perfect DAT score?

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dentistinacan

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This may sound silly, but how hard is it to get a near perfect DAT score? Ill be taking it this summer most likely and am curious...also someone posted the avg DAT acceptance score of b/w 16-18? This looks REALLY low!
 
A perfect DAT score, as in a 30 on all sections is like winning the lottery. The best score i have ever seen was posted by a guy in the DAt discussions lounge. he made a 28AA 😱
 
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It is certainly possible to do close to perfect. Here are my scores:

Academic 28
Perceptual 20
Quantitative 25
Reading 29
Biology 26
Chemistry 29
Organic 29
Total Science 29

I don't think I missed any questions in chem, ochem, and reading, which leads me to believe the highest score you can actually get is a 29, not a 30. That being said, I think it is possible to get a 29 in chem and ochem if you really want it. The chem topics are quite straightforward and if you learn them all...it's possible. Ochem as well, since it is rather basic topics and everything is multiple choice which makes it easier.

Biology just has too much information to really be able to prepare for a perfect score, but I'm sure it's been done by someone on a lucky day. Reading I got lucky, but you can prepare to get at least mid 20s. Math should be possible if you really go crazy with it, but it is very fast and a little tricky here and there. There is no way to score perfect on the PAT in my opinion, the angles alone will put you out of the running.

That being said, I wouldn't go crazy with the DAT. I studied about 3 weeks 2hrs a day and then a month 5 hrs a day. I wouldn't put tons of time into the test just to get a crazy score. It doesn't hurt, but I don't think it helps me any more than a 22 or 24 would have.
 
(Name changed due to google saying it was derogatory),

Those scores are out of this world!!
As for the poster, I agree with (name changed), you do not need to get perfect score to have a perfect performance. What I mean by that is a score of 24 on TS is in the 0.2% in the nation. A highly obtainable 21 in AA is already in the top 3% of the nation, which is above the second standard Deviation.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but obtaining a 29 on Organic Chemistry, is that possible? I though the highest score for Ochem was 27, and a lot of other sections had the same upper limit due to the scaling. Please if someone has the information about the absolute top score, can you post them.

In the Kaplan book it shows the highest possible score for GC is 28. I understand that the quality of test takers change the so do the scales.

To the poster,

Please do not be mislead into thinking the DAT is easy. It is a test designed to separate and differentiate people. Obvious others, such as (name changed), may have a easier time preparing for the test. My advice is to start studying early. This will give you time to prepare and time to know when you are ready. The best thing to do is to take the test when you know you are ready.
 
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I got a 26 on my QR and it said it's 99%, so I guess you can get a higher score than 26, I think that that section was the only reason why I scored fairly high on the DAT, but to be honest, I don't understand why I only got a 26 on it, I felt and I'm almost positive that I got every question right on the test for the QR section. On the other hand, I only got a 18 on the PAT section and I was suprised I even got that score, for some reason, I wasn't able to see even one angle/shape or anything of that sort, I was totally clueless to many of the questions (especially the front/back/end side that just drove me nuts during the test, I thought the test makers were trying to drive me insane and play with my head the whole time. Again though, I think that any score above 18-19 is very respectable and as long as you have a solid GPA, you should be fine with most schools, having said that though, you should always strive for the best score you can get...good luck
 
I get 30 in QR with 100%. So, it depends on section to section.
 
That's cool, I've never heard of a 30 before - good job!

Thaxil: These are my official scores, so yes a 29 is possible.

BTW, I think the whole grading scale on the DAT is screwed up. They clump together everyone in the middle and then have very high resolution on the outliers. I probably only got 2 more questions right per section than someone with a 23, yet my scores are much higher. I would imagine that dental schools would want to seperate out everyone and get a better resolution on the range where everyone seems to score. Anyways...
 
Another thing - those percentiles are VERY rough estimates of your performance. I wouldn't put too much stock in them, just worry about what score you get. Everyone seems to get different percentiles for the same scores, and I don't even know if the schools see those percentiles. I got 100.0 percentile on Academic Average, Reading, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Total Science. This is pretty much an arbitrary number in my opinion, but it does let me know I did very well.
 
just wondering (name changed), what school r u at/or planning to attend?
 
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The test in general is not hard. It takes time to preprare you should get above 20. However to get absolute score is nearly imposible. Here and there are questions that are out of no where. I think test makers don't want you to answer them correctly. They use these kind of questions to seperate who is the top and who aren't. Otherwise everybody gets 100%.
 
Originally posted by Thaxil

Forgive me if I am wrong, but obtaining a 29 on Organic Chemistry, is that possible? I though the highest score for Ochem was 27, and a lot of other sections had the same upper limit due to the scaling. Please if someone has the information about the absolute top score, can you post them.
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I got a 29 in ochem. C'est possible!!
 
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Some tests are graded differently. Some will have a max of 29 while other versions can have 30. (name changed) most likely didn't miss one in ochem or gchem because his score would be like a 26 or less something like that. When you're that high it probably doesn't make any difference if you have a 27 or 29 or 30. Schools know you probably got a perfect section. Scoring that high would be awesome cause it helps you so much for schools apps
 
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Bumping a 14 year old thread to tell us your DAT scores again, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
 
Since we're on this topic, does anyone know how old the oldest thread on SDN is?
 
#cariology said:
Whenever I read old SDN posts, it feels like walking through a ghost town or reading journals and diaries from the past. I'm always curious where everyone ended up.
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NewNameForGoogleBot here. Followed a link on DT to another thread here and saw notifications about this ancient thread. Orthodontist, late thirties, 2 kids, student loans paid off 😉 Good luck ya'll and be careful with those student loans. Dentistry is a lot of fun, but you have to play your cards right or you can end up in a tough situation.
 
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NewNameForGoogleBot here. Followed a link on DT to another thread here and saw notifications about this ancient thread. Orthodontist, late thirties, 2 kids, student loans paid off 😉 Good luck ya'll and be careful with those student loans. Dentistry is a lot of fun, but you have to play your cards right or you can end up in a tough situation.
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Bro for the time those scores must have been the highest the schools had ever seen
 
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Dam I’m only a freshman in highschool aspiring to become an orthodontist or dentist,but wow this is an impressive forum. I hope one day I can be as good as y’all.
 
ADA makes/grades the test, but what do they know when they claim 30 is the highest score? Right?

So how was RC?
 
@nhdental what's the big deal with bumping an old thread? This is the internet, information stays on here forever. So, input throughout the years would only make it a more informative thread for future generations.
 
I feel like someone that makes a 28+ AA in the DAT is probably too smart to be a dentist. Go to med school and be a brain surgeon or something like that.
 
Damn, I was 5 years old back when the thread was made as well lol. Anyways, wow NewName's scores back in 2003 are insane even by today's standards. A 28 academic average back then must have meant a whole lot more with how they used to cap the max you could get on a section (based on percentile) and there wasn't as many resources to study for the exam like DAT Bootcamp, DAT Destroyer, etc. The dude must have been a genius. :O
 
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ZipFree said:
Damn, I was 5 years old back when the thread was made as well lol. Anyways, wow NewName's scores back in 2003 are insane even by today's standards. A 28 academic average back then must have meant a whole lot more with how they used to cap the max you could get on a section (based on percentile) and there wasn't as many resources to study for the exam like DAT Bootcamp, DAT Destroyer, etc. The dude must have been a genius. :O
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Percentiles for the test have barely changed since back then when there were almost no resources. So while that guy's score is insane, it's no more impressive than someone getting that today.
The people who make the DAT are really good at what they do, even with the influx of all these new and great resources the test average has barely changed in the past 20 years
 
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