Should I retake??!?!

[paul2pr]

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PA:21
QR:16 😡
RC:18
B:19
GC:16 😡
OC:21
AA:18
TS:18

😱😱😱😱

UCI
Overall GPA: 3.5
Science GPA:3.3


Shadowed and interned at GP's office for 8ish months with about 400 hours. Mainly providing suction and passing tools for all procedures. Dentist is clinical faculty at USC.

Pre-health officer 2 years + member for 1 year.
Research lab +2 years. initial submission for publication before june. Honors program. Summer undergraduate research proposal grant recipient. deans honor list many times.

4 LOR
2 science prof, 1 dentist, and 1 prof/boss/honor's mentor

Volunteered with dental clinic in Ensenada for underprivaleged school children. Observed proceedings at CDA house of delegates meeting.

If I retake the DAT, I will have to take it july/august so wont be in time for opening of application window. will it put me a big disadvantage if I take the test and submit the scores later?

I am also mainly applying to california schools, AZ schools, NYU, columbia and UNLV. Also i will check if there are cutoff for DAT's at these schools.

Thanks for your input!

 

[SuperSaraMoon]

how much did you study for, and what did you use to study for this DAT?

 

[UCfan]

I am also UCI alumina (congrats on your GPA). I think you have solid GPA (any GPA above 3.5 from UCs are very respectable), and very competitive ECAs. In my opinion, you need to retake DAT (however I have questions in my mind). This score can put you in USC (since you shadowed at USC DS), LL, and Western. To be honest, your chances for UCLA and UCSF are very slim. [UOP (no comment since you have high PA score)]. I think your GPA does not correlate your DAT score. If your goal is getting into DS, I think your status can be enough. However if I were you, I am seriously taking DAT one more time. GC and qr can be easily improved to 20s with studying. Send your application early. Try to take DAT one more time as quickly as possible.Good luck with your application.

 

[whateveryoulike]

The schools are going to see these scores even if you choose to retake it. You might want to consider submitting your application with the current scores to see if you get any interviews AND schedule the DAT as early as possible as well. This advice is entirely dependent on your confidence in your ability to score better since it wouldn't help you if you did worse the second time around.

 

[Danny289]

^ you easiely can improve your scores. you hae to work on your G chem and you are good to go. GL👍

 

[paul2pr]

Thank you all for your replies. I seriously dread taking this bastard test. I have been studying on and off for about 4 months but I truly buckled down the last week and a half. Honestly, I will be happy to get into any dental school. USC is my first choice.

I have been checking predents.com and it seems like some applicants with similar DAT scores got into USC for the previous cycle. I have some thinking to do about retake. Thanks for your input once again ladies and gents! 👍