August 7th DAT score..meh

[Marmaduke]

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Sooo I'm here to report my scores and while I'm definitely unhappy with them I think I can also provide an example of what not to do, though, yeah, it'll be pretty obvious when I say it.

PAT 17 (50.4)
QR 17 (63.2)
RC 21 (80.2)
Bio 18 (61.9)
GC 19 (70.7)
OC 19 (71.7)
TS 19 (73.6)
AA 19 (73.5)

Ok first of all right away I'm going to admit to something that might not correlate very well with my scores...I didn't focus on the PAT or the QR. I know, I know this is what I get. I was actually praying for a miracle. Truth is as far as the PAT go I honestly just didn't have the money for any more prep material. Seriously I had like...$20 in my account. Still did until today (ironically) due to some issues with my address, etc, excuses excuses. And these were the two sections that I ended up rushing through because it really wasn't understanding the answers that got me but SPEED. Seriously as I was clicking through the last several questions for QR in the last few seconds it was all I could do not to just walk out considering how easy some of them were. Btw there was a lot more algebra than I expected. I was really hyped/scared for probabilities and trig.

So for QR I had Destroyer but I only went through it once and never timed myself. Looking back I'm not really sure what I was thinking. Actually I am. I figured I'd get an 18 or 19 and that hopefully my science scores would blow everyone away so it wouldn't matter.

As for Biology, Gen Chem, and Organic here's what I did. My summer was really hectic so I did my best. I was all over the place with this summer camp I worked at and then a family trip, and squeezing in those shadowing hours which only really mattered for one school. June -- I went through Barron's (a joke, though my only form of PAT prep -_-) and did several 1001 Examcracker Chem questions that I borrowed from a friend. I also went through the Examcracker books and took copious amounts of notes. July to August -- I started doing Destroyer problems and then proceeded to flip out because it was obvious I had no clue what I was doing XD But! After going through it once, the second time around was MUCH easier and I actually understood Chemistry for the first time in like 8 years of having it.

So onto the test
The sciences weren't bad despite what my scores may say. (I'm grouping them because it really was all a blur to me). I went through all of it first. Then with about 20 minutes to go I reviewed the ones that I marked. Apparently I should have marked a lot more. I think once I remove myself from the shock of my science score I'll be able to understand why I did poorly so I can work on that.

PAT: I wish I could give you the technical terms for each section but I don't know them very well. Key holes (?): not bad at all. There were some really annoying ones with a lot of squiggles and sides but the answers to those were glaring. The ones where you look at the top and front and figure out the side or a variation of such (?): Also not bad. There were a few tricky ones but they all had pretty obvious indications as to the right answer. Angles: Hate them. And I think this is where I spent too much time because they were seriously pissing me off. I mostly just looked for the largest and smallest angles and tried to go from there. The testing center said I could touch the computer screen but I didn't feel right doing that and thought those big cats at the DAT headquarters would look through my video (as I'm sure they look through all the thousands of videos), see me messing with stuff, and renounce my scores. Cube counting: easiest part. Just develop a system and stick to it. Everyone counts differently in their heads. Pattern folding: heeeere's where they got me. I was down on time so towards the end I was just looking for why each answer was wrong or right without much thought. Oh forgot the hole punching: also easy but again, I was down on time so my eyes were all over the place if you can imagine that.

Reading comp: This was another section that I didn't study for. I just read up on methods and decided Search and Destroy might be the least time consuming. I got crocodiles, fungi, and the "senses" one. The last one was a really interesting article actually. If anything I think the crocs killed me. It was the first one but I'd spent my break freaking about the QR section to come so my head was still spinning from that and I couldn't tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator for the longest so i kept trying to figure that out. But after that passage I got into a good system and finished with five minutes to review things.

So! This was a long presentation on my short comings but I think that if I take it again, which I probably should, that I can do a lot better. I'll be resuming my job at school so I'll be able to save for Crack DAT and Topscore. And I think after taking it once, the thought of taking it again doesn't inspire me to vomit as I thought it would. It's one thing to pore over this site like I've been doing and another to actually take it. It's easier thinking about after knowing what to expect.

This was really long winded but I think the point I'm trying to make is that for all of you out there stressing over how well you'll do after studying non-stop for 3 months, spending a good amount of time on every section, and practicing under timed conditions or something reasonable like that: please stop worrying you'll do fine.

Also: gpa 3.59, science 3.39. Lots of extra currics, some research experience, 50 something hrs of shadowing. once performed an extraction with local anesthetic on a pregnant woman in a plane (kidding!).

Schools: Temple (reaaaaally wanted this 🙁 ), Howard, Pitt, Buffalo, Meharry

Questions

If I take it again how do I let these schools know that ahead of time, just by calling them?

Do I bother faxing these scores or should I just wait until they're sent. I don't want to look too intense but it is pretty late in the game, right?

 

[276640]

Well, your sciences turned out alright! If it wasn't for the PAT, I don't even think you would need a retake (depending where you want to go of course). However, if you do want to keep more options open, you might want to retake. However, your scores might be good enough. Who knows... I see you have MeHarry listed as one of your choices. They have EXTREMELY low average scores compared to the rest of the schools (16 mean scores for each section, PAT, TS, and AA according to the ADEA). So you're above all of their averages from last year. However, if you're not a minority, your chances of getting in are greatly reduced as they have a high minority rate.

 

[ArmyGuard63a]

AFAIK both howard and meharry accept ONLY under represented minorities
if that isn't the case, then I'm assuming the only exceptions are probably people who've shown a high dedication to community service (that aids minorities lol)

 

[Marmaduke]

Thanks guys! I am a minority...but I really didn't want to get in because of that. Honestly who would feel good knowing they're sub par but were accepted because of their race?? I'm not bashing considering we are underrepresented. But it would be a little more awesome if while selecting minorities the standards weren't lowered as well (though it may be due to the amount of minorities that even apply). that's just the way I feel about it. Of course even after saying this if they do accept me I'd jump for joy and push all of this to the back of my mind.

I think I'll get Crack DAT and Topscore and retake again end of October. I don't think my sanity or my pride can take know that I could have done better than this. But is that too late for this cycle? I feel like my scores would have to be 30 across the board XD

 

[ArmyGuard63a]

Thanks guys! I am a minority...but I really didn't want to get in because of that. Honestly who would feel good knowing they're sub par but were accepted because of their race?? I'm not bashing considering we are underrepresented. But it would be a little more awesome if while selecting minorities the standards weren't lowered as well (though it may be due to the amount of minorities that even apply). that's just the way I feel about it. Of course even after saying this if they do accept me I'd jump for joy and push all of this to the back of my mind.

I appreciate hearing all of that, being a white male I have everything against me. Granted minorities were at one point underrepresented (and obviously still are in some cases), but rather than switch the analytical scope to evenly gauge each applicant based solely on credentials, it has swung the opposite direction.

IMO you should definitely apply now to get that app in, and if you can spare the money go ahead and retake in 3, however based on what you've said I'd say you've got a shoe in for Howard/Meharry without the retake.

Good luck!

 

[Marmaduke]

thanks! yeah now that you think about it I can't imagine what it would be like on the opposite end of the spectrum and over represented. that's an interesting thought that never really occured to me.

but yeah i'll probably retake it because Temple is my priority and I'm pretty sure they have a cut off of 18 for individual scores 🙁

 

[joonkimdds]

Thanks guys! I am a minority...but I really didn't want to get in because of that. Honestly who would feel good knowing they're sub par but were accepted because of their race??

That is a really positive attitude~ but sometimes I hope I was a minority.

 

[Marmaduke]

oh there's no doubt it helps sometimes. but hey if everyone was a minority then who would be the majority? besides it's not such a dramatic effect that to offset under representation schools are taking in 70% minority to 30% european-americans (i really wanted to use that term). so i think you're still good joonkimdds especially with those scores of yours.

 

[mehron]

Great work, you're scores are really good!

One of our family friends is a member in the admission committee at UoP, he told me that there are three things they care the most on your DAT: 1) PAT scores, 2)RC, 3)Total Science! I think you'll be fine. Honestly, DAT is just a small portion of gaining admission into dental school, there are many other things that schools will look at, to consider you a good candidate (which seems like you have fulfilled them all!)

I took the DAT on August 6th and scored AA:17 PAT:21.... I appealed my test scores b/c the air conditioning at the Prometric was broken!! lol... it took less than 24 hours for ADA to accept my appeal, now I'm retaking it in Sept 11th...So hopefully everything stays fresh!

I did horribly bad on the RC, and I got the same exact passages as you did, What materials did you use (if any) to prep for the RC portion? Also what strategy did you use?

Good Luck!

 

[Marmaduke]

thanks! aaah my PAT score was rubbish so let's hope they forgive me for that.

haha wooow i didn't know you could do that! good luck on the next one! so you can retake them for free then is that right?

uuurrr as far as reading comp goes as i mentioned before i really didn't study that at all. seriously i did absolutely nothing for that section so i can't be of much help there with resources. as far as strategy goes i ended up pretty much doing reading the first question then skimming through the passage for the answer, search and destroy right? I made sure that as I was skimming I was sort of retaining the info though so that for the next one I could find it a little faster. and if i saw a paragraph with a lot of big words/explanations/definitions then I knew automatically there'd be at least one question on that.

i'm not sure if this is good advice so maybe someone else will stop me but i would think for those struggling that they should scan relatively short science articles and practice retaining information from them or knowing where certain important phrases are (without necessarily knowing what they say) so you can quickly find them in the passage. just practice scanning moderately dense material quickly and you should be fine. and don't let your mind wander! i had a big problem with that haha

 

[pokes]

Search and destroy led me to a 24 on the RC which made up for a mediocre QR

 

[bryantje]

As I write this, I'm picturing myself as a little devil on a prospective DAT taker's shoulder, but here's my suggestion: read through all these forums and see what topics others had for RC. For example, I kept hearing about the "Piano" passage and how awful it was. Sure enough, it shows up on my screen. Luckily, the 3rd passage was familiar to me, and so I barely had to read it.

MY POINT IS that from what I can tell there aren't that many different passages out there! If you hear about people getting these types of passages, read up on them with wikipedia. OF COURSE, this is for people who feel prepared for all other topics (BIO, Gen Chem, etc) and are looking for that little edge...

 

[Marmaduke]

ok what's with that? why do they recycle these passages? just from glancing over this forum i could name several topics to expect. not that it makes a difference i guess but some people may give out too much info on them and isn't that something the testmakers should be aware of? do they change the passages annually or something?