WHY These scores!!! Please help...

[rromantico]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Today Nov. 3, 2009 I took my third time DAT and after intensely studying for 4 months almost dedicating around 8 hours a day and this is what I get! 😡

PAT: 21
RC: 15 😱
QR: 15 😱
BIO: 17
OQ: 16
GC: 16

Don't even ask about my previous scores; not worth reading. I have to admit that this has been the most disappointing time of my life. I currently have a 3.4 Science GPA and a 3.2 Avg. GPA. I have no idea where to start now, all I can think of is that if there will be a school that will at least look at my file...🙁! Don't think so...
Should I retake for a forth time? Is there like a waiting period that resets all my scores and allow me to take the DAT again like if it was my first time? Should I spend the money paying for the supplemental material of all the dental schools I applied? I am very frustrated with this issue now! Please help me and give me as much advice as possible.
Thanks for all your help.

 

[FutureDent020]

Today Nov. 3, 2009 I took my third time DAT and after intensely studying for 4 months almost dedicating around 8 hours a day and this is what I get! 😡

PAT: 21
RC: 15 😱
QR: 15 😱
BIO: 17
OQ: 16
GC: 16

Don't even ask about my previous scores; not worth reading. I have to admit that this has been the most disappointing time of my life. I currently have a 3.4 Science GPA and a 3.2 Avg. GPA. I have no idea where to start now, all I can think of is that if there will be a school that will at least look at my file...🙁! Don't think so...
Should I retake for a forth time? Is there like a waiting period that resets all my scores and allow me to take the DAT again like if it was my first time? Should I spend the money paying for the supplemental material of all the dental schools I applied? I am very frustrated with this issue now! Please help me and give me as much advice as possible.
Thanks for all your help.

I'm really sorry and that must be terribly upsetting. Applying is up to you, but I doubt you will be given much consideration with your DAT scores. If dentistry is what you really want to pursue then call the schools or adea or whoever and see if you can take it again. But I really don't think you will have much luck with your most recent attempt. Unless you're from Mississippi...??

 

[PaulieGualtieri]

I know there is a 90 day waiting period between tests. I believe there is also a 3 test cap maximum unless you get it waived by the ADA (check their website). Did you look at Howard or Meharry, they have lower scores. Cheer up, there's always master's programs.

 

[rromantico]

It's just that I have put ssoo much into this crap!

 

[FutureDent020]

It's just that I have put ssoo much into this crap!

Master's programs are for GPA boosting , but he is right about the waiting period and 3 time maximum. There are exceptions though. It sounds like standardized testing may be your problem. Have you been preparing the right way? Taking lots of practice tests and using the materials people mention on this forum. I didn't take many practice tests at all and only used the destroyer. I didn't want to re-take, but I imagine if you do achiever, topscore, cliff notes, destroyer, crack PAT/MATH, etc.. you are guaranteed better scores than you received. That is if you are mentally capable of storing the information and I am not saying you aren't. How did you study?

 

[rromantico]

I did get Destroyer, Achiever, Topscore and did Kaplan online which the Kaplan didn't help at all! And it did not work. Furthermore, to be honest; I still haven't finished my Bachelor's degree, I have all the school's requirements but haven't finished it yet. But still, there is no reason why I should have gotten those scores! 😡 I am sssooo pissed, all my plans are ruined.

 

[FutureDent020]

Not necessarily. Don't freak out. People do poorly on the DAT all the time. You will be able to take it a 4th time and succeeding will be a MUST. Look around the forum and get all the DAT studying material you can. Search the forum for ALL the goodies. Read about how people studied. Studying hard and studying smart are two different things. Take all the RC practice tests you can to hone your skills. Run through the destroyer math several times so you are familiar with every type of problem (something I did not do). In the destroyer study every a, b, c ,d, e answer choice and why it is either the right or wrong answer. You will only get a couple questions that the destroyer does not cover directly. Then just keep taking practice test. And for your 4th attempt, if you are 3 days away and not scoring well on your practice exams, push the DAT back cause it will be your last chance. Study smart, do the best you can, and if it doesn't work out there are dozens of other great healthcare fields for you to investigate. Your GPA will open doors. Again, read through these DAT threads and you will find great advice. I wish I had before I took my test

 

[rromantico]

Hey man, thank you very much for the advice! it's not easy to find people who are willing to help others without charging. I hope others can help you as you have with me. Good luck in your career. And thank you once again.

 

[torque]

I am so sorry to hear about your score.
I also have had a very disappointing results before and know exactly how you must be feeling right now.

If I were you, I would pay for supplemental since I paid for the application and DAT as well because noone knows what can happen.
Then if you don't get in this year, then you can maybe send in your rejection letter to the ADA so you can take the DAT again for the fourth time. And apply for the next cycle.

Good luck and never give up your dream.

 

[thecoolpharmboi]

I did get Destroyer, Achiever, Topscore and did Kaplan online which the Kaplan didn't help at all! And it did not work. Furthermore, to be honest; I still haven't finished my Bachelor's degree, I have all the school's requirements but haven't finished it yet. But still, there is no reason why I should have gotten those scores! 😡 I am sssooo pissed, all my plans are ruined.

I say DEMAND money back from Kaplan, its their guarantee! That's where I would start.

 

[tsitneD]

Sorry to hear. You should go visit admission dean of a nearby D school and see what he has to say. Ask all the questions you got.

I took DAT three times too so I understand how it feels. If you are really passionate about this profession then dont give up.

Good Luck!!!

 

[peanutb123]

sorry to hear about you scores...
I was in you same exact situation once but for different test.
Since you have mentioned that you have not finished all your undergrad classes yet... i may assume that you are either a junior or senior. So why rush into things... First finish your school w/ Good GPA... and improve that science GPA & cGPA... while you are finishing up with school, ask your self couple questions why are you doing this & how bad you want it. After graduation take a summer/semester off and study for DAT exam.

May be this advice will help: I got it from someone...

1. You must be focused.
2. Do one thing but doing it right is the most important part.
3. also make sure if you not happy with something don't be afraid to step back and reevaluate yourself.
4. if you are making a mistake wait and think where you went wrong and know the step to make the WRONG into RIGHT and MAKE IT WORK.

 

[wantVCUdental]

Our DAT were scheduled at similar times and i noticed a lot of your posts earlier before i wrote the DAT.
From what i can see, i can offer you the following advice:
MASTER material, this is absolutely crucial. From your previous post where you said you were making silly mistakes, I believe you maybe taking the DAT a little too lightly. I don't mean to offend you in anyway, i came from the same side of the bridge as you and i know it is tough to study so hard for such a simple exam. But dat is graded in such a cruel way that you lose the first 10 points pretty much for the first 10 questions. DILIGENCE is the KEY! There is no room for silly mistake, even on practice tests.

I know this sounds harsh, and i hope it will really help you study for your retake. When you are studying, memorize all information! don't just look at it and say "oh i understand why that is" or "oh i've seen this before". What you need to be able to say to most questions is "Oh i know this inside out, this is easy"
The best prep material for this method is destroyer, it will take a lot of effort, but rather than just getting the question right, look up all of the statements in the answer. MEMORIZE them.
When you encounter problems in gen chem/ochem/QR, instead stopping at where you've solved the question, ask yourself "how else can this concept be applied? what are other possible perspectives the test-makers can come up with tricky questions?"

And finally when you go through Topscore or achiever, make sure you do them over and over again, look up all the concepts that are asked, make some notes, MEMORIZE them.

There are people who do well by understanding concepts, however i can say with confidence that most of those who have scored high on the DAT or for any other test is that they have MASTERED the material.

Good luck
J.

 

[FutureDent020]

There are people who do well by understanding concepts, however i can say with confidence that most of those who have scored high on the DAT or for any other test is that they have MASTERED the material.

Good luck
J.

That's a good point. And where I went wrong. You don't have enough time to understand the information and then apply it to the questions. You do have to master it

 

[Tooth1]

If you really want it then RETAKE. Call ADA ask about 4th time waiver thing, like what's the procedure for that. You will be fine. It's about understanding and memorizing material. I must agree with the previous posts when taking DAT there's no room for silly mistakes. GOOD LUCK!

 

[CanadianDental]

If this is your dream, never give up man, I can't fathom how discouraging this must be, but just work even harder and you will have a great story of perseverance to tell the dental school interviewers in your interview. Good luck 👍

 

[TedyBearSuicide]

What were your practice test scores from Top Score? and Kaplan full length test?

 

[bennijai]

You have to be doing something wrong with your studying habits. I suggest you study and recite the material to memory. If you aren't having dreams of you studying in your dreams, you're not studying hard enough.

 

[FutureDent020]

You have to be doing something wrong with your studying habits. I suggest you study and recite the material to memory. If you aren't having dreams of you studying in your dreams, you're not studying hard enough.

Haha, those are the worst! I just graduated and am also already having dreams that I didn't study for exams and have forgotten to attend a class all semester. It's horrible.

 

[dentalWorks]

Sorry to hear about your hardships...

There are 2 facts to consider:
1) your doing bad in ALL sections ~ which leads me to conclude that your simply not preparing right. Thats kind of good news becuase once you figure out what your doing wrong, you can fix it and try a 4th time. There are some folks around here on SND who have always gotten 16/17AA thier first 3 tries, did it a 4th time and rocked 21AA+. YOu can do it too

2) most of us here have already taken the DAT and since we are replaying to your post, chances are, we are the ones who did good, we can help you figure out where your messing up. Sometimes, the best way to accomplish a huge task if to see how someone did it before you


Tell us EVERYTHING you did, simply stating you studied for 8 hrs straight for 4 months tells me nothing. Let me tell you something right now, I could have studied for 6 months for my DAT, and spent 12 hours on it EVERY DAY, and I still woulda done pretty bad if I hadn't applied the sciences to actual problems (this is HUGE esspecially for general chemistry and organic chemistry)... You need to apply your knowledge to problems, its the best way to learn. Destroyer / topscore / and even kaplan white book has some amazing practice problems to try out. The mistakes (and going over them) you make in these sources will help strengthen your scientific foundation.

For the time being, I wouldn't worry about a masters program or even post-bacc, your biggest challenge is not your GPA, its your DAT. Work on your biggest weakness. One more thing, take some time off, you seem to have worked very hard over the past couple of months, you need to take a month or 2 off, GET AWAY FROM DAT. Do something to get ur mind off of it. When you come back to it in couple months, you'r gonna feel like ur starting a freash new start.

Finally, lets also consider worse case scenario. Lets say you never score well enough for the DAT, that doesn't mean you close the door to working in health care. There are some good health care jobs out there that most people would find extreamly appealing (example ~ medicine, pharmacy, optomerty, NR, PA, etc). Maybe your doing bad in DAT cause fate is telling you that your gonna be happy somewhere else.

 

[gentile1225]

Listen, don't beat yourself up about it. What you really have to do is figure out what you are doing wrong in the sense of how you study. Maybe you should try different resources, I would recommend:

Bio: Cliff's AP Bio, Campbell's text, Destroyer to get the tricky ones down. I heard there are good videos too, check some other posts.

G. Chem: Kaplan BB & Test bank if you can get it, **Destroyer** (killed it because of this book, I went from a 16 > 22!!), and I liked Cliff's Chemistry too for a quick review and worked out solutions and stuff.

Orgo: Definitely Destroyer just for the road maps alone! I wasn't too thrilled with Kaplan Orgo in BB, but I did use old exams from my class and tried to find old exams online somewhere. A lot of professors post old exams on college websites.

PAT: CDP! Awesome, head on, almost identical!!

Math: I liked Kaplan BB, and I've heard Math Destroyer is good, and I've heard mixed results about Crack DAT Math.

Practice timing on Top Score & Achiever. Pace yourself when studying. What I did was each subject hardcore for like a week and a half. Then I would do two a week. And then for at least a month I would study each thing once a day for about an hour to keep everything fresh. Finally, practice timing and go over anything you are not 100000% sure about. Good luck and you will be fine.

If you think you need some time a Master's program is always very good. You can boost your science GPA and definitely prepare yourself for a more challenging course load in dental school.

Best of luck! Stay positive! 🙂🙂

 

[dentalWorks]

If you think you need some time a Master's program is always very good. You can boost your science GPA and definitely prepare yourself for a more challenging course load in dental school.

Not exactly, if he does a masters program, all that gives him is a brand new GPA aside from his undergrad GPA, so he'll have 2 GPA sets one for undergrad and one for masters. I've been told by many that the undergrad GPA is the one looked at most and most favored.