I'm a reject!!!! Again!!!

[molarmania]

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Hi Everyone,
I have been rejected to dental school this time around. My first DAT was a 16/19 and that is what I originally sent in with my application this year in May. In Mid October I retook the DAT and got a 18/19. The schools got this score in Late Nov. The only thing with this last Score is my BIO was a 13 and my Reading comp. was a 25. I graduated with a non science major and have only taken Bio 1 & 2. I did so poorly on the bio section because most of the questions I was clueless about because I had never even learned anything about that stuff. But I did do pretty well on my reading comp so I not a complete *****. I have only one more chance to take the DAT. I would hate to retake it now and still do poorly on the Bio section without having had any new classes. Do you think any schools will even entertain my application with this DAT score? I have a 3.3 GPA in my undergrad 10 years ago. My Science pre-reqs from the last two years is a 3.6. Also, I have almost 300 hours shadowing and 200 hours with habitat for humanity. any advice would be great!! Thanks

 

[Enso]

What have been your study materials for Bio?

 

[molarmania]

I learned everything in two Kaplan study guides that I bought from the bookstore. I also learned all the flashcards that Kaplan gave him when he took their course.

 

[Daydream46]

Hi Everyone,
I have been rejected to dental school this time around. My first DAT was a 16/19 and that is what I originally sent in with my application this year in May. In Mid October I retook the DAT and got a 18/19. The schools got this score in Late Nov. The only thing with this last Score is my BIO was a 13 and my Reading comp. was a 25. I graduated with a non science major and have only taken Bio 1 & 2. I did so poorly on the bio section because most of the questions I was clueless about because I had never even learned anything about that stuff. But I did do pretty well on my reading comp so I not a complete *****. I have only one more chance to take the DAT. I would hate to retake it now and still do poorly on the Bio section without having had any new classes. Do you think any schools will even entertain my application with this DAT score? I have a 3.3 GPA in my undergrad 10 years ago. My Science pre-reqs from the last two years is a 3.6. Also, I have almost 300 hours shadowing and 200 hours with habitat for humanity. any advice would be great!! Thanks

Hello there! Great RC score... but yeah, a 13 in BIO wont cut it, most schools will automatically filter you if you have a score that low. Have you taken a kaplan course for the DAT? The online recourses are very helpful, and the teachers are there to answer any questions....maybe that combined with a good book would help get your score up (cambells?)

IMO, taking upper level bios may be a waste of time if you just want to do well on the DAT (not that it wont help you in DS). Genetics was a fun/challenging class, and went WAY into depth, The DATs really only touched on like the 1st week of class... Same with Micro and Biochem... the classes are WAY more than you need to do well on the bio section.

I recommend just kicking it into high gear and focusing all your energy on bio

 

[molarmania]

I guess I was hoping to save my last DAT for after a one year Masters program. That way I know I'll kill the Bio section. I guess I was just wondering if it's even worth spending all the money to apply to EVERY school with such a bad DAT score. If I could get in ANYWHERE, it would save me like $40,000 for a masters program 🙂 Oh yeah, I did take a Kaplan course once. I guess it did not help me too much 🙂 Thanks for your help!!!

 

[smileforme31]

even tho you only took bio 1 and 2 you should be prepared for other materials. other bio materials that are related to micro,immuno, vert bio... should all be in the study guide. I don't think "i only took bio 1 and 2" should be an excuse. if you knew you didn't have enough bio and were not confident. you should have looked into other sources.

don't loose hope. now you know what your weakest point is. so i think you should buy schuman's bio, cliff bio any bio supplements you could to read on it. even campbell's bio (usually the bio textbook at school) is REALLY good. if you could read upon that you shoudl be able to reach at least a 19 on ur next test .

good luck


oh yeah DO NOT think you studied everything buy understanding kaplan. that only covers the basic and does nothing for the DATs. go out and buy supplements materials.

 

[Dentgirl09]

NExt time you take the DAT.. use barrons cliff notes or something likethat for bio... it has extra stuf in there you prolly need to know. it helped me.

Also.. I don't recommend adding schools this late in teh cycle... it will most likely be a waste of money. You'd be better off spending that $$ on the online DAT material for Kaplan.

That's just IMO though. Also, maybe speak to an advisor. If you don't want to do further schooling, maybe you can just work or something for the next year. Perhaps in a dentist office? And in the meantime raise your DAT adn apply this coming May.

If I don't get in this cycle I doubt I will do a post-bac.

 

[umkc09]

Kaplan's not the way to go. I've taken kaplan and their instructors barely know more than I do. Most of them just graduated themselves and are trying to get into med school or dental school.

UMKC School of Dentistry is offereing a course developed by professors and taught by professors. One of the professors has even written test questions for the DAT. I called them and found out that you get handouts from the professors and the TopScore CD. Everything is online and LIVE. You get someone who's knowledgeable and has actually taught before and you get to ask questions to someone who knows the answer. As you can imagine, I'm not a big fan of Kaplan. Too much money, too much wasted time.

Anyways, the UMKC School of Dentistry link is: http://dentistry.umkc.edu/bec_student/upcomingevents.htm

It's being handled by a company called CE Webinar: http://www.cewebinar.com.

 

[Dentgirl09]

Kaplan's not the way to go. I've taken kaplan and their instructors barely know more than I do. Most of them just graduated themselves and are trying to get into med school or dental school.

UMKC School of Dentistry is offereing a course developed by professors and taught by professors. One of the professors has even written test questions for the DAT. I called them and found out that you get handouts from the professors and the TopScore CD. Everything is online and LIVE. You get someone who's knowledgeable and has actually taught before and you get to ask questions to someone who knows the answer. As you can imagine, I'm not a big fan of Kaplan. Too much money, too much wasted time.

Anyways, the UMKC School of Dentistry link is: http://dentistry.umkc.edu/bec_student/upcomingevents.htm

It's being handled by a company called CE Webinar: http://www.cewebinar.com.

I semi agree with you but I think kaplans online material is wel wroth the $$

 

[dent2009]

blaming a score 13 since you only took bio1/2 is pathetic. Those 2 classes are all you need for the bio section. Restudy your bio textbook cover to cover and perhaps get other study guides. Everything you need is in there.

 

[DuffMan01]

Kaplan is, in my opinion, the worst study material for the bio section. They barley coverd the materials you need to know. Best way to study for that section is using AP Bio books that you find in bookstores like in Borders, Barns Noble, etc. Then top off what you know by using DAT Destroyer. Do that, and you will do a lot better!

Good luck!

 

[DentalRocks09]

gees that 13 really messed u up..ur best shot is to just retake it again..even though schools dont have a cutoff..that score is way to low..u must have done steller in everythin else though which is good...but take it a 3rd and nail the bio!

 

[prydA]

bio is the easiest subject to study for, all the topics/materials are given and are very easily accessed (old txtbooks, wikipedia, dat-specific materials), the trick is to allow yourself enough time to learn everything. focus and review your weak points, and just review everything over and over until you become numb lol

for the harder parts i used acronyms or made up my own, worked wonders. i kept a notebook on subjects i felt weak on, and constantly reviewed it (like when i was on the toilet hehe). i was getting 15s on my practice tests at first and after spending 6 months on hardcore studying, i scored a 30 bio on the real thing. my gpa is the same as yours, i got in, you will too if you try hard enough. gluck!

 

[JamesOSU]

Kaplan's not the way to go. I've taken kaplan and their instructors barely know more than I do. Most of them just graduated themselves and are trying to get into med school or dental school.

Depends on your teacher, I wouldn't lump all Kaplan teachers into one group. I taught the DAT for Kaplan and I knew some teachers who were great, and some not so great... 3 of my students are going to be my classmates next year. The ones who didn't do well either just aren't cut out for it or aren't giving it their all. You can NOT go to Kaplan class and do nothing at home and expect to score well, it will not happen.

There is no one thing to study for biology that is adequate, there is no way you can cover all the questions they can ask. From the topics they can choose from, its impossible to prepare for all of them. If you go in with a solid base and good test-taking strategies, you can do well. I used Kaplan strategies that I was teaching on my 2nd DAT retake (first was a 20/24 but I got rejected, so I retook), and they served me very well.

 

[molarmania]

prydA and everyone else,
Thanks so much. I was starting to looking into other careers because I have been so depressed about getting rejected🙂 (only because I'm an old fart 🙂 Thank goodness I don't have to worry any more.
I think if I retake this rascal I can get in for sure. When is "East Carolina University" opening their Dental school? I love the Eastern part of NC... I remember the days of eating solo at McD's in Winterville, reading the local paper and imagining how great it would be if ECU ever opened a tooth school. 2011 is my year!!! I can't wait!!!!!!

 

[illiniteeths]

Don't give up. Don't ever give up.

 

[kramkrap]

yea dont give up dude. bio is prb my weaker areas just because it requires masses of memorization in such a broad subject. But I did pretty well in bio, and you can definitely up your score easily. Im not saying kaplan has everything in the book, but it sure does cover pretty much all the test topics on bio. Use your bio 1 and 2 textbooks to supplement your kaplan topics and you should be more than fine.

 

[bjhath]

The only thing with this last Score is my BIO was a 13 and my Reading comp. was a 25. I graduated with a non science major and have only taken Bio 1 & 2. I did so poorly on the bio section because most of the questions I was clueless about because I had never even learned anything about that stuff.

I only took bio 1/2 before taking the DAT and did well (23). Bio 1/2 did not provide me with all of the info I needed, but I studied in the following manner.

1. Studied all of my notes from Bio. Fortunately, my school used Campbell and Reece, which is the text recommended by the ADA, so I was on track from the get go. (Hint: If the ADA recommends a text, there is likely a reason why! 😉 Campbell and Reece was VERY helpful on the DAT! 😉).

http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_reference_texts.pdf

2. I ponied up the money and purchased DAT Achiever and took a practice test.

3. After taking a practice test, I reviewed my score report to see what I got wrong. I noted the categories of the questions I missed and noticed that there were patterns (i.e., I missed multiple embryology, genetics, etc. questions).

4. I cracked my textbook and read the chapters that covered the material where I was weak. I wrote thorough notes.

5. I then repeated steps 1-4 for the second and third practice tests.

I used this method for the other sciences as well (too bad I dropped the ball on o-chem 🙁).

Anyway, if you put in the time (I put in 6+ hours a day, 6 days a week, for two months prior to the exam) your scores will reflect your dedication. It's painful (and I got a little thick in the gut during that time), but you've got to ask yourself, "How bad do you want it?"

Good luck!

 

[BioMaxDDS]

i was getting 15s on my practice tests at first and after spending 6 months on hardcore studying, i scored a 30 bio on the real thing. my gpa is the same as yours, i got in, you will too if you try hard enough. gluck!

WoW~~~ 😱

 

[somethinpositiv]

You got rejected, or you are a reject? There's a difference. One says that you didn't get the outcome you were looking for and can try again and succeed next time. The other says that you are an utter failure in every way and that you suck at life. Well which is it? The type of attitude in which you approach life determines the type of success (or lack thereof) that you will achieve.

 

[Dent0Paste]

a

 

[Northside]

I seriously think, if you put yourself through the kaplan course and really study everything, for a couple of months your scores will improve. I took the dat and got a 17 the first time and then put myself through the kaplan course and really studied and looked at their online workshops and flashcards etc etc, and took it again and got a 22. They just do a good job at covering all the possibilities of what could be on it. Also, the practice tests are a huge factor too. Just going through the motions helps keep your stress down on test day so you won't be worrying about the test too much.

👍

 

[swellguy]

I used schuams (sp?) for the bio and did pretty well - its pretty boring and possibly a little overkill in sections, but its got pretty much everything in there and it was about ten bucks