DAT in October, is it too late??????????? Need opinions!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Dentistgirl1

Dentistgirl1

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2015
Messages
108
Reaction score
47
Members do not see this ad.
Okay so I have a bit of a problem here..
I already submitted my application on 08/26/15 and I applied to 11 schools. SO. MUCH. MONEY. T.T
I have over 700 hours of shadowing and volunteering in Dentistry.
I went on a trip to help dentists in the Middle east.
I have a bunch of extracurriculars and scholarships.
I'm pretty sure my personal statement was good, and I think my letters of recommendation were great.
My cum gpa is 3.87 and my sci gpa is pretty close to that, I'd say no lower than a 3.7-3.8.
I was originally planning on taking my DAT the last week of sept, but since I'm taking classes this semester, I have 4 exams, a lab report and a research proposal all due during that time..
My question is did I just waste around $2000 in application fees (including supplementals)? I still have to do my supplementals for UNC, NYU, MSC, and Meharry.
In other words, did this significantly hurt my chances of being accepted into schools for this application cycle?
🙁
The schools I applied to are:
Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Dental Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry
New York University College of Dentistry
Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine
The Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, Temple University
University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine
University of Florida College of Dentistry
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry
 
You're not doing yourself any favors taking it that late. Your GPA is good so that might overcome Oct DAT.
 
cacajuate said:
You're a half empty kind of girl.


You already spent the $2k, take it in Oct, do well, and then patiently wait. None of us know the answer.
Click to expand...
Sorry if I come across that way, I'm just worried that's all. I was originally very optimistic and thought that if I did okay I'd be fine. I just got on here and read some threads and got panicked. Thanks for your response.
 
I'm confused as why you didn't take it already in the summer like most people, unless this was when you went to the Middle East. But yea take it sooner rather than later.
 
Oh you can take the DAT in October, just apply next year haha. Im sure you are a smart person, what was your thought process putting down 2000$ and still not completing the most critical part of the application. You already spent the money, you might as well just see it through and see what happens.
 
Write the DAT in october. Just make sure your application is fully completed and verified before hand. That way your app can be mailed out as soon as your DAT scores are uploaded. Don't let the keeners on SDN get you down. I know people who e-submitted in October and November last year and got into boston, case, and NYU.
 
Dr.Payne said:
I'm confused as why you didn't take it already in the summer like most people, unless this was when you went to the Middle East. But yea take it sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
Well Ramadan happened during the summer and it put me behind, it's pretty hard studying on no food/no water.
 
OSUkid said:
Oh you can take the DAT in October, just apply next year haha. Im sure you are a smart person, what was your thought process putting down 2000$ and still not completing the most critical part of the application. You already spent the money, you might as well just see it through and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Yeah I thought I could get it done by the last week in September but I didn't get the syllabi until after I submitted. 🙁
 
zammyd said:
Write the DAT in october. Just make sure your application is fully completed and verified before hand. That way your app can be mailed out as soon as your DAT scores are uploaded. Don't let the keeners on SDN get you down. I know people who e-submitted in October and November last year and got into boston, case, and NYU.
Click to expand...
Thank you for making me feel better! I'm going to try my best to rock the DAT so that it'll make up for my lateness.
 
Be expect to have none or very few pre dec interview
 
Good luck! You already applied, so what's left is for you to complete the application with a strong DAT!
 
Dentistgirl1 said:
Well Ramadan happened during the summer and it put me behind, it's pretty hard studying on no food/no water.
Click to expand...
But is it hard to study with food and water in the night? There are always options, and if you say you had work or something int the daytime, then you should have been aware of your situation prior to thinking about taking the DAT during that time of the summer.
 
Last edited:
OSUkid said:
But is it hard to study with food and water in the night? There are always options, and if you say you had work or something int the daytime, then you should have been aware of your situation prior to thinking about taking the DAT during that time of the summer.
Click to expand...
I definitely studied at night just not for as long as I wanted. And that's why I didn't take it then.
 
Dentalgoals said:
Good luck! You already applied, so what's left is for you to complete the application with a strong DAT!
Click to expand...
Hopefully! Thank you so much! I have my motivation back, I don't care when I get interviews, as long as I get them! In the end, all I need is for one school to accept me. ♥
 
hugomaaf said:
Be expect to have none or very few pre dec interview
Click to expand...
That's fine with me. I'll take what I can get. I did apply to 11 schools so I should get some interviews this semester or the next. 😀
 
OP, calm down. Take a deep breath, get a nice hot chocolate (or beverage of your choice), and chart out an easily obtainable path to October DAT.

You can do it.

Ramadan Mubarak (even though it is late). I'm not a Muslim but I've been around plenty during Ramadan and let me just say I appreciate the mental fortitude and devotion it takes to carry out the fasts.
 
Last edited:
How late in October? What are you scoring on practice tests right now. Is there any way you can bump up your test date even into September? I would email your unofficial score sheet as soon as you get home from your test, assuming your scores are good. I would take a full practice test now, today if you can, see where you are at with your scores and if they are reasonable, move your test date up.
 
dds2b219 said:
Even though your stats are great.. Applying so late might make it harder for you to score an interview at schools like uconn... But you definitely still have a great shot. I applied 8/26, took my DAT 9/17 but that was pushing it. Good luck! Make sure you ace it
Click to expand...
I'll try, Thank you so much!
 
Incis0r said:
OP, calm down. Take a deep breath, get a nice hot chocolate (or beverage of your choice), and chart out an easily obtainable path to October DAT.

You can do it.

Ramadan Mubarak (even though it is late). I'm not a Muslim but I've been around plenty during Ramadan and let me just say I appreciate the mental fortitude and devotion it takes to carry out the fasts.
Click to expand...
I grabbed a cup of tea and did exactly that. And thank you, I really appreciate it!
 
ajj70 said:
How late in October? What are you scoring on practice tests right now. Is there any way you can bump up your test date even into September? I would email your unofficial score sheet as soon as you get home from your test, assuming your scores are good. I would take a full practice test now, today if you can, see where you are at with your scores and if they are reasonable, move your test date up.
Click to expand...
I'm not doing too bad, although I'd like to improve my my GC and OC scores by 4-5 points so I can have a decent shot. And other than that it's just pat practice. I'm taking it within the first 10 days of October.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
Is it too late to apply this cycle?
Replies
4
Views
2K
rf0808
R
M
Is it too late for me on a financial scale
Replies
4
Views
1K
OncePreDent
OncePreDent
ezbriz
responded late to interview invite
Replies
1
Views
889
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Beau4832
Moving states for application - Worth it or too obvious?
Replies
4
Views
1K
JacquesVallee
JacquesVallee
E
WAMC- High DAT, SMP, Too late to add schools?
Replies
4
Views
499
Exoticsky
E
Top