DAT score and GPA

[dentalschl2020]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I took the DAT last week and got 20AA and 20TS. Bio and Reading were my weakest parts and I got pretty low scores. My school GPA is 3.48 and sGPA is 3.28. Is there any chance of me getting in? If so, which schools do you guys recommend applying? Thanks.

 

[93jct]

Hey there!

I'm in the same boat. Based on what I've heard from my friends and colleagues who are in/completed dental school, these marks should be good enough to land you atleast an interview. That being said, I have similar stats/grades as you do, however am a Canadian student and have applied this cycle to: Buffalo, NYU, Touro, TUFTS, Detroit Mercy, Case Western, UPenn, Rutgers, NOVA, U Pacific, and NOVA. I Know Penn and Rutgers especially might be a stretch but I figured why not. Hopefully this helps you in your situation!

 

[RSX JDM Integra]

You have a good shot. Apply to many schools though and you should get a few interviews. The only thing that is slightly concerning is the 17 RC because you're expected to read a lot and to understand material fast in dental school.

But 17 won't stop you from getting interviews if you apply to a good amount of schools. Good luck!

 

[MG14]

You have a good shot. Apply to many schools though and you should get a few interviews. The only thing that is slightly concerning is the 17 RC because you're expected to read a lot and to understand material fast in dental school.

But 17 won't stop you from getting interviews if you apply to a good amount of schools. Good luck!

I would second this. I had a 3.43 gpa and 19AA DAT and did just fine. I received 11 interview invites (only went to 8) and got 6 acceptances. So you definitely can be competitive. Now, here on SDN a lot of people put a ton of weight on gpa and DAT. I came to find out a lot of schools really do look more holistically than you would think. And the ones who do only focus on stats, I came to find out didn’t really have their priorities in the right place. Especially in other areas outside of didactics. So build a solid application, get good leadership, shadowing, and volunteer hours and make sure you are well rounded and you should be fine.

As far as schools, get the ADEA guide to dental schools that has all the stats and information of each school and use that to help you get a better idea of what each school is looking for

 

[macsak]

Hey I had a question, I have a 3.55 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA. I submitted my application first week of August. My DAT score was 20 BIO, 19 GC, 21 OC, 19 PAT, 18 RC, 15 QR, 20 TS, 19 AA. Do you think I can get interviews? I never applied to highly competitive dental schools but dental schools that fall into the range of my stats on ADEA explorer. I also received an A in every math course taken (pre-calculus, statistics, etc.) and received an A in both general chemistry I/II.

you can get interviews

 

[MG14]

Hey I had a question, I have a 3.55 cGPA and 3.45 sGPA. I submitted my application first week of August. My DAT score was 20 BIO, 19 GC, 21 OC, 19 PAT, 18 RC, 15 QR, 20 TS, 19 AA. Do you think I can get interviews? I never applied to highly competitive dental schools but dental schools that fall into the range of my stats on ADEA explorer. I also received an A in every math course taken (pre-calculus, statistics, etc.) and received an A in both general chemistry I/II.

You definitely can. As long as you have a solid app your well rounded in all other areas.

 

[pubhealthdent]

Hey all, just wanted to give some hope to those with a low DAT. A good friend of mine who's now a D2 at MOSDOH had a low DAT and still made it. His scores were:

Academic Average 17
Perceptual Ability 20
Quantitative Reasoning 18
Reading Comprehension 20

I don't think his GPA was amazing either, maybe like a 3.6. He went to 7 interviews and had 6 acceptances. As was said previously, if you're stats aren't great, focus on the school's with a more holistic approach to admissions. Less focus on GPA and typically more collegiality at these schools