Retake advice ?

[shahz]

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Hey guys, so just took my DAT and need some advice if I should retake or not.

Pat: 20
Bio: 19
Gen chem: 24
Orgo: 18 🙁
Rc: 19
Qr: 19

Ts:19
AA:20

I started studying in June and took a break for two weeks in July and went back into it last week of July. So I studied about 3+ months.

Honestly I'm the most bummed out about Orgo. I still can't wrap my head around how I scored an 18 because there was only about 3-4 questions I was iffy about. Orgo was my strongest section when I was studying for the test. I never scored below 21 on any practice tests. During the test I was expecting a high 20 for Orgo and gen chem I expected the same because it was really easy.

Bio was my weakest science section during my review. For the actual DAT I honestly felt like it was fair section. I had a bunch of questions asking about things I had never seen before. So I'm ok with these scores because my Bootcamp scores were in the 17-19 range.

Qr was my weakest section from the whole test. I honestly put in sooo much effort for this section so I was pretty content with a 19 because I was getting 15-17 on my practice test. Same goes for Rc, I barely practiced for the reading so I'm not too upset about 19 but I was aiming for a 20 in this section. I ran out of time for both qr and rc.

My Gpa is 3.8, I'm just a terrible standardized test taker. I plan to apply for the coming cycle. I have a few EC but my plan till June is to stack up on more EC. I would've been content with my scores if it wasn't for my low Orgo score. Super bummed out about this, on how my best section ends up being the worst on the real DAT. I know I'm capable of doing better but I honestly studied so hard for this test. I put in everything I had.

Sorry for the long post but I just need some advice if I should retake. Was anybody in the same shoes as me with a high gpa and average DAT score ? And if they didn't retake what was their result ? Btw I'm from Ny and prefer instate but I know I have no shot at Columbia and stony with these scores. Any advice will be helpful. Thank you !

 

[8_man]

Nahhh you're fine! don't retake. Good job on your DAT btw

 

[Carlsaganlvr10]

Your GPA is great and your scores are good. I would not retake. Work on those ECs. Good luck.

 

[Diethylzinc]

Dude you're golden. I really wouldn't worry about your DAT scores.

 

[stormingorman17]

Don't stress out about it, those scores are great! You're above all the cutoffs and above the average for matriculated students. Work on the rest of your app now and relax a bit!

 

[Dentalco2020]

Discrepancy between your expectation and the actual scores could be because the test is standardized.
You mentioned that the test was fairly easy. If that's the case, other people might have found the exam easy as well.
So, if most people did very well on that particular version of exam and you missed 2-3 more questions than those people, score of 18 is definitely possible even if you thought the test was easy.

So getting an easy test is not necessarily a good thing sometimes because there will be a bunch of people who do well on it.

 

[Dentalco2020]

Don't stress out about it, those scores are great! You're above all the cutoffs and above the average for matriculated students. Work on the rest of your app now and relax a bit!

I think he/she is right on the average mark of matriculated students (Except Gchem)
nonetheless, it's a good set of scores. With his/her GPA, there's definitely a good chance!

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

Hi Shahz,

Your decision to retake should be based on your specific expectations and goals. For general admission to dental school, your scores are solid as is, particularly considering your GPA. If you decide that you really want to attend a specific, competitive school like Columbia (23 DAT average), it will be helpful to consider all aspects of your application as well as your available timeline for retaking the exam. Feel free to private message me to discuss further.

Thanks!
Alicia

 

[Dasaniii]

Hi Shahz,

Your decision to retake should be based on your specific expectations and goals. For general admission to dental school, your scores are solid as is, particularly considering your GPA. If you decide that you really want to attend a specific, competitive school like Columbia (23 DAT average), it will be helpful to consider all aspects of your application as well as your available timeline for retaking the exam. Feel free to private message me to discuss further.

Thanks!
Alicia

I second this. Really depends on what school you want to go to. Personally, I decided to re-take my DAT because I knew I could do better on my second attempt, and I wanted to apply to prestigious schools. However, I think you have a decent shot for most schools since 19AA/20TS is close to the average DAT, and your GPA is pretty high.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

I second this. Really depends on what school you want to go to. Personally, I decided to re-take my DAT because I knew I could do better on my second attempt, and I wanted to apply to prestigious schools. However, I think you have a decent shot for most schools since 19AA/20TS is close to the average DAT, and your GPA is pretty high.

I third this - a decision to retake in this case should be very much dependent on your specific dental school goals. Your scores right now are good enough to get into dental schools if you apply broadly, but if you're very confident you can do better and want to be more selective about where you attend, retaking is something to seriously consider. @Dasaniii is a great example of someone with scores that were 'good enough' but still made a considerable improvement on the retake.

 

[shahz]

@FeralisExtremum @Dasaniii @Next Step Tutor Thank you for the advice everyone! I'm definitely leaning towards retaking!