What are my chances?!?!

[caiteyb]

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I took the DAT for the first time today and don’t know whether to be content with my scores or to start preparing to take it again. My breakdown is as follows:
18 PAT
16 QR
21 RC
17 Bio
17 Gen Chem
16 O Chem
17 AA

To supplement the DAT, I currently have a 3.43 overall GPA and about a 3.30 science (still unsure whether a few of my courses count towards the science GPA). I still have 3 semesters of undergrad to go, and with my hardest coursework behind me I’m certain that I can get my overall up to at least a 3.5. Along with that I’ve done a lot of community service—about 120 hours at the local food bank, many hours with my sorority, and I am currently doing volunteer work in a hospital. I’d say my extracurricular are pretty sound, and my letters of recommendation seem promising. I’m concerned that my DAT score is going to overshadow all my other qualities and prevent me from landing an interview, where I know I’ll really be able to set myself apart. Is there any chance that I will be extended one if I apply to the right schools based on statistics? If I do need to retake it, I’d love to know ASAP so I can do so before I send in my applications in early June to increase my chances of admission. Any advice, especially from current dental students, welcome.

 

[Saiph]

I would retake it. Having scores under 18 is not competitive. Good luck!

 

[Obey]

I took the DAT for the first time today and don’t know whether to be content with my scores or to start preparing to take it again. My breakdown is as follows:
18 PAT
16 QR
21 RC
17 Bio
17 Gen Chem
16 O Chem
17 AA

To supplement the DAT, I currently have a 3.43 overall GPA and about a 3.30 science (still unsure whether a few of my courses count towards the science GPA). I still have 3 semesters of undergrad to go, and with my hardest coursework behind me I’m certain that I can get my overall up to at least a 3.5. Along with that I’ve done a lot of community service—about 120 hours at the local food bank, many hours with my sorority, and I am currently doing volunteer work in a hospital. I’d say my extracurricular are pretty sound, and my letters of recommendation seem promising. I’m concerned that my DAT score is going to overshadow all my other qualities and prevent me from landing an interview, where I know I’ll really be able to set myself apart. Is there any chance that I will be extended one if I apply to the right schools based on statistics? If I do need to retake it, I’d love to know ASAP so I can do so before I send in my applications in early June to increase my chances of admission. Any advice, especially from current dental students, welcome.

With that GPA you need around 19-20AA DAT scores to be competitive.

 

[waterraiden]

Hello, I was wondering what are my chances after studying for a month? I took the DAT first today 9am 1/9/2013. I just graduated college and I have a 3.55 science and 3.53 overall gpa.

I scored
PAT-21
QR-16
RC-16
Biology-18
GC-20
OC-20
TS-19
AA-18

What are my chances to get in dental school? Also, what dental school do you think would give me a chance? Honest feedback would be great!

Thanks!

 

[Obey]

Hello, I was wondering what are my chances after studying for a month? I took the DAT first today 9am 1/9/2013. I just graduated college and I have a 3.55 science and 3.53 overall gpa.

I scored
PAT-21
QR-16
RC-16
Biology-18
GC-20
OC-20
TS-19
AA-18

What are my chances to get in dental school? Also, what dental school do you think would give me a chance? Honest feedback would be great!

Thanks!

You should start a new thread instead of hijacking. The RC score might not meet cutoff for certain schools but if you apply broadly (15+) schools, you definitely stand a chance of getting in somewhere. Your sciences are pretty good.

 

[caiteyb]

So even if I've found schools whose average GPA and DAT I have I still don't have very good chances of getting in and I should retake it?

 

[Obey]

So even if I've found schools whose average GPA and DAT I have I still don't have very good chances of getting in and I should retake it?

Of course you do. When a school lists their average DAT and GPA it means that there are people who got in with lower and higher stats. We can only speculate things on this website.

On SDN, the consensus is that if you have a dat score of 19 with a 3.5 GPA then you are competitive for most schools. This doesn't mean that you don't stand a chance if your stats are lower. Some people still got in with a lower gpa and DAT.

 

[waterraiden]

Sorry, my apologies goes to Caitlyn and Obey. I just created this new account, so I am learning how to use this student doc network. =\.

 

[caiteyb]

Sorry, my apologies goes to Caitlyn and Obey. I just created this new account, so I am learning how to use this student doc network. =\.

No worries! We're all worried...but congrats I think you did very well. And thanks Obey, that calms my nerves a little bit. I'm not looking to get into a top school, I'm just looking to get in. After all we all get the same degree, right?

 

[waterraiden]

Haha yes, I don't care for any of the ivy league schools. I just want my DDS degree that is all. haha Btw i'm so jealous of your 21 DAT reading. I called one of the dental school, Baylor dentistry. They said that they prefer high Reading>Biology>than everything else. Can I ask what strategies did you use or practice to get the superb 21 in RC? I felt the gene therapy were easy to read, but I guess I didn't read it carefully enough.

Thanks.

 

[Obey]

Yes. Generally the schools you go to don't matter, unless you are trying to specialize. Don't worry, we are kind of in the same boat. I too have lower DAT scores with a 17 in reading lol.
if you guys want to chat go to this website

www.tin ychat.com/predent

remove the space between n and y. I am online now.

 

[azimmer]

Hmm it's entirely up to you to retake. Ask yourself this: have I done everything humanly possible to ensure that I have the best application for dental school? Start a check list: grades, EC, leadership, volunteer, and DAT. If you think that you did the best you could to prepare for your DAT, then by all means apply and have peace of mind about it. The first time I took my DAT I had a 19AA/18TS/15PAT. I retook my DAT b/c I knew I could do better and I was spending countless nights tossing and turning thinking that my DAT would prevent me from acquiring any acceptances. Because of this, I retook my DAT and got peace of mind when I received my second scores. If it makes you feel better, my gpa was lower than yours it was a 3.66. I ended up with 5 interviews and 3 acceptances. So yeah, it really is up to you. Do what ever you think will ease this application cycle for you. Hope this helps!

 

[azimmer]

lower than OBEY's gpa* Sorry I get confused who I'm replying to lol

 

[caiteyb]

For reading I used the "search and destroy" method--I basically read the question and then looked for key words in the passages. I felt that reading the passages in their entirety was too time consuming and I wasn't absorbing much of the information anyways. Scanning the passage for about 2 minutes first also helps you to get the gist so that it will be easier to find those key words. Also, thanks for letting me know about the ranking of those section. I was completely unaware of that. I'll have to start calling around and looking for schools who rank reading and PAT higher priority

 

[caiteyb]

Hmm it's entirely up to you to retake. Ask yourself this: have I done everything humanly possible to ensure that I have the best application for dental school? Start a check list: grades, EC, leadership, volunteer, and DAT. If you think that you did the best you could to prepare for your DAT, then by all means apply and have peace of mind about it. The first time I took my DAT I had a 19AA/18TS/15PAT. I retook my DAT b/c I knew I could do better and I was spending countless nights tossing and turning thinking that my DAT would prevent me from acquiring any acceptances. Because of this, I retook my DAT and got peace of mind when I received my second scores. If it makes you feel better, my gpa was lower than yours it was a 3.66. I ended up with 5 interviews and 3 acceptances. So yeah, it really is up to you. Do what ever you think will ease this application cycle for you. Hope this helps!

I've spent the last month and a half of my life doing nothing but studying for the DAT, so a 17AA was a little disappointing. However, I was pleasantly surprised with a few of my other scores. I would really rather not go through the process again, but I feel I will also be losing sleep over it. I guess my question now is if I apply early in June it won't be too late to take them again in mid-August so I have ample time to prepare?

 

[Obey]

I've spent the last month and a half of my life doing nothing but studying for the DAT, so a 17AA was a little disappointing. However, I was pleasantly surprised with a few of my other scores. I would really rather not go through the process again, but I feel I will also be losing sleep over it. I guess my question now is if I apply early in June it won't be too late to take them again in mid-August so I have ample time to prepare?

Exactly how I feel everytime someone tells me to retake(FYI, I spent 2.5 months studying with very few off days...)

If you really do NOT want to retake the DAT, then I would use the time to strenghten other aspect of your application (personal statement, applying early, etc). If you don't get in then you know you need to retake the DAT.

I will be applying with my current scores as well and if I don't get in, I am retaking the DAT.

 

[babowc]

I also took it today, this afternoon... not to hijack, but I got similar scores.
18AA, 16TS (terrible...), 22PAT/22RC/17QR..

I'll definitely be retaking, I studied for about 1 month for DAT alone in conjunction with a heavy load fall semester with 7 bio classes.

I knew I'd be weak on GC/OC, and that was my weakest.
I actually began to enjoy studying for the DAT, so I'll be eating, breathing, and talking DAT until my next test day!

 

[caiteyb]

Exactly how I feel everytime someone tells me to retake(FYI, I spent 2.5 months studying with very few off days...)

If you really do NOT want to retake the DAT, then I would use the time to strenghten other aspect of your application (personal statement, applying early, etc). If you don't get in then you know you need to retake the DAT.

I will be applying with my current scores as well and if I don't get in, I am retaking the DAT.

I really do NOT want to. I am not applying until early June and so I still have one more semester to potentially crank out a 4.00 (or something close to it) and bring my cum GPA up. After stumbling upon the under 20AA thread I definitely feel MUCH better about it. I came across schools I'd never even heard of that are absolutely in my range....like LECOM or University of New England. How come those aren't listed on the ADA website?? So I'm definitely feeling like my time would be better spent focusing on getting a kick ass GPA as well as maybe some more shadowing or research opportunity or a nice internship.

 

[KittySquared]

17TS these days really won't cut it unless you have like a 3.9 and 4.0 science or cumulative GPA coupled with it. The 16s are most definitely deal breakers at many schools. Be sure to look at the schools' individual websites and see that you've made the cut off.

As much as we like to be hopeful and optimistic, meeting the bare minimum requirements or the "average" of matriculants' scores or GPAs simply aren't enough. You always want to be somewhat above the average accepted scores to be considered competitive.

 

[caiteyb]

I may retake it in August, haven't decided yet. That isn't too late, right? From what I've seen on other threads people in worse shape have gotten interviews.

 

[KittySquared]

If you really concentrate and study, you should be able to take it this year in May. It's much better to be early applicant than a later applicant. I suggest you compare with people who are better and earlier than people who are later with worse stats. Aim high, not low.

 

[caiteyb]

Thanks for your feedback. I don't have the time to dedicate to studying in order to take it in May because I have a full course loud this semester and would really like to bring up my GPA. My next best option is to buckle down and study all summer and take it in the beginning of August. Hopefully that's still early enough to land me some interviews

 

[predent12]

You might want to just give yourself some time off after classes end and study mid May- mid July, and take it at the end of July. That's what I did, (I did a post-bacc and took it this past summer,) and it was fine. But perhaps you are just burnt out and need a bit of a break before you hit the books again.

I took my DAT July 18th and didn't have any problem with it being considered late or anything. Just make sure the rest of your app is in at the beginning of June so that you don't have to worry about it.

Good luck!