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- Sep 24, 2004
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High everyone,
I've been a silent lurker in these forums for a while, and your
perspectives have been interesting and enjoyable to say the least.
It's good to know that there are many bright minds looking to enter a
career in dentistry!
I took my DAT this morning, and came out disappointed (I'll explain
why in a bit). It's not that I did poorly, but I just didn't perform
in a way that would grab the attention of an admission committee ~ in
other words, my scores were very average, which was MUCH LOWER than I
was regularly getting on the 3 Topscore practice exams. For example,
in the PAT section, my 3 scores in Topscore were 23, 24, and 28. On
the real thing, it was 18.
Here's my take on the process:
I was very nervous on my way to the exam, but what made it even worse
was the long wait I encountered when I arrived. I had to sit and wait
to take the exam for 25 MINUTES! My nerves were definitely on edge by
the time I got to my computer, and what I saw didn't help.
First, the screen was flickering (low refresh-rate). It not only gave
me a slight headache, but it was also really distracting during the
testing process... and not just the PAT as one would expect. The
low-resolution setting didn't help either. Again, in the PAT portion
of the exam, some of the angles in the Angle Ranking section were
jagged and some even looked curved. Yes... CURVED. I wouldn't be
surprised if all of the questions that I missed were from that
section... oh... and the three or four that I just had to input
answers on since I was running out of time (again, by taking too long
trying to figure out what to make of the jagged lines in Angle
Ranking).
The flickering screen took it's toll on my eyes. By the time I got to
the break, they were really sore. After the break, when I began the
Reading section, they got even worse. I had to strain my eyes to keep
reading, and that discomfort took the 21-23's I was getting and turned
them into a 19 on the real thing. Then Quantitative came around, and I
actually had to concentrate on reading the questions without
squinting. Is it too much to ask for better equipment? By the time it
was over, the 23's I was getting on the Topscore DATs became an 18...
again, not bad, but not great... just, "okay."
The Natural Science section was a different language to me. On the
Topscore CD, I recognized many of the topics that it covered, but on
the real DAT, it was much different ~ not a single similar question
from the Topscore CD was covered. It has been 7 years since I began
the G. Chem. and O. Chem. series, and I am just now taking the Biology
series (yeah, I took a long break), so I was at a great disadvantage.
Thankfully, I didn't do to poorly, but I didn't do GREAT either (the
story of the day): 16's across the board for the Natural Sciences.
For those of you going in for the first time, pay attention to the
little things. You don't want the little discomforts to effect you
after you have started your exam. If you have an option to choose your
computer station, do it (talk to the test admin before he seats you ~
tell him you want a non-flickering computer... if it works, nice job).
This test experience isn't going to be the same for everyone, so just
pay specific attention to YOUR needs. I didn't, and it affected my
performance greatly.
Anyway, I would appreciate your take on my experience, situation, and
your experiences. The rest of my application is okay: good, solid GPA
over the last two years since returning to college, and research in
both psychology and the dental field. Also, I have had over 50 hours
of observation, which is increasing weekly, since I am assisting at a
local clinic. I am not really sure what to make of my score, since I
have already been told that most admission committees will ask for a
retake.
What do you guys think? Is a 17-18 score (Academic + PAT / 2) really all that bad? Is it "okay?" Competitive? Okay... okay... is it "bad" or "okay?" 😛
Thanks.
I've been a silent lurker in these forums for a while, and your
perspectives have been interesting and enjoyable to say the least.
It's good to know that there are many bright minds looking to enter a
career in dentistry!
I took my DAT this morning, and came out disappointed (I'll explain
why in a bit). It's not that I did poorly, but I just didn't perform
in a way that would grab the attention of an admission committee ~ in
other words, my scores were very average, which was MUCH LOWER than I
was regularly getting on the 3 Topscore practice exams. For example,
in the PAT section, my 3 scores in Topscore were 23, 24, and 28. On
the real thing, it was 18.
Here's my take on the process:
I was very nervous on my way to the exam, but what made it even worse
was the long wait I encountered when I arrived. I had to sit and wait
to take the exam for 25 MINUTES! My nerves were definitely on edge by
the time I got to my computer, and what I saw didn't help.
First, the screen was flickering (low refresh-rate). It not only gave
me a slight headache, but it was also really distracting during the
testing process... and not just the PAT as one would expect. The
low-resolution setting didn't help either. Again, in the PAT portion
of the exam, some of the angles in the Angle Ranking section were
jagged and some even looked curved. Yes... CURVED. I wouldn't be
surprised if all of the questions that I missed were from that
section... oh... and the three or four that I just had to input
answers on since I was running out of time (again, by taking too long
trying to figure out what to make of the jagged lines in Angle
Ranking).
The flickering screen took it's toll on my eyes. By the time I got to
the break, they were really sore. After the break, when I began the
Reading section, they got even worse. I had to strain my eyes to keep
reading, and that discomfort took the 21-23's I was getting and turned
them into a 19 on the real thing. Then Quantitative came around, and I
actually had to concentrate on reading the questions without
squinting. Is it too much to ask for better equipment? By the time it
was over, the 23's I was getting on the Topscore DATs became an 18...
again, not bad, but not great... just, "okay."
The Natural Science section was a different language to me. On the
Topscore CD, I recognized many of the topics that it covered, but on
the real DAT, it was much different ~ not a single similar question
from the Topscore CD was covered. It has been 7 years since I began
the G. Chem. and O. Chem. series, and I am just now taking the Biology
series (yeah, I took a long break), so I was at a great disadvantage.
Thankfully, I didn't do to poorly, but I didn't do GREAT either (the
story of the day): 16's across the board for the Natural Sciences.
For those of you going in for the first time, pay attention to the
little things. You don't want the little discomforts to effect you
after you have started your exam. If you have an option to choose your
computer station, do it (talk to the test admin before he seats you ~
tell him you want a non-flickering computer... if it works, nice job).
This test experience isn't going to be the same for everyone, so just
pay specific attention to YOUR needs. I didn't, and it affected my
performance greatly.
Anyway, I would appreciate your take on my experience, situation, and
your experiences. The rest of my application is okay: good, solid GPA
over the last two years since returning to college, and research in
both psychology and the dental field. Also, I have had over 50 hours
of observation, which is increasing weekly, since I am assisting at a
local clinic. I am not really sure what to make of my score, since I
have already been told that most admission committees will ask for a
retake.
What do you guys think? Is a 17-18 score (Academic + PAT / 2) really all that bad? Is it "okay?" Competitive? Okay... okay... is it "bad" or "okay?" 😛
Thanks.
