DAT finished.....My chances?

[teenuuuh]

Hi everyone,

I just took my DAT today, and what a relief! My scores are as follows:

Biology 21
Chemisty 21
OChem 21
PAT 24
QR 22
RC 24
TS 21
AA 22

I did better than I thought, since I wasn't sure about some questions in the science portion. I seriously thought I was going to 15's. Anyways, I was wondering what my chances are in getting to dental school now? I know my DAT scores are fine. My GPA is 3.512, so I think that's OK too. I'm just worried about my LORs. I have worked as a dental assistant for about 4 years now. Two years at one office, and another two years at my current office. I know I can get 2 LORs from dentists, but I don't really have any lined up from professors. I didn't go to office hours in my classes, so the majority of my professors probably won't know who I am. This means that my LORs from professors will be pretty generic and not personal. Will this affect my chances???

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jigabodo]

You did well. Great DAT score along with a solid GPA!

Just make sure you DO get the LORs, whether they can be generic or not - since most schools won't even look at your file until your LORs are in.

 

[UNR.Grad]

See you in school, nice scores. Even with generic letters you'll be fine.

 

[teenuuuh]

Thanks

 

[Crew07]

I wonder who you people really are... why do people that have great DAT scores places these types of postings?

You should be worried about your letters of rec. Your DAT score will not help at all.

 

[doc3232]

I wonder who you people really are... why do people that have great DAT scores places these types of postings?

You should be worried about your letters of rec. Your DAT score will not help at all.

I guess his post bothers you more than it does the rest of us.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

Get the generic letters to fulfill the requirement. I can't know for sure, but i think my 2 science letters were pretty much cut and pasted with the standard stuff. Nobody at my inteerviews oohed or aahed over them, but I had good DAT scores too so I wasn't concerned.

 

[teenuuuh]

I guess his post bothers you more than it does the rest of us.

You're right about that one! But then again...someone who already got into dental school would have more credibility....

SanOnofre2002: Out of curiousity, did you get accepted into any schools? And if so, what schools did you get accepted into?

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Generic LoR may get you declined from some schools either pre or post-interview even with a good DAT score, which you have. Make sure your personal statement is superb so that your overall package is good!

 

[jb54ram]

You're right about that one! But then again...someone who already got into dental school would have more credibility....

I am graduating from DDS in one month, and your scores are fine----sure blow mine and most professionals out of the water. Don't worry about the small stuff, but make sure your application is complete. The application is meant to get you an interview----your conduct during your interview is what gets you accepted.

Good Luck, and just be yourself!

 

[teenuuuh]

I am graduating from DDS in one month, and your scores are fine----sure blow mine and most professionals out of the water. Don't worry about the small stuff, but make sure your application is complete. The application is meant to get you an interview----your conduct during your interview is what gets you accepted.

Good Luck, and just be yourself!

Thanks for the advice!
Congrats on finishing school!!

 

[playa2652]

Hey congrats on your scores! I was wondering what study material you used that you felt prepared you the most for the actual DAT and what were your scores during the practice exams so i can get a comparison to the real DAT?

 

[Syrah]

I wonder who you people really are... why do people that have great DAT scores places these types of postings?

You should be worried about your letters of rec. Your DAT score will not help at all.

Hahaha totally agree with Crew on this one. Seriously, it's like all those people saying "I got a AA of 28 and my gpa is a 3.8, but I only have 6 LORS and 3000+ hours of assisting. Will I get in anywhere? I'm so worried!!"
Calm it down, as long as you're 18+ you're all golden. I know, I know, it's my own fault for clicking on these posts, it's not like the subject heading doesn't give itself away. Shame on me.

 

[Flirteve]

Hahaha totally agree with Crew on this one. Seriously, it's like all those people saying "I got a AA of 28 and my gpa is a 3.8, but I only have 6 LORS and 3000+ hours of assisting. Will I get in anywhere? I'm so worried!!"
Calm it down, as long as you're 18+ you're all golden. I know, I know, it's my own fault for clicking on these posts, it's not like the subject heading doesn't give itself away. Shame on me.

First of all congrats to you teenuuuh but seriously come on man, I've been seeing a lot of 20+ people lately asking about "their chances!" I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or go put my head through a computer screen! Do you have any idea how many people would trade their girlfriend / boyfriends for those scores (I kid, I kid) but you get the point! The only problem you're likely to have is which scholarship you'll be picking out. I speak for myself & the other SDN'ers when I say we sure would love to have your problems. I understand nothing in life is certain, but you're way ahead of most people! Its People like myself with a measly 18 & 3.5 gpa should be the ones posing questions of such nature about our chances because quite frankly, I feel embarassed with these 20's galore lately. Congrats & time to celebrate for you, no need to worry, everything will work out allright!

 

[CannabisWERD]

wired nerv you look like you have a disease, called the strangedlookingman disease.

 

[cavityqueen]

wow awesome scores...how did you study? what did you study? and how much how did you study?

 

[Dedier]

I guess his post bothers you more than it does the rest of us.

It bothers me too. I think it's funny that people put this silly posting with high DAT scores asking for help. When they know they will in to at least one school. I think Crew07 was just saying what other people are thinking.

 

[rushang]

dude...congrats bro...on this awesome score...


1) What materials did you use, out of them which did you think was the most representative

2) What is your strategy for RC, is it 5 mins scanning than hunt for the answers or what...?, and how were the three passages, where all of them about sciences or one was something related to ethics and other two sciences....

3) How did you do that great of QR, being the time issue, again what did you use to study for that, and any tips would be greatly appreciated bro..

4) Did you happen to take practice tests, topscore or achiever, if you did, what were your scores.....thanks...

5) Any hints, any questions may be you remember or anything that can help me out bro....am taking my dats next week...


AM FREAKIN OUT....HELP ME OUT...
Congrats again

 

[supraman]

It bothers me too. I think it's funny that people put this silly posting with high DAT scores asking for help. When they know they will in to at least one school. I think Crew07 was just saying what other people are thinking.

I agree. To worry about a miniscle generic overly read LOR from the adcoms is kind of rediculous. I remember going into my professors office, stating I would like to see what I got wrong on an exam, stating I am looking to become a dentist and she immediately said: Oh really? if you need a LOR, let me know, I'll let you know.

For the thread starter: I actually don't need any more, I have more than enough but if I were to go in now. Id introduce yourselfin a basic way, explain your a good student, and request a LOR and provide the proff information to write one (Transcript, Comm Service) etc.

 

[supraman]

dude...congrats bro...on this awesome score...


1) What materials did you use, out of them which did you think was the most representative

2) What is your strategy for RC, is it 5 mins scanning than hunt for the answers or what...?, and how were the three passages, where all of them about sciences or one was something related to ethics and other two sciences....

3) How did you do that great of QR, being the time issue, again what did you use to study for that, and any tips would be greatly appreciated bro..

4) Did you happen to take practice tests, topscore or achiever, if you did, what were your scores.....thanks...

5) Any hints, any questions may be you remember or anything that can help me out bro....am taking my dats next week...


AM FREAKIN OUT....HELP ME OUT...
Congrats again

I can answer your #3, because for every test Ive taken, ive scored 20+ on it. What helped me is guess what, practice. They really can't ask you any more of the same type of questions you see over and over again. Do every damn problem you come across that hopefully has an answer solution. For me, I took Kaplan SAT and went from a 420 on the PSAT to a 740 on the math SAT within literally 5-6 months. I just did problem after problem, found the best stratagiest for each. Your going to have to put your priorities in order and focus all your damn on the DAT. GOOOD LUCK!

 

[teenuuuh]

Hey congrats on your scores! I was wondering what study material you used that you felt prepared you the most for the actual DAT and what were your scores during the practice exams so i can get a comparison to the real DAT?

I used the Kaplan book, TopScore, Achiever, and Destroyer. I read the entire Kaplan book at least twice, minus the practice tests because I didn't have time. I erased the results for TopScore, so I don't know the exact scores I received. They were pretty low, though....probably around 16-19 for the sciences and a little higher for the math, reading, and PAT. On Achiever, I got:

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3
PAT 20 PAT 20 Bio 15
RC 23 Bio 16 GC 16
Bio 17 GC 19 OC 19
GC 19 OC 18
OC 18
TS 18


As you can see, those scores were pretty pathetic also. I got Destroyer a week before the exam and just did as many problems as I could. I did all of the biology and chemistry questions as well as some of the ochem. I just browsed the math questions to see if there was any equations I might need to memorize.

For science preparation, I think Kaplan is good enough for ochem and chem. Biology is tough because there are so many topics, so the best preparation would be to go through an old textbook or something and learn everything. Of course, most people don't have that kind of time on their hands, so the next best thing would be to go through as many sample questions you can get your hands on and look more in-depth for any questions you might not know.

 

[teenuuuh]

I agree. To worry about a miniscle generic overly read LOR from the adcoms is kind of rediculous. I remember going into my professors office, stating I would like to see what I got wrong on an exam, stating I am looking to become a dentist and she immediately said: Oh really? if you need a LOR, let me know, I'll let you know.

For the thread starter: I actually don't need any more, I have more than enough but if I were to go in now. Id introduce yourselfin a basic way, explain your a good student, and request a LOR and provide the proff information to write one (Transcript, Comm Service) etc.

I was planning on sending e-mails to the professors, but I guess going to see them in-person would be a lot better....thanks for the advice! BTW, should I be offended that you called my concern ridiculous?? I honestly am worried about getting accepted. I mean, I know I'll get accepted to at least one or two schools if I get my application completed in a timely fashion. I'm mostly worried about getting accepted into my top pick schools, who might consider generic LORs as a deal breaker.

 

[teenuuuh]

One more thing....I was just reading some other posts and some SDNers suggested that certain people should apply to 15+ schools. I'm only planning on applying to 12 schools, would that be enough with my stats?

 

[teenuuuh]

dude...congrats bro...on this awesome score...


1) What materials did you use, out of them which did you think was the most representative

2) What is your strategy for RC, is it 5 mins scanning than hunt for the answers or what...?, and how were the three passages, where all of them about sciences or one was something related to ethics and other two sciences....

3) How did you do that great of QR, being the time issue, again what did you use to study for that, and any tips would be greatly appreciated bro..

4) Did you happen to take practice tests, topscore or achiever, if you did, what were your scores.....thanks...

5) Any hints, any questions may be you remember or anything that can help me out bro....am taking my dats next week...


AM FREAKIN OUT....HELP ME OUT...
Congrats again

1) I already posted what materials I used. I thought Achiever was good for the actual test format, but you already know the format since you took the DAT already. I really liked Destroyer for all the sciences and math; I thought it covered all the topics pretty thoroughly. For RC, Achiever was definitely way too easy and TopScore's passages were too scientific. I think the passage in the ADA sample test is probably most representative of the actual test.

2) For RC practice tests, I actually read a question and then looked for the answer in the passage after since most questions were basically in the order of the passage. For the actual test, though, I read (not just skim) the entire passage and then answered each question. I'm not sure why I changed strategy on test day; it's probably not advisable to change your strategy last minute, but I guess it worked out okay for me. I took the test over 2 weeks ago, and I have terrible memory, so I only remember two of the passages I got: one about visual learning and another one about crocodiles/alligators (or something to that extent). I thought the questions were pretty straight-forward. I probably had 10 minutes remaining at the end of the test and didn't even bother to check my answers. I don't think I got an ethics passage...

3) I've always been pretty good at math, so I didn't study math in great detail. As mentioned above, Destroyer is probably the best source, although it has some equations and formulas that probably aren't necessary. It is better to over-prepare rather than under-prepare, though. As with RC, I breezed through the questions pretty quickly and had about 10 minutes after. I was really tired and was so ready to go home that I didn't double-check these answers either. In hindsight, I probably should've went over my answers since I didn't do as well as anticipated....I only guessed on the last question. I was pretty certain that I answered all the other questions correctly, but I guess not!

4) I answered this already, too, in a previous posting.

5) Study EVERYTHING and use any source you can get your hands on, including textbooks! That way, you won't be blind-sided by anything....

 

[bounty101]

One more thing....I was just reading some other posts and some SDNers suggested that certain people should apply to 15+ schools. I'm only planning on applying to 12 schools, would that be enough with my stats?

12 sounds perfect for your stats.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Hi everyone,

I just took my DAT today, and what a relief! My scores are as follows:

Biology 21
Chemisty 21
OChem 21
PAT 24
QR 22
RC 24
TS 21
AA 22

Nicely done... where are you planning to apply?

 

[teenuuuh]

I'm applying this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to get everything in by the end of June. I was thinking about finishing my personal statement before asking for LORs from professors. Or would it be better to ask right away?

 

[kema]

DUDE I AM DREAMING OF GETTING THOSE SCORES. I DID NOT DO AS WELL MY FIRST TIME AROUND. HOW MANY MONTHS DID YOU STUDY FOR DUDE? I think you will get into all schools you apply to.

 

[teenuuuh]

DUDE I AM DREAMING OF GETTING THOSE SCORES. I DID NOT DO AS WELL MY FIRST TIME AROUND. HOW MANY MONTHS DID YOU STUDY FOR DUDE? I think you will get into all schools you apply to.

I half-studied for about three months (read review material a few days a week, forgetting most of it by the next week), then rigorously studied for about 2 weeks (CRAM, CRAM, CRAM!). I basically started taking practice exams a week and a half before my test date. I am a hopeless procrastinator, and it works alright for me....but it really depends on your personal studying style.

 

[Crew07]

Well I guess I've earned that credibility...

You're right about that one! But then again...someone who already got into dental school would have more credibility....

SanOnofre2002: Out of curiousity, did you get accepted into any schools? And if so, what schools did you get accepted into?