Competitive DAT score for 4.0 GPA

[4X4MD]

so what would you guys say would be a competitive DAT score for someone with a 4.0

lets just assume decent ec's, etc

edit: im asking because there are lots of people who would agree that a high DAT score would fix a low GPA, but would a high GPA fix a low DAT score?

curious...

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[Rubber Dam Man]

This will vary from person to person, but IMO if someone has a 4.0 through their undergrad, they will need at least an 18-19 AA on their DATs. Anything below a 17 AA will make them question the ease of your undergrad program. In addition, many schools have cut offs for particular sections which is usually a 17.

However IMO, if you are capable of earning a 4.0, then you should have the intellectual capacity and sound study habits to score at least a 20 on your DATs. In other words, it would make sense for someone who struggled through a tough undergrad to work hard and score exceptionally well on their DATs as oppose to someone who got a 4.0 and decides to slack off and get a 17 on their DATs

 

[4X4MD]

agreed. i was just curious what people have seen/been through before

i guess it's hard to standardize the value of a 4.0 these days; that's what standardized test scores are for, after all! lol

 

[Mgobowl]

This is just my opinion, but a 20 seems kind of low for someone with a 4.0. I had a 26 TS, 24 overall, and a 3.1 gpa. Granted I knew I needed to do well on the DAT to compensate, but I was able to get those scores studying on my own.

 

[dentalWorks]

4.0 GPA is no easy task. that means for 4 years of undergrad, you were soooo determined to do well that you litterally aced your entire undergrad education. This speaks volumes about your work ethic and determination, which are 2 things are adcoms seems to favor heavily when it comes to comparing you to other applicants.

I'd say anything above 19+AA would GUARANTEE you an acceptance somewhere

 

[peerless218]

18 or 19 should be fine, 20......it's game over

 

[New2Philly]

This will vary from person to person, but IMO if someone has a 4.0 through their undergrad, they will need at least an 18-19 AA on their DATs. Anything below a 17 AA will make them question the ease of your undergrad program. In addition, many schools have cut offs for particular sections which is usually a 17.

However IMO, if you are capable of earning a 4.0, then you should have the intellectual capacity and sound study habits to score at least a 20 on your DATs. In other words, it would make sense for someone who struggled through a tough undergrad to work hard and score exceptionally well on their DATs as oppose to someone who got a 4.0 and decides to slack off and get a 17 on their DATs

....I think that ADCOMS use the DAT, to some degree as an equalizer when it comes to GPA. I would think that they would be willing to overlook a weak GPA in light of a strong DAT then the other way around. They would probably question your program.

 

[4X4MD]

....I think that ADCOMS use the DAT, to some degree as an equalizer when it comes to GPA. I would think that they would be willing to overlook a weak GPA in light of a strong DAT then the other way around. They would probably question your program.

i realize the program is a semi-important factor, but i know alot of people whod rather not spend 2 months studying for the DAT...although its required for entrance, those people who get really high percentile grades usually put alot of time and effort into receiving those scores (long, intense study periods)

i feel like a great gpa should be able to put less time into studying for the DAT

afterall, a 4.0 can just mean great studying habits and time management and there can be little retention even if you are in something like an ivy

 

[salem21]

Don't overlook the DAT...my GPA adjusted for +/- was 3.98, 22/22/20 on the DAT, and still didn't get into a STATE school. I guess the more important thing is that you should practice interviews. But just keep in mind that the DAT scores are getting a lot more competitive, so you don't want a low one standing out on your application. I had the same mentality going into the test but now I'm really glad I did well because it earned me a scholarship at another school. Don't stress out too much over it, but don't blow it off as you might end up having to explain it in an interview or miss a scholarship opportunity.

 

[doc toothache]

There is more than meets the eyes when a 3.98/22 does not qualify for a state school.

 

[Mgobowl]

Something else to think about is that the average DAT score for many schools is around 20 now. A 4.0 gpa is significantly higher than the average gpa, so it is reasonable to assume that the same person should have a higher than average DAT. A good DAT coupled with a strong gpa would affirm the difficulty of one's major. However, like other people have said, a low DAT score or even an average DAT score would make the ADCOMs question the difficulty of your curriculum.

If you had a 4.0 would you really blow off the DAT? I'd want to reduce the chances of being rejected by maximizing my score. With that gpa it really shouldn't take that much studying to do well.

 

[doc toothache]

Something else to think about is that the average DAT score for many schools is around 20 now. A 4.0 gpa is significantly higher than the average gpa, so it is reasonable to assume that the same person should have a higher than average DAT. A good DAT coupled with a strong gpa would affirm the difficulty of one's major. However, like other people have said, a low DAT score or even an average DAT score would make the ADCOMs question the difficulty of your curriculum.

You must have your own definition of "many".

 

[peanutb123]

There is more than meets the eyes when a 3.98/22 does not qualify for a state school.

Transformers

 

[subdoc]

A good DAT coupled with a strong gpa would affirm the difficulty of one's major.

Good DAT and strong GPA have nothing to do with difficulty of one's major. Complete conjecture.

 

[Dent010]

I know that me and joonkimdds are both examples of this. Both have relatively high GPA's and both got a 19/19/20+. We both only got one acceptance. AIM FOR THE SKY!

 

[dentalWorks]

I know that me and joonkimdds are both examples of this. Both have relatively high GPA's and both got a 19/19/20+. We both only got one acceptance. AIM FOR THE SKY!

I think you would have had more acceptances if you had done community volunteering. congrats on your acceptance to nova, I heard its a great school.

 

[peerless218]

I know that me and joonkimdds are both examples of this. Both have relatively high GPA's and both got a 19/19/20+. We both only got one acceptance. AIM FOR THE SKY!

If we could only combine our applications......

 

[Sauce]

Honestly I don't think you can get away with getting a not so great score on the DAT and have your GPA carry you into any school you want. I had a pretty good DAT score and GPA and still got rejected by instate schools and accepted to some others. Plan on doing just as well on the DAT as if you were applying with a 3.0 GPA and your chances will improve. It seems to me that ADCOMS look at the total package and if one component is lacking it doesn't always matter how good everything else is. IMHO

 

[4X4MD]

Honestly I don't think you can get away with getting a not so great score on the DAT and have your GPA carry you into any school you want. I had a pretty good DAT score and GPA and still got rejected by instate schools and accepted to some others. Plan on doing just as well on the DAT as if you were applying with a 3.0 GPA and your chances will improve. It seems to me that ADCOMS look at the total package and if one component is lacking it doesn't always matter how good everything else is. IMHO

oh i certainaly dont plan to slack off, but im just curious about the possible cushion i might have...just an FYI type thing

 

[Simiam]

I say minimum 20. anything lower and they will question the validity of your 4.0.

If you want multiple acceptances aim for a 21-22.

 

[joonkimdds]

I say minimum 20. anything lower and they will question the validity of your 4.0.

If you want multiple acceptances aim for a 21-22.

I agree.

 

[Predoctalk]

I say minimum 20. anything lower and they will question the validity of your 4.0.

If you want multiple acceptances aim for a 21-22.

If you have enough EC's to make you stand out and a good personal statement IMO an 18/18/18 would suffice. DAT is only one piece of the puzzle. Obviously, the better you do, the more you opportunities you will have, but I think you would be fine with avg DAT scores (assuming everything else is strong). That being said, you may not be accepted to your top choice, but you will likely get into a couple schools.

 

[joonkimdds]

Whether someone has 3.0 or 4.0, I don't think it makes any difference in the fact that you need 20+.
I barely made it to dental school with 19 DAT and 3.8GPA. It will be more competitive next year. I am guessing that 20 in next year would be treated the same as 19 in this year or somewhere around 19.5.

Aim for 21+. Not even 20 will be safe(just my opinion) from next year. And if someone has 3.0~3.5, I wanna say get 23 or above.

 

[doc toothache]

Whether someone has 3.0 or 4.0, I don't think it makes any difference in the fact that you need 20+. I barely made it to dental school with 19 DAT and 3.8GPA. It will be more competitive next year. I am guessing that 20 in next year would be treated the same as 19 in this year or somewhere around 19.5.
Aim for 21+. Not even 20 will be safe(just my opinion) from next year. And if someone has 3.0~3.5, I wanna say get 23 or above.

Ds deans probably have 20+ dancing in their dreams. As for your belief about "safe" you might want to acquaint yourself with the distribution tables.

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_score_frequency.pdf

 

[Predoctalk]

Whether someone has 3.0 or 4.0, I don't think it makes any difference in the fact that you need 20+.
I barely made it to dental school with 19 DAT and 3.8GPA. It will be more competitive next year. I am guessing that 20 in next year would be treated the same as 19 in this year or somewhere around 19.5.

Aim for 21+. Not even 20 will be safe(just my opinion) from next year. And if someone has 3.0~3.5, I wanna say get 23 or above.

As I tried to state, there is more to the picture such as EC's, personal statement, and LOR's. I'm not saying that the OP should not try his/her hardest to acheive the highest score possible, I just believe that a 4.0 and an 18 will gain one acceptance somewhere (if everything else is strong)...

 

[dabramo]

4.0 GPA you still need at least a 19 to get in these days!

 

[joonkimdds]

It seems most people on this forum with 20 or above are saying that a couple of points lower than them still have decent chance. However, as a person who actually had 19 on DAT, I spent such a hard time just to get one acceptance and I really don't want others to go thru what I did.

And I don't think my EC, LOR, and PS were bad... my interviews were great (I think )

 

[peanutb123]

Ds deans probably have 20+ dancing in their dreams. As for your belief about "safe" you might want to acquaint yourself with the distribution tables.

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_score_frequency.pdf

password: datfd07

 

[Predoctalk]

It seems most people on this forum with 20 or above are saying that a couple of points lower than them still have decent chance. However, as a person who actually had 19 on DAT, I spent such a hard time just to get one acceptance and I really don't want others to go thru what I did.

And I don't think my EC, LOR, and PS were bad... my interviews were great (I think )

I'm not arguing whether the road to acceptance will be harder with an 18 vs a 20+, it obviously will. You mentioned that you barely made it into school, but the fact remains, you did. If you look at some of the profiles of accepted students on predents.com, you will see that students with 18's do in fact get accepted. Midwestern for example, has accepted a student with an AA of 17 and 3 more with 18's, none of whom had a 4.0. I do agree that in the coming years, the avg accepted DAT score will increase, but this claim that a 20 is mandatory has been disproved, by your own acceptance no less..
Ps. Congrats again on getting in. Believe it or not, I'm not trying to argue. Just trying to shy away from the misconception that an 18 is an unaccpetable score (when accompanying a high gpa).

 

[joonkimdds]

this claim that a 20 is mandatory has been disproved, by your own acceptance no less..
Ps. Congrats again on getting in.

oh...I did!!!!!Yay~~~~

 

[shloopy]

As I tried to state, there is more to the picture such as EC's, personal statement, and LOR's.

Exactly. As has been mentioned, don't underestimate the interview, community service, and WHEN YOU APPLY. Some schools (e.g., ASDOH) weight non-numerical factors relatively heavily, which is why looking only at a school's acceptance statistics can be misleading.

Cover all your bases, and make sure that your ap is not "late," or it won't matter HOW good your GPA/DAT one-two punch is.

 

[joonkimdds]

Do you guys know if our EC, PS, and LOR are graded numerically?
When people talk about the importance of these, I don't know what activities are better than others.

 

[New2Philly]

Do you guys know if our EC, PS, and LOR are graded numerically?
When people talk about the importance of these, I don't know what activities are better than others.

I would think that each school as a fancy rubric that translates subjective feelings about the EC, PS, and LOR's into numbers that can be ranked. I can't see another way in which they could organize thousands of applications. I am also really curious about how this is done.