Dental School Recommended I retake DAT

[futuredentistbless]

So I applied to Dental School, took my DAT (and did very poorly). I applied a week before I took the DAT because I did not think I would do as poorly as I did. But anyway, I had already told myself that I would just wait until next year to retake the DAT and apply again for next cycle. I am currently finishing my pre requisites and I applied without my bachelors degree. I took my DAT having no organic chem knowledge.
THE DENTAL SCHOOL EMAILED ME AND STATED "after careful review of your application we would recommend that you retake the DAT"
Now I do not know what to do. I am not sure if I can do much better this time around and do well enough to get in. Does this email sound like they want me but my score is the only thing holding me back??
HELP, the DAT is expensive and I do not have to money to waste if I do not do well and do not get in this cycle. Dont get me wrong, I WANT TO GET ACCEPTED. Im just nervous.
WHAT DOES THIS EMAIL MEAN??

ps. I am a dental hygienist with excellent letters of recommendation

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[thenextcarnegie]

What does the email exactly say? Completely? Would help develop a better understanding of the situation.

 

[WolfsBane]

So I applied to Dental School, took my DAT (and did very poorly). I applied a week before I took the DAT because I did not think I would do as poorly as I did. But anyway, I had already told myself that I would just wait until next year to retake the DAT and apply again for next cycle. I am currently finishing my pre requisites and I applied without my bachelors degree. I took my DAT having no organic chem knowledge.
THE DENTAL SCHOOL EMAILED ME AND STATED "after careful review of your application we would recommend that you retake the DAT"
Now I do not know what to do. I am not sure if I can do much better this time around and do well enough to get in. Does this email sound like they want me but my score is the only thing holding me back??
HELP, the DAT is expensive and I do not have to money to waste if I do not do well and do not get in this cycle. Dont get me wrong, I WANT TO GET ACCEPTED. Im just nervous.
WHAT DOES THIS EMAIL MEAN??

ps. I am a dental hygienist with excellent letters of recommendation

How did you do the first time? How many schools did you apply to?


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[Life of Pablo]

You say you're not sure if you can do better on the DAT if you retake it again but you took it the first time without having taken Organic.....so if you finish orgo, and your other prereqs, I'm fairly certain you'll perform better on the DAT.

 

[thenextcarnegie]

Have to agree with Pablo on that one. Only take the DAT when you have the prerequisites done and have a good to a strong understanding of the sciences.

 

[futuredentistbless]

You say you're not sure if you can do better on the DAT if you retake it again but you took it the first time without having taken Organic.....so if you finish orgo, and your other prereqs, I'm fairly certain you'll perform better on the DAT.

I would retake the DAT in November and I will only be through 3/4 of the first semester of organic. So I still feel like I wont be prepared

 

[futuredentistbless]

How did you do the first time? How many schools did you apply to?


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I got 15 Bio, 15 Chem, 14 Orgo, 15 Science, 21 PAT, 20 Reading, 15 QR, 16 AA
I only applied to 1 school as I do not have my bachelors and want to stay in state

 

[futuredentistbless]

What does the email exactly say? Completely? Would help develop a better understanding of the situation.

"The Dental Admission's Committee has completed a careful review of your file and has decided that you should retake the DAT. Candidates may be scheduled for the computerized DAT on almost any date."

This is what the email said

 

[predent000]

i just erased everything i wrote because i thought you applied to more schools lol. i would retake the DAT now if you can, because if you're applying to one school and want to stay in state, you'll have to improve. that email they sent means they will not give you an interview until you retake your DAT (then after that, its still a maybe). you can send it as an update and i would take it by november, latest.

it is costly BUT more importantly, you have to do BETTER and not worse. if you know its hard with school now, wait till the summer, have time to study well, take it by july latest and do really well, and reapply early.

you have to really improve from your first attempt, especially since you're narrowing your chances and need to apply to just one school.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

I got 15 Bio, 15 Chem, 14 Orgo, 15 Science, 21 PAT, 20 Reading, 15 QR, 16 AA
I only applied to 1 school as I do not have my bachelors and want to stay in state

Looks like you need a lot of work in just about every section. By the time you're remotely ready, it's going to be very late in the application cycle. Probably be best to finish your prerequisites before attempting the DAT again.

Big Hoss

 

[WolfsBane]

I got 15 Bio, 15 Chem, 14 Orgo, 15 Science, 21 PAT, 20 Reading, 15 QR, 16 AA
I only applied to 1 school as I do not have my bachelors and want to stay in state

I think with the proper preparation you will be okay. I think you took the test not knowing what you were getting yourself into. Being that you only applied to one school and since you have sections besides Organic which are quite low I would say to finish the semester and prepare for the DAT properly. You have not wasted much money so its not the biggest deal.


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[FeralisExtremum]

I got 15 Bio, 15 Chem, 14 Orgo, 15 Science, 21 PAT, 20 Reading, 15 QR, 16 AA
I only applied to 1 school as I do not have my bachelors and want to stay in state

Finish your pre-reqs, prepare to take the DAT next summer, and seriously consider applying to more than one school. A re-take is necessary at this point but it isn't worth rushing for this cycle or under your circumstances.

 

[smile matters]

What is the one school that you applied to?

 

[Life of Pablo]

I got 15 Bio, 15 Chem, 14 Orgo, 15 Science, 21 PAT, 20 Reading, 15 QR, 16 AA

You can really only go up from here. Finish pre-reqs and apply next cycle.

 

[Kouneko]

"The Dental Admission's Committee has completed a careful review of your file and has decided that you should retake the DAT. Candidates may be scheduled for the computerized DAT on almost any date."

This is what the email said

The email seems to say you need a retake since you don't meet their cutoffs in a roundabout way...

 

[sobertiger]

Retake the DAT and apply to more schools next cycle.