Retake?

[bluemoon27]

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Hey all. So I took my DAT few days ago and I am really bummed about my PAT score. I got a 16 in PAT. Everything else was 18 or higher. In the sciences, my score were 20+ in every section.

My GPA is on the low end, so does that warrant a retake or a 16 PAT is ok? Thank you!

 

[birds123]

dude! dont sweat it man! the fact you got 20+ in every science section already shows you can handle dental shool. although 16 is not ideal, i think it may slide in one section.

someone correct me if im wrong.

 

[bpester]

What's your GPA and AA? I think PAT preference is fairly variable among schools (some could *almost* careless whereas others may put some weight on it). If any of the schools have absolute cutoffs, 16 might be below the cutoff too. That being said, I'd call your prospective schools in advance and see what they say.

 

[bluemoon27]

GPA is around a 3 and DAT AA+TS is above 20.

 

[bpester]

Man, that's a tough call.. With a low GPA like that you'd almost want to avoid any "standout" low scores.. At the same time, you wouldn't want to risk lowering your AA with a retake either. If I were you I'd try and apply this cycle and see how things go (after calling schools and asking about your scores). If you don't get in, I'd go ahead and retake. I'm certainly no expert on this, so maybe someone with more experience can give you some further insight. Best of luck anyway!

 

[bluemoon27]

thanks man! love your input.

anyone else have more suggestions for me? i am strongly considering retaking it.

 

[athomas]

Personally I would retake it, but it depends on how much you think you can improve.

 

[Pdent7]

I had a 16 on my PAT and 20+ in my sciences. I had a 3.6 GPA. I planned on retaking DAT because i found out many schools have 17PAT as their cut of for considering your application. I did get offers for 6 interviews by the end of the cycle.. interviewed at 3, accepted at 2. PAT suprisingly NEVER came up in ANY interviews. Some schools clearly care a LOT about PAT, others don't.

If I were you, I would look at the schools you really want to get in to and find out how much they favor PAT scores. Make your decision based on that. PM me if you have any more questions. I REALLY struggled with this situation last year, too. I feel your confusion!