need honest opinion!

Started by ddslee
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ddslee

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Hey guys..

I am re-applying to this cycle and took DAT last year..

PAT:26
QR:25
Bio:20
Ochem:29
Gchem:22
Reading:17
TS:21
AA:22

I didnt get into anywhere obviously. with that DAT score...so I am retaking DAT but wasn't sure if it would make any differences...

Would you retake it?
 
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ddslee said:
Hey guys..

I am re-applying to this cycle and took DAT last year..

PAT:26
QR:25
Bio:20
Ochem:29
Gchem:22
Reading:17
TS:21
AA:22

I didnt get into anywhere obviously. with that DAT score...so I am retaking DAT but wasn't sure if it would make any differences...

Would you retake it?
Click to expand...

is ur gpa a 0.001? and have u been accused of manslaughter or something lol, how did you not get in with a 97-99% percentile?
 
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Don't know if you want to post them but everyone is going to be wondering what the rest of your transcript looks like. Your RC is your weak point (but not absolutely terrible) but most dental schools will easily forgive that with the rest of your scores. I don't think I'd retake if I were you (anyone disagree please chime in) but focus on improving the rest of your transcript.
 
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This also worries me because I have a 23 AA with a 17 in RC. I'm applying this year. Did you get any interviews? If so, how did you think you did? Do you know anything that may have signaled a red flag??

Also... WHERE did you apply? How many schools?
 
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ddslee said:
Hey guys..

I am re-applying to this cycle and took DAT last year..

PAT:26
QR:25
Bio:20
Ochem:29
Gchem:22
Reading:17
TS:21
AA:22

I didnt get into anywhere obviously. with that DAT score...so I am retaking DAT but wasn't sure if it would make any differences...

Would you retake it?
Click to expand...

nope.... retaking a 22AA is like running into a hungry Lion and hoping to win a fist fight
 
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honeslty you scores are ALL GREAT. a 17 in reading, isnt horrible. maybe you just didnt pick the right schools or enough schools for that matter. also make sure your personal statment is perfect. do you have volunteer hours? all of these things are just as important as grades in my opinion.
 
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A 17 RC score is bad. I've been told by a couple of Admissions Directors that the RC is very critical as it is a reliable predictor of one's success in dental school. A 17 QR or PAT score is ok as they are lenient here but not so much with RC.

Why do you think I'm stressing so much about RC?

I would retake with the understanding that your scores in other subjects will be lower. But that's ok. Schools would rather see you get 21s across the board than high/super high scores in most of the subjects but with a 17 in something critical as RC.
 
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LetsGo2DSchool said:
A 17 RC score is bad. I've been told by a couple of Admissions Directors that the RC is very critical as it is a reliable predictor of one's success in dental school. A 17 QR or PAT score is ok as they are lenient here but not so much with RC.

Why do you think I'm stressing so much about RC?
Click to expand...

Preparing for RC is like trying to hit a bullseye blindfolded. I had a fever during my test day so my brain mentally blanked out and could not continue the test. But there are also a lot of people who have low RC scores and are extremely successful.

I also hear the 17 across the boards is the cutoff for MOST schools.
 
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Thinking about it again, something has to be wrong about the applicant. If every single school rejected him/her, then it can't be because of the 17 RC score.

There's a reason why the applicant didn't get admitted. There must be something about the application we don't know. Perhaps terrible/immature interviews? No shadowing hours? Criminal record? Who knows but something must be wrong.
 
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hahaha Thanks for the great info..
Honestly, I didn't get any interviews...I had about more than 300 shadowing hrs back then..
I am not an criminal either...
I am pretty sure I didn't get into some schools because of RC ..( I found out by calling them after their rejection letters..) Some schools..no idea......I am reapplying so its all good..

the question is...should I take DAT again? some said yes..some said no....
fist fight with lion..I like that! lol

Hopefully I will get in this cycle? hahaha
 
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ddslee said:
hahaha Thanks for the great info..
Honestly, I didn't get any interviews...I had about more than 300 shadowing hrs back then..
I am not an criminal either...
I am pretty sure I didn't get into some schools because of RC ..( I found out by calling them after their rejection letters..) Some schools..no idea......I am reapplying so its all good..

the question is...should I take DAT again? some said yes..some said no....
fist fight with lion..I like that! lol

Hopefully I will get in this cycle? hahaha
Click to expand...

Here is the problem with retaking.... HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU'LL GET HIGHER THAN 17 RC this time? Cause let me tell you, unless your gonna get a 19RC or higher, its simply not worth risking that 22AA

People throw the word "retake" like its a guarantee to fix RC. Unfortunately, thats never the case. You could retake, get lucky with some easy passages (do better), or end up with ****tier passages and do WORSE.....

If you want to maximize your chances today, the ONLY thing you can do to increase competitiveness is to apply to 20 schools. If you get rejected by 20 schools, there is no way in hell it was the RC, something else is stinking up that diaper.
 
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I really think there is something else going on with your application. Maybe you applied late? crappy LORs? Bad personal statement? Didn't apply to enough schools? etc.

With scores and GPA like that, there HAS to be another reason you didnt get ANY interviews. I would be weary about a retake, but i would call EVERY school you are interested in for an answer about your DAT score. If they all say retake...do it. If some say retake and some dont, apply to the ones who say you dont need to.
 
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When exactly did you apply last cycle? Not questioning you or anything, but it just doesn't make sense. I saw people who applied last cycle who got the same RC and lower in majority of the other subjects compared to you and have a slightly lower GPA and they still got in. Could be other factors like dru180 said...
 
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nimman1126 said:
When exactly did you apply last cycle? Not questioning you or anything, but it just doesn't make sense. I saw people who applied last cycle who got the same RC and lower in majority of the other subjects compared to you and have a slightly lower GPA and they still got in. Could be other factors like dru180 said...
Click to expand...

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either.
I have no idea why you didn't get ANY interviews and that strikes an eye. It's something worth observing into. I'm cautious of retaking the DATs. My adviser suggested that I not take it because of my sciences (25 TS).

When did you apply? That could be a major factor
 
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I applied 10 schools and yea.....besides RC..maybe it was PS...

LORs ...even if it is LORs...I can't do anything...

hopefully it was PS....I re-write the whole thing again for this upcoming one...

I really don't wanna waste another year..so I am not going to take any risk sending the same stat as last year hoping that I will get into somewhere.....so I am signed up for the DAT again..even if it means I might get low scores..which is possible..I don't think I could do better when I got that score last year..especially getting perfect on ochem and 26/25 on PAT and QR..I think i missed 3 or 4 on angle one..I was so sure about others that I had about 8 mins left...So..I am gonna show admissions that I can do it again!

Yea...bottom line..I shouldn't take DAT but I signed up and studied for 2 months..taking it next week..hopefully I can able to improve RCs....If I do..i will come back and post like all others!!

Thanks for all the inputs!!!
 
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ddslee said:
I am pretty sure I didn't get into some schools because of RC ..( I found out by calling them after their rejection letters..)
Click to expand...

What did I tell you boys. The RC is very critical, more so than most people think.

While most of you are making wrong assumptions, my info is from the source. Over these past two years through various methods, I have connected with a half dozen admissions offices, meaning I have a continuous dialogue with Deans/Associate Deans of Admissions and Directors/Associate Directors of Admissions at these schools. And this isn't about just emailing them an admissions/application question every now and then. In fact, with a couple of them, we joke around and talk a bit about sports in our conversations.

This is what they tell me and I'll reiterate it again:

They want to see 20s (or better) across the board in Bio, GChem, OChem, RC.

They are lenient with PAT and QR.

They would rather see, for example, 20s in Bio/GChem/OChem/RC than 24s in Bio/GChem/RC but 18 in OChem.

I'll say this: about half of the info on SDN regarding what Admissions are seeking and how they evaluate/analyze candidates is flat out WRONG. Be careful about what you read.
 
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LetsGo2DSchool said:
They want to see 20s (or better) across the board in Bio, GChem, OChem, RC.

They are lenient with PAT and QR.

They would rather see, for example, 20s in Bio/GChem/OChem/RC than 24s in Bio/GChem/RC but 18 in OChem.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that example man... clearly student B is better than student A in every subject by a much larger margin except OC where he is only slightly worse... If I was adcom I would take student B over A any day.
 
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JOoa0ky said:
I don't know about that example man... clearly student B is better than student A in every subject by a much larger margin except OC where he is only slightly worse... If I was adcom I would take student B over A any day.
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Again you're making a faulty assumption of what you think is better.

Look at it from this perspective....

OChem is a better barometer of one's ability to grasp difficult science classes. OChem is the course that keeps many pre-med/pre-dents out of med/dental school.

Anyone can get A's in biology courses as it's just a matter of memorizing the material. So if you put in the time, you should do well here. Can't say the same about OChem. I knew so many analytically-challenged classmates in my OChem classes who couldn't hack it, despite spending many hours studying, and despite achieving A's in less intense science classes.

Thus, 18 score in OChem draws a huge red flag. Admissions want to see consistency.

Hey, I'm just telling what I know from the source.
 
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LetsGo2DSchool said:
Again you're making a faulty assumption of what you think is better.

Look at it from this perspective....

OChem is a better barometer of one's ability to grasp difficult science classes. OChem is the course that keeps many pre-med/pre-dents out of med/dental school.

Anyone can get A's in biology courses as it's just a matter of memorizing the material. So if you put in the time, you should do well here. Can't say the same about OChem. I knew so many analytically-challenged classmates in my OChem classes who couldn't hack it, despite spending many hours studying, and despite achieving A's in less intense science classes.

Thus, 18 score in OChem draws a huge red flag. Admissions want to see consistency.

Hey, I'm just telling what I know from the source.
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hahaha this is soooo not the case for our school. I would vomit everyday if I were to take all my mcb bio core classes in cal.
 
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Actually I've found that if you truly understand GC conceptually, OC will look like a completely different animal. 😀

Also, the more advanced bio courses were definitely much more than rote memorization and in my honest opinion, cell bio was definitely much harder than OC. Though, that is all just from my own experience.
 
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its all memorization to me. but OP you should just apply to more schools and fix your PS. and make sure you LOR's are good. If there negative information in there that could be the reason why!
 
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ddslee said:
Hey guys..

I am re-applying to this cycle and took DAT last year..

PAT:26
QR:25
Bio:20
Ochem:29
Gchem:22
Reading:17
TS:21
AA:22

I didnt get into anywhere obviously. with that DAT score...so I am retaking DAT but wasn't sure if it would make any differences...

Would you retake it?
Click to expand...

I highly doubt it will make a difference. It's not your weak link, that's for sure
 
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