Be honest, dat scores

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gollum85

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Hey guys my gpa is 3.8, science gpa is 3.7. I am very disappointed about my third and final DAT score, at least the QR section. What can i say i suck at the math yet I aced my calculus course ??? Will i have a chance of getting in anywhere? Please be honest, even if it might hurt. Thanks.

PAT 18
QR 14:(
RC 18
BIO 18
GC 18
OC 19
TS 18
AA 17:(

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there are so many questions to be asked. let's start with...

is this also your third time applying to dschool?
what did you use to study?
have your scores gone up or down from previous dats?
how long did you study?

i think adcoms are going to wonder why your gpas are so high yet your scores are below average. sorry, it must be really frustrating.

and kino, why would you suggest doing a postbacc with a gpa like that? it's the dat that's the problem.
 
join a post baccalaureate program

I don't agree with this ^^. I'm not an expert, but the problem is not the GPA. When your problem is your GPA, it is a good idea to go post-bacc. When the problem is your DAT score, you need to change your DAT study habits. Again, not an expert..call a school and ask for their advice. That's what I would do.

To the OP, everyone messes up and this DAT is kind of crappy. It's not the end of the world and you can definitely move up from here. You have to find new study habits or a new way to approach this. I would call schools, apply early, and retake. BUT AGAIN..talk to professionals.

The only really bad score is your QR..that should make you feel pretty good! I mean it's not like we are looking at all 16's or anything! This is fixable IMO. Have you tried CDM for timing? Be harder on yourself with timing..that might help
 
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join a post baccalaureate program

A post-bacc isn't going to remedy a low DAT score.

To the OP: there have been people to get accepted to dschools with 17 AA (but I'm not sure of the actual numbers..the ADEA guide will be a good source to look this up). The good thing is that you have a high GPA, so your chances aren't shot. The bad thing is that with such a high GPA, adcoms may wonder why you had to take the DAT 3 times, with your final being a 17. In order to retake the DAT a 4th time, you will need to petition for it.
 
Hey guys my gpa is 3.8, science gpa is 3.7. I am very disappointed about my third and final DAT score, at least the QR section. What can i say i suck at the math yet I aced my calculus course ??? Will i have a chance of getting in anywhere? Please be honest, even if it might hurt. Thanks.

PAT 18
QR 14:(
RC 18
BIO 18
GC 18
OC 19
TS 18
AA 17:(
I guess in order to help you I need to be brutally honest! Unfortunately, I don't think you'll have a chance with these scores. But this shouldn't stop you from applying. Go ahead an apply; send in your application, your LORs, and your transcripts, so AADSAS can start putting your package together, and send it out to your designated schools early. Then reschedule for another DAT exam. That will give you 3 solid months of studying. You definitely need to change your studying habits. Browse through this forum; I'm sure you'll find plenty of additional resource that you could use and many people that are willing to share their experiences with you so that you could improve your scores.
Keep in mind, that although this may be very frustrating at the moment, it does NOT mark the end of your college career. If nothing else, now you know that you need to work harder to get a decent score on your DAT. You have a high GPA, so you're definitely not dumb, which means with a little bit of effort you can and will earn better scores.
Most of your science scores are in the 18-19 range. You can easily bring these scores up to 20, if you devote yourself to studying over the next three months.
Definitely try to improve that RC score. Look for some alternative strategies on this forum that you could use to earn a better score in this section.
For PAT, use CDP. Many people have used it, and based on the feedback I'm seeing on this forum, it's extremely helpful.

Most importantly, try too keep your cool.

Good Luck:thumbup:
 
A post-bacc isn't going to remedy a low DAT score.

To the OP: there have been people to get accepted to dschools with 17 AA (but I'm not sure of the actual numbers..the ADEA guide will be a good source to look this up). The good thing is that you have a high GPA, so your chances aren't shot. The bad thing is that with such a high GPA, adcoms may wonder why you had to take the DAT 3 times, with your final being a 17. In order to retake the DAT a 4th time, you will need to petition for it.

A post-bacc most certainly can remedy a low DAT score. You are taking the same classes that they test for in the DAT. Do well in those classes and I'm sure your DAT will improve without even studying for the DAT. However if you study for the DAT to boot then they will probably go up. I wouldn't really trust 4thmolar though, he/she doesn't even seem to post their own stats. So if they are so willing to give people advice but not take any there is something fishy about that.
 
That score will get you in if you're black, but if not, you're out of luck.
 
What a stupid thing to say!

Right, because if a black guy and an asian guy had the exact same stats, we all know that you would put your money on the asian guy.....................................................
 
Right, because if a black guy and an asian guy had the exact same stats, we all know that you would put your money on the asian guy.....................................................

That's a false assumption to begin with anyways!
 
You guys should go check out the affirmative action debate in pre-dental. I just came from there, only to see this!
 
i dont know u guys. at this point i feel horrible. i knew i was having trouble on QR but i went ahead and took the dat anyway. I dont know what to do now, change career choice.. But i dont think i am going to take the dat a 4TH time, that alone seems horrible. I have applied before to dental schools with a dat score of AA16 and of course 0 interviews, so applying right now seems ridiculous.....???? Thanks again for the replies.
 
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gollum: did you do all your classes at a junior college? if so, finish your B.S. then retake your dat, in the meantime, try to find a part time as a dental assistant if you can. if you already have your B.S., you still need to retake the dat, signing up for a kaplan dat course is an option. hope this help
 
Will it look bad if i take a dat the 4th time so confused. Can i really bring up the scores? I dont know what to do to improve my scores. I used everything possible, CDP, cliffs(last 2 weeks), destroyer, achiever & topscore(1 week), for 2 months+ and still sucked(math). I think i might be...dumb... I cant believe it. 4th time really...I guess. Whatever i have to do to get into dental school right. I have dental assisting experience, research, not so much volunteer work, graduated with honors in biology. I think this time i'll get a tutor or something???. I 'll apply this cycle:(, retake dat :( and let it be. Thanks all.
 
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Will it look bad if i take a dat the 4th time so confused. Can i really bring up the scores? I dont know what to do to improve my scores. I used everything possible, CDP, cliffs, destroyer, achiever, topscore for 3 months+ and still sucked(math). I think i might be...dumb... I cant believe it. 4th time really...I guess. Whatever i have to do to get into dental school right. I have dental assisting experience, research, not so much volunteer work, graduated with honors in biology. I think this time i'll get a tutor or something???. I 'll apply this cycle:(, retake dat :( and let it be. Thanks all.

I think it's time to try professional help. Tutoring might be a good start. NO YOU ARE NOT DUMB! Don't say that.
 
i mean, i hate to say it, but vendredi is right ... unfortunately thats how things are.. ****ty
 
gollum: did you do all your classes at a junior college? if so, finish your B.S. then retake your dat, in the meantime, try to find a part time as a dental assistant if you can. if you already have your B.S., you still need to retake the dat, signing up for a kaplan dat course is an option. hope this help

this is the best advice yet; and to give you some hope, I have had friends get in with scores like these! if you have other impressive extracurriculars, these get looked at as "average"...not bad!
 
Have you looked into the Kaplan course?

hahaha, anybody who knows anything about dat knows that the kaplan course a huge waste of money. they guarantee you to get a better score than you got while taking their diagnostic and most people fail horribly on the diagnostic so a tad bit of studying is all you need to raise your diagnostic but the scoree will still be 18 or 19 which isn't competitive for most schools.
 
hahaha, anybody who knows anything about dat knows that the kaplan course a huge waste of money. they guarantee you to get a better score than you got while taking their diagnostic and most people fail horribly on the diagnostic so a tad bit of studying is all you need to raise your diagnostic but the scoree will still be 18 or 19 which isn't competitive for most schools.

yup.. save yourself $1400 or whatever and time and study on your own.
 
You have a lot of time to retake. The DAT is pretty very easy IMO. I had a low GPA and a relatively small background and I did pretty well with a month of studying hardcore. I think you just didn't study and you'l do great if you study ~5 hrs a day for a month, ull get 19-20s.
 
hahaha, anybody who knows anything about dat knows that the kaplan course a huge waste of money. they guarantee you to get a better score than you got while taking their diagnostic and most people fail horribly on the diagnostic so a tad bit of studying is all you need to raise your diagnostic but the scoree will still be 18 or 19 which isn't competitive for most schools.

I'm not the biggest fan of KAPLAN classroom courses either. But I believe if someone is lost and has no idea how to organize his/her thoughts, and needs a plan to start studying for the DAT, then KAPLAN could help. Plus their review notes, although not sufficient, are very useful to get a hold of the basic concepts and ideas. I also believe their online resources are very helpful. If she has tried everything and she's not getting results, she might wanna try KAPLAN as her last resort. It might work for her.
 
The best thing you can do for yourself is ignore every piece of advice gandvardia has infected your thread with. A post-bacc with a 3.8 to help him improve his DAT? What a joke. To the OP, if those are all of your study materials, I would probably consider a kaplan course whether it be online or in class or at the very least, memorize kaplan bb to the word. It appears you might just be lacking in your fundamentals. Kaplan won't do much for your qr so if you've exhausted the obvious resources for that, a tutor could be the way to go. Achiever and topscore, and destroyer to an extent, are designed to test your knowledge and show you what you need to focus on more rather than teach you.
 
I'm not the biggest fan of KAPLAN classroom courses either. But I believe if someone is lost and has no idea how to organize his/her thoughts, and needs a plan to start studying for the DAT, then KAPLAN could help. Plus their review notes, although not sufficient, are very useful to get a hold of the basic concepts and ideas. I also believe their online resources are very helpful. If she has tried everything and she's not getting results, she might wanna try KAPLAN as her last resort. It might work for her.

I know I am biased but....I think the Kaplan Course (not great for everyone like you said though)+Review Notes+ Onlines materials and tests are mostly sufficient. I just had 6 students take the real thing within the last 2 months,, using nothing but Kaplan, and their scores were as follows....

18
19
19
20
20
21.

I mean, sure they didn't score 22 and up, but you are mostly correct in that if you wanna score 22+, you are going to need to use all of the resources you can get your hands on. It's not like Kaplan is deficient, but there is just so much material, and other resources like Topscore, Destroyer, Achiever, etc... can only help, right?

I agree with the other posts, as I think you may need to change your study habits if you plan on taking the DAT again. I think you definitely have a shot at getting in somewhere because your good GPA, but if you decide to take the DAT again here is exactly how you should study: read and learn the material like you needed to explain it to someone else. Once you can do that, you will be 100% prepared for all sections of the exam. Then you just have to make sure you cover enough content (and there is a lot).


Good luck and use all of the resources you can get your hands on.:thumbup:

P.S. (not trying to spitefully disagree with you nze82, just happened to comment on this one too! :))
 
The best thing you can do for yourself is ignore every piece of advice gandvardia has infected your thread with. A post-bacc with a 3.8 to help him improve his DAT? What a joke. To the OP, if those are all of your study materials, I would probably consider a kaplan course whether it be online or in class or at the very least, memorize kaplan bb to the word. It appears you might just be lacking in your fundamentals. Kaplan won't do much for your qr so if you've exhausted the obvious resources for that, a tutor could be the way to go. Achiever and topscore, and destroyer to an extent, are designed to test your knowledge and show you what you need to focus on more rather than teach you.

Yeah man, if you want to improve your math skills, you have to practice math in every way: algebra, basic calculations, trig, statistics, probability, the whole thing. Kaplan isn't the best for this section, but I would start basic, by practicing SAT math and then moving on to more difficult algebra 2 stuff. With math, if you don't use it, you lose it!
 
hahaha, anybody who knows anything about dat knows that the kaplan course a huge waste of money. they guarantee you to get a better score than you got while taking their diagnostic and most people fail horribly on the diagnostic so a tad bit of studying is all you need to raise your diagnostic but the scoree will still be 18 or 19 which isn't competitive for most schools.

You don't have any idea what you are talking about. People on these forums act like you have to have a 21+ to get in anywhere. That may be the case SOMETIMES, but the average DAT score (AA) for 2008 admissions was......drumroll..................

18.97 (YES: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=602216)

STATS don't lie...
 
About the kaplan course... I think it really depends on each person and how they learn. I've known some people that can study really well on their own but others needed the kaplan course to kind of give them a kick and force you to go through problems and study the material. Plus, they give you a lot of online materials to go through. However, I'm not saying that that's for everyone and also, I don't think kaplan by itself is sufficient. So really, it just depends on the person.
 
Hey guys my gpa is 3.8, science gpa is 3.7. I am very disappointed about my third and final DAT score, at least the QR section. What can i say i suck at the math yet I aced my calculus course ??? Will i have a chance of getting in anywhere? Please be honest, even if it might hurt. Thanks.

PAT 18
QR 14:(
RC 18
BIO 18
GC 18
OC 19
TS 18
AA 17:(

Hey don't give up hope!! My friend got into UCSF with a 3.7 and a 17 on the dat. The key thing is...she joined and is VERY active with 9 clubs on campus and she's in almost every honor soceities the school offers. I read her personal statement and it's a killer paper. Don't give up hope!!!! Just apply and see what happens!!
 
Hey don't give up hope!! My friend got into UCSF with a 3.7 and a 17 on the dat. The key thing is...she joined and is VERY active with 9 clubs on campus and she's in almost every honor soceities the school offers. I read her personal statement and it's a killer paper. Don't give up hope!!!! Just apply and see what happens!!

:thumbup:

Definitely write a great essay. Your personal statement can be one of the most powerful parts of your application if you need it to be. That, and your interview will often determine if people on the borderline get in or not (and I'm not talking about illegal immigrants).
 
i dont know u guys. at this point i feel horrible. i knew i was having trouble on QR but i went ahead and took the dat anyway. I dont know what to do now, change career choice.. But i dont think i am going to take the dat a 4TH time, that alone seems horrible. I have applied before to dental schools with a dat score of AA16 and of course 0 interviews, so applying right now seems ridiculous.....???? Thanks again for the replies.


I wouldn't quit at this point in your life. If you are truly set on dentistry, you will get there. For some it takes longer than others, but nevertheless, you will be a dentist in the end. Think about it, the amount of time you have spent taking classes, studying for the DAT, etc. for the past 4-5 years is minuscule compared to the amount of time you will have in being a practicing dentist (30+ years). In the future, you'll be glad you stuck through with it.
 
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