DAT trend and exaggeration

[xxxTheDonxxx]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Since most of everybody in here are saying 18s on the DAT aren't good anymore. When I look at a lot of schools like Tufts with 17PAT and 18AA as their average scores for this year....this means that they're taking people below 18s and below 17s on PAT. Are we exaggerating just a little bit when it comes to the increasing trend for DAT?

 

[drengineer]

I believe the SDN community is smart and only represents a minority of pre-dent students. So that's why the avg of DAT is high on SDN.

 

[Rezdawg]

Since most of everybody in here are saying 18s on the DAT aren't good anymore. When I look at a lot of schools like Tufts with 17PAT and 18AA as their average scores for this year....this means that they're taking people below 18s and below 17s on PAT. Are we exaggerating just a little bit when it comes to the increasing trend for DAT?

If you are going to have a 17AA, you better have a 3.6+ gpa.

 

[RozhonDDS]

i'll tell you what i have a 17/18/17, and i won't have any problem finding a school, my AADSAS GPA will be higher than my actual transcript, and not to mention a laundry list of EC that is goign to make me stand so far out from the crowd that that i may be in another country?

 

[xylashellx]

i'll tell you what i have a 17/18/17, and i won't have any problem finding a school, my AADSAS GPA will be higher than my actual transcript, and not to mention a laundry list of EC that is goign to make me stand so far out from the crowd that that i may be in another country?

not to be a downer, but thats what i thought too when i applied with a 17/18/19 last year...then i only got accepted off the waitlist at NYU. so be careful is all that im saying. good luck

 

[fightingspirit]

Since most of everybody in here are saying 18s on the DAT aren't good anymore. When I look at a lot of schools like Tufts with 17PAT and 18AA as their average scores for this year....this means that they're taking people below 18s and below 17s on PAT. Are we exaggerating just a little bit when it comes to the increasing trend for DAT?

yes, SDNers are sometimes overdramatic about stats. however, i think you missed the point that many wanted to make: higher stats boost the odds of getting into d-school and boost the odds of getting into your top choice d-school. i am absolutly positive that an applicant with 18 or 17 DAT has a chance in a few d-schools, provided he/she has some other good aspects in the application. but i am also equally positive that if you look at rejected applicants as a whole, you'll realize that their stats are actually lower than those who got in. if one takes it case by case, then it's hard to make any statements; some 21s dont get into school x and some 18s do. but in general, the rejected group have lower stats.

 

[Yellow Snow]

yes, SDNers are sometimes overdramatic about stats. however, i think you missed the point that many wanted to make: higher stats boost the odds of getting into d-school and boost the odds of getting into your top choice d-school. i am absolutly positive that an applicant with 18 or 17 DAT has a chance in a few d-schools, provided he/she has some other good aspects in the application. but i am also equally positive that if you look at rejected applicants as a whole, you'll realize that their stats are actually lower than those who got in. if one takes it case by case, then it's hard to make any statements; some 21s dont get into school x and some 18s do. but in general, the rejected group have lower stats.

I agree. It isn't that 18s are damning but if you take a look at predents.com the rejected stats are only slightly lower than the accepted stats. Communicating with predents via SDN is about maximizing your chances for acceptance and thus the attitude that greater than 20 is neccessary.

 

[rocknightmare]

i'll tell you what i have a 17/18/17, and i won't have any problem finding a school, my AADSAS GPA will be higher than my actual transcript, and not to mention a laundry list of EC that is goign to make me stand so far out from the crowd that that i may be in another country?

i am going to give you some harsh reality about applications and applying. just so you don't get too cockie during the whole application process. you only have *AVGERAGE* scores. average scores means that you are just as good as the next person and if the admin committee sees your file in the wrong light or on a bad day the next person will win. ec means crapola in application process -- in the end it boils down can you look at that damn book and absorb the material and respond well on the exams or not?!

 

[hockeydentist]

not to be a downer, but thats what i thought too when i applied with a 17/18/19 last year...then i only got accepted off the waitlist at NYU. so be careful is all that im saying. good luck

same here! It wasn't till I hit the 19 bench mark that I got some lovin from schools.

 

[Chrono1984]

My advisor put it in pretty good terms. A 17/18 will probably get you into a school if you apply to many and apply early. However. 20+ could potentially give you the choice of where to go via multiple acceptances rather than praying for one.

 

[Rezdawg]

but i am also equally positive that if you look at rejected applicants as a whole, you'll realize that their stats are actually lower than those who got in....but in general, the rejected group have lower stats.

Now there's a brilliant hypothesis! 😉

I'd also say that professional basketball players as a whole are better than college basketball players. 😀

 

[syn_apse]

i'll tell you what i have a 17/18/17, and i won't have any problem finding a school

time for me to hop on the harsh reality check bandwagon... a 17/18/17 DAT and 3.3 GPA is a below average application to enter the class of 2011. there is a very real chance you won't get in anywhere (just check out all of the applicants this cycle who have better stats and zero acceptances). also, be sure to check your cockiness at the door if you get any interviews, you are not the ****

 

[fightingspirit]

Now there's a brilliant hypothesis! 😉

I'd also say that professional basketball players as a whole are better than college basketball players. 😀

i see you picked the attitude from the OMFS guys and from people like corolla....i'd wait till i become one of them if i were you. anyways,

1-you misquoted me by deleting a portion of my argument in your quote.
2-thank you for your remarkable contribution to this thread 🙄
3-ask yourself the following questions:

a-why did i post a distortion of fightingspirit's argument? 😉
b-what does that say about me?.... 😉

 

[Rezdawg]

i see you picked the attitude from the OMFS guys and from people like corolla....i'd wait till i become one of them if i were you. anyways,

1-you misquoted me by deleting a portion of my argument in your quote.
2-thank you for your remarkable contribution to this thread 🙄
3-ask yourself the following questions:

a-why did i post a distortion of fightingspirit's argument? 😉
b-what does that say about me?.... 😉

Couple things buddy...first off, how did I misquote you? Those were your words. Here is what I omitted:

"if one takes it case by case, then it's hard to make any statements; some 21s dont get into school x and some 18s do."

Again, brilliant!!!

The part I took out is irrelevant to the overall point you were making, that students that are accepted have better numbers than students that arent accepted. Thats why I took it out.

Secondly, chill out bro...I was obviously being sarcastic when I used winking face and big smile icons in that post.

 

[lovechild404]

a 17 AA won't get you anywhere! trust me, i applied this past cycle. My stats were 19AA 19sci 18pat 3.19GPA and get this....drum roll...not only did i get ZERO acceptances, i got ZERO interviews!!!!!
maybe you'll have better luck than me.

 

[fightingspirit]

The part I took out is irrelevant to the overall point you were making.

actually, it was relevant because it explains how the statement is a generalization and that there are exceptions on both sides of the argument. whatever...i dont wanna argue with you...i'd still ask myself the questions (a and b) above. 😉....it's all good but let's not throw **** at each other just because the OMFS guys are not too crazy about me 😉

 

[Rezdawg]

let's not throw **** at each other just because the OMFS guys are not too crazy about me 😉

Never intended to.

 

[Madeleine405]

sorry, but I have to agree with the majority here. I got a 19/21/19 and only got one interview out of 11 schools. I also have 2 years experience managing a research lab in genetics. Now, I agree that some students get accepted with scores lower than yours, but I wouldn't rely on that. You need to boost that GPA and think about your reccomendations. Also APPLY EARLY! it will help. Best of Luck!

 

[fightingspirit]

Never intended to.

ok....water under the bridge then!!! 😀

 

[golfmontpoker]

You should be able to get in somewhere if you apply to ALOT of places and have a hella good personal statement, good shadowing, good LORs, and some decent volunteering experiance... Just my two cents

 

[aggie-master]

I have a feeling that the majority of people that get in with a 17 or 18 on the DAT have a 3.6 or better GPA.

I doubt that it is easy to get in with a average to below average GPA and an average to below average DAT score to go with it.

 

[starbright]

heres what i think. i think that even if u have a 4.0 gpa and perfect DAT scores, you are not guaranteed to get in ANYWHERE. schools are SO random in how they choose their students....and in the end i think they do a good job in who they choose. people get into columbia but dont get into temple. etc....this whole process is very random. as far as exaggerating here on SDN, i agree with the first comment. we are a small selection of the population, and i feel like we represent the higher end of it. i know at least 60 ppl from my club who have not heard of SDN and have lower dat/gpa scores than those that post on here.

 

[golfmontpoker]

heres what i think. i think that even if u have a 4.0 gpa and perfect DAT scores, you are not guaranteed to get in ANYWHERE. schools are SO random in how they choose their students....and in the end i think they do a good job in who they choose. people get into columbia but dont get into temple. etc....this whole process is very random. as far as exaggerating here on SDN, i agree with the first comment. we are a small selection of the population, and i feel like we represent the higher end of it. i know at least 60 ppl from my club who have not heard of SDN and have lower dat/gpa scores than those that post on here.

This statement is so true about people not really knowing their stuff... Another predent from my school applied last year and i asked him about his stats, he had like a 2.8 and a 16 on the DAT and only applied to one school... He was so disapointed he didnt get in. I thought to myself "Wow, these people need to do some research" and that goes to show with many other predents at my school, they honestly have NO clue... thank GOD i found this site, it is a wealth of information.

 

[double4life]

You should be able to get in somewhere if you apply to ALOT of places and have a hella good personal statement, good shadowing, good LORs, and some decent volunteering experiance... Just my two cents

I have been told by at least three admissions directors (Mr. Gonthier - Tufts, Mr. Trecek - Marquette, Dr. Thibodeau - UConn) and several doctors that have been on admissions committees that applying to "ALOT" of dental schools shows an applicants indecisiveness and is looked at negatively when sifting through apps.

Besides what will you do if you get an interview and someone asks you your reasoning in choosing school x-y-z? It happened to me at my Tufts and Marquette interview and I only applied to seven schools) Be prepared it.

 

[golfmontpoker]

I have been told by at least three admissions directors (Mr. Gonthier - Tufts, Mr. Trecek - Marquette, Dr. Thibodeau - UConn) and several doctors that have been on admissions committees that applying to "ALOT" of dental schools shows an applicants indecisiveness and is looked at negatively when sifting through apps.

Besides what will you do if you get an interview and someone asks you your reasoning in choosing school x-y-z? It happened to me at my Tufts and Marquette interview and I only applied to seven schools) Be prepared it.

Really? Well i have heard from different people here that applying to many schools maximizes your chances, but your logic makes equal sense as well... I really dont see how this would make a huge impact though, it could also show the desire to get into Dschool... But if asked about why choosing these different schools... Im sure i can come up with some sort of reason I would think

 

[marinojones]

I have been told by at least three admissions directors (Mr. Gonthier - Tufts, Mr. Trecek - Marquette, Dr. Thibodeau - UConn) and several doctors that have been on admissions committees that applying to "ALOT" of dental schools shows an applicants indecisiveness and is looked at negatively when sifting through apps.

Besides what will you do if you get an interview and someone asks you your reasoning in choosing school x-y-z? It happened to me at my Tufts and Marquette interview and I only applied to seven schools) Be prepared it.

well...what other reasons are there, really?!?

we're just trying to get into any school we can, that matches closely with our stats. lets be honest.

what reasons would you tell the adcoms for selecting a high number of schools? " i like the mascot?"

 

[wigglytooth]

I have been told by at least three admissions directors (Mr. Gonthier - Tufts, Mr. Trecek - Marquette, Dr. Thibodeau - UConn) and several doctors that have been on admissions committees that applying to "ALOT" of dental schools shows an applicants indecisiveness and is looked at negatively when sifting through apps.

Besides what will you do if you get an interview and someone asks you your reasoning in choosing school x-y-z? It happened to me at my Tufts and Marquette interview and I only applied to seven schools) Be prepared it.

Would it be reasonable to say the following? I want to stay in a certain region, so I chose basically all of the schools in that region to apply to in order to increase your chances of being accepted this round. My goal is to become a dentist--I need to get into ONE school, and I do not foresee taking a year off as a viable option. If I don't get into my top choice (meaning whatever school I'm interviewing for at that moment), then I would not want to lose the opportunity to start working on a degree and reaching my goals.

I think this is one of those questions thrown at you to make you sweat... The adcoms know you have applied to a lot of schools so you can get in. I don't see what the big deal is; as long as you don't gush over the other schools the Adcom asks about, then you should be okay. Turn what may be looked at as "indecisiveness" to be looked upon as conducive to your overall goal--to become a dentist.

 

[golfmontpoker]

Would it be reasonable to say the following? I want to stay in a certain region, so I chose basically all of the schools in that region to apply to in order to increase your chances of being accepted this round. My goal is to become a dentist--I need to get into ONE school, and I do not foresee taking a year off as a viable option. If I don't get into my top choice (meaning whatever school I'm interviewing for at that moment), then I would not want to lose the opportunity to start working on a degree and reaching my goals.

I think this is one of those questions thrown at you to make you sweat... The adcoms know you have applied to a lot of schools so you can get in. I don't see what the big deal is; as long as you don't gush over the other schools the Adcom asks about, then you should be okay. Turn what may be looked at as "indecisiveness" to be looked upon as conducive to your overall goal--to become a dentist.

Couldnt of been said any better wiggly! I personally like the "If i dont get into my top choice (meaning whatever school im interviewing for at that moment)" Thats the way I look at it... every school i interview at is going to be my "Top Choice"... I just wanna get into D school... I dont care if I have to move half way across the country

 

[double4life]

All of the above are valid points/concerns. I can only speak from my experiences talking with these directors but they all just want to make sure we have done our research on their schools and not pick them for idiotic reasons (i like that earlier example of: "i like the mascot." 👍 Not a personal shot at you btw).

They want to make sure that if they decide to go ahead and give you the green light to enroll in their institution, you know EXACTLY what you're getting yourself into and that they have not waisted an acceptance on someone who could be potentially be viewed as undecisive or unprepared. Luckily they all felt my reasons for my seven schools were valid. *whew*

 

[golfmontpoker]

All of the above are valid points/concerns. I can only speak from my experiences talking with these directors but they all just want to make sure we have done our research on their schools and not pick them for idiotic reasons (i like that earlier example of: "i like the mascot." 👍 Not a personal shot at you btw).

They want to make sure that if they decide to go ahead and give you the green light to enroll in their institution, you know EXACTLY what you're getting yourself into and that they have not waisted an acceptance on someone who could be potentially be viewed as undecisive or unprepared. Luckily they all felt my reasons for my seven schools were valid. *whew*

whew is the right word! One way people can get around the fact that they are applying to alot of schools is this... On the flight to the school or before you actually go, research as much as possible about the school and make it sound like that school is your top choice... Just an idea

 

[howui3]

I have been told by at least three admissions directors (Mr. Gonthier - Tufts, Mr. Trecek - Marquette, Dr. Thibodeau - UConn) and several doctors that have been on admissions committees that applying to "ALOT" of dental schools shows an applicants indecisiveness and is looked at negatively when sifting through apps.

Besides what will you do if you get an interview and someone asks you your reasoning in choosing school x-y-z? It happened to me at my Tufts and Marquette interview and I only applied to seven schools) Be prepared it.

i applied to 15 schools, got many interviews, got into my #1 choice, and the number of schools i applied to was never brought up.

don't apply to all 54 dental schools and don't apply to just 1. Carefully look through all the schools to see where you will be competitive, where you would want to attend (if accepted).

if you are applying to many schools, have a reply ready in case you do get asked about it during the interview. plus, if you do get asked what other schools did you apply, don't rattle of the entire list. pick a few schools and tell them why you are also applying there. durig my Tufts interview, I was akked that, so I told them about UCLA and UCSF, after a few minutes we changed topics and it was fine.

 

[xxxTheDonxxx]

a 17 AA won't get you anywhere! trust me, i applied this past cycle. My stats were 19AA 19sci 18pat 3.19GPA and get this....drum roll...not only did i get ZERO acceptances, i got ZERO interviews!!!!!
maybe you'll have better luck than me.

when did you apply? where and how many did you apply? thanks

 

[rocknightmare]

i applied to 15 schools, got many interviews, got into my #1 choice, and the number of schools i applied to was never brought up.

don't apply to all 54 dental schools and don't apply to just 1. Carefully look through all the schools to see where you will be competitive, where you would want to attend (if accepted).

if you are applying to many schools, have a reply ready in case you do get asked about it during the interview. plus, if you do get asked what other schools did you apply, don't rattle of the entire list. pick a few schools and tell them why you are also applying there. durig my Tufts interview, I was akked that, so I told them about UCLA and UCSF, after a few minutes we changed topics and it was fine.

i agree.. don't listen to anybody that it says it looks bad to apply to many. you can actually look at in a positive tone aswell.. in that you soooo want to go to dental school right now that you don't care which one you get to its that you want to become a dentist today instead of tomorrow to help people out!

 

[rocknightmare]

i agree.. don't listen to anybody that it says it looks bad to apply to many. you can actually look at in a positive tone aswell.. in that you soooo want to go to dental school right now that you don't care which one you get to its that you want to become a dentist today instead of tomorrow to help people out!

in addition.. it allows you to explain to the school why you would go to their school than another on the list.

interviews measure your ability to answer questions on your toes!