DAT Scores...A Polarizing Thread

[liriano]

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Greetings. I have been lurking on this site for a while now, and it is great. I wanted to hear some of your opinions about my chances due to this score and my unique "situation". Here are my scores:

PAT 19 😡 (73.7%) Disappointing
QR 14 😱 (25.8%) Unbelievable. More on this later....
RC 23 (94.5%)
Bio 24 (98.7%)
GC 20 (81.3%)
OC 19 (73.1%)
TS 21 (92.4%)
AA 20 (87.1%)

Overall, I have mixed feelings abut this score. Let me explain....

PAT: Disappointing. I scored a 24 on the last PAT practice test I took on CDP (which I recommend buying). I didn't do any practice tests the last couple of days because I was cramming for QR/Bio/GC, and I think that hurt me in the end. I would recommend doing a practice test each day LEADING UP to the exam. It will keep you sharp -- I felt like I wasn't at the level I normally was during today's exam. Alas, that was the least of my problems.....


QR: I have NEVER scored this low on ANY section previously to this test. No one can finish this section, completely, while giving a serious analysis of each problem in 45 minutes. It can't be done. The amount of word problems were CRAZY, in lieu of the fact I had stayed up till 3 two nights previous trying to relearn Trig (which showed up ONCE on my version. Once.) This section score is devastating to me because my first choice is Columbia (I have family that lives in NYC). All I can say is GET TOPSCORE. I literally saw each type of problem on the DAT at least once on Topscore, and they give you detailed solutions. I don't know about CDM, but had I been able to memorize/understand the ways the program did certain computations, I wouldn't have this score. As for Columbia, I am very eager for opinions as to my chances (BTW I am an URM).


RC: Search and Destroy. Period. It is the only way to go on this section. I tried to always do a RC test after PAT to get a feel for it, and this seemed to help on my stamina. I didn't get the piano or FRAP, but the Calcium passage was challenging. Didn't get to check my scores either. Ah well.


Bio: Cliff's AP Bio. Know it. Embrace it. Understand it. Kaplan BB helped with some of the physiology stuff (I saw an ear question on a Topscore exam and panicked). I really, really, REALLY hammered the taxonomy stuff in Cliff's. It sucks to learn, and it is annoying, but it is WORTH IT. The feeling you get when you actually get one you know (I got one wrong though i think) is great, and it's worth it to come to the gunfight with all your bullets. Straightforward for the most part.

GC: The section I thought I would have to worry the most about, but it wasn't bad. Kaplan BB is great for it, but be proactive in getting practice for topics that you have trouble in. I wanted to do this section last after Orgo but I guess it was better to go in order. Know your calculations and you'll be fine.

OC: Never scored very high on this section, so I'm OK with this score. Someone posted a great website for alkene reactions on a recent thread that helped a lot. Know Kaplan BB section cold, with lots of practice problems/tests. It is very straightforward on the real thing, but I regret not having time to check my answers.


As I said, I am very interested in Dental School. I was a premed when I was in undergrad, and was torn between applying to med school and dental school. My family talked me into med school, but I quickly regretted the decision. I really enjoyed dentistry, and I decided to leave my school and apply. I have already turned in my AADSAS application on the 2nd, with six schools in mind (Columbia, VCU, UMDNJ, Maryland, Buffalo, Temple). Considering Stony Brook, as well. What do you guys think? Will admissions people give me a fair shake? Will it hurt me that I attended med school first? Should I expand my list because of QR? And most importantly - should I retake?

GPA - 3.4 SGPA - 3.2
Tons of EC's
Three LORs and one from dental specialist
NIH Research Fellow
URM (but grew up in the South)

Thanks!

 

[nze82]

Your scores seem pretty decent. The QR is low, and if they decide to give you a hard time, they can very well use that. However, keep in mind that there's been a trend of lower QR scores over the last few years (You'll see this if you check some of other threads about DAT scores). Many applicants are scoring in the 17-19 range. So, schools may end up overlooking your QR score, if they like the rest of your application and your scores on the other sections of the exam.
Nevertheless, I think you're good to go. Just submit everything and wait for interviews.

 

[failedmagician]

overall great job. QR sucks. What were your Topscore scores on QR?

 

[brightsmiles9]

GREAT JOB!!! CONGRATS!! It's risky to retake the exam just for QR and lower your sciences unless you feel confident that you can do up. Your stats are good and your application is in early, so I think your fine. was the real dat similar to CDP? which sections did you feel were harder?

 

[liriano]

overall great job. QR sucks. What were your Topscore scores on QR?

Topscore #1
Bio: 22
Chemistry: 17
OC: 14
PAT: 20
QR: 18
RC: 29
TS: 18
AA: 20

Topscore #2
Bio: 20
Chemistry: 18
OC: 19
PAT: 24
QR: 16
RC: 22
TS: 19
AA: 19

I thought that the Math sections on Topscore were either easier or had an easier scale. There was a good mix of variables, exponents, double equations, etc - not just word problems. I can honestly tell you that I thought I was prepared for the Math section without knowing the formulas in Topscore cold, but I guess my score proved otherwise.

 

[liriano]

GREAT JOB!!! CONGRATS!! It's risky to retake the exam just for QR and lower your sciences unless you feel confident that you can do up. Your stats are good and your application is in early, so I think your fine. was the real dat similar to CDP? which sections did you feel were harder?

I literally did a CDP exam each day until about 4 days before the exam. Looking back, I think that was a mistake. PAT is like flying a plane -- you have to take a couple of simulation tests before you actually jump to a full length tests. I felt that my speed was down while taking it, and even though the Hole Punch was easier, it FELT harder. I guess some of the Patterns and Keyholes must have tripped me up, but without a key I have no idea what I missed. The angles were easy up until the last few. I would say that the TFE was easier than CDP, but the Patterns and Hole Punch was harder.

 

[liriano]

I just saw on the Columbia website that they don't have any cutoffs for any sections on the DAT. Does this give me a chance? Any thoughts?

 

[doc toothache]

If you did reasonably well in med school your undergrad gpa may not be an issue. What may become an issue is that it took you 3 years to decide that med was not for you and why you dropped out with only one year to go.

 

[liriano]

Doctoothache, that is what I am nervous about. Aside from verbal reassurance at the interview, what other things could I do to let adcoms know that I am serious about Dentistry? I would think that my med school experience can let them know that I have seen almost everything that dental school can throw at me, not a slight due to choosing med school at the time.

 

[doc toothache]

Doctoothache, that is what I am nervous about. Aside from verbal reassurance at the interview, what other things could I do to let adcoms know that I am serious about Dentistry? I would think that my med school experience can let them know that I have seen almost everything that dental school can throw at me, not a slight due to choosing med school at the time.

The time to be nervous was when you made the fateful decision. Professional school consider themselves a failure when someone drops out since it is an irreplaceable spot. On the other hand, once graduated their mission was accomplished and they couldn't care less is you only spent a nanosecond in the career. You are very likely to find adcoms that feel that medicine's loss is dentistry's gain and the only requirement is that they be convinced that in 3 years they will not be facing the same end of the barrel. Being honest about your trial and tribulations on the change would be a good start and there is no need to offer proof of your love for dentistry by suggesting your willingness to jump off the Golden State Bridge.

 

[liriano]

The time to be nervous was when you made the fateful decision. Professional school consider themselves a failure when someone drops out since it is an irreplaceable spot. On the other hand, once graduated their mission was accomplished and they couldn't care less is you only spent a nanosecond in the career. You are very likely to find adcoms that feel that medicine's loss is dentistry's gain and the only requirement is that they be convinced that in 3 years they will not be facing the same end of the barrel. Being honest about your trial and tribulations on the change would be a good start and there is no need to offer proof of your love for dentistry by suggesting your willingness to jump off the Golden State Bridge.

Thanks, doc. Jumping off the Golden State Bridge with a bungee cord to get in.....I might consider lol. Sound advice though.

 

[allstardentist]

i think u have a very good chance of getting into columbia if ur other stats are comparable. they might like you even more esp since columbia is in an area with ALOT of dominican republic people. good thing columbia doesnt care much about PAT. good luck!

 

[liriano]

i think u have a very good chance of getting into columbia if ur other stats are comparable. they might like you even more esp since columbia is in an area with ALOT of dominican republic people. good thing columbia doesnt care much about PAT. good luck!

Thanks. I read a thread about the admissions office at the school that scared me lol. I'm sending in my supp fee tomorrow and hope that they acknowledge they receive it lol

 

[SmilePretty]

Unfortunately, the same thing happened to me on QR, I got a 22 AA and a freaking 14 QR! i called numerous schools and told them my exact scores and they mostly all said to retake because of the math, so i suggest you do the same. look at it as a way to improve all your sections and then Columbia will definitely take you!

 

[UCfan]

Greetings. I have been lurking on this site for a while now, and it is great. I wanted to hear some of your opinions about my chances due to this score and my unique "situation". Here are my scores:

PAT 19 😡 (73.7%) Disappointing
QR 14 😱 (25.8%) Unbelievable. More on this later....
RC 23 (94.5%)
Bio 24 (98.7%)
GC 20 (81.3%)
OC 19 (73.1%)
TS 21 (92.4%)
AA 20 (87.1%)

Overall, I have mixed feelings abut this score. Let me explain....

PAT: Disappointing. I scored a 24 on the last PAT practice test I took on CDP (which I recommend buying). I didn't do any practice tests the last couple of days because I was cramming for QR/Bio/GC, and I think that hurt me in the end. I would recommend doing a practice test each day LEADING UP to the exam. It will keep you sharp -- I felt like I wasn't at the level I normally was during today's exam. Alas, that was the least of my problems.....


QR: I have NEVER scored this low on ANY section previously to this test. No one can finish this section, completely, while giving a serious analysis of each problem in 45 minutes. It can't be done. The amount of word problems were CRAZY, in lieu of the fact I had stayed up till 3 two nights previous trying to relearn Trig (which showed up ONCE on my version. Once.) This section score is devastating to me because my first choice is Columbia (my family lives in NYC). All I can say is GET TOPSCORE. I literally saw each type of problem on the DAT at least once on Topscore, and they give you detailed solutions. I don't know about CDM, but had I been able to memorize/understand the ways the program did certain computations, I wouldn't have this score. As for Columbia, I am very eager for opinions as to my chances (BTW I am an URM - Dominican Republic).


RC: Search and Destroy. Period. It is the only way to go on this section. I tried to always do a RC test after PAT to get a feel for it, and this seemed to help on my stamina. I didn't get the piano or FRAP, but the Calcium passage was challenging. Didn't get to check my scores either. Ah well.


Bio: Cliff's AP Bio. Know it. Embrace it. Understand it. Kaplan BB helped with some of the physiology stuff (I saw an ear question on a Topscore exam and panicked). I really, really, REALLY hammered the taxonomy stuff in Cliff's. It sucks to learn, and it is annoying, but it is WORTH IT. The feeling you get when you actually get one you know (I got one wrong though i think) is great, and it's worth it to come to the gunfight with all your bullets. Straightforward for the most part.

GC: The section I thought I would have to worry the most about, but it wasn't bad. Kaplan BB is great for it, but be proactive in getting practice for topics that you have trouble in. I wanted to do this section last after Orgo but I guess it was better to go in order. Know your calculations and you'll be fine.

OC: Never scored very high on this section, so I'm OK with this score. Someone posted a great website for alkene reactions on a recent thread that helped a lot. Know Kaplan BB section cold, with lots of practice problems/tests. It is very straightforward on the real thing, but I regret not having time to check my answers.


As I said, I am very interested in Dental School. I was a premed when I was in undergrad, and was torn between applying to med school and dental school. My family talked me into med school, but I quickly regretted the decision. I really enjoyed dentistry, and I decided to leave my school and apply. I have already turned in my AADSAS application on the 2nd, with six schools in mind (Columbia, VCU, UMDNJ, Maryland, Buffalo, Temple). Considering Stony Brook, as well. What do you guys think? Will admissions people give me a fair shake? Will it hurt me that I attended med school first? Should I expand my list because of QR? And most importantly - should I retake?

GPA - 3.4 SGPA - 3.2
Tons of EC's (was in med school for three years)
Three LORs and one from dental specialist
NIH Research Fellow
URM (Dominican, but grew up in Cali)

Thanks!

If you practice a lot, you can finish qr section on time without a problem. The key is using shortcuts.Ex: 1001^2-998^2=?
If you try to do expansion (of course it will take a long time to finish).
However by using shortcut: a^2-b^2=(a-b)*(a+b)
(3)*(1999)=5997
There are numerous tricks that you can use for qr section!
If you are slow in word problems, that means you have difficulties to build up equations (one or two parameters). Qr section tests very very basic concepts (high school or below)!

 

[liriano]

Unfortunately, the same thing happened to me on QR, I got a 22 AA and a freaking 14 QR! i called numerous schools and told them my exact scores and they mostly all said to retake because of the math, so i suggest you do the same. look at it as a way to improve all your sections and then Columbia will definitely take you!

So you think that I should retake? The QR section can definitely be pulled up if I were to take it again. With your 22 AA, did all the schools you applied to tell you to take it again?

 

[sfrice80]

So you think that I should retake? The QR section can definitely be pulled up if I were to take it again. With your 22 AA, did all the schools you applied to tell you to take it again?

I actually heard completely different and looking at Columbia on predents.com, they interviewed someone last year with a 14 QR. If I were you, I would not re-take to raise the QR, you may sacrifice your other scores to raise the least important and last section of the DAT. I received a 16 in QR and called some of my schools and many of them said if you did overall well on your DAT and you scored above a 14 in QR that it wont hold me back from interviews, as long as everything else is up to par. The rest of your scores are pretty solid, PAT could be better but whatever. Thats a lot of extra work and stress to re-take I would think. If I were you, I would ride your scores this cycle and I really think you'll get some interviews.

 

[SmilePretty]

So you think that I should retake? The QR section can definitely be pulled up if I were to take it again. With your 22 AA, did all the schools you applied to tell you to take it again?

They all said i should retake...and i even got a 30 in one section!! UofFlorida even told me i would not be considered for an interview. You should call the schools your applying to and talk to the admissions office...they will let you know, and in my opinion getting into the school you really want to go to is worth the extra studying!

 

[nze82]

Anyone who says you need to retake with these scores obviously doesn't know much about the admission process. Although I do agree with the posters who are suggesting you should call the schools for more information, but I strongly disagree with the idea of retake in your case!

 

[liriano]

They all said i should retake...and i even got a 30 in one section!! UofFlorida even told me i would not be considered for an interview. You should call the schools your applying to and talk to the admissions office...they will let you know, and in my opinion getting into the school you really want to go to is worth the extra studying!

Wow....thats surreal. What did your other stats look like? Did you have any other lower sections? PM me if you find these questions too personal.

 

[liriano]

Anyone who says you need to retake with these scores obviously doesn't know much about the admission process. Although I do agree with the posters who are suggesting you should call the schools for more information, but I strongly disagree with the idea of retake in your case!

Well, hopefully adcoms look at the trend of scores as well as the final AA/TS/PAT. Had I gotten my avg for QR (around 18) my AA would have gotten a boost.

 

[navneetdh]

Topscore #1
Bio: 22
Chemistry: 17
OC: 14
PAT: 20
QR: 18
RC: 29
TS: 18
AA: 20

Topscore #2
Bio: 20
Chemistry: 18
OC: 19
PAT: 24
QR: 16
RC: 22
TS: 19
AA: 19

I thought that the Math sections on Topscore were either easier or had an easier scale. There was a good mix of variables, exponents, double equations, etc - not just word problems. I can honestly tell you that I thought I was prepared for the Math section without knowing the formulas in Topscore cold, but I guess my score proved otherwise.

your final DAT was pretty good. I would love to be able to reach the level of your scores. Looking at your topscore and real test, math definitely drops down a few points!! I am scored about that. But your breakdown is helpful....
Thanks 🙂

 

[liriano]

^ Thanks! I would hope my breakdown helps others. Being my first time taking the test, I wish I could have known a little more about the QR experience. I also would have purchased Destroyer for OC as well.