYU, and Columbia. My UCLA gpa is 3.14 and I have a lot of research and dental experience. What do you guys think??? I know the PAT score is horrible, if only it was a 17. 🙁
I want to retake the test, but you can't take it for another 3 months, correct?? That would be too late for this year. ANy advice?? Any input would be great guys. Thanks a lot.

Yah-E · Aug 27, 2003

Koogrl:

Great job tackling the DAT today. With your 19/16 DAT, you may have some bumps on the road. In conjunction with your middle tier GPA, your DAT scores may not be high enough. Scores of 16s lights up a lot of red lights.

It's September now, taking your second DAT in January is not too late. I took my DAT on January 2, 2002 and I was applying for the 2002 entering class.

Took the DAT on January 2, 2002
Matriculated into a dental on August 11, 2002

Retake the exam if you're worried. 19 AA is a respectiful score, it's your 16s that may hunt you.

Good luck.

PERFECT3434 · Aug 27, 2003

Koogrl,

i don't think that it'll be too late for you to take the DAT over again. with your 3.14 GPA from UCLA and taking the DAT again and making sure you get 17s or 18s you will be fine.
just out of curiosity, what happened to you when it came to O Chem?

i find it very hard to believe that someone do soooo well on G chem and not as well in O Chem. Have you taken Ochem class?

serina · Aug 27, 2003

Hi,

I'm in a similar situation as Koogrl. I took the DAT yesterday and have been thinking if I should retake it. I got the following scores: AA 18, PAT 17, QRT 16 : ( , Reading 18, Bio 19,
G-chem 21, o-chem 18, Science 20. Like Koogrl said, Bio was hard and I had many unfamiliar questions. I prepared myself really well in Bio and was expecting above 20. I have an overall gpa of 3.3 and have applied to all the california schools, boston, nyu, case, penn, UW, nova, unlv, temple, pittsburgh, meharry, howard and detroit. What do you guys think? Thanks for your feedback in advance.

Good luck to all who haven't taken the DAT yet.

rsweeney · Aug 27, 2003

911 "Someone has been hijacked."😉 😉 😉 😉

PERFECT3434 · Aug 28, 2003

Hi Serina,

1st of all, i really think you should relax, sit back, and feel proud of yourself.

2nd, you aren't in the same position as Koogrl. your scores are all good except for QR, but if you check the schools most schools rank QR as 3 (1 lowest and 9 highest) when it comes to the level of importance. with that said, i think that its not gonna even matter if you got a 16 or 15 in QR since your GPA is above 3.00.

i also think that you have applied to the right schools and from now on you should only be thinking about secondaries and nothing else.

i highly doubt that you'll have to retake the DAT. Besides its way too early to tell, and if you don't get secondaries or interview by mid oct then you can think about retaking the DAT. again seriously your scores are very good so relax and enjoy yourself for a while.

good luck!

serina · Aug 28, 2003

Hi Perfect3434,

Thanks for your feedback. It helped me feel better. Btw, Congrats on getting good scores. : )

I have already sent secondaries to ucsf, Upenn, nova, meharry, temple, unlv and ucla. Do you know how long it takes for the ADA to send out the scores to schools?

Thanks

PERFECT3434 · Aug 29, 2003

Serina,

i think it takes about 2-3 weeks for the schools to receive your score. i strongly recommend you to fax your scores to the schools you are applying to. this way they will have something to go by and your app will be reviewed faster.

i know some schools say that you don't have to fax them, but trust me, just go ahead and fax all the schools that you are applying to.

as far as my scores go,my scores aren't really better than yours. i got a 15 on RC and have just a little higher scores in some sections. i don't think that you and i have to retake it and it is way too early to be thinking about retaking the DAT anyways.

good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

PERFECT3434 · Aug 29, 2003

serina,

its so funny i have sent secondaries to the same exact schools as you have plus indiana. i hope we hear from them soon.

serina · Aug 29, 2003

Perfect,

I pm'ed you.

sunny2004 · Aug 29, 2003

It seems that all who took DAT on 27th had hard time
I also took it on 27th, and the bio was hard.
as perfect 3434 said, probably wait till what the school says about the score.
I have a question to serina.
did you get the secondary application from temple even though your DAT score was not there yet?
I didn't hear any from Temple yet.

serina · Aug 29, 2003

Hey Sunny,

Yea I got the secondary from Temple before I took the DAT. They have the simplest application, they just asked to fill in my name and mailing address and submit $30 for processing the application : ) Don't worry, you'll be getting it in mail pretty soon. I submitted my AADSAS application early (May). I think it would be a good idea to contact the school and ask them when they're going to send you the secondary.

Hope this helps!
Good luck

grettlin2 · Aug 29, 2003

Hi serina,
Does the Temple secondary come with interview invite? If yes, do you receive other interviews from other schools?

NewNameForGoogleBot · Aug 30, 2003

WOAH!! This thread is all over the place.

With regards to retaking the DAT - as a sort of blanket statement I would venture that if you have a GPA over 3.3-3.4, a DAT of 18/18 or so should guarantee you at least one acceptance in most cases. If you are around a 3.0 to 3.3, I would say you need a 20/19 or better to guarantee an acceptance. Please understand that I use the word "guarantee" VERY loosely.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with giving yourself some generous margins or having a shot at a competitive school or your top choice. So, If you want more security in your app, sign up for another DAT. If you are comfortable with my "bare minimums" then don't.

serina · Aug 30, 2003

Hi grettlin,

No, the temple secondary didn't come with an interview invite. I didn't get any interview invites yet. The schools have been waiting for my DAT scores, I think. Since my file is not complete, I'm not expecting any invites yet. I really hope I get them soon in the near future.

Btw, congrats on your great scores. Great job in the QRT.

Good luck to you 🙂

grettlin2 · Aug 30, 2003

Hi serina. I just would like to know what schools start interviewing applicants. So, I can get the idea if I am behind or I should follow up my files. Thanks for the reply! 🙂

ItsGavinC · Aug 31, 2003

My honest advice is that you are going to have problems with a 3.14 GPA and a 19/16 DAT.

That 19 is respectable (nice job!), but the subscores that are used to compile that are somewhat low (those 16s).

The GPA is not impressive in the realm of dental applicants, but is something you should be proud of overall in the world of college academics.

Your success will come down to the schools you've chosen.

Wrong schools will get you nulch, good schools will get you several acceptances.

I'd say your best shot is with NYU, Temple, and Tufts. Though, you never can tell.

AUG 27th DAT SCORES....advice and input please!!

koogrl

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Yah-E

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PERFECT3434

serina

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rsweeney

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PERFECT3434

serina

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PERFECT3434

PERFECT3434

serina

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sunny2004

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serina

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grettlin2

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serina

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grettlin2

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ItsGavinC

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