DAT done, need opinions!

[davao4444]

Finally finished my DATs! So im a bit worried about my chances, what do you guys think?

PAT: 21
RC: 20
QR: 18
Bio: 19
GChem: 20
OChem: 19
TS: 19
AA: 19

Personally I thought the scores were not bad but not great
but heres my main problem, my GPA. Its 2.96 cumulative and 2.81 science (from University of Michigan if that matters).

I want to avoid retaking (basically in fear that I might do worse/dont want to put myself through hell again/want to submit aadsas and be done with it) and plan on getting my aadsas ASAP (first week of june at the latest). im sending to 13 schools.. opinions on chances?

and for the curious, all studying purely off kaplan, got the job done.
i felt bio was more specific than what i studied, gchem didnt have as many calculations as i thought it would, pat was way easier but the real thing wasnt as hard as i was expecting it to be.

thanks!

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[Sbosu]

I would say that those scores are pretty solid if your GPA wasnt so low. Having a GPA under 3.0 is a pretty big hurtle to get over and I think you need to either retake the DAT (dont konw if that would even help that much unless you scored >23) or do some sort of masters program or something to raise your GPA. If you dont mind me asking, why is your GPA so low, those are solid scores on your DAT and they just dont match up with that GPA.

 

[jigabodo]

You should probably consider the followings to boost your chances:

1. Apply early.
2. Apply to 20+ schools. Make sure you pick the right ones as well.
3. Postac with more upper division science classes.
4. SMP.
5. Retake and get a 22+.

Good luck!

 

[doc3232]

You did good, so I don't know if you should retake.
How would you compare each section from Kaplan to the real thing.
Kaplan practice test scores?
Thanks

 

[davao4444]

to be completely honest, i dont have a real reason as to the discrepancies. Im just not that great getting into the top tier in class i guess, ive never failed a class, but got 3 Cs on sciences, mostly Bs, few As but in the end just couldnt quite get to the A ranges as much as id like to (and thats for sciences and nonsciences).
that said, thats my big problem, im worried extra classes wont do much cause it seems like no matter how hard i try i keep getting stuck in the B range
i'll end up trying with what i got (applying first week of june at latest) otherwise doing a masters program from there


as for kaplan practice tests, i pretty much got all 17 and 18s on the sections with exception to QR which i got 19-21, and PAT (23-26) every single time.

--bio: real dat had a few subjects not covered by kaplan (dont remember which subjects though), i actually felt lucky to get a 19
--gchem: a lot less calculations on the real dat then what is empahsized by kaplan, but knowing how to do the calculations helped with the concepts anyway
--ochem: pretty much what was expected
--reading: reading is reading, real dat was easier only probably because the reading window is bigger than what kaplan provides so its easier to skim through
--QR: maan, i just ran out of time, but was what was expected, wasnt that much harder or anything, i just messed a few calculations and it threw my timing off
--PAT: angle ranking = lots harder, angles much closer, cube counting answer choices went higher into 6-9 block range but otherwise wasnt any harder, hole punching had 1 or 2 half hole punches that took some thought, plus i felt the proportions werent very good on the real thing (like some of the holes seemed in between the first and second row), everything else was pretty much the same

 

[userah]

i'm in a similar predicament man; GPA wise that is, except i've yet to retake my DAT's. i'm hoping for 20 or above. that and applying early to schools where i have a better chance of getting in. i'm hoping that will do that trick cuz i really would much rather not have to do a masters...sigh. DAT's in 2 weeks. wish me luck =)

congrats on the score btw!

 

[joonkimdds]

ur DAT is solid but ur GPA is gonna hurt you alot.

 

[TimeforDAT]

depending on which school you want to go to, you may want to call up the school's admin department and tell them your scores and gpa and then decide if retaking it is what you need to do.

Overall though, i think you did pretty good, you have solid scores. But you only studied from kaplan in your post and if you do decide to retake you may want to look into some other sources since Kaplan is not sufficient. The forum is full of different study sources. For bio try Schaums, DAT Destroyer is great for the sciences, Crack DAT PAT is a very good program although you did do pretty well on it. Kaplan PAT is way too easy and not representative at all of the real thing.

The GPA though is what might hold you back. If you don't have a whole lot of extracurriculars, volunteer work, and shadowing experience, and recommendation letters to go along with your score, you may be in trouble. One option would be to do a masters program to prove that you can handle the rigors of a graduate level program. Although this can be 1-2 years, this would be an option to take.

Like one poster said to apply to 20+ schools, do not do that. It will cost you a fortune to apply to that many schools. But definitely apply as early as you can.