Retake or Not Retake/Tell schools or Not tell schools

[destinedsirius]

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Hi everyone,

Here are my DAT scores:

Bio 20
GC 19
OC 18
PAT 22
RC 16 (sad, but I was only 18th percentile)
QR 18
AA 18 TS 19
(BTW My version of test was harder than Topscore.)

Total GPA 3.39
BCP 3.50
Science 3.35

I took this for first time on August 16. I'm thinking about retaking it, but I'm not sure yet. Since I can't retake for 3 months, the earliest date I can retake would be November 16. AADSAS is still in the process of sending out my official DAT scores and LOR so none of the schools have actually reviewed my application since it is not complete yet.

My friend who have talked to UCSF said that once they have reviewed the application and they don't like what they see the first time, they won't bother looking at the application the second time around if I send in the DAT retake scores later. I guess it's because they don't want to look at an application again that they have already decided that they don't like.

I can, however, tell them that I will be retaking the DAT which would have them hold off on reviewing my application until the retake scores are in. But November would be late in the cycle and AADSAS won't get to sending scores until December.

My question is just a matter of if I should let the schools know I will be retaking it. I'm thinking that if I let the schools know I'm retaking it, they won't at least put me in the "never look back" pile yet. But the downside is, even if my scores are better the second time around, my application would be on hold at least until December. And I'm not talking only about UCSF. My question is regarding other dental schools as well because I'm sure there are other schools that operate this way.

And my other concern is what if there is a dental school willing to interview/accept me with the current DAT scores that I have and I end up telling them I'm going to retake? I don't want schools not to offer me an interview under the assumption that my application is not yet complete until I retake.

My current plan is to wait and see if I get any interviews offers from any schools from now until November. If I don't hear anything, I retake the DAT the first chance I get in November. If I like the scores, then I'll request to send the official scores. This is just my plan, but I would really like to know what other people think. Opinions, comments, advice? 😕

So basically...
Question 1) Should I retake or ride out with the scores I have?
Question 2) Should I let the schools know that I will be retaking?

Thanks in advance.

 

[xaznxcountx]

Hi everyone,

Here are my DAT scores:

Bio 20
GC 19
OC 18
PAT 22
RC 16 (sad, but I was only 18th percentile)
QR 18
AA 18 TS 19
(BTW My version of test was harder than Topscore.)

Total GPA 3.39
BCP 3.50
Science 3.35

I took this for first time on August 16. I'm thinking about retaking it, but I'm not sure yet. Since I can't retake for 3 months, the earliest date I can retake would be November 16. AADSAS is still in the process of sending out my official DAT scores and LOR so none of the schools have actually reviewed my application since it is not complete yet.

My friend who have talked to UCSF said that once they have reviewed the application and they don't like what they see the first time, they won't bother looking at the application the second time around if I send in the DAT retake scores later. I guess it's because they don't want to look at an application again that they have already decided that they don't like.

I can, however, tell them that I will be retaking the DAT which would have them hold off on reviewing my application until the retake scores are in. But November would be late in the cycle and AADSAS won't get to sending scores until December.

My question is just a matter of if I should let the schools know I will be retaking it. I'm thinking that if I let the schools know I'm retaking it, they won't at least put me in the "never look back" pile yet. But the downside is, even if my scores are better the second time around, my application would be on hold at least until December. And I'm not talking only about UCSF. My question is regarding other dental schools as well because I'm sure there are other schools that operate this way.

And my other concern is what if there is a dental school willing to interview/accept me with the current DAT scores that I have and I end up telling them I'm going to retake? I don't want schools not to offer me an interview under the assumption that my application is not yet complete until I retake.

My current plan is to wait and see if I get any interviews offers from any schools from now until November. If I don't hear anything, I retake the DAT the first chance I get in November. If I like the scores, then I'll request to send the official scores. This is just my plan, but I would really like to know what other people think. Opinions, comments, advice? 😕

So basically...
Question 1) Should I retake or ride out with the scores I have?
Question 2) Should I let the schools know that I will be retaking?

Thanks in advance.

Dang this one's tough. You should def retake. A 16 in RC is really going to hurt your chances since that's an important section. Now the problem is that if you retake in mid November the scores won't get to schools until December which is pretty late. I guess if you can score 21+ you may be able to land some interviews later in the cycle. This is your call but a 18 AA just isn't as competitive as it use to be along with a low RC score, so I wouldn't ride it out with your current scores. Good luck!

 

[destinedsirius]

Dang this one's tough. You should def retake. A 16 in RC is really going to hurt your chances since that's an important section. Now the problem is that if you retake in mid November the scores won't get to schools until December which is pretty late. I guess if you can score 21+ you may be able to land some interviews later in the cycle. This is your call but a 18 AA just isn't as competitive as it use to be along with a low RC score, so I wouldn't ride it out with your current scores. Good luck!

So I'm thinking you're saying I should tell the schools I'm retaking?

 

[destinedsirius]

Anyone else? Please?