Schools that weigh DAT more heavily than GPA

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I was under the impression that a good DAT score is worth its weight in gold. Don't ask me why I think that though. I can't remember who led me to believe that.

My dentist told me that a 22 (or maybe it was 25) would get you into virtually any dental school you want. Though I imagine that you're still going to need a decent GPA.

Why, did you do good on the DAT? Bad in college?
 
Detroit Mercy I heard.
 
PreDentDJ said:
I was under the impression that a good DAT score is worth its weight in gold. Don't ask me why I think that though. I can't remember who led me to believe that.

My dentist told me that a 22 (or maybe it was 25) would get you into virtually any dental school you want. Though I imagine that you're still going to need a decent GPA.
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I don't know. From looking at predents and reading posts on here, it seems that people with really high GPAs (3.8 - 4.0) can easily get accepted with an average DAT score, like a 19 or so. But people with less competitive GPAs (say, 3.3) can get high DATs but still aren't guaranteed to get in somewhere. Just my own observations.
 
enfuego said:
Columbia
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Definitely, Columbia is too much into DAT score. I was rejected from Columbia but accepted to Harvard. Go figure.

PreDentDJ said:
I was under the impression that a good DAT score is worth its weight in gold. Don't ask me why I think that though. I can't remember who led me to believe that.

My dentist told me that a 22 (or maybe it was 25) would get you into virtually any dental school you want. Though I imagine that you're still going to need a decent GPA.

Why, did you do good on the DAT? Bad in college?
Click to expand...

Not really, Contach on SDN was rejected from couple of schools.
http://www.predents.com/?page=user&user_id=4584

I would say it is the whole package, and a high gpa or a high DAT cannot guarantee anything.
 
From what I have asked different schools, it seems that GPA's are weighted a little more heavily. University of Nebraska's dental school has been conducting research for the last 16 or 17 years and it is showing that those with higher GPA's do better on the board exams, as opposed to those with low GPA's and high DAT scores. I think the DAT is one of the ways schools compare everyone in a general sense, given everyone is coming from different schools and backgrounds. But what I know I cant get in :horns: GPA 3.748 AA 18 SA 19.
 
23+ DAT and you're golden for most schools, not all.

UOP is all about DAT, its obvious, look at their average gpa numbers over the past 10 years
 
bjhath said:
Being Canadian/international might have something to do with this (even with his awesome scores).
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You might want to check the waitlisted/rejected list of Harvard or many other schools. You will see couple of 4.0s or 23+ waitlisted/rejected as well.
 
bjhath said:
Being Canadian/international might have something to do with this (even with his awesome scores).
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And the fact that he applied really late. Had he been American and applied early, he prob would have gotten accepted to most of the schools he applied to.
 
North Carolina SOD:

30% GPA
30% DAT
40% Interview (includes LORs, shadowing, volunteer hours, personal statement, and face-to-face)

Have I mentioned its my #1 choice yet? :xf:
 
PreDentDJ said:
I was under the impression that a good DAT score is worth its weight in gold. Don't ask me why I think that though. I can't remember who led me to believe that.

My dentist told me that a 22 (or maybe it was 25) would get you into virtually any dental school you want. Though I imagine that you're still going to need a decent GPA.

Why, did you do good on the DAT? Bad in college?
Click to expand...

Yeah,
2.9 cumulative/3.2 sci in undergrad;
3.9 first quarter, 4.0 second quarter in my master's program in biochemistry
21AA/22TS DAT

I'm applying in June, so I want to apply intelligently 🙂
 
sajjy said:
You will see couple of 4.0s or 23+ waitlisted/rejected as well.
Click to expand...

Slack3r said:
Maybe they're about as interesting as wallpaper during their interview?
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This was raised in a discussion with a dean....

A 3.9 + 26 DAT was rejected after the interview because the question "Why do you want to be a dentist?" was answered with "uhhhhhh....I mean.....its a good career." Seriously.

I'm going to do my best to get a 26 DAT, but the interview worries me less than the GPA or DAT requirements. Those merely get your foot in the door. The interview seals it, and I am pretty good with peoples.
 
Nova is a big GPA buff BUT the admissions dean has said that he is willing to forgive a less-than-stellar undegrad record if you do well in a masters program, looking at it more than your undergrad. Your 22 TS would definitely help with that too. Best of luck with applying
 
enfuego said:
I don't know. From looking at predents and reading posts on here, it seems that people with really high GPAs (3.8 - 4.0) can easily get accepted with an average DAT score, like a 19 or so. But people with less competitive GPAs (say, 3.3) can get high DATs but still aren't guaranteed to get in somewhere. Just my own observations.
Click to expand...


I agree with what you're saying about the trends on here. I'm noticing that now too. Judging by what other people are saying, dental schools are leaning on your GPA as proof of drive/determination/discipline/etc. Then they use your DAT score as your dental IQ, of sorts.
 
kingcon9 said:
Yeah,
2.9 cumulative/3.2 sci in undergrad;
3.9 first quarter, 4.0 second quarter in my master's program in biochemistry
21AA/22TS DAT

I'm applying in June, so I want to apply intelligently 🙂
Click to expand...


Well at least you're showing an upward trend. And your sci is higher than your overall. That's also gotta be worth something. Sounds like you probably had a rough start with the undergrad. One would hope that dental schools could see past that. But who knows?
 
sajjy said:
Definitely, Columbia is too much into DAT score. I was rejected from Columbia but accepted to Harvard. Go figure.



Not really, Contach on SDN was rejected from couple of schools.
http://www.predents.com/?page=user&user_id=4584

I would say it is the whole package, and a high gpa or a high DAT cannot guarantee anything.
Click to expand...

Jeeze. Poor guy. He must have some sordid criminal past. Or maybe he's a Republican. I hear that'll get you shot down pretty quick 🙂

**Awaits responses from people equating criminals and Republicans**
 
PreDentDJ said:
I agree with what you're saying about the trends on here. I'm noticing that now too. Judging by what other people are saying, dental schools are leaning on your GPA as proof of drive/determination/discipline/etc. Then they use your DAT score as your dental IQ, of sorts.
Click to expand...

I understand that. I just figured that DATs would be used as a standardizing measure since schools vary in how hard or easy they are, and they all have different grading systems. Honestly, sometimes GPAs from different schools are hard to compare.

As an example, a friend of mine goes to a school in the midwest, and she has no problem maintaining a 4.0. Her classes also aren't that challenging, and students at her school get countless opportunities to improve their grades such as extra credit and re-taking poor tests, etc. Another friend of mine goes to a different school out west where a 4.0 is pretty much impossible and grade deflation is pretty common, and students there have to put in enormous efforts just for B, and there are no extra chances for improving your grade. I mean, if you look at those two students simply by their GPAs, you would get a distorted picture of who is the better student and who had the most drive and determination, etc.
 
enfuego said:
I understand that. I just figured that DATs would be used as a standardizing measure since schools vary in how hard or easy they are, and they all have different grading systems. Honestly, sometimes GPAs from different schools are hard to compare.

As an example, a friend of mine goes to a school in the midwest, and she has no problem maintaining a 4.0. Her classes also aren't that challenging, and students at her school get countless opportunities to improve their grades such as extra credit and re-taking poor tests, etc. Another friend of mine goes to a different school out west where a 4.0 is pretty much impossible and grade deflation is pretty common, and students there have to put in enormous efforts just for B, and there are no extra chances for improving your grade. I mean, if you look at those two students simply by their GPAs, you would get a distorted picture of who is the better student and who had the most drive and determination, etc.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

This of course poses the question: Is it better to come out of your undergrad with a 4.0 from abc easy school, or a 3.4 from xyz school that's known for being a little more difficult?

That's probably too broad a question. Obviously the answer is going to vary from dental school to dental school.

I've also wondered kind of the same thing about my major. If I switched from biochemistry to biochemical engineering (not that any sane person would do that), would the adcoms be more forgiving if I had 3.3?
 
enfuego said:
As an example, a friend of mine goes to a school in the midwest, and she has no problem maintaining a 4.0. Her classes also aren't that challenging, and students at her school get countless opportunities to improve their grades such as extra credit and re-taking poor tests, etc. Another friend of mine goes to a different school out west where a 4.0 is pretty much impossible and grade deflation is pretty common, and students there have to put in enormous efforts just for B, and there are no extra chances for improving your grade. I mean, if you look at those two students simply by their GPAs, you would get a distorted picture of who is the better student and who had the most drive and determination, etc.
Click to expand...

This is true
 
Carolina06 said:
North Carolina SOD:

30% GPA
30% DAT
40% Interview (includes LORs, shadowing, volunteer hours, personal statement, and face-to-face)

Have I mentioned its my #1 choice yet? :xf:
Click to expand...


The only problem with that is that it assumes that you get an interview. How many of the 1000+ applicants don't even get looked at because of their DAT/GPA?

I actually like that breakdown though. I wonder how the other schools compare.
 
enfuego said:
I understand that. I just figured that DATs would be used as a standardizing measure since schools vary in how hard or easy they are, and they all have different grading systems. Honestly, sometimes GPAs from different schools are hard to compare.

As an example, a friend of mine goes to a school in the midwest, and she has no problem maintaining a 4.0. Her classes also aren't that challenging, and students at her school get countless opportunities to improve their grades such as extra credit and re-taking poor tests, etc. Another friend of mine goes to a different school out west where a 4.0 is pretty much impossible and grade deflation is pretty common, and students there have to put in enormous efforts just for B, and there are no extra chances for improving your grade. I mean, if you look at those two students simply by their GPAs, you would get a distorted picture of who is the better student and who had the most drive and determination, etc.
Click to expand...
I totally agree. I sometimes question my own intelligence as i struggle to get b+ and a-, while my friends back in my home state all have no trouble getting better grades at our state school. I am taking a class right now that has no curve (i.e. 90% and above is a, etc) where the average midterm score was 56% and the highest was 89%. Obviously this is an extreme case, but it still sucks and i really am starting to doubt i made the right choice about which school to attend.
I just hope a high dat score will show the grade deflation represented in my gpa
 
PreDentDJ said:
This of course poses the question: Is it better to come out of your undergrad with a 4.0 from abc easy school, or a 3.4 from xyz school that's known for being a little more difficult?
Click to expand...

Exactly. Personally, I would go for the easier school. A 4.0 is a 4.0 regardless. The problem with going to a more difficult school is that it might not be well-known or might not have the reputation, so adcoms might not be aware of how difficult the program is. My school is pretty difficult, but it wasn't always like that, so I'm not sure how many people actually know what the science program is like here. I'm hoping the adcoms are aware of it even if the general public isn't.

UCLAzy said:
Obviously this is an extreme case, but it still sucks and i really am starting to doubt i made the right choice about which school to attend.
I just hope a high dat score will show the grade deflation represented in my gpa
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Same here. I really wish I had never gone to this school (obviously there's a lot of other things than just the difficulty of the program). It's another reason why I hope there's at least equal emphasis on DAT scores because my GPA doesn't really indicate how hard I've worked and how much I know. I cry/laugh a little thinking about how good my grades would be if I went to one of the other colleges I got accepted to.
 
PreDentDJ said:
The only problem with that is that it assumes that you get an interview. How many of the 1000+ applicants don't even get looked at because of their DAT/GPA?

I actually like that breakdown though. I wonder how the other schools compare.
Click to expand...

If you are in state, the average numbers work out to 1 admission per 3.7 applicants. Really not bad odds at all. Out of state is closer to 1/10.

They conduct 256 interviews per year. About 150-170 go to in-state applicants.
 
somethinpositiv said:
PreDents.com
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Predents.com is an over-representation of people with high stats. Only about 10% of the whole applicant pool uses it, with an unproportionate amount of them having 3.7+ and/or 22+.
 
adizzle87 said:
Predents.com is an over-representation of people with high stats. Only about 10% of the whole applicant pool uses it, with an unproportionate amount of them having 3.7+ and/or 22+.
Click to expand...

by "22+", you're referring to Academic Average right?
 
adizzle87 said:
Predents.com is an over-representation of people with high stats. Only about 10% of the whole applicant pool uses it, with an unproportionate amount of them having 3.7+ and/or 22+.
Click to expand...

PreDents.com has a function where it ranks schools based on DAT (or other factors of your choice), and this is based on the ADEA Guide To Dental Schools 45th Edition. This therefore answers the OP's question of "Which schools weigh the DAT more heavily than GPA". Your conclusion of "Predents.com is an over-representation of people with high stats" is irrelevant to intent of my post, and is irrelevant to the purpose of the OP's thread.

OP, go to PreDents.com, and under the heading "Ranking", use the drop-down menu "Sort Schools By, and choose "DAT". You will find the list of schools ranked by average matriculant DAT score, of which there are 13 schools with an average DAT of 20+. Then, go back the "Ranking", use the drop-down menu "Sort Schools By, and choose "GPA", and it will list schools by average GPA. Then compare the two lists to find which schools look for a high DAT and lower GPA. UoP will be a prominant one. PreDents.com is a really valuable tool, thanks PDizzle!
 
adizzle87 said:
Predents.com is an over-representation of people with high stats. Only about 10% of the whole applicant pool uses it, with an unproportionate amount of them having 3.7+ and/or 22+.
Click to expand...

Maybe true, but again, is not relevant to the OP's post. But if one was curious:

PreDents.com 2009 cycle
1144 Total Applicants
326 Applicants with 3.70+ GPA (28.5%)
130 Applicants with 22+ DAT (11.4%)
60 Applicants with 3.7+ and 22+ (5.2%)
396 Applicants with 3.7+ and/or 22+ (34.6%)
 
PreDentDJ said:
The only problem with that is that it assumes that you get an interview. How many of the 1000+ applicants don't even get looked at because of their DAT/GPA?

I actually like that breakdown though. I wonder how the other schools compare.
Click to expand...

Ratio for in state is 3.7 applications to 1 acceptance.
Ratio for out of state is 10 applications to 1 acceptance.

They conduct 256 interviews, and 150-175 of those are in-state.
 
somethinpositiv said:
PreDents.com has a function where it ranks schools based on DAT (or other factors of your choice), and this is based on the ADEA Guide To Dental Schools 45th Edition. This therefore answers the OP's question of "Which schools weigh the DAT more heavily than GPA". Your conclusion of "Predents.com is an over-representation of people with high stats" is irrelevant to intent of my post, and is irrelevant to the purpose of the OP's thread.

OP, go to PreDents.com, and under the heading "Ranking", use the drop-down menu "Sort Schools By, and choose "DAT". You will find the list of schools ranked by average matriculant DAT score, of which there are 13 schools with an average DAT of 20+. Then, go back the "Ranking", use the drop-down menu "Sort Schools By, and choose "GPA", and it will list schools by average GPA. Then compare the two lists to find which schools look for a high DAT and lower GPA. UoP will be a prominant one. PreDents.com is a really valuable tool, thanks PDizzle!
Click to expand...

Thank you! exactly what i was looking for
 
wow, didn't realize loma linda also falls into this catagory.
 
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