Not necessarily. Some people do better in school than they do on a standardized test. Some people aren't so great at taking standardized test, either. It's actually pretty common. That's why the admission offices look at both GPA and test scores. Test scores do not really show all of an applicant's academic ability. It's been this way in high school with people having 95 averages but only scoring 1200 on the (old) SATs, and it happens in college and grad school, too. Sure, with a 4.0 you might expect someone to score higher on the DAT, but an 18 isn't so bad either.. Besides, an 18 is above the national average.
and to change topic, well kind of.. it is SOO annoying that [pre-]pod students bash the DAT so much. Why do you all care so much what test someone takes? Pod schools don't have their own test, and so some of them accept different test scores. What's the big problem? Either way, these tests test the taker's abilities in the sciences. If you know the sciences, you should do well on either/any/all these types of tests. Just because some people decide to take the DAT or GRE or whatever other test doesn't mean they are "afraid" of the MCAT. Maybe it had to do with timing and availability and what not. I, myself, have not taken any test yet, but God d***, that's getting annoying. GOSHHHHH
