DAT is DONE! 8/21

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TheWiredNerv

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Done finally! Here are my stats.
PAT 17 (52.4%) 🙁
QR 15 (39.8%) 😡😡😡
RC 19 (53.9%)
Bio 23 (97.9%) 👍
GChem 25 (97.5%) 👍
Ochem 22 (90.9%)
TS 23 (98.3%)
AA 21 (91.5%)

BCP: 3.86
Science GPA: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.83


I'd like to open with a thanks to the SDN community. I wish I discovered this forum a long time ago! Anyway the DAT wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Materials: SDN, Kaplan Review Notes from their course, Kaplan online materials, AP Biology Cliff's Notes, DAT Destroyer, DAT Achiever, Topscore, Bio text and wikipedia.

PAT: Was going well until I got up to angle ranking. Holy #^#$ they all look the same. PAT angle ranking was significantly harder than achiever, kaplan or topscore. Everything else on PAT wasn't so bad. I had to rush through the last few pattern folding because of the angle ranking. I usually breeze through it in 5 minutes but it took about 10 to do it on the DAT. luckily I can do cube counting in like 5 minutes. Pattern folding section had a few tricky folds in it as well. Scored 20-22s on practice tests. Disappointed.

QR: Wow. I got owned. I dunno what happened here. I'm pretty weak at math but I've been scoring 18-20s on topscore and achiever so I dunno what happened. Had a lot of word problems.

RC: Was long. Pretty happy with my grade as I usually score between 19-21 on practice. Definitely a good deal of tone questions and inference questions but still a fair amount of detail ones.

Sciences: I found them very easy as you can see.
Bio: There were only two questions dealing with topics I haven't seen before. Pretty straight forward stuff. Know everything in achiever, topscore, kaplan and destroyer. Whenever I got a problem wrong I either searched it online or went to my AP Cliff's or Bio text. Study lab techniques!
I'd also like to add that upper tier courses helped out. I highly recommend everyone take a molecular biology course!

Gchem: This section went by so fast. I only had to calculate one problem as the rest were done out for you. Much more conceptual problems but overall not so bad. I think kaplan and destroyer would be enough for gchem. Know everything in these! I have always been strong at chemistry and the way I got there was to practice problems over and over again.

OChem: I don't want to sound like an ass but I thought I got a perfect on this section. Again, I think destroyer and kaplan blue book are enough for this section. The only time I went to my orgo text book was to look up diels alder and for sterochemistry. I made flash cards of every reaction in Kaplan and just went through them before I went to bed. I highly suggest you learn Romano's roadmaps in destroyer. Orgo on the DAT is much simpler than destroyer.

Looking back I really wish I did much more math practice. It was my weakest are and , no joke, my first practice test I got a 10 on it. If I have to retake because of that section then I'll primarily focus on practice math every night this semester. I wish I knew about Crack the PAT before I took my test. If I have to retake it again then I will most certainly be purchasing it. I'm happy with my sciences as I think it compliments my GPA and shows that I learned much in my undergraduate study.

So what do you guys think? I know I did terrible in QR. You think schools will reject me just because of this? Should I consider a retake 🙂scared🙂 or just wait it out and see if I get accepted anywhere? I'm applying to 21 schools my top choices being Buffalo, Stony Brook and NYU.

You guys know any dental schools that really really really care about the sciences and not so much QR. Thanks for all the help and input guys and good luck to all the rest of you whose tests are coming up soon. Don't be afraid to PM me if you need help! - Alex
 
you did a fantasic job buddy!! good job on the sciences.. what strategies did you use for RC? good luck with the rest..you shudn't have any problems..sick AA
 
Congrats!!! Awesome scores and an insane science section!!! Thanks also for the informative post. As you know my exam is on Thursday so seeing some good scores like yours is encouraging! Im am so afraid of Bio though, I dont even know what to do so if you have any additional tips in regard to bio and what I should study in the few hours I have left it would be really appreciated!!

Now go get hammered!🙂
 
My RC suffered because I was slightly shaken from those dumb angled in PAT but I got together after the 3rd paragraph or so. What I did was read the passage at a decent pace and write down what the paragraph was overally about and some words that seem important to me (comes with practice.) If I see a list of stuff like symptoms and what not I just write the word symptoms (abbreviated of course.) Doing it this way I can tell the overall tone of the passage and generally why the author is writting the paragraph.

I haven't gotten hammered yet dr.teeth. I'm too tired, lol. My ouzo and shot glass are on stand by until tomorrow!
 
My RC suffered because I was slightly shaken from those dumb angled in PAT but I got together after the 3rd paragraph or so. What I did was read the passage at a decent pace and write down what the paragraph was overally about and some words that seem important to me (comes with practice.) If I see a list of stuff like symptoms and what not I just write the word symptoms (abbreviated of course.) Doing it this way I can tell the overall tone of the passage and generally why the author is writting the paragraph.

I haven't gotten hammered yet dr.teeth. I'm too tired, lol. My ouzo and shot glass are on stand by until tomorrow!

Haha, yea, Im not gonna lie, Im probably gonna pass out immediately following my exam as well. I feel like I havent slept in about 2 months🙁
 
Just wondering if anyone knows some dental schools that weigh the science section heavily. I'd like to apply to them if they aren't on my list already!
 
TheWiredNerv, did you find that Cliff's AP sufficiently covered most of the topics on the Bio section of your test?
 
Yes. AP Cliff's did just fine. I haven't read schaums but if I have to retake then I'll probably give it a read through as it seems to contain more info.
Just read your bio text when AP Cliff's doesn't explain somethign enough.
 
The Schuams book is highly concentrated and heavy reading...I just started on it and not sure if its just too much info or taking me the wrong direction. Would you guys suggest the AP Cliff over the Schuam?
 
solid scores. wait for interviews soon. May I ask what did you get in your achiever and kaplan practice tests?
 
OHHH, I'm so happy for you THEWIRENERV, good job!!! YOu have high chance of getting in. All Dental Schools emphasize heavily in the Science section, and you did terrific!!! I wish I am as good as you. Well, my test is next Wednesday, so wish me luck and good luck to you TheWireNerv.
 
Wow, those are some nice scores man! I don't think you should worry too much about the QR, since for what I hear that is the section schools focus the least on.

Again, congrats!!!!!!
 
The Schuams book is highly concentrated and heavy reading...I just started on it and not sure if its just too much info or taking me the wrong direction. Would you guys suggest the AP Cliff over the Schuam?

yes. dont kill yourself for 1-2 "weird questions" that may or may not pop up. its not like you have unlimited time over here..
 
The wired nerve:
Congratulations on yours scores. I am taking mine Saturday and I was hoping for around the same scores. Especially that 23 total science score! I don’t think that math score well hold you back your AA is awesome. Besides I hate that section. I don’t know if I’m really that bad at math, or if it’s just because I really enjoy using calculators, but I cannot do good on that section. Anyways, good luck with interviews.
 
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