Odd, irrelevant, random question

[Tzips]

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Is it just me, or is there something a bit off about the DAT percentiles? I mean, one of the things i vaguely remember learning in math is that it's impossible to score in the hundreth perncentile, for that implies that one scored better than 100% of the people taking the test, which is obviously impossible. So how can one get a score that's in the hundreth percentile on the DAT?? (yes, i admit it; in RC, because i'm a serious bookworm).

any insights would be appreciated - it's one of those nit-picky details that have been bothering me since i got my scores.

 

[sonicultrascrub]

Is it just me, or is there something a bit off about the DAT percentiles? I mean, one of the things i vaguely remember learning in math is that it's impossible to score in the hundreth perncentile, for that implies that one scored better than 100% of the people taking the test, which is obviously impossible. So how can one get a score that's in the hundreth percentile on the DAT?? (yes, i admit it; in RC, because i'm a serious bookworm).

any insights would be appreciated - it's one of those nit-picky details that have been bothering me since i got my scores.

i saw a perfect 30 for sciences as 99.9%... i don't think schools really care about RC

 

[Tzips]

thank you for the insight, but that didn't answer my question, and, in fact, was a totally tangetial peice of info (worse even than my question 🙂 )

 

[jessUMD]

Is it just me, or is there something a bit off about the DAT percentiles? I mean, one of the things i vaguely remember learning in math is that it's impossible to score in the hundreth perncentile, for that implies that one scored better than 100% of the people taking the test, which is obviously impossible. So how can one get a score that's in the hundreth percentile on the DAT?? (yes, i admit it; in RC, because i'm a serious bookworm).

any insights would be appreciated - it's one of those nit-picky details that have been bothering me since i got my scores.

the percentiles are so jacked up anyway. i got a 21 and on my test, that was 96.6%, and a friend of mine got a 21 and it was only 91%. who knows. all the tests are different.

but schools definitely do care about the RC section, because that section reflects a lot of what dental school is about. i can't remember if it was barron's or what, but i read somewhere that the whole point of that section - reading quickly and being able to gauge the most important topics quickly without getting bogged down with extraneous detail - is what mastering your work in dental school is all about. think about the sheer volume of reading you'll be assigned. there is no way to thoroughly read it all - you'll have to skim most of it and be able to decide which areas are worth your time. your RC score reflects, to some extent, your ability to do that. well, at least your ability RIGHT NOW. of course that is a skill that takes practice for any of you who didn't do too hot on that sectoin.

 

[sonicultrascrub]

thank you for the insight, but that didn't answer my question, and, in fact, was a totally tangetial peice of info (worse even than my question 🙂 )

i think you're bitter

 

[sonicultrascrub]

but schools definitely do care about the RC section, because that section reflects a lot of what dental school is about. i can't remember if it was barron's or what, but i read somewhere that the whole point of that section - reading quickly and being able to gauge the most important topics quickly without getting bogged down with extraneous detail - is what mastering your work in dental school is all about. think about the sheer volume of reading you'll be assigned. there is no way to thoroughly read it all - you'll have to skim most of it and be able to decide which areas are worth your time. your RC score reflects, to some extent, your ability to do that. well, at least your ability RIGHT NOW. of course that is a skill that takes practice for any of you who didn't do too hot on that sectoin.

I don't know, but to me it seems that reading is also important in the science sections... i don't know, i'm probably wrong about this one, sorry.

 

[45540]

I would assume that only one person per test could be in the 100th percentile, but that's never happened as far as I can see ...

 

[MrBenny]

Schools don't see the percentiles. so why does it matter anyway?

 

[Tzips]

I would assume that only one person per test could be in the 100th percentile, but that's never happened as far as I can see ...

not even that - hundreth percentile means you've done better than 100% of the people taking the test, which is impossible because you are included in that number, and you can't have done better than yourself. Maybe it's really like 99.99% and they're just rounding. oh well.

 

[Tzips]

Schools don't see the percentiles. so why does it matter anyway?

It doesn't - i was just curious about what seemed to be a mathematical impossibility. Hence the title of this thread 🙂

 

[MrBenny]

It doesn't - i was just curious about what seemed to be a mathematical impossibility. Hence the title of this thread 🙂

fair enough.

 

[JavadiCavity]

Two things:

1. Percentiles--I'm not completely sure on this, but I think the percentiles represent a statistical probability. In essence, the percentile doesn't indicate that you did better than 100% of the applicants. Instead, it indicates that statistically, if you score a 29 or 30, you should have scored better than 100% of the OTHER test takers.

2. Schools DO see percentiles. I used to believe that schools never saw the percentiles, but it's not true. At my UOP interview, the interviewer had my file open right in front of me. I saw my DAT scores, and underneath my DAT scores in red ink were written the percentiles for each section. Apparently, if a school wants to know the percentiles, they can access that information.

 

[Tzips]

Two things:

1. Percentiles--I'm not completely sure on this, but I think the percentiles represent a statistical probability. In essence, the percentile doesn't indicate that you did better than 100% of the applicants. Instead, it indicates that statistically, if you score a 29 or 30, you should have scored better than 100% of the OTHER test takers.

2. Schools DO see percentiles. I used to believe that schools never saw the percentiles, but it's not true. At my UOP interview, the interviewer had my file open right in front of me. I saw my DAT scores, and underneath my DAT scores in red ink were written the percentiles for each section. Apparently, if a school wants to know the percentiles, they can access that information.

ahhhh... thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Sprgrover]

Two things:

1. Percentiles--I'm not completely sure on this, but I think the percentiles represent a statistical probability. In essence, the percentile doesn't indicate that you did better than 100% of the applicants. Instead, it indicates that statistically, if you score a 29 or 30, you should have scored better than 100% of the OTHER test takers.

Just to add onto what Java has said - I have been told that the percentiles reflect your performance relative to the other test takers within a defined period of time which is usually every six weeks for the DAT. That is why two people can have the same score on a given section, but took the exam a couple of months apart, and thus can (and often do) have different percentiles.