Considering a retake. Pro/cons of retaking DAT?

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mbvc28

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Since there is a 90 day waiting period between test attempts and because it is real late in the application cycle, I am considering the option of retaking the DAT test before I apply for the next cycle in 2014. My breakdown is in the thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-11-12-2013.1041688/ . My score was 21 AA/ 21 TS.


The schools I've contacted said that a 20 AA/ 20 TS would be a competitive score, but what does that really mean? From this source (http://www.haverford.edu/deans/prehealth/documents/dentalschool_scores.pdf) you can see the DAT scores of accepted students. They range anywhere from as low as 14 to as high as 29. The average of accepted students would lie somewhere around 19 or 20 for most schools. Wouldn't a score of 21 AA/TS just be slightly above average? How can an average score be competitive?

I know that I underperformed on the DAT test in basically every section, but QR, which was my worst section, greatly lowered my AA score. The schools I am interested in and have contacted said they only looked at AA score.

I've previously scored a 800 on the math section of the SATs, so I'm pretty confident in my math ability. However, during the test, I was caught up in one problem and ran out of time, leaving me to guess for the last 10 questions. I now have the experience and know to skip questions like that and come back to them later. Assuming my performance would be at least the same in the sciences, should I retake the DAT, just so I can score higher on the QR, thereby raising my AA score?


Also, I heard that some dental schools average the test scores for each attempt. So wouldn't I have to get a TS/AA of 27 just to raise my TS/AA to 24, from a score of 21? TS/AA of 27....... sounds daunting....... should I give it a shot?

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I think you're just being insecure. Those scores are really good and are absolutely good enough for an acceptance. Even though I have yet to take the DAT, from what I've read on here re-taking with scores like that would be a waste of money.

Oh and according to the 2009 ADA DAT percentile list a TS of 21 is 92.9th percentile and AA of 21 is 95th percentile.
 
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Since there is a 90 day waiting period between test attempts and because it is real late in the application cycle, I am considering the option of retaking the DAT test before I apply for the next cycle in 2014. My breakdown is in the thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/dat-breakdown-11-12-2013.1041688/ . My score was 21 AA/ 21 TS.


The schools I've contacted said that a 20 AA/ 20 TS would be a competitive score, but what does that really mean? From this source (http://www.haverford.edu/deans/prehealth/documents/dentalschool_scores.pdf) you can see the DAT scores of accepted students. They range anywhere from as low as 14 to as high as 29. The average of accepted students would lie somewhere around 19 or 20 for most schools. Wouldn't a score of 21 AA/TS just be slightly above average? How can an average score be competitive?

I know that I underperformed on the DAT test in basically every section, but QR, which was my worst section, greatly lowered my AA score. The schools I am interested in and have contacted said they only looked at AA score.

I've previously scored a 800 on the math section of the SATs, so I'm pretty confident in my math ability. However, during the test, I was caught up in one problem and ran out of time, leaving me to guess for the last 10 questions. I now have the experience and know to skip questions like that and come back to them later. Assuming my performance would be at least the same in the sciences, should I retake the DAT, just so I can score higher on the QR, thereby raising my AA score?


Also, I heard that some dental schools average the test scores for each attempt. So wouldn't I have to get a TS/AA of 27 just to raise my TS/AA to 24, from a score of 21? TS/AA of 27....... sounds daunting....... should I give it a shot?

I see where you are coming from. The three schools I want to get into are my state school, however my DAT score is only 20AA and 21TS. I thought my score were decent until I called up the school and they told me that my score is just average to get into. As an overachiever, I think I will retake my DAT to improve my score. Also, I made a 17 on the PAT. So Another reason why I am going retake it.
 
I think your time would be better spent making your application more attractive like volunteer hours ect, aznnyezx. The average may be 20 but that means there are people that are higher and there are people who are lower who get accepted. At the end of the day, you know your situation better than anyone. Very rarely do people who score +20, go back and retake it.
 
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I think you're just being insecure. Those scores are really good and are absolutely good enough for an acceptance. Even though I have yet to take the DAT, from what I've read on here re-taking with scores like that would be a waste of money.
Oh and according to the 2009 ADA DAT percentile list a TS of 21 is 92.9th percentile and AA of 21 is 95th percentile.

I think your time would be better spent making your application more attractive like volunteer hours ect, aznnyezx. The average may be 20 but that means there are people that are higher and there are people who are lower who get accepted. At the end of the day, you know your situation better than anyone. Very rarely do people who score +20, go back and retake it.

Having the average score of accepted students does not mean you have any more of an advantage over another applicant. You would just have the same chance of being accepted as another applicant with the same average score. However, if you were to have an above average score, then you would have a better chance of being accepted compared to those with average scores. Being an applicant with a lower GPA (~3.3), I could use all the advantages I could get.

I am only considering the retake because I know I will score higher on the second time around, at least definitely in the QR section. I didn't score low because of not knowing the material, but because of devoting too much time on a single problem.

Also, since I already know the material, I wouldn't need to invest alot of time reviewing the material during the 90 day waiting period. I could instead use that time for shadowing opportunities.
 
I think your time would be better spent making your application more attractive like volunteer hours ect, aznnyezx. The average may be 20 but that means there are people that are higher and there are people who are lower who get accepted. At the end of the day, you know your situation better than anyone. Very rarely do people who score +20, go back and retake it.

This. Your score is too good to risk retaking....plus a TS of 27 is just insane and very few people EVER have attained it. Just something to think about, not doubting your abilities. Just saying it's a HUGE risk.
 
Most schools will only look at your most recent scores if you retake. If you think that the scores you have are not good enough and you know that you can do better then go for it.
 
All the schools I applied to said they looked at the improvement and my most recent scores and did not dock me for having lower (average) scores the first time around. So don't worry about scoring a 27 by any means.
 
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