Whats more important? DAT or GPA

[boohoo123]

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Hi hi,

I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice!

I was wondering what is more important? To focus on raising a science GPA/GPA or focus on doing really well on the DAT?

I currently have a 3.1 science GPA and a DAT score of 19AA/19Science/20PAT

I was just wondering what you gusy would recommend focusing on at this point, raising my bio GPA (I have a couple more months of undergrad) or put all my energy in doing better on my DAT? I'm prepping to reapply next cycle jsut wondering what needs the most work

 

[Kier]

I would say focus on DAT not because GPA isn't important but because getting all As this sem may raise your GPA to max 3.2~3 but intense studying for DAT may give you 23/24 which would be much better than 3.3 + 19DAT. I would say raise your GPA to 3.2ish rock DAT (get 22+)🙂!

 

[bing12]

IMO, it would depend on the reputation of the undergraduate school and whether its known to be rigorous or not. If the undergraduate school was less known, the DAT, in this case, might take a heavier weight.

 

[wired202808]

GPA matters more. Over and over again you can see students with 19s and 20s get rejected from schools because of low oGPA and sGPA. a 19 DAT is nearly the average for most admitted students and is acceptable. If I were in your shoes, I would focus on boosting your GPA in order to be more competitive. If you can raise your GPA to a 3.5 to 3.6 then your DAT score is absolutely fine. Additionally raising your DAT score is harder than raising your GPA, if you retake and get a 20 it won't be significantly more competitive with your 3.1 GPA.

 

[jdrummerjd]

I agree with wired. My DAT score wasn't the best but my gpa was solid and I got accepted to a couple schools. If you could raise your gpas up and apply early you should be a good candidate (assuming your lors, personal statement, and essays are all good)!

 

[SupDanLOL]

GPA "strength" is tricky to measure and almost subjective in a sense. Schools factor in the strength of you undergraduate institution, the difficulty of your major, upward/downward trends, etc.

DAT is cut and dry. A 22 is a 22 is a 22. If you crush the DAT you are in great shape.

Having a certain GPA on the other hand... let's say a 3.45 could be excellent (engineering degree from MIT with upward trend) , or it could be not-so-impressive (poli sci from no-name institution with downward trend).

My GPA was similar to the more "impressive" scenario which I listed above. Not a single school has commented on it being below average-- even at schools which boast average GPAs closer to 3.7 or 3.8. In fact, they are often quite impressed with what I've done.

So did I answer your question? Not really. But my point is that there is a gray area in determining a good GPA.

 

[Bereno]

While I agree that GPA is probably a little more important, I would actually focus on your DAT at this point. The reason is that if you only have a few more months of school, you cannot raise your GPA much even if you 4.0 every class. Basically, I think the best bang for your time here is to focus on your DAT. However, if you study from now until you take your DAT, you can possibly score in the 21+ range if you retake. Just note, that if you do retake, you NEED to score better than your current 19. Hope this helps.

 

[FLOSS UR TEETH]

The DAT.

The usual case:

3.2 GPA with a 23 DAT -----> Accepted to Columbia

3.7 GPA with a 20 DAT -----> Declined at Columbia

 

[sacapuntas]

I sure as hell hope the DAT is more important!

 

[wired202808]

At this point I think you need to pursue a 1 yr Masters program. The odds of raising your score from a 19 to 21+ are slim and you have a better shot at raising your GPA and gaining acceptance with a 19. I wouldnt retake the DAT just to assume you can get in with that sort of score.

 

[wired202808]

The DAT.

The usual case:

3.2 GPA with a 23 DAT -----> Accepted to Columbia

3.7 GPA with a 20 DAT -----> Declined at Columbia

😕 ADEA says Columbia wants an oGPA of 3.44

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

At this point I think you need to pursue a 1 yr Masters program. The odds of raising your score from a 19 to 21+ are slim and you have a better shot at raising your GPA and gaining acceptance with a 19. I wouldnt retake the DAT just to assume you can get in with that sort of score.

I disagree. A 19 just isn't going to cut it since he already has a red flag on his app from the low undergrad GPA. He needs a 21 or higher. If he works hard and study like his life depended on it, he can make 21+.

 

[FLOSS UR TEETH]

😕 ADEA says Columbia wants an oGPA of 3.44

Yes, that would be Columbia's GPA median. Columbia is notorious for taking applicants with lower GPA's and high DAT's.

 

[wired202808]

I disagree. A 19 just isn't going to cut it since he already has a red flag on his app from the low undergrad GPA. He needs a 21 or higher. If he works hard and study like his life depended on it, he can make 21+.

Schools look at Total GPA when weighing applicants, the 3.1 wont look as bad when you combine it with a near 4.0 in a Masters program. Also, a 3.1 with a 21 isn't a guarantee for admission, since 3.1 is well below the average of most schools.

 

[wired202808]

Yes, that would be Columbia's GPA median. Columbia is notorious for taking applicants with lower GPA's and high DAT's.

I wouldnt bet on scoring a 21 just to potentially get accepted at one school. I think its wiser to boost a weak GPA to make yourself a well rounded applicant. From my experience it seems easier to get interviews with higher GPAs and lower DAT scores than the other way around. There are a ton of people on this board who have 21+ and haven't received interviews or acceptances due to low GPAs.

 

[iralex801]

The DAT because it is the most objective source to evaluate an applicant.

 

[FLOSS UR TEETH]

I wouldnt bet on scoring a 21 just to potentially get accepted at one school. I think its wiser to boost a weak GPA to make yourself a well rounded applicant. From my experience it seems easier to get interviews with higher GPAs and lower DAT scores than the other way around. There are a ton of people on this board who have 21+ and haven't received interviews or acceptances due to low GPAs.

There really is no way of knowing. Your not an ADCOM and neither am I. IMO, DAT seems to be more important than GPA and this may possibly due to it being standardized. Do I agree it should be this way? Not really.

OP, if you want to give yourself the best shot then kill a post-bacc or masters program and couple it with a 21+ with no low sections on the DAT.

But always remember, admissions is very abstract. There is no telling of whether or not you will be accepted. You just have to do the best you can in every area of your application. Who knows you may get in with a low GPA and mediocre DAT, but why risk it?

 

[wired202808]

There really is no way of knowing. Your not an ADCOM and neither am I. IMO, DAT seems to be more important than GPA and this may possibly due to it being standardized. Do I agree it should be this way? Not really.

OP, if you want to give yourself the best shot then kill a post-bacc or masters program and couple it with a 21+ with no low sections on the DAT.

But always remember, admissions is very abstract. There is no telling of whether or not you will be accepted. You just have to do the best you can in every area of your application. Who knows you may get in with a low GPA and mediocre DAT, but why risk it?

Right so we agree, you need a higher than 3.1 GPA to get into most d-schools. Yes a masters + retake would equal a higher chance. Its just a lot easier to increase your GPA than to jump up 2 points on the DAT, 21+ is already 90smth % thats very hard to do. But hey at this point a GPA boost is necessary no matter how you look at it.

 

[dentalWorks]

IMO, the only time DAT is more important than GPA is when you blow it outta the waters (IMO, anything 23+ qualifies).

Yes 20-22 are great scores, but, I don't believe they out-weight GPA.

 

[wired202808]

IMO, the only time DAT is more important than GPA is when you blow it outta the waters (IMO, anything 23+ qualifies).

Yes 20-22 are great scores, but, I don't believe they out-weight GPA.

+1. 40 out of 58 d-schools have an average DAT score from 19 to 20. Meanwhile 45 schools have an average GPA of 3.5 or higher. So it seems like the DAT is relative amongst most schools, yet the GPA varies significantly for each school.

 

[Baker2010]

Both are important.
I say this because, by having both of these, it allows schools to better assess an applicant in terms of the rigoriousness of their undergraduate program.
If an applicant has a 3.9 GPA but gets an 18 AA on the DAT then schools can reasonably conclude that their undergrad coursework isn't as difficult as an applicant at another school who perhaps has a 3.5 gpa but got a 23AA on the DAT.
Therefore, they really work together and its not the question of which one is more important.

 

[BU2012]

Depends on the school.

Columbia will initially wait list some students that are accepted to Harvard b/c Columbia prides themselves on high DAT scores.

Harvard, however, will rarely accept anyone with an undergrad GPA below a certain point, whereas Columbia will accept students with low GPA's as long as they have very high DAT's to compensate.

Some schools look for the total package, others focus on certain aspects. Some schools value the PAT highly, others not so much.

In the end, look at the schools you want to go to, look at their historical averages, and aim for them.

 

[boohoo123]

tTHANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE!

from what I've gathered, they're both pretty important so I might try to juggle and do both. Take a full load of bio courses as well as study for my DAT to retake it

hopefully I can raise my sGPA to 3.2 at least and overall GPA to almost a 3.4 and raise my DAT to at least a 20. hopefully it works out *fingers crossed*

 

[Kier]

tTHANK YOU ALL FOR THE ADVICE!

from what I've gathered, they're both pretty important so I might try to juggle and do both. Take a full load of bio courses as well as study for my DAT to retake it

hopefully I can raise my sGPA to 3.2 at least and overall GPA to almost a 3.4 and raise my DAT to at least a 20. hopefully it works out *fingers crossed*

This is a good idea. Well I took cDAT so it may be different but I was taking several Bio courses when I was preparing for the DAT. This really helped my bio section and I just had to study things not covered by the course topic. I had cell physiology, genetics, classification, anatomy already under my sleeves because of the bio courses. They will help you for sure🙂!