Tearfilled DAT Experience

[Dentaldreams]

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I took the DAT today and did A LOT worse then expected.

Academic Average 19

Bio 19
Chem 17
Orgo 23


Reading 18
Math 18

PAT 16.

Needless to say I cried the 40 min drive home, almost getting in an accident 🙁

Anyways..

My Background: With a 2.7-8 GPA from an extremely competitve school, I knew I needed MUCH better to have any slim type of shot to get into dental school. I have gone through extreme hardship these last few years to just go to college, and had a lot of hopes reserved in how I would do on the DAT..this has been a very disappointing day.

DAT Thoughts:

Topscore- I was doing good on topscore tests, so I thought. My highest Topscore test were as followed.

Reading : 29
Biology: 19
Orgo : 19
Chem: 18
QR : 18
PAT :20

These scores were pretty consistent, in fact i scored a 29 on topscore RC eveIry single test. ( i took all three RC this past sat and sunday)

Actual Test:

Biology: I found this HARDER then topscore, there were a TON of extremely detailed questions with answer choices I had NEVER heard of. I am one of those people who did read the Kaplan and study AP Bio books...I think it is just the luck of the draw.

Chem: As I was taking this I thought it was easier then topscore, I thought I would do a LOT better. I was shocked to see the actual result. But I think topscore was pretty similar to the actual thing.

Orgo: Pretty easy. I got an F in orgo one semester and then a C. So I am not good at this by any means, If I can do it, I know you can too! So this was my worst subject in college....but on the DAT its the only score I am proud of.

RC: I am a Poli Sci major, I read and write ALL THE TIME, and was scoring perfect on topscore. I thought the actual reading was SLIGHTLY harder......I actually got REALLY sick during this section...but in spite of that am still shocked at how far down the scored dropped.

QR: A TON easier then topscore. Again, the questions were so much easier, easy trig, common sense conversions, numbers that divide out and simple geometry..I was for sure that I got above 20. I just dont know what happened...

PAT : I agree with you guys...man..its A LOT harder then topscore or kaplan...especially angle ranking... dont know what else to do, or how to tell you to prepare...I hope they come out with better software..

All in all i am extremely disappointed, I studied for two months about 8 hours a day. Aside from getting really sick this a.m., i was pretty confident I was going to do well, esp when many have seemed to improve a few points on the actual when compared to topscore....I dont know how I am going to get over this!

What I learned:

1. Luck means a lot in this game. You can get really lucky or unlucky with the questions you get. Just because a lot of people in this forum have done better on actual thing then topscore..with their scores going up so many points, does not mean you will!!!

2. If you arent feeling well, DONT take it. Concentration and stamina is key in this marathon. Dont risk the test if your health is bad..i really really should have known better.

I wish I had better advice to give to those who have to take it in the future. But I dont think I am worthy enough to give advice at this point. PM me though if I can be of any help...

Any inspiring stories/encouragement would be welcome. I feel like I am at a very very low point right now. A lot of you have been here..and have made it. I will too 🙂

I should definetly take it again right? SHould I aim to do it in December? I just dont know how I can study any harder then i already did....

oh the tragedy 😉
-N

 

[Bickle]

Keep your head up. Your stats are low...but if you are committed and determined then keep your focus and take the DAT again. Taking the DAT a second time is not the end of the world. Nothing in life is easy and getting into a dental school is more competitive than ever. Have confidence that you can get 20s on all sections, and it will come true.

You may also want to consider raising your GPA by taking a postbac or masters. Show admin committees that you are a hard worker, and dont rely soley on luck to get in.

Good Luck!

 

[croco]

As he mentioned keep your head up. Focus on what you think you need to brush up and try to zone in on those areas. Good luck to you man😛

 

[croco]

Also on the second part of your statement in which you asked if you should take it in December. I personally believe, and i may be wrong, that you should skip one year, take some upper level biology and chem classes and retake the test next year. This will allow you to become better prepared for the DAT. I say this because if you do not do well the second time around, it will more than likely reflect very poorly on your resume. As I said before this is my opinion. However, if you feel that you can improve yourself in the next three months on many of the sections, go for it.

 

[DrRob]

I applied 3 years before I got in - 2 years applied only to schools in Ontario - and then the 3rd year I applied to US schools and got accepted. The bottom line is that even if you don't get accepted this year - keep improving yourself and eventually you will get in.

 

[Balki]

Hey, well listen it's really not the end of the world. It seems to me that you studied and did so hard. So my suggestion to you would be to change your studying habits. Also, a brake as suggested by few would not be that bad of an idea, the time will let you to get your **** together and perform much better. Also you might consider taking a course i.e Kaplan. They will most likely offer studying technics to make your time work better for you. I didn' t have a great PAT experince either. BUt that I learned is that your Percepual vision develops and gets better over time. Over this brake , a year or so try to develop your Perceptual vision in some creative ways. For example drawing, imaging all demensions of object that you see etc. There should be books availble how to do that too. If I had a year to take off before a test that's exactly what I'd do. Also your chem results probably indicate that you didn't pay enough attention to details. (just a geuss) I found most of the CHEM section to heavely constrate on that. For example picking the answer at times wasn't an easy task. I would not recommend taking the test again in December unless you absolutely sure that you improve, but taking into consideration your school work you won't give DAT 100% percent of your time and energy. You have to do much better second time around remember or it will look bad on your application. Also consider talking to a councelor at your school see what he/she says.
Importantly don't feel too depressed life is full of ups and downs on the long run a thing like a bad day on DAT hardly matters. These are just my thoughts and suggestions. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

-Balki-

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

I agree, take some more courses, study hard for the DAT and don't give up. You'll make it - it looks like you were a little overambitious this time. Give yourself some time and refocus your grades and you'll make it in the near future.

 

[mcataz]

Hey bro

I know you are disappointed but if you can take some time to look at your score. It's really not that bad. You had one bad section. That's it. It was Gen Chem. You can improve Gen Chem with practice. Unlike Reading, it's one of those concrete fields you can improve. And you still scored a 19. Nonetheless, that's one section you can study for. Retake the exam. You know what you did wrong. Yah-E took the exam in January and got into 3 dental schools. His GPA on AADSAS was a 2.4. So don't worry, you still have a chance. Cheer up! You will rock the exam in January and get 20/20. Worst case scenario is that you don't get in anywhere and you reapply in the first bactch in May, and get into about 10 schools with a top DAT score. That's the worst case scenario

 

[blankguy]

Originally posted by SDN9876
I think your gpa might be more of a problem than you dat's to be honest. Dental Committees are stupid. They think all schools are the same and a 4.0 gpa from a easy school is better than 2.5 from a hard school. Idiots. Anyway, have you thought of any ways to raise your gpa? I took a lot of non-science classes to raise my gpa while in college. I went a hard science school and it was tough to get A's in science classes so I just went after non-science classes which were jokes. Also, I think making some connections and showing a committee member your enthuaism in attending will help you. I know people with 2.5's get into schools. Do what you need to do. Don't year after year waiting around. Get out there and email people and talk to people. Dental school is long enough as it is.

Excuse me!? If that were the case people that went to less competitive schools would have no chance. Everybody in med school would be MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc... grads. They are doing the right thing in looking at the grades. What good is somebody who went to harvard but managed to only get Bs and Cs?

 

[tinker bell]

Hey,

Do not cry yet. I know someone got in bunch of schools with the same scores like yours. Tufts, UOP, marquette, etc....I even know people who score 15 on the QR section are D1 at UOP now.

Call the schools that you apply to ask. If they ask you to retake, then retake the test. And I'm sure you'll be fine the second time around.

Do not ever get panic or cry because of a test. It's not a done deal, you have the opportunity to do it again. What's the harm?

Good luck

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by blankguy
Excuse me!? If that were the case people that went to less competitive schools would have no chance. Everybody in med school would be MIT, Harvard, Stanford, etc... grads. They are doing the right thing in looking at the grades. What good is somebody who went to harvard but managed to only get Bs and Cs?

The competition is brutal at Harvard. A guy who gets B's and C's at Harvard can get A's at an easier school. If you are competing with the brightest kids in the country vs. average students at another school, your chances of getting A's are much lower. BTW, I'm not a fan of the Ivy Leagues or anything. I'm all for the people at state schools etc. But I'm just telling it like it is.

I totally agree with SDN9786. I went to a tough undergrad school my first two years. And the level of competition was insane. Most of the students had AP bio and chemistry already done. Our general chemistry focused mostly on analytical chemistry. Whereas my friends at State U were still determining the difference between protons, neutrons and electons. Frankly, their gen chem was a joke and I would have gotten an A in that. My friends who went to the public school ended up having a much higher GPA and they were better off.

If I could do it all over again, I would have attended the easiest college and aimed at getting above a 3.5 GPA when I graduated.

You might find this interesting. I read profiles of students who attended Harvard Law school. Nearly all of them had GPA's above 3.75. However,many of these students did not attend Ivy league schools and other top universities. Many of these students attended state schools and small colleges that I had never even heard of. The bottom line is that a high GPA is a high GPA regardless of what school you attend.

But I don't think Adcoms are idiots. Rather, adcoms don't have a choice. There are something like 500 universities and colleges in this country. Out of those 500, I would say maybe 20-30 of those schools have some name-brand implications that can cause an adcom to give more consideration in light of a weak GPA. Adcoms just don't have the time to research the rest of the colleges. That's why they have the DAT to compare students accross the board.

The key is to research schools and find out what your chances of getting A's are. The professor not the school or class determines how easy it is. At our school, golf was a difficult class. People took it because they though it was a blowoff class and it is one of the most difficult classes at our school because of the prof. At this same school, most of the European lit. clases were blowoffs because the professor heading up the department was ridiculously easy. There are some schools were O-chem is a breeze believe it or not.

 

[critterbug]

And also, I think it all boils down to a numbers game, which is sad I know. Medical schools/dental schools/law schools like to "brag" about there #'s whether it be high MCAT scores, high GPA's, high DAT's, etc. Whether we bellieve it or not, most schools are judged by their #'s. If the entering class has high #'s or the school produces on avg high #'s on board exams, I am POSITIVE that schools use these averages to exploit there own school. And these #'s are just that, NUMBERS. There are no stories behind the numbers. Sad but true I guess.

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by critterbug
And also, I think it all boils down to a numbers game, which is sad I know. Medical schools/dental schools/law schools like to "brag" about there #'s whether it be high MCAT scores, high GPA's, high DAT's, etc. Whether we bellieve it or not, most schools are judged by their #'s. If the entering class has high #'s or the school produces on avg high #'s on board exams, I am POSITIVE that schools use these averages to exploit there own school. And these #'s are just that, NUMBERS. There are no stories behind the numbers. Sad but true I guess.

Good post and it's something most people don't think about. Schools are businesses. They want students with good numbers because they can sell their school. So the bottom line is the numbers. This is why you see schools take people with great numbers regardless of where they attended college or what major they had. Of course, they make exceptions but what I mean to say is that Harvard will still take a sociology major with a 3.9 GPA from Unknown School USA over a person with a 3.0 from Cal-Tech in engineering.

 

[croco]

Doesn't a 3.9 GPA compared to a 3.0 GPA say to the admission staffs that the 3.9 individual was harder working? I mean I busted my tail to get the GPA that I have and it would reflect very poorly on me if they chose a 3.0 student over me. I personally believe that I worked harder and am more qualified for the spot in dental school. Don't you agree?

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by croco
Doesn't a 3.9 GPA compared to a 3.0 GPA say to the admission staffs that the 3.9 individual was harder working? I mean I busted my tail to get the GPA that I have and it would reflect very poorly on me if they chose a 3.0 student over me. I personally believe that I worked harder and am more qualified for the spot in dental school. Don't you agree?

Normally, I would agree. And I think most adcoms would see it your way. But if you are asking about the philosophical implications, I don't know if a 3.9 GPA means that person worked harder than someone with a 3.0. GPA can be a subjective indicator. After all, so many factors play into GPA including major, competition level of the college etc. What about all the people who did their first two years at a community college? It's almost impossible to graduate above a 3.75 if you are an engineering major. It really depends. But if you have a 3.9, you have nothing to worry about regardless of your major.

 

[Balki]

Originally posted by croco
Doesn't a 3.9 GPA compared to a 3.0 GPA say to the admission staffs that the 3.9 individual was harder working? I mean I busted my tail to get the GPA that I have and it would reflect very poorly on me if they chose a 3.0 student over me. I personally believe that I worked harder and am more qualified for the spot in dental school. Don't you agree?

I wish you were right but you are so off the thruth. I myself have been a student in a small private college and then transferred to a large University. The amount work and competition is uncoparable. At many schools subjects are tought on a very different level and the compitition (created mostly by the students and the curve) is harsh. So knowing that I'll ask what school is your GPA from and what was your major. Granted 3.9 is an impressive GPA but it can be easily compared with many 3.0 gpa s from different more competative schools. One of the ways to measure are the standarized tests (Usability of which is arguable). So to answer your question don't just look at GPA but major and the amount of work the individual has performed.

As
mcataz, mentioned 3.9 is excellent and will probably get you in Dental school. Let's just hope it's not in fashion design or we'll have another "legally blond" this time in Dental school. That should be fun!

Good luck

 

[mcataz]

Originally posted by SDN9876
heh! who doesn't love a dumb blond from time to time

Well if you have seen the movie, you would realize she isn't dumb just blonde!!!! j/k 😛