DAT done, need advice

[flyguy25]

Just took the DAT today and am disappointed to say the least.

Bio - 14 (Random questions I've never seen, can't believe this )
GC - 18
OC - 15 (I don't even know what to say)
PAT - 24
RC - 19
QR - 17

TS - 16
AA - 17

I have already sent out all my applications and everything but I figure at this point with these scores there is no hope in getting in to any of the schools I applied to. With that being said, I am going into my senior year of college and am planning on taking the DAT again next summer, reapplying and all that jazz. So I guess my main question is since I will have completed my undergrad by the time I take the DAT again next summer, what is the best option for me to do while my application is being processed? I am considering grad school but am wondering what other options are available/have people done besides grad school. Just looking for any options that are available since I won't be in dental school next year Thanks for any input

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[peanutb123]

the question is why did you not do good on dat?

did you have too much on your plate?... meaning were you juggling school, job, shadowing and dat prep? how did you study? what materials did you use? how detailed did you go in your studies? Did you feel overwhelmed by other things you were concentrating on? how often did you do practice tests and how much did you practice? so on... tell us your story on how you prep for the test. and you will get a better understanding on what you did wrong in your study prep for dat...

With that being said. I want to ask you something, why rush into grad school immediately why not graduate then take a whole semester off then conc only on studying for dat then retake it. wouldnt that be productive? b/c low scores on dat 2 time around, even after you finish grad school will not be useful anyways.

 

[flyguy25]

Only studied for about a month, 6-8 hours a day. Didn't have anything going on, just studying. The materials I used were chad's vids, kbb, dat destroyer, math destroyer, CDP and barrons ap bio. It was awhile since I had taken o chem and g chem so I put a lot of emphasis on relearning those and basically things piled up and ran out of time. I just went about studying the wrong way. Didn't take any practice tests except for the one in kbb, went through kbb and barrons once and only covered a handful of problems from the destroyers. Looking back at it now I don't know why I thought I could even do remotely well. Idiotic I know. I completely agree with you but I just wasn't sure how dental schools would view someone doing nothing after undergrad. Thanks for your comments

 

[DoCt0rPeTe]

I see that you used some quality materials, ie. Destroyer. But I think its not just the materials, but how you use them to study. I know atleast for the Destroyer, it shouldn't be used as a set of problems; rather, it should be used as a study guide. If you understood everything in that book, especially in Orgo, I feel that you could do way better.

Make flashcards, your own notes, and study for a few months. It will pay off. Eat, sleep, breathe the dat for a while and you won't regret it.

Best of luck to you man.

 

[ALTOSS]

Only studied for about a month, 6-8 hours a day. Didn't have anything going on, just studying. The materials I used were chad's vids, kbb, dat destroyer, math destroyer, CDP and barrons ap bio. It was awhile since I had taken o chem and g chem so I put a lot of emphasis on relearning those and basically things piled up and ran out of time. I just went about studying the wrong way. Didn't take any practice tests except for the one in kbb, went through kbb and barrons once and only covered a handful of problems from the destroyers. Looking back at it now I don't know why I thought I could even do remotely well. Idiotic I know. I completely agree with you but I just wasn't sure how dental schools would view someone doing nothing after undergrad. Thanks for your comments

the bio Qs are almost always either you know it or you don't, but chem and orgo questions are very predictable, so you should know them cold (i got chem 24, orgo 27). i took DAT w/ only bio education (bio 1 and 2) in freshman 10 years ago. it took me 65 minutes for bio, while i spent 15 for chem and 10 for orgo. QC section is easy to be overlooked; know your limits and get the ones you really know--don't try to get 30, because it's hard to get. believe me, dental school is far more than DAT, and it's at least 10 times more difficult.

 

[hoylematt]

Whats your GPA? If you need to improve your GPA grad school may be in order. Most importantly, especially if you GPA is close to being competitive is getting a good DAT score.

I was much like you I think the first time around. I set aside a bunch of time and had this huge stack of study materials, but never really used them. After doing terrible the first time I realized that the DAT wasn't going to be something I could just "wing".

This is the time to plan your attack on the retake. Decide if you can study during a semester--some people can. I decided I needed to study without any other classes distracting me. I gave up my entire summer but I can say without reservation that it was worth it. I didn't get 25AA, but I am happy with my scores.

The bottom line is you know you messed up. Fix it. Study like you have never studied before for 3 months and you will be so happy that you did. Good luck.

 

[flyguy25]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. GPA is right at 3.5 now so I don't know if that would require boosting from grad school. Planning on it going up more this year

 

[darkwalk]

Your GPA is okay. You just need the DAT to reflect your GPA. Have you considered getting a job while you study for the DAT? The extra income will help instead of getting into more debt by getting a master's.

I guess your current method of studying is not working so you have to evaluate and improve upon that. But, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by your score once you set your mind to studying the DAT efficiently. Try reading the high DAT score breakdowns for some tip. There is a 21+ AA thread somewhere. Good luck!