best time to take DAT?

[Maroon]

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i'm an entering junior and after doing some soul searching i've decided i want to go into dentistry. the thing is..both my sci and overall gpa suck (sub 3.0), so i put off taking the DAT before thinking i might get a master's or do post-bacc but now i just want to be on the safe side and take the DAT by the chance i may get accepted.

what do you guys think i should do about the DAT?
and what do you guys suggest i do? did i just screw myself over? should i just give up on becoming a dentist? should i do post bacc? anyone else been in the same position/

unfortunately my advisor isn't too helpful, and i have to say i am quite intimidated asking the zealous and overly-competitive pre-dents and pre-meds who are studying now/applying. i'd appreciate advice.

 

[jkh1886]

pull that gpa up. take cake classes if necessary. start preping for the DAT by Dec/Jan slowly and take it towards apr/may or even aug. Forget grad school. this is your chance now!

 

[Notoriousjae]

i'm an entering junior and after doing some soul searching i've decided i want to go into dentistry. the thing is..both my sci and overall gpa suck (sub 3.0), so i put off taking the DAT before thinking i might get a master's or do post-bacc but now i just want to be on the safe side and take the DAT by the chance i may get accepted.

what do you guys think i should do about the DAT?
and what do you guys suggest i do? did i just screw myself over? should i just give up on becoming a dentist? should i do post bacc? anyone else been in the same position/

unfortunately my advisor isn't too helpful, and i have to say i am quite intimidated asking the zealous and overly-competitive pre-dents and pre-meds who are studying now/applying. i'd appreciate advice.

realistically speaking, if you've only been able to pull of a sub par performance until junior year. your cumulative gpa is pretty much screwed and you might even have to consider taking a post bacc program unless you start getting A's in all your classes and even then maybe your gpa wont go up enough to make yourself competitive for admission. start getting good grades, take the dat and ace it and then if your gpa is still not above a 3.2 by the time you have to apply do a post bacc.

 

[biocmp]

I'm going to somewhat disagree with notorious. If you really do want it and you are willing to bust your butt to get in, I believe it can be done.

Pull all A's from here on out and blast the DAT. Now when I say blast, I'm assuming you will graduate with a 3.0 or higher. The dental schools will see this along with straight A's in your last 2 years. It looks like a marked improvement. So the icing on the cake would be a DAT 21AA or higher and some extra curricular activities.

Now, set your sights on your classes, get prepared and don't plan on taking the DAT until the end of next summer (1 year from now). This way your junior year will be done, you will know if you still have the determination after 2 intense semeseters. Study for 12-16 weeks and beat it up. In the event you aren't accepted and you do have to go to a remedial post-bac program, your dat will still be good for 2 more years after your graduation (total of 3 years). Otherwise you will have to retake. Some schools policies differ, so check them out and write out a plan of action to get into dental school

Tape it above your bed, in your bathroom so you don't lose sight.