Finally took the test

[pkossak]

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I finally took my DAT yesterday. Here's how it went:

BIO - 20 -87.4 percentile
GC - 25 - 97.5 percentile
OG - 25 - 98 percentile
TS - 22 - 96.1 percentile
PAT - 17 - 52.4 percentile
QR - 15 - 39.8 percentile
RC - 18 - 39 percentile
AA - 21 - 91.5 percentile

OK, so first off, QR sucked. It was at the end, I was tired, and there were tons of word problems. I'm generally good at math, but ran out of time. I seriously had to guess on like 10 of them. I am really upset about this score. If I had just gotten a 17-18 on QR I would be thrilled with my overall, but its tough for me to be happy about the test b/c of this score.

About the sciences - to all those who haven't taken the test yet, I recommend basically not worrying about what people say on SDN. I kept looking on here and freaking out before the test because I always felt that I wasn't ready. I was convinced that I wasn't ready because I had never gotten above a 17 or 18 in topscore or achiever for any of the sciences. Well, the actual test I felt is much easier. I was most concerned about gchem, but it obviously was one of my strongpoints and not too bad on the test. Just know the fundamentals.

Bio - I am a little disappointed in my score. This section isn't too bad, but it covers a wide variety of topics and some of the questions are more intuitive than what you'll find in topscore and achiever. I'm glad I took human physiology these past two semesters because a lot of the questions embrace physiological concepts.

RC - hard, but doable. Thought I did a little better than what my score shows. Very different from the topscore RC. Instead of searching for a specific word that stood out in a question, I'd have to actually start reading the paragraphs to notice concepts that are worded differently in the question.

PAT - Kind of bummed I only got a 17. The real test is much easier (I felt) than Crack the DAT PAT or achiever PAT. The one section that I really suck at - folding - is what probably really brought me down.

Well, now I am trying to figure out if I should retake b/c of the QR. Any advice? I talked to my advisor today and he said that's the least important score and to not worry about it. Well, I'm still worried! I just don't want that to deter any potential interview invites. Thanks for any advice guys.

 

[Shunwei]

I finally took my DAT yesterday. Here's how it went:

BIO - 20 -87.4 percentile
GC - 25 - 97.5 percentile
OG - 25 - 98 percentile
TS - 22 - 96.1 percentile
PAT - 17 - 52.4 percentile
QR - 15 - 39.8 percentile
RC - 18 - 39 percentile
AA - 21 - 91.5 percentile

OK, so first off, QR sucked. It was at the end, I was tired, and there were tons of word problems. I'm generally good at math, but ran out of time. I seriously had to guess on like 10 of them. I am really upset about this score. If I had just gotten a 17-18 on QR I would be thrilled with my overall, but its tough for me to be happy about the test b/c of this score.

About the sciences - to all those who haven't taken the test yet, I recommend basically not worrying about what people say on SDN. I kept looking on here and freaking out before the test because I always felt that I wasn't ready. I was convinced that I wasn't ready because I had never gotten above a 17 or 18 in topscore or achiever for any of the sciences. Well, the actual test I felt is much easier. I was most concerned about gchem, but it obviously was one of my strongpoints and not too bad on the test. Just know the fundamentals.

Bio - I am a little disappointed in my score. This section isn't too bad, but it covers a wide variety of topics and some of the questions are more intuitive than what you'll find in topscore and achiever. I'm glad I took human physiology these past two semesters because a lot of the questions embrace physiological concepts.

RC - hard, but doable. Thought I did a little better than what my score shows. Very different from the topscore RC. Instead of searching for a specific word that stood out in a question, I'd have to actually start reading the paragraphs to notice concepts that are worded differently in the question.

PAT - Kind of bummed I only got a 17. The real test is much easier (I felt) than Crack the DAT PAT or achiever PAT. The one section that I really suck at - folding - is what probably really brought me down.

Well, now I am trying to figure out if I should retake b/c of the QR. Any advice? I talked to my advisor today and he said that's the least important score and to not worry about it. Well, I'm still worried! I just don't want that to deter any potential interview invites. Thanks for any advice guys.

Good job on the test. The only thing I would say is that certain schools have cutoffs to which they adhere fairly rigidly. So I would call up certain schools and ask them if your QR might be a problem.

 

[nemetrazol]

good job. what resources did you study with?

 

[denticus]

Hey, i would do some research. I know that some schools will reject you if you get less than a 16 on any section of the DAT. I'm in the same boat; Quant sucked. Good luck though.

 

[litldime]

you are in great shape my friend!! enjoy the rest of your summer!

what did you use for biology?
-ld

 

[jjash]

Great scores man. I got the same score on QR as you. Let me know if you find a list of the min. req. for dental schools.

 

[levyusupov]

good job man, especially on the sciences !!!!

i looking at youu gardes with mixed fillings, i think your grades are competitive but you might will get hard time with the QR.

in my opinion, u will get in to some dental schools.

GOOD LUCK with the rest !!!

 

[Decan]

Nice job...I recommend calling schools you applied to and ask them about your QR. Also, if you have a great GPA, you might be able to get away with it.

Again, well done!

 

[pkossak]

Thanks guys. Just from browsing the sites of the schools I'm applying to, I can't find any that won't accept that score, but I'm going to call them all tomorrow.

USC has a minimum cutoff of 15, Tufts has minimums of 16 AA, 16 TS, and 15 AA. UCSF has a minimum of 16 in AA, TS, and PAT, so I'm ok with those schools.

Here's how I studied:

First off, as if its not obvious from my scores, but I concentrated on the sciences. PAT I almost feel is a god given gift that I wasn't awarded, but I guess I should have taken some more practice tests. QR I figured I could just wing it, clearly that wasn't the case. Stupid of me.

For bio - I reviewed Kaplan, then dove into destroyer. Anything I didn't remember or was shaky on, I supplemented by my biochem or physiology books, or I would just google it. I made notecards of everything, and probably ended up with around 400-500 for bio alone. It was kind of insane, I know. I reviewed them 2-3 times, and would write down anything that I didn't know off the top of my head, and I went through all of destroyer's questions twice.

GChem - reviewed Kaplan, then did destroyer. Any questions I got wrong, I wrote on notecards then would go through them several times until I was comfortable with it.

Orgo - reviewed Kaplan, then destroyer. Destroyer covers it pretty well. Also made a ton of notecards. One thing to look out for on the test is rearrangements, I have a feeling that catches a bunch of people.

Did all this over a period of like 2 months, only the last 3 weeks or so did I go hardcore. Topscore and achiever are good at simulating testing conditions, and I also notecarded everything I got wrong on them, but I don't think they are a great indicator of what your performance will be on the actual exam.

 

[IsRaEl21]

Wow, I see the Destroyer really boost ur science grades up. Congratulations to. I wish u lots of Good Luck in the application processes.

 

[jeejeejiji]

those are some really great scores!
do you mind if I asked what materials you used for the bio and chem?
thanks ahead!

 

[Saber tooth]

Wow mind blowing sciences scores... you did well, dont be bothered by QR and RC

 

[Tejv24]

hey dude,
nice numbers you got there! Congrats!

how'd you attack the RC?