DAT is done!! Here is my breakdown (AA21/TS21).

[Lovelybond]

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Hello,

I took my first DAT last July and only applied to two CA schools due to the family situation (I know 🙁 Not a smart decision) My scores weren't good enough to get interviews from any of CA schools. I did end up getting two rejection letters. Actually I got the second one in April 2015 while I was studying for DAT. DEVASTATING!! (One of the rejection letters mentioned that if I have any score at 18 or below, they recommend to retake DAT). To improve my change to get interviews this year, I decided to retake DAT.

My science GPA is 3.8 and overall GPA is 3.7
BIO/GCH/OCH/PAT/RC/QR
FIRST TIME 20/20/21/22/18/18/AA 19/ TS 21
SECOND 21/22/20/22/21/22/AA 21/TS 21
(I did get a low score on OC and my TS didn't increase... would it be a problem?)

I started studying from February about 4 hours a day and mostly reviewed the materials. In March to April, I studied about 9-10 hours a day.

BIO(21) - DAT DESTROYER, Ferali's biology note and campbell biology textbook. I went over dat destroyer about 4 times thoroughly, made flashcards and reviewed all the questions that I missed. Also If the explanation wasn't so clear, I read the campbell biology textbook that i have. Once i started studying, I bought a blank note book and rewrote ferali's bio note by hand. I tried to write one page a day during the first month of studying and drew everything I could.

***through my college years, I'd never used flashcards because I knew I wouldn't look at them BUT It really helped me through studying DAT to keep up with the materials. I highly highly recommend!!!

GCH(22) - DAT DESTROYER and CHAD'S VIDEO. Same as above, I went over about 4 times, made flashcards and review all the questions that i missed. For this section, it's really important that you understand the concepts!!! Chad's video has all the concepts and things that you need to know for this section. (I regret that I didn't watch it twice) Please get a good understanding of all the basic concepts.

OCH(20) - DAT DESTROYER and CHAD'S VIDEO. Same as above. I don't know what happened here. Organic chemistry was my strongest section. I would score 20-24 on BC but OH WELL 🙁. Make sure you study all the reactions from the roadmap!!!

PAT(22) - CDP and BOOTCAMP. I did both of them twice. Practice Practice!! I would say BOOTCAMP is very representative to the real DAT keyholes and TFE.

RC(21) - BOOT CAMP and QVAULT. I struggled so hard on this section. Since i'm a very slow reader, I had a such hard time to find my own method. I did practice a S&D method but it didn't work out for me. Mapping was ok but still taking practice exams made me feel more unprepared. I scored between 15-23 on practice exams. So I started reading the first sentence of each paragraph and writing down key words from each paragraph. As I kept practicing, I did catch more keywords and remember them without writing.
Whenever you took practice exams, please go over the explanation and understand why you missed the question.

QR(22) - MATH DESTROYER and CHAD'S VIDEO. I watched Chad's video first and became familiar with trigonometry and basic word problems and then went over math destroyer 3 times and timed myself the second and third around. Make sure you practice with a basic calculator on the computer.

Practice exams - 2007/2009 ADA, BOOTCAMP and TOPSCORE.


The day before the test - I tried to calm down but I couldn't relax at all. I saw many people don't study the day before the test so I wasn't going to study but it made me more nervous. I did some house chores that I'd been ignoring and then I pretty much studied until I went to bed around 10pm.


I know my scores aren't great as other SDNs but I'm just so glad that I didn't do worse than the first time.
Studying DAT is not easy but it's totally doable!!!

I also want to thank Dr.Romano who helps us through DAT studying!!
Good luck to you everyone!

 

[StudentDoc1234]

Great scores, well done! If you have your extra curriculars down I would be shocked if you don't get any interviews.

Would you say the RC section of your DAT was more similar to Qvault or Bootcamp? Also, how do you think the QR compared to the Math Destroyer?

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Hello,

I took my first DAT last July and only applied to two CA schools due to the family situation (I know 🙁 Not a smart decision) My scores weren't good enough to get interviews from any of CA schools. I did end up getting two rejection letters. Actually I got the second one in April 2015 while I was studying for DAT. DEVASTATING!! (One of the rejection letters mentioned that if I have any score at 18 or below, they recommend to retake DAT). To improve my change to get interviews this year, I decided to retake DAT.

My science GPA is 3.8 and overall GPA is 3.7
BIO/GCH/OCH/PAT/RC/QR
FIRST TIME 20/20/21/22/18/18/AA 19/ TS 21
SECOND 21/22/20/22/21/22/AA 21/TS 21
(I did get a low score on OC and my TS didn't increase... would it be a problem?)

I started studying from February about 4 hours a day and mostly reviewed the materials. In March to April, I studied about 9-10 hours a day.

BIO(21) - DAT DESTROYER, Ferali's biology note and campbell biology textbook. I went over dat destroyer about 4 times thoroughly, made flashcards and reviewed all the questions that I missed. Also If the explanation wasn't so clear, I read the campbell biology textbook that i have. Once i started studying, I bought a blank note book and rewrote ferali's bio note by hand. I tried to write one page a day during the first month of studying and drew everything I could.

***through my college years, I'd never used flashcards because I knew I wouldn't look at them BUT It really helped me through studying DAT to keep up with the materials. I highly highly recommend!!!

GCH(22) - DAT DESTROYER and CHAD'S VIDEO. Same as above, I went over about 4 times, made flashcards and review all the questions that i missed. For this section, it's really important that you understand the concepts!!! Chad's video has all the concepts and things that you need to know for this section. (I regret that I didn't watch it twice) Please get a good understanding of all the basic concepts.

OCH(20) - DAT DESTROYER and CHAD'S VIDEO. Same as above. I don't know what happened here. Organic chemistry was my strongest section. I would score 20-24 on BC but OH WELL 🙁. Make sure you study all the reactions from the roadmap!!!

PAT(22) - CDP and BOOTCAMP. I did both of them twice. Practice Practice!! I would say BOOTCAMP is very representative to the real DAT keyholes and TFE.

RC(21) - BOOT CAMP and QVAULT. I struggled so hard on this section. Since i'm a very slow reader, I had a such hard time to find my own method. I did practice a S&D method but it didn't work out for me. Mapping was ok but still taking practice exams made me feel more unprepared. I scored between 15-23 on practice exams. So I started reading the first sentence of each paragraph and writing down key words from each paragraph. As I kept practicing, I did catch more keywords and remember them without writing.
Whenever you took practice exams, please go over the explanation and understand why you missed the question.

QR(22) - MATH DESTROYER and CHAD'S VIDEO. I watched Chad's video first and became familiar with trigonometry and basic word problems and then went over math destroyer 3 times and timed myself the second and third around. Make sure you practice with a basic calculator on the computer.

Practice exams - 2007/2009 ADA, BOOTCAMP and TOPSCORE.


The day before the test - I tried to calm down but I couldn't relax at all. I saw many people don't study the day before the test so I wasn't going to study but it made me more nervous. I did some house chores that I'd been ignoring and then I pretty much studied until I went to bed around 10pm.


I know my scores aren't great as other SDNs but I'm just so glad that I didn't do worse than the first time.
Studying DAT is not easy but it's totally doable!!!

I also want to thank Dr.Romano who helps us through DAT studying!!
Good luck to you everyone!

Congratulations! Your scores and high GPA should get you interviews at a number of schools. All your scores are 20 and above..dental schools like to see consistency and you accomplished that. Make sure your personal statement shines and contact the CA schools you applied to before and discuss with them your current scores.

Your hard work and perseverance paid off!

Thanks for taking the time to share your DAT experience with the SDN community.

Dr. Jim Romano and Nancy Steen

 

[DustFreeEraser]

Which CA schools did you apply to?

 

[SCDP]

Are CA schools that competitive that you didn't even get an interview with that GPA? Because even your first DAT was good.

Mind sharing your extra-curriculars? Because it makes no sense to me how you wouldn't even get an interview with those academic stats unless you had barely any volunteering/shadowing.

 

[danchoi03]

Notice her 19 AA in her first time, and most CA schools require at least 20 AA. Now she breaks the 20s margin, I am positive she will get in CA schools and plenty of people who I knew had lower stats than her got in.

Congrats lovelyBond !.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Notice her 19 AA in her first time, and most CA schools require at least 20 AA. Now she breaks the 20s margin, I am positive she will get in CA schools and plenty of people who I knew had lower stats than her got in.

Congrats lovelyBond !.

I agree danchoi03! Lovelybond only applied to a few CA schools where the requirements for acceptance are high. This time she meets the requirements and that will make all the difference.

Nancy

 

[hopefuldent52]

thank you for the breakdown and congrats!!!!