DAT DONE 9/8/08 Retake?????

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jackncoke

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I just finished retaking the DAT today. I used to have a name on here but I have no idea what it is so I created a new one. I am quite disappointed in my score again so here goes:

The first scores are my first test last summer, the second are from today

PAT 20/ 22 (96.2%)
QR 19/ 12 (7.5%) 😱😱😱😱
RC 16/ 17 (29.5%) 🙁🙁🙁🙁
Bio 18/ 22 (95.7%)
GC 20/ 19 (73%)
OC 19/ 20 (81.3%)
TS 19/ 20 (86.2%)
AA 18/ 18 (64.2%)

I had a few interviews last year but I knew it was RC that screwed me. However, I am a little scared that a 12 in QR will kill me this time. I graduated in May with a Biochemistry degree. My GPA is a 3.78.



Materials:

Kaplan class book from last summer-good review
Destroyer
Achiever
Topscore
*I used Kaplan only for the first test (mistake, big mistake)

Breakdown:

PAT- I have never really had to study for this section. I don't mean to come off the wrong way but it has always come quite easy to me so I don't really think I can give any advice here. In all honesty, I didn't really review or practice PAT because my practice scores were always in the 20s. Went over Kaplan last summer but thats about it. Hole punching seemed a little more difficult than last year but the shape folding deal was easier.

QR- I am not terrible at math at all. All of my practice scores were in the 19-21 range. There were so many word problems that I just ended up having to guess on a lot. The QR in Destroyer is not even close to the real thing. Kaplan practice tests seemed to be pretty on par. I don't know what happened in all honesty because I had no problem with any of the practice stuff. Perhaps I'll get an SAT book or something.

RC- I have never been to solid on RC and it definitely stinks. English is my first language and I read everyday. I guess I just read slow. The first attempt last year was using the Kaplan method which I never really liked. This time I just skimmed it and then used the search and destroy method. I thought I was doing well but I suppose not. There was a ridiculous piano passage so that was no bueno; however, I had a very easy third passage dealing with G-proteins. Any ideas on how to improve??? The lowest I got on either achiever or topscore was an 18 so I have no idea what happened.

BIO- In all honesty, there was not a question on this section that I had not seen somewhere. I definitely had a great feeling when I got through this section knowing I rocked it. Nothing was out of the ordinary or stood out. I was Frapped last year, however this time the bio seemed so much easier. Only one lab technique on centrifuging, lot's of plant questions, (3-5). Lot's of cell biology. In all honesty, I had seen or worked something similar to every one of these questions. I'm not really sure what I missed.

I read the Kaplan Bio section a while ago and then made notes of things I didn't remember. Destroyer was very helpful in letting me know what I didn't know and was fairly on par or even a little overboard. I wouldn't attribute this score to destroyer, however, but to my cell biology professor last semester.

GenChem- There seemed to be a lot of calculations and hardly any conceptual questions. Kaplan was pretty on par with this. Destroyer was definitely overboard. The calculations were really simple so I'm not sure what I missed.

ORGO- In all honesty, I don't know how I did decent last year. Destroyer was more than overkill for this section. Pretty simple reactions. I had a two H-NMR, one C-NMR, and one IR. I'm sure I missed the C-NMR but everything else seemed pretty solid. I just made note cards of all the reactions from destroyer and made sure I knew them.


I'll have to find my practice scores from topscore and achiever from my laptop but I never did that bad on QR or RC. I was doing so well on RC so I thought I was alright.

I currently work for a dental lab as an assistant manager and technician, I've shadowed more than should be allowed, and I have a few good extra curriculars. My application went out in June and I was going to wait to send in the cash until I got my scores back. Any suggestions on schools or will it just be impossible?


Should I retake it again? I'm pretty sure I'll have to.
 
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Did you enter the wrong Bio score? I'm pretty sure at 22 isn't 29th percentile.
 
QR isn't as important as the others, but 12 might just be too low. Get other opinions though.
 
Your QR dropped an unusual amount. I guess that is luck. Good job other than that.
 
I guess what I'm looking for is, should I retake it or what schools don't care about QR?

Any ideas on how to get better on RC? I really don't know what else to do. I know I can do the QR so I guess I just freaked out.
 
I know what you want to hear but face it, you'll have to retake. I believe the lowest score that any d-schools will tolarate would be something like a 16 or MAYYYYYBE a 15. You'll do better next time. Good luck!
 
I know what you want to hear but face it, you'll have to retake. I believe the lowest score that any d-schools will tolarate would be something like a 16 or MAYYYYYBE a 15. You'll do better next time. Good luck!

This depends on the school. Some schools don't have a set minimum score. With that said, a 12 is really low and it would be best if you retake it.
 
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