DAT...good/bad?

[Nismoboy]

---

Members do not see this ad.

AA:16
PAT:19
QR:17
RC:19
Bio:16
Gchem:16
Ochem:no comment
TS:15

 

[Bickle]

retake the dat

 

[medius]

Originally posted by Dentaldream
retake the dat

affirmative...retake the DAT and study for 2 more months. Here are a list of studying material u need to consider to do well.

Top Score CD www.scholarware.com
Kaplan Blue Book
EK 1001 series (gchem and ochem)
Barrons DAT book (do math and PAT sections in the book)
SAT II review

 

[Nismoboy]

I took the Kaplan live class, but the thing is I don't think I put enough time actually studying the material. I just tried doing the practice tests and learning from my mistakes. I already applied but I am waiting to hear from Tufts and Nova, you never know. I heard of people getting in to both with uch lower scores overall. what do you all think?

Also, I bought TopScore only a few days before the actual DAT, so I really didn't get to use it that much. How do you all recommend using it, seeing that there are no explanations?

All replies/suggestions are welcome...

 

[Yah-E]

Sorry! I know Nova admission very well, with you current DAT, you will not even get an interview. Good luck.

 

[critterbug]

I haven't seen the rest of your application, but your DAT scores are not what they should be, especially in these competitive times.

Maybe you just had a bad day, or maybe you did not prepare correctly. Scour these forums and you will get great advice.

Take the DATs again and try to score 17 and above on everything and try to get your AA up to at least an18/19. An academic average score of 19/20 is ideal. Of course, the rest of your applicaiton will also need to be solid.

Best of luck to ya.

critter

 

[ryche22]

Originally posted by medius
affirmative...retake the DAT and study for 2 more months. Here are a list of studying material u need to consider to do well.

Top Score CD www.scholarware.com
Kaplan Blue Book
EK 1001 series (gchem and ochem)
Barrons DAT book (do math and PAT sections in the book)
SAT II review

when you are talking about the kaplan blue book are you talking about this one?

late
rick

ps. there is a new edition of this kaplan book coming out in june. is it worth holding out for that one?

 

[Dr.BadVibes]

there is a new edition of this kaplan book coming out in june. is it worth holding out for that one?

Yes I would say so...because as I remember, the Kaplan book was very good EXCEPT in biology...it left out a lot of the ecology, evolution, taxonomy stuff that was VERY present on the DAT...perhaps, they have addressed this in their new edition

 

[The Musketeer]

Originally posted by CopticOrthodox
AA:16
PAT:19
QR:17
RC:19
Bio:16
Gchem:16
Ochem:no comment
TS:15

Many of the schools require you to have at least a 17 on every section to even consider your application, so you should try to re-take the DAT and try to get around the 19 range for most of the sections and nothing lower than a 17.

 

[medius]

Originally posted by ryche22
when you are talking about the kaplan blue book are you talking about this one?

late
rick

ps. there is a new edition of this kaplan book coming out in june. is it worth holding out for that one?

It depends when you plan on taking the DAT. To be honest with you, the current book is kinda shallow in physiology, but this can be compensated if you buy the MCAT book as well. You can just read the physiology chapters from the mcat book, and plant, eco, invertebrate bio from the DAT blue book. Don't forget to use your textbook if your hazy on any parts of the DAT

 

[Mo007]

Originally posted by CopticOrthodox
AA:16
PAT:19
QR:17
RC:19
Bio:16
Gchem:16
Ochem:no comment
TS:15

How was your Organic?

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by Mo007
How was your Organic?

Worse than the other scores!

 

[politicallyRite]

Originally posted by CopticOrthodox
I already applied but I am waiting to hear from Tufts and Nova, you never know. I heard of people getting in to both with uch lower scores overall. what do you all think?

I'm sorry to tell you this. But from your post, your OG must be 14 or lower which doesn't meet the minimum requirement at Tufts.

 

[Mo007]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
Worse than the other scores!

WoW! - The OP should SERIOUSLY take these ADVICES very SERIOUSLY.

 

[dr_benj]

Definitely retake it....but don't do so until you are positive you can get at LEAST a 17 in every section. You are going to need a few sections much higher than 17 to be competitive. Work on your science scores. Aim for a 18 TS. Good luck.

 

[Nismoboy]

DAT requirement:

Test must be completed after June 1, 2001; applicants are strongly encouraged, though, to complete it before January 1, 2004;
Minimum scores:

15 Academic Average

14 Perceptual Ability

15 Total Science

I got this straight from the Tufts website...are they implying a TS of 15 or 15's on all of the NS sections?

thanks

 

[The Musketeer]

Originally posted by CopticOrthodox
DAT requirement:

Test must be completed after June 1, 2001; applicants are strongly encouraged, though, to complete it before January 1, 2004;
Minimum scores:

15 Academic Average

14 Perceptual Ability

15 Total Science

I got this straight from the Tufts website...are they implying a TS of 15 or 15's on all of the NS sections?

thanks

Total Science only includes Biology, General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry, which is also known as the Natural Science section. Academic average includes all the sections except Perceptual Ability.

I have also found this on the DAT website:

Scores used in the testing program range from 1 to 30. There are no passing or failing scores; the standard score of 17 typically signifies average performance on a national basis.

...and this from Tufts:

Number of applications in 2002-2003: 1,995
Number of students in D.M.D. Class of 2007: 150
Class of 2007: GPA: 3.31; Science GPA: 3.23
Class of 2007: DAT: Academic Average - 18.21, PAT - 17.32, Science Total - 17.97

Although Tufts allows 14s and 15s on the DAT, this does not mean you will be a competitive applicant by Tufts' standards, or for that matter, in other dental schools.

 

[sxr71]

Originally posted by avingupta
Yes I would say so...because as I remember, the Kaplan book was very good EXCEPT in biology...it left out a lot of the ecology, evolution, taxonomy stuff that was VERY present on the DAT...perhaps, they have addressed this in their new edition

The Kaplan edition I bought at Borders in September covered Biology in full detail, so I don't think it makes a difference. Honestly I just read the Kaplan bio section beginning to end for my test in November and I did perfectly fine in Bio. In fact it was my highest section, and didn't use any other book at all.


To the OP: I seriously recommend that you retake the DAT if you want to be sure you will get in. Don't stop studying until you get 17 in every science section of Top Score Pro. You should get at least a 20 in the PAT in Top Score. As for QR and RC ask the other posters for specific information on those.

I'm telling you that is very easy to do it with good study technique just keep studying until you get those scores. Use Top Score to see which specific topics you need to spend more time on. Do not omit any area of the material no matter how hard you perceive it to be. You can be asked 3 questions in a single test on just one aspect of a subject. For example on my organic section I had three questions that in order to get right you had to know that the halogens are a unique exception in that they are ortho-para directing but deactivating groups on a benzene structure (normal cases are O-P directing, activating; and Meta directing, deactivating). You must know what this means and you must know how to recognize when you are being asked this. Missing 3 questions drops your score pretty badly and losing a couple of points because you didn't want to cover electrophilic aromatic substituition thorougly is a huge loss for failing to cover and remember a few simple rules.


In fact IMHO the biggest part of doing well on the DAT is knowing exactly what they are asking you in each question. That is easily 85% of the battle. The best strategy is to look at the question and first determine which part of your material they are requiring you to know to answer the question. Second you use the knowledge that you remember from that material to answer the question correctly. There is no limit to how high you can score with this technique.

 

[Nismoboy]

Thank you very mych sxr71 for your advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to care and explain things, unlike some others who are just out to discourage people. You're going to be a great and caring dentist.

 

[sxr71]

Originally posted by CopticOrthodox
Thank you very mych sxr71 for your advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to care and explain things, unlike some others who are just out to discourage people. You're going to be a great and caring dentist.

Thanks a lot for your kind words and the best compliment a pre-dental student could ever receive. If you have any other questions please feel free to post them or to PM me any time.

 

[sxr71]

Originally posted by CopticOrthodox
Thank you very mych sxr71 for your advice. I really appreciate you taking the time to care and explain things, unlike some others who are just out to discourage people. You're going to be a great and caring dentist.

Thanks a lot for your kind words and the best compliment a pre-dental student could ever receive. If you have any other questions please feel free to post them or to PM me any time.