Took DAT - Need Honest Advice

[plakmama]

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Just took DAT Yesterday:

PAT 21 (94)
QR 15 (40) I AM HORRIBLE AT MATH
RC 16 (17) I RAN OUT OF TIME AND GUESSED ON AT LEAST HALF
BIO 19 (78)
CHM 17 (49) BECAUSE OF CAL.
O.CH 20 (81)
TS 19 (77)
AA 17 (47.6)

What should I do?

1. apply and hope for the best?
2. apply and retake in Aug (my 3rd time)
3. give it up?

I took the DAT 4 years ago and got 18/18/18. At the time I applied to DS, I was 2 semesters short of the 90 credits min. with a 3.9 GPA.
I applied to 1 in-state and 1 out-of-state school. I got rejected in state and accepted out-of-state. I finished up my remaining two semesters and GPA went down to a 3.6 (I foolishly slacked because I figured that I was already in dental school and just needed to pass the classes).

Due to family/personal obligation, at the last minute, I was unable to attend the out-of-state DS which would required me to leave the state. I didn't bother to complete my degree either because I figured that if I wasn't going to get a post grad education, my cell bio degree would be useless.

I took position at a dental office as a front office person because I still wanted to be in the field of dentistry. After four years I knew I wanted continue dentistry from a clinical standpoint (dealing with dental insurance companies and patients when it came time to collect money is not fun).

I knew that I would need a kick ass dat score to counter my negative attributes such as: no degree, been out of school, GPA, was accepted and did not go.
BTW - I know I was fortunate into DS get in back then with my dat score, applying to 2 DS only, and my academics. Everyday I regret not going

I studied for the DAT for 7 hrs/day after work for about a month. It was difficult because I could not remember much of the material.

I am at a cross road now. I know that applying now while I have out of school is difficult. My volunteer experience, letters of recommendation, etc... are 4 years old. Most importantly, I don't have my 4 years bach. (which, I was told, was the reason that I was not accepted in-state).

Please give me some advice. I am no spring chicken either (29).

 

[blueyes34]

I think your DAT scores are great! Your PAT is very impressive and it will give you an edge over many other students. Being in the atmosphere of the dental office will look good on your application, and as long as you justify why you were not able to attend dental school when you were first accepted, I think dental schools will understand. Personally, I think your scores are fine, and as long as you apply to more than only a couple schools, you should be fine. Just what I think though...it is all a matter of opinion!

 

[plakmama]

I think your DAT scores are great! Your PAT is very impressive and it will give you an edge over many other students. Being in the atmosphere of the dental office will look good on your application, and as long as you justify why you were not able to attend dental school when you were first accepted, I think dental schools will understand. Personally, I think your scores are fine, and as long as you apply to more than only a couple schools, you should be fine. Just what I think though...it is all a matter of opinion!

Thank you for your words of encouragement. You are the first that thinks I actually have a shot. I posted this on pre-dent also, and the comments have been extremely helpful but sobering at the same time.

I stayed in state to take care of a sick family member. The DS back then sympathized and agreed for me to enter 2009 instead of 2008 but when I was still unable to go, and asked them for another year, they wanted nothing more to do with me. I understand though. DS is so competitive, and I was lucky to get in in the first place. I was really pushing my luck, asking them to propone admissions 2 years in a row.

 

[slashnroses19]

you have a lot of sections under 18. 18 is just a number schools like i suppose. i had 14 in qr... 18/20/20. but your gpa is good.

 

[plakmama]

you have a lot of sections under 18. 18 is just a number schools like i suppose. i had 14 in qr... 18/20/20. but your gpa is good.

Have you already taken your dat and applied for DS?

 

[slashnroses19]

yes i have taken the dat. i got
21bio 19gchem 20ochem 18rc 20pat 14qr

a lot of people who were accepted to DS PMed me about not getting so bummed about my math score. im submitting my app next week. again, you have a solid gpa. taking it three times wouldn't look too good.

 

[Nasem]

Just took DAT Yesterday:

PAT 21 (94)
QR 15 (40) I AM HORRIBLE AT MATH
RC 16 (17) I RAN OUT OF TIME AND GUESSED ON AT LEAST HALF
BIO 19 (78)
CHM 17 (49) BECAUSE OF CAL.
O.CH 20 (81)
TS 19 (77)
AA 17 (47.6)

What should I do?

1. apply and hope for the best?
2. apply and retake in Aug (my 3rd time)
3. give it up?

I took the DAT 4 years ago and got 18/18/18. At the time I applied to DS, I was 2 semesters short of the 90 credits min. with a 3.9 GPA.
I applied to 1 in-state and 1 out-of-state school. I got rejected in state and accepted out-of-state. I finished up my remaining two semesters and GPA went down to a 3.6 (I foolishly slacked because I figured that I was already in dental school and just needed to pass the classes).

Due to family/personal obligation, at the last minute, I was unable to attend the out-of-state DS which would required me to leave the state. I didn't bother to complete my degree either because I figured that if I wasn't going to get a post grad education, my cell bio degree would be useless.

I took position at a dental office as a front office person because I still wanted to be in the field of dentistry. After four years I knew I wanted continue dentistry from a clinical standpoint (dealing with dental insurance companies and patients when it came time to collect money is not fun).

I knew that I would need a kick ass dat score to counter my negative attributes such as: no degree, been out of school, GPA, was accepted and did not go.
BTW - I know I was fortunate into DS get in back then with my dat score, applying to 2 DS only, and my academics. Everyday I regret not going

I studied for the DAT for 7 hrs/day after work for about a month. It was difficult because I could not remember much of the material.

I am at a cross road now. I know that applying now while I have out of school is difficult. My volunteer experience, letters of recommendation, etc... are 4 years old. Most importantly, I don't have my 4 years bach. (which, I was told, was the reason that I was not accepted in-state).

Please give me some advice. I am no spring chicken either (29).

I don't want to put you down, but I have to be honest with you....
bad news first:
1) The fact that you turned down dental school looks REALLY bad on you
2) The fact that you showed a downward trend in your grades is also another bad sign of a non-serious student.

The possible good news is:
If what you refer to as a "family problem" or whatever it is you had was a SERIOUSLY big issue (family death or something dramatic as such), then yes, you can explain that in your personal statment or during the interview and it will counter the 2 bad points I mentioned above.

My only suggestion is, IF YOU CAN spend the next 2-3 months studying your @$$ off and try to raise up that DAT (ur scores are not bad, but you can do better In my opinion)...... Apply to 15 schools and don't ever refuse an acceptence this time around if you get one.

 

[plakmama]

yes i have taken the dat. i got
21bio 19gchem 20ochem 18rc 20pat 14qr

a lot of people who were accepted to DS PMed me about not getting so bummed about my math score. im submitting my app next week. again, you have a solid gpa. taking it three times wouldn't look too good.

Good Job man, you did good.

That's what my friends tell me, only take it again if you are certain you can do better. I really thought I was going to get a better overall score than four years ago. That summer, I finished my Biochem final exam on Monday and took the dat on Wednesday with one full day review. I stupidly listened to a friend that had just graduated DS. He said you can't really study for the DAT. He said he scored a 24 without studying and that it was really easy. So my dumb ass listened because I didn't know any better. Maybe if I had known about SDN back then...

Anyway, before I started studying for DAT a month ago, I found SDN and read that it takes most people about a month to study for the DAT. So that what I planned. But looking back, I should have given myself longer because I found that I barely remembered a thing and was learning things over. You would be surprised how little you actually retain when you don't use the information you learn. Now I can that I am at the same place that I was four years ago when I was still in school. This should have been the beginning of the "review" period.

So you think taking the DAT 3 times over 4 years will look bad on my admissions? I really don't think I have a choice though. I could have lived with my PAT and my overall science if my RC was not in the "17 PERCENTILE".

Thank you so much for everyone's advice. I try to talk to my friends at work about but they just don't understand. This website and all you SDNER are a God sent.

 

[plakmama]

Yeah it sure does look bad doesn't it. I've regretted that decision every minute of every day for past several years. And you want to know the worst part is? I sacrificed my future for my family and not only do they not appreciate what I did, they keep telling me what a loser I am for not making something of my life. OK, I need to stop this, I sound like a bad episode of Dr. Phil hehe.

 

[plakmama]

Yeah it sure does look bad doesn't it. I've regretted that decision every minute of every day for past several years. And you want to know the worst part is? I sacrificed my future for my family and not only do they not appreciate what I did, they keep telling me what a loser I am for not making something of my life. OK, I need to stop this, I sound like a bad episode of Dr. Phil hehe.

Yes, I have this posted this thread in both the pre-dent and dat areas. When I started the thread, I wanted everyone's opinion on what I should do with these dat score, but as I started writing, the thread became more about if I should re-apply and the history. So as a newbie, I wasn't sure which section to put it under so I posted under both.

 

[Nasem]

thats cool dude...

Well look at the bright side, you still have an overal gpa of 3.6 (which is darn good) and you seem to be motivated enough to push forward and achieve your goal. Take your self into an isolated environment, and spend 5-6 hrs each day for the next 3 months studying for the DAT (and If you think you need more time, then by all means, take more time, take 6 or 8 months if you must) but make sure you rock the DAT inside out.....

I'll tell you something, people sometimes say that SDN is a waist of time and we should be spending more time "studying than serfing SDN" but I say Bull$hit to that because......... you have no idea how much we learn from each other.... Visiting SDN for about 1 hr total everyday might seem like a waist of time, but the amount of information you gain and share with the other folks here is priceless.......
I suggest you visit SDN more often, there is a TON of info you can learn from some of the folks here

 

[plakmama]

thats cool dude...

Well look at the bright side, you still have an overal gpa of 3.6 (which is darn good) and you seem to be motivated enough to push forward and achieve your goal. Take your self into an isolated environment, and spend 5-6 hrs each day for the next 3 months studying for the DAT (and If you think you need more time, then by all means, take more time, take 6 or 8 months if you must) but make sure you rock the DAT inside out.....

I'll tell you something, people sometimes say that SDN is a waist of time and we should be spending more time "studying than serfing SDN" but I say Bull$hit to that because......... you have no idea how much we learn from each other.... Visiting SDN for about 1 hr total everyday might seem like a waist of time, but the amount of information you gain and share with the other folks here is priceless.......
I suggest you visit SDN more often, there is a TON of info you can learn from some of the folks here

Thanx 4 the encouragement. I intend to do just that. I know what I need to concentrate on with respect to the dat. In the mean time, I will work towards my BS. I will take a couple of classes this summer, just elective to get back into things, then go full force for the next two semesters. The last few years have been a set back but I know that if I just focus on the goal, I'll get there or at least know that I did everything that I could to reach my goal.

Yeah, SDN is really a great website. Sometimes it just feels good to know that there are others going through the exact hardship/triumph/determination etc...

Good luck with everything.