Explaining average DAT to admission committe

[Mamona]

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I have an average DAT and my interview is coming soon. I have been preparing for most of the questions they probably will ask, but I am having trouble with this one. I study for about 3 months for my DAT and I thought I was more than ready, but I got some surprises in the test and it ends up being just very average. What should I tell them without given excuses and also to confirm to them that I will succeed in dental school no matter how I did in DAT???
I will appreciate any help!!!

 

[doc toothache]

I have an average DAT and my interview is coming soon. I have been preparing for most of the questions they probably will ask, but I am having trouble with this one. I study for about 3 months for my DAT and I thought I was more than ready, but I got some surprises in the test and it ends up being just very average. What should I tell them without given excuses and also to confirm to them that I will succeed in dental school no matter how I did in DAT???
I will appreciate any help!!!

Making excuses is usually not a very good idea. Why not stick with the summary you gave above. The ds in question may be more interested in the other qualities you bring forth.

 

[Mamona]

Making excuses is usually not a very good idea. Why not stick with the summary you gave above. The ds in question may be more interested in the other qualities you bring forth.

Thank you for your help

 

[excusezmoi]

That's actually a good question. When I talked to some people, some said to open the DAT part while others say don't ever open it up. As for my part, I thought it was the red flag in my application. Similarly to you, I studied my ass off, took 10 hours a day but it didn't seem the grade that I expected to be. All I know is that, there is no way you can make an excuse, except to say that you know you did your best and you feel that there's more about yourself and what you can offer than what DAT has represented you. Congratz on having three interviews! Go rock it!

 

[Master Pain]

in the same situation and agree w/ above. make it a "non-issue" by directing their attention to one of your strenghts. don't let the Q appear to phase you

 

[Chesnok]

Hi guys. In my case, I had closed-file interviews so far and faculty members didn't even ask me about any scores on the DAT even thou I was also ready to answer that q's. So, I think most interviews are closed files (some are not), and faculty want to know your personality, and at the end, as being or not being the part of the committee, they would recommend you to the entire committee. So ace the interview and show who you are. Hope it helps.

 

[206127]

At all of my interviews so far, with the exception of Pittsburgh, my grades/DAT came up. I felt that they wanted me to explain myself so I did, my gpa is on the low side along with my RC score.

 

[Mamona]

Thank you guys for all your help, this is a very hard question but I have a better idea how to turn it around and make it work for me!!!!🙂