DAT 8/16 DONE. Re-taking in November? :(

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xdreammba

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10+ Year Member
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Scores
PAT 20
QR 16
RC 16
Bio 19
Chem 20
OChem 19
TS 19
AA 18

This was my second time taking it, and I ended up with a even lower score than the previous one (taken two years ago, TS 20, AA 18).

All I can say is that my science section was brutal!! I was scoring 17 TS on Achiever and I was doing pretty well on Chad quizzes and Destroyer (90% correct answers), but it seems like my preparation wasn't enough or accurate enough. I got a 22 TS from the ADA Sample (Free Version).

My computer turned off during the science section (lost 2 minutes) coz I kicked a switch under the table.

Bio AP Cliff
I had a lot of anatomy, embryo, physiology, and cell bio questions.. I got a very very specific questions about a tissue. I also got couple from ecology, cell respiration, evolution and some others. It was pretty hard...

Chem Destroyer + Chad
I had a question about a lab technique that I've never heard before. The rest of the questions were ok... They were very conceptual, and the type of questions that you really gotta think about..

OChem Destroyer + Chad
I knew all the reactions by heart. I was doing all the destroyer problems in 2.5 hours. I've watched Chad, which was great! and helped me refresh my memory for Ochem.

PAT
Pretty much similar to CDP. Except that I found out that the dimensions of the Keyholes are somewhat misleading, and are not accurate enough as CDP.

Math
I did couple of Math Destroyer and I was averaging between 24+.

RC
I f@@@@ it up. Oh Yeah! I got a passage about telomeres, aging and something else, and ran out of time (gotta guessed last 10).I found it to be pretty similar to CDR. Achiever RC is definitely harder!!

English is not my first language (Came to the US, 8 years ago). I love to read, and I'm always reading a book or Scientific American Mind with a cup of coffee on the subway. So, I was pretty surprised with my score.


I graduated with a non-science major, and my AADSAS GPA is currently 3.42 Overall and 3.15 Sci (used to be below 3.0). I'm currently taking bio upper division courses to raise my science GPA. I've took Developmental Biology, Cell Bio, Genomics and Bioinformatics, Infectious Diseases, Signal Transduction, Microbiology, and Biochem LAB, and I got a mostly A and A+, and one B. So my last year GPA is 3.85 Sci. I registered to a A&P and Virology class for Fall, and I'm also considering taking molecular neurobiology.

I'm 80% sure that I will be re-taking the DAT in November . What do you guys think??
 
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I would recommend a retake b/c of your RC.. I hear that a lot of schools look at RC now. If you want to be on the safe side, I think a re-take isn't a bad idea (did you already submit your aadsas app? If not, applying for next year won't be too bad either. Take it before June, and submit as soon as the app is available)

Just to let you know, I'm a re-applicant; and last year, I applied late June (took DAT mid-july). I landed with two interviews with 3.3 cGPA, 3.2 sGPA, 19AA/20TS/21PAT (18RC). Similar stats, but I would say that I landed post-december interviews even when I submitted then. So with similar stats, I think you might have better chance applying early next cycle. please don't take this offensive, just my opinion 🙂
 
Thanks for you opinion.. It's not offensive at all... = )

And yes!! I've submitted my application in Mid July, so I thought that I should retake in November so that I could at least have some light during this cycle!!
 
Your scores are not that bad... agreed RC is on the lower side, but considering that you have already applied, I would call all the schools and check with them....if 1/2 the schools say that u application will not be considered due to low RC, then u dont have a choice but to retake...but if only few schools say they would not consider, then why would you care... ofcourse this is assuming that you have applied to several schools and just few...

just my 2 cents
 
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