Retake the DAT or NOT?

[Obey]

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I studied about 3 months from m-f but sometimes less. I used chad's, DAT destroyer, AP cliff bio, and Crack DAT PAT, and qvault(for bio).

PAT 18
QR 18
Reading 17
Bio 18
Chem 20
Ochem 21
TS 19
AA 19.

I am applying this summer and as of right now my GPA is around 3.8 both overall and science.

thanks.

 

[therev1990]

Remember the DAT isn't everything. A lot of it depends on how your application looks, including, and especially your personal statement.

 

[Blake1e]

If youre not from a community college then your scores are fine. I wouldnt retake bc of your good GPA.

But I think, ultimately whether you retake or not depends on which school specifically you want to get into.

 

[Obey]

If youre not from a community college then your scores are fine. I wouldnt retake bc of your good GPA.

But I think, ultimately whether you retake or not depends on which school specifically you want to get into.

I am though lol. But I just finished 2 semesters at a university(a decent one) with a 4.0.

 

[Blake1e]

I am though lol. But I just finished 2 semesters at a university(a decent one) with a 4.0.

Many schools dont like seeing CC credits so they limit the amount their willing to accept.

But If you continue to have high GPAs in your new school (like youve been doing) I believe they will be willing to let it slide because you have proven you can still do well even when youre not in an easier school. Also doing well in upper division science classes in your new school will be extremely beneficial as well as a good DAT score in order to make up for the CC credits.

But this all just what I gather from reading SDN, so I may be wrong.

The most important thing you can do is to call the dental schools you are interested in and see for yourself what their policy is for community college credits.

 

[Dent22519]

Your gpa is well above the average for matriculating students, which is around a 3.5. The average matriculating DAT average is 19, so you're definitely in the ballpark. I would say do not retake. You will probably land some interviews somewhere, but if you don't have interviews by late September-ish, then I would reconsider retaking. But again, I don't think you have to worry about that. And yes, it does depend on the schools you're applying to, in terms of what they tend to like (high DAT/gpa, ECs, volunteer, etc). Definitely call schools about CC credits. You can even ask their opinion about your DAT scores. I called some schools about my DAT scores, and some were very nice and we had a conversation about my options. Just make sure you have a solid personal statement, good ECs, awesome letters of rec, and get in your shadowing hours. Oh and apply early (like in June sometime). Good luck!

 

[babowc]

My friend with ~3.8 GPA from a CC, finished up a few courses at a university, and only got 3 interviews out of the 1x sent, and 1 acceptance.

 

[Burkyb]

You are finished, do not stress about these scores. Many of These sdn heroes are ridiculously above average. You my friend need to focus on getting everything else in line. Start pre-filling the application out so that you can submit it the first day. Go to the ada website and look at the instructions for each section. this will give you an idea of the format and how you will plan to answer the questions. Get lor lined up and your personal statement in tiptop shape.