What is a GOOD/DECENT/BAD DAT Score?

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pharmalang

pharmalang

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I was just wondering, whats good/bad/decent. And what is a DAT score of 18 (overall I guess it's called?)? My sister is Pre-Dental and got an 18, so I was just wondering. Thanks!
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Generally speaking, students with AA of 19 and TS of 19 (and no section less than 17) topped off with 3.5+ GPA and Science GPA is the ideal recipe for an acceptance letter
 
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Oracle DMD said:
17- you can apply
18- not bad
19- avg acceptance score...thats good
20- an attention getter
21-23- you killed it
+24- pick your school to interview at
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Definitely a fair assessment. I questioned my 19, but was told it was 'respectable' by interviewers.
 
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Oracle DMD said:
17- you can apply
18- not bad
19- avg acceptance score...thats good
20- an attention getter
21-23- you killed it
+24- pick your school to interview at
Click to expand...

this is a good ranking. i thought my 21 was good, but i met 2 ppl that have 25 AAs and had to choose from 7 acceptances
 
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Possibly. I think in that case it starts to depend on your "trend."

Disclaimer: I'm a very non-trad student: went to college from 96-2001, didn't get degree 2.3 cGPA. Came back Jan. 2010 and have gone full-time since then and graduate this week with a B.S. biology. cGPA since coming back: 2.9.

Key: AADSAS cumulated cGPA: 2.87. Well below the "magic mark" of 3.0. AADSAS broken down:

BIO - 21
GCHEM - 22
OCHEM - 27
RC - 28
QR - 21
PAT - 25
TS - 22
AA - 24

This is my 2nd cycle applying. Applied to ~18 schools both times. NO INTERVIEWS cycle 1. 2 interviews so far: UMich and Tufts (accepted to both).

What I've noticed: some schools have absolute criterion that they WILL NOT MAKE ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR. (ie. Both Midwestern's and NOVA Southeastern rejected me right off the bat because I was < 3.0) Other schools actually examine and review your application when you send them their $70+ secondary app fee. :)

In other words, to make a short story long - it's a mixed bag of everything. Bad grades won't kill you, but certainly make things tougher. Finishing strong helps. A good (or great) DAT score is no guarantee either. Even if you score straight 30's and have a sub-3.0, a lot, A LOT, of schools will question your motivation. Bear in mind that any school, no matter the cost, is taking a loss in educating you. So it is in their best interest to graduate 100% of their class and get them all working in the field so they can hit you up for alumnus donations.

And remember, your scores and stats will only get you in the door. You STILL have to close the deal at your interview.

So this is all based on my experiences, but I've come to notice that if you are depending wholly on your DAT scores, you'll probably be setting yourself up for disappointment. If it comes between an applicant with high DAT scores and a mediocre GPA vs. an applicant with mediocre DAT scores and a strong GPA, schools will most likely opt for the one with the better GPA because it represents a LONG-TERM COMMITMENT to whatever your goal is.
 
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How did the time spent studying (in number of hours) for the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) affect the overall cumulative score achieved on your DAT? Furthermore, on average, which gender tends to get the higher scores, males or females?
We would appreciate it if anyone is willing to respond to this question, as we are collecting data to find the correlation between the number of hours studied and the AA score of your DAT, male students versus female students.

Thank you all so much for your time,

Best,
A

Basically we need-

Your Gender
DAT AA Score
Total Hours Spent Studying
 
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how about 18AA/19TS
3.86oGPA and 3.75SGPA

would you guys consider that average? below average?
 
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trangalang said:
I was just wondering, whats good/bad/decent. And what is a DAT score of 18 (overall I guess it's called?)? My sister is Pre-Dental and got an 18, so I was just wondering. Thanks!
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Apologies if this might sound like an advertisement (I do represent a prep company), but I couldn't help pitching in a few more helpful information. So generally, a "good" score may be good enough for admission to one dental school but below the cut-off of another. The best way for your sister to find out is to consult directly the dental institution to which she intends to apply. If you need further information, you might find our compilation helpful about what is a good DAT score and the average DAT score and GPA of each dental school in the US: http://www.dat-prep.com/dat-scores-for-dental-schools#averagegoodandhighdatscores
 
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doc toothache said:
Not as "embarrassing" as some of the information on your website.
Click to expand...

As I've mentioned in another thread, we take every feedback into consideration. We would, however, appreciate - and you are under no obligation to do so if you don't feel like it, of course - if you can specify which information on our website you found to be hilarious, so we can qualify them and correct them if necessary. Sincere thanks!
 
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Hey guys, no offense meant but I think that other predentals would benefit more from this thread if we kept the discussions within the topic for which it was started.

I will not be a hypocrite and say that posts made by our company here are not a form of advertisement in one way or another. After all, we wouldn't be SDN sponsors since 2008 for nothing. But we do respect the rules that SDN administrators had provided us. This is why we try our best to keep our posts in the Classifieds section and our own GS Headquarters forum. However, when I replied to the post above, it also came with a sincere intent to offer some useful information to the predents here who may have had similar concerns.

We do recognize that each is entitled to his or her own opinion, but I think it would benefit the predents more than it would for our company if the specific errors, along with the correct information, were also mentioned. =)
 
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Maybe I'm missing something but is Doctor Toothache the good guy or the bad guy here?
 
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For what it's worth: my son finishes dental school this year. He had a 25AA and a 3.97 GPA. I started looking around this evening because I was curious if his DAT score was REALLY all that good. I guess it was. It also appears that nobody scored higher than he did the year he took the DAT. He took some kind of local cheapo DAT prep class that he didn't bother to attend much. He had a ridiculously easy time getting into any dental school he wanted. Several of his interviewers made comments to the effect that they'd only heard of--never actually seen--an applicant with that kind of DAT score.
My point is that if it's not too late, study up and boost your DAT scores. It's pretty freaking impressive how easy it is to get into a great dental school if you hit the books and limit the college partying.
 
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Fairly Old Doc said:
It's pretty freaking impressive how easy it is to get into a great dental school if you hit the books and limit the college partying.
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The same could be said for law school, med school, or anything for that matter. However, partying or at least going out with friends is all part of the college experience.
 
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joemario said:
ARE you serious? 22 is new good??? or is it just SDN? This is very discouraging. I have 22 but it might look not as good to D school before.
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I had a 22aa, and although it was never explicitly brought up at interviews, I still was offered 10, despite my less than stellar oGPA. Don't fret, you're all good.
 
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joemario said:
ARE you serious? 22 is new good??? or is it just SDN? This is very discouraging. I have 22 but it might look not as good to D school before.
Click to expand...

I second what free99 says. I "only" had a 21AA and was offered 10 interviews, and accepted at UCLA, UCSF, Penn, Michigan, and USC. If you're not a total weirdo in your interviews you'll be fine!
 
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free99 said:
I had a 22aa, and although it was never explicitly brought up at interviews, I still was offered 10, despite my less than stellar oGPA. Don't fret, you're all good.
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Hey I know this post is kind of old, but if you do end up reading this, what was your overall and science GPA? I got a 22AA/22TS, but it's no joke when I say I have less than stellar GPA. Just barely hitting 3.0 science and 3.3 overall. @HaverfoodsDDS you're information would be helpful too. I'm applying this year for the second time, last year I had 20AA/18TS and I received 0 interviews.
 
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shrister said:
Hey I know this post is kind of old, but if you do end up reading this, what was your overall and science GPA? I got a 22AA/22TS, but it's no joke when I say I have less than stellar GPA. Just barely hitting 3.0 science and 3.3 overall. @HaverfoodsDDS you're information would be helpful too. I'm applying this year for the second time, last year I had 20AA/18TS and I received 0 interviews.
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I had a very high GPA - a little over a 4.0 for both science and overall - but regardless a 22AA/TS will get you some recognition. You may not get interviews at everywhere you'd like but you should definitely get SOME. Someone please feel free to correct me If I'm wrong, but I could have sworn Doc has posted a link somewhere that says around 75% of applicants with a 21+AA get accepted regardless of their GPA.
 
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I've been wondering the same thing.. my GPA is not too stellar (mostly because I was an underachieving freshman and hit sophomore slump pretty bad... but I pretty much pulled my GPA from a 3.1 to a 3.55 in 1.5 years). My DAT score is a 26AA/26TS/21PAT. I was just wondering if schools look at overall trends in GPA and can tell (and hopefully appreciate) a steady increase over the years?
 
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HaverfoodsDDS said:
I had a very high GPA - a little over a 4.0 for both science and overall - but regardless a 22AA/TS will get you some recognition. You may not get interviews at everywhere you'd like but you should definitely get SOME. Someone please feel free to correct me If I'm wrong, but I could have sworn Doc has posted a link somewhere that says around 75% of applicants with a 21+AA get accepted regardless of their GPA.
Click to expand...

Holy crap great GPA! I regret so much not working harder in undergraduate. It was literally a breeze and that's because I accepted B grades all around. Even a little bit of effort and I would have gotten As. Anyways, I think I read that same stat you're talking about but I personally prefer hearing from individuals rather than using those stats.
 
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dhk2131 said:
I've been wondering the same thing.. my GPA is not too stellar (mostly because I was an underachieving freshman and hit sophomore slump pretty bad... but I pretty much pulled my GPA from a 3.1 to a 3.55 in 1.5 years). My DAT score is a 26AA/26TS/21PAT. I was just wondering if schools look at overall trends in GPA and can tell (and hopefully appreciate) a steady increase over the years?
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They like to see improvements. If you raised your GPA, that will look very good. I think you're fine
 
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joemario said:
ARE you serious? 22 is new good??? or is it just SDN? This is very discouraging. I have 22 but it might look not as good to D school before.
Click to expand...
I hate to say it but it's true. My family member stays in touch with the dean of her dental program and they're telling her that they are accepting more students than before with a 22 - 23 rather than the average 19. It does make it a lot more disheartening to hear that especially when that's turning into the new good score while a 19 - 21 is now a decent score.
 
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Average Guy said:
I hate to say it but it's true. My family member stays in touch with the dean of her dental program and they're telling her that they are accepting more students than before with a 22 - 23 rather than the average 19. It does make it a lot more disheartening to hear that especially when that's turning into the new good score while a 19 - 21 is now a decent score.
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What dental program is that? The average has gone up every year and I've heard this as well from NOVA.
 
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shrister said:
Hey I know this post is kind of old, but if you do end up reading this, what was your overall and science GPA? I got a 22AA/22TS, but it's no joke when I say I have less than stellar GPA. Just barely hitting 3.0 science and 3.3 overall. @HaverfoodsDDS you're information would be helpful too. I'm applying this year for the second time, last year I had 20AA/18TS and I received 0 interviews.
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This is two year old information, but I had pretty much your exact same qualifications. 22aa, 22ts, and 20 pat. Science GPA of 3.05 and overall of 3.29. You might have a tough time. I was lucky enough to have gotten a volunteer position in the clinics at NYU beginning the summer I applies and continuing through the year. I was able to present 3 letters of recommendation from NYU faculty and the director of admissions saw my face often. I know my interviewer recommended me so in one of our conversations during the year. NYU was the only interview I got, and even then I only got in off the wait list. You'll probably get an interview somewhere due to your DAT scores. Show genuine interest without appearing desperate to give yourself the best shot.
 
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After hearing Ads620's story, I really guess what's considered competitive for DAT has gone up. Maybe 24 is the new 19!
 
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I am not sure it's a healthy macroeconomic trend when more and more smart people want to make pulling teeth their careers instead of being scientists and engineers. There were days not too long ago when US dental schools shut down en masse due to not having enough students :).
 
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I wonder 22ts 21aa 26pa with 3.57 would be decent for many schools ( of course excluding columbia or ucla..) It seems like a lot of school does not weigh much on PA...other than PA, my numbers seem to be average. Getting into dantal schools is becomming more competitive than ever....
 
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bluemt0211 said:
I wonder 22ts 21aa 26pa with 3.57 would be decent for many schools ( of course excluding columbia or ucla..) It seems like a lot of school does not weigh much on PA...other than PA, my numbers seem to be average. Getting into dantal schools is becomming more competitive than ever....
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Just at a quick glance, those numbers put you solidly in the "competitive" category, even for Columbia or UCLA. Couple those stats with some good life experiences that you can discuss during interviews and that's a recipe for success.

Someone quoted an old post of mine above asking about GPA, which I apparently never responded to. Mine were quite low, lower than average for all the schools I applied to/was accepted at, including some "prestigious schools" like UCSF & UMich. What I lacked in GPA I made up for in life experience and genuine enthusiasm for health care and dentistry. My point is, don't let a few numbers along dictate where you apply and don't be fooled into thinking those the only factors that matter. GPA/DAT are obviously important, but I think they tend to get a little overemphasized on here because they're the most quantitative way to assess an applicant. Write a good PS, enrich yourself with a variety of experiences, and become invested in the field you wish to pursue, because all that stuff matters, too.
 
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