avg applicant re-applying - need your advices

[maty10]

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Hi guys ,

Can you guys please give me some honest opinion and suggestions regarding my stats ? ways to improve it ? or anything that you can think of !

I am an American citizen who lives in Canada. I'm finishing my bachelors degree in Health Sciences ( 2 more courses required to graduate) .

I applied to 15 schools last cycle , but was rejected from all of them . I think it was mostly due to the fact that I hadn't finished some of the prerequisite courses such as ( orgo 2 , physics 2 , biochem) and the fact that I am an average applicant. Here are my stats:

OGPA : 3.43
SGPA : 3.30

AA:19
TS:19
OChem:19
GenChem:21
Bio:18
RC:18
QR:19
PAT:17

Shadowing experience: 150 hours
Volunteering : 423 hours


Should I re-apply as early as I can this upcoming cycle ( with these DAT scores) and mention that I want to retake DAT in mid-july ?
Should i even redo my DAT?
What are some great ways to make my self standout?

Thank you guys , 🙂

 

[Upperbyte]

Well, we can't fully evaluate you because you didn't list out all of your DAT scores. If the rest are lower than 17, then yes, you should retake the DAT. Science gpa is a little low, but if you retake the DAT and rock it, that will help. But again, I can't really say much besides that because you left out a bunch of scores, and those are all important.

 

[maty10]

Thank you for your input....I just wrote in the missing sections of DAT

 

[nikond600]

.

 

[maty10]

thanks ... So i should definitely redo DAT !

 

[rabidmoleman]

What school are you attending? I'm sure it won't matter, but I was in a similar situation to you this last cycle in that I am American citizen living in Canada applying to American schools. It would be even cooler if you lived nearby!

I was even in a health sciences program when I started my bachelors degree, although I ended up switching to another major.

 

[Hawkteeth]

I think retaking the DAT will help you, aim for a 21+. May I ask what schools you applied to? I would think you would have at least gotten an interview.

 

[tommyinVA]

I think retaking the DAT will help you, aim for a 21+. May I ask what schools you applied to? I would think you would have at least gotten an interview.

Bear in mind that if you retake the DAT, then you had better show CONSIDERABLE improvement to catch anyone's notice...like 2-3 points across the board AT LEAST.

 

[Broncos]

1. Redo DAT, try to really improve the PAT. The scores for other parts are not bad. My AA is 19 as well but 23 for PAT.
2. Write a good personal statement and have other ppl, especially your professor, review it.
3. Apply to more schools. I know it's expensive but you'll have more chance.

I know you can do it and you know you can do it too. One thing at a time. God bless and good luck 🙂

 

[tommyinVA]

1. Redo DAT, try to really improve the PAT. The scores for other parts are not bad. My AA is 19 as well but 23 for PAT.
2. Write a good personal statement and have other ppl, especially your professor, review it.
3. Apply to more schools. I know it's expensive but you'll have more chance.

I know you can do it and you know you can do it too. One thing at a time. God bless and good luck 🙂

There is NO point in re-taking the DAT with the goal of trying to improve just one category. That tells ADCOM's nothing other than "Hey, I just spent all my time practicing and working on PAT."

For you to get anyone to take notice and believe that your higher scores are attributable to an improvement in your cognitive ability, you need to raise ALL your scores, and do it by more than just 1 or 2 points.

 

[laundry]

hm...did you get any interviews? how many schools did you apply to?

 

[maty10]

Okay guys... I made my decision and I am determined to retake the DAT and aim for 21+ in every section. I think I have the experience to do well this time.

 

[maty10]

hm...did you get any interviews? how many schools did you apply to?

I applied to 15 schools and I didn't get receive any interviews. I have to find the flaws in my application and work on them for the next cycle.

 

[tommyinVA]

Okay guys... I made my decision and I am determined to retake the DAT and aim for 21+ in every section. I think I have the experience to do well this time.

If you want to "guarantee" yourself at least 21's, then you need to aim for 25's.

If you just shoot for 21 then I can guarantee you you'll fail.

 

[funkyCHICKEN]

hmm, do you go to McMaster by any chamce?

 

[maty10]

If you want to "guarantee" yourself at least 21's, then you need to aim for 25's.

If you just shoot for 21 then I can guarantee you you'll fail.

Good point.

 

[maty10]

hmm, do you go to McMaster by any chamce?

No , I actually go to University of Ottawa !

 

[Broncos]

If you want to "guarantee" yourself at least 21's, then you need to aim for 25's.

If you just shoot for 21 then I can guarantee you you'll fail.

Just curious, can you tell me the difference between "aim for 25's and aim for 21's" please? It doesn't make any sense. And how do you "aim for 25's" instead of "aim for 21's"?

And why not "aim for 30's"? Because it could "guarantee you MORE than 21's or 25's".

To the OP, just do your best and don't let the numbers play in your head. You wouldn't know your score until the exam is over, which means you cannot change anything at that moment, so why bother thinking. Instead, you focus on reviewing now, do your best in the exam, and good things will come. I was in your shoe, anxious and panic. I retook the exam and didn't improve much. However, I got 3 invitations, went to 2 interviews (declined 1 because I already got accepted), got accepted to both of them and I chose my number 1 choice. I'm not trying to be cocky or showoff here, just want to share my experience and tell you that just work hard and good things will come. If people can do it, so can you. God bless and good luck. 🙂

 

[free99]

Just curious, can you tell me the difference between "aim for 25's and aim for 21's" please? It doesn't make any sense. And how do you "aim for 25's" instead of "aim for 21's"? And why not "aim for 30's"?

👍

 

[tommyinVA]

Just curious, can you tell me the difference between "aim for 25's and aim for 21's" please? It doesn't make any sense. And how do you "aim for 25's" instead of "aim for 21's"?

And why not "aim for 30's"? Because it could "guarantee you MORE than 21's or 25's".
\

You aim for 25's by referencing your practice test scores. If you're using something like topscore (which some consider to be a bit more difficult than the actual DAT) and are ok with 19's thinking "well, i should have a good 2-point buffer" then you run a good chance of missing your mark on at least 1 of your scores.

someone who's "okay with 21's" is probably very weak in more than a couple key topics, particularly in the sciences. that's unacceptable and those weaknesses need to be strengthened. for example, i hadn't taken ecology prior to taking the DAT and was super weak on that topic. didn't bother to prep myself as much as i should have. unfortunately i got 3 eco questions that i KNOW i missed. same with my GC: took it over the summer with a horrible community college prof so i was weak on how to do some of the calculations like the more advanced titrations. missed a couple easy questions there. those also ended up being my 2 lowest scores. someone who is shooting for 25's should have a solid foundation of understanding of most possible topics, and at least have a general idea of those topics s/he is weak in.

aiming for 30's is just plain stupid and will NOT "guarantee you more than 21's or 25's." that's like trying to say that you know everything. it'll drive you nuts and you'll become so obsessed with every single question and topic that you get wrong that you'll probably end up being less efficient with your prep time. people who are capable of scoring straight 30's are naturally gifted in ways the rest of us, the OP included, are not. i'm also willing to bet that everyone who's gotten 30's will admit that they felt there was a bit of luck involved.

additionally, someone with 19's who is planning on taking the DAT again needs to show considerable improvement to indicate some sort of improvement in material comprehension and cognitive capacity. scoring just 1 or 2 points higher says little more than "i'm more used to the testing format." ADCOM's will want to see drastic improvements.

 

[free99]

aiming for 30's is just plain stupid

I don't think there is any real difference in your approach to studying when aiming for a 25 or a 30 in the science section. There is a finite amount of material that is tested, and it's not tested on an incredibly deep level. Those who actually achieve a 30 TS are certainly gifted learners, but I don't think it's unreasonable to strive for that when it's been proven possible. The difference between a 30 TS and a 25 TS is probably only 5 or 6 questions.

 

[bluemoon27]

How are your EC and leadership? Did you make meaningful contributions to the clubs you are part of if you had a position? Also, how were your LOE, generic or outstanding? Did you apply to all hard to get into schools with very high GPAS/DAT on avg like Harvard, etc or did you apply to some looking at little lower GPA and DAT? Apply more broadly this time, especially to private schools this time and just rock your DAT. Good luck!

 

[tommyinVA]

I don't think there is any real difference in your approach to studying when aiming for a 25 or a 30 in the science section. There is a finite amount of material that is tested, and it's not tested on an incredibly deep level. Those who actually achieve a 30 TS are certainly gifted learners, but I don't think it's unreasonable to strive for that when it's been proven possible. The difference between a 30 TS and a 25 TS is probably only 5 or 6 questions.

I'd argue that it's probably more than just 5 or 6 questions, but that's irrelevant. What IS relevant is the fact that the OP scored a 19 in TS with only an 18 in bio and 19 in orgo. To me, 18 and 19 are indicative of a really poor level of understanding of multiple subjects, or just really back luck. For him or her to try and go from that kind of knowledge base to try to "know everything possible" to shoot for a score a 30 would probably be detrimental. He (or she) should think back and pinpoint which topics were weak and concentrate on those.

18 and 19 are average. Nobody notices the average. 20 and 21 are only slightly above average. The OP needs to score well above his (or her) original scores for people to really stop and take notice.

 

[free99]

I'd argue that it's probably more than just 5 or 6 questions, but that's irrelevant. What IS relevant is the fact that the OP scored a 19 in TS with only an 18 in bio and 19 in orgo. To me, 18 and 19 are indicative of a really poor level of understanding of multiple subjects, or just really back luck. For him or her to try and go from that kind of knowledge base to try to "know everything possible" to shoot for a score a 30 would probably be detrimental. He (or she) should think back and pinpoint which topics were weak and concentrate on those.

Good points, but the OPs average or less than average scores could have been from a lack of effort, not a lack in aptitude. Many go from scoring 18's and 19's up to scoring 24s and 25s (maybe aiming for 30s?). But I do agree, it's hard to say whether that's a good strategy for the OP without really knowing how much time they have to put in and how hard they're willing to work for it. The bolded section of the quote above I think is hands down the best approach to studying for the exam - identify weaknesses, then devote ample time to mastering them. It's all about prioritization, there's no point in learning nitty gritty taxonomy if you can't draw out the cell cycle.

 

[maty10]

Thank you for your great advices.
Honestly, the main reason I received such low scores is due to not practising my pace for the test. Prior to DAT, I hadn't done any time-measured practise tests.
I can swear that i had at least 5-6 questions unanswered for ORGO and BIO sections due to not having enough time. And that killed my confidence for the PAT section.

So this time i'm going to focus mainly on my speed and pace , and i'm sure I can score much better than the first time.

 

[Rubberpulp]

You people are high on this site. 19/19/17 with 3.4 gpa. That should do the trick. At my school out of 5 people who got admitted to d. School this year 4 of them had an 18AA..... So a 21+ is a must haha lol that is HARD to get. Usually gpa and DAT correlate (eg. The op) so OP I don't think retaking is going to help much unless you kill it. You should apply to the right schools as well. Pick up the Ada book and go for it.

 

[Teeths]

You people are high on this site. 19/19/17 with 3.4 gpa. That should do the trick. At my school out of 5 people who got admitted to d. School this year 4 of them had an 18AA..... So a 21+ is a must haha lol that is HARD to get. Usually gpa and DAT correlate (eg. The op) so OP I don't think retaking is going to help much unless you kill it. You should apply to the right schools as well. Pick up the Ada book and go for it.

Thank you for saying this. I've sort of made myself stop getting onto this site as much as I used to because I know quite a few people who don't have anything near 23 DAT scores and 3.8 GPAs and they've all gotten into dental school. I think the problem in cases like OPs is timing and how many schools they've applied to (doing research on them as well). You can't expect to apply to 5 schools in November with just ok stats and get accepted. Get good grades, get a good DAT score, keep involved with shadowing and volunteering, apply early enough and you should be fine! Good luck