third time applicant, high dat

[will9631]

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I have a good friend applying for the third year in a row who just got his DAT back, and I was wondering what trends people have seen for those that needed three tries to really nail the DAT. The first two years he did well, landing just shy of the 20's, and applied to most of the east coast schools without getting more than interviews and waitlists. He has a solid GPA of around 3.5 and two degrees (bio and chem), and this time around he worked incredibly hard and got his DAT's up into the lower to mid 20's (I'm not him so I don't feel comfortable posting his scores, but they were awesome). His applications are completely finished now and he's focusing on his state school and most of the east coast private schools. Normally he's be in awesome shape for at least a few acceptances, but I don't know how schools tend to look at DAT scores on your 3rd attempt. He's never done poorly on them, but it took two extra tries to really nail it, so I don't know what category of applicant that places him in. There are no other problems with his application that I know of, he has tons of shadowing experience, and he seems to interview fairly well.

I know this is sort of a hard case to predict, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Sandra2012]

I have a good friend applying for the third year in a row who just got his DAT back, and I was wondering what trends people have seen for those that needed three tries to really nail the DAT. The first two years he did well, landing just shy of the 20's, and applied to most of the east coast schools without getting more than interviews and waitlists. He has a solid GPA of around 3.5 and two degrees (bio and chem), and this time around he worked incredibly hard and got his DAT's up into the lower to mid 20's (I'm not him so I don't feel comfortable posting his scores, but they were awesome). His applications are completely finished now and he's focusing on his state school and most of the east coast private schools. Normally he's be in awesome shape for at least a few acceptances, but I don't know how schools tend to look at DAT scores on your 3rd attempt. He's never done poorly on them, but it took two extra tries to really nail it, so I don't know what category of applicant that places him in. There are no other problems with his application that I know of, he has tons of shadowing experience, and he seems to interview fairly well.

I know this is sort of a hard case to predict, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Yes, hard to predict ---but I would suggest not taking the DAT again. I remember being told that too many tries was not a good thing. He should be able to gain acceptance somewhere if he has all the things you say. He should probably emphasize how much he wants this and use his many tries as a show of his motivation...making it a plus instead of a negative. If this the third try he might need to cast that net wider than a few east coast schools. How many schools is he applying to?

 

[DR Dentist 09]

A lot of universities look at more than statistics. They also look at achievements, experience and being able to handle more than one thing at a time. It is important that your friend focuses on all the positives in his life and all that he can contribute to the dental school. Example "I am a hard worker, motivated, determined. My passion is dentistry and I know I have the skills and capability to be a successful dentist. The 2 years that I applied and wasn't accepted have only solidified my passion for dentistry and opened my eyes and strengthened my character, etc etc". If your friend's statistics are really what you say they are then I don't see why he is having a problem. Some of the east coast universities such as Boston, Tufts and Howard tend to focus a lot on the person and their achievements as well as their potential clinical skills. Other schools such as Nova, I know really like statistics. UF is a state school and I know it is very very competitive. So, your friend does have a shot but he needs to as recommended above focus on the positives and sell himself really well. Interviewers like to hear how ppl have grown through these experiences and that they are not willing to quit.