DAT Done 1/9/07

[osims]

so i just finished the dat about 20 minutes ago and wow, wasnt expecting what came my way. overall it was really really hard i thought (bio, qr especially).
What do you guys think of my chances?

cGPA: 3.7
sciGPA: 3.7

DAT:
PAT 21
QR 15
RC 18
Bio 19
Gchem 17
Ochem 24
TS 19
AA 19


Pretty happy about the scores for now. i am planning on applying to uop, ucla, ucsf, tufts, bu, columbia, unlv, pittsburgh, loma linda, maryland, and probably a little more.

Bio- Wow, this section was hard. i basically memorized the whole kaplan book and not even one question that i studied was on there. no hormones, no muscles, etc etc... really pissed off about this section thought i could do better.

Gchem-i thought i killed this section, but i guess i didnt. I dont know what you guys on SDN were talking about but i had a ton of calculations and non of the ()/()X() types. really disappointed.

Ochem- ha got lucky. it wasnt that hard but damn i cant believe i got a 24. many 2 and 3 step reactions. about same level as topscore and achiever.

QR- jesus, i dont even want to talk about this section. insanely hard problems. im pretty good in math too.

PAT- thought i did worse than what i actually got, folding was crazy hard.

RC- i was lucky i got essays that i learned about but i had this one essay that was hard on the spinal cord i think that was the essay that screwed me over. not as bad as i thought though, and my comprehension skills are terrible.

All in all, im pretty happy with my scores. i do not plan to take the test again but things might change. So what do you guys think of my chances? thanks, and wow it feels good that its all over!!

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[noshnosh]

I have few Qs,
for bio did u just study Kaplan or you had other sources?The actual test was anything like topscore or achiever!
what about QR was it harder than top and achiever.
I have mine on Saturday and I might have the same thing as you had.I scored pretty bad on the second top score bio section today and I'm worry about it.So I decided to go over Kaplan once since I haven't focus on Kaplan bio much.
would please let me know what was you scores on top score?


Thank you

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Take advice from SDN with a grain of salt. Just because many people say gchem section had barely any calculations doesn't mean you're DAT will be similar.

Good job on the test. I think you will be able to score some interviews with those stats.

 

[DDS Nuke]

That many schools plus more?!? Why does everyone think they need to apply to so many schools? Pick 2 or 3 you want to go to and add 2 or 3 "it'd be nice" schools. Otherwise, you're wasting your money applying to so many out of state schools (unless you're WICHE or somehow have multiple residencies). BTW, I say this because your stats are more than enough to get into at least one school, especially your instate school (if you have one)...or, do what you want and follow the title to this post.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

That many schools plus more?!? Why does everyone think they need to apply to so many schools? Pick 2 or 3 you want to go to and add 2 or 3 "it'd be nice" schools. Otherwise, you're wasting your money applying to so many out of state schools (unless you're WICHE or somehow have multiple residencies). BTW, I say this because your stats are more than enough to get into at least one school, especially your instate school (if you have one)...or, do what you want and follow the title to this post.

I disagree but everyone has their opinions.

 

[itze12ic]

Good job! I think you'll get in at least one of the schools that you applied for. BTW, was TopScore and Achiever your only study material?

 

[osims]

yea i disagree as well. i want to make sure i get into a school (im not particularly picky on which school i get in to i just want to get in somewhere). so by applying to many schools i increase my chances. However, thank you for your opinion, everyone is entitled to one.

 

[osims]

for noshnosh: i dont think topscore is a good representation of the material on the dat, i thought topscore was much easier than the real thing. however, if you search for other results, other test takers would say that topscore was much harder so it is purely opinion. i thought the bio section was the toughest because kaplan does a very very very poor job of preparing you but it is my fault, i should have taken the advice of many SNDers and supplemented kaplan with Schaum's or some other bio book. I studied kaplan for literally a month and i basically memorized the whole blue book (gchem, ochem, and bio). You could ask me any question from there and i could answer it without even thinking, but obviously this method did not work very well. take my advice and others on SDN and please supplement kaplan bio with another bio book. For my topscore scores, i only took the second full length test from beggining to end so here it is:

Topscore test 2:
bio-19
gchem-21
ochem-19
pat-21
rc-19
qr-17

My achiever scores were terrible, i got like 16 on bio and 17 in gchem and 17 on ochem. but achiever is great use it to your advantage and go over the ones you got wrong and the ones you got right because that is how you learn.

For Itze12ic:
I basically used the entire kaplan blue book and here is my break down of the book-
bio (terrible terrible terrible, please supplement do yourself a favor!!)
gchem-it was good enough but some topics i had to supplement with my textbook from college
ochem- i think this is enough but i also used my ochem notes from class which was extremely helpful.

As far as practice tests go, i used kaplans test (CD, Diagnostic, and from the book), topscore test, and achiever tests. I would say none of them come even close to the real thing, i dont understand because topscore and achiever were nothing like it, NOTHING! but maybe it was just me during the test and pressure/stress plays a big factor.

 

[jigabodo]

The combination of your DAT and GPA will most likely get you in somewhere. Good job overall!

 

[osims]

thanks, but im just worried about that QR and that GChem score. more worried about the QR score. what do you guys think?

 

[joonkimdds]

I think u have great GPA and DAT score. But I heard that many people have cut off score of 16 so your 15 point can actually put you in a bad position. You might wanna call or email schools and see if 15 is ok if not, retake it just for that section.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Lots of schools over look the QR score, at least they did for me lol.

 

[TechDoc]

joonkimdds, Could you please elaborate more on how we can retake just one section or two, thanks.

 

[rightangle]

thanks, but im just worried about that QR and that GChem score. more worried about the QR score. what do you guys think?

A lot of schools have QR cutoff scores of 17 and 16...so they might not even look at your application.

Here were my stat breakdown:

PAT - 18
QR - 16
BIO - 20
Gchem - 20
Ochem - 22
Reading - 17
AA - 19

4.0 science GPA

I've gotten 8 interviews and some acceptances...but i must say the competition is getting harder and harder every year.


It all depends on what school you want to go to...i would suggest contacting schools and seeing what their cutoff scores are for every section.

I would suggest a retake but im not part of any admissions committee.

If you are going to apply...apply EARLY!!! ... send in your app the first day that you are allowed too....your chances of getting interviews will be better.

My thought process was similar to yours...ill just go to any school that accepts me......but after interviewing at many schools I realized their were schools I hated and others that I really liked.....what happens if you only get accepted to a school you dont like?...do you really want to spend four years somewhere your not gonna like?.....the price of schools is also something you have to look at

good luck and godspeed

 

[2009er]

RC- i was lucky i got essays that i learned about but i had this one essay that was hard on the spinal cord i think that was the essay that screwed me over. not as bad as i thought though, and my comprehension skills are terrible.

How did you study for the RC section? what materials did u use?
i'm terrible in RC compared to all the other sections and have no idea how to study for it. am taking the DAT's in April. please guide me! thanks.

 

[osims]

to the above post:

for the RC dont worry about it too much. i mean if you want to study for it go ahead but theres really nothing to study for. maybe test yourself once or twice before the exam to see how you will approach the questions. i typically like to skim through the essay before i begin answering any questions. just find the way you are comfortable doing it. personally i think searching for the answers does not work because sometimes they ask you two questions in one question were you cant find the answer in one passage of the essay, its like in two different passages, so i would read the whole thing atleast skim through it really fast. I took 1 achiever RC test and 1 topscore RC test and to me the practice tests were much easier. i scored a 20 on achiever and i think a 19 on topscore. but basically i think it comes down to luck, that you get essays that are interesting to you because i got lucky and had one on epidemiology which i had already learned in college. and the last essay was real cool about bridges. but the first one sucked it was too much for me and i think this is where i lost alot of points. anyways, dont worry about it i think you will be fine because im telling you my comprehension skills are terrible. so if i can get an 18 that says alot.

 

[osims]

i dont know how good of an indicator predents.com is but there are alot of students with 16 QR or lower that have been accepted to schools, but yea i will definitely have to check with every school before i apply.

 

[Mahogany77]

joonkimdds, Could you please elaborate more on how we can retake just one section or two, thanks.

Please let me know to if somebody can retake one or two sections of the exam. thanks

 

[AndyK]

Please let me know to if somebody can retake one or two sections of the exam. thanks

That would be waaaay too good to be true. The DAT is a 4.5 hour exam, and one of the reasons it's so hard is because of the mental endurance you must have to be bombarded by difficult questions that entire time. Being able to retake individual sections would sorta defeat its purpose.

 

[Mahogany77]

That would be waaaay too good to be true. The DAT is a 4.5 hour exam, and one of the reasons it's so hard is because of the mental endurance you must have to be bombarded by difficult questions that entire time. Being able to retake individual sections would sorta defeat its purpose.

Yeah..I never heard of it either but techdoc asked so i figured maybe there was. But thanks

 

[gargcreation21]

hi nuke,
how r u . you r doing dds. dear friend i also want to do dds is usa.plz help me how can i proceed for it.i have done bechler of dental surgery(BDS) from india.plz help me. tell me the status of dentist in usa.
thanx waiting in your reply