Scoring 20+ on the DAT

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NickMSU

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I think it's funny how everyone who posts there scores has a AA of 20, 21, or 23. By just looking on this site it seems like the DAT is a joke and that EVERYONE is scoring well. Either some ppl are making scores up or ppl who score 18 or lower are just not posting there scores.
 
if you prepare for this exam, chances are you will do well. It's not a hard exam! Chances are, if you post on SDN, you are very serious about dental schools. Also, if you score high, of course you want to brag about it. If i scored a 15, there's no way I would be everywhere on SDN saying "HEY! I scored a 15 on my DATs!"
 
INFNITE said:
if you prepare for this exam, chances are you will do well. It's not a hard exam! Chances are, if you post on SDN, you are very serious about dental schools. Also, if you score high, of course you want to brag about it. If i scored a 15, there's no way I would be everywhere on SDN saying "HEY! I scored a 15 on my DATs!"


I think that there are tons of pre-dental people who haven't heard about topscore or achiever....those were definitely the most valuable tools for me. Also, lots of people have taken high-level science classes WAY beyond what the DAT requires...
 
After you take the DAT how long do you have to wait tell you can take it again?
 
I have also questioned the validity of some of these scores. :barf:
 
if you prepare for this exam, chances are you will do well. It's not a hard exam! Chances are, if you post on SDN, you are very serious about dental schools. Also, if you score high, of course you want to brag about it. If i scored a 15, there's no way I would be everywhere on SDN saying "HEY! I scored a 15 on my DATs!"

Listen to this, it's logical and true
DAT is a standardize test, for most sections you can prepare for. The main reason for the test to have such a low average is because of the scoring system. It's not testing knowledge, rather it is a measure of how careful you are at reading the question.

I believe that in terms of ability, a person who scores 21AA is almost equally capable as someone who scores 24 or 25, it's just the higher scoring person probably had a more fitting version of the test or had more sleep the night before.

Do stress slightly about this exam because that will push you to prep hard.
Good luck
 
to the op, you need to put this into perspective of how many people total take the DAT every year. According to the ADA, about 14,500 people took the DAT between 2007 and 2008. You've probably seen about 15 or 20 people on this forum with AA's of 22 or above (current predents, not in the history of SDN), and even more with 20+. even if 100 current predents have posted 20+ scores here on this forum, that represents only 0.7% of the total pool of test takers.

Case in point - SDN is not a representative cross-section of predents. most students here are Type A, high-achieving, and very serious about dentistry. 🙂
 
hajibandeh is absolutely correct. B/c of SDN popularity, more people are posting there high scores then before... say 2003 or 2005 etc...
& DAT IS NO JOKE EITHER... Think about this there are ~40 US D. schools. ~4000 seats... ~<200 people post their high scores above 20...
 
What is an average score? Is anything above 18 considered competitive?

18 was competitive enough in the early 2000s when my sisters went to dental school. Now, to be considered competitive, it is a good idea to break 20 minimum because so many people are mastering this test - either due to more resources like DAT Destroyer, Achiever, Topscore, etc. - or smarter people and/or harder workers. Most schools will release their "average" or "minimum" score as being around 18 or 19, but again, if you are looking to be competitive, you will want to be beyond that.
 
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