Sooo, what are my chances of getting in?

[danburitedreams]

This may come to shock to most but I still haven't sent in my application, and now seeing the general trend of applicants usually do so before September, I'm thinking it's too late. I haven't applied yet because I wasn't and still am not completely satisfied with my stats. Many people have told me to just take the chance and apply anyways but I don't think it's worth spending all of that money, when I see much better applicants.

The stats:
July 2017 DAT AA17, PA17, QR16, RC21,BIO15, GC18, OC16, TS16
GPA 3.56 sGPA 3.4

The scores are not great, but in my defense I was completely stressed prior to this exam, but of course that's everyone.
I am a senior undergrad, chemistry major, graduating in May 2018
I have so much organic chemistry research, 2+years, interning at a dental practice for 2 years, dental assistant of 5 months currently, local and abroad community service, pre dental society, honor society, deans list the past year, study abroad for a semester and peer tutor at my college.

I need advice on if this is enough or if they would like to see more in the DAT anyways. I screwed up on the chemistry completely and biology has never been my thing. I believe I can improve though!

My option that I am allowing myself is applying for next years cycle, and applying as early as mid June with my new DAT scores and completed undergrad, as well as refine my application. In the meantime, apply to 1 year post-bacc programs for 2018. Is this a bad idea or sounds better than applying to dental schools now?

Please help, thank you

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Pretty low - your application is going to be extremely late by the time it's completed and verified, and your DAT score is likely too low to begin with (the bio score is going to be below some school cutoffs, and a TS of 16 will not put you in a very strong position as an applicant compared to matriculant averages).

I think your plan is good: retake the DAT and apply next cycle. How did you prepare for the DAT the first time?

A post-bac may not be necessary if you can pull your DAT scores up significantly - feel free to reach out if you need any advice preparing for the re-take.

 

[danburitedreams]

Pretty low - your application is going to be extremely late by the time it's completed and verified, and your DAT score is likely too low to begin with (the bio score is going to be below some school cutoffs, and a TS of 16 will not put you in a very strong position as an applicant compared to matriculant averages).

I think your plan is good: retake the DAT and apply next cycle. How did you prepare for the DAT the first time?

A post-bac may not be necessary if you can pull your DAT scores up significantly - feel free to reach out if you need any advice preparing for the re-take.

That's what I was thinking. I studied DAT Destroyer and took the course with Dr. Romano. He was an exquisite instructor and gave the material necessary, however I had a rigorous schedule last spring while taking the course and took the DAT in July.
My study method as of now is to keep studying the Destroyer and all of my notes, but more meticulously. Would you recommend any other strategies?

 

[Brady=GOAT]

That's what I was thinking. I studied DAT Destroyer and took the course with Dr. Romano. He was an exquisite instructor and gave the material necessary, however I had a rigorous schedule last spring while taking the course and took the DAT in July.
My study method as of now is to keep studying the Destroyer and all of my notes, but more meticulously. Would you recommend any other strategies?

DAT Bootcamp + DAT Genius + Destroyer + Chad's Videos are all key IMO. Each complement each other nicely
Edit: Your 15 in Bio can also be solved by Ferralis' notes + Cliff's AP bio

 

[jttzz112]

Ferralis notes are amazing. I only took 100 level biology and molecular biology my freshman/sophomore year when I took the DAT and got a 22. Im going back and taking more biology courses now but seriously Ferralis and maybe that AP bio book is all you need.

 

[blablabla1]

Studying really shouldn't take more than 5-6 weeks if you're doing the studying full time. If you will have time off in the winter, I suggest using that time to study and then take the DAT immediately before school starts up again.

Start with Chad's and Feralis notes, do DAT Destroyer, do PAT practice through Bootcamp throughout that time, and then at the end take the Bootcamp practice exams.

 

[Pearl E. White]

Cliffs 3rd edition, Ferali's Notes, DAT Bootcamp, and DAT Destroyer got this hardcore chemistry nerd a 22 in Bio. Previous biology courses include Zoology (7 years ago), Genetics, Microbiology, and Biochemistry. That's it! Self taught what I needed from physiology, evolution, cell biology, etc. You can do it!

 

[Michael_Scott]

DAT is very low and GPA is average. need to bring AA to atleast a 19 (if not 20). Also try taking some upperlevel science courses to boost sGPA.
You should prepare well and apply next year.
Have a great PS, rec letters etc. Apply broadly
This is how you should study for DAT -- Ari's Study Guide for DAT Domination | DAT Bootcamp

 

[Faefly]

You need to retake
and plus what's the rush?
You are still undergrad, take the test again after you graduate.
So what if you'll have a gap year?

Sorry about the stress you went through before the test!
I hope you'll do better next time.