DAT retake help

[DentiAche2000]

Hi, I just took my DAT today and didn't do so well ( 18 AA, 17 PAT), I know that I need to retake but since I have to wait 90 days, It won't be before mid November and early December for the scores to be posted on AADSAS. I wonder if it's gonna be late at that time to receive any interviews. My GPA is 3.8. Thanks for ur help

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[jeffity]

That's late. I suppose some turbo score might get some attention for the schools with later deadlines. What do the rest of the scores look like?

 

[DentiAche2000]

Bio 19
Gchem 17
Ochem 17
RC 18
QR 18
PAT 17

 

[rootz02]

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[DentiAche2000]

You might have a shot with such a high gpa. Dental schools weigh the gpa more heavily than the DAT score. Are your ec's any good? You already submit? Do you have a state school, or will you be oos?

I have almost 550 hrs of shadowing, I submitted my application on August first, I applied to 25 schools including my state school.

 

[BRZ24]

I have almost 550 hrs of shadowing, I submitted my application on August first, I applied to 25 schools including my state school.

You will land some interviews.

 

[jeffity]

TS was what? 17 or 18? The scores aren't amazing, but I wouldn't say they're catostraphic (even though traditional SDN standards would call them abysmal). I think they'll do, especially with that many schools. I don't see all 25 passing on you.

 

[minafeet]

I wouldn't retake if I were you. Your DAT scores are average but your GPA is way above average so you should be fine. Unless you really want to put in the time to study even more during the school year and you have another several hundred dollars to spare, you should just stick with what you have now. You applied to a lot of schools and have a lot of shadowing hours. You'll be fine.

 

[iDentastic]

Yeah, you should be okay although they might question the discrepency between your high GPA and lower than average DAT score.

 

[jeffity]

That's just a really late retake. I'd ride it out. At least you have an obvious and easy way to improve for next cycle if it doesn't work out. Lower DATs can be fixed. GPAs can't.

 

[magriva]

I think you got great scores! It's not all about dat scores.

 

[HopefulDMD88]

High GPA and subpar DAT raise flags about undergraduate institution difficulty and course load; prepare for questions if you land an interview.

 

[sacapuntas]

High GPA and subpar DAT raise flags about undergraduate institution difficulty and course load; prepare for questions if you land an interview.

What kind of questions? Was your institution easy?











I would let it ride this cycle with your scores, you have a great GPA. Were your credits all at a 4 year school or did you have a bunch at a community college?

 

[DentiAche2000]

I was in a university, called New Jersey City University, I graduated already May 2012

 

[rootz02]

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[ushaseos]

Don't re-take in a hurry. I'd say you should see how this cycle goes. Retaking 90 days from now is too late for most intents and purposes and your application as a whole isn't bad. Yes the 18AA is a little below avg accepted DAT score of 19, but your GPA is quite a bit higher than the averages for most schools. Good luck with the process. I am sure someone will give you an interview of the 25 schools you applied to, especially given that not EVERY school values the DAT more than GPA (Columbia and UOP do, but not everyone!)

 

[RU1992]

You should be able to land some interviews with your scores. Don't retake with the intent of applying this cycle. Wait this cycle out and if you don't hear back by October-November, that's when I would begin to prepare for a retake and next cycle. Plus, you already applied to the 25 schools (correct?) so it'd be a shame to just put that money to waste. No harm in trying now and I see that you have a decent shot. My opinions of course.

 

[ASAHLexD29]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but do your opinions of November retake being too late apply to October retake as well? I want to retake the DAT in October, but I'm wondering how that would affect my application. My first DAT scores were: 22-TS, 20-AA, 23-PAT. The reason I feel the need to retake it is because I got a 16 on RC :S:S I'm assuming most schools will discard my application when they see that 16.
Thoughts?

 

[BRZ24]

That's just a really late retake. I'd ride it out. At least you have an obvious and easy way to improve for next cycle if it doesn't work out. Lower DATs can be fixed. GPAs can't.

for a sec, I thought the school in your avatar exist

 

[BRZ24]

What kind of questions? Was your institution easy?

Exactly. I doubt they are going to do that. I don't understand why people keep correlating bad DAT scores with easy institution. A lot of people here went to great schools and still got low scores and others go to "community college" and got great scores.

DAT is about how you prepare for it, not what school you went to.

 

[jeffity]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but do your opinions of November retake being too late apply to October retake as well? I want to retake the DAT in October, but I'm wondering how that would affect my application. My first DAT scores were: 22-TS, 20-AA, 23-PAT. The reason I feel the need to retake it is because I got a 16 on RC :S:S I'm assuming most schools will discard my application when they see that 16.
Thoughts?

That's silly talk.

1. When did you take it?
2. GPAs?
3. # or range of schools applied to?
4. When did you submit?

 

[ASAHLexD29]

That's silly talk.

1. When did you take it?
2. GPAs?
3. # or range of schools applied to?
4. When did you submit?

My stats are not great.
I took it in Feb 2010.
GPA is around 3.2X cuz I did horrible my first 2 years, but last two years GPA has been 4.0.. Dono if that really helps :s BCP is about 3.4X but I just finished a summer Physics course in which I know I have either an A or A+, so I guess BCP will be about 3.5
I applied to 15 schools, mostly private cuz I'm not US citizen.
I submitted July 1st.. But they had my application on hold for nearly 2 months cuz my transcripts (which I sent in JUNE) kept getting lost. They just verified my GPA this past Friday and I guess it will be mailed out this week. Kinda late I feel like I have no chance and I'm worried that if schools look at my application with a 16 RC they'll discard it, but if they wait for me to improve it in October it would be too late.

 

[jeffity]

My stats are not great.
I took it in Feb 2010.
GPA is around 3.2X cuz I did horrible my first 2 years, but last two years GPA has been 4.0.. Dono if that really helps :s BCP is about 3.4X but I just finished a summer Physics course in which I know I have either an A or A+, so I guess BCP will be about 3.5
I applied to 15 schools, mostly private cuz I'm not US citizen.
I submitted July 1st.. But they had my application on hold for nearly 2 months cuz my transcripts (which I sent in JUNE) kept getting lost. They just verified my GPA this past Friday and I guess it will be mailed out this week. Kinda late I feel like I have no chance and I'm worried that if schools look at my application with a 16 RC they'll discard it, but if they wait for me to improve it in October it would be too late.

You're fine. Only a few schools would discard outright on that 16. And even then, it's ultimately their call. October is late. Roll with this. Don' delay your app by waiting for new scores.

 

[wo5678]

jeffity- Yale has a dental school? I never knew that!

 

[ASAHLexD29]

You're fine. Only a few schools would discard outright on that 16. And even then, it's ultimately their call. October is late. Roll with this. Don' delay your app by waiting for new scores.

Really? It's good to hear that I stand a chance.. I just thought that the cut-off for all sections was 17-18. The one school that I happened to ask about this a while back (LLU) said that RC is a very important section to them cuz apparently it's predictive of your performance on the board exams :s but if ur saying that it's fine for most other schools, then I guess I should contact each school I applied to and ask about that. Since I already paid for the DAT, then I can just tell the schools that have a cut-off to wait for my new test scores and leave my application as is for the rest of them..?

Thanks for your help! Good luck with your application too!

 

[Tragictrend]

Really? It's good to hear that I stand a chance.. I just thought that the cut-off for all sections was 17-18. The one school that I happened to ask about this a while back (LLU) said that RC is a very important section to them cuz apparently it's predictive of your performance on the board exams :s but if ur saying that it's fine for most other schools, then I guess I should contact each school I applied to and ask about that. Since I already paid for the DAT, then I can just tell the schools that have a cut-off to wait for my new test scores and leave my application as is for the rest of them..?

Thanks for your help! Good luck with your application too!

Hi there,
Im not really sure about these "cut-off" things and I dont think everything is set in stone.
I also have a 16rc with a 21ts and 21aa but my gpa is quite higher than urs (3.86 science/3.78 ogpa). It's obvious that there are many more important aspects of ur apps that the adcom will be looking for instead of just nailing you on that 1 hour test portion.
I'm in a fine shape so far w/ 2 interviews so i hope that helped. I also know someone who has gotten 4 interviews in the past cycle w/ 16rc as well. If anything, ur gpa might also play a significant role as it's a little bit low.
Best of luck!

 

[ASAHLexD29]

Hi there,
Im not really sure about these "cut-off" things and I dont think everything is set in stone.
I also have a 16rc with a 21ts and 21aa but my gpa is quite higher than urs (3.86 science/3.78 ogpa). It's obvious that there are many more important aspects of ur apps that the adcom will be looking for instead of just nailing you on that 1 hour test portion.
I'm in a fine shape so far w/ 2 interviews so i hope that helped. I also know someone who has gotten 4 interviews in the past cycle w/ 16rc as well. If anything, ur gpa might also play a significant role as it's a little bit low.
Best of luck!

Oh that's awesome! Ya my GPA is low but hopefully my 4.0 GPA of the past couple of years give me some points. Thank you!! Good luck to you as well!

 

[bola18]

hey my brother used to have an account here but they banned him for some reason, he is a pre-dental and he took DAT last summer and scored 17 AA, 17 TS, 16 PAT. he took it again last week and scored lower than last time; 15 AA, 15 TS, 14 PAT. He was sick on the day of the exam that he couldn't focus at all. He graduated January 2012 with CGPA 3.86 & SGPA 3.85 and he already applied to 23 schools which did cost him alot of money but he lost all hope that he will receive any interviews after his last scores. anyone could help him pls let me know!!!!

 

[tomhrxbfg]

hey my brother used to have an account here but they banned him for some reason, he is a pre-dental and he took DAT last summer and scored 17 AA, 17 TS, 16 PAT. he took it again last week and scored lower than last time; 15 AA, 15 TS, 14 PAT. He was sick on the day of the exam that he couldn't focus at all. He graduated January 2012 with CGPA 3.86 & SGPA 3.85 and he already applied to 23 schools which did cost him alot of money but he lost all hope that he will receive any interviews after his last scores. anyone could help him pls let me know!!!!

Wdf, seriously? Ok, I'm not trying to say your bro sucks but the gap between his gpa and dat is too large...Did he study at all?

 

[bola18]

Wdf, seriously? Ok, I'm not trying to say your bro sucks but the gap between his gpa and dat is too large...Did he study at all?

yea, He studied alot but he was feverish on the day of the exam and it was late to reschedule the exam. He is real smart

 

[scsc7211]

yea, He studied alot but he was feverish on the day of the exam and it was late to reschedule the exam. He is real smart

If I were feeling THAT feverish, I would have eaten the $360 and paid to schedule again without blinking.

Best of luck to him.

 

[bola18]

If I were feeling THAT feverish, I would have eaten the $360 and paid to schedule again without blinking.

Best of luck to him.

the point is that he is so confused now about what to do, or is there any chance he can get any interviews at all. He still needs to pay the secondary fees for the schools he applied to but he doesn't know if it's worth it anymore

 

[scsc7211]

the point is that he is so confused now about what to do, or is there any chance he can get any interviews at all. He still needs to pay the secondary fees for the schools he applied to but he doesn't know if it's worth it anymore

Well if you're asking for my opinion..

If money were not an issue and I truly felt I could learn the material, I would submit secondary apps, inform the schools that I would be retaking in 3 months, then study my tail off. In the weeks before the DAT, I would walk around in a bubble to avoid any exposure to germs.

With his GPA, an average or right around average score would probably do the trick.

 

[periopocket]

Hello! I believe that If you have an 18/18/17 as your DAT score, than you will have a great shot in combination with your GPA....so long as you have some good extracurricular, apply early, and apply broadly!

 

[foreveros]

yeah, don't get me wrong - you definitely need to retake if you don't get accepted this cycle. a retake would be way too late. you're a little late as it is right now, so just go with it and see what happens. That being said, you still have a decent shot of landing some interviews. high gpa's look great in the eyes of adcoms. best of luck to you. hope you get in.

+1

Even though you scores are little lower than the average. avg being 19. if you do not hear anything by jan or feb consider retaking it. so you can be early for the next application cycle. but just like others say dont rush right away.

 

[bola18]

Well if you're asking for my opinion..

If money were not an issue and I truly felt I could learn the material, I would submit secondary apps, inform the schools that I would be retaking in 3 months, then study my tail off. In the weeks before the DAT, I would walk around in a bubble to avoid any exposure to germs.

With his GPA, an average or right around average score would probably do the trick.

so if he takes it again and score 20+, he still stand a chance in this cycle, even though it's gonna be early December by the time schools receive the new scores

 

[scsc7211]

so if he takes it again and score 20+, he still stand a chance in this cycle, even though it's gonna be early December by the time schools receive the new scores

At this point, I would really recommend making some calls to the admissions departments at the schools he has applied to. They are going to be able to tell you/him better than we can, especially since many of the frequent posters here, including myself, have not even been admitted.

 

[rootz02]

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