Took DAT today...advice please!!!

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Kelly421

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Hey guys! Just took the DAT today and here is my score:

PAT: 24
QR: 18
RC: 22
BIO: 21
GCHEM: 19
OCHEM: 25
TS: 21
AA: 21

My GPA is 3.7

I am a little worried about my QR score. I am unsure of where to apply or where I fit in the applicant pool. If you have any suggestions about schools to apply to, whether my QR is going to bring me down, etc. I would greatly appreciate them!!


For those that are still waiting to take the DAT, if you would like to hear about my DAT experience, here it is:

Science Sections: Bio section was way less random than the Topscore tests I took. Chem, very calculation based, similar to Topscore. Ochem, Easier than I had expected. More focus on properties of compunds, but still had questions about reactions.

PAT: Similar, but I thought the hole punching questions were more complicated and last section was more about predicting the overall 3D shape than matching the correct pattern/color to each side. I used the first 8 CDP tests for prep and think they help a lot!

Reading Comp: I found that it was best to read the passage and go for understanding than frantically read through the passage and then go back and search for the answer. There weren't as obvious lists (ie. smoking, high cholesterol, and hypertension are risk factors for coronary artery disease) and so it took more of an overall understanding to find the answer. Topics though, are similar to those on Topscore.

Quantitative Reasoning: This is my worst section. I don't really have any good advice for it. I am always down to the wire on this section.

Good luck to all!
 
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your scores are really good. Don't worry about that 18. QR is given the least consideration by adcoms. and 18 is still above average so I don't think you should have any problems with that GPA. Congrats again!
 
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Kelly421 said:
Hey guys! Just took the DAT today and here is my score:

PAT: 24
QR: 18
RC: 22
BIO: 21
GCHEM: 19
OCHEM: 25
TS: 21
AA: 21

My GPA is 3.7

I am a little worried about my QR score. I am unsure of where to apply or where I fit in the applicant pool. If you have any suggestions about schools to apply to, whether my QR is going to bring me down, etc. I would greatly appreciate them!!


For those that are still waiting to take the DAT, if you would like to hear about my DAT experience, here it is:

Science Sections: Bio section was way less random than the Topscore tests I took. Chem, very calculation based, similar to Topscore. Ochem, Easier than I had expected. More focus on properties of compunds, but still had questions about reactions.

PAT: Similar, but I thought the hole punching questions were more complicated and last section was more about predicting the overall 3D shape than matching the correct pattern/color to each side. I used the first 8 CDP tests for prep and think they help a lot!

Reading Comp: I found that it was best to read the passage and go for understanding than frantically read through the passage and then go back and search for the answer. There weren't as obvious lists (ie. smoking, high cholesterol, and hypertension are risk factors for coronary artery disease) and so it took more of an overall understanding to find the answer. Topics though, are similar to those on Topscore.

Quantitative Reasoning: This is my worst section. I don't really have any good advice for it. I am always down to the wire on this section.

Good luck to all!
Click to expand...

Nice score!! Can you put your practice tests' score?( Topscore or Achiever...or Kaplan..) Good job!
 
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These are amazing scores! I agree with iwannabadentist and wouldn't worry about the QR either... Now, could you share your wisdom with us still preparing for it? What did you use for practices? Especially for OChem and Bio?
 
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awesome job. hard work pays off.

you know where you stand in the applicant pool (don't kid yourself). your score report should tell you that you AA and TS are in 91.5% and 92.4%. My 21 on the PAT was a 93.9%, so your 24 must be +98%.

congrats on your acceptance into ds (as long as you don't screw up the application).
 
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Hey guys, thanks for all of your feedback. I'm not trying to be facetious about my scores. I am just asking advice because the dental school admissions process is new to me and I really don't even know where to start or what schools to look at.

To answer some of your questions:

I used Topscore for practice tests, here are my scores for that:

Bio/chem/ochem/pat/rc/qr

1:19/18/16/21/25/19
2:17/20/19/24/29/21
3:18/19/18/22/22/20

My scores were really all over the place. I think I got lucky with OChem, maybe they happened to ask me the stuff I knew. And Bio seemed way less random to me. Not so much about Calvin Cycle, random genetic disorders, or evolutionary theories. I was really worried about taxonomy and there was 1-2 easy questions of that on the real thing. Also, I wasn't all that impressed with Topscore's software but I used it because it was recommended on SDN as a good comparison to the real thing.

Needless to say, I don't think I am a DAT expert or that I should be giving out study advice so I just have to put that disclaimer out there. But I can tell you what I used to study...take it as you will. I studied for about 2 months.

For science sections: I used my old Princeton Review MCAT books from 2007, BIO cliff notes for ecology, taxonomy, etc., and I used the outline that Topscore provided with their tests (I don't know if they still do this... I think you might have to pay $10 for it or something.) I have also taken lots of UD classes like genetics, 1yr biochem, developmental bio, physio, and cell biology.

For PAT: 100% CDP. My scores ranged a lot from 21-25. The first time through, I gave myself unlimited time (it took me 2-2.5 hrs) just so that I could figure out strategies and understand how to approach the problems.

Reading Comp: I used Exam Krackers. But the actual DAT uses different topics than Exam Krackers, so I don't know if this is helpful.

QR: Definitely my weakest subject. I felt ill-prepared with this one. I probably should have used CDP Math. I just took the Topscore tests to find out what I didn't know and then tried to learn the formulas.

When I went into the DAT, I thought that there was going to be all sorts of random science questions on there. I think the good news is that I was pleasantly surprised that the questions were rather reasonable. I hope that you guys all have the same experience. Good luck! (Sorry this is so long)
 
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purplepanda said:
How long would you say you seriously sat down and studied? Thank you and good luck!
Click to expand...

I would say I studied between 2-4 hrs/day for the first month. Then 4-6hrs/day for the second month. And then probably 6-10 hrs/day for the last 2 weeks. There were also a few days that I didn't do any studying.

Good luck to you!
 
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Kelly421 said:
Hey guys! Just took the DAT today and here is my score:

PAT: 24
QR: 18
RC: 22
BIO: 21
GCHEM: 19
OCHEM: 25
TS: 21
AA: 21

My GPA is 3.7

I am a little worried about my QR score. I am unsure of where to apply or where I fit in the applicant pool. If you have any suggestions about schools to apply to, whether my QR is going to bring me down, etc. I would greatly appreciate them!!


For those that are still waiting to take the DAT, if you would like to hear about my DAT experience, here it is:

Science Sections: Bio section was way less random than the Topscore tests I took. Chem, very calculation based, similar to Topscore. Ochem, Easier than I had expected. More focus on properties of compunds, but still had questions about reactions.

PAT: Similar, but I thought the hole punching questions were more complicated and last section was more about predicting the overall 3D shape than matching the correct pattern/color to each side. I used the first 8 CDP tests for prep and think they help a lot!

Reading Comp: I found that it was best to read the passage and go for understanding than frantically read through the passage and then go back and search for the answer. There weren't as obvious lists (ie. smoking, high cholesterol, and hypertension are risk factors for coronary artery disease) and so it took more of an overall understanding to find the answer. Topics though, are similar to those on Topscore.

Quantitative Reasoning: This is my worst section. I don't really have any good advice for it. I am always down to the wire on this section.

Good luck to all!
Click to expand...

Congrats!!!
But pre-med??
 
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Congrats! Good GPA and good & consistent DAT scores. I don't think adcoms really care about qr that much, and 18 is not bad. Unless you are international, I guess you are going to be competitive in most of the dental schools. Good Luck!
 
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Jongho Yoon said:
Congrats! Good GPA and good & consistent DAT scores. I don't think adcoms really care about qr that much, and 18 is not bad. Unless you are international, I guess you are going to be competitive in most of the dental schools. Good Luck!
Click to expand...


Thanks for your feedback. I am new to this whole dental admissions process, so I am trying to find out everything about it in the next few weeks before applying. I am from CA and went to school here, so ideally I would like to stay here.
 
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Wow, those are great scores! I have 2 months before mine, and I really hope I can do as well as you, and hopefully stay in california too. I'm just kind of freaked out about bio and reading comp.
 
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Kelly421 said:
Hey guys! Just took the DAT today and here is my score:

PAT: 24
QR: 18
RC: 22
BIO: 21
GCHEM: 19
OCHEM: 25
TS: 21
AA: 21

My GPA is 3.7

I am a little worried about my QR score. I am unsure of where to apply or where I fit in the applicant pool. If you have any suggestions about schools to apply to, whether my QR is going to bring me down, etc. I would greatly appreciate them!!


For those that are still waiting to take the DAT, if you would like to hear about my DAT experience, here it is:

Science Sections: Bio section was way less random than the Topscore tests I took. Chem, very calculation based, similar to Topscore. Ochem, Easier than I had expected. More focus on properties of compunds, but still had questions about reactions.

PAT: Similar, but I thought the hole punching questions were more complicated and last section was more about predicting the overall 3D shape than matching the correct pattern/color to each side. I used the first 8 CDP tests for prep and think they help a lot!

Reading Comp: I found that it was best to read the passage and go for understanding than frantically read through the passage and then go back and search for the answer. There weren't as obvious lists (ie. smoking, high cholesterol, and hypertension are risk factors for coronary artery disease) and so it took more of an overall understanding to find the answer. Topics though, are similar to those on Topscore.

Quantitative Reasoning: This is my worst section. I don't really have any good advice for it. I am always down to the wire on this section.

Good luck to all!
Click to expand...

You have NOTHING to worry about. Don't worry, I am pretty sure you're gonna get interviews left and right
 
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