Low PAT decent AA/TS Question

[BrightTeeth]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello everyone,

I just took the DAT Dec 13th and received the following scores:

PA: 17
QR: 22
RC: 20
Bio: 20
GC: 22
OC: 30
TS: 22
AA: 23

I was very proud of my TS and AA scores but my PA score puts me in a love/hate relationship with my scores. I know it's hard for people to answer since we aren't admissions faculty but do you think my PA score will impact me in any significant way?

I did some research and heard UoP might be one school out of reach since they look at PA more than most schools. Obviously there are many factors like GPA/etc but are some schools out of the option for me due to PA scores alone?

Do you think it will be brought up in the interview, hoping I get one 😀, when I apply?

I definitely shouldn't retake right?

Side note: big thanks to everyone who posted their DAT breakdowns they really helped me learn what resources I needed to use and also helped me stay motivated. If anyone has any questions or wants me to post a breakdown on everything I did to study except for the PA apparently haha I would be more than happy to.

 

[Sirabi]

Hello everyone,

I just took the DAT Dec 13th and received the following scores:

PA: 17
QR: 22
RC: 20
Bio: 20
GC: 22
OC: 30
TS: 22
AA: 23

I was very proud of my TS and AA scores but my PA score puts me in a love/hate relationship with my scores. I know it's hard for people to answer since we aren't admissions faculty but do you think my PA score will impact me in any significant way?

I did some research and heard UoP might be one school out of reach since they look at PA more than most schools. Obviously there are many factors like GPA/etc but are some schools out of the option for me due to PA scores alone?

Do you think it will be brought up in the interview, hoping I get one 😀, when I apply?

I definitely shouldn't retake right?

Side note: big thanks to everyone who posted their DAT breakdowns they really helped me learn what resources I needed to use and also helped me stay motivated. If anyone has any questions or wants me to post a breakdown on everything I did to study except for the PA apparently haha I would be more than happy to.

I was pre-dentistry until I switched to medicine but if i remember correctly a 17 is about average right? so it can't hurt you that much because you did super well in the other sections (the ones that really count in my opinion haha). You're obviously very smart and schools with see that. If I were you, I would not retake the test. BTW, did it give you a percentile for the AA of 23? When I took it I got a 21 but it told me that was the 97.8th percentile for that test. I'd imagine you were like the 99th percentile!

 

[BrightTeeth]

I was pre-dentistry until I switched to medicine but if i remember correctly a 17 is about average right? so it can't hurt you that much because you did super well in the other sections (the ones that really count in my opinion haha). You're obviously very smart and schools with see that. If I were you, I would not retake the test. BTW, did it give you a percentile for the AA of 23? When I took it I got a 21 but it told me that was the 97.8th percentile for that test. I'd imagine you were like the 99th percentile!

I believe a 17 is average but I don't know what the percentile was for my particular test because it wasn't included on my unofficial score report. All it showed me was xx/30 for all sections.

Congrats on getting accepted to Med school btw.

 

[Sirabi]

oh interesting, i took my test a few years ago so i guess it has changed. well i would say look on the bright side that you scored probably among the very very top of applicants in the academic sections. i don't know if it means anything nowadays but my dad got like the 50th percentile on the PA section and he went to UW. Obviously they could have changed the way they look at applications now but you could call and ask specific schools what their advice would be. also I found another member (who is now a dental student) had posted this:
RC is far more important than PAT! QR is obviously least imporant while PAT is the second least important. I got a 17 PAT and no one ever mentioned it. I even brought it up a few times in my interviews and was basically told that no stock is put into it. These ppl know the comps are old and it is difficult to see the difference in angle ranking and stuff. In addition, the avg for most schools on pat is an 18. So, admitting a student with otherwise great stats is not going to mess up the avg. If you had a 16 RC that would be cause to worry... You may not get into schools with absolut cutoffs, but I would say you have a very good shot at other schools. It's all going to depend on the well roundedness of the rest of your application. Good luck

 

[BrightTeeth]

oh interesting, i took my test a few years ago so i guess it has changed. well i would say look on the bright side that you scored probably among the very very top of applicants in the academic sections. i don't know if it means anything nowadays but my dad got like the 50th percentile on the PA section and he went to UW. Obviously they could have changed the way they look at applications now but you could call and ask specific schools what their advice would be. also I found another member (who is now a dental student) had posted this:
RC is far more important than PAT! QR is obviously least imporant while PAT is the second least important. I got a 17 PAT and no one ever mentioned it. I even brought it up a few times in my interviews and was basically told that no stock is put into it. These ppl know the comps are old and it is difficult to see the difference in angle ranking and stuff. In addition, the avg for most schools on pat is an 18. So, admitting a student with otherwise great stats is not going to mess up the avg. If you had a 16 RC that would be cause to worry... You may not get into schools with absolut cutoffs, but I would say you have a very good shot at other schools. It's all going to depend on the well roundedness of the rest of your application. Good luck

This is great to hear. Thanks for posting this! I am very glad my RC was above a 19 I thought for sure it would be lower. I wasn't prepared to take notes as I read with the laminated paper/markers they gave you. My hand kept smudging my notes 😛.

 

[dyesht]

Hello everyone,

I just took the DAT Dec 13th and received the following scores:

PA: 17
QR: 22
RC: 20
Bio: 20
GC: 22
OC: 30
TS: 22
AA: 23

I was very proud of my TS and AA scores but my PA score puts me in a love/hate relationship with my scores. I know it's hard for people to answer since we aren't admissions faculty but do you think my PA score will impact me in any significant way?

I did some research and heard UoP might be one school out of reach since they look at PA more than most schools. Obviously there are many factors like GPA/etc but are some schools out of the option for me due to PA scores alone?

Do you think it will be brought up in the interview, hoping I get one 😀, when I apply?

I definitely shouldn't retake right?

Side note: big thanks to everyone who posted their DAT breakdowns they really helped me learn what resources I needed to use and also helped me stay motivated. If anyone has any questions or wants me to post a breakdown on everything I did to study except for the PA apparently haha I would be more than happy to.

You should be fine, the rest of your scores are great!

The average PAT score of accepted students is a little higher than 17. I think the 17 is the average for all test takers. Hope that helps.

 

[BrightTeeth]

Thanks for all the input Sirabi and dyesht. This definitely makes me feel more at ease with my PA score.

 

[DMikes]

You're good to go.