Originally posted by Rovert
hey slave4md, I'm curious as to where you got your information that "scores of 20 are already common." Thats funny you say that, because I have information that the average student accepted at UIC has somewhere around an 18 on the DATs. Where do you get off saying the "exam is really not that difficult" as well? Different people have different backgrounds. Perhaps someone who has a non-science major and only took the required science classes would not find the test as easy as you.
Ahem. I AM a non-science major. I received a BS in math and a BS in computer science ( which is not a natural science and hence cannot be considered as a 'science' in our context.).
Truth be told. I acknowledge that the DAT is very overwhelming, as it covers a great range of materials.
But look at most of the DAT questions. They are very basic and straightforward. For the general chem and organic chem sections, they merely become a pattern of recognizing the correct answer, with the wrong answers obviously being stupid choices. They don't come close to being as difficult as your college chem midterms/finals.
The biology part is of similar difficulty but the problem here is that you never know what they will ask you.
DAT math = High school algebra/trig/pre-calc. If you don't get over a 20 on this one, it's astounding to see how you got into college.
For the reading part, the answers ARE in the passages, DIRECTLY. Search and peck and it's all there. They don't ask you difficult, hypothetical questions that you see in other entrance exams.
The PAT is unique and many DAT review books do not emphasize on difficult PAT questions, which we need because the actual PAT is more difficult. Nevertheless, the PAT requires no science/math background but practiced concentration and thinking. The lowest you should get should be a 19 on this one, but a higher score for academic average.
I think they were some private schools in the midwest ( lower end schools of the DAT curve ), but I know two people who went to interview there with 18-19s ( it says this was the average for their latest matriculants on these schools' websites ) and they were told that their DATs were not that good. But I don't know if they got in or not, because I didn't get to see them before they graduated.
Also, an 18 is 50-70% and it's simply a poor score that most people personally rarely hear of anyone getting.
Rovert, thanks for your under-acheiving and positive insight for all prospective dental students.
