Just took the DAT

[onetoothleft]

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I just took the DAT, and for what it is worth here are my scores:

AA . 20 . 87%
PAT . 20 . 88%
QR . 21 . 91%
RC . 18 . 38%
BIO . 20 . 89%
GC . 21 . 88%
OC . 19 . 75%
TS . 20 . 87%

(the %'s are rounded) I think it is interesting to see the trends of %'s vs. Scores. for some reason I got a decent 18 on RC (which I am very grateful for BTW), even though it was 38%. Weird, huh (they say average is 17).

My GPA is 3.4, I have research, lots of volunteer, good letter from shadowing dentist, (non-comittee though). Microbiology major. I am 3 years out of college and 26 yo. I used Barrons to study from (was most useful for PAT, but everything else was pretty different I think, although it was much better than nothing).

Anyway, I want to go to Columbia, I have everything in already, basically. Any suggestions or opinions on my chances?? Thanks!! Also, now is the time to ask me Q's about the DAT while it is fresh in my mind.

 

[sxr71]

Good job, getting nice consistent scores is very good.

 

[Eddie830]

Also, now is the time to ask me Q's about the DAT while it is fresh in my mind.

Any subject area surprise you on the exam, specifically on the natural sciences?

 

[DrTacoElf]

Any questions on sugars in the organic section, how was trigonometry?

 

[jes1ca]

Congrats! Those are great scores.

Jessica

 

[Mithridates]

20/20/20. Sweet Scores! That reading comprehension percentage must have been an error - but don't worry, the ADCOMs don't see the percentage, just your raw scores. And you GPA is SOLID. You have an awesome shot at Columbia-that's an amazing school. You know, first year dental students (in the mixed dent/med class) have a nobel prize winner teaching them physiology?! I would want to go up to him after class and have my picture taken with him! 😀

 

[onetoothleft]

Any questions on sugars in the organic section, how was trigonometry?

There were no sugar questions on my test whatsoever. In fact, I don't think there were any biochemistry questions. Maybe general stuff in the bio section.

Any subject area surprise you on the exam, specifically on the natural sciences?

My practice test in the SNS sections (from Barrons, which most people have been saying is pretty useless, which it may be) was easier than the actual test, but for some reason I still did better on the actual test. My biggest impressions were:

In OChem there were more advanced reactions than I thought there would be. Lots of "trends" like comparing boiling points, the usual stuff. Biology was full of taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity (zoology) questions and was not as micro-biology/cell biology intensive as I had hoped. Not quite as much physiology as I thought either. Overall the SNS was a lot more like the MCAT (which I took last year - got a 27) than I thought it would be (except the G chem section was more mathy on the DAT). It made me think a lot--I expected to see more recall questions.

The questions from the PAT seemed easier, but I got a much lower score than in practices. Angles are tricky when looking at a computer screen. If you have time, use a folded piece of paper and put it on the screen if it helps. Paper folding was as expected, Cubes was harder on the actual DAT. Shapes, apartures, and top/side/front views was a tad easier I thought (or maybe I was more on the ball for the real test). But again, I was scoring in the 27's in practices, and got a 20. but that seems to be true of a lot of posters on this site.

In RC, I feel like I wasted time reading the passages. All three passages were microbiology passages, which was my major, and I probably would have done better trying to answer questions on my own than thinking that I need to read the passages afraid of missing details, so my advice would be to preview the passages and start with the ones that seem the most familiar to you, especially if you have background in its topic. The questions for the most part (to my surprise) seemed to be ordered in the order that the answer appeared in the passage, which was nice. The paragraphs are numbered for you as well.

 

[onetoothleft]

And thank you so much for the encouragement! Going to Columbia would be a dream! 🙄

 

[onetoothleft]

There were a few trig questions. Know your trig functions (soh cah toa), I was asked at what angle was secant undefined.

I was asked in which quadrant does the following equation lie. (so i had to remember in what manner they are labeled, which I think I remembered correctly, but who knows). Mostly the QR was algebra and word problems. I was actually asked how many miles a man would go upstream in a rowboat. I mean, who'ld want to go to town with a guy who rows a rowboat anyway.

 

[isd121]

Congrats! OnetoothLeft,
You will get in Columbia Univ.

 

[eric275]

Congrats on the great scores. Give yourself a little pat on the back and enjoy the rest of your summer! 😀

 

[Nismoboy]

Congrats on your awesome scores. How long did you study for the DAT and how did you study for it?

 

[PERFECT3435]

C*O*N*G*R*A*T*U*L*A*T*I*O*N*S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

those are very good scores along with your GPA. you shouldn't have any problems getting multiple acceptance.

as for your RC, don't even worry about it. my RC % was like 7 percentile. yes it really was.

just take some time and enjoy it. make sure you keep up with your application and that the schools have all your stuff received.

good job again!

 

[onetoothleft]

Congrats on your awesome scores. How long did you study for the DAT and how did you study for it?

Basically I bought the first book I saw (barrons) and was planning on just studying for a week and taking it to see what I would get. But I ended up studying for about a month total because I guess I just got into it. Most people on here have been saying that Barron's is only good for the PAT, which is probably true. Barrons leads you to study material that is not emphasized much on the actual DAT I think, but for me it was a good refresher since I graduated a while back. If you use Barron's beware that there are a couple of wrong answers/typos in there.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Very solid scores--job well done! 🙂