DAT- Which sections are the most important to DS?

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isittoolate

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I have heard a lot of different things, such as biology is very important, as well as RC, but QR is worthless...blah, blah, blah.

In terms of relative importance, where would you rank AA, TS, PA, RC? Are the individual scores on science weighed with different importance?

I have always assumed that the importance to dental schools as a whole would be:

1- AA: It represents your "academic average" and hypothetically your overall academic ability

2- PA: The perceptual ability test is supposed to evaluate your ability to rotate 3D objects and whatnot

3- TS: Represents your foundation in the sciences

4- RC: Evaluates your ability retain information which you read information quickly

After that, I have heard that biology score receives greater emphasis than that of other sciences What do you guys think?

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I think doc toothache or someone else used some data to answer this very question. I think PAT was on the lower end, along with QR. IMO they're all pretty important.
 
When i talked to the adcoms at my schools dental school, they told me that RC, PA are very import. And of course TS is important too. Therefore i would say all three scores are euqlly important.
 
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It varies from school to school. I have interviews with my scores, so I can only hope that the interviewees are on level ground on interview day. It would stink to have my PA and RC scores hold me back against other applicants, even after doing well in an interview.
 
There are certain schools that weigh heavily on PAT in addition to AA/TS, however many don't care much about PAT as long as it is not extremely low. That being said, when it comes to the academics of DAT, I have been told by a number admissions committee members or representavtives that RC is the most important section as it is the only score that has any correlation to one's success in dental school. The sciences are next in line (some institutions would place these first), with QR obviously being last.
 
There are certain schools that weigh heavily on PAT in addition to AA/TS, however many don't care much about PAT as long as it is not extremely low. That being said, when it comes to the academics of DAT, I have been told by a number admissions committee members or representavtives that RC is the most important section as it is the only score that has any correlation to one's success in dental school. The sciences are next in line (some institutions would place these first), with QR obviously being last.

I've heard that too, which is what has me nervous. I know, I know. I have interviews and should not worry about it at this point. But I keep thinking that the schools who feel it's very important will be hesitant to let me in because of it.

Nevertheless, yes, RC is important. However it was a "sleeper section" for me. I never knew it was weighted so heavily until I scored really low. I studied the least for that section and it showed. I think a lot of people spend a lot of time on the sciences, like
I did.
 
I've heard that too, which is what has me nervous. I know, I know. I have interviews and should not worry about it at this point. But I keep thinking that the schools who feel it's very important will be hesitant to let me in because of it.

Nevertheless, yes, RC is important. However it was a "sleeper section" for me. I never knew it was weighted so heavily until I scored really low. I studied the least for that section and it showed. I think a lot of people spend a lot of time on the sciences, like
I did.

As you said, I wouldn't worry about it much at this point. It would be a waste of their time as well as yours to interview you and then not consider you due to a score they had prior to the invite!
 
Thanks for posting, you always compile such great excel spreadsheets. I am a little sad to see OC so low on importance though as that was by far my vest section with a 29 :(

Do you think that my AA and TS will be thought of less because my score in OC is what bumps up my average so much for the AA and helps a little on the TS? BTW I am 22 AA and 21 TS
 
As you said, I wouldn't worry about it much at this point. It would be a waste of their time as well as yours to interview you and then not consider you due to a score they had prior to the invite!
I would agree with Predoctalk on the interviews. I think that once you get an interview, your scores and GPA have already met their requirements and they are looking more closely at EC's as well as your personality.

At least I have been told by an ADCOM that at her particular school, once you have made it to an interview, your interviewers do not have access to your GPA or scores, only your personal statement. Your performance in your interview then accounts for 80% of the deciding factor towards your admission.

Don't worry about some dumb section on the DAT, you're getting interviews! :)
 
At many schools your interviews are scored by your interviewers. The adcoms then decide whether or not to accept you based on a composite interview of your candidacy.

Leaving your fate at the hands of one or two random people would be a very subjective approach towards admissions.

I think if you have an interview, then you are worthy of admission. You have to cross a certain standard of performance on your interview to win an acceptance; this line shifts based on the rest of your app.
 
At many schools your interviews are scored by your interviewers. The adcoms then decide whether or not to accept you based on a composite interview of your candidacy.

Leaving your fate at the hands of one or two random people would be a very subjective approach towards admissions.

I think if you have an interview, then you are worthy of admission. You have to cross a certain standard of performance on your interview to win an acceptance; this line shifts based on the rest of your app.
By no means am I saying that this is a common practice among DS, but this particular school does a "speed dating" type of interview. From what I was told, there are ~7 interviewers and interviewees and each interviewer spends a smaller amount of time with the applicant than they would in a typical interview setting.

I would agree with your statement on the interview though. An interview means that you fit their criteria, but there are some intangibles that are uncovered during an interview that I think are just as, if not more important, than your scores on a test. IE if you only want to be a dentist because they make a lot of money, you might not perform as well in DS as well as provide the same level of care as someone who is truly dedicated to the field of dentistry.
 
It varies by school but I would say:

1)AA
2)TS
3)Bio
4)RC
5)Organic Chem
6)Inorganic Chem
7)PAT
8)QR
 
I keep seeing the same trend of people saying that sciences (particularly bio) are the most important sections. When you get into Dental school you will have A&P, biochem, microbio,histo, etc. So yea a foundation in bio is relevant, but you will be reexposed to everything the curriculum deems relevant. That being said, adcoms love a good RC score because it shows them that you will be able to handle the 20+ credit hours that are being thrown at you.
 
By no means am I saying that this is a common practice among DS, but this particular school does a "speed dating" type of interview. From what I was told, there are ~7 interviewers and interviewees and each interviewer spends a smaller amount of time with the applicant than they would in a typical interview setting.

I would agree with your statement on the interview though. An interview means that you fit their criteria, but there are some intangibles that are uncovered during an interview that I think are just as, if not more important, than your scores on a test. IE if you only want to be a dentist because they make a lot of money, you might not perform as well in DS as well as provide the same level of care as someone who is truly dedicated to the field of dentistry.

Is this school UMich? I know they do MMI.
 
Is this school UMich? I know they do MMI.
No, actually I was referring to OHSU. MMI sounds familiar, but what does it stand for? I would assume that we are talking about a similar process, but I am not enitrely sure.
 
multiple mini interviews
Ah, well that wasn't as sophisticated as I expected, but very logical haha.

Regardless, I have a questions about math and factoring into sGPA...unfortunately I didn't do well in calculus I or II when I took sophomore year, pretty much for the same reason I didn't do well in any of my classes- I just really had no perspective or motivation.

I received two B-'s in my calculus classes, which is rather unfortunate considering the circumstances. I entered my university as a BIO major and got my AP credit to count for calc, but my sophomore year I switched to a biochem major, which required through calc II. At the beginning of my junior year, I switched back to bio...lovely haha.

Will schools frown upon bad grades in calc as much as they would in an upper division bio class such as anatomy? Or will they consider it to be slightly less important/indicative?
 
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