Help Power Outage During DAT!

[toothfairyglitter]

Hello all,

It is my first time posting on a forum, hope I am doing this right and can get some much needed, much appreciated advise from you all
So trying to make a long story short, I took my first DAT in February did not like my scores, retested in June and overall DID improve. However, during this second attempt the testing center suffered a power outage due to a storm. I was reassured by the testing center that a report would be made to ADA regarding this event.

The problem is the following; the next day I reached out to ADA and they confirmed they HAD received the report, so I wrongly assumed that meant they would pass it on to the schools I have applied to. I am a Texas resident and the application process for Texas schools goes through TMDSAS where I called last week to confirm everything was in order. I then find out TMDSAS is unaware of my test day problem and so are the schools I have applied to. I emailed someone from testing services at ADA and they told me "there was no need for them to report the issue" I guess since the report said there was no time lost.
However, I feel whether time was lost or not, when something like this happens and during an important exam like this, it can cause a lot of stress and affect your performance. Like I said above, luckily my overall scores did improve but the bio section (The section where the power outage occurred) was the only section that actually was one point bellow my first DAT bio score.

My question to you all is; Do you have any advise for me in this situation? Should I be as worried as I am and is there anything I can do/ anyone I could talk to to have this at least known by the people reviewing my application.


Thank you!

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[Kouneko]

Can you let us know all the scores from your first and second attempts as well as your GPA? We can then gauge how much the lower bio score will actually impact your application. If it will, you should notify each school you applied to about the issue.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

One point variation (unless it was close to a cutoff) is not going to mean much to schools. I wouldn't make a big deal out of this - you didn't lose any time, so the bottom line is any impact on your scores from having to stop/start with an interruption (especially for a section like bio where you aren't going to be interrupted mid-calculation) would be negligible.

Personally, I wouldn't want to give the impression to dental schools that a power outage I lost no time on hugely stressed me out.

 

[Faefly]

I agree with you; any interruption can block thought process and put unneeded stress on the test takers!

Why then in the Olympic, any runner who runs before the start signals are given, is now been disqualified from running the race?

Because he screwed up the mentality and preparedness of the other contestants.

If this simple notion can't be explained to dental schools without jeopardizing their imaginary expectation of the perfect applicant, then
they are so full of themselves really.

Test anxiety and pressure are real, while you had a power outage, thousands did not and they were hardly, if ever interrupted during taking their DAT.

They expect us to be the perfect warriors, nothing can break us or hurt us. Perfect scores, perfect personality, perfect reputation!
Well, this is not real, dentists are humans, after all, if a dentist had a power outage in real life, he wouldn't be able to do the procedure unless he is a war zone or it was a life or death emergency.

 

[student12335982735]

that is everybody's worst nightmare. just make sure you follow through with ada and your dental schools

 

[DAT Destroyer]

You might find this helpful, should anything go wrong on test day, get it documented by the test proctor and follow the instructions below given by the ADA.

Dr. Romano


If you experience problems with testing conditions during the administration of the test, you must stop testing and notify the test center administrator immediately. Testing should not be resumed until the issue has been documented and resolved by the test center administrator. Unresolved concerns must be submitted in writing within five business days of the testing appointment to [email protected].

Upon receipt of the information, we will conduct an investigation and notify you of the outcome. Candidates with documented, unresolved testing issues could be offered the opportunity to retest within 30 days.