DAT--> May 20th 2009

[themiz33]

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I took the DAT today...need some advice or confidence

PA-20
QR-14
RC-25
BIO-21
GCHEM-21
OCHEM-30
Total Science-23
Academic Average-22

As you can obviously see! My QR score was extremely low... Ironically, when I was taking the QR via Kaplan and Topscore I was consistently seeing scores in the 18-20 range. I would love to hear feedback on what y'all think about the scores.

 

[purplepanda]

What happened? Amazing scores otherwise. You probably have to retake because of cutoffs. Man...

 

[doc3232]

I took the DAT today...need some advice or confidence

PA-20
QR-14
RC-25
BIO-21
GCHEM-21
OCHEM-30
Total Science-23
Academic Average-22

As you can obviously see! My QR score was extremely low... Ironically, when I was taking the QR via Kaplan and Topscore I was consistently seeing scores in the 18-20 range. I would love to hear feedback on what y'all think about the scores.

Ya, that QR might hurt in some cases. I don't think any school would have a cutoff on QR, but it's possible some might. Some schools will see it as a red flag but I think most will look past it and see you got a 22 despite having a 14 in a section.

 

[purplepanda]

Was the problem too many word problems? It seems that is the most common problem.

 

[themiz33]

Poor time management on my part killed me...AND the subject matter I studied (Kaplan Topscore) did not correlate with what I saw on the exam...
Tell me more on cutoffs...I understand the concept, but would that apply in my case IF my overall score is good. The school I will be shooting for is UNMC

 

[purplepanda]

Poor time management on my part killed me...AND the subject matter I studied (Kaplan Topscore) did not correlate with what I saw on the exam...
Tell me more on cutoffs...I understand the concept, but would that apply in my case IF my overall score is good. The school I will be shooting for is UNMC

If I were you I would call them first thing tomorrow and tell them my stats and ask what I should do. To make you feel better, your other scores are solid.

 

[doc3232]

Poor time management on my part killed me...AND the subject matter I studied (Kaplan Topscore) did not correlate with what I saw on the exam...
Tell me more on cutoffs...I understand the concept, but would that apply in my case IF my overall score is good. The school I will be shooting for is UNMC

Call the schools you care about most. If your top school says it has a permanent cutoff on QR, then you retake. BUT I think a lot of schools are somewhat lenient and take into account your other scores on the DAT and your gpa.

 

[purplepanda]

Call the schools you care about most. If your top school says it has a permanent cutoff on QR, then you retake. BUT I think a lot of schools are somewhat lenient and take into account your other scores on the DAT and your gpa.

Don't beat yourself up over it. I don't know if you come on here a lot...but a lot of people with REALLY high DAT scores, do really crappy in QR. I haven't taken the test yet..but I can't imagine it being easy.

 

[TexasDDS]

i dont think its that big of a deal of a low qr, when the rest of your scores are that high..

question though how long did you study for the test?
can you do a break down for the test for us..

also what did you do for rc.. and how was the bio/chem/ochem

 

[purplepanda]

If you do end up retaking because of cut-off or whatever, buy Crack the DAT: Math. it's not that expensive and it helps with timing. Also buy Topscore so that you can see where you stand. Both of those programs would be a total of 180? maybe..not too expensive.

 

[themiz33]

Hahaha!! I did buy them both!! And scored 18s consistently on them!! Oh well.... I am already doing PhD work so I might as well keep on publishing haha!! The time that it would take to re-study would not be applicable in my situation because of money and the time I would have to sacrifice from being in the lab and publishing.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I really do appreciate them!!
Today was so bittersweet...
great scores
my GPA is a 3.9 Total and 4.0 Science....
I am the primary author of three publications in top refereed journals
to have QR take me down today just plain pisses me off!!!
I am just praying that what I have done thus far...is sufficient

 

[themiz33]

Here is what I used for the subjects on the DAT

BIO: Kaplan Books (DAT and MCAT), Schaum's Outlines Biology, Kaplan MCAT flashcards
The biology section was pretty straightforward really. I am almost sure that I missed a majority of the questions dealing with the biology of "non-human" organisms LOL!! I took general biology 4 years ago, so most of the non-human stuff was out the window...BUT the schaum's outline did help!

GCHEM: Kaplan Books (DAT and MCAT), Schaum's Outline College Chemistry (this wasn't helpful), Kaplan MCAT flashcards
I really enjoyed the MCAT flashcards!! They were great for the conceptual questions on the DAT...also I was surprised in the lack of calculation problems (It was a nice surprise). I was extremely worried about this section pre-DAT because I took GCHEM 4 years ago...it went pretty well though.

OCHEM: I really didn't study for this section. The ACS exam was a couple of weeks before my DAT, so the information was still fresh in my mind. The ACS exam was MORE DIFFICULT than the DAT!! If you understand the concepts behind why the different mechanisms occur in such and such way you should be fine. If you don't understand the concepts behind the "madness" I would whip out an orgo text book. The greatest Orgo book around is ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 6th Edition by L.G. Wade Jr. It will change your life haha

PA: I found CrackDAT PA to be the most helpful...

QR: ask someone else LOL!! Although, I did do the Kaplan, Topscore, and CrackDAT exams....scored an ave. of 19 on those tests...hmmm
I will just make up an excuse...I REALLY had to pee

RC: I enjoyed this section. The passages weren't all that dull...surprising I know. The answers to the questions were not horribly embedded in the text and were easy to find. I didn't study directly for this subject, but I would say that being an active researcher helped me out. I am used to sifting through numerous journal articles that deal with complex issues....so it might help to get on pubmed find a full text article and read the intro and conclusion...THEN explain it to one of your friends. Here are some key words of some fun (haha) subjects to pubmed: NADPH oxidase and Ang II, GSH and GSSG, Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome, Excitotoxicity. Those are just some suggestions of random topics, so pick an article and go crazy.

Good luck to everyone who is taking the test in the future. If you have any questions on a section I would be happy to tell you what I thought about it more specifically.

 

[greg81988]

So would you say that the types of gen chem questions on topscore are similar to those on the real deal? I assume when you mean there were more conceptual problems that you had to know the material a lot deeper than just calculating?

 

[razblo]

Ya, that QR might hurt in some cases. I don't think any school would have a cutoff on QR, but it's possible some might. Some schools will see it as a red flag but I think most will look past it and see you got a 22 despite having a 14 in a section.

When I toured the University of Nebraska they told me they don't accept anything lower then a 15 in any category.

 

[UCfan]

If you apply right school, you will get in.Do not worry that much.Good luck.

 

[nze82]

Hmmmm...Based on what I've heard schools don't really care about the QR score. But yours may be a little too low. I'm kinda in the same place as you are. I got AA:22 TS:22 PAT:20, but my QR score is 17. Now, I'm not gonna retake to change that 17 to a 19. But when it comes down to your 14, I dunno, like many people have mentioned some schools might consider it a red flag. You should probably call them and find out.
Good Luck Anyways👍