DAT Score Advice Needed

[greenafghan]

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I took my DAT
AA 18
PA 17
QR 14 😱
RC 16 (English is my 4th language)
BIO 21
GC 18
OC 20
TS 20

over all GPA 3.433

In QR section i took too long solving the problems and ran out of time!!
And as i mentioned English is not my 1st language.
I'm resident of Indiana and currently I'm working on my masters (MA) in physiology...

this is my 3rd and final time taking the DAT... i guess?? cuz i think the limit is 3....I'm freaking out and i don't know what to do... with low DAT...
I'm thinking about dropping out of Master program to study more for DAT...
Are there any school with low DAT score??
I have applied to some schools and haven't heard back...
I would appreciate any help i can get..
Thanx

 

[UofT09]

I took my DAT
AA 18
PA 17
QR 14 😱
RC 16 (English is my 4th language)
BIO 21
GC 18
OC 20
TS 20

over all GPA 3.433

In QR section i took too long solving the problems and ran out of time!!
And as i mentioned English is not my 1st language.
I'm resident of Indiana and currently I'm working on my masters (MA) in physiology...

this is my 3rd and final time taking the DAT... i guess?? cuz i think the limit is 3....I'm freaking out and i don't know what to do... with low DAT...
I'm thinking about dropping out of Master program to study more for DAT...
Are there any school with low DAT score??
I have applied to some schools and haven't heard back...
I would appreciate any help i can get..
Thanx

I am sorry it didn't go well, you can get permission to take it for a 4th time. It'll be tough to get in with low DAT score, however schools are looking for well rounded applicants, so there is still hope. I would recommend reading this forum to see what materials people have done well used. Unfortunately at this point there's nothing else you can do 🙁

 

[bennijai]

You won't be able to take the test until March, so don't drop out of your MA program. Instead study for the DAT, correct your strategy, and come back more prepared. You may need to reapply next cycle but it will be well worth it.

It seems like you just need to approach the RC, PAT, and QR section with a different strategy.

 

[dentalWorks]

first off all, you did not do bad, you got 18AA with 20TS. However, the problem with this score is that its a 3rd time retake. Alot of schools like to see applicants take the DAT more than 1 time IF THEY SHOW NICE IMPROVEMENTS.

YOur GPA is okay, but If you can bring it up to 3.6, it would look really nice. Whats your science GPA?

Word of advice, don't use the "english is 4th language" deal as an execuse to why you did poorly. there are ALOT of kids with english as a 4th and 5th and 6th and 100th langauge and they managed to get that magic 17+ on RC (I am one of them). So don't mention that in your future interviews or personal statment cause an adcome can easily say "well others did just fine, why didn't you" ... you see what I am saying?

 

[greenafghan]

Thanks for the advice...I have an appointment w/ my advisor and hopefully we'll figure out a way...

 

[cowboy17]

.

 

[doc toothache]

RC 16 (English is my 4th language)
over all GPA 3.433
In QR section i took too long solving the problems and ran out of time!!
And as i mentioned English is not my 1st language.
I'm resident of Indiana and currently I'm working on my masters (MA) in physiology...

Other than Puerto Rico, good luck finding a U.S. dental school where instruction is not in English

 

[RDH]

come on guys, an eighteen is not great but remember the average for DAT is still a 19 that means that schools accept people with 18s too. you need to visit with the dean of the school you are interested in and see what he/she tells you to do. Your science scores are good, you gpa is good too, so if you show determination and interest in this profession and you keep on applying and showing your face you will have a chance. As for a low reading comp score did you do any higher on the other dats if so you can point that out to the dean and say you were having a bad day. Do not worry about the math b/c most schools do not bother looking at it, and even if so i have seen several people on this site with crazy science scores and terrible math so that keeps youin the game b/c the average is low for the math. As for taking it more than once looks bad that is not true, if you check how long I have been on this site you would know that I have read many stories and I have an idea of what I am talking about. Most people take the test on average twice, and if anything this shows determination which schools like that. To top that I ahve taken the test once before and when I visited with the dean, she said to take it early so i can have a chance of taking it agian if i need to so that would make it three times. Do not apply to schools that are wanting 20+ on dat and again you want loose anything if you just make an appt with the dean of the school of your interest. Be prepared to express how much you want to be in this profession and inform them that yoou are in a masters program and what would make you a good candidate. good luck

 

[greenafghan]

Thank You for your honest advice..I have actually received a letter from a dental school asking me weather I will be taking the DAT again and it says i only need to improve my RC & QR portion. and they have given Jan 30 as deadline. that's why i was planning to postpone Master program...
Do you guys know of any good program(s) which will help me with RC & QR.. right now i am enrolled in Kaplan online course...
I've heard about search & destroy in this forum but i don't really know what it is...can anyone explain this process...please..cuz i think kaplan uses another method..
thanx

 

[ashlander]

Thank You for your honest advice..I have actually received a letter from a dental school asking me weather I will be taking the DAT again and it says i only need to improve my RC & QR portion. and they have given Jan 30 as deadline. that's why i was planning to postpone Master program...
Do you guys know of any good program(s) which will help me with RC & QR.. right now i am enrolled in Kaplan online course...
I've heard about search & destroy in this forum but i don't really know what it is...can anyone explain this process...please..cuz i think kaplan uses another method..
thanx

Search and destroy is search and destroy..literally. You search for answers skimming. To do so, you gonna need to read questions first.
Try on that method on practice tests and see if you get better scores. if so, that method works for you. if not, need a diff method. some fast readers read the whole thing then answer. some do kaplan method of mapping(not sure) etc..
RC works differently for everyone imo.
and QR...practice practice practice.
btw, if jan 30 is the deadline, seems like you are within that 3 month window.
I honestly dunno how it's gonna work out..but you are really short on time to figure this out. and i would never drop out from a program. I think it will look very bad. and if you say something like i needed time for DAT studying for your reason of dropin out, it will be very bad imo.
good luck.