DAT Done! (5/3)

[DividedByZero]

Well... it's finally over. Big thanks to everyone here on SDN for answering my questions and providing such useful feedback.

Go ahead and tell me what you guys think of my chances for any school (i really couldn't care less if I get into Meharry or Harvard). I'm about to graduate in a few months with a biochem major from UCD and a right on the dot 3.0 overall GPA. I messed up the first two years pretty badly (mostly B's and C's) but got A's and B's (mostly B's) my last two years.. along with two C+'s. I'm not sure if this is really such an upward trend to help me out.

The DAT goes as follows:

SUBJECT Achiever TopScore REAL THING
PAT 15/15/16 19/18/18 19
QR 17/17/21 18
RC 20/22/22 18
BIO 16/15/15 16/21/19 19
GC 18/15/17 19/19/19 22
OC 19/15/16 16/17/17 18
TS 18/15/16 19
AA 18/17/19 19

I've got all the typical ECs and shadowing done... applying once the '09 cycle opens.

I would post such a nice review like everyone else but honestly once I hit that end button I forgot pretty much all the questions on the test. All I can say to you future test takers is that a giant pop up will come at you when you have 15 minutes remaining and 5 minutes remaining. I swear the first time it popped up it scared the bejeezus out of me and almost gave me a heart attack.

Once again, thanks you guys!

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[musl85]

this is just my opinion, but i would retake. According to your predents ur GPA is slightly below 3.0. i would think you need a 21+ with that GPA to have a shot at this point. I know it sucks, 19 is great, but not with that GPA.

as for meharry and howard, dont count on getting an invite to interview at those schools unless you are a minority/underepresented. Dont be fooled by the low admissions stats.

 

[tamkhan]

this is just my opinion, but i would retake. According to your predents ur GPA is slightly below 3.0. i would think you need a 21+ with that GPA to have a shot at this point. I know it sucks, 19 is great, but not with that GPA.

as for meharry and howard, dont count on getting an invite to interview at those schools unless you are a minority/underepresented. Dont be fooled by the low admissions stats.

A retake will definitely help your cause. Research schools and pick the ones that are private, have no preference for minorities, and weigh DAT scores heavily.
Good luck!

 

[nhasifuture]

you seemed to do so well on RC with Topscore and Achiever. what happened on the real test? Were the passages too long or harder questions? thanks

 

[Brown10]

I took the DAT yesterday as well

PAT 19
RC 21
QR 18
Bio 16
Ochem 20
Gchem 16
TS 17
AA 18

I'm not totally thrilled with these scores... My GPA is 3.3 (both overall and science). I'm wondering if I should retake? I'm looking at applying to 12 schools in New England. Should I retake in August after I already submit my app? I don't really want to but I do want to get accepted.

Some info I can remember about the test:
Bio was really hard. I was not expecting that at all. There were questions about plants and bacteria that I hadn't studied at all. Not so much about hormones or cellular respiration. There were some questions I just didn't know, but the ones I had studied were easy.
Gen Chem I thought was easy, but I skipped that section to do last and was pressed for time. Very few calculations, mostly what type of bonds, solubility in water, etc.
Ochem was straightforward. I had all really basic reactions, nothing obscure.
RC was interesting. The first two passages were short and simple and then the last one was very dense and a lot of "keywords" so I wished I had more time for the last passage, but I had paced myself.
QR was ridiculous. There were at least 4 trig questions, but all of the other ones were pretty straightforward. I think the best strategy would be to skip those questions until the end if you have no idea like I do. Some inequality questions also that were more challenging.

My best advice would be to practice real timed practice exams if possible and make a plan that allows you extra time at the end. I knew I had a certain amount of time for each question, but didn't leave myself a buffer, which I could have used on EVERY section. I always had extra time when practicing but come test day you are being super careful, so make a better plan than I did!!

 

[mantraman1010]

I took the DAT yesterday as well

PAT 19
RC 21
QR 18
Bio 16
Ochem 20
Gchem 16
TS 17
AA 18

I'm not totally thrilled with these scores... My GPA is 3.3 (both overall and science). I'm wondering if I should retake? I'm looking at applying to 12 schools in New England. Should I retake in August after I already submit my app? I don't really want to but I do want to get accepted.

Some info I can remember about the test:
Bio was really hard. I was not expecting that at all. There were questions about plants and bacteria that I hadn't studied at all. Not so much about hormones or cellular respiration. There were some questions I just didn't know, but the ones I had studied were easy.
Gen Chem I thought was easy, but I skipped that section to do last and was pressed for time. Very few calculations, mostly what type of bonds, solubility in water, etc.
Ochem was straightforward. I had all really basic reactions, nothing obscure.
RC was interesting. The first two passages were short and simple and then the last one was very dense and a lot of "keywords" so I wished I had more time for the last passage, but I had paced myself.
QR was ridiculous. There were at least 4 trig questions, but all of the other ones were pretty straightforward. I think the best strategy would be to skip those questions until the end if you have no idea like I do. Some inequality questions also that were more challenging.

My best advice would be to practice real timed practice exams if possible and make a plan that allows you extra time at the end. I knew I had a certain amount of time for each question, but didn't leave myself a buffer, which I could have used on EVERY section. I always had extra time when practicing but come test day you are being super careful, so make a better plan than I did!!

I had the EXACT same scores, but 20 came in Bio, lower PAT and higher RC. I have a little bit higher GPA, so trust me when I say retake. I applied last cycle, so I speak from experience.

 

[Chemiguy]

Well... it's finally over. Big thanks to everyone here on SDN for answering my questions and providing such useful feedback.

Go ahead and tell me what you guys think of my chances for any school (i really couldn't care less if I get into Meharry or Harvard). I'm about to graduate in a few months with a biochem major from UCD and a right on the dot 3.0 overall GPA. I messed up the first two years pretty badly (mostly B's and C's) but got A's and B's (mostly B's) my last two years.. along with two C+'s. I'm not sure if this is really such an upward trend to help me out.

The DAT goes as follows:

SUBJECT Achiever TopScore REAL THING
PAT 15/15/16 19/18/18 19
QR 17/17/21 18
RC 20/22/22 18
BIO 16/15/15 16/21/19 19
GC 18/15/17 19/19/19 22
OC 19/15/16 16/17/17 18
TS 18/15/16 19
AA 18/17/19 19

I've got all the typical ECs and shadowing done... applying once the '09 cycle opens.

I would post such a nice review like everyone else but honestly once I hit that end button I forgot pretty much all the questions on the test. All I can say to you future test takers is that a giant pop up will come at you when you have 15 minutes remaining and 5 minutes remaining. I swear the first time it popped up it scared the bejeezus out of me and almost gave me a heart attack.

Once again, thanks you guys!

About a retake, honestly you know in your heart you would be able to score higher or not, if you were to retake.
So think hard and long about it since you would have to wait 90 days anyway.
Good news is that you don't have any section below 17.
About GPA, maybe you could take heavy summer load, I am talking about 12 credits or so. That would raise your GPA into 3.0 range, I assume. If that's not enough, take fall '08 as well since your new AADSAS GPA won't be in the system until November. That way you don't have to worry about GPA in case your first try at dental school admission isn't successful.
Best of luck to you.

 

[A8]

You got solid scores. I think you need to take more science courses in summer and next fall to raise your GPA. Good luck.

 

[DividedByZero]

You got solid scores. I think you need to take more science courses in summer and next fall to raise your GPA. Good luck.

I'm already registered to graduate this year... and I've actually finished my biochem major in 3 years. The school is practically begging me to leave already.

I pretty much took all the science courses I could take already. I took all the biochem courses for my major, (p-chem, biochem lab, enzyme kinetics, etc.) physio is done, micro and micro lab is done, anatomy and anatomy lab is done, immunology and immunology lab is done. histology is not offered at my school.

I'm thinking of applying to some SMP's ASAP but at the same time also apply to D-schools. It might be my best bet.....

 

[DividedByZero]

you seemed to do so well on RC with Topscore and Achiever. what happened on the real test? Were the passages too long or harder questions? thanks

The questions were just a lot harder. Also, time flew by really fast during the second passage for some reason that I barely had any time for the third passage. They were all a fair length and reading difficulty on the actual test though.

 

[DividedByZero]

as for meharry and howard, dont count on getting an invite to interview at those schools unless you are a minority/underepresented. Dont be fooled by the low admissions stats.

would you consider attending a high school that is in the first percentile in test ranking in all of CA disadvantaged?