I noticed on predents.com that all students who have had interviews at most schools have around a 3.6 GPA and a 21 DAT/PAT. What is considered "below average" scores for most schools? If I have below a 21 DAT/PAT score, should I be worried?
2010 Cycle - Higher Averages?
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That's it? Most people on this forum have 3.7 GPAs and 22 DAT/PAT. I guess some people on this forum are slacking in submitting their info into predents.
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Early interviews go to the top applicants, but that doesn't mean that they are the only ones who get in. Most schools average between 18.0-19.5 on the DAT and 3.3-3.5 GPA when they have their class fully accepted. That means that people below those scores get in, in addition to the 3.8 GPA 22 DAT applicants. You might not be a September interviewee, but the only thing that matters in the end is that you get in eventually. If you have around a 19 DAT and above a 3.3 GPA, don't worry too much. The further you get from those numbers, the more you have to stand out.
I have a 3.5/3.5 overall/science and a 20 DAT (22TS 24OC, 22GC, 21Bio)/19PAT. I don't seem to be having a problem getting interviews; I've received four invitations so far. One thing I've noticed; however, is that the schools I've interviewed at (especially UAB) seem to really like the high Total Science DAT score. Again, I'm not sure if this is what's making me stand out the most initially, but it's just a hunch. I probably have one absolutely stellar recommendation from my developmental biology professor, because I was the top in that class. I think my personal statement is really good as well. Also, I am part Asian, so affirmative action could be helping slightly. So it seems there are a lot of factors in play here.
In contrast with the above post, I would highly suggest at least my stats for the DAT : 20DAT/19PAT (making minimum cutoffs in all sections at least; sometimes quantitative reasoning can be less than minimum cutoff). 19DAT seems to only be competitive if you have an above average GPA, and my GPA is just average so I need a 20 at least I would say.
In contrast with the above post, I would highly suggest at least my stats for the DAT : 20DAT/19PAT (making minimum cutoffs in all sections at least; sometimes quantitative reasoning can be less than minimum cutoff). 19DAT seems to only be competitive if you have an above average GPA, and my GPA is just average so I need a 20 at least I would say.
3.7GPA and 22DAT/PAT is not the norm. Sure, a lot of people post their DAT scores when they do well, and some create accounts just so they can do that. Keep in mind that a 22DAT/PAT is over 95th percentile on both sections, which I don't think the majority of people have here.
The DAT is getting more competitive as well, because there are more prepping materials available and everybody is using them (e.g. Crack DAT PAT, DAT Destroyer for O Chem).
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plus there is a bias cuz people with higher stats tend to post their scores more... but yes, the trend is that getting into ds is getting more and more competitive
I would say that professional schools are becoming more competitive in general. For example, the average GPA for the nursing school students at my university was 3.8-3.9ish, which is pretty insane since it's higher than most med schools and dental schools. The DAT is becoming more competitive because there are more extremely helpful studying resources out there, and almost everyone is using them. When my uncle applied to dental school an 18 DAT was considered really competitive, and now dental schools want a 20.
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I was being sarcastic, pointing out how far from the norm the stats on this site was. Average of all MATRICULATES, not even applicants, is probably a 3.5 and a 19AA. If you cut off the top 10 or so, average proably shrinks down to a 3.4 and 18. If you're right at the average, you have a very good shot at getting in. If you're above the average, you have a great shot.
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Asians might be a minority in Florida...but not on the west coast (almost a majority)
. I assure you, no schools will be more likely to accept you because of this.I would think that minority status helps at least a little. I think many schools reserve slots for certain minorities to fulfill their ethnic diversity requirements, so there is less competition for that particular slot.
Some dental schools tend to favor males more, and a few favor females more (obviously University of Florida, which had a 40/60 male/female ratio).
Some dental schools tend to favor males more, and a few favor females more (obviously University of Florida, which had a 40/60 male/female ratio).
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You don't understand. If anything it will hurt your chances. Asians on the west coast still apply to East coast schools and they have PLENTY to choose from. Trust me, Asians are not under-represented, in the health field. They are OVER-represented.
True. 33.7 percent of the dentist population is non-white, and Asians make up 67 percent of the non-white population (http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/131/12/1750). I had no idea, because I live in Florida, where Asians are definitely a minority.
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People fail to realize that there are more than 4 ethnicities applying to dental schools, which would be what you would think with an article like that.
Sadly, all white people get bunched together, but then you have blacks, hispanics, native americans, middle easterns, 500 different type of asians (indian, pakistani, indonesian, bangladeshi, chinese, taiwanese, hmong, vietnamese, thai, korean, filipeno, etc) and im sure a bunch more im forgetting.
I'm sure theres less than 50 bangladesh(ians(?)) practicing dentistry in the United States.
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my best friend is bengali and every single person in her family(big family) is a dentist doctor or lawyer so I am pretty sure they are not underrepresented in comparison to the ratio in the gen pop.... and Indian people are ether patels in which they always own a hotel or or they dentist/doctors lol JK about the patels' but yea South Asian people have the same hardworking drive Asians do.....
