How bad does a low PAT score (17) look?

[d.jawad]

Just took the DAT today and scored a 17 on the PAT section. I was expecting that score because I was having so much trouble on the DAT BC problems and kept scoring between 16-18 so definitely not surprised with my mark. How heavily will the PAT score weigh me down if i managed to score quite well in the other areas? For reference, my others scores were the following:

QR: 20
RC: 24
BIO: 20
GC: 18
OCHEM: 26
TS: 21
AA: 22

I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions on the possibility of a retake. Thank you in advance!

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[macsak]

Just took the DAT today and scored a 17 on the PAT section. I was expecting that score because I was having so much trouble on the DAT BC problems and kept scoring between 16-18 so definitely not surprised with my mark. How heavily will the PAT score weigh me down if i managed to score quite well in the other areas? For reference, my others scores were the following:

QR: 20
RC: 24
BIO: 20
GC: 18
OCHEM: 26
TS: 21
AA: 22

I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions on the possibility of a retake. Thank you in advance!

17 is not low...

 

[sobertiger]

depends on the school but 17 isn't terrible. You did great overall and should not retake.

 

[d.jawad]

17 is not low...

Thanks! I thought so too since PAT is pretty hard and not something that anyone can master. But when I posted this on Reddit some people were saying 17 is low and that it could disadvantage me. I'm looking at minimum DAT scores for schools and none seem to have a cut-off of 17 for PAT so I guess I'm okay in that aspect for now. Just wondering what others might have to say

 

[AppalachianDentalBoy]

Dude they gave you plenty of advice on reddit. 17 is fine, they don't really care that much about PAT anyway.

 

[d.jawad]

Dude they gave you plenty of advice on reddit. 17 is fine, they don't really care that much about PAT anyway.

Haha thanks for the feedback! You're right, maybe I am being a little paranoid. It's the people that mentioned I would be disadvantaged who are getting to me. But anyways, how would they know? I'll only know once I apply how much that PAT score would affect me.

 

[toothbread]

don't stress haha. I think you're fine. if you're really really worried just pay attention if the school you're applying to has a PAT cutoff but I absolutely really doubt any school has that. I have dental school explorer and trust me I'm seeing most schools taking in people with 15 PAT!

 

[Jgirl911]

I got into 2 schools last cycle with almost the same scores your did. I also had a 17 PAT. Trust me do not retake. If you’re worried about it, find ways to bring up manual dexterity in your interviews and show your abilities that way

 

[d.jawad]

don't stress haha. I think you're fine. if you're really really worried just pay attention if the school you're applying to has a PAT cutoff but I absolutely really doubt any school has that. I have dental school explorer and trust me I'm seeing most schools taking in people with 15 PAT!

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

[d.jawad]

I got into 2 schools last cycle with almost the same scores your did. I also had a 17 PAT. Trust me do not retake. If you’re worried about it, find ways to bring up manual dexterity in your interviews and show your abilities that way

Thats a great idea, thank you so much for the reassurance and the tip

 

[DDShemi]

Just took the DAT today and scored a 17 on the PAT section. I was expecting that score because I was having so much trouble on the DAT BC problems and kept scoring between 16-18 so definitely not surprised with my mark. How heavily will the PAT score weigh me down if i managed to score quite well in the other areas? For reference, my others scores were the following:

QR: 20
RC: 24
BIO: 20
GC: 18
OCHEM: 26
TS: 21
AA: 22

I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions on the possibility of a retake. Thank you in advance!

I never scored higher than a 15 and still got it, a lot of schools don’t care. They’re going to teach you to be a dentist, not play with computer generated shapes and they realize that.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Not an issue to worry about. I did fine with my 17 PAT