DAT "It was not my DAY"

[Awuah29]

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Hi everyone,
I just blew it. Is there hope for me? I did really really really poorly on my DAT test. It' just embarrising !!! No one will look at those Test scores.
It wasn't my day. I arrived early at the test center, but forgot the confirmation letter, so in a rush I went home to to pick it.
Then things got worse. I run totally out of time in the Sciences and ldid not answer 10 questions. The more you run out of time the more you start guessing . Fact is I wasn't prepared, and it took me to long to answer the questions. After finishing the Sciences, I knew that I blew it. That of course affected all the other areas. That night before I went late to bed and was just digesting the last infos. I send in my application August. Now I have to wait 90 days ? What should I do. Is it possible to take it earlier? Have heared that if you take it before the 90 days your previous DAT will be voided. "Better for me" I dont' wanna wait another year!! HELP HELP It will be already January when I finsh the my 2 DAT. How are my chances. ? What should I till the schools? One school already called me , asking for my DAT. Now they will be suprise when they see the test scores. What should I do, what should I tell them ?
Thanks for help

 

[dr_benj]

How bad were the scores? If you post them we may be able to better evaluate your situation, however I respect your privacy if you choose not to. According to the ADA website, if you retake the DAT before 90 days your new scores would be void, not your old ones. Please see:

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/registering.asp

My suggestion would be to call all of the schools and explain the circumstances under which you took the DAT. Tell them you already plan to retake it and not to make any decisions on your application until you retake it. I'm guessing schools would oblige as long as your GPA is decent. Just my thoughts, if anyone else has better ideas please post.

 

[bloomer]

I was not aware that you needed to bring a confirmation letter with you? i though you only needed two forms of id. : one with picture both with signatures?

can someone else confirm?

bloomer

 

[DDSdude]

You don't need the letter. Just two forms of ID, one with your picture on it.

 

[dr_benj]

I agree, I didn't bring my confirmation letter. I actually was only asked for one form of ID.

 

[Edge]

If you want us to help you, give us your GPA and DAT scores even if they are embarrasing.

 

[Mo007]

They do ask for confirmation letter, its a policy they use for their offices, but not mandatory. I only showed one form of ID, they will take your photo anyways... and finger-print. I was not expecting those.

Awuah29: You can't take the the test sooner than 90 days after your last. However, you can register for the test now if you wish so, but they will not process your application for a date that is less than 90 days.

I still don't know why you walked in there with no good review. At this age and time... DAT scores are making students more competitive, the last thing you want to do is, whatever happend on your last test.

It wouldn't hurt you if you shared your scores with us. No one knows your real identity anyways, and you could help others no matter how bad you did in the DAT.

 

[savvysearch]

If your scores is less than 16, no matter what your GPA, I'd recommend for you to call the school and tell them to postpone the review process until you retake the DAT. Then, fax to them an unofficial copy of the DAT after you take it. Other than that, there really isn't much to do other than to study better for your second take of the exam.

 

[PERFECT3434]

i scored 15 on RC and have been told by several adcom people that i don't need to retake it.

i guess it'll help if we knew what your scores were.

 

[Awuah29]

ok, guys

These are my scores. As I said, it wasn't my day. I felt the pressure and was nervous while I was taking the test. After running out of time in the sciences, I new that I blew it. Chemistry was even worse. I have a decent GPA 3.3 , have numerous dental experience, shadowing internship, volunteer.
Oh, what a day!!! Everyting was against me. Even the people from the test center, I blame them too. I lost 3 min after I came from my break. A strange incident happent, which is just absurd
My mistake was that I should have told them to stop the test.
AC 10
PT 11
QR 11
RC 13
BIO 13
GC 3 this is terrible I left so many questions out
O-chem 12
total science 11

I have already called some schools to explain them my reuslts.
I need help, a 90 days program , tactics, tips, how to take test and to be relaxed etc.
I thank you guys for your contributions

Awuah29

 

[dr_benj]

On the positive side I think that schools will be very understanding judging by your scores. I think they will know something must have gone wrong that day, since the scores are so low in every section. If you had received say 15's or 16'5 across the board schools may be more skeptical and just think you don't know your stuff very well. Obviously, the cards were stacked against you that day. Just do your best to explain to the schools and start studying. You really need to shoot for some nice scores though (20/20) so that the schools can validate your story and know you really have what it takes. 90 days of studying should be plenty of time to accomplish these scores. Good luck.

 

[dr_benj]

What studying did you do for the DAT? What books and resources did you use? Let us know your methods so we can give you advice on how to improve your studying for the next test.

 

[Awuah29]

Hi guys,
people say that you need at least 2 months to prepare for the DAT. I started like beginning of August, however my studying was not more than 6-7 hrs a day. I just study about 4 hrs a day, and this maybe 3-4 a week. I used the Kaplan blue book, did summaries, listen to DAT audio, took the DAT Topscore. I was scoring like 17 in Bio 17, 12 in Chem, ORG 12, PAT 14, RC 15.
I had also Chem, Organic reviews from ACS. So I had pretty much what I needed, but what went wrong. Maybe I didn't go into much depth with my studying ????
Help!!!

 

[ohcdn]

how many practice problems did you do? Sometimes, just studying the material is not enough for some people like me. I have to do as many problems as i can to completely understand for especially the chem, ochem, and pat sections. The only thing i can suggest at this point is to contact the schools and ask them if they can hold off on reviewing your app until you take your dats again. And also you can try explaining your situation and ask them what you should do. But you must do extremely well on your next dat. DOing only a few points better on each section will not convince them that your first scores were a fluke. i wish you luck!

 

[Mo007]

Hey PERFECT

Which schools told you if your RC is 15, not to re-take the DAT?

That's below the national average.

Mo

 

[savvysearch]

Did you take all three DAT Topscore exams and correct them and go over all the corrected questions? Did you feel info was overwhelming? My best advice is to keep going over practice exams. And only reading into detail when studying for bio.

 

[PERFECT3434]

i was told by UNLV, U of Minn, IUSD, UCONN, LOma Linda.

awuah,

you seriously need to rethink your studying habits. i think that most people could get ready for their DAT if they study 7 hrs/day for 2 months (that is if you did well in sci classes while in school).

on the other hand, if you consistently scored those scores in kaplan, then clearly you weren't ready to take the test. My friend, you need to take this serious and you have got to score at least 16 or 17 to even think you are ready for it.

the good thing about this whole thing is that now you know the test is not a joke and you really have to bust your ass. hopefully, you will take it very serious and do whatever it takes to get ready in 3 months. knowing you, i think you are very capable of it and you just have to go and do it.

don't come back to sdn more than once a week. sdn will be here for you and just use anytime you get to study.

good luck!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by PERFECT3434
i scored 15 on RC and have been told by several adcom people that i don't need to retake it.

i guess it'll help if we knew what your scores were.

And that certainly depends on the school. I know multiple schools that would laugh at you if you applied with a reading score of 15.

 

[critterbug]

Would a 15 on the RC really be all that bad if the other scores were high? Do you think dental schools would laugh at someone who had a 3.7 + GPA and 20+ science scores who scored a 15-17 on RC. I find it hard to believe that one measly section on a standardized test would make a school throw an application in the trash.

There could be many reasons why a person could score low on the RC. It could be nerves. It could be that English is that individuals second language.

 

[PERFECT3434]

I find it hard to believe that one measly section on a standardized test would make a school throw an application in the trash.

very well said.

i too doubt that one thing will be a determining factor for your acceptance or rejection. i am sure gavin is not totally wrong since that could be the case in a few schools, but the majority of other schools will weigh in every aspect of your app in their determinations.

 

[larryt]

well, some schools only look at your AA and biology score, such as baylor, San antonio, NYU, Case. Interviewers at Case and Baylor told me that they didn't even look at my PA score.

 

[PERFECT3434]

i just remembered.

i was told at UCONN that the 1st thing they look at is your sci. they said that all schools look for #s but depends on the school. if you have a 20+ Sci score, i really think they would favor you at UConn.