August 20- DAT Breakdown

[KCH12]

Well the majority of my summer was devoted to this test. And overall I am happy with my scores:

BIO -20
GC - 18
OC - 22
RC - 18
QR - 18
PAT- 19

TS - 20
AA - 19

I took the Kaplan class starting in June and felt that it helped me keep good study habits. Kaplan is easier, but my teacher was great and helped fill in a lot of the gaps. I used Kaplan's BB, CDP, TopScore (scored 19, 20, 19), and Destroyer.

Bio- I was scared when I was taking this because I marked about 10. I didn't use additional sources, just because I figure Biology is so vast that I wouldn't be able to know everything. Thought my score may have been a little lower, but I am happy with my score.

Chem- I started by watching Chad's videos which helped me with the basics. I really didn't think it was too hard when I was taking it, but I must have made some dumb mistakes. Not many calculations either which helped.

OC- I really needed to get a decent score in this because I have C+'s in Orgo I/II. My Kaplan teacher was an immense help and really clarified a lot of things for me. Destroyer was helpful as well. I thought this was the easiest section, but maybe that's because I spent the most time studying for it.

RC- Much, much harder than Kaplan and Topscore. There was very little word for word answers, and the passages seemed a little longer. My passages were time consuming to get through, especially the one on Crocodiles. I used search and destroy for the most part, but it didn't work for quite a few. I'll take an 18, but I was scoring 22's on TopScore which gave me a false sense of confidence.

QR- I've read from many posts that this section was rough. I, too, thought it was hard, but I forced myself to just move on to the next question if I was lost. There were some questions that were just like Uhhhh, but I felt the problems towards the end were easier. Actually thought I scored better, but based on other QR scores posted, I guess an 18 is ok.

PAT- I did CDP and thought this was very close to the real thing, i was getting around 21's on CDP. I was surprised most by my score of 19 on this. I must have really messed up some angles because I felt like it was just another CDP test.


I will be going into my junior year and currently have a 3.6 GPA and a 3.51 sciGPA. I am a Psychology major, Chemistry minor and I already have many hours of shadowing. I also work in a neuroscience lab.
I am a Pennsylvania resident and as of now, I really like Temple, Pitt, & Maryland. I am happy with my scores, but would like to get some feedback. Is a retake necessary? How do you think my chances are for the 2011 cycle?

SDN has been a great source of information and I am very appreciative of everyone's help. Thanks in advance for your advice/opinion.

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[KCH12]

anyone?

 

[denner]

You're fine unless lose your mind at the interview. RC and GC maybe a bit "low" but they shouldn't keep you out of any places for the most part. I would try to apply to a few more schools as well.

 

[KCH12]

Haha I better not lose my mind during the interviews, thanks denner

 

[KCH12]

Is there anyone who thinks a retake is necessary? Also, with my gpa and dat what schools would be ideal for me to apply to? (I am a PA resident)

 

[arginine1]

Since you're a PA resident I don't think you should have much of a problem with the schools you've chosen. Although your scores aren't well above 20.. let's face it.. the majority of applicants don't have such scores either.

I keep telling myself that the best applicants (score wise) are probably those nerds that sit on SDN all the time.. (yeah.. sort of "look in the mirror" joke). And keep in mind that plenty of students here had lower scores in math and reading than you did. So don't think that you're at the bottom of the pool or anything.. most likely you're above average.

 

[denner]

Since you're a PA resident I don't think you should have much of a problem with the schools you've chosen. Although your scores aren't well above 20.. let's face it.. the majority of applicants don't have such scores either.

I keep telling myself that the best applicants (score wise) are probably those nerds that sit on SDN all the time.. (yeah.. sort of "look in the mirror" joke). And keep in mind that plenty of students here had lower scores in math and reading than you did. So don't think that you're at the bottom of the pool or anything.. most likely you're above average.

And that's the truth.