DAT Retake?

[juliamlnguyen]

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Hey guys,

I just took my DAT and my scores were:

PA: 19
RC:21
QR:21
BIO:19
GC:19
OC:20
TS:19
AA:20

My scores aren't horrible, but I was pretty disappointed with the 19 in PA, I was consistently scoring 22-24 on crack the pat before the exam. I also feel like my science scores aren't great and even though my AA is 20, its because of QR and RC, the least important scores... I'm applying this year, and I don't know if I should retake or not to make up for the rest of my application stats.

My oGPA:3.4, sGPA:3.2
Shadowing: just started ~10 hours, but will be ~100 by the time I apply.
Volunteering: ~50 hours
no research 🙁

 

[hawkeye122017]

Where do you plan to apply? This could affect the decision to retake or not. Generally speaking, I think it is a solid set of scores. Well done.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Hey guys,

I just took my DAT and my scores were:

PA: 19
RC:21
QR:21
BIO:19
GC:19
OC:20
TS:19
AA:20

My scores aren't horrible, but I was pretty disappointed with the 19 in PA, I was consistently scoring 22-24 on crack the pat before the exam. I also feel like my science scores aren't great and even though my AA is 20, its because of QR and RC, the least important scores... I'm applying this year, and I don't know if I should retake or not to make up for the rest of my application stats.

My oGPA:3.4, sGPA:3.2
Shadowing: just started ~10 hours, but will be ~100 by the time I apply.
Volunteering: ~50 hours
no research 🙁

Your scores are very consistent and that is a good thing, dental schools like that. The potential problem might be your 3.2 science GPA, if your science GPA is a little low a lot of dental schools like to see a higher DAT score. Before retaking I would call the schools your are interested in attending and talk to them directly to get their advice. I think you have a good chance for acceptance but can't say a great chance. Your volunteering and shadowing are great, and I also highly recommend that your personal statement is very well thought out and error free. Dental schools look at the whole package.

Hope that helps and good luck in the process.

Keep us posted..

Nancy

 

[juliamlnguyen]

Where do you plan to apply? This could affect the decision to retake or not. Generally speaking, I think it is a solid set of scores. Well done.

I'm a California resident and would obviously want to stay in Cali. I'm planning to apply to all the California schools, but still planning to apply to ~10 other OOS friendly schools because I don't want to take a gap year. Being in California is important but getting in somewhere in general is more important.

I'm also a 3rd year, so I'm still trying to raise up my GPAs. Hopefully it can raise by 0.1 by the time I apply.

 

[juliamlnguyen]

Your scores are very consistent and that is a good thing, dental schools like that. The potential problem might be your 3.2 science GPA, if your science GPA is a little low a lot of dental schools like to see a higher DAT score. Before retaking I would call the schools your are interested in attending and talk to them directly to get their advice. I think you have a good chance for acceptance but can't say a great chance. Your volunteering and shadowing are great, and I also highly recommend that your personal statement is very well thought out and error free. Dental schools look at the whole package.

Hope that helps and good luck in the process.

Keep us posted..

Nancy

Thank's for you help, I'll try calling the schools to see what they say. I'm trying to stay in California, but still open to OOS friendly schools. I'm still a 3rd year and have grades that could affect my GPA until June. Do you know if my 4th year grades will count toward acceptance at all if I'm planning to apply as soon as the application opens?

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

It depends. Do you have an upward trend in your GPA? Adcoms are more lenient towards a low GPA if you have a strong upward trend especially in the sciences (biology classes).