DAT done 6/16 with practice test scores

[cm5796]

What a relief. I first of all would like to thank all of you on here for your valuable input. It was very helpful to have your collective experience and knowledge going into the test. Here's my breakdown:

PAT: 23
QR: 16 - This really upsets me. I thought I got most of them right and I'd been doing decently on my practice exams. I really hope this doesn't screw me.
RC: 22
Bio: 20
GC: 20
Org: 20
TS: 20
AA: 20

Lots of 20's but I guess that's not too bad. I thought the test was fair. PAT was much easier than I expected and I was able to use the gridded laminated sheets to my advantage in the hole punching. RC was comparable to Topscore and Achiever though there were a few more broad-arching questions about the whole passage rather than specific references. Bio was fair - there was nothing I hadn't seen before, same with GC; no long calculations seems to be the trend. I'm pissed I didn't do better in Orgo seeing as I've taken advanced organic chem and have worked in a lab for a year and a half.

Hopefully I didn't shoot myself in the foot with my QR. I've got a 3.91 GPA and a 3.96 Sci GPA with 100 hours of shadowing, numerous extracurriculars and 2 years of research experience (with a paper coming at the end of the summer). We'll see what comes my way.

Thanks again everyone.

I just realized I forgot to put my practice test scores in like the title suggests. I don't have time to dig out my other computer right now but I'll put them up later this evening.

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[tsav23]

Unless you got that GPA at a Community college, you are in dental school, don't sweat the QR section score.

 

[cm5796]

Ha ha. Nope, it's a 4 year liberal arts school in NY.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Your scores are consistent but fairly average. Your high GPA will help. Make sure you have a good PS and do well at the interview.

 

[Sbosu]

Your scores are consistent but fairly average. Your high GPA will help. Make sure you have a good PS and do well at the interview.

Yeah maybe average for accepted students, even then i think its above average, and the GPA is well above average, I don't think he/she has anything to worry about...not everyone scores 25's

 

[hoss19]

those scores are great. nice and consistent too. adcomms like to see that. qr is a bit low, but it seems like that is the trend...you dont see too many qr's over 20. again, nice work.

 

[osimsDDS]

what did you use to study for gchem and bio?? thanks nice score btw

 

[TeamGuo]

I feel you on the orgo score, I also was very confident in this section but ended up with a 20.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Yeah maybe average for accepted students, even then i think its above average, and the GPA is well above average, I don't think he/she has anything to worry about...not everyone scores 25's

haha i still can't get over how SICK Hugh Mannity's scores are... combined with his GPA and other "fluff" (i.e. ECs) in his app... damn... makes me want to go back to the books and take the DAT again

To the OP... I'd have to agree with others who have posted. Your DAT scores are good, but based on what I've been seeing for this year's applicants... they're prob still considered average-slightly above average. Don't sweat it though... you've got a great GPA to back it up (I'm assuming you had a legit major?), so focus on getting your apps in and you'll be in good shape.

Good luck!

 

[cm5796]

As promised, my practice exam scores. Sorry for the delay, I needed to go to the gym and burn off that post-exam stress.

I apologize in advance but I erased all my Topscore scores so I could go through all of the exams again without being influenced by my earlier answers, but they were generally 1-2 points higher than my Achiever scores. My study materials included Kaplan (DAT and MCAT), Schaum's bio, Brock Biology of Microorganisms, Skoog-West-Holler Analytical Chemistry, and everyone's "tests" and suggestions on here.

osimsDDS, to be perfectly honest, a lot of the bio questions that you raised/posted were very relevant to the material I saw today. That's pretty fortunate for you.

I'm also a chem major, so I honestly didn't spend much time at all studying the organic or general chem sections - I assumed I had it in the bag, which was not exactly true. If I had to do it over again I would spend more time solidifying what I know there.

Achiever Scores:
Test 1 - AA: 19 PAT: 18 QR: 20 RC: 21 Bio: 16 GC: 20 Org: 17 TS: 18
Test 2 - AA/RC NA. For some reason I forgot to take the reading section so I don't have an AA
PAT: 18 QR: 19 Bio: 16 GC: 17 Org: 17 TS: 17 -- This test was absolutely demoralizing for me
Test 3 - AA: 19 PAT: 18 QR: 19 RC: 25 Bio: 14 GC: 16 Org: 19 TS: 16


I think I've come a long way since Kaplan sent a "test drive" to my school and I had my first exposure to a practice exam:
AA: 15 TS: 16 Bio: 15 GC: 16 Org: 17 RC: 14 QR: 16 PAT: 21
-This was making me reconsider my desire to be a dentist... maybe I shouldn't have taken it hungover though

As I mentioned I am a chem major and my applications are already submitted, I wanted to do everything I could to get myself on the right track. Thanks again to everyone for your support.

 

[Orgodox]

Wow you did better on every section from ANY of your achiever scores (excluding QR and the 25 rc) Great job of "showing up on test day"
How long ago did you take those tests? Did you just take them this past week as practice of more as you were going?

 

[cm5796]

Showing up on test day is sort of a forte of mine. I actually took them last week which, as I mentioned, was a serious downer. I suppose it was good because it motivated me to study more, though. I took the Topscore tests starting at the end of May and then retook them, but that wasn't very effective since I memorized most of the answers after going through the first time. I feel like there were definitely some questions very similar to my Achiever and Topscore tests on my exam.

 

[jigabodo]

Don't worry about QR; you are good to go!

 

[uesider]

You seem like a perfect, well-rounded applicant to me... I can't see you having any problem getting interviews at the schools you are interested in. Congrats!!! You should be very happy with those scores

 

[Dotoday]

Hey these are awesome scores. What are you choices of Dental schools?