19AA/19PAT/17RC?? - Retaking the DAT and cutting schools?

[lyw]

Sorry for the millionth "chance me"/school list post (as well as the millionth apology for the same things)!

I took the DAT last August and am considering retaking the exam. Is it worth it though?
I probably won't be comfortable retaking it until at least late July/early August. With the rest of my AADSAS application ready to submit in early June, I worry that retaking my DAT will make me lose the edge of an early application.

• DAT scores: 19 AA, 19 TS, 18 Bio, 21 GC, 19 OC, 19 PAT, 20 QR, 17 RC (<-- nervous about this b/c some schools have a minimum of 18 across all scores?)

Rest of my stats:

• 3.67 GPA, ~3.3sGPA (I started pretty terribly in the first two years, w/ two withdraws, but ended up improving drastically in the last two years of undergrad.)
• ~250 hours of shadowing, ~400 hours of service, No research, Some work in public health

Tentative schools organized by region (need to remove some for sure):
-UCLA, UCSF, UoP, WesternU, USC, Loma Linda, ASDOH, Midwestern (AZ and IL), UNLV
-Marquette, Case, MOSDOH
-U of Louisville, LECOM, Nova
-Tufts, NYU, SUNY Buffalo, U of Pittsburgh, Temple U, UNE

I'm a California resident, and UCLA/UCSF are on my list at the moment, but I'm wondering if I should just remove them since my stats maybe aren't on par with more competitive applicants?
Which other schools may be unrealistic and not worth the money to apply?

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[I want to go to there]

Apply early and indicate that you will retake it in August. 19 is really meh and will hamper your chances into getting into many of the schools you've listed.

 

[Daneosaurus]

I got into Pitt with a 19AA.

 

[pilotdentist]

If you applied last year, did you get feedback from schools on what to improve? Did you get interviews?

At a glance, your DAT scores are nothing amazing but good enough to get in somewhere. I don't think you should retake unless you got that feedback last cycle. I'd focus on personal statement, references and being ready for interviews.

I would replace U of L with UK. From personal experience, UK was easier to get an interview at as an OOS applicant.

 

[andreadds]

Sorry for the millionth "chance me"/school list post (as well as the millionth apology for the same things)!

I took the DAT last August and am considering retaking the exam. Is it worth it though?
I probably won't be comfortable retaking it until at least late July/early August. With the rest of my AADSAS application ready to submit in early June, I worry that retaking my DAT will make me lose the edge of an early application.

• DAT scores: 19 AA, 19 TS, 18 Bio, 21 GC, 19 OC, 19 PAT, 20 QR, 17 RC (<-- nervous about this b/c some schools have a minimum of 18 across all scores?)

Rest of my stats:

• 3.67 GPA, ~3.3sGPA (I started pretty terribly in the first two years, w/ two withdraws, but ended up improving drastically in the last two years of undergrad.)
• ~250 hours of shadowing, ~400 hours of service, No research, Some work in public health

Tentative schools organized by region (need to remove some for sure):
-UCLA, UCSF, UoP, WesternU, USC, Loma Linda, ASDOH, Midwestern (AZ and IL), UNLV
-Marquette, Case, MOSDOH
-U of Louisville, LECOM, Nova
-Tufts, NYU, SUNY Buffalo, U of Pittsburgh, Temple U, UNE

I'm a California resident, and UCLA/UCSF are on my list at the moment, but I'm wondering if I should just remove them since my stats maybe aren't on par with more competitive applicants?
Which other schools may be unrealistic and not worth the money to apply?

I think you are sitting better than most applicants so I dont think you need to take the DAT over. If you are looking to remove schools I would remove the bad ones because you wont want to go there- UNLV, western, lecom, nova, tufts, nyu, temple, new england, midwestern put the money towards interviews

 

[ajj70]

I think you are sitting better than most applicants so I dont think you need to take the DAT over. If you are looking to remove schools I would remove the bad ones because you wont want to go there- UNLV, western, lecom, nova, tufts, nyu, temple, new england, midwestern put the money towards interviews

What makes those schools bad?

 

[PocketRocket]

What makes those schools bad?

6 of those schools are on my list. You can't just say we don't want to go there and not elaborate so please do!

 

[andreadds]

In comparison to the other ones. I was in ASDA and met students around the nation and those are some of the schools where students were complaining about.... Some are just new programs that with all the changes in curriculum that gets old

 

[lyw]

If you applied last year, did you get feedback from schools on what to improve? Did you get interviews?

At a glance, your DAT scores are nothing amazing but good enough to get in somewhere. I don't think you should retake unless you got that feedback last cycle. I'd focus on personal statement, references and being ready for interviews.

I would replace U of L with UK. From personal experience, UK was easier to get an interview at as an OOS applicant.

This is my first time applying. I called two adcoms who both said what I suspected in that my DAT was acceptable, but not super competitive, which is what made me turn to SDN. By "get in somewhere" - do you think the schools I've listed cover most of the potential schools?

As for UK v. U of L, the oral surgeon I shadow actually recommended the same thing since he attended both! Just wondering, have you met (m)any others who had same experience?
(I didn't purchase the ADEA guide for this year, but was using a 2009 one, and it seemed U of L was more OOS friendly through those stats)

 

[pilotdentist]

If you apply to 15ish schools, I think you will get multiple interviews with the current info, but you never know. They look at apps beyond the basic numbers and value leadership and experiences beyond simple volunteering.

If you retook DAT and got 21+ would you get more interviews? Probably, but that's lots of studying.. again.

I think it comes down to how much control you want. If you had a specific school(s) that you want to get in, I would call them and ask if the scores are good enough and retake if needed. I don't think you need to if you apply to lots of private schools and OOS friendly ones.

I had high stats last yr and applied to too many schools and turned down a bunch of interviews. U of L was one of the few schools who I did not hear from, despite them having a good number of OOS spots. Every school values different things on the app.

Good luck! ( and remember it's a LONG process! Don't get discouraged in sep if you have no interviews. Interview invites go through Feb)

 

[cmroberts]

This is my first time applying. I called two adcoms who both said what I suspected in that my DAT was acceptable, but not super competitive, which is what made me turn to SDN. By "get in somewhere" - do you think the schools I've listed cover most of the potential schools?

As for UK v. U of L, the oral surgeon I shadow actually recommended the same thing since he attended both! Just wondering, have you met (m)any others who had same experience?
(I didn't purchase the ADEA guide for this year, but was using a 2009 one, and it seemed U of L was more OOS friendly through those stats)

The oral surgeon I shadowed also went to those schools and I'm also a CA resident. What a coincidence. Who's the surgeon?