Should I retake the DAT? Help on application!!

[kpooh]

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Hey guys, I was wondering if I can get some help. I wasn't sure what my chances are of getting accepted this year so I only applied to California schools to test the waters. I should have known that this was a BAD idea since it's so competitive here. Anyway I've only heard bad news from Loma Linda and still nothing from the other schools. Bad things about my app-turned in late (August), late DAT (Sept), no dental experience, and low PAT score.

Should I retake the DAT? (REALLY don't want to 🙁 .. )
PAT 17
QR 17
RC 25
Bio 20
GChem 18
OChem 19
TS 20
AA 20

Undergrad gpa 3.13 and postbac grad gpa 3.37.

I think my chances are pretty low in getting in right now so I'm going to apply again in June. I volunteered at two dental offices and now doing some research also. What else can I do to improve?? =(

Please help!

 

[adizzle87]

Submit your AADSAS app May 15th and definitely apply to more schools. To put things in perspective, I have a 3.1 and 21AA/22TS/24PAT and I am applying to 17-20 schools to be safe. You have a 20/20/17, thats a tough one to decide with a 3.1/3.4Post-Bac. I personally would retake because I think you can bring up that PAT with some CDP drilling, and I'm sure you can bring up your TS by 1 by studying OC and GC a little more. Best of luck to you and the upcoming cycle...

 

[smileforme31]

i thi[SIZE=-1]nk you might wa[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nt to try to improve your pat a[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nd gchem a[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nd ochem scores.. they are great scores but if you wa[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nt to be o[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]n the 'safe' side to offset ur low gpa.... (esp. if your postbac gpa is 3.37) you should try to take it agai[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]n have you used destroyer? what were your methods? crack dat pat is great to improve your pat scores.
[/SIZE]

 

[YayTeeth]

PAT 17
QR 17
RC 25
Bio 20
GChem 18
OChem 19
TS 20
AA 20

I don't see how GC 18, OC 19, and Bio 20 = TS 20... it must be a TS 19?

with ur lower GPA, I would retake if u have time, but if not then reapply but apply out of state and apply earlier....certainly get some dental experience!!!

 

[JamesOSU]

Apply to schools in CA and private schools that take a large % of out-of-staters. Some that come to mind are Case Western and NYU

 

[kpooh]

i thi[SIZE=-1]nk you might wa[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nt to try to improve your pat a[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nd gchem a[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nd ochem scores.. they are great scores but if you wa[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]nt to be o[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]n the 'safe' side to offset ur low gpa.... (esp. if your postbac gpa is 3.37) you should try to take it agai[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]n have you used destroyer? what were your methods? crack dat pat is great to improve your pat scores. [/SIZE]

The problem is that I'm really bad on the PAT. I used crack dat pat and top score to study. I was still having a hard time though and not getting that much better. So I'm really scared to retake and get a lower score on this. I tried really hard to understand and learn it but I dont know if I can get any better. 🙁

 

[kpooh]

PAT 17
QR 17
RC 25
Bio 20
GChem 18
OChem 19
TS 20
AA 20

I don't see how GC 18, OC 19, and Bio 20 = TS 20... it must be a TS 19?

with ur lower GPA, I would retake if u have time, but if not then reapply but apply out of state and apply earlier....certainly get some dental experience!!!

Thanks. I'm definately going to apply a lot out of state. So far I have about 50 hours volunteering at 2 dental practice. Right now I'm doing about 20 hours a week doing research and volunteering at the UCLA dental school clinic/lab. I hope this experiences help a lot. It certainly looks better than having none when I applied.

 

[shinbone86]

If you don't feel like you will do as well taking the DAT 2nd time around, you should take a few more science courses to boost up that GPA since your DAT scores are decent. Look to improve other parts of your application such as personal statement. Also try to get in touch with professors early so that they can write you a genuine recommendation letter. Keep shadowing and keep doing community service. ADCOMS look at individuals as a whole person.

 

[wahoo08]

With an 18 GC, 19 OC, and 20 Bio and a TS of 20, that means you were probably only one question away from getting a 19 GC, 20 OC (the TS score is based on how many questions you got right for the total section--it's not an average of the three scores). So I say, go for the retake and get DAT destroyer. It helped me score in the 20s on the science section. Good luck!