What kind of score increase on DAT not worth retake?

[lavender09]

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Hello everyone! I have been an avid reader on this forum for about 2 months now and I greatly appreciate everyone's sincere contributions to questions that many of us have. I am currently facing a dilemma where I have a low GPA (3.35 overall, 3.1 science) and pretty average DAT scores ( gc 20 oc 20 bio 20 qr 20 pat 21 rc 23). My parents are insisting that I retake the DAT, but through talking with 2 adcoms from Louisville and UPenn at an admissions fair, they insisted that I did not need to. However, I'm a little weary of taking their advice into account because part of me is skeptical that they just want applicants for the statistics game. I am losing sleep over deciding whether or not to retake the test and wanted to turn to you all for advice. I am very very scared of not getting interviews because of my low GPA.
Realistically, how difficult is it to advance 4-5 points when you're already in the 20 range? I'm assuming jumping 2 points is not going to make a difference?

 

[sgv]

once you're in the >24 range, the difference can be just a few questions

but if i were you, i'd take it again and get >22. Are you a minority?

 

[ThatsMyFlossify]

I have similar stats and am not retaking. At this point, for me, it's become a game of carefully reading the ADEA Guide to Dental School and making educated decisions on where to apply and to how many schools. There are places out there where you're above average compared to last year's stats.

 

[pinkster]

If I were in your shoes, I would be excited with your scores. They may not be worthy of top schools, but you have the stats to get into a handful of great schools. If a school rep told you you're fine, then I'm sure you're fine!

 

[ModifiedBass]

It would be difficult to increase those scores, they could just stay the same, go down, or only go up slightly with mostly luck. I personally would not retake but I would do anything I could to increase your GPAs if that's possible.

 

[sgv]

just fyi, a good DAT score could be the difference between a state school and a private school. the difference between a state school and a private school can $400,000 and 10 years of dragging your debt to only earn half of what other dentists are earning. what are you willing to do for $400,000 and a decade of paying back loans? if i offered you $400,000 and a decade of your life being debt free, would you be willing to study hardcore for a month? it seems like a ridiculous proposition but it is very much real.

 

[imrandom]

Can't believe ppl complain about these kind of scores =P

 

[gn4]

just fyi, a good DAT score could be the difference between a state school and a private school. the difference between a state school and a private school can $400,000 and 10 years of dragging your debt to only earn half of what other dentists are earning. what are you willing to do for $400,000 and a decade of paying back loans? if i offered you $400,000 and a decade of your life being debt free, would you be willing to study hardcore for a month? it seems like a ridiculous proposition but it is very much real.

isn't it usually easier to get accepted to your own state school? So even though the state school is cheaper, it's also easier to get accepted into it, in which case, I don't think he'd need to retake. If he applied to other state schools, he'd be an OOS student and in most cases, his tuition would be high regardless.

 

[Glimmer1991]

I would NOT retake.

 

[lavender09]

wow, I didn't expect to receive so many responses, THANK YOU ALL for your imput! I am surprised that many of you lean towards not retaking, so you have all given me lots to consider since I was THISCLOSE to submitting my request for Prometric today. Im applying as a NY resident so I mainly have my eye on Stony/Buffalo, NYU, Tufts, BU, UoP, USC, UMich, Case, NJ as definite schools that I want to apply to and I fall on the cusp in terms of stat range for many of them. I have painstakingly saved up enough funds to apply to ~20 schools so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to get in somewhere.


--and sgv, I am a case of the "majority of the minority" in the sense that I fall under the asian category (blasted overachieving asians)

 

[Unknown11]

wow, I didn't expect to receive so many responses, THANK YOU ALL for your imput! I am surprised that many of you lean towards not retaking, so you have all given me lots to consider since I was THISCLOSE to submitting my request for Prometric today. Im applying as a NY resident so I mainly have my eye on Stony/Buffalo, NYU, Tufts, BU, UoP, USC, UMich, Case, NJ as definite schools that I want to apply to and I fall on the cusp in terms of stat range for many of them. I have painstakingly saved up enough funds to apply to ~20 schools so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to get in somewhere.


--and sgv, I am a case of the "majority of the minority" in the sense that I fall under the asian category (blasted overachieving asians)

To me It purely depends on how much of your potential you touched with your 20. Did u study an insane amount? Or did you just wing it? For some people a 20 would be marvelous and satisfying, but for others a a 20 could be underachieving! So it's purely relative to your own mental capabilities and how much work you put in for your LAST attempt.

 

[#kalel]

If I was you, I would retake and aim for 24+ to feel satisfied. Study like you've never studied before.

Reason they tell you to not retake at those fairs, IMO, is because your scores are in that grey area where it could go up but just as easily go down (latter would be damaging to your application I would imagine). But that is assuming an average amount of effort. Pedal to the metal and knock it out of the park.

 

[lavender09]

To me It purely depends on how much of your potential you touched with your 20. Did u study an insane amount? Or did you just wing it? For some people a 20 would be marvelous and satisfying, but for others a a 20 could be underachieving! So it's purely relative to your own mental capabilities and how much work you put in for your LAST attempt.

That's a really interesting perspective that I honestly didn't consider. I studied for about a month with major distractions (helping parents move out of our house/selling furniture on CL/dealing with no wifi because we were moving) so I was honestly surprised at my scores. If I were to retake, I have a projected date of July 15th. Taking off work for a month (Hallelujah for chill research lab PIs) and plan to study around the clock for 14+ hours a day. Kind of intense, but I feel like that's the only way to possibly achieve higher scores. To be honest though, I am terrified that I could drop in score. I'd also have to delay submitting my app till July 15th, which would project me at about the 6th-7th batch. Thanks for your insight!

 

[Unknown11]

That's a really interesting perspective that I honestly didn't consider. I studied for about a month with major distractions (helping parents move out of our house/selling furniture on CL/dealing with no wifi because we were moving) so I was honestly surprised at my scores. If I were to retake, I have a projected date of July 15th. Taking off work for a month (Hallelujah for chill research lab PIs) and plan to study around the clock for 14+ hours a day. Kind of intense, but I feel like that's the only way to possibly achieve higher scores. To be honest though, I am terrified that I could drop in score. I'd also have to delay submitting my app till July 15th, which would project me at about the 6th-7th batch. Thanks for your insight!

No problem boss. Just know we all need friendly advice! (People on here can be quite harsh) haha

 

[BrazilianRider]

once you're in the >24 range, the difference can be just a few questions

but if i were you, i'd take it again and get >22. Are you a minority?

Dude, it's a lot lower than that. Once you're in the 22 range, one question makes a huge difference. For example on Qvault... Miss one question you're at a 28, two you're at a 26, three at 24 and four at 22. It's cut throat once you get up that high.

EDIT: On a different note, now that I'm reading this thread... wtf? Aim for 24+ with a 3.3 oGPA and 3.1 sGPA? Do I need to start worry about retaking with my 3.3 oGPA and 3.27 sGPA?

 

[dbd]

Yes. Definitely. You need a 30/30/30 with your GPA.

 

[BrazilianRider]

Yes. Definitely. You need a 30/30/30 with your GPA.

 

[dbd]

That was sarcastic lol

 

[BrazilianRider]

That was sarcastic lol

I know haha 😛

 

[DentalDoge]

That's what I was asking myself a couple of months ago. I have 3.55 oGPA and 3.5 sGPA with 20AA/20TS/24PAT. Ideally, I would've liked to be around 22 or 23AA but this is my only score. So it would look bad if I retook it and it went down. So I'm just running with this.

 

[dentalWorks]

Hello everyone! I have been an avid reader on this forum for about 2 months now and I greatly appreciate everyone's sincere contributions to questions that many of us have. I am currently facing a dilemma where I have a low GPA (3.35 overall, 3.1 science) and pretty average DAT scores ( gc 20 oc 20 bio 20 qr 20 pat 21 rc 23). My parents are insisting that I retake the DAT, but through talking with 2 adcoms from Louisville and UPenn at an admissions fair, they insisted that I did not need to. However, I'm a little weary of taking their advice into account because part of me is skeptical that they just want applicants for the statistics game. I am losing sleep over deciding whether or not to retake the test and wanted to turn to you all for advice. I am very very scared of not getting interviews because of my low GPA.
Realistically, how difficult is it to advance 4-5 points when you're already in the 20 range? I'm assuming jumping 2 points is not going to make a difference?

Last I remember, biology section has 40 questions and missing 5-6 grants you a score of 20. However, if you missed only 3 questions, you could be in the 22-24 range. So going from 20 to mid-20s is like a couple questions at best.

I do agree that a higher DAT will not increase your chances. And you have to be realistic, how much of an increase are we talking? Can you really go from 20 to 24? Imagine the nightmare scenario where you retake, and end up with either the same score or even a lower score (now your in trouble).

From my years of researching around the pre-dental admission processes, I've learned that most schools appreciate high GPAs over high DATs (their reasoning is, GPA is a 4-year commitment vs DAT is a 3-month preparation.). Fixing your application will require bringing up that science GPA, 3.1 is simply not statistically competative. You should consider post-bacc with upper level biology courses and acing 3.8+ in each class

 

[pinkster]

Overall, I feel like this forum has a very skewed perception on what is "good" in terms of the DAT. I agree with everyone in saying that your GPA needs some work. The DAT is great though. I've seen someone in here post a breakdown of the ranges of every schools DAT scores and 20 is generally the mean for every school. Your gpa, however, is not in the mean. It is worth applying if you can afford it, but I would definitely take some classes to help out the science gpa. Easier said than done, I know.

 

[Glimmer1991]

Good Lord, I'll repeat myself--do not retake. Had I received your scores, I'd have been 100% satisfied.

 

[lavender09]

Thanks for your insight, everyone. It seems that people on this forum have genuine but vastly different opinions about my situation. If I were to call the admissions office of several in state and out of state schools to ask what they think is best, can I trust their opinion? Would directly emailing adcoms be better, or will they find it annoying?

 

[yankpak786]

wow, I didn't expect to receive so many responses, THANK YOU ALL for your imput! I am surprised that many of you lean towards not retaking, so you have all given me lots to consider since I was THISCLOSE to submitting my request for Prometric today. Im applying as a NY resident so I mainly have my eye on Stony/Buffalo, NYU, Tufts, BU, UoP, USC, UMich, Case, NJ as definite schools that I want to apply to and I fall on the cusp in terms of stat range for many of them. I have painstakingly saved up enough funds to apply to ~20 schools so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to get in somewhere.


--and sgv, I am a case of the "majority of the minority" in the sense that I fall under the asian category (blasted overachieving asians)

I think you should be fine for NYU. I was speaking to a member of the adcom and he said "we're looking for at least a 19"

Which was a surprise for me b/c I thought they wanted a 21+ as per the ADEA Official Guide.
Anywho, good luck! I would love to have your scores! 🙂

 

[Blake1e]

I had a GPA similar to yours with 20AA/22TS on the DAT and I retook without a second thought b/c I knew this is a numbers game. On my retake I managed to get 24aa/25ts.. Not impossible to improve you just need full dedication.

But like dentalworks above said GPA is more important than DAT. A high DAT can really help you out however it won't save you from a low GPA.

My suggestion take more classes (get straight As) and do retake the DAT but only if you're confident you could do better.

 

[UltimateHombre]

Thanks for your insight, everyone. It seems that people on this forum have genuine but vastly different opinions about my situation. If I were to call the admissions office of several in state and out of state schools to ask what they think is best, can I trust their opinion? Would directly emailing adcoms be better, or will they find it annoying?

I would trust an admissions rep from any dental school, more than that of random pre-dental students on a public internet forum. This is also a busy time of year for them, so i would expect you would get your questions answered faster with a phone call versus an email.

For whatever my opinion is worth... i would not retake. I don't think that scoring a 21 or 22 would bolster your application that much and you would really need to get in the 23-24 range to make a dent. Your best bet is to apply SMART! Look at schools where you have the greatest chance and apply to a lot of them.

However, if you do want to boost your chances any more, you may consider enrolling in a post-bac or MS to raise your GPA.

 

[NMC2010]

Don't retake it lol... I had a 20 AA / 21 PAT like you and got in this past cycle. oGPA was 3.54, sGPA 3.32, with not very many shadowing (50) or volunteer hours (110). You should have a shot as long as the rest of your app looks good and you do well on your interviews.

 

[Ryan08]

Dont retake. You should trust ADMISSIONS representatives/deans 100%, they are arguably the most credible and reliable source when it comes to how to get ACCEPTED. If you really wanna boost your app (due to low GPA) then VOLUNTEER! At a health conference I was at a few weeks ago, an adcom from Western U told me that if you have over 300 hours of volunteer hours, they will overlook some things.