My DAT...Aug 13 DAT

[bennijai]

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so i took the exam today and lets say i didnt do all great.

pat 25
qr 18
rc 22
bio 18
chem 16
orgo 16
ts 17
aa 18

i did very poor and im really bummed out about it since i spent the whole summer studying. ill have to pick myself back up after a few days of rest.

bio - i used kaplan and lets say less than 50% of kaplans material was in it.
chem & orgo - i dont know what i did wrong...i scored pretty high on topscore (19,21) i guess it was a fluke.
qr-u are bummed rushed on this section
reading-not bad, lots of detail questions instead of tone.

crappy thing happened tho, we had a fire alarm and we had to all leave the testing site for a good 15 min...i guess a second break? but it was in the middle of my science section...

so now i am in need of ADVICE. i already sent my apps (paid the $735) and i know many schools have cut offs at 17 (there goes my chances). i am applying to buff, stony, nyu, columbia, nj, uconn, upenn, tufts, maryland, and boston. im already sending my scores to the in state schools (ny) and left the rest out. should i even bother sending in my scores to the rest of the schools i applied to?

my gpa is a 3.0, my sci is a 3.38 [bio major]. im pretty active in my school's community and im embarassed to say but i am the president of my schools dental club. i dont know how much they take into consideration for extracurriculars...but i assume not much since i dont hear about it alot.

i plan on taking the dat's again but im planning to adjust my studying materials. if i take it in dec i wont make it for the 08 cycle will i?

i would really appreciate your advice guys. thanx.

 

[jigabodo]

First off, congrats on finishing the DAT! You really nailed that PAT section with a 25. Imo, the 16s may not affect you as much as you think, because not all schools have cutoffs. In addition, even if some schools do, I doubt that they are all that strict about it, since last year's DAT avg for some schools are around 18-19ish.

Your DAT is not as bad as you think, in fact I would consider it a pretty darn solid score, as im sure a lot of people would kill for that 25 in PAT. That being said, I def. think you have a chance with this score, but retaking it and get a 20+ in AA would pbb compensate more for your GPA. Its really up to you.

P.S. I think we pbb got pretty similar versions of DAT...my bio had like less than 50% of the stuff from Kaplan too...

 

[Jo07]

As far as I know, Nov isn't too late to take the test. I'm taking mine on Aug 23 and if I do terrible I'm planning on retaking Nov 23rd. Plenty of people turn their scores in later than SDN people do and get in.

 

[predentlsu1]

When ya'll say less than 50% from Kaplan.......I understand where you are coming from. I took the test last Feb and did not feel that the Bio was at all representative of what was in Kaplan. Did ya'll use any other study materials (Destroyer...Achiever etc.)? I am taking it again in 4 weeks and have been using the campbells bio book alot and the Destroyer. I feel like I have a much better background of bio this time around.....I guess we will see.

 

[jigabodo]

When ya'll say less than 50% from Kaplan.......I understand where you are coming from. I took the test last Feb and did not feel that the Bio was at all representative of what was in Kaplan. Did ya'll use any other study materials (Destroyer...Achiever etc.)? I am taking it again in 4 weeks and have been using the campbells bio book alot and the Destroyer. I feel like I have a much better background of bio this time around.....I guess we will see.

I've used Achiever and Topscore in attempt to supplement bio, but my main source was still the Kaplan book. In reality, even with TS+Achiever I feel like there are still a significant number of very specific yet random bio questions being asked. There are also some pretty tough questions that you would only know if you have taken upperdivision mol. bio lab which I thought was pretty unfair.

 

[predentlsu1]

Man that sucks, sorry bout that. I can honestly say I know how ya feel. Those are the exact same scores I made on my sciences last time. I know how bummed out you feel.....I went home and stayed in my room for like 2 days.....It is definately a humbling experience. It will get better though, ya just have to jump back on the horse. I feel more determined now than ever. Go ahead and retake the DAT again in Dec, yea schools are winding up their enrollment but if you blow it out the water you never know. Even if you dont get in you will still have your scores ready to go come May. Dont get too down about it.....I learn everyday that getting into dental school is much harder than I ever thought it would be, but that is alright we just gotta roll with the punches.

 

[littlemissy]

my honest opinion with the low sciences and gpa i would not apply this year and would make myself a very strong candidate for next cycle by enrolling in some grad classes and studying really hard for the dat. sorry man just wanna tell you how i see it.

 

[samirmerch]

I'm not sure if you want to try this, but in my opinion I would call the ADA and let them know about the fire alarm and ask them if you can have a retake since it disrupted you during your test (especially your science section). I would do it because you have nothing to lose right now except scores that you don't want anyways. Just my 2 cents...

SM

 

[Mstoothlady2012]

congrats on finishing! dont be disappointed...not every1 can do great the first time...since you have already applied I would suggest to retake and nail it the second time. Your scores arent that bad...they are just about average...

 

[jigabodo]

I still think you should just go ahead and send the schools the scores anyways and see what happens. You've already spent a lot of $$ on AADSAS application so why not just give it a shot? The worst thing would've happened is not getting in, and that would've happened anways if you decide not to send in your scores at all. Plus, it's not like you have a 2.5 with 16/16, you've got a 18/25 which really isnt a bad score at all.

 

[Bizznet]

I'm not sure if you want to try this, but in my opinion I would call the ADA and let them know about the fire alarm and ask them if you can have a retake since it disrupted you during your test (especially your science section). I would do it because you have nothing to lose right now except scores that you don't want anyways. Just my 2 cents...

SM

i second your opinion... try and find out if they are willing to work with you. Test is already stressful let alone having to come back where you left off.. 😱

I can't imagine how you were able to go back... I would have right then demanded a retake... Good luck.

 

[bennijai]

thanx for everyone's comments. so i guess my odds right now is really hanging by the thread if anything...

my apps are already in, so theres no point in withdrawing them. im planning to just see how it goes and schedule a retake sometime in nov/dec. if anything i always have next year to strengthen my weaknesses.

i need to go buy some other study guides since kaplan was no use. topscore was useful but i cant really say it was THAT useful.

 

[orthdent786]

i think you should contact the ADA also about the 15 minute break- even if they didn't cut the time, it made you lose your concentration etc. call them up try to get a retake, THEN buy the destroyer go through it a few times, review kaplan TS and achiever and retake! (shouldnt have to wait for 90 days if they give u permission)

 

[jswizdent]

Bennijai, scores are not bad. If you planning to apply the cycle of 2009 then just give it another go. If you are going to apply for the 2008 cycle, you might want to contact some schools or see if getting in on this cycle would be worth it. I did the same thing last year and applied late and it cost me some money. Like I said if you are going to apply for 2009 just relax for a couple months and retake, you will get it worked out, hard work sucks sometimes but it is worth it. good luck in whatever you plan to do.

 

[dentalgrl]

I agree with others - your scores aren't TERRIBLE or anything. Not bad...i think you definitely have some good chances. Awwesome pat!

One other question i had was, did you have to do the entire science section again because of the firedrill? I'm confused, as soon as that alarm went off, what happened? Is there a timer on the real DAT (just like in practice tests?)

 

[bennijai]

when the fire alarm went off i still had 16 minutes in my sci section. i was reviewing my answers at that point and trying to finish my incompletes.

i lost a few minutes (prolly 2-3?) because the lady had to come in and do something to everyone's computer. after the fire alarm we just went back to the testing and they said that they got our time back (which was a lie because my timer was on 13:54 and i had to figure out what i wrote down for my chem problem, so i wasted another minute decifering my scribbles, but its no excuse at this point).

i didnt mind i guess...i was annoyed that it went off but i got really annoyed when the fire alarm effected the a/c and that caused the 20 test takers in that room breathing each on each other. it was also annoying that the drill would go off every now and then but then they will shut it quickly after. so we had flashing lights throughout the whole exam but at least the alarm wasnt there.

ps. those noise blocking headphones are useless, instead of giving u piece and quiet its like puttin ur ear against a sea shell, u just hear air.

 

[Daniel Schruth]

That is absolute horsecrap! I would be furious if I were you. Definitley raise a fuss. Your scores are good though, but if you want to improve on them take it again.

I keep saying this over and over, but Schaums Bio is ridiculously good. I also used wikipedia alot for stuff that wasnt really covered anywhere. For example, fetal circulation & taxonomy stuff is covered very clearly on wikipedia and tells you exactly the respiratory, sexual repro. facts, circulation, excretory systems of each group in the "tree of life".

hope that helps.