Just took my DAT

Started by Dreamcometrue1
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Dreamcometrue1

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10+ Year Member
I just took my DAT and I got a
20 TS
19 AA
19 PAT
but I got a 14 on my reading. what are my chances?
what college should I apply to?
Should I retake my DAT?
 
Dreamcometrue1 said:
I just took my DAT and I got a
20 TS
19 AA
19 PAT
but I got a 14 on my reading. what are my chances?
what college should I apply to?
Should I retake my DAT?
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Well those scores look descent so far. Some schools will not accept anything under 17 so it would depend on which schools you want to apply for and see their criteria breakdown. Unless you have stellar extracurricular activities, I would suggest retaking it due to the reading score.
 
Reading score is very imp. A lot of schools have a cut of for reading and they look at it more than the sciences. Its your call.
 
You must have been upon the chosen lucky few to get pianoed like I did today! Gotta love it! My RC was 17, but my TS was horrible, a 17 with a 16 in GC, I tutored GC for four years and don't possibly know how I got that many wrong!
 
Sadly standardized tests have an aspect of luck around them that if lets say you know 90% of everything, you could get that last 10% that you don't know and end up getting a 0 on your test. But yeah the RC score is somewhat important even more if english is your second language, they probably cut you less slack if it is. No sense in retaking the DAT for this cycle, but if you don't get in, this will probably be the reason, so I'd retake it.
 
I got a 14 on my QR section and I've recieved two interviews so far, but it was the QR section...the RC section is a MUCH bigger deal. It's really your call...you could apply and get lucky and get in somewhere though. It's tough to say.
 
I agree that RC is very important. I don't think 14 in RC is going to land you any interviews.
 
now thats making me worry too 🙁..

AA - 20
TS - 23
PAT - 20

but RC 14 🙁 applied to 3 texas schools....
 
kkmaths90 said:
now thats making me worry too 🙁..

AA - 20
TS - 23
PAT - 20

but RC 14 🙁 applied to 3 texas schools....
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Dang, you still got those scores w/ a 14 RC? Your other scores must've been good! Can you not read or something? 😀 jk But seriously, what happened?
 
Ok, I have a similar situation.

20 AA/21 TS/16 PAT :scared:

How much will that hurt my app??

I was really surprised at that score. I've done art for years and really thought I'd nail the PAT.

Should I retake? Other advice?

Thanks!!
 
kkmaths90 said:
hmm like what schools? Any school in texas that does that and you know of?
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Drop a line to the admissions office of each school and see how it will affect your chances. Ask if you should retake or not. That is the best way to know your chances.
 
Reading Comp sucks. I got the piano passage and I had a hard time finishing all questions - I blankly guessed on 7 questions at the end and got a 16 🙁. RC section of the DAT needs some work in my opinion - it should be strictly science passages instead of piano or crocodile or ethics or other random topics. I can read and interpret information fairly quickly, but those random passages really kill your mojo (having already done the PAT and TS parts of the test leading up to the RC section).

So I don't know...a 14 on the RC is on the low side. You should reconsider taking the DAT. However, in the meantime start applying to schools and notify them in advance on your retake date.
 
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I am an ESL student...never learned English before except for Alphabets lol 😛 whatever I have learned is my 6 years in USA hence the 14 on RC ...plus I like to spend a lot of time on reading materials but that was just too fast for me.🙁

lmaozedong1 said:
Dang, you still got those scores w/ a 14 RC? Your other scores must've been good! Can you not read or something? 😀 jk But seriously, what happened?
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I emailed to Houston dental school about 14 on my RC and they said that individual score would not affect my application process... He said:

"The reading comprehension score will comprise one small piece of the overall evaluation process. That single entity will certainly not preclude the consideration of your application. Hope this info helps a bit."

Hopefully for that school, it wont be problem.

But others I will have to find out
 
kkmaths90 said:
I emailed to Houston dental school about 14 on my RC and they said that individual score would not affect my application process... He said:

"The reading comprehension score will comprise one small piece of the overall evaluation process. That single entity will certainly not preclude the consideration of your application. Hope this info helps a bit."

Hopefully for that school, it wont be problem.

But others I will have to find out
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That sounds good. I hope all other schools will say the same
 
If you retake think about how long you have to wait. you couldn't take it till the beginning of november if you recently took it. I got that damn piano passage too. It was so ridiculous.
 
iluvdentistry said:
If you retake think about how long you have to wait. you couldn't take it till the beginning of november if you recently took it. I got that damn piano passage too. It was so ridiculous.
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Is end of October / beginning of november to late for the application process?

I got a piano passage too:scared:
 
the ability to communicate effectively in English, and comprehend in English is an important factor in the application process...

while a 30 on the RC section may not guarantee you an "in" at a school and a 14 may gaurentee your application be thrown away...do not discredit the section.

although English is not the offical language of the US, it is one of the most spoken languages and that is why it is important to know it

there are also writing samples (at interviews) and an interview you have to think about, i hope that you are able to communicate effectively in English to get through these hurdles should you get an interview

with that said GOOD LUCK! 🙂
 
since schools in Texas are very hard/ impossible for OS students to get into, their cut off i am guessing is much more lenient.
But I doubt other schools will offer interviews with 14 in RC to OS students as far as I know.
 
cellbio said:
the ability to communicate effectively in English, and comprehend in English is an important factor in the application process...

while a 30 on the RC section may not guarantee you an "in" at a school and a 14 may gaurentee your application be thrown away...do not discredit the section.

although English is not the offical language of the US, it is one of the most spoken languages and that is why it is important to know it

there are also writing samples (at interviews) and an interview you have to think about, i hope that you are able to communicate effectively in English to get through these hurdles should you get an interview

with that said GOOD LUCK! 🙂
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RC is not exactly a test of your english skills though. The TS and QR sections are equally a test of your ability to process information in english
 
AmpedUp said:
RC is not exactly a test of your english skills though. The TS and QR sections are equally a test of your ability to process information in english
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You will be surprised... all those 3 subjects that you have stated are mutually exclusive.
 
lmaozedong1 said:
I got a 14 on my QR section and I've recieved two interviews so far, but it was the QR section...the RC section is a MUCH bigger deal. It's really your call...you could apply and get lucky and get in somewhere though. It's tough to say.
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which colleges replied back to you since we're on the same boat here
 
Basically the only section that getting anything below a 17 would be okay in is QR.

Pretty much all the other sections are VERY important.

As some mentioned here, a lot of schools are particularly serious about the Reading portion. Some schools may immediately reject the application from what Ive heard.


Its such a pity though because you did so well on the rest of it. Proves that your smart and capable. Unfortunately you will more likely decide to re-take.
 
lmaozedong1 said:
I got a 14 on my QR section and I've recieved two interviews so far, but it was the QR section...the RC section is a MUCH bigger deal. It's really your call...you could apply and get lucky and get in somewhere though. It's tough to say.
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What's considered a competitive-enough RC score to not need a retake? I have a 20RC, but a 16QR.
 
I would say that a 19 RC is a safe score. so in your case you're fine

A QR of 16 has been a common theme for the most part with lots of DAT takers. Many schools ignore the QR section.

There might be a couple schools out there that have stringent minimum requirements that they wont flex with, but you can just avoid applying there.
 
oae said:
I would say that a 19 RC is a safe score. so in your case you're fine

A QR of 16 has been a common theme for the most part with lots of DAT takers. Many schools ignore the QR section.

There might be a couple schools out there that have stringent minimum requirements that they wont flex with, but you can just avoid applying there.
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19 is about the lowest for RC, agreed. QR the lowest I've seen for an interview is 14 so far.
 
Be creative.... Just talk about something, anything, whatever that youve done with your hands before... Just make sure NOT to leave it blank.

I talked a bit about hand-tossing pizza dough for 13 years and the technique that goes into getting a perfect crust with my hands.
 
oae said:
Be creative.... Just talk about something, anything, whatever that youve done with your hands before... Just make sure NOT to leave it blank.

I talked a bit about hand-tossing pizza dough for 13 years and the technique that goes into getting a perfect crust with my hands.
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yea but don't you think there's lots of hand eye coordination that you can say? I really don't get the question. I mean you can say you play video games, billiards, bowling, etc... they're all hand eye coordinations
 
pick one thing that you feel most passionate about describing. Its doesnt have to be like a perfect example for hand-eye coordination or anything.

Its not like everyone applying has had any type of hardcore dental experience or sculpture work.

Out of your 3 examples above, I liked bowling the best. But Im sure you can come up with something else.. Did you ever take an art class like sculpture or ceramic, etc?
 
From experience, I wouldn't use video games....Even if you've done some MLG stuff like me. It doesn't translate to hand-eye coordination, but immaturity instead.
 
PaulieGualtieri said:
From experience, I wouldn't use video games....Even if you've done some MLG stuff like me. It doesn't translate to hand-eye coordination, but immaturity instead.
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yea I know I won't use something like that or even bowling or billiards cuz most people know how to do that. they wanna see something special
 
In my opinion,
You should retake your DAT since RC 14 with 19/20/19 won't get you any interview because ds have certain cutoffs on RC section (Let's say your GPA is 3.5). As far as I know, USC has a lowest RC requirement 15.
 
When are the ADA people getting rid of this PIANO crap....Sounds like its randomness exceeds that of Ochem II. 😡
 
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