Low DAT scores getting in?

[ChoDog]

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Totally agreed. If they were genuinely interested in her as a future dentist and wanted to interview her, they might have suggested her to re-take her DAT with a minimum score dictating her final acceptance. It has nothing do with with elitism - it has everything to do with ethics. It's bad ethics for a school to admit someone who is less likely to pass their classes and the boards. What more of a red flag can there be than a 15 AA on a much less challenging standardized examination than the NDBE 1's ? Should they fail out, it would be a massive blow to the student's personal life, and they would still have to pay back the amount they requested in loans for that/those year/years. It's nothing short of being kicked in the ass twice on the way out.

Yeah, the DAT is one exam, on one afternoon. But the performance on that one day is very telling of one's ability at state and potential. The subsequent exams you'll face in dental school will also be one or more exams, on given day. The NDBE I is also one massive exam, on a certain day. The patients you will see in the future, will be one patient, in a given half hour or hour. This is about maximizing efforts and excelling at a task in a given moment, and developing the mental endurance to maintain that effort for periods of time.

Bravo, very well articulated 👍
I could understand a person scoring a 15 on one section of the DAT, but for a person to average a 15 and get accepted is absolutely absurd. Moreover, that girl who got accepted into Marquette with a 16 is equally bad. Stop making excuses for these people. We all took the same test, some with better situations and others with less. Bottom line is that you control your destiny. I could probably take the DAT 20 years from now and get at least a 16. Although I don't wish bad luck onto others, I'll bet you that the 15 and 16 girl will flunk out.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

lol, probably not..... people( myself included) studied really hard for months for the DAT to get awesome scores...... If i would have known a 15 could get me in, then i could have studied for 1 day and went on vacation all summer..... you have a good point about how she might have something great about her...... But whatever it may be, a 15 is a 15? right? If I am a little nervous of Dschool classes then she must be super nervous!!

So true

 

[ChoDog]

But yes, they are taking a risk admitting the student. All I am saying is, does her getting in with a 15 justify the abuse?

Well, I know many people who bust their asses off in undergrad and in preparing for the DAT only to get rejected. It's kind of a slap in the face when someone gets a 20/20/19 with a 3.5 GPA and good extracurriculars only to be passed up by someone who doesn't know what 'malignant' means and scores a 15-16 on the DAT. Life ain't fair, but thats some BS.

 

[Blackjack21]

lol enough of the girl with the "15" and back to the original topic. I had pretty low scores...19bio, 18 chem, 18 ochem, 18ts, 17PAT, 17RC, 15 QR, 17AA....gpa was 3.55overall and 3.45 science. I had a lot of extracurricular stuff...vice pres and treasurer of an organization...a lot of community service, shadowing, and did a community service dental project for the uninsured

 

[ChoDog]

lol enough of the girl with the "15" and back to the original topic. I had pretty low scores...19bio, 18 chem, 18 ochem, 18ts, 17PAT, 17RC, 15 QR, 17AA....gpa was 3.55overall and 3.45 science. I had a lot of extracurricular stuff...vice pres and treasurer of an organization...a lot of community service, shadowing, and did a community service dental project for the uninsured

Your scores compared to the "15 girl" is like night and day

 

[Montserrat]

You make an excellent point and the adcoms took a risk admitting her. Perhaps there was something so striking about her that it outweighed her subpar DAT and gave the committee an indication that she will perform well enough in D school. Schools are a business and they take the admission of students very seriously so there has to be something about the applicant that we don't know unless she has some pretty serious connections. If that were the case then it would be unethical. But yes, they are taking a risk admitting the student. All I am saying is, does her getting in with a 15 justify the abuse?

I wouldn't call it abuse. This is just the anonymous peanut gallery weighing in during a stressful time (for some more than others). Very, very few of these people will have the balls to say something like this directly to the individual. However, she's going to have to get used to it. It's not fair, but it's part of the package when you are accepted with subpar scores, because you can bet that the faculty are going to be keeping a close eye on her.

What they are, to me anyhow, are valid criticisms. As my brother told me when he was in dental school, they will break you down by telling you that you can't do anything right, then build you right back up. One of the biggest things that comes with maturity, is learning to take that criticism without imploding, and excel. You youngin's might have a higher energy level, but this is where it helps to be a little/lot older.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

I wouldn't call it abuse. This is just the anonymous peanut gallery weighing in during a stressful time (for some more than others). Very, very few of these people will have the balls to say something like this directly to the individual. However, she's going to have to get used to it. It's not fair, but it's part of the package when you are accepted with subpar scores, because you can bet that the faculty are going to be keeping a close eye on her.

What they are, to me anyhow, are valid criticisms. As my brother told me when he was in dental school, they will break you down by telling you that you can't do anything right, then build you right back up. One of the biggest things that comes with maturity, is learning to take that criticism without imploding, and excel. You youngin's might have a higher energy level, but this is where it helps to be a little/lot older.

That's true. They are all valid points. I suppose she'll find out her fate in the future.

Anyway Montserrat, how about those pats?!!

 

[Montserrat]

Anyway Montserrat, how about those pats?!!

Just another repeat of this ...

 

[lollipop999]

it would be funny if the dolphins won next week... lol

 

[Montserrat]

The patriots groundcrew could beat the dolphins. But back on topic, Bill Belichick would ace teh DAT.

 

[lollipop999]

The patriots groundcrew could beat the dolphins. But back on topic, Bill Belichick would ace teh DAT.

hahahah he might be the best coach ever..... he could probably get 15 on the DAt

 

[TheWiredNerv]

hahahah he might be the best coach ever..... he could probably get 15 on the DAt

Hahaha lol!

 

[PCrooks]

Look at all the bitter souls on SDN. The girl got a 15. She got in. So what!! All you can do is sit back and accept it. No one on this thread is bad enough to take that acceptance away from her.

There were many valid points made on this subject. There were also comments that were out right stupid. However, it looks like she'll be crucified for the remainder of her life for that sorry DAT score. A score so sorry that it was good enough to get her a spot in the class of 2012. Ironic, bittersweet, whatever you want to call it. She's in dental school and she can now really control her destiney. Flunk out or make it big. It's all on her! ChoDog, during the DAT we don't control nothing but that mouse and the answers we choose. After the test we can only hope that at least one person, on one admissions board, at one school fights on our behalf. We don't actually control anything until August and school starts.

We are all entering the same program. Once school starts nobody will care about what school you went to, your undergraduate GPA, or DAT scores. Those things are over with. You can bask in your old glory if you want. Dental school is coming full blast and even the most polished students need to humble themselves for this experience. We are all starting at zero. Equals. If she slid into dental school with crappy scores it is now her time to rewrite the books.

 

[Montserrat]

We are all entering the same program. Once school starts nobody will care about what school you went to, your undergraduate GPA, or DAT scores. Those things are over with. You can bask in your old glory if you want. Dental school is coming full blast and even the most polished students need to humble themselves for this experience. We are all starting at zero. Equals. If she slid into dental school with crappy scores it is now her time to rewrite the books.

Equals among classmates as people - absolutely. But starting at zero ? That's hard to believe. A PhD or master's student will have advanced knowledge in their respective studies. And a student who displayed ~50% mastery of basic knowledge on a standardized entrance examination is certainly not starting at zero. A lot of the knowledge is additive - a solid foundation helps due to the speed at which new but relevant material is presented. But as you said - it's her shot to sink or swim. Considering she sank on material that is less in volume and easier than dental school didactics, the chances of her staying afloat are not on par with others.

 

[ToothPrincess]

I really do think that there is more to this story of the girl with the 15 though.... I mean it seems kind of weird... I am a minority female with a respectible TS 21 and I really dont want to believe that people are thinking that I got into school just because I am a minority and a female because I worked really hard for my scores and my GPA and well... everything... I really don't think that this is exactly accurate... I mean who REALLY knows someone else's scores unless they are that person....

 

[jigabodo]

I really do think that there is more to this story of the girl with the 15 though.... I mean it seems kind of weird... I am a minority female with a respectible TS 21 and I really dont want to believe that people are thinking that I got into school just because I am a minority and a female because I worked really hard for my scores and my GPA and well... everything... I really don't think that this is exactly accurate... I mean who REALLY knows someone else's scores unless they are that person....

A 21 TS is indeed a respectable score. With your stats I am sure you would've gotten into multiple schools even if you weren't a minority, assuming that the URM status does come into play at some point.

The truth is, there are many minority applicants that are more than qualified, but end up suffering from reverse discrimination as consequences of AA.

 

[pestermen]

I really do think that there is more to this story of the girl with the 15 though.... I mean it seems kind of weird... I am a minority female with a respectible TS 21 and I really dont want to believe that people are thinking that I got into school just because I am a minority and a female because I worked really hard for my scores and my GPA and well... everything... I really don't think that this is exactly accurate... I mean who REALLY knows someone else's scores unless they are that person....

I also have my doubts about the story. There's probably a lot more to it, IF the story is even true.

 

[pestermen]

The truth is, there are many minority applicants that are more than qualified, but end up suffering from reverse discrimination as consequences of AA.[/quote]


Glad you noticed the AA vs TS. I scored a 20 TS, which is decent for applying to dental school, but the reading and math sections both were 16, and obviously really hurt my AA. I believe the AA is 18.4, when calculated before rounding. I was pretty frustrated, especially since I know my material pretty well. I'm not a bad student.

 

[txcadman]

WOW - Y'all just made me feel like a piece of CRAP!!!! I got a 16 AA and actually was still holding onto a glimmer of hope that the rest of my strong application might earn an acceptance. But after reading this post - you've all just destroyed any hope - gone - down the drain. Thanks. I'm in a much better mood now.

 

[uesider]

WOW - Y'all just made me feel like a piece of CRAP!!!! I got a 16 AA and actually was still holding onto a glimmer of hope that the rest of my strong application might earn an acceptance. But after reading this post - you've all just destroyed any hope - gone - down the drain. Thanks. I'm in a much better mood now.

Please do not let these message boards destroy your hopes and dreams... there is no other way to go about this application process rather than STAYING POSITIVE. Negative feedback on the message boards will depress you.. just take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt. You may have something they're looking for that no one else has. And if not this year, try again to prove you are worthy of an acceptance 🙂

 

[ChoDog]

ChoDog, during the DAT we don't control nothing but that mouse and the answers we choose. After the test we can only hope that at least one person, on one admissions board, at one school fights on our behalf. We don't actually control anything until August and school starts.

You just killed your own argument. Your in control of your GPA and you are in control of your DAT scores.

 

[txcadman]

Please do not let these message boards destroy your hopes and dreams... there is no other way to go about this application process rather than STAYING POSITIVE. Negative feedback on the message boards will depress you.. just take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt. You may have something they're looking for that no one else has. And if not this year, try again to prove you are worthy of an acceptance 🙂

Thanks uesider... I was exaggerating a little but I really did think this whole thread was pretty awful. It is irritating to listen to people take their intelligence for granted. Comments like, "Let's face it... we could have come out of high school and studied one day and gotten a 15 on the DAT" or "I'm sure that girl will flunk out" are just ignorant in my opinion.

 

[rose786]

WOW - Y'all just made me feel like a piece of CRAP!!!! I got a 16 AA and actually was still holding onto a glimmer of hope that the rest of my strong application might earn an acceptance. But after reading this post - you've all just destroyed any hope - gone - down the drain. Thanks. I'm in a much better mood now.

It's true that SDNers don't mince words, but isn't that a good thing? Think about what you would say to a friend who is in the same situation you are in now. You'd likely say, "I think you're amazing but if I were you..."

By all means be hopeful, but sometimes it's good to be a little critical because it gives you that much needed kick-in-the-pants to get going.

 

[SHC1984]

if you get in with a 16AA it will make people with high DAT scores feel like a piece of CRAP! so think about it that way...😉

WOW - Y'all just made me feel like a piece of CRAP!!!! I got a 16 AA and actually was still holding onto a glimmer of hope that the rest of my strong application might earn an acceptance. But after reading this post - you've all just destroyed any hope - gone - down the drain. Thanks. I'm in a much better mood now.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

if you get in with a 16AA it will make people with high DAT scores feel like a piece of CRAP! so think about it that way...😉

Would it really?

If someone came up to me and told me they got in with a 16 I wouldn't be like "Oh darn, that means my 21 is meaningless!"

From all my interviews, they made it clear that my DAT score was not the major reason I got interviews, just icing on the cake if you would.

 

[SHC1984]

there is nothing wrong with telling the truth....The first time I took the DAT without studying I recieved a 17AA...so you have to really try to miss all your questions to get a 15AA!
(yes..I am bitter b/c my state school always manages to squeeze a few people with low DAT scores in....I have a few ideas why..but If I said it on here people will get 😡 )

Thanks uesider... I was exaggerating a little but I really did think this whole thread was pretty awful. It is irritating to listen to people take their intelligence for granted. Comments like, "Let's face it... we could have come out of high school and studied one day and gotten a 15 on the DAT" or "I'm sure that girl will flunk out" are just ignorant in my opinion.

 

[SHC1984]

No, but if you DIDN'T get in with your 21 and found out someone with a 16AA that got in, THEN YES, it will make you feel like CRAP! 😉

Would it really?

If someone came up to me and told me they got in with a 16 I wouldn't be like "Oh darn, that means my 21 is meaningless!"

From all my interviews, they made it clear that my DAT score was not the major reason I got interviews, just icing on the cake if you would.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

Well I am a big supporter of the idea that numbers aren't everything. I trust the wisdom of the experianced admission committees more than my own.

 

[rollypolly]

No, but if you DIDN'T get in with your 21 and found out someone with a 16AA that got in, THEN YES, it will make you feel like CRAP! 😉

Well, maybe the person with the 16AA has a better personality. You do realize that once we all get out of dental school and start working in the real world that none of our patients will care about how intelligent we are, right? What they will care about is how they are treated. I think there is a lot to be said for people that have excellent interpersonal skills. Often, that is something that cannot be taught, unlike academic intelligence.

 

[CariesMcGee]

So.. what does malignant mean again?
😆

 

[PennPB]

Well, maybe the person with the 16AA has a better personality. You do realize that once we all get out of dental school and start working in the real world that none of our patients will care about how intelligent we are, right? What they will care about is how they are treated. I think there is a lot to be said for people that have excellent interpersonal skills. Often, that is something that cannot be taught, unlike academic intelligence.

That's the keynote right there. They HAVE to make it out of dental school to let that personality shine. A 16 is not competitive at many, if not all schools, period.
The DAT like any other security marker is there for those schools to see if you can handle the curriculum. It was probably brought up 10 or so times already - if you can't handle the DAT and at least make the national average of around a 17, how are you gonna handle having anatomy, histo, biochem, physio, and etc thrown at you rapidfire ?

 

[TheWiredNerv]

That's the keynote right there. They HAVE to make it out of dental school to let that personality shine. A 16 is not competitive at many, if not all schools, period.
The DAT like any other security marker is there for those schools to see if you can handle the curriculum. It was probably brought up 10 or so times already - if you can't handle the DAT and at least make the national average of around a 17, how are you gonna handle having anatomy, histo, biochem, physio, and etc thrown at you rapidfire ?

Perhaps adcoms are looking at post-dental school too.

 

[PennPB]

Perhaps adcoms are looking at post-dental school too.

Have to get past d-school classes, boards, and regional certification before post-dental can even begin to matter. Looking at post-dental doesn't negate the fact that they base most of the GPA and DAT considerations on whether or not they feel said applicant will pass their boards and classes.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

I suppose so but sometimes the numbers don't work out. If a group of committee members gave her the green light then they feel she can do it and thats that. Once again, the future will tell her fate. It would be humerous if she got into a specialty.

 

[001]

has anyone with a lower score been accepted recently?

 

[Eastcoast24]

has anyone with a lower score been accepted recently?

check these threads out

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=920610

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=938976

 

[MelonDew]

Goodness, who cares about the hypothetical "15 DAT Girl" that's one spot out of the 5500+ spots in dental school. Obviously she has something special that the interviewer saw and thus she was let in. Schools always interview more people then they accept and someone decided to take a chance on her. People that got passed with better stats probably didn't do well on their interviews or any number of reasons.

Don't hate on someone just because of a DAT score and worry about yourself. She has no effect on your life. You guys are acting like she took your spot in dental school.

Can we please get back to the point of the topic?

 

[001]

Thanks Eastcost24!

 

[Papasmurf1234]

Goodness, who cares about the hypothetical "15 DAT Girl" that's one spot out of the 5500+ spots in dental school. Obviously she has something special that the interviewer saw and thus she was let in. Schools always interview more people then they accept and someone decided to take a chance on her. People that got passed with better stats probably didn't do well on their interviews or any number of reasons.

Don't hate on someone just because of a DAT score and worry about yourself. She has no effect on your life. You guys are acting like she took your spot in dental school.

Can we please get back to the point of the topic?

You realize the last post regarding that case was in 2007...

 

[BIGMEECHY]

Hi

 

[BIGMEECHY]

guys thats because a 15AA for a URM is equivalent to a 23AA to a non URM

 

[Eastcoast24]

guys thats because a 15AA for a URM is equivalent to a 23AA to a non URM

I doubt being a URM has that much effect. I think 17AA is probably the LOWEST you can have to get in.

 

[gn4]

guys thats because a 15AA for a URM is equivalent to a 23AA to a non URM

really? so what's a 21AA or 24AA for a URM? because I know many who have those scores. Just because that person got in with a 15 doesn't mean it was because she was a URM.

 

[BIGMEECHY]

really? so what's a 21AA or 24AA for a URM? because I know many who have those scores. Just because that person got in with a 15 doesn't mean it was because she was a URM.

Yea, your right.

 

[blkwmn84]

This might be shocking. This girl from my school got in both state schools with a 15 on DAT. yes 15! I wont say which state, but she's a minority(african american).

I felt cheated and didn't feel as good about my acceptance as i did before i heard that.

Did you see the 15 for yourself or was it fake news?

 

[blkwmn84]

you are kidding right? I think her minority status has to play a role in it, not her gender.

This statement is dumb, as her gender is a minority too.

 

[zkelly1]

I thought America was founded on, " THe Best Man for the Job".... what a joke.... give me the "minority" check and I would have been interviewed at Harvard the first week with my stats... but of course not.... i am a white male

Most ignorant response I’ve ever read. Even years after its initial post it’s sad how some people think.

 

[Faris_]

Most ignorant response I’ve ever read. Even years after its initial post it’s sad how some people think.

I don't know how insecure you are to comment on 1.5 year old conversation but you need to get over yourself, people can have different opinions.

 

[artist2022]

Yeah....... locking.