The lastest time to take DAT

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krnkimsung

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Dear SDNers,

do you consider Mid-August to be too late to take DAT?

When would it be the latest that I can take the exam without affecting too much on my application?

Thanks,
 
I took mine Aug 27 and Ive had 3 interviews so far. But none of my interviews were pre-Dec 1st.
 
I took mine Sept 8th, and got accepted Dec 1st. Just knock the DAT out and you'll be fine.
 
Dear SDNers,

do you consider Mid-August to be too late to take DAT?

When would it be the latest that I can take the exam without affecting too much on my application?

Thanks,

Personally, I would say to take the DAT as soon as possible. Mid-August is not technically late; however, you are betting that you will do good on it. If you happen to get a bad score and want to retake it, then you might run into timing issue.
 
i took mine sept 17, three interviews, low gpa, one acceptance so far
 
Dear SDNers,

do you consider Mid-August to be too late to take DAT?

When would it be the latest that I can take the exam without affecting too much on my application?

Thanks,

I'm assuming you need the entire summer to study which is fine. But submit your application as soon as possible. That means have the personal statement letter written and have most if not all letter of recommendations submitted as well.
 
Personally, I would say to take the DAT as soon as possible. Mid-August is not technically late; however, you are betting that you will do good on it. If you happen to get a bad score and want to retake it, then you might run into timing issue.

This is true. You're seriously taking chances by doing this. If you do not want your app to be considered late, then have everything, I mean EVERYTHING ready by June. When you take the DAT, then it should be the only thing that is missing. If you don't do well in August, then you would be wasting some serious dough.....
 
I would also take into consideration that if you do have to re-take then you have to wait I believe 3 months to do so (correct me if I am wrong). The earlier you apply, the better your chances are... I would agree with the "have everything in by June" reply.
 
haha... the 'lastest' time... you made me smile 😀
 
I would also take into consideration that if you do have to re-take then you have to wait I believe 3 months to do so (correct me if I am wrong). The earlier you apply, the better your chances are... I would agree with the "have everything in by June" reply.

i thought it was 6 months? but i could just be way off base and that's what I told myself so i'd never have to take it again
 
although having your FULL application at each school prior to taking the DAT may sound good in theory, *most schools will not look at that application until your scores arrive

my story:
july 2006 dat scores and rest of application sent to schools in the first aadsas mailing, while retaking the dat on oct.2 (same TS and AA as 3 years prior)
2 pre dec interviews (one bc they were only schl to look at prev scores and the other school offered me interview following communication with them just after receiving my new scores)
not too come off as pretentious, but i believe there would have been about 2-3 more interviews (BU, buff-instate) offered to me had my DAT been taken 2 months earlier

what i stress the most when offering dental apps advice is timing, bc if anything is off key (transcript, lor, dat), you are severely jeopardizing your chances of being interviewed

i consider myself extreemly lucky to have gotten that second pre dec interview, if you ask me, oct, sept and even aug dat takers are somewhat late and pending the school, risking their shot
 
I took mine in mid August (i think aug 11 was the exact date) and got 2 pre-dec interviews, and 2 post-dec1 interview invites.. i applied to 5 schools total so as long as your app is strong, mid august is definitely not too late.. but that doesn't change the fact that you should do anything you can to improve your chances ie take the DAT earlier..
 
for those who took the DATs late, did you apply as soon as apps opened up in June, or did you waited until you took the DAT to finish the online application?



i took mine sept 17, three interviews, low gpa, one acceptance so far

you mind sharing your DAT scores and gpa?
 
I took the DAT at the end of June (so technically not late), but I submitted my app. on June 1. I would recommend submitting before you take the DAT because it takes roughly 6 weeks (if I remember correctly) for AADSAS to process your application. Also, it may take awhile for AADSAS to receive your transcripts and it also takes time to verify your GPA and everything. I think it is best to have everything submitted so dental schools are only waiting for your DAT scores. Also, you can enter the date you are planning on taking the DAT, so the dental schools you apply to will know when to expect your scores.
 
one more thing I forgot to add... I had my first interview on September 4th (I believe I received the email for the invite about 2 weeks earlier). So by waiting until the end of September you may be missing the first round of interview invites.
 
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