Mature Student with Low Scores on the DAT

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Dan

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15+ Year Member
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Jul 20, 2007
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I have only taken one class and that was my Chem 1000 ten years ago. I thought that I would challenge the DAT before starting on my remaining course work. I have about six or seven courses that I need to complete so I have the prerequisites done. I have a Bachelors and a Masters in Clinical Social Work and have been practicing for five years since my graduate work. The scores I received yesterday were:

PAT-18
QR-10
RC-15
Bio-11
GC-13
OC-9
Total Sc-11
AA-12

I know that I will re-write the DAT after I complete my coursework as I did not have any prior knowledge except for one course in Chemistry. I am applying to Detriot, Nebraska, Mid-western and Saskatewan (In Canada). I know I probably don't have alot of hope for this cycle but I thought that I am not getting any younger at the same time. I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks for your time,

Dan

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you need to finish your science pre-reqs and do well in all of them so you can leave with an understanding of the core sciences. I think it was a wrong move to just take the DAT to see how you'll do because those scores are very low. With having a bachelors and a masters, you will definitely will have an advantage as long as you ace your pre-dental pre-reqs.

Wait until you finish those courses, study a month or so then retake the DAT. Make sure you use the forum to search for study materials and get tons of practice before you retake it.

Good luck.
 
This Dan guy can't be for real..Why would you take the DAT without all of the pre-req courses behind you? Good luck and God bless!!
 
Thanks for the advice. I plan on re-taking the DAT when I complete my courses. I thought that I would take the DAT as I am not getting any younger I would rather be in this admission cycle then next for sake of time. Thanks for the input!
 
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You have a lot of work. The 9 and the 10 are almost the equivalent of guessing all the way through.
I am still confused about why you would take the test if not prepared. It is not like you are taking it just to beat the deadline for the application.

you can study hard for the next 6 months, take the test and then apply (still considered early).
the fact you took the test unprepared makes me wonder if you are serious...
 
Whatever you plan on doing Good Luck..

Just a couple of concerns..

If you are planning on applying this upcoming cycle, I worry that you would be able to finish all of your science credits that dental schools want completed before you attend (at the least you will have to bust your ass, all while maintaining a good sGPA). Probably will involve even retaking your Chem 1000 credits bc they were from 10 years ago.

Also, you said that you were gonna apply to a few state side schools, and then you threw in a Canadian d-school. I am not very familiar w/ how the the provincial d-schools work, but personally have never heard of a US citizen going to one. I looked into it a couple years back bc I am a dual-citizen w/ Canada, and came to the conclusion that unless your a resident of the province d-school you would be applying to, don't waste your breath.

If anyone can indulge me in the topic US citizens attending Canadian d-schools, it would be of interest to me I guess bc I am a Can/US mutt. I don't really care to open a separate thread bc I really have no interest of attending school up north, just moreso curious.
 
Saskatchewan is my provincial school and unless you have a perfect gpa there is no point in applying if you are out of province. DAT is only weighted 15% in application so if you have an awesome gpa and not great dat scores i guess you could try. They only look at your gpa when deciding who to interview and the cutoff for out of province applicants has been 88 - 90% last couple of years. I dont know what U.S gpa that is equivalent too.
 
Dan, the best advice I can give you is to take the time to study the materials and thoroughly prepare the DAT before you apply for Dental School. Without a good score, many dental schools won't even give you an interview.

As far as review materials go, Kaplan wasn't the greatest help for me. I liked the DAT Destroyer better. There's another interesting option I found about in another thread.

The UMKC School of Dentistry is offering a DAT Prep Course. It's developed and taught by professors from UMKC. It costs $395 to enroll which is 1/3 the price of Kaplan's self directed course. I also read that one of their professors, Dr. Gounev has written actual test questions for the DAT.

Thanks for all of the information. I knew that I would probably not do well as I had only taken one of the courses. I am working on the courses now and plan to take the DAT in the summer or early fall when I have completed all of my course work. Thanks again!

Dan
 
Man i wish i had all that money to just throw away. Taking the DAT is not free after all and applying to school isn't any cheaper. Lucky fella if you need somewhere to better throw your money i could use a dental school loan.
 
Man i wish i had all that money to just throw away. Taking the DAT is not free after all and applying to school isn't any cheaper. Lucky fella if you need somewhere to better throw your money i could use a dental school loan.

It's all an investment for my future. If I paid $700 and got in a year earlier or it gave me the extra practice which improved my DAT score in the end I wouldn't mind it. I have a family to support and obligations to pay monthly which is a huge stress right now. I knew that when I made the decision in November that I was going into Dentistry that it would not be an easy process. I know that the sacrifice I make now will benefit me and my family in the end. I appreciate all feedback. Thanks for taking the time. Hey, if you find a source of money our there don't hesitate to send some my way! Good Luck with everything!
 
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