DAT This Morning

[DDSdreams]

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Hi all,

I'm sure you're sick of these by now, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try to get some advice. I took my DAT bright and early this morning (yawn).

Scores:
(QR) Quantitative Reasoning: 20
(RC) Reading Comprehension: 28
(B) Biology: 18
(GC) General Chemistry: 16 -- ?
(OC) Organic Chemistry: 19

(TS) Total Science: 18
(AA) Academic Average: 20
(PA) Perceptual Average: 19


GPA:
Cumulative: 3.901
Science: 3.851


Thoughts? I'm kind of nervous. I had previously been getting 21s or so on the PAT, but for some reason got oddly rushed on exam day. Also, the gen chem score is ridiculous. It is nice to have it over with, though. Thoughts on retaking?

 

[joonkimdds]

I think you are ok especially with your high DAT score. I would call schools and see if 16 is cut off score.

Can I ask what you did in RC to get such a high score? I struggle in that section and need some help.

 

[DDSdreams]

I apologize that I can't really help you with Reading Comprehension. I've been an avid reader since I began at age four and a half. 🙂

Do schools look very closely at individual scores or more at the AA, TS, and PA?

 

[tsitneD]

they do look at individual scores.

 

[Colorful Joe]

You're reading comp score is phenomenal.
May I ask, what did you use to study for that section?
What did you use for he sciences?

 

[MrJeff]

I think you should take the DAT again. You have a very high Science GPA which is great but in order to validate that high GPA to the dental schools you are going to have to do better on your DAT science scores. They are going to wonder how you did so well on your science classes in college.

 

[nze82]

Please don't take any of my comments personally:

First of all, great job on the RC section of the exam.
Unfortunately, you didn't score a single 20+ on any of your sciences. Yet, you have a 3.85 science GPA. This will raise questions about the legitimacy of your GPA and the school where you earned it. So, contrary to what many might believe, I don't think your high science GPA will come to your rescue as long as you have multiple scores under 20 on your DAT.
Also, you PAT score is about average, which won't make things any better for you.
So, personally, I think you need to retake the exam.

Good Luck👍

 

[jay47]

Please don't take any of my comments personally:

First of all, great job on the RC section of the exam.
Unfortunately, you didn't score a single 20+ on any of your sciences. Yet, you have a 3.85 science GPA. This will raise questions about the legitimacy of your GPA and the school where you earned it. So, contrary to what many might believe, I don't think your high science GPA will come to your rescue as long as you have multiple scores under 20 on your DAT.
Also, you PAT score is about average, which won't make things any better for you.
So, personally, I think you need to retake the exam.

Good Luck👍

Aww, don't worry too much about your science scores, I'm sure you will be fine with an AA of 20. It's a total package deal, and your GPA and AA have most of the package covered. I just simply disagree with this post.

 

[nze82]

Aww, don't worry too much about your science scores, I'm sure you will be fine with an AA of 20. It's a total package deal, and your GPA and AA have most of the package covered. I just simply disagree with this post.

You can disagree all you want; it's not gonna change the fact that when you have a 3.85 science GPA you're expected to do well on the science section of the exam. That GPA should be indicative of a strong science background. As another poster mentioned, you need to validate this by performing well on the science section of the DAT, which is a standardized test. A 3.85 GPA means you're above average when it comes to science. So, how could it be that you're below average, when you take a standardized test? That could only mean two things:

1) That GPA is not legitimate (and by that I don't mean he/she is faking it. I mean perhaps it hasn't been earned at a prestigious institution). If this is the case, it will most likely hinder his/her chances of admission and even if he/she ends up getting interviews they will ask him/her to explain the discrepancy between his/her GPA and the DAT scores.

2) He/she simply had a bad day, while taking the exam. If this is the case, he/she can simply retake the exam and prove that he does indeed have a strong academic background by improving his/her scores.

It's easy to tell everyone they're gonna be OK regardless of their stats. But if you really wanna help someone, try to give them some constructive and realistic feedback.

 

[iwannabadentist]

You can disagree all you want; it's not gonna change the fact that when you have a 3.85 science GPA you're expected to do well on the science section of the exam. That GPA should be indicative of a strong science background. As another poster mentioned, you need to validate this by performing well on the science section of the DAT, which is a standardized test. A 3.85 GPA means you're above average when it comes to science. So, how could it be that you're below average, when you take a standardized test? That could only mean two things:

1) That GPA is not legitimate (and by that I don't mean he/she is faking it. I mean perhaps it hasn't been earned at a prestigious institution). If this is the case, it will most likely hinder his/her chances of admission and even if he/she ends up getting interviews they will ask him/her to explain the discrepancy between his/her GPA and the DAT scores.

2) He/she simply had a bad day, while taking the exam. If this is the case, he/she can simply retake the exam and prove that he does indeed have a strong academic background by improving his/her scores.

It's easy to tell everyone they're gonna be OK regardless of their stats. But if you really wanna help someone, try to give them some constructive and realistic feedback.

👍
Totally agree. This is a forum where you can get realistic feedback from other students who are on the same page as you. If you need consolation, talk to your mother. 🙂

 

[jay47]

You can disagree all you want; it's not gonna change the fact that when you have a 3.85 science GPA you're expected to do well on the science section of the exam. That GPA should be indicative of a strong science background. As another poster mentioned, you need to validate this by performing well on the science section of the DAT, which is a standardized test. A 3.85 GPA means you're above average when it comes to science. So, how could it be that you're below average, when you take a standardized test? That could only mean two things:

1) That GPA is not legitimate (and by that I don't mean he/she is faking it. I mean perhaps it hasn't been earned at a prestigious institution). If this is the case, it will most likely hinder his/her chances of admission and even if he/she ends up getting interviews they will ask him/her to explain the discrepancy between his/her GPA and the DAT scores.

2) He/she simply had a bad day, while taking the exam. If this is the case, he/she can simply retake the exam and prove that he does indeed have a strong academic background by improving his/her scores.

It's easy to tell everyone they're gonna be OK regardless of their stats. But if you really wanna help someone, try to give them some constructive and realistic feedback.

1. Generally dental schools know how students from "X" institution with "X" gpa do at their school. Assuming that this person went to a decent and known institution, the dental schools will know how "good" their gpa really is. In addition, his total science average is what, like an 18? This correlates to approximately a 69th percentile science score, probably like 65th percentile by now cuz those numbers were from 2005 (http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_users_manual.pdf, page 18). It's not like he's below average, hes probably just below average for accepted students. His good science gpa will most likely make up for that AND, most importantly, if you have a 4.0 and don't study for the DAT then you'll still do poorly. Perhaps this person knew their science GPA was good and thus relied on their assumed superior science knowledge to "glide" through the DAT. All that matters for the DAT is WHAT you study, HOW you study, and HOW much you study. Your gpa can be 1.5, but if you study the right things and for long enough you can succeed. It's more of a right of passage to test your dedication than aptitude.

2. Yes he can take the test again, but with an 85th percentile score overall, I really don't see why he should.

My comments weren't meant for consolation, but simply from my personal opinion that his GPA (.2 points above matriculant) and his DAT score AA (about .5 above matriculant average) are LIKELY to get him accepted somewhere. Your statements seems to indicate that he can't get in anywhere, but statistics don't lie.

I hope that my comments, as well as your comments can be taken into consideration when this person applies so that they can increase their chances of acceptance, however hypothetically good or bad they may be. 👍

 

[nze82]

1. Generally dental schools know how students from "X" institution with "X" gpa do at their school. Assuming that this person went to a decent and known institution, the dental schools will know how "good" their gpa really is. In addition, his total science average is what, like an 18? This correlates to approximately a 69th percentile science score, probably like 65th percentile by now cuz those numbers were from 2005 (http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_users_manual.pdf, page 18). It's not like he's below average, hes probably just below average for accepted students. His good science gpa will most likely make up for that AND, most importantly, if you have a 4.0 and don't study for the DAT then you'll still do poorly. Perhaps this person knew their science GPA was good and thus relied on their assumed superior science knowledge to "glide" through the DAT. All that matters for the DAT is WHAT you study, HOW you study, and HOW much you study. Your gpa can be 1.5, but if you study the right things and for long enough you can succeed. It's more of a right of passage to test your dedication than aptitude.

2. Yes he can take the test again, but with an 85th percentile score overall, I really don't see why he should.

My comments weren't meant for consolation, but simply from my personal opinion that his GPA (.2 points above matriculant) and his DAT score AA (about .5 above matriculant average) are LIKELY to get him accepted somewhere. Your statements seems to indicate that he can't get in anywhere, but statistics don't lie.

I hope that my comments, as well as your comments can be taken into consideration when this person applies so that they can increase their chances of acceptance, however hypothetically good or bad they may be. 👍

By no means am I trying to say this applicant has no chance of getting in! The entire admission process works in mysterious ways. Sometimes people with average scores (GPA and DAT) get into decent scores, because they fit the criteria that the school is looking for, and sometimes people with excellent stats don't get in, because they don't fit those particular criteria. However, personally, I prefer not to leave anything up to chance. Yes! he/she might indeed have a chance of getting into decent schools this year, but those low science scores may hinder this chance.

The very fact that he might have relied on his/her assumed superior science knowledge will give the admission committee a great reason for not accepting him/her. Most schools want students who are consistent in their studying habits. You can't decide that you don't wanna study for the DAT just because you feel you've studied hard enough during your undergrad years.

Nevertheless, the decision is his/her to make. We're all entitled to our opinions, and I hope he/she can read through all these comments and make a smart decision.

 

[razblo]

So would my ~3.5 science GPA look better with a 20 AA look better than someone with a ~3.8 science GPA with a 20 AA?

 

[nze82]

So would my ~3.5 science GPA look better with a 20 AA look better than someone with a ~3.8 science GPA with a 20 AA?

More important than your AA are the individual scores that make it up. If you you have a 3.5 GPA with all your science scores being in the 19-21 range I believe you're considered more competitive than someone who has a 3.8 GPA, but has individual scores in the 16 range. Also, with GPA, I think one of the most important things is the institution, where you've obtained it from. If you've taken a heap of units at a community college and you've scored a bunch of easy A's too boost your GPA, then your 3.8 GPA won't be as impressive as someone who has completed his/her entire undergrad work in a credible four year university.
Again, these are only speculations and personal opinions. At the end, it all comes down to the person who is reviewing your file and what they think about you and your academic background.

 

[jay47]

So would my ~3.5 science GPA look better with a 20 AA look better than someone with a ~3.8 science GPA with a 20 AA?

This is the paradox I am referring to, and it definitely could not be answered except by the person on the admissions committee.

 

[armorshell]

This is the paradox I am referring to, and it definitely could not be answered except by the person on the admissions committee.

This can and does differ from school to school. Some schools view the DAT as standing alone, some school's view the DAT as something that "legitimizes" a certain GPA, and some schools look at GPA primarily.

 

[a1pha]

I've gotta agree that you should retake. Regardless of your DAT legitimizing your GPA (which I agree is a relevant theory), with that kind of GPA don't you have high ambitions to apply to the more competitive dental schools? Assuming you did...if I worked hard through undergrad to get a 3.9, I'd expect to have a DAT to show for it which would allow me to apply to and be competitive at the schools I really wanted to attend. That DAT is gonna hold you back at the more competitive schools.

 

[Omenino]

just call your school and ask..