DAT done 9/14 the horrific news

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danbarr

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well!!!! I was hoping to post a different kind of thread but unfortunately it seem like nothing in my life is easy and i have accepted it. I went the 14th to take my test at the promeric center with about 100 peple's positive energy , cheering for me, co'workers, friends,family, etc it still wasn't enough.
this is my second time taking the dat my first time the scores were
RC 16
PAT 16
GC 11
OC10
Bio 12
QR 10

I have studied for about 5 months quit my fulltime job and have been living off my credit cards for the past 5 months in order to be able to study for this F###ing exam and here are my results
RC16
PAT 18
OC 19
GC 16
BIO 16
QR 10
AA 15

needless to say I didn't know if I wanted to cry or laugh or what,

RC didn't think I did this bad I didn't get too many of those "tone questions" finished with time to spare......no clue what happened......achiever,kaplan, covered this section well in my case

QR I have no comment

OC very straight forward......please people DON'T OVER DO IT IN THIS SECTION , I think this was my mistake, I spend a whole month just on organic and there is no need because the questions are very , very , very easy....don't let anybody tell you otherwise....simple rxn, basic concepts, SN1,SN2,E1, E2, kaplan and topscore, were on the money, achiever was defenetely an overkill for this section.....but if you can get it the more tests the marrier

GC dont know what the hell!! I'm so mad about my score in this section because, very conceptual, few calcs, I was very confident doing this section, did not expect the score I got in this section, I did kaplan,topscore, againg achiever to me was way harder than the real deal in this section, I don't know why why why why why!!!!!! okay i gotta keep my cool because the best part is yet to come

BIOLOGY: okay people get ready for this..........NO STUDY GUIDE OUT THERE, I MEAN NO GUIDE AT ALL, AT LEAST IN MY CASE WILL HELP YOU IN THIS SECTION. I knew my A&P backwards and forwards, blood flow, hormones, kingdoms, ecology, genetics, you name it i memorized it......out of 40 questions in the exam only about 10-13 I had seen before in some sort of study guide...............the rumors are 100% true, FRAP, histology, dolly the sheep, it's all true. I did everything in kaplan ,topscore,achiever it wasn't enough, this is the only section i don't feel bad about my score because I honestly thought I was gonna get a 10 in this section......so can't complaint with a 16......I mean we all knew crazy questions were popping here and there is just that i didn't think there were going to be so many crazy questions, memorizing is not enough for this section people, you have to apply the knoledge you've learned and apply it to some critical thinking questions and for someone like me who takes bad standarized test this section relly killed me.......anyways to brighter things

PAT: achiever is was harder than the real thing , don't overdo this section .......and only for this section throw topscore in the gargage......it will not help you at all in this section........if you do well on achiever you will do well on the test.........nothing too crazy to say about this section just practice , practice , practice........

things get really though for me now after my horrific DAT scores.......I really though the second time was gonna be the charm............I just started a masters program so schools can see that i'm building up my applications since my GPA is 2.9 right now the classes i'm taking are really hard upper lever classes so combining that with a DAT retake is gonna be a pain in the rear end.......I'm going to apply anyways and let them know I'm in a masters program and I will probably retake early january.......but eventhough i'm a minority and have been working full time as a dental assistant for the past 10 years I doubt anybody will call me with those DAT scores.......so the dat race begins again............wish me luck!!!......oh yeah I forgot does anybody have any other tool or study guide idea for biology/genchem??? I haven't tried destroyer maybe I should get it???? it's just so expensive......anyways let me know if you guys have a better way to do the bio and gen chem sectiosn

ps. this thread wasn't meant to scare anybody about the DAT, if anything you have to go to the exam with a positive attitute, I just wanted to post my experience so It can better enhance yours.........study hard.......and wish everybody the best of luck.......I hope all of you guys reach your goals......I'llbe around for the next couple months so I let you know how it went the third time.........chao
 
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Hi, the same happened to me
QR 11
PAT 16
BIO 15
quem 17
RC 15
OC 15
AA 15
I already bought the destroyer because of the good critics
It is strange that this is the only forum where it is recommended
I'm planning to retake the test on November
😱😱😱😱😱😱
 
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i'll retake on january i think i have to wait 3 months....oh well.......i'm buying destroyer too......well see what happens
 
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Keep going on and try again
hope you can do better next time
....hoping the same for me.....
concentrate on your goal...
keep working for it...
don't freak about it....
don't wait too long to retake the exam...
2 strikes no outs😀
😱😱
 
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Sorry! I know how you feel, sounds like we had the same test. I studied my but off and didnt perform like I should have.17/18/18. Some of us just are not good standerdized test takers but would make good dentists. Dont get to down and dont give up.
 
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thanks for your encouragement guys......i'm not giving up i'm giving it one last shot on january with more studying and hopefully I'll do better.........I think I know what I need to do now............hopefully
 
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the same thing happened to me on friday...damn and i have been studying forever....But i'm ready to do it all over again for december to make it for this cycle. honestly i still think we all did goog, even though our scores are low at least we know what is all about...so we can do it the second time, and we won't be scared to bomb it since we already did. STAY UP! DON'T QUIT!! we all will still be AWESOME dentists...Persistance is the key!
 
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Don't get discouraged, you went up so much from the first time you took the test! You only need a few more points and now you know what to focus on... don't worry. I take mine next Saturday and I'm expecting similar results to yours after everything I've read on here and heard from people... but who knows... just hoping for the best!
 
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realistically speaking, after studying full time for 5 months and 15 AA is all you could come up with? what went wrong? Did you utilize your time effectively?
How many hours were you studying in a day and how much were you covering each day? I'm not trying to offend you in any way but 5 months is a long time. In fact its more than enough time that anyone should need in order to prepare for this test. And living on credits cards isnt exactly the best thing either.
If you couldnt make it while studying full time for 5 months do you think another retake will make a difference? Before you do another retake, I think you should sit and evaluate what you are doing wrong while studying. good luck to you
 
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I second the previous post. 5 months is more than enough time for this test. Five months of intense studying should produce at least a 20AA. Good test taker....bad test taker it doesnt matter. I had to take the test 3 times before I made competitive scores, but I also had to buckle down and study. I was one of those people who fooled myself into thinking that I was stuyding soooo much, and that my bad scores were because I was a bad test taker. In reality it was just because I didnt study like I should have. I'm not trying to be harsh.......sometimes you need to sit down and evaluate your study habits and decided how bad you want to go to dental school. I know after I made a 17AA on my second test I had to have a real heart to heart with myself and decide if I really wanted it.
 
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I appreciate all your comments and I don't feel offended by any of them.......i was studying about 8 hours a day monday thru friday.......I think my problem was I spend too much time going over the wrong things.....and I think I should of expanded my horizons with bio especially , it's just that I though going over kaplan, achiever ,topscore would be enough.....i was wrong.....also i think I went over things i already knew too many time like for example orgo.....overkill.........now i know I have to focus on gen quem/bio/QR the most.......I think I can improve........thanks for all your comments
 
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Did you find the bio very in-depth? (ie. What are the prosthetic groups attached to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex) or just very broad (covers everything)?
 
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danbarr said:
I appreciate all your comments and I don't feel offended by any of them.......i was studying about 8 hours a day monday thru friday.......I think my problem was I spend too much time going over the wrong things.....and I think I should of expanded my horizons with bio especially , it's just that I though going over kaplan, achiever ,topscore would be enough.....i was wrong.....also i think I went over things i already knew too many time like for example orgo.....overkill.........now i know I have to focus on gen quem/bio/QR the most.......I think I can improve........thanks for all your comments
Click to expand...

Have you taken the Kaplan class? I know people say its a waste of money, but it sounds like you may just need some test taking strategy.
 
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donsaxena said:
u clearly dont have a solid understanding of the material. try to read some of ur old textbooks to form a more solid foundation of knowledge. u also should focus on how u study. try a different strategy. good luck
Click to expand...

QFT

If you take the time to truly understand the material, it REALLY cuts down on studying time (at least for me). Make sure you've got a solid grasp of the concepts and are not merely memorizing.
 
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Hi! I just want to give u some words " Don't give up. It's not the end of the world"
I think u should study bio, gchem, ochem from ur old textbooks. All kinds of test are just preferences. and u try to understand the concept instead of memorizing. Anyway, dun be so upset! Gud luck to u all.
 
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Danbarr,
I have to agree with the other responses that you need a serious evaluation of your study methods because 8 hours a day for 5 months is serious over-kill. I am trying to be helpful, not offensive.

Throughout your 5 months, how often and how many times did you take a full practice test from beginning to end? I'm assuming that you did a full test at least once month. If so, you should have seen that your numbers were in the mid teens. If so, you should have been only studying the questions you were missing, and trying to figure out "what do I need to do to figure out this question in 30 seconds."

If you were taking full practice tests, and they were all in the mid teens, then you shouldn't have retaken the test. At that point, you need to hire a personal tutor. I know that tutors cost a fortune, but so does not working for 5 months and living off credit cards, and possibly delaying dental school for another year.

The major benefit of a personal tutor is that he or she can tell you why you are having reoccurring problems, and how to fix them quick. Plus, the tutor can show you how to quickly solve problems, especially in quantitative. Your QR score of 10 & 11 clearly shows that you never understood the word and algebra problems in a way that allows you to understand and master the "tricks" that are needed to nail the questions in 30 seconds. The ability to nail the questions in 30 seconds is key.

Definitely take the test one more time, but please contact either DAT tutor or reach out to someone you know who scored well on the DAT and discuss the types of questions that you repeatily miss.
 
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thanks for all your help guys....i'm not taking anything to heart........I'll do my best next time.......
 
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As far as working goes, why dont you work part time, and study part time? Studying in large blocks of time is really a waste. There is no way to maintain 100% focus during 8 hrs of study. Work some here, study some there, but be consistent about it. You get MUCH more out of studying for 2-3 hrs a day than trying to do nothing but study for 5 months. You end up daydreaming or getting sidetracked and burned out. This way you'll have $$ and be spending *quality* time studying.
 
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