Low DAT score

[emoya14]

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Hello!
I just finished taking my DAT score and it was low. Lower than average, I am very embarrassed to post the score. But my question is what suggestions would you give me? I'm going to apply next year not this year because of the low DAT score, and my mediocre GPA of 3.4. But I'll be graduating with my Bachelors degree next year so I will have a year free, would you suggest me to take additional post baccalaureate classes? I'm first generation to attend school and first to graduate, have experience working in numerous hospitals in San Antonio in the emergency room and labor and delivery unit. Basically clerking. And attended A summer program last year, over 100 hours of volunteer work. What would your suggestions be? Thank you.

 

[BeaverLover]

What was your study schedule like?

 

[byahnoob]

How bad is bad?

 

[emoya14]

I studied for 3 months but it was on and off. I work a full time over night so I'm thinking that's what affected my score I wasn't understanding the concepts well.

 

[emoya14]

Let say I got Lower than an 18 :/

 

[hellofuturedentists]

Sorry it didn't turn out better. On the bright side, if you take it again and do well, it'll show improvement and look great for you! For the coming year, focus on whatever you think is the weakest part of your app. Your GPA isn't wonderful, but it could be much worse 🙂

 

[i D M D]

My suggestion is that you do lots of shadowing. Working is a hospital is not equivalent of shadowing or assisting dentists. After all you want to be a dentist, and you need to know what to expect in a dental school. Connect with your school's pre-dental club and look for any shadowing experience they offer. You obviously need to retake the DAT. Read my post on the DAT Breakdown forum and see how it can help you get a high score. I cannot comment on you GPA because every school has its own preference. Email the schools you want to apply and ask them what are their GPA DAT requirements (average of acceptance). If you want you can go through the post-bac pathway, or you can do a one year masters program in biomedical sciences, which would be a great addition to your application, increase your GPA (if you do well obviously), and ultimately, give you alternative opportunities if god forbid you couldn't enter a dental school. Make sure you have taken all pre-req courses and if you haven't already, take them. Cheers.

 

[emoya14]

Thank you very much for your wise words! I will do this!