Please help, I need advice!

[predentalastudent]

Hi- I am scheduled to take my DAT next week but I don't feel prepared at all. I am not sure if I should show up and take it or if I should cancel it. The problem is that I applied this cycle because I was supposed to take my DAT in July. I've had some family issues at home so I had to push back my test multiple times. Other than the DAT, I think I have a strong application. Should I just take it and see if I can get in this cycle? Or should I withdraw everything and try again next cycle? I know it's late right now and my chances are low so I am not sure anymore. I also had a question, let's say I take the DAT and do terrible and don't get in. Does it look bad to have a test attempt with a low score when re-applying? I also wanted to know if schools average all the DAT scores, I have read conflicting things online so I was hoping someone might know. I am trying to think of the pros and cons of each choice. If I withdraw my application and cancel my DAT, is that worse than trying? And how does that look when I apply next cycle, would I be considered a re-applicant? Does withdrawing affect me negatively if I want to apply again? Please help me, I feel really lost and hopeless. Being a dentist has been my dream for so long I don't want to make the wrong decision. I would appreciate any help on what I should do. Thank you.

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[Ryxndek]

Personally, I think it would be a waste of money to withdraw your application if you've already submitted to schools. You've probably spent a good amount of time and money on your application and to just withdraw with no refund would be pretty difficult to look past financially at this point just with the amount of time and money put into the whole process.

To answer a couple of your questions, if you do poorly on the DAT, don't be discouraged. There are a lot of people who don't do well the first time. I took 8 practice exams and was scoring between 16AA and 19AA and I felt like I was going to fail the exam. However, if you've prepared yourself and know how to keep track of your time the exam ends up being a lot easier than you expect. Though if you haven't been preparing it may be difficult to cram all the information you need to know in the short amount of time you have. I wouldn't cancel your DAT. If you can push it back I would, but you should also understand that if you do, it will mean you're submitting your app pretty late into the cycle now which will diminish your chances of getting an interview. It takes like 4 weeks to verify and send to schools, give or take a week I'd say (some will take an uploaded unofficial score report though which you'll get immediately after completing the exam). Most schools have already sent their first or second round of invitations too.

If you do decide to apply, get a poor score and end up with no interviews and reapply next cycle it would depend on your stats, personally. If you, for example, get a 19AA and apply late you are much less likely to get an interview than getting a 19AA and applying as early as possible with a decent GPA and good EC's. Rolling admissions do make a difference and applying early shows schools you're committed to and want to attend dental school. But I would probably retake and prep and kill the exam to show schools next cycle that you want to go to school and you've taken the time to strengthen your application. They also will look at your most recent score, so if you do poorly and retake and do better they don't factor in that lower score other than seeing an improvement.

I don't know personally if withdrawing your application would worsen your chances to reapply next cycle. I also don't know if that would mean you'd have to count yourself as a reapplicant either. Hopefully someone with more knowledge could offer some insight into that. But at the end of the day, it's up to you to decide what decision is best for you. The process is tough, and it takes time, but I wish you the best of luck on your journey! I hope I was able to help a little bit in your dilemma.

 

[SoggyToast123]

what's your oGPA/sGPA? DAT practice test scores?

At this point in the cycle, I feel like the likelihood of you getting an acceptance, or even an interview, will be very low. Interviews for the next class started 3 months ago, and itll take 3-4 weeks for your DAT scores to become official. You also have to consider the time + cost it'll take to finish your secondary applications for each program.

Realistically, you probably won't be able to submit completed apps until late october-november. Maybe youll end up filling the last seat to an expensive private school, but here's what I would do instead:

Unless you're scoring 16s on all sections, just take the test. Noone ever feels prepared, and Its fine if you do poorly. you can use that fear/disappointment to study for your 2nd attempt DAT bc the adcoms only care about your best score. Start preparing for the next app cycle and be ready to submit it on day one.

delaying your DAT isnt going to increase your score if you've been delaying it since july and you aren't improving. What helped me is starting fresh with new study habits, material, etc, after evaluating what did and didn't work for me. You might need to do this too.

Gluck mate, u got this