DAT retake necessary?

[Cindy82]

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Hi everyone,

I got a 20/15 on DAT. Previously, I was thinking about retaking it because of the low pat score. But right now I am already getting interviews from case, UMaryland, Temple, Nova and Columbia, and I am still waiting to hear from USC, UCLA, UCSF, Tufts, NYU, Boston and UPenn. Do you guys think it is necessary to spend my bucks on Kaplan class and retake DAT again?

Also, would it look bad if I inform the school via AADSAS (through the pink correction form) that I am retaking the DAT and end up not taking it?

Any imput will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[HBomb]

I don't know about your second question, but I'll answer your first. IF you decide to retake the DAT, personally, I don't think the Kaplan class (the actual class) will help you much at this point...you already have a 20AA. So I'd recommend saving your money and just working on the materials on your own. See if you know someone who will share the Kaplan subject tests with you...that's all you really need (from Kaplan). Keep working problems. On PAT, try using Baron's DAT (only for the PAT), TopScore, and Kaplan stuff (if you can get the material). Barons has some good strategies for the PAT.

 

[Cindy82]

IF you decide to retake the DAT, personally, I don't think the Kaplan class (the actual class) will help you much at this point...


Thanks for your advice. But do you think it's absolutely necessary to retake DAT all over again since I am already getting interviews? I thought about it, and figured that it would be a real pain to tackle school work, interviews, and DAT at the same time.

 

[Literati81]

I would only take the DAT again if I was absolutely dying to get into a CA school or other well-known competitive schools. The chances of getting into UCLA and UCSF with a 20/15 are slim...but not impossible either. Good luck!

P.S. If you decide to take the DAT over and still want your application active for the 2005 cycle, definitely look into the Kaplan online course. I wouldn't consume so much time into classroom courses when its the test bank that is the most essential to getting a good score.

 

[HBomb]

Thanks for your advice. But do you think it's absolutely necessary to retake DAT all over again since I am already getting interviews? I thought about it, and figured that it would be a real pain to tackle school work, interviews, and DAT at the same time.

No, I don't think it's "absolutely necessary to retake." You're already getting interviews. Also, you won't be able to retake until November, which is really late in the cycle to get those scores posted. But just as previous poster stated, if you want to get into a CA state school, you just might want to retake (but really, I don't know enough about you or your CV to make any type of adequate recommendation).

 

[Cindy82]

What do you think are my chances of getting into USC with a 20/15?

 

[Johnson22]

I have heard that you need 18's on both to get an interview...but who knows

 

[Literati81]

Hopefully someone out there can prove me wrong but I have yet to meet one person with a PAT lower than 17 who got into USC. Then again, I only know about 5 people who got accepted to USC dental. Their trend? Lower science score and higher PAT score.

 

[msf41]

Hi everyone,

right now I am already getting interviews from case, UMaryland, Temple, Nova and Columbia, and I am still waiting to hear from USC, UCLA, UCSF, Tufts, NYU, Boston and UPenn. Do you guys think it is necessary to spend my bucks on Kaplan class and retake DAT again?

Here's the plan. When you get into your interview whip out a piece of paper and fold it into a crane, a butterfly, or some other cool ORAGAMI thing. Your interviewer will be SO AMAZED by your deft paper folding skills that they will beg you to come to their school.

 

[aphistis]

If you're already getting a flurry of interviews, I wouldn't bother with the DAT. Save your money for after school starts. 😉

 

[Sprgrover]

Here's the plan. When you get into your interview whip out a piece of paper and fold it into a crane, a butterfly, or some other cool ORAGAMI thing. Your interviewer will be SO AMAZED by your deft paper folding skills that they will beg you to come to their school.

Actually, that is very similar to a story the director of admissions at Case shared with my school. He said that during an interview witha girl, I believe a Japanese student, she folded him an intricate bird and presented it to him at the end. He said he was so shocked it stayed in his mind and he fought to give her a scholarship. Of course she had great scores, but most of us left the room thinking that we should go home and learn Origami prior to venturing out on any interviews.