is this really happening??

[Jo07]

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yea so I took it yesterday and got the same score as last time. which was one point lower than my first time. Yes that's right. I've taken it 3 times now and I can't increase my score. Sadly, this time I was a tenth of a point from rounding up. I must have done something to piss God off because this is a nightmare. So anywho, I did great on bio (21), reading 18, PAT 20, and the others suck. My gchem--weakest subject--and I spent so much time studying for...nothing on my test was similar to what I have seen on practice tests/problems. I spent way too much time on it without realizing and had 20 min to do orgo. In orgo I have gotten 18's both times and this time I got a 15 because I ran out of time. My math still sucks and even though I did topscore, destroyer, kaplan for practice the problems were none like I'd seen before. Literally I wrote up three pages of formulas (permutations ect) and didn't use a single one.
So anyway, I'm screwed with my 16. I don't understand why I am doing so poorly on this test when I have a good GPA and I generally do well on tests. It's like I get so worked up over this test that I just freeze up and panic at gchem.

Well that leaves me with a couple of questions: is there a max number of times to take the DAT? Obviously it looks bad to take it many times, but looks like i'll be up for round 4 eventually and there isn't much I can do about it. I put a lot of time in studying, but I just freeze up when it comes to gchem!! I even practiced with topscore and achiever for timing and I did okay. but come test day it's all gone.

question 2: Will my school perhaps look at all three DAT scores or only look at my most recent. Because if you take the highest score in each and average thooooose together my AA is pretty decent. I just haven't been consistant.

Well I guess that's it for now. Time to sulk and ponder my life.

 

[rooney09]

Hey there

I think if you wanted to take it a 4th time you would have to get special permission and a letter of rec or something from your health professions adviser. I'm taking my DAT very soon and my weak spot is Gchem also. You said that you got questions that didn't resemble the practice ones? Surely if you have done Destroyer, Topscore, and Kaplan you would have seen problems that are somewhat familiar??

Also I don't think the schools cherrypick individual sections on multiple tests...I think they just take your best test but I'm not sure..anyone know?

 

[Jo07]

There were a bunch that I hadn't seen before. However, because I was so nervous perhaps I didn't "read" into them enough and "get" what it was asking. I don't know...I did do destroyer like 5 times and didn't help me a bit. But I will say that my other two tests were more like destroyer.


I would also like to add that after my second test I really sat down and examined how I had studied, my scores/weaknesses.... and I committed myself to doing timed practice tests for gchem and math but I guess it didn't help 🙁 On my practice tests I was doing pretty well!


I know that SDN is not the best place to find people who have lower scores or are in the same situation as me...but if you are out there...please PM me or say something. I would feel so much better knowing that I'm not alone ! I just feel so defeated. I went to a top 20 school, have a good GPA, took all the upper level biosc courses and even though I'm not the smartest person, I work very hard for my grades. I have always had to study my butt off but I usually do well in return. The DAT seems to be my brick wall that I can't get past and I don't know why! I don't think that i'm just simply "not smart enough" because I don't feel that this 4 hour test accurately represents my ability to excel in dental school or for that matter pass boards. Is anyone else in my situation??

 

[shans]

I took the test for the third time and I also studied as hard as you did. However I still didn't manage the score high enough to get into dental school. I am alsovery disappointed in myself as well. But what can you do??????? How was your overall score and TS. AA and TS based on your scores?

 

[raiden117]

just out of curiousity, what school do you go to/what is your rough gpa?

 

[113zami]

what sources are you using for gchem other than kaplan and destroyer?
if u are only using those, at this point i suggest you add in more such as princton mcat gchem, examkrackers,etc.

 

[teamchee]

you got it bro! it's tough, it's all a game. just keep plugging away, it only gets harder once we all get in. i know you can do it. i haven't taken my DAT yet, i wish i had something to add in that respect. but keep it up...

 

[Jo07]

thanks everyone. It's just so disheartening that this has happened when I put a lot of effort into 'fixing' my score.

all of your nice words are much appreciated. I guess things can always be worse 🙂

 

[Willem]

what sources are you using for gchem other than kaplan and destroyer?
if u are only using those, at this point i suggest you add in more such as princton mcat gchem, examkrackers,etc.

Its funny you mention those two. After looking at kaplan I picked up a friends mcat gchem princeton review book and it was about 3 times better. It had some error in it but the explanations were a lot more solid I thought. Examkrackers 1000 questions really pounded it home. I haven't finished doing the DAT destroyer gchem questions but I cant say I was a fan of them so far. I haven't taken the test yet though so me saying princeton review/examkrackers were great is just a feeling. After I used them I felt a lot more knowledgeable, I don't know how that will transfer to the real thing however.

Anyhow Jo07, I wouldn't give up here. It sounds to me at least that gchem is your problem and from that point on your scores crashed. You cant underestimate how big of a factor getting your butt kicked on gchem affected the later parts of you test indirectly (or even directly in teh case of running out of time for ochem). I would recommend just bunkering up with some gchem books and get down to brass tacks. Forget what you think you know because apparently thats not working for you. Relearn things by reading a text, visualize the illustrations, do practice problems from your book. If you want you could also pick up a copy of schaums 1001 questions in gen chem. I had some ancient version of the book nearly older than I am(I bought it and got it shipped for like 4 dollars total), but it gave me some really good review. About a third of the problems require use of a calculator so obviously dont waste too much time on those, but these kind of comprehensive review question books were helpful to me at least. Get an attitude that you are going to ace the gchem section and set off to do it.

As for the QR section. This personally has me concerned. I dont know what to expect here. Apparently the section has gotten harder if the average score for first time takers is in the mid 15s. The math ive seen on destroyer and kaplan seem like kiddie stuff however. I dont see how the average score can be 15. All I can think is the the math in all these review materials are no where near the real thing. I bet some person could make a killing if they created a more accurate DAT QR section practice test question bank. Without going into detail of real questions of course, what was on the QR that made it so awkward and unlike kaplan/destroyer? For example, what type of problems were there you didnt get?

 

[rose786]

Everyone has given you sound advice. Take some time off to clear your head before deciding what your next step should be. I believe a 4th time is only allowed if you have some type of evidence that you need to retake (a rejection letter, letter from pre-health advisor, etc.).

If you decide to retake, I suggest you apply the Penn Method. It's meant for the USMLE, but you can modify it to fit the DAT. It's what I did at least.

 

[klutzy1987]

yea so I took it yesterday and got the same score as last time. which was one point lower than my first time. Yes that's right. I've taken it 3 times now and I can't increase my score. Sadly, this time I was a tenth of a point from rounding up. I must have done something to piss God off because this is a nightmare. So anywho, I did great on bio (21), reading 18, PAT 20, and the others suck. My gchem--weakest subject--and I spent so much time studying for...nothing on my test was similar to what I have seen on practice tests/problems. I spent way too much time on it without realizing and had 20 min to do orgo. In orgo I have gotten 18's both times and this time I got a 15 because I ran out of time. My math still sucks and even though I did topscore, destroyer, kaplan for practice the problems were none like I'd seen before. Literally I wrote up three pages of formulas (permutations ect) and didn't use a single one.
So anyway, I'm screwed with my 16. I don't understand why I am doing so poorly on this test when I have a good GPA and I generally do well on tests. It's like I get so worked up over this test that I just freeze up and panic at gchem.

Well that leaves me with a couple of questions: is there a max number of times to take the DAT? Obviously it looks bad to take it many times, but looks like i'll be up for round 4 eventually and there isn't much I can do about it. I put a lot of time in studying, but I just freeze up when it comes to gchem!! I even practiced with topscore and achiever for timing and I did okay. but come test day it's all gone.

question 2: Will my school perhaps look at all three DAT scores or only look at my most recent. Because if you take the highest score in each and average thooooose together my AA is pretty decent. I just haven't been consistant.

Well I guess that's it for now. Time to sulk and ponder my life.

I believe that they just look at your most recent score not the highest. If you can get a letter from a school saying that they need you to tretake the DAT and do better and then they will accept you then you can get special permission to take the DAT a fourth time. Officially you can only take it 3 times.

 

[scuzfly]

There were a bunch that I hadn't seen before. However, because I was so nervous perhaps I didn't "read" into them enough and "get" what it was asking. I don't know...I did do destroyer like 5 times and didn't help me a bit. But I will say that my other two tests were more like destroyer.

Maybe this was the problem. Since you took it so many times and took practice tests so many times maybe you felt TOO comfortable. You said you didn't realize you had such little time to finish the section which might have been caused by thinking "I got this. I'm doing good"

I know the first time I took a practice DAT I was more focused on getting the right answers than finishing. I'm certian you know the stuff with the practice you've gone through so I don't think it's a lack of knowledge.

Maybe you should have waited to take the DAT another time instead of taking it three times back to back to back. I'm going to take it April 4th and if I don't do well I'm going to wait until next cycle and study the entire time.

 

[Jo07]

thanks for everyone's advice. I know that you need special permission to retake the fourth time, but what after that? What if I did just as poorly as the last times...Would that mean that it's over for me?

 

[sayilohyee]

Hey...I have taken the DAT once...so I don't really know...but...I was in between "Retake" and "Move on" situation...

And finally, I decided not to retake it because I know I studied my butt off for it. I cannot study harder than that, u know?

And if I were about to retake it, I think I would be putting less effort than before since I already studied hard enough once and already know the materials. I mean...I think I will be like "hm...I already know this. Let's just skip this." u know?

Also, I saw a statistical result about the scores of retakers...Statistically, retakers have lower scores than the 1st time. I am not sure why, but I think that's because they cannot study harder than the 1st time since they already did...u know?

However, if you are motivated enough to study your butt off again and have faith in yourself, give it a shot for the 4th one. If not, I wouldn't take that risk.

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

 

[Jo07]

I know that being a dentist is what I want to do with my life. Having said that, I will take the DAT 8 times if I have too ( and according to ADA you can!!) Granted I know that will be hell on earth and well, it will look terrible on my application but I do have high test anxiety and I'm not a good standardized test taker (I know what you're thinking...everyone who does poorly says that--) but does a 4 hour test outweigh the fact that I did go to a good university, graduated Cum laude, had a couple of 4.0 semesters. Since I didn't get a "good" score, am not smart enough to be a dentist? Should I give up? I think NOT! I just suck at taking this test! I guess if the DAT outweighed it completely, they wouldn't even bother asking about your GPA. Well how about that little pep talk to myself!? 🙂 I probably won't be top 5% of my class, but I do think that I can get into school, do well, and lead a successful and fulfilling career as a dentist! Thanks to all of you who lent your kind words !!

 

[CookieDough]

Preach On!

 

[Flipper405]

hey,

just wanted to add about the whole school picking your best sections... it depends on the school, but I know my state school (Medical College of Georgia) DOES take your best sections from all your DATs and puts them together... so maybe check that with students or the staff at the school you're interested in.

 

[td4azklz]

J07, I know exactly what you are going through right now as I am in the exactly same situation as you. I have taken the DAT three times and still didnt do as well as I had hoped. Though my scores improved it was only by a point each time. In any event, dont feel like you are alone because there are plenty of other people like you and me. Of course, that is not to say that we should compare outselves to everybody, but it is comforting to know that we are not the only one.

 

[bigstix808]

I know that being a dentist is what I want to do with my life. Having said that, I will take the DAT 8 times if I have too ( and according to ADA you can!!) Granted I know that will be hell on earth and well, it will look terrible on my application but I do have high test anxiety and I'm not a good standardized test taker (I know what you're thinking...everyone who does poorly says that--) but does a 4 hour test outweigh the fact that I did go to a good university, graduated Cum laude, had a couple of 4.0 semesters. Since I didn't get a "good" score, am not smart enough to be a dentist? Should I give up? I think NOT! I just suck at taking this test! I guess if the DAT outweighed it completely, they wouldn't even bother asking about your GPA. Well how about that little pep talk to myself!? 🙂 I probably won't be top 5% of my class, but I do think that I can get into school, do well, and lead a successful and fulfilling career as a dentist! Thanks to all of you who lent your kind words !!

as with dentistry and any other professional career you decide to embark on, your qualifications will always be based upon (at least in part) standardized tests (NBDE I and II ring a bell)....just throwing that out there. i know it sux, but that's the way it is....


go find me an oral surgeon (or any surgeon for that matter) that was top 5% of their class and made a 79 on their boards...yea, they don't exist

 

[Jo07]

as with dentistry and any other professional career you decide to embark on, your qualifications will always be based upon (at least in part) standardized tests (NBDE I and II ring a bell)....just throwing that out there. i know it sux, but that's the way it is....


go find me an oral surgeon (or any surgeon for that matter) that was top 5% of their class and made a 79 on their boards...yea, they don't exist

You are absolutely right. Wouldn't happen and I'm not even trying to go that route!!😎