Importance of PAT for HBCU's

[Brandon3106]

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I'm concerned about whether the PAT is going to be important for the schools that I am going to apply for, such as LECOM, Meharry, Howard, perhaps NYU, and others that I haven't researched thoroughly yet. My PAT's a 13, RC 15, QR 17, Bio 20, Genchem 24, and Ochem 17. AA 19, TS 20, sGPA 3.37 and cGPA 3.53. Besides the PAT I know I'm probably good for the Meharry and Howard. Do appreciate the input!🙂

 

[pinpoint212]

What about your DAT? Dental schools dont give two poops about your PAT scores.

 

[Brandon3106]

how is the DAT recorded? I mean there are only three main scores right? PAT, TS, and AA.

 

[isittoolate]

how is the DAT recorded? I mean there are only three main scores right? PAT, TS, and AA.

I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but you are going to need to retake the DAT. The cutoff for many schools is 17 on the RC...and I know that many schools place a particular importance on the PAT. I don't even think applying smart can help you out.

 

[Alwaysdental]

You should redo your dat. Get crack the pat

 

[znny19]

Yea I would say retake. a 13 in pat means you got about 25/90 right. You can definitely improve.

 

[Brandon3106]

This is why I'm trying to find out if these particular schools weigh the PAT considerably, hence the title of the thread. Someone here is saying the PAT doesn't matter, but I do believe certain schools care about it less than others, thus my other DAT scores and gpa's would probably make up for my PAT. Someone even said on another thread that NYU said right over the phone "we don't care about the pat".

 

[shimshimhey]

That 13 calls for a retake. Very few schools omit PAT section out of their admission requirements.

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=943474
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=942453

 

[GEBESB]

First off, I really feel for you. I HATED the PAT section. With that said, I would retake it. While your TS and AA are fine, schools do not only look at these two categories. They will look at each section and as others have already mentioned, many schools have a cut off of 17 for each section. Besides the low PAT score, I would really work on bringing the RC score up. RC is important to many schools. Also, your science GPA is on the lower end, so you really want to prove yourself by doing amazing on the DAT.

You can definitely bring your PAT score up. When I first started studying for the DAT, I was getting 12s and 13s on the PAT section. I thought for sure that the PAT section was going to ruin my dreams of being a dentist, but after doing all of the Crack the PAT practice tests, I was able to pull off a 19 on the actual DAT. While my final score still wasn't great, it has not hindered me from getting interviews. I was lucky to interview at each school that I applied to. So honestly, if I can bring my PAT score up, you definitely can too. You don't want something as dumb as the PAT section to stop you from getting into dental school.

My suggestion to you is to get Crack the DAT PAT and reading. I am not a visual person at all. So i knew that I would never do fabulous on this section. I just wanted an 18, so I would stand a chance at getting into dental school, so this is how I improved my score:

I knew pattern folding was hopeless for me, so I practiced it-- but I spent the least amount of time trying to improve this area. Cube counting and hole punching on the other hand can be easily improved by the visually challenged. For cube counting, write 0-6 on a sheet of paper and put a tally next to each number for each cube that has that many faces showing. Then count them up and your done. You can very easily get a perfect score on this part of it. For hole punching, draw it out. Work through each problem step by step putting an x in the box where a hole would be. Again, you can easily get a perfect score on this part. Main thing with these two methods is you must work on your speed. You need to draw and write quickly. If you can do amazing on these two sections and mediocre on the rest of them you can easily get an 18+, which will look much better than your current 13. Good luck!! I am sure you can easily bring up PAT and RC and you will be glad you retook it!!

 

[UCSFx2017]

Isn't your reading score the bigger problem?

 

[Brandon3106]

Thanks for the extremely helpful info Dr. Toothache. I think my science gpa is good for the several schools I'm applying to actually, but my main prob is the PAT...and the RC too actually. There are several schools that do not have a cutoff for any DAT scores. But my main point of this whole thread still hasn't really been addressed directly. HOW IS THE PAT REGARDED BY THE HBCU's IN PARTICULAR???. I hope someone can answer this. These schools are the first ones I plan to apply for. I'm asking would schools "tally" good points (my other DAT scores and gpa's) and bad points (my RC and PAT) or just be pessimistic about it and look at only that ugly PAT and say "rejected". I know the PAT will be looked at to at least some degree, but I wanna know schools who will look at it with smallest regard.

 

[Brandon3106]

so crack da pat would be closest to the real deal PAT?

 

[KittySquared]

^It's more or less equal. But you gotta discipline yourself to do a lot of those practice tests.

But as far dental admissions go, I think the PAT is tantamount to your appendix. If it's normal and healthy, or even outstanding, it won't really do jack for you. But if it's ****ty, it could back fire and you might wanna surgically excise that ish out (aka take the DAT all over again).


Haven't slept in 24 hrs. Excuse the weird example lol.

 

[Brandon3106]

How do you think Meharry and Howard will take my stats though? U think a 13 PAT in relation to the rest of my scores will keep me outta both?

 

[Member902507]

How do you think Meharry and Howard will take my stats though? U think a 13 PAT in relation to the rest of my scores will keep me outta both?

Hey,

Howard is the one of the only schools that I know of, RIGHT NOW, that has actually created a set of requirements for their next year's class. I believe they want 18 across the board as their minimum for any section on the DAT.

http://www.dentistry.howard.edu/admissions.htm
"The minimum Criteria for Admission are:
Bachelor of Science or Arts degree
GPA: 2.85
Total Science GPA: 2.85
DAT: 18 (in each of the eight categories)"

But this is only applicable for the 2013-2014 cycle and on, not the current cycle. I think this the only school that has set such requirements, which perhaps actually makes it a very difficult school to get into, because other schools may prefer high stats, but also want a well-rounded group of individuals with diverse backgrounds.

Best of luck, and I really hope you get into your top choices!

Crack DAT PAT was very helpful for me while practicing the PAT portion, and TopScore and DAT Achiever were good too to help visualize all of it.

Good luck!!

 

[GsuDent]

I think a 13 on PAT is too low for any school (HBCU or otherwise). However, a 15 RC is probably what will deter schools the most.

 

[II H5 II]

I think a 13 on PAT is too low for any school (HBCU or otherwise). However, a 15 RC is probably what will deter schools the most.

This is true. Like others said above, get on that crack the dat pat, do more reading sections, and just practice practice practice before you retake it.

 

[user101]

they won't notice the bad PAT bc they will be worried about your RC score..i got 15 PAT and 3 acceptances so i dont think it's a big deal for schools