What should I do?!?!

[chotrain02]

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I am so stressed. I don't know what I should do guys. Share your thoughts with me please!

Here is my info

non-traditional student with Econ degree
Pre-reqs: Gen Bio I - A
Gen Bio II - C+
Gen Chem I - A
Gen Chem II - A
Ochem I - A-
Ochem II - A
Physics I - A-
Physics II - taking it this summer
DAT score : Bio - 21
Gen Chem - 21
Ochem - 25
TS - 22
PAT - 19
and here is the good part........
QR - 16
RC - 13

because of these two, my AA is 19
I've been getting 23s and 24s on QR w/ practice tests and I dont know what happened. And RC............yeah.

So, should I still apply for 2013 entering class? and retake the DAT?
give me some advise guys!

 

[TheDentist16]

Your TS, AA, and PAT are solid. Your pre-reqs are solid too, that C+ in Bio II won't really hurt you that much as you have A's in everything else. However, your QR and RC scores will probably hurt your app. Many schools have minimum cut-offs, typically at 16 or 17. The QR might be pass-able with certain schools, but the RC will most probably be an issue with schools. I read on a forum earlier today that NYU has a minimum cutoff of 17 for RC.

My suggestion would be to apply for the 2013 entering class and re-take the DAT to bring up that RC score. The rest of your app looks really amazing and it would be a shame to miss out on schools that you definitely have a shot at. Your pre-reqs show that you're dental school material. It's just the RC that might pose a problem. Good luck in the 2013 cycle!

 

[SayCheese123]

You need to retake the DAT.

RC is (obviously) your biggest area of concern as an applicant. A 13 will automatically weed your application out of the applicant pool for many schools. I've been told that a 16 can weed you out too, but if you're going to have a 16, QR is the best place to get it. I had a 25 PAT and 20-23 on all other sections of my DAT, except for a 16 in QRT. I had also been scoring high on practice tests, so wasn't worrying about it. Even with the 16 QR, I got into five of the eight school that I applied to. In interviews, I explained what I thought had happened to my score (I was working full-time, doing 100% self-guided study, and my book didn't have a good section on trig. I figured there would only be 3 questions on trig, so I cut my losses in my studies, but there turned out to be 10 trig questions on my test - ouch), and cited my high grades in past math classes as a testament to my true QR skills. One so-so score won't kill you.

Don't beat yourself up over the C+ in Bio, as your DAT score for Bio is as good as it is.

Is there still time to take the DAT before the 2013 application deadline? It seems like if you'd been scoring 23's on practice tests that you should be able to crunch the test out again pretty soon...

BEST WISHES!!!

 

[chotrain02]

thank you very much!

 

[chotrain02]

thanks for your reply. The earliest I can re-take is probably the 31th of August or the 1st. I was going to apply and call/e-mail school and let them know that I am re-taking because of my reading score and tell them what happened. what do you think?

 

[JewelsRDH]

You should apply now but plan on retaking the DAT. Most of your grades and scores demonstrate the potential to succeed in dental school. I was able to get interviews before my retake with scores lower than yours since I had put down on my app that I was retaking it.

 

[bluesprite13]

I think you will definitely have to retake your DAT only because of your two bottom scores. Many schools have a cut-off of a minimum DAT score of 17. However, everything is excellent for you! I say, apply this cycle and retake your DAT, but you will need to try your hardest to do the same or even better in the subjects where you already did well. It might look bad if you did worse on those.