WAMC // Should I retake the DAT (22AA/20TS/16PAT)?

[sehar sadaf]

Date of submission: as early as possible for the upcoming cycle
Overall GPA: 3.57
Science GPA: ~3.5
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA:
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
AA - 22
TS -20
QR - 27
RC - 22
Bio - 23
Gen Chem - 21
OChem - 16
PAT - 16

(Would you suggest a retake here? Ochem has always been a weak point for me)

State of Residence: California

Major: Human Bio
Minority? I’m not sure if being Afghan is considered a minority for dental school apps / Central/South Asian
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: ~200 with general dentists
Volunteering Experience: 350+ hours overall between bully awareness seminars / helping local refugees
Employment: 5 years martial arts instructor / ~ 1 year IHSS
Research: no research

LOR type and strength: I don’t have these ready yet but I’m hoping for 2 professors and 1-2 from dentist(s) I’ve shadowed
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:
School list:
I don’t have a set school list but will be applying pretty broadly

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[macsak]

Date of submission: as early as possible for the upcoming cycle
Overall GPA: 3.57
Science GPA: ~3.5
Bio-Chem-Physics GPA:
DAT score (include AA and all sections):
AA - 22
TS -20
QR - 27
RC - 22
Bio - 23
Gen Chem - 21
OChem - 16
PAT - 16

(Would you suggest a retake here? Ochem has always been a weak point for me)

State of Residence: California

Major: Human Bio
Minority? I’m not sure if being Afghan is considered a minority for dental school apps / Central/South Asian
Reapplicant? No
Nontrad? No

Shadowing Experience: ~200 with general dentists
Volunteering Experience: 350+ hours overall between bully awareness seminars / helping local refugees
Employment: 5 years martial arts instructor / ~ 1 year IHSS
Research: no research

LOR type and strength: I don’t have these ready yet but I’m hoping for 2 professors and 1-2 from dentist(s) I’ve shadowed
Misc Info/Things not stated elsewhere/Red Flags:
School list:
I don’t have a set school list but will be applying pretty broadly

it depends on your school list...

 

[sehar sadaf]

it depends on your school list...

So far i have USC, WesternU, UCSF (reach school), Roseman, LECOM. I’m still researching and looking into other school out of state so this is not the full list, but if you have any school suggestions that would me much appreciated!

 

[macsak]

So far i have USC, WesternU, UCSF (reach school), Roseman, LECOM. I’m still researching and looking into other school out of state so this is not the full list, but if you have any school suggestions that would me much appreciated!

ucsf is going to be a real reach without a retake
you should be ok with privates without retake as long as you apply broadly

 

[InfinityH]

So far i have USC, WesternU, UCSF (reach school), Roseman, LECOM. I’m still researching and looking into other school out of state so this is not the full list, but if you have any school suggestions that would me much appreciated!

I would take off Roseman because they require at least a 17 PAT.

 

[macsak]

So far i have USC, WesternU, UCSF (reach school), Roseman, LECOM. I’m still researching and looking into other school out of state so this is not the full list, but if you have any school suggestions that would me much appreciated!

School list:
Please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to! It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!

 

[Ryxndek]

Did you do well in Ochem in undergrad? You should make sure schools don’t have subscore minimums that would have your application screened out. Did you practice for the PAT section?

I’m not sure about a retake since there’s no guarantee you get that good of an AA again. Hopefully others could maybe shed some light on what to do.

 

[sehar sadaf]

Did you do well in Ochem in undergrad? You should make sure schools don’t have subscore minimums that would have your application screened out. Did you practice for the PAT section?

I’m not sure about a retake since there’s no guarantee you get that good of an AA again. Hopefully others could maybe shed some light on what to do.

I got decent grades in undergrad ochem (B/B+/A-) but I think I was able to get away with memorizing reactions/mechanisms and I could not here.
PAT I did practice, although maybe not as much as I should have but my most recent practice scores were 18.
The rest of the sections I felt pretty good in even on the practice exams but ochem and pat were always tougher than the rest for me.
Do schools have score minimums for each section? Or just for PAT/AA/TS

 

[sehar sadaf]

School list:
Please include a list of schools you are interested in applying to! It is much easier for users to help you when you have taken the time to construct your own school list first!

Right, that’s my bad. I guess I got antsy after taking the test. I can see how that would’ve been much more helpful.

 

[sehar sadaf]

I would take off Roseman because they require at least a 17 PAT.

Oh good to note, I didn’t catch that. Thank you !

 

[InfinityH]

I got decent grades in undergrad ochem (B/B+/A-) but I think I was able to get away with memorizing reactions/mechanisms and I could not here.
PAT I did practice, although maybe not as much as I should have but my most recent practice scores were 18.
The rest of the sections I felt pretty good in even on the practice exams but ochem and pat were always tougher than the rest for me.
Do schools have score minimums for each section? Or just for PAT/AA/TS

It depends on the schools, but you can find most of that information on their website. Some schools do have a PAT/AA/TS requirement and even if they don’t say on their website, some schools will still screen out for scores below 17 so you should check out the ADEA explorer. Also this Reddit thread is 2 years old, but as far as I know, their information is correct.

 

[sehar sadaf]

It depends on the schools, but you can find most of that information on their website. Some schools do have a PAT/AA/TS requirement and even if they don’t say on their website, some schools will still screen out for scores below 17 so you should check out the ADEA explorer. Also this Reddit thread is 2 years old, but as far as I know, their information is correct.

Thank you for sharing this! Very helpful

 

[macsak]

Right, that’s my bad. I guess I got antsy after taking the test. I can see how that would’ve been much more helpful.

your list should be a few "reach" schools, many more "in-range" schools, and some "safety" schools...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

From my experience, two substandard DAT section scores will worry some screeners. The challenge: we don't agree if some sections are more important to flag than others.

You may want to prepare for a retake because of those 16s, especially if you say your organic chemistry grades were not great. You said they were so just study the right way... you shouldn't get that low of a score if you want people to be confident in your organic chemistry grades.

PAT measures manual dexterity to some extent so I don't know what you have with fine manual dexterity to contrast with the score. Again, preparing well should take care of this.

Check if there are faculty or students that attend who are Afghani as yourself.

 

[sehar sadaf]

From my experience, two substandard DAT section scores will worry some screeners. The challenge: we don't agree if some sections are more important to flag than others.

You may want to prepare for a retake because of those 16s, especially if you say your organic chemistry grades were not great. You said they were so just study the right way... you shouldn't get that low of a score if you want people to be confident in your organic chemistry grades.

PAT measures manual dexterity to some extent so I don't know what you have with fine manual dexterity to contrast with the score. Again, preparing well should take care of this.

Check if there are faculty or students that attend who are Afghani as yourself.

I see what you’re saying, and I think I’m pretty set on doing a retake because applying with those 16s is pretty unnerving. I appreciate your advice, thank you!