pokes' official what-do-you-think dat thread

[pokes]

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Took it for the first time after about 2 weeks of good studying. I used chad's videos (which were excellent), kaplan bb (which was decent), topscore, and achiever; the usual. I did way better on the actual test than I did on practices.

Anyway, here are my scores:

PAT: 19
QR: 17
RC: 24
BIO: 17
GCHEM: 17
OCHEM: 19
TS: 18
AA: 19

With a 3.5 science, and 3.8 overall GPA, applying to OK (in-state), with 100+ shadow hours, dental mission trip experience, and involvement in several on-campus orgs, including VP of ASDA...would you retake? I frankly don't want to

 

[vlct0ria]

Took it for the first time after about 2 weeks of good studying. I used chad's videos (which were excellent), kaplan bb (which was decent), topscore, and achiever; the usual. I did way better on the actual test than I did on practices.

Anyway, here are my scores:

PAT: 19
QR: 17
RC: 24
BIO: 17
GCHEM: 17
OCHEM: 19
TS: 18
AA: 19

With a 3.5 science, and 3.8 overall GPA, applying to OK (in-state), with 100+ shadow hours, dental mission trip experience, and involvement in several on-campus orgs, including VP of ASDA...would you retake? I frankly don't want to

I would retake for the bio and gchem sections...but its up to you. What were your Topscore practice scores?

 

[pokes]

I would retake for the bio and gchem sections...but its up to you. What were your Topscore practice scores?

I was getting like a 14-15 topscore TS, 16-18 AA. In achiever, I was getting like 13-14 in science 😱

 

[srb711]

you got all the stats for OU so, assuming you're a resident, I wouldn't plan on retaking unless Dr. Jones tells you to (definitely e-mail or call him and see what he thinks)

 

[pokes]

you got all the stats for OU so, assuming you're a resident, I wouldn't plan on retaking unless Dr. Jones tells you to (definitely e-mail or call him and see what he thinks)

That's the plan--I've got a heavy load this semester and I can't foresee myself having any more time to prepare for it than I did this time. Granted, I would have the advantage of experience, but I felt like this score was some sort of miracle considering the difficulty of questions I received.

I've spoken with some dentists and current dental students who think it's good enough to get in. Plus I did a mental memory dump of anything related to undergrad 😉

 

[jorasic]

You have to realize that getting 19s TS isn't hard at all.
Anyone who studies a good 2 months should get at least 19 in sciences.
And schools know this. The reason for making students taking the DATs is to see how well they might do on the Board exams. And while the DAT has a lot of non science sections, the Boards wil be mostly science. Admissions comms know that it getting a 17-18 on sciences means the student didn't study as hard, especially if you took it this late in the summer. I know this cus I asked 3 schools. And though your avg went up cus of RC, Science is the most important score on your DAT.

You've got a good GPA, don't let your DATs bring you down!
Aim higher and trust me, you can easily get 22+ in sciences if you retake and study a little more. Study HARDER!

But if you wanna just get in anywhere, those scores might do it. Def. look at averages and know that the avg goes down by people who get in with Post Bacs and such. Good luck!

 

[denner]

you got all the stats for OU so, assuming you're a resident, I wouldn't plan on retaking unless Dr. Jones tells you to (definitely e-mail or call him and see what he thinks)

this

 

[pokes]

You have to realize that getting 19s TS isn't hard at all.

That's surprising, because, what, only 20% of takers get that?

I realize SDN represents some of the best pre-dental students, and usually only the ones with *excellent* scores even bother posting them.

I appreciate your advice. Frankly, I'm not sure I'm going to have the time this fall to really study like I would like to. I spent about 2 weeks studying for the DAT, and after reading most of this thread I think I'm fairly satisfied with my score. Post-bacc students have no effect on the DAT average anyway, and I'm above the board on that. Also, OU looks at AA mostly, from talking to people. They don't even care about the PAT, which is interesting.

 

[pokes]

I know this cus I asked 3 schools.

Adding to my previous post, remember that every school is vastly different. I visited OU and had a little admissions seminar with the dean of admissions, who (paraphrased) pretty much said the PAT was a crock and a waste of time. OU's website even says the PAT isn't factored into a student's application.

I use this as an example, because there are some schools that really emphasize the PAT. So if you talked to them, you would probably think the PAT was really important.