is it over for me?

[Winner32]

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Alright so I wrote my DAT in april and sadly didn't score as well as I expected, even with few months of studying and using good resources.

AA 18 TS 18 Bio 16 Gchem 20 Ochem 19 Rc 19 Pat 18 QR 15

cGpa 3.45
sGpa 3.35

ECs: Overall pretty well rounded with research (1 manuscript) + good letters
Shadowing: 50+ hrs

I kinda regret not writing the Cdat back in Feb because it was way cheaper and also less sections to study for, so I could of put more focus on bio and PAT. I thought doing the usdat would look better, but with this score i dont think it even matters.

I have no clue what happened in biology. It was the sections I prepared for the most and did all of destroyer (500 questions) and took my time to understand mistakes I made while studying. Idk maybe it was just nerves, but I def had some weird low yield questions and very little molecular and physiology. Anyone who took the april 28th test find bio weird? Also I ran out of time in QR so guessed on the last 5 questions. I studied for QR a decent amount too but can admit I could of def done better. Bio however i was expecting at least a 20, which would of brought my AA up. It's just so frustrating having studied long and scored better on the 2009 and 2007 exams than my actual exam. I should also note I'm a canadian applicant which in itself screws me over already.

Now lets cut the bs, I'm not oblivious to the fact a rewrite is needed. But my main issue is I can't take the exam until early august, and I already paid close to 600 CDN + books and online resources for this exam. I can't afford to rewrite until I'm more financially stable. The main reason I chose to take the dat end of april is so I could be 1st batch as a canadian applicant to maximize my chance, but i was also juggling exams at the same time.

Should i just apply anyways and see what can happen? Has anyone with similar dat scores had good fortunes?

These are the schools I plan on applying too:

BU
NYU
UDM
Case
Minn
Loma Linda
USC
Tuoro

 

[MahiMahi]

I'm assuming you have a writer who will fulfill Loma Linda's requirements?

Definitely do a retake this summer, an 18 is not enough if you're applying from Canada.

 

[Winner32]

yes I would have a writer for Loma Linda. But do you think it would be better to have my app complete early and say in my application that I plan on retaking? Do schools put your app on hold when you do this? The frustrating part is I really want to attempt the cdat for financial reason since CDN dollar is ****, but its only offered in Nov and Feb, which would be way too late in the cycle.

 

[JLT223]

That 16 in bio is absolutely killing you. Retake the exam in August, preferably before. You can list your scheduled DAT test day on the app.

 

[Likkriue]

I'll have to back up what JLT223 said, you have time to retake the DAT. The amount of money you will be throwing away applying to those schools without a good DAT score will far exceed what rewriting the DAT will cost. Remember 8 schools and supplementals will cost many times the amount the dat costs. If you could afford to put together enough money to attempt to apply then I have absolute confidence you can get enough money in 3 months to retake the DAT. Study hard and well and aim for the stars.

 

[obscurlit]

yes I would have a writer for Loma Linda. But do you think it would be better to have my app complete early and say in my application that I plan on retaking? Do schools put your app on hold when you do this? The frustrating part is I really want to attempt the cdat for financial reason since CDN dollar is ****, but its only offered in Nov and Feb, which would be way too late in the cycle.

Some schools will put your file on hold. Regardless, you should register when the upcoming cycle opens so that you can fill in the app and more importantly send in your LORs and transcript to AADSAS early, because these take time to be received and processed. There's a lot of time lag for things like that and gpa verification, etc., so timing of when you submit the app can be strategic. I would research more into some big compilation threads here discussing the application and timeline of events - there's lots of good info if you search.

 

[Winner32]

I'll have to back up what JLT223 said, you have time to retake the DAT. The amount of money you will be throwing away applying to those schools without a good DAT score will far exceed what rewriting the DAT will cost. Remember 8 schools and supplementals will cost many times the amount the dat costs. If you could afford to put together enough money to attempt to apply then I have absolute confidence you can get enough money in 3 months to retake the DAT. Study hard and well and aim for the stars.

Do you have any advice on how to score higher on bio since its so broad. I used bootcamp, cliffs and destroyer for my bio studying. I'm pretty confident in my chemistry (even tho i didnt exactly kill it) but i feel more confident than in bio. I'm certain I can score higher overall if i re-take, especially now that I know what to expect and the nerves are gone. And I guess you make a good point in regards to looking at the bigger picture from a financial point of view. Thanks 🙂

 

[Likkriue]

Do you have any advice on how to score higher on bio since its so broad. I used bootcamp, cliffs and destroyer for my bio studying. I'm pretty confident in my chemistry (even tho i didnt exactly kill it) but i feel more confident than in bio. I'm certain I can score higher overall if i re-take, especially now that I know what to expect and the nerves are gone. And I guess you make a good point in regards to looking at the bigger picture from a financial point of view. Thanks 🙂

You have to take your own notes. Do you own the destroyer? Doing all the problems and writing down notes on the concepts you arent great at is a good start. Many of the Dat Bio questions come straight from the destroyer. Supplement with with Feralis Notes of course(they are free), any topic you dont understand rewrite the notes. It is a board topic and thats why you want to try to have as much information as possible. If you dont own the destroyer, make sure you get cliffs ap bio 3rd edition(also online for free) and use that with feralis notes.

Gen chem and orgo can both be worked on as long as you keep practicing and learning the concepts. Use www.chadsvideos.com if you are strapped on cash and cant afford coursesaver.
If you can, DBC is a great resource for the PAT and gives you 5 tests to see how you are doing.

 

[JLT223]

You have to take your own notes.

This x100!