DAT done 05/18/09!

[ladybug2]

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hello-- Overall, given that i am working a 70 hr/week job and have been out of school for 3 years now I am satisfied. Studying for this took a lot of discipline after 14 hour of work a day... feel free to tell me your honest opinion though! Thank you!!

GPA: 3.71 IVY league engineering
Excellent Letters and 1000 hours of volunteer work and shadowing on weekends.

PAT: 20
Bio: 18
GChem: 20
OChem: 18
QR: 21
RC:19
AA: 19
TS:19

 

[joonkimdds]

It looks pretty good~!

 

[BaylorDDS]

Looks good enough to get in with your high gpa. What do you do for 70 hours a week??

 

[ladybug2]

one of those soul-selling jobs! 🙁 you can guess! had compelling reason to work for a few years before going back to school! now, i can't wait! 😍

Do you think the Bio is to my disadvantage? i am so upset because i mised 3 questiosn about a specific subject that i completely forgot to review. 😡 It would have brought up my score 1-2 points.

 

[ladybug2]

anyone else? Where do you think I should apply to?

also, i thought the test was reasonable except for Bio. I had WAY too many random questions in there. I thought PAT was easier than CDP and the QR was way harsh as getting a 92% corresponded to just a 21! 🙁

My RC passages were LONG-- way longer than the ones in Top Score but the topics were interesting (becareful with timing though as passages can be very long!)

 

[purplepanda]

It looks like you have a good shot at your state school, why not go there? Save some money!

 

[ladybug2]

I was hoping to stay in NYC. i.e. NYU/Columbia.

 

[iwannabadentist]

I was hoping to stay in NYC. i.e. NYU/Columbia.

columbia might be a bit hard with that score. According to Predents, avg. AA for entering 09 class is 22. but maybe your GPA is high enough to offset that?

Good job on a decent score tho! What bio subject did you not review?

 

[purplepanda]

columbia might be a bit hard with that score. According to Predents, avg. AA for entering 09 class is 22. but maybe your GPA is high enough to offset that?

Good job on a decent score tho! What bio subject did you not review?

Columbia might like IV undergrads..that might set him/her apart.

 

[ladybug2]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to give me feedback!!

Do you guys think my chances will improve massively if I re-take and improve by a couple of points on Bio and (maybe) Orgo? If so, it might be worth looking into? What are your views? Again, I am shooting for NYU and Columbia. (I went to Columbia for undergrad)

Also, I have a lot of people PM'ing me asking about the test- I would say that the most important thing is to stay CALM no matter what they throw at you. Remember this is just a test, one of the MANY you will have to take especially if you go to dental school! Take pride in the fact that you are finally taking it! About Bio I would say make sure you know Physiology cold! I had questions on anatomy too! (enough said!)

 

[purplepanda]

I think your chances will improve because your scores are really average for acceptance. But you should be proud of them because you still did a good job! If I were you and I had the time to retake, I would. It seems like you are confident that you can do better.

 

[achilles2]

NYU you have a shot at for sure. Columbia AA is like 22+ and they are known for being DAT lovers. So if you really want to get into Columbia or even Stony Brook (a school that favors GPA but still has a 21+ AA on the DAT) you might want to retake.

My ultimate advice is this, if you think you can honestly do significantly better then retake in 3 months no questions asked, if Columbia is your goal. You GPA is outstanding, so really you will make yourself much more competitive even if you can raise your AA by 1 point.

 

[ladybug2]

Thank you guys so much for the insight!! I am pretty sure i can improve 1-2 points on bio if I spend more time just reading Biology! Then the question becomes how do i weigh that extra point against a later application, you know? I have multiple friends who attend/ed Columbia and honestly, from talking to them I am not sure if I got into both Columbia and NYU I would necessarily choose Columbia. The idea of taking classes with med students and contantly being treated like a second class citizen is not all that appealing! and neither is the location of the school. My Columbia friends tell me that clinical experience at NYU is better but academic experience at CU is superior. Having a pass/fail system at columbia in very nice though! and NYU doesn't have that... thoughts?

 

[purplepanda]

Thank you guys so much for the insight!! I am pretty sure i can improve 1-2 points on bio if I spend more time just reading Biology! Then the question becomes how do i weigh that extra point against a later application, you know? I have multiple friends who attend/ed Columbia and honestly, from talking to them I am not sure if I got into both Columbia and NYU I would necessarily choose Columbia. The idea of taking classes with med students and contantly being treated like a second class citizen is not all that appealing! and neither is the location of the school. My Columbia friends tell me that clinical experience at NYU is better but academic experience at CU is superior. Having a pass/fail system at columbia in very nice though! and NYU doesn't have that... thoughts?

How much cheaper is Columbia than NYU? For me, price would be the main factor. It really depends on what is important to you. Also, couldn't you submit your APP in early June with those DAT scores and then send out your retakes ASAP?

 

[lifeisajourney]

nice work

 

[nze82]

I was hoping to stay in NYC. i.e. NYU/Columbia.

I'd say you have a very good shot at NYU!

 

[achilles2]

Thank you guys so much for the insight!! I am pretty sure i can improve 1-2 points on bio if I spend more time just reading Biology! Then the question becomes how do i weigh that extra point against a later application, you know? I have multiple friends who attend/ed Columbia and honestly, from talking to them I am not sure if I got into both Columbia and NYU I would necessarily choose Columbia. The idea of taking classes with med students and contantly being treated like a second class citizen is not all that appealing! and neither is the location of the school. My Columbia friends tell me that clinical experience at NYU is better but academic experience at CU is superior. Having a pass/fail system at columbia in very nice though! and NYU doesn't have that... thoughts?

In terms of location NYU is as good as it gets Columbia is indeed wayyyyyy uptown. Can't speak about the treatment of students/clinical experience as I have not walked that path yet. Don't let the p/f trick you its really pass fail honors so that doesn't get you out of the woods with didatic classes 😉

You have to factor in price as well since Columbia is less then NYU and whats your long term goal GP or specialist that also plays a factor. Honestly from what I gathered Columbia really puts alot of time into getting there students prepared for the boards.

Personally I think NYU is a great school with an awesome location the only bad aspect really in my mind is the price. I don't think you can go wrong with NYU although the class size is also a bit over the top I heard at Columbia everyone in the class becomes pretty tight nit.