decent DAT score but LOW RC

[qweqwe123]

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Hi,

Can someone give me a feedback with my score?
i also have a low RC score and am thinking maybe I should take DAT over again.

I took DAT twice already and its shown below

AA:20-->22
TS:20-->22
B:18-->21
GC:22-->29
OC:21-->20
PA:20-->23
QR:21-->22
RC:17-->16

All my scores went up except for OCHEM dropped by 1 and RC also dropped by 1.

My biggest concern is my RC score, which is extremely low. Is my low RC score ok because of my other DAT scores?

Also how would admission play out with GPA of 3.1 with these numbers?

Thanks.🙂

 

[yappy]

I'm no expert but I say you have a fair chance. Your DAT is good and shows you know your basic sciences. It is too bad you got a lower rc - what do you think is holding you back?

Overall I would apply broadly and make a real sell during those interviews. You really have got to make yourslef standout and show you can succeed in dental school.

Do you care to explain a little how you got your high dat score? it is remarkable. How did you get such a high gchem and bio? very good improvements!

Hi,

Can someone give me a feedback with my score?
i also have a low RC score and am thinking maybe I should take DAT over again.

I took DAT twice already and its shown below

AA:20-->22
TS:20-->22
B:18-->21
GC:22-->29
OC:21-->20
PA:20-->23
QR:21-->22
RC:17-->16

All my scores went up except for OCHEM dropped by 1 and RC also dropped by 1.

My biggest concern is my RC score, which is extremely low. Is my low RC score ok because of my other DAT scores?

Also how would admission play out with GPA of 3.1 with these numbers?

Thanks.🙂

 

[LetsGo2DSchool]

The bad thing is that your RC score the second time around definitively confirms a weakness in this area. The other scores you were able to improve shows your ability/potential in those subjects. From a Adcom's point of view, there will be no benefit of the doubt regarding your weakness. They'll probably read your personal statement to get a third opinion if your application even gets that far.

RC is the best and most reliable indicator of one's success in dental school. There's a posting here of someone with a 22 DAT who got rejected to all of his 10 schools because of his 17 RC score.

Sorry, I'm not trying to a buzzkill, but just being realistic in my feedback.

 

[lyjw88]

The bad thing is that your RC score the second time around definitively confirms a weakness in this area. The other scores you were able to improve shows your ability/potential in those subjects. From a Adcom's point of view, there will be no benefit of the doubt regarding your weakness. They'll probably read your personal statement to get a third opinion if your application even gets that far.

RC is the best and most reliable indicator of one's success in dental school. There's a posting here of someone with a 22 DAT who got rejected to all of his 10 schools because of his 17 RC score.

Sorry, I'm not trying to a buzzkill, but just being realistic in my feedback.

Not saying your wrong but RC can't be the best indicator of one's success in d schools IMO. I've seen a number of dental students with low RC's (as low as 14) who just do fine.

 

[ddslee]

haha I guess we are in the same boat!


How did you feel when you were re-taking the DAT? did you feel confident?

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

I think you guys are asking two related questions.

1) What is the correlation between RC score and dental school success?
2) How much do adcoms care about RC score?

Let's answer the first question:

Here is the chart in the DAT user manual with the correlation of DAT scores to success in first year of dental school. The higher the percentage, the higher the correlation. These data are from the 2007-2008 cycle.

Seems like RC isn't too high with anything, like 50%. Still way better than the QR though. As expected, AA and GPAs the are best indicator of dental school science courses and GPA while the PAT is the best indicator of the preclinical technique marks.

Now second question, how much do adcoms care?

Well it's time to buy one that 'ADEA Official guide to dental school'. Probably the best $40 investment you can make.

Someone was nice enough to make an excel sheet for the 2010 version, and you can find it here...

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=700459

The answer is... it depends! Every school has a different opinion on how to treat the reading score, or any other score for that matter. Just don't bother applying at schools that view the reading scores as 'Very important', because odds are, you'll be wasting your money.

 

[qweqwe123]

Thank you so much for all your inputs.

I felt pretty good when I was about to retake my DAT. That's why I was disappointed when I got 16 on RC. I think that this disappointment was reasonable because I was hitting 18-21 on topscore and Achiever. It seems like whenever I have to take RC for real, I get nervous and do poorly in terms of time management. I can definitely understand LETSGO2DSCHOOL's input and think it is valid. It is true that RC is my weak point but 16 surely is not a good representation of my reading skill.

I am still considering to retake DAT one more time, but I might not be able to put up the same kind of numbers on other sections again.



To answer some of your questions..

These are the study materials I used.

Bio- Used Kaplan Blue, Campbell bio book and Cliffnotes AP Bio
- It is still difficult to study for Bio even with all these materials, since
they throw alot of random questions at you. I guess a constant
exposure to the material helps.
GC-Kaplan Blue, destroyer
OC-Kaplan Blue, destroyer
PA- CDP
QR- Used practice tests
RC- Not quite sure until this day how to prepare well for this subject

The test materials (Topscore and Achiever) and my score.

Real
BI GC OC PA QR RC
21 29 20 23 22 16😕

Topscore
BI GC OC PA QR RC
19 23 19 22 23 20
17 23 18 23 22 18
19 23 19 21 25 20

Achiever
BI GC OC PA QR RC
19 19 19 21 21 18
18 18 13 20 20 19
16 18 19 18 22 20

CDP(5 tests)
23, 25, 20, 22, 23

DDSLEE! I feel you. We really are on the same boat. You, however, have a higher GPA than me, thus should be in a better position. Gluck!

 

[ajhalls3]

Here is what UoP said: http://tinyurl.com/5smpd4x

RC is critical in being able to keep up with the rest of the class.

 

[wizi]

qweqwe123,

I wouldnt retake if i were you, 16 RC is low but i have seen people getting in with 16 RC. If you still worry, call your schools and ask them.

22 DAT is a good score. Apply as many schools as you can.