Opinions on a DAT retake!

[sportsguy20]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello all,

So I just completed the DAT today and sadly so, I think this will only be round 1 for me.

To get straight to the question, I am really considering whether or not to retake the DAT in July.

My scores today were:
18 AA
17 Bio 🙁
19 GC
19 OC
18 TS
19 RC
18 QR
21 PAT

My cum.GPA is 3.78 and my sci.GPA is 3.62.

I have had a little over a year of researcher experience, around 30 hours shadowing, have had at least 1 job since I started college, been a tutor at the school, in the honors program at my school and recently accepted into Who's Who Among American College Students.

I am wondering what your opinion is on a retake possibility in the future for me with all things considered is?

Thank you ahead for your responses!

 

[bipster10]

Hello all,

So I just completed the DAT today and sadly so, I think this will only be round 1 for me.

To get straight to the question, I am really considering whether or not to retake the DAT in July.

My scores today were:
18 AA
17 Bio 🙁
19 GC
19 OC
18 TS
19 RC
18 QR
21 PAT

My cum.GPA is 3.78 and my sci.GPA is 3.62.

I have had a little over a year of researcher experience, around 30 hours shadowing, have had at least 1 job since I started college, been a tutor at the school, in the honors program at my school and recently accepted into Who's Who Among American College Students.

I am wondering what your opinion is on a retake possibility in the future for me with all things considered is?

Thank you ahead for your responses!

Well...first of all I would definitely retake...but the good thing is you have more than enough time so don't worry...your almost there!

It seems like most of your scores are pretty decent...you just might have to work on that bio and maybe qr a little bit...Bio is pretty random but you can definitely get that score up with some additional studying...In the DAT discussions section there are plenty of helpful threads to get you to the score you want.

Retake as soon as you feel prepared enough because you will want to apply early...Just make sure you study hard so no scores go down..that's what makes retaking especially tricky in your case...I'm guessing with a lot of studying, you can get that bio up to 19 and the other sciences 20+..

One yea one additional question...

What is your major?

 

[dentalWorks]

Hello all,

So I just completed the DAT today and sadly so, I think this will only be round 1 for me.

To get straight to the question, I am really considering whether or not to retake the DAT in July.

My scores today were:
18 AA
17 Bio 🙁
19 GC
19 OC
18 TS
19 RC
18 QR
21 PAT

My cum.GPA is 3.78 and my sci.GPA is 3.62.

I have had a little over a year of researcher experience, around 30 hours shadowing, have had at least 1 job since I started college, been a tutor at the school, in the honors program at my school and recently accepted into Who's Who Among American College Students.

I am wondering what your opinion is on a retake possibility in the future for me with all things considered is?

Thank you ahead for your responses!

retake will depend on how many schools you want to apply to.... If you have alot of schools on your list, you prolly won't need to retake.

You have a great GPA and a slightly lower-than-avrg DAT.

If I were you right now, I wouldn't worry too much about retake. I'd try to get some more shadowing and volunteering hours done before June roles around.

all the best

 

[slm266]

Retake. The good news is that after some study it will be hard to get lower on any of those scores bc they're all around 18. It would be another thing of you had a mix of 16-17 and 22-23, but you scored 18-19 consistently.

Retake and completely change your routine. I wonder if your higher GPA gave you too much confidence in your comprehension of the material.

Stick to the materials that everyone swears by: DAT destroyer, Cliffs AP bio, campbells biology, crackdat pat, KBB, math destroyer, ada sample test, ACS ochem study guide, topscore,...

 

[sportsguy20]

Well...first of all I would definitely retake...but the good thing is you have more than enough time so don't worry...your almost there!

It seems like most of your scores are pretty decent...you just might have to work on that bio and maybe qr a little bit...Bio is pretty random but you can definitely get that score up with some additional studying...In the DAT discussions section there are plenty of helpful threads to get you to the score you want.

Retake as soon as you feel prepared enough because you will want to apply early...Just make sure you study hard so no scores go down..that's what makes retaking especially tricky in your case...I'm guessing with a lot of studying, you can get that bio up to 19 and the other sciences 20+..

What is your major?

Thank you much for a quick response. I feel almost as if to belittle other Biology majors, but in response to your question, I am a biology major. That was part of the frustrating part for me. I am typically one of the top students in my classes, but was a little overwhelmed at the diversity of material on the test, even after going the DAT destroyer (although it was only one time).

Since I have been enrolled as a full-time student this Spring, I think that the month of May and June devoted strictly to the DAT will be a benefactor in boosting my scores to a more than likely retake. Once again, thanks for your opinion and honesty, just what I needed.

With that, onward to finals and back to DAT. Good luck in your studies!

 

[sportsguy20]

retake will depend on how many schools you want to apply to.... If you have alot of schools on your list, you prolly won't need to retake.

You have a great GPA and a slightly lower-than-avrg DAT.

If I were you right now, I wouldn't worry too much about retake. I'd try to get some more shadowing and volunteering hours done before June roles around.

all the best

Thank you for your response. I live in Texas and will be applying to all 3 schools here as well as the one in Louisville, KY (did a summer program there). My main reason for retaking would be to have the "luxury" of choosing my school. I really don't want to sound proud or haughty, I would basically just like to have reassurance through my score.

However, I do need to shadow more and failed to mention I weekly help at a local soup kitchen.

Thank you again for your response!

 

[sportsguy20]

Retake. The good news is that after some study it will be hard to get lower on any of those scores bc they're all around 18. It would be another thing of you had a mix of 16-17 and 22-23, but you scored 18-19 consistently.

Retake and completely change your routine. I wonder if your higher GPA gave you too much confidence in your comprehension of the material.

Stick to the materials that everyone swears by: DAT destroyer, Cliffs AP bio, campbells biology, crackdat pat, KBB, math destroyer, ada sample test, ACS ochem study guide, topscore,...

I really like your idea of changing my routine. I will be finishing my full-time Spring semester soon and will look into revamping my routines with a sole focus on the DAT.

I already have and have used most of the materials you suggested, I apparently just need to utilize them better, especially Biology.

I really dont feel that I had any amount of self-confidence based on my GPA. I knew I would be delving into a mass of information, I was just truly overwhelmed at the diversity of that mass on the test. I hope to work right past that before the retake.

If you have any other ideas, I'm all for it, thank you for your honesty.

 

[cariesRbad]

Retake. I know it's rough to hear the day you just took the test, but look at it like this. You have an a great GPA and a slightly subpar DAT score. Honestly, I believe these stats will get you in somewhere, probably your state school.

But here's the real key - you have plenty of time to get a retake in before the schools start looking at applications (August). So try to keep the material fresh in your head, and then set aside six weeks this summer and take it by the end of July. I guarantee you'll improve your test score, and thus solidify your acceptance.

 

[slm266]

I'd start studying passively now. Take your time and read slowly through Cliffs AP bio (and chapter summaries of campbells bio) and start going through chads videos for the chem's. If you don't have them, pick up the cheapest edition of the gen chem/o chem books that you used. Make flashcards for the ochem rxns and run thru them once a week for 5 min, and do the ACS ochem book once a month. Rethink your RC method (maybe search and destroy didn't work out, consider the Kaplan outline or others).

Learn, review, review, review.

 

[FutureDentalSt1]

I think you should definitely retake it....even one and a half months of solid 9 to 5 studying will bring up your score...best of luck to you!

 

[sportsguy20]

Retake. I know it's rough to hear the day you just took the test, but look at it like this. You have an a great GPA and a slightly subpar DAT score. Honestly, I believe these stats will get you in somewhere, probably your state school.

But here's the real key - you have plenty of time to get a retake in before the schools start looking at applications (August). So try to keep the material fresh in your head, and then set aside six weeks this summer and take it by the end of July. I guarantee you'll improve your test score, and thus solidify your acceptance.

I really like your response because it is essentially my exact thought process. I figured that I could apply and get into maybe one of the schools here in Texas, but honestly just wasn't too happy with my score overall, nor my chances being slim.

Also, the reason I took the test when I did was as a fall-back method in case I did need to take it to still be in the same application pool for next year and sadly so, I'm going to have to do exactly that.

I also did not know that schools didn't look at your application until August, I thought that they began looking as soon as all your materials were in. Thanks again.

I'd start studying passively now. Take your time and read slowly through Cliffs AP bio (and chapter summaries of campbells bio) and start going through chads videos for the chem's. If you don't have them, pick up the cheapest edition of the gen chem/o chem books that you used. Make flashcards for the ochem rxns and run thru them once a week for 5 min, and do the ACS ochem book once a month. Rethink your RC method (maybe search and destroy didn't work out, consider the Kaplan outline or others).

Learn, review, review, review.

I like your method for studying. I will probably do exactly that for the biology since I have both books, I just never used the Campbell the first time around.
The chemistry is also something I would like to improve on (as well as everything else), so I will start looking into resources for that. I have the ACS guides so will probably start using them as well as going back over the destroyer. As for the RC, I frankly didn't study it really. I took the 3 topscore tests and my scores were 20, 22, 23, so for that section I went in with a bit too much confidence and undermined myself. I will look into the Kaplan outline.

Thank you again for both responses, I really like to hear the advice you have for me.

I think you should definitely retake it....even one and a half months of solid 9 to 5 studying will bring up your score...best of luck to you!

That's probably what will end up happening for me. I will be finishing my Spring semester and then hitting the books focusing just on DAT so there are no other distractions. Thanks, and best of luck in your studies as well.

 

[Winter Wind]

retake will depend on how many schools you want to apply to.... If you have alot of schools on your list, you prolly won't need to retake.

You have a great GPA and a slightly lower-than-avrg DAT.

If I were you right now, I wouldn't worry too much about retake. I'd try to get some more shadowing and volunteering hours done before June roles around.

all the best

I agree that you don't have to worry too much about the retake. It's a decent score you can apply with and hey it was your first time taking it. Make sure the other areas of your application are on point. Remember DAT is just one area of your application and also your gpa can offset some of the DAT. As dentalworks suggested make sure you have shadowing and volunteering done. Good luck!