does it look SUPER BAD if you score worse on a retake?

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They take your most recent score. So, if it is worse (God forbid), that is the one they look at. I think you should try to take it again. If you study hardier, there is no reason why you can't score better. GL.
 
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qnzbabi91 said:
They take your most recent score. So, if it is worse (God forbid), that is the one they look at. I think you should try to take it again. If you study hardier, there is no reason why you can't score better. GL.
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do MAJORITY of schools look at the most recent score? or take combo of both?

if I score lower.... I might cry a river lmao...
 
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predentalguy20 said:
do MAJORITY of schools look at the most recent score? or take combo of both?

if I score lower.... I might cry a river lmao...
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I heard that some schools average grades, like UPenn but don't quote me on that. lol Some schools average scores, though.

I would retake it like I said. You have an 18-19 AA right? Yeah, I would retake. My lab TA now at college had an 18, and got waitlisted and rejected everywhere 5 years ago. She told me the depressing story, so she is just getting her PhD now.

I would retake. I mean I know I could do better on the test if I were to retake it again just because I know the format now. Of course, it is too risky for me. But, I am pretty sure you can score better. Many people here score significantly better on their 2nd attempts. Only a handful of people score worse, and that is because they scored like a 22 the first time.
 
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qnzbabi91 said:
I heard that some schools average grades, like UPenn but don't quote me on that. lol Some schools average scores, though.

I would retake it like I said. You have an 18-19 AA right? Yeah, I would retake. My lab TA now at college had an 18, and got waitlisted and rejected everywhere 5 years ago. She told me the depressing story, so she is just getting her PhD now.

I would retake. I mean I know I could do better on the test if I were to retake it again just because I know the format now. Of course, it is too risky for me. But, I am pretty sure you can score better. Many people here score significantly better on their 2nd attempts. Only a handful of people score worse, and that is because they scored like a 22 the first time.
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I thought the ADA website says that most people score lower on a retake😕

yeah i have 19aa/ts
 
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Really? lol

Maybe SDN isn't a reliable wealth of information. From what I read, many people improve. Again, this can be skewed. I belive that through SDN you learn about the study materials necessary to get a 20 +, so if you buy the materials and spend time studying, I think you can improve. I mean its a gamble. But anything worth anything (so eloquently said I know) is risky, otherwise everyone would be doing it (becoming a dentist that is). With hard work, I think you can and will improve.
 
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qnzbabi91 said:
Really? lol

Maybe SDN isn't a reliable wealth of information. From what I read, many people improve. Again, this can be skewed. I belive that through SDN you learn about the study materials necessary to get a 20 +, so if you buy the materials and spend time studying, I think you can improve. I mean its a gamble. But anything worth anything (so eloquently said I know) is risky, otherwise everyone would be doing it (becoming a dentist that is). With hard work, I think you can and will improve.
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haha i wish i didn't read this, my retake is in 5 days 😱
 
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predentalguy20 said:
it all depends on you. If you feel like you could have done better than you WILL do better.
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much better :laugh: i had an 18/18 so i know i am meant to retake! just hoping to be done and i deactivated all social networking sites so i'd focus...so SDN has been my main source of entertainment 🙄 i'll keep you updated on how it goes.
 
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I took it 3times and every time I moved UP 🙂 on every section from 2-7 points..I am hoping that schools will review all three attempts and see that I improved :xf:
 
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I went from a 19AA/19TS to a 23AA/25TS it can be done with hard work and dedication. Only retake if your confident you can do better, a 19 is not a bad score at all I just wanted to improve my chances.
 
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The general trend is that people do worse on a retake HOWEVER not everyone does. I, for example, did better on my retake. I think it all depends what kind of mindset you have before retaking and how much time you have to prepare. For me, scoring lower just was not an option, I didn't retake until I knew I would probably score better. But the DAT is a random test and you may get a harder test.. If it makes any difference my gpa is a 3.7 and I had a 19, then I retook the DAT and received 5 interviews. I don't know if I'll get accepted at any of these 5 schools haha but I did get 5 interviews.
 
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I think people on SDN usually do better. Why? Because they came to this site after taking their first test, used others' advice and breakdowns to find the resources they should use, and prepared for their second attempt much more efficiently. I wouldn't worry, especially if you've been studying like you should and not just half-a**ing your second attempt (which I think is what a good majority of the people in those ADA statistics may have done). You know if you've worked hard! 🙂 Best of luck to everyone with their retakes! Hard work pays off, and it will show.
 
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azimmer said:
The general trend is that people do worse on a retake HOWEVER not everyone does. I, for example, did better on my retake. I think it all depends what kind of mindset you have before retaking and how much time you have to prepare. For me, scoring lower just was not an option, I didn't retake until I knew I would probably score better. But the DAT is a random test and you may get a harder test.. If it makes any difference my gpa is a 3.7 and I had a 19, then I retook the DAT and received 5 interviews. I don't know if I'll get accepted at any of these 5 schools haha but I did get 5 interviews.
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Congrats on your retake but I think you would still receive more interviews even if you did NOT retake. Your score only went up by a point but maybe the increase in the PAT helped a bit.

I don't see a big difference between a 3.7 and 19aa vs 3.7 and 20aa to be honest.
 
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Rootz90 said:
Congrats on your retake but I think you would still receive more interviews even if you did NOT retake. Your score only went up by a point but maybe the increase in the PAT helped a bit.

I don't see a big difference between a 3.7 and 19aa vs 3.7 and 20aa to be honest.
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haha yeah I really only did it for PAT just cause a 15 is pretty bad.
 
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