DAT Vs. Dental experience!

[Dentalqueen]

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Hi everyone,

I was just wondering, i've been in the dental field since I was 14 years old.
i started out as a dental assistant/receptionist/lab tech in a perio office and 5 years ago, i graduated as a dental hygienist with a bachelors of science. And now i am considering dental school.... i applied for this year really early! i've retaken some courses this past year plus kaplan course for the DAT! i've taken the Dat three times already and have showed no imporovement... very low scores... And its really sad to see something like the DAT stopping me from persuing dental school.. I've given up on the DAT... I feel that i've studied and put in alot of time into the Dat and still made no improvement!!!!! i applied to 2 schools,, one sent me a rejection letter really early... and the other i havent heard from yet!!! WHAT ARE MY CHANCES AT THIS POINT???? does the fact that i have the dental experience fall into consideration???? or do they base it mostly on the DAT?
I know i will make one heck of a dentist one day, and i am certain that i will do fine in dental school. but my problem is THE DATTTTTTTT😡😱
any suggestions????? sorry if this was too long of a forum!!!

 

[littlemissy]

I also have lots of dental experience as well i am an executive of a dental "super' lab. I applied last year with an 18AA didn't get in. I think you have to have the DAT to get through the initial screening. The dental experience is good and its considered but only after you have the right GPA/DAT for that particular school.

By the way what did you do as a lab tech. I talk to techs a bunch but what was your position in the lab.

 

[dentstd]

It's not DAT vs dental experience. It's DAT and dental experience.

We all have to want it AND be able to make it through. It could be a simple thing like study skills that's holding you back. Talk to someone.

 

[Dentalqueen]

as a lab tech, i've worked with all kinds of different sterilization techniques, lab cases (denture, partials, crowns, bite guards) and dental materials. Lets just say that i havent worked outside of the dental field my entire life! and as a dental hygienist, am certified and giving local anesthetic to my patients! and working in a perio office, you see all kinds of patient cases.
I am not saying all of this to brag but its just sad to see them base it more on the DAT! where in my opinion it should be based more on dental experience especially if you earned your bachelors of science!

and as far as my studying skills, i've studied kaplan materials, dat achiever, top score, took lots of practice tests.... its just that How much more can a person do? u sit there for 4 hrs taking the test and yet when u see your scores, u see no improvements....its soooo discouraging!!!! i dont mean to discourage anyone, please dont! i just feel like i dont know what else to do! give up or try again... but how much more and what do i have to do differently?

 

[jackbauer!]

you need to relax and devote a couple of months to studying for the DAT. it's not a hard test, but rather just covers a lot of material. it's up to you to devote the time necessary to excel on this exam..

like dentstd said... it's not dental experience vs. the DAT.. it is dental experience and the DAT. you need both to get into dental school. dental experience proves that you know what you're getting yourself into; the DAT proves (or disproves if you have a low score) that you can/can't hack it in dental school.

best of luck to you, jb!🙂

 

[DailyDrivenTJ]

..
I am not saying all of this to brag but its just sad to see them base it more on the DAT! where in my opinion it should be based more on dental experience especially if you earned your bachelors of science!..

DAT is testing how well you will handle formal dental education through 4 years or whatever years through the dental school. Experience counts but formal education makes the experience and the practice more fruitful. That is the reason why there are dental schools.

 

[doc toothache]

and as far as my studying skills, i've studied kaplan materials, dat achiever, top score, took lots of practice tests.... its just that How much more can a person do? u sit there for 4 hrs taking the test and yet when u see your scores, u see no improvements....its soooo discouraging!!!! i dont mean to discourage anyone, please dont! i just feel like i dont know what else to do! give up or try again... but how much more and what do i have to do differently?

Is it safe to assume that you took your general chemistry, organic, biology and biochemistry after your B.S. in hygiene? In either case, when did you take your basic courses and what were your grades?

 

[Dauber]

I guess keep working at it but if the DAT is beyond you, then i'd imagine so is dental school. Not trying to be a dick, but maybe it isn't in the cards.

 

[1992Corolla]

the dat is something you will have to do well on. unfortunate from your point of view. if you cant do well on the dat, then whats to say you wil make it through boards, dental school tests, etc.

 

[Dentalqueen]

honestly my dental hygiene boards were easier than this DAT, for me anyways!! I am not saying that dental hygiene school was easy! being in dental hygiene school is almost similar to dental school....i know dental school is harder, but i went thru many semesters of having 11 or 12 classes per semester that is. and yea i studied my butt off for the boards and passed them! i guess its been a while since i've taken all of my prereq courses... the only recent courses that i've taken are orgo 2 and histology plus physics 2. so i guess for those who just took all prereq courses and still young that is have the benefit of having all that info fresh! people used to always tell me if you wanna go back to school, do it now rather than later on and i never used to pay them that much attention.... but i guess i am paying the price now!

 

[red88m]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering, i've been in the dental field since I was 14 years old.
i started out as a dental assistant/receptionist/lab tech in a perio office and 5 years ago, i graduated as a dental hygienist with a bachelors of science. And now i am considering dental school.... i applied for this year really early! i've retaken some courses this past year plus kaplan course for the DAT! i've taken the Dat three times already and have showed no imporovement... very low scores... And its really sad to see something like the DAT stopping me from persuing dental school.. I've given up on the DAT... I feel that i've studied and put in alot of time into the Dat and still made no improvement!!!!! i applied to 2 schools,, one sent me a rejection letter really early... and the other i havent heard from yet!!! WHAT ARE MY CHANCES AT THIS POINT???? does the fact that i have the dental experience fall into consideration???? or do they base it mostly on the DAT?
I know i will make one heck of a dentist one day, and i am certain that i will do fine in dental school. but my problem is THE DATTTTTTTT😡😱
any suggestions????? sorry if this was too long of a forum!!!

I thought you could only take the DAT 3 times... am I wrong?

 

[vasco]

I think that you sold yourself short by only applying to 2 schools. Even if you stats were stellar I still would apply to more schools just because you never know what the schools are going to want. And then even if you get an interview it doesn't mean you are in. So apply to 8 schools interview at 4 and get accepted at 2.

And as far as the DAT...you just need to study. I have a friend who took the DAT got a 17 applied to D-school and didn't get in. The next summer he studied like crazy for two months retook the DAT and got a 22. The only thing that changed was his motivation and studying habits. But since you have had no improvement over the past three times...something in your studying needs to change. But don't give up. Don't get discouraged. And don't get too bummed out. The DAT is just one of the millions of hoops that you have to jump through to be a dentist. And trust me there are a million of them!

 

[diane07]

The DAT is an aptitude test. It's meant to be an indicator on whether you'd be able to hack dental school, boards, ect. It's not a hard test for some, but it's not for everybody.

You may think that the DAT shouldn't be that important, and anyone else who did poorly will chime in with "here, here" and agree with you. However, it's the dental schools opinion that matters. And for them, you need to score competitively on the DAT in order to even be considered.

Try your hardest and know that you gave it your best shot.

 

[DDSY]

When I started studying for my DAT, I haven't taken any of the basic sciences for at least five years. My last general bio class (AP, college board) was taken in HS more than eight years. I studied for less than two months and managed to pull off a score above the 99th percentile.

Much of the DAT is a knowledge-based exam. However, everything that you need to know is either in Kaplan or in additional practice exams provided by DAT achiever, Topscore, etc. Achieving a reasonable score is definitely feasible. Make sure to study hard and efficiently.

To the OP, maybe you get a bit too nervous during the exam. However, if the DAT is indeed very difficult for you, take note that dental hygiene isn't a bad field at all. Some dentists I know have told me not to go into dentistry and instead to pursue dental hygiene. You go home and not have to worry as much about your patients, you don't have to incur as much debt, you don't have to go through dental school (4 rigorous years), you are very much in demand and the pay isn't that bad at all. Not to mention, managing your own practice isn't a piece of cake either.