DAT done/PAT fail/AA20

[cda]

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Here is a little bit about my experience taking DAT today: 20AA/20TS/15PAT🙁
The test is hard but 'doable'. The chem sections are relatively easy, or easier than I thought they would be from reading this forum. The reading section didn't have any crazy FRAP or piano sections. I got 21 on RC. The math section was ok, but I ran out of time and just guessed 8 questions (I guess I guessed all wrong since my score was only 16😡) The same happened with PAT-I was so worried to make a mistake that I completely ran out of time on the last 15 questions about folding.
If you guys have any specific ?? please let me know and I will try to answer them. This forum has been so helpful in my prep that I feel that I'd like to contribute to everybody's success as much as I can.
Even though I feel absolutely disappointed and depressed after today's experience, I still feel like I did the best I could.
My science GPA is 3.89. I have a master's degree (lib arts) with 4.0 from overseas. I have been in dentistry working as a dental assistant for the last five years. What are my chances of getting any interviews with 20AA but 15PAT. Any advice will be appreciated🙂
Good luck to everybody taking the test. And thank you so much for keeping this forum so informational and helpful for people like me who has no $$ for prep courses. This forum was pretty much the only source of info for me to learn the details about the test.

 

[NyCzPeter]

Here is a little bit about my experience taking DAT today: 20AA/20TS/15PAT🙁
The test is hard but 'doable'. The chem sections are relatively easy, or easier than I thought they would be from reading this forum. The reading section didn't have any crazy FRAP or piano sections. I got 21 on RC. The math section was ok, but I ran out of time and just guessed 8 questions (I guess I guessed all wrong since my score was only 16😡) The same happened with PAT-I was so worried to make a mistake that I completely ran out of time on the last 15 questions about folding.
If you guys have any specific ?? please let me know and I will try to answer them. This forum has been so helpful in my prep that I feel that I'd like to contribute to everybody's success as much as I can.
Even though I feel absolutely disappointed and depressed after today's experience, I still feel like I did the best I could.
My science GPA is 3.89. I have a master's degree (lib arts) with 4.0 from overseas. I have been in dentistry working as a dental assistant for the last five years. What are my chances of getting any interviews with 20AA but 15PAT. Any advice will be appreciated🙂
Good luck to everybody taking the test. And thank you so much for keeping this forum so informational and helpful for people like me who has no $$ for prep courses. This forum was pretty much the only source of info for me to learn the details about the test.

Ouch dude, that sucks. It definitely will hold you back though. However, your AA is good and your gpa is stellar. I'm sure you'll get in somewhere if you apply to a good amount of schools

 

[adizzle87]

With your GPA you have lots of potential, your 15 and 16 will hold you back though. I would just retake it, 19 across the boards should be enough. I think this should be moved over to the DAT Discussion forum though...

 

[hl11]

Give it a try and apply to at least 15+ schools.

Good Luck.

 

[dentstd]

You can't not do a section on the PAT. Re-register for the exam and get it right this time. Do you know what a 15 PAT says? That you can't do dentistry.

 

[Moe Lester]

You can't not do a section on the PAT. Re-register for the exam and get it right this time. Do you know what a 15 PAT says? That you can't do dentistry.

This is not coming from me, but from a dentist who graduated first in his class: "folding houses and counting holes in paper does not test how well you work with your hands nor test your ability to be a dentist."

OP, a low score in one section is forgiven if you do well in other sections. You have done very well in all the other sections. Congrats on a job well done, what you have to worry about now is not your PAT score but how to respond to questions during the handful of your interviews.

 

[aphistis]

Moving to DAT.

 

[dentstd]

This is not coming from me, but from a dentist who graduated first in his class: "folding houses and counting holes in paper does not test how well you work with your hands nor test your ability to be a dentist."

OP, a low score in one section is forgiven if you do well in other sections. You have done very well in all the other sections. Congrats on a job well done, what you have to worry about now is not your PAT score but how to respond to questions during the handful of your interviews.

Yea, yea, yea. In today's dentistry, we can over-reduce, over-taper, get a pulp exposure, cut the adjacent tooth, not use a rubber dam, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.... I know the talk, because I've given it many, many times. Three-fourths of current dental students still can't do keyholes and put the square block in the circular hole. You can graduate top 20% in the class, get a 95-99 on Part I, and not know what tha hell you're doing in the mouth. The system is flawed, but it's not changing. People who can't visualize in 2D/3D or people who get a 13 academic average still get into dental school. They blame the inadequacy of the test instead of their own incompetance.

A 15 PAT's going to hinder an application, and considering the OP left the last 15 questions up to a random guess, why not try to change that score? The one of the harder sections, but even if he doesn't know what he's doing, it's still likely to get at least 10 out of 15 questions correctly. That'll bring his score to upwards of an 18 or so. That's huge.