Retake?

[harry_potter]

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Hey everyone,

I just recently took the DAT:

PAT 21
QR 16 😢.......
RC 19 🙁... I don't even know...?
Bio 20
GC 22
OC 22
TS 21
AA 20

I am super displeased about my QR and RC. For QR, I basically did not time myself properly and of course exhaustion. Anyways, I am questioning whether I should retake it. I haven't spent 100% of my time studying for the DAT, it has been on and off since I was either doing full time research and/or school.

Currently, I am in my final year, overall GPA is 3.68 and my science GPA should be somewhere around there (a little bit lower or higher probably). Besides that, I do have a lot of volunteering (abroad, locally, community based, research based), research (3+ years), work and etc experience.

Also...I already have honest, genuine referees that I've known for 3+ years that are willing to be my reference if and when I do apply (dentist, volunteering and academic).

I ideally want to apply next year but I am unsure whether or not its worth retaking.

Anyways, I haven't really sat down and searched what schools I do want to apply to because I just wanted to complete the DAT first and see where I stand.

You all probably have a much better idea, as a whole, of what is "good", or "competitive" statistics for an applicant.

Thank you for your time!
-hp

 

[NavyDDS1990]

youre good

 

[Justdontblink]

I had similar scores to you actually. You beat me by a point in both QR and RC. I wanted to push the date of my exam back, because I knew that I was not ready for the QR section yet. I was not doing the problems anywhere near quick enough, but it was so late in the year and the rest of my application was already in so I had to go in and try my best. I took my exam in mid Oct so my scores did not arrive at schools until early Nov and I have still been fortunate enough to receive few interviews opportunities. I'm still waiting to hear back from other some other schools as well. I think that you will be fine especially since you're applying next cycle so you'll have an plenty of time to get your application in early.

I was thinking about taking a retake as well but after talking to an old classmate who has graduated from dental school (I'm a non-trad) and other students currently in dental school they told me my scores were strong in the areas that seemed to matter most. I actually outs scored a few of them on the exam. Your scores are higher than mine, and your GPA seems to be pretty strong as well, so I think that you'll be fine for a majority of the schools that you apply to. I know how you feel though when you look at how many people on SDN seem to score in the 20s on every section you start really question your own abilities. Remember, as the dental students that I have spoken to told me, SDN is small sample size of all the different students that apply each year. I think that overall you did well on the DAT and you should feel proud of your accomplishments. Finished you last year strong and if you do decide to retake the DAT then best of luck on your next go around! 👍

 

[doktorinprogres]

Call and email the schools you're interested in and ask about your situation and whether the QR score will be held against you. The rest seems solid given your GPA.

 

[Dr. Dan]

You have a strong GPA, and you scored a 20 AA. As long as schools don't mind your QR (i.e. some schools have a 17 cut-off for all scores), then I think you will be fine. Try to relax, QR is not often looked at nearly as heavily as the rest of the scores!

 

[Kellogg321]

Unless your goal is to get into schools like Columbia, UPenn, etc., I would keep it, awesome score!

 

[HookahLungs]

Apply early you'll be good. Good luck.