thoughts/ideas/suggestions?

[kiks14]

Ok, so here goes...I took the DAT for the first time in February with only having studied by myself (no kaplan course or anything), so I knew I was no where near as prepared as I should have been, but I took it anyways knowing that I could take it again if need be in June (yes, I know, terrible thought process). Well, the first time around I got an 18 AA, 18 TS, 17 PA.

I didn't do as well as I hoped on a few sections, so I decided to study some more and re-take it in June. I felt really prepared the second time around, until I got the news that my college roomate had committed suicide the day before I was scheduled to take my test. Needless to say, I was pretty shaken up and had been crying since I heard the news. There was no possibility of changing my test date because I was leaving to study abroad a week later and there were no open test dates between my scheduled date and when I left. I did my best to pull it together and take the test, but I did worse than I did the first time. I got:
16 TS (15 Bio-yikes, 18 OC, 17 GC)
19 RC
18 PA
18 QR
17 AA

I'm still studying abroad-I'm not coming back to the States until the end of August. Obviously, I'm not very happy with my scores, and I know I should have done considerably better. I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should retake the test a THIRD time in late September or early October so I have a chance to refresh my memory and do a little more studying...

Is there any way to inform the schools of the circumstances under which I took my second test? I'm definitely not the type of person to make excuses, but I really don't want to start getting rejection letters already based off of a ****ty DAT score, when I'd like to consider the rest of my application pretty strong, and I don't want to not be eligible for the first round of acceptances because of submitting my third DAT scores late. I realize that I should have just been prepared well enough the first time I took the test, but there's nothing I can do about that now except for kick myself in the ass.

Any thoughts/suggestions as to what I should do? I apologize for the ridiculously long novel I just wrote, but I've been stressing out about this for a while now, so I figured I'd see if any of you had any ideas for me...thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dan3223]

The second DAT is really going to hurt your chances.... You are gonna need to retake and do much better. If you have not yet submitted your application yet, you could include something about your room mate in your personal statement. If you have already submitted, you could send the individual schools a letter explaining the circumstances.
Taking the DAT for the 3rd time in October will be kinda late in the game... but you would still have a chance at this cycle if you do well. Keep in mind that you can only take the DAT 3 times... so this would be your last chance to score well.
Worst case scenario would be that you dont get in this year.... but there is always next year where you would be better prepared and have your stuff together sooner. Waiting an extra year isnt the end of the world.

 

[PDizzle]

With those scores, especially a 15 in Bio (The only score that is really directly applicable in D-school,..IMO) will destroy your chances of getting in, regardless of the reason for the low scores. Even if you you put the reason in your essay, it most likely won't even get looked at.

My advice is, take the test again, but study super hard and crush it! Go ahead and apply this year but don't get your hopes too high. There is always next year.

 

[efficient]

RETAKE. I'm sorry. I'd take it sooner than October, maybe end of August at the latest.

 

[polarmolar]

Since this would be your last chance at taking the DAT, you shouldn't rush and put yourself into another bad situation.

If you haven't applied yet, then hold off and apply next year after having studied well enough to rock the DAT. If you have applied for this cycle, then make sure you re-take the DAT when you are 100% ready.