In your opinion, worth applying?

[dentaldreaming]

I took my DAT on 7/14/17 and was very disappointed with my scores of 15 TS and 16AA.

I have a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics and am from a rural area. Thus I have not taken many science courses so that's why my scores were so low. This upcoming year I'll take a lot of science classes. I'm from a WICHE state if that helps. My GPA is 4.0, I have lots of leadership experience and volunteering, plus job experiences. Is it worth using my money to apply to dental school this cycle or should I wait to apply?

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[Likkriue]

Retake the dat.

 

[averageasian]

wait and retake. with a 4.0 gpa, they are going to wonder how your DAT score got the way it is and question your academic integrity/difficulty as well as that of your school. No amount of ECs or quality of LORs can ever make up for a low dat score. focus on your retake, there are plenty of people on this forum who KILLED it on their 2nd attempt. good luck

 

[FeralisExtremum]

I would not apply this cycle. Complete your science pre-reqs, retake, and apply next cycle.

 

[fit2]

Save money and retake it's in your best interest. take rest of science classes if you have any left. you'll be more prepared.
Also make sure you use the best materials/most common (Bootcamp, Feralis, DAT Destroyer etc.) and you should do a lot better second time. You'll know much better what to expect!
Good luck

 

[doc toothache]

I took my DAT on 7/14/17 and was very disappointed with my scores of 15 TS and 16AA.
I have a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics and am from a rural area. Thus I have not taken many science courses so that's why my scores were so low. This upcoming year I'll take a lot of science classes. I'm from a WICHE state if that helps. My GPA is 4.0, I have lots of leadership experience and volunteering, plus job experiences. Is it worth using my money to apply to dental school this cycle or should I wait to apply?

Are you saying you have not completed the minimum requirement of 1 year bio, 1 year gen chem, and 1 year of organic before diving into the DAT?

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Are you saying you have not completed the minimum requirement of 1 year bio, 1 year gen chem, and 1 year of organic before diving into the DAT?

I was wondering the same thing from their previous thread, the answer is unfortunately yes:

(still need OC 2, BIO 2, Physics 1/2, biochemistry, anatomy/physiology, genetics)

 

[1ysh]

I took my DAT on 7/14/17 and was very disappointed with my scores of 15 TS and 16AA.

I have a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics and am from a rural area. Thus I have not taken many science courses so that's why my scores were so low. This upcoming year I'll take a lot of science classes. I'm from a WICHE state if that helps. My GPA is 4.0, I have lots of leadership experience and volunteering, plus job experiences. Is it worth using my money to apply to dental school this cycle or should I wait to apply?

Hey OP, do some research on the DAT in terms of its scope, depth, topics, etc., which are all available on the ADA website or even here.

If you choose to explain to schools on the low score, just don't say they're low because you haven't taken science courses since you are "from a rural area" or majored in agricultural economics. Doesn't make much sense. There are plenty of others in your shoes who cleverly take advantage of online resources such as Bootcamp, PDF AP Cliffnotes, DATGenius. It might come off as lack of care in dentistry.

 

[Arthur Jeffries]

retake your DAT. i would recommend looking at this breakdown thread for study skills and would adapt Ari's study schedule from bootcamp to your own strengths/weaknesses

DAT Breakdown Compilation Thread (future test takers, look here!)