Should I retake the DAT? I'm furious.

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I didn't do atrociously but I feel like I sucked and I choked. I didn't perform up to my potential. Here are my scores:
AA: 20
TS: 19
BIO: 18
GC: 20
OC:20
PAT: 17
RC:21
QR:22
Overall the test was pretty fair. Maybe one or two hard/tricky things in each section. Doesn't excuse how I screwed up. Only 1-2 questions in math I wasn't sure of and it didn't feel too hard either... RC is fair and somehow I still messed that up too. I knew I sucked at PAT going in so I won't complain about that. Should I retake this or not?
Most of my practice scores were 20-21 which is meh but I got a 25 on topscore 3, 24 on ADA 2007 and 21 on ADA 2009 (RC and QR killed me...) I thought the recent surge would mean I was good enough but I guess not.

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[akakakakak]

Breathe... a 20 isn't the end of the world...you didn't score sub-17's in anything - that is a pretty decent DAT score - those who score 22's+ on here are few and far between... you did it...and honestly you should be proud

 

[BioForLife]

I think your scores are completely respectable. It's normal to be frustrated and wish you would have score a little higher in some sections, even if you did well overall. With a 20 AA, you should be okay. Don't sweat it.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Well my grades are kinda mediocre. I have a 3.32 ogpa and 3.2 sgpa. I did get a 3.8 Fall 2015 otherwise it would be a 3.2 ogpa 3.0 sgpa. I just feel like I want to retake it. Then maybe apply in august for the 2017 cycle. My ECs are fairly avg. 100 hrs of shadowing; 100 hrs of community service.I I'll shadow more in the summer and work a bit in a lab. So I'm not outstanding in any way.

 

[qkrdpsk]

I also think your scores are respectable! Stop being so hard on yourself.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

It's in my nature. Just who I am.... This feels kind of like the SAT again lmao but I know this test is much harder and more important. I got 2300s in SAT practice, choked and got a 2120 on the real thing because dumb mistakes. I'll admit that I didn't know everything in bio. But GC and OC were very fair with only 1-2 curveballs in each section max. So i still screwed up somehow lol.

 

[qkrdpsk]

I was pretty happy w/my scores........ Until I saw these recent posts of people getting basically perfect scores. What the heck. LOL. Well, like I said, I think your scores are fine. But! If you KNOW you can do better, go ahead & retake. I screwed up big time the first time around & I KNEW I had the potential to do a lot better & improved by quite a bit on the retake!

 

[qkrdpsk]

Just to add.. I screwed up to the point where I had nowhere but to go up in my scores LOL

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

o . o. Honestly, I feel like there is nowhere to go but up for me here. I'm being dead serious. I didn't do enough Bio. I probably didn't know my lab stuff well enough for GC and OC. And RC and QR I always got 24+ in practice so I'm shocked I got what I did. That's why

 

[qkrdpsk]

Then I say.. Go for it! I like your determination.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Thanks. I am determined to make my next DAT score post a 24/25 with massive improvements in each section. Then I'll actually be worthy of making a breakdown like all the others I've seen.

 

[BioForLife]

Thanks. I am determined to make my next DAT score post a 24/25 with massive improvements in each section. Then I'll actually be worthy of making a breakdown like all the others I've seen.

If you're set on a retake, by all means go for it. I did, and I believe it really helped me.

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Thanks. I definitely know what I can improve this time. As for math, I might as well get the destroyer and get that dang 30 . I'm also gonna work on getting PAT up to 20.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

LuckBloodandSweat,

I know these are not the scores you were hoping for but they are good scores, just not great scores . I believe you indeed can bring these scores up. You are smart and determined. Don't be so hard on yourself..dust yourself off and gear up again. Use positive affirmations. Every negative thought you have should be kicked out of your head and replaced with a positive affirmation.

Wishing you the best!

Nancy

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Thank you. I'll make sure I go through the destroyer at least twice next time. Barely had time to finish it once and that wasn't the best idea.

 

[DJI]

When you told me how bad you did I was expecting something actually bad. You got a 20AA. That's not bad, that's very respectable! I'm kind of hesitant to agree with a retake, but if you think that's the move to make, then I'm with you on it. Go kill it, and stay positive!

 

[Ari Rezaei]

I wouldn't say your scores are necessarily 'bad', and I think you may be a little hard on yourself. All of your scores are above the cutoffs (as far as I know), and your AA is average/slightly above average for acceptance to dental school. Certainly, if you think you can do better then go for it, but this is a strong first effort. I'd also recommend speaking with your pre-health advisor if you have one to see what they say.

The good news is now that you have taken the DAT, you know what you are up against and how to better prepare for it next time. You have to ask yourself what you are missing and why you are getting these questions incorrect. Do you need to strengthen your foundations and knowledge of the content? Or do you need more practice to get the timing down? You have to critically evaluate what is happening and how you can correct it. You know yourself the best, so the answer has to come from within. Let me know if you need any extra help!

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Thanks Ari. I'll be getting bootcamp again in the summer and maybe save it for a little more towards the end. Honestly the RC and QR on bootcamp weren't too hard and felt slightly harder then the real DAT did. What shocked me was I could get 24-25s on those and still screwed up on the DAT RC and QR. I think my problem was a mix of doing problems a bit too early and not knowing enough bio/lab techniques for the other sections. I also never got over 17-18 in PAT practice so my PAT was expected.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Thank you. I'll make sure I go through the destroyer at least twice next time. Barely had time to finish it once and that wasn't the best idea.

]

3 times even better! Taking timed tests often is not a reliable indication of how you will score on the DAT and from what you stated in your post that was your experience. Focus on learning..

Wishing you the best!

Nancy

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

The only thing timed tests may be good for is keeping my speed up with RC and QR because as I took less timed tests towards the end maybe my RC and QR suffered a tiny bit. There really is no problem with speed for SNS because bio goes fairly quickly.

 

[msuspartan3]

Hey @LuckBloodandSweat, was the DAT QR more similar to the DAT Destroyer QR or the Math Destroyer?

I'm doing Bootcamp at the moment and Bio doesn't seem that bad, Chemistry isn't that bad, and orgo is doable. Perceptual ability is my weak point at the moment. What programs did you believe were most helpful? Also, how do you suggest doing better with Reading? What method did you use?

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Hey @LuckBloodandSweat, was the DAT QR more similar to the DAT Destroyer QR or the Math Destroyer?

I'm doing Bootcamp at the moment and Bio doesn't seem that bad, Chemistry isn't that bad, and orgo is doable. Perceptual ability is my weak point at the moment. What programs did you believe were most helpful? Also, how do you suggest doing better with Reading? What method did you use?

Yeah the DAT is pretty fair overall. PAT i stink at. I think Bootcamp/Topscore are probably pretty similar in terms of difficulty. Reading and QR I know I could've done way better in but I choked. My strategy for reading is one many other people use. I read the passage quickly in 4-5 min but while I'm doing that I have the paragraphs numbered and for each paragraph i write down key words/specific info. It's a balance btwn S+D and reading. Most tone questions aren't too bad. You should just practice RC tests to build up speed and accuracy. I stopped taking as many practices in the end which may or may not have been a good thing but since I'm retaking it I guess it doesn't matter. I guess I was too scared of the DAT and it showed. I didn't get math destroyer as I was confident in my math skills lol. Normal destroyer's math isn't hard and if you know all of it you should be ok. I felt like I could've gotten a 26 in math but I probably made dumb mistakes. Speed and accuracy are important. Find some random multiplication/addition/division/subtraction games online and build up your mental math speed. For my retake i'll make sure I'm killing the math destroyer and get that damn 30 that I know I can. DAT destroyer is very useful and I suggest you go through it more than once. Take notes on anything you don't understand/get wrong.

 

[msuspartan3]

@LuckBloodandSweat I've been through DAT Destroyer twice, although I've only done the DAT Destroyer QR once. I got the Math Destroyer, however those questions seem very hard! I got scared when I looked at them because that was not what I was expecting on the real DAT. I'll go over the DAT Destroyer QR two more times just to get everything I missed and possibly go over the DAT Chem, Orgo, and Bio again just to refresh myself.

I went through the Bootcamp biology tests and was scoring 19-22 on majority of them. As I went through the DAT Destroyer bio, I made a google doc for just random facts and little things that I may forget over time.

Based on the 2016 QR changes, were there more questions dealing with probability/data analysis? I heard they took off trig correct or no?

The help is much appreciated!

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

Lol there's a little bit of everything don't believe anything they say. There was trig but it was pretty easy imo. I say there was a pretty moderate amonut of everything. Or maybe I just got one of those tests that gave a little bit of everything for every section

 

[DAT Destroyer]

@LuckBloodandSweat I've been through DAT Destroyer twice, although I've only done the DAT Destroyer QR once. I got the Math Destroyer, however those questions seem very hard! I got scared when I looked at them because that was not what I was expecting on the real DAT. I'll go over the DAT Destroyer QR two more times just to get everything I missed and possibly go over the DAT Chem, Orgo, and Bio again just to refresh myself.

I went through the Bootcamp biology tests and was scoring 19-22 on majority of them. As I went through the DAT Destroyer bio, I made a google doc for just random facts and little things that I may forget over time.

Based on the 2016 QR changes, were there more questions dealing with probability/data analysis? I heard they took off trig correct or no?

The help is much appreciated!

Trig is alive and well on the DAT as of yesterday!

I have attached the 2016 ADA Guide, go to page 8, that QR still states trig.

 

[711769]

yeah you should retake it @LuckBloodandSweat

 

[LuckBloodandSweat]

I'm in DS there is no point in retaking that meme exam xD

 

[8_man]

I'm in DS there is no point in retaking that meme exam xD

Congrats!