7/27 DAT Opinions

[pierre330]

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Hey everyone, I am a 21 year old (birthday March 14) B.S. graduate and I'm not quite sure what I want to do with my life. My dad is a dentist and I have a interest in dentistry but I'm just not quite ready to commit to the high tuition costs and whatnot. My parents are fine with my indecision, but they wanted me to take the DAT now while the material if fresh rather than going back and taking it later.

So I took the DAT on 7/27 and I just wanted a few opinions, here's the breakdown:

PAT: 13 (5.5)
QR: 20 (88.3)
RC 26 (98.8)
Bio 19 (75.3)
GC 19 (65.7)
OC 15 (25.1)
TS 17 (45.5)
AA 20 (83.7)

I didn't prepare for this DAT so these scores can definitely be improved. It's been 3+ years since I've taken general chemistry, 2+ years since I've taken organic chemistry, and 4+ years since I've taken Calculus I.

I'm not a visual person in general but I know I can improve that PAT score with some practice.

Would it be worth it to take the test again in 3 months or is the PAT not rated that high of a section? Some people have mentioned to me that RC is a really important factor and that is my best score overall.

Another option for me would be waiting and taking the DAT next summer closer to when I would most likely apply if I am going to. Just seeking some help, I'm kinda new to the whole DAT and application process.

Thanks! 😍

 

[biomolecmed]

It depends. If you are serious about pursuing Dentistry and going to Dental school, then you might want to think about retaking the test. If you decide not to pursue Dentistry, then retake will not be necessary because DAT scores most likely will not be used anywhere else.
Hope this helps.

 

[game33]

I would wait till next summer because three months from now is considered really late, that's basically November. You are not even sure you want to attend dental school so why put pressure and take a test being your second time without even wanted to be in dental school in the first place. I would give it some time and think about it and then go ahead and study for the exam. This cycle is considered late for you if you decided to retake it in November. Good Luck but be smart in your decision and decide what you really want to do.

 

[hope_to_match]

Of you decide to apply you definitely need to retake ...

 

[SafetyDog]

Those are surprisingly good scores if you haven't practiced at all and took everything 2+ years ago.

I think if you actually studied for ~4 weeks and took it, you would be golden.

 

[ModifiedBass]

If you're going to apply, definitely retake. If you have a good GPA, schools will easily be able to see you didn't put effort into the test, which is a red flag. PAT is still important enough to warrant a retake on a 13, which is a very low score, many schools probably wouldn't even look at your application. I would recommend taking the test next summer (early) and study for it this time, there are plenty of schedules and material recommendations on this site that should be able to help you out. With the scores you got without studying, you should be able to do quite well with some preparation.

 

[Eri3]

Those are surprisingly good scores if you haven't practiced at all and took everything 2+ years ago.

I think if you actually studied for ~4 weeks and took it, you would be golden.

PAT: 13 (5.5)
QR: 20 (88.3)
RC 26 (98.8)
Bio 19 (75.3)
GC 19 (65.7)
OC 15 (25.1)
TS 17 (45.5)
AA 20 (83.7) - This is inflated by your great RC score

I am not trying to put down your intelligence level (your scores are really good w/o any studying) but it may take more than four weeks to get your scores up.
Especially since your excuse will be that you did not prepare - you need to prepare well and score 21 all around to prove that you can actually do well in it. Dental schools like well rounded applicants.

In my opinion- it isn't very difficult to get scores around 17 to 19. Getting above 21 requires a lot more practice and dedication. With that being said, unless you can retain and recall info very quickly a 4 week schedule may require 10 to 12hrs of studying a day.

Speaking from experience- It is better to be prepared than rush into it. Before you take the test make sure you take numerous practice tests from different sources to see how you're scoring on average.

 

[emitpeels]

How did you do so well in RC?

 

[pierre330]

Thanks for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure I'll be applying to dental school but I for sure will not apply this cycle. I'm thinking thought that if I do decide to apply I'll take a Kaplan class before I take the next DAT.

As for reading comprehension it's something that I've always scored well on, I got a 36 on the ACT reading in high school. Funny thing is, I don't really read for enjoyment ever.

I would read each passage and then go back to the text after reading each question to search for the answer. I would pretty much know what area to search in the passage which saved me time because I didn't do any summaries or roadmap. By the time the third passage came around I had tons of extra time to really evaluate answer choices.

 

[ModifiedBass]

If you know how to study well, don't waste the fortune on the Kaplan course, there are much better sources to use that are much more cost effective.