Chance me?

[craftytooth99]

I have a very strong overall application with leadership, 400+ shadowing, 400+ volunteering, etc and have had a pretty tough background to get here- My overall GPA is 3.61 and science 3.50, I honestly can't believe I got to this point since I never had a science background in English prior to moving to the U.S. However, I took my DAT twice and got 18AA's both times, but my TS went from 18 --> 19, and I had no sections under 17 the second time around.

My top choices are VCU and UNE (just because what I'm looking for in a school (service-oriented) is what their main focuses are). But, Im OOS for both.

I applied to 15 schools (some of which include Tufts, BU, Temple, LECOM, NOVA, Marquette, Touro, Midwestern-Illinois..)

Do I have a shot or should I retake the DAT? My mental health is honestly saying no, and that it is just the score Im meant to get, to get to the school Im meant to be at. I'd be grateful for any dental school offering me a position really, but I'm just terrified none will just because of my score. Any advice would be so appreciated.. Thank you!

My app has been complete and verified since June, and Im just waiting on my committee letter which will hopefully be in by July 31/Beginning of August!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Pablo Sanchez]

I have a very strong overall application with leadership, 400+ shadowing, 400+ volunteering, etc and have had a pretty tough background to get here- My overall GPA is 3.61 and science 3.50, I honestly can't believe I got to this point since I never had a science background in English prior to moving to the U.S. However, I took my DAT twice and got 18AA's both times, but my TS went from 18 --> 19, and I had no sections under 17 the second time around.

My top choices are VCU and UNE (just because what I'm looking for in a school (service-oriented) is what their main focuses are). But, Im OOS for both.

I applied to 15 schools (some of which include Tufts, BU, Temple, LECOM, NOVA, Marquette, Touro, Midwestern-Illinois..)

Do I have a shot or should I retake the DAT? My mental health is honestly saying no, and that it is just the score Im meant to get, to get to the school Im meant to be at. I'd be grateful for any dental school offering me a position really, but I'm just terrified none will just because of my score. Any advice would be so appreciated.. Thank you!

My app has been complete and verified since June, and Im just waiting on my committee letter which will hopefully be in by July 31/Beginning of August!

Plenty of people have gotten in with those stats in the past, so I think that the fact that you applied to 15 schools should give you a fair shot.

I understand you wanting us to judge your chances, but very few of us actually have experience accepting students. Your intentions are great. You seem like you'll be a valuable, caring dentist. Be confident in yourself and your application, and I think you will be successful.

Good luck!

 

[dent_wannabe]

I have heard success stories from those with 18 AA on the DAT. Sure, it's not stellar, but it will not result in your application being discarded without further review. They will still take into consideration your motivation and dedication.

Unfortunately, I have heard that if you retake the DAT, expectations go up compared to if you had it once and done. In other words, anything other than significant improvement works against you. If English is not your native language, they might be willing to take that into consideration.

 

[dent56171]

I have a very strong overall application with leadership, 400+ shadowing, 400+ volunteering, etc and have had a pretty tough background to get here- My overall GPA is 3.61 and science 3.50, I honestly can't believe I got to this point since I never had a science background in English prior to moving to the U.S. However, I took my DAT twice and got 18AA's both times, but my TS went from 18 --> 19, and I had no sections under 17 the second time around.

My top choices are VCU and UNE (just because what I'm looking for in a school (service-oriented) is what their main focuses are). But, Im OOS for both.

I applied to 15 schools (some of which include Tufts, BU, Temple, LECOM, NOVA, Marquette, Touro, Midwestern-Illinois..)

Do I have a shot or should I retake the DAT? My mental health is honestly saying no, and that it is just the score Im meant to get, to get to the school Im meant to be at. I'd be grateful for any dental school offering me a position really, but I'm just terrified none will just because of my score. Any advice would be so appreciated.. Thank you!

My app has been complete and verified since June, and Im just waiting on my committee letter which will hopefully be in by July 31/Beginning of August!

Hi, I think you should have a shot considering your Personal statement is strong. However, what did you get on practice tests considering you used bootcamp i'm guessing? Im taking my dat in a few weeks and was wondering.

 

[craftytooth99]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply! I really do appreciate it and wish you all the best of luck in being future dentists


--

@dent56171 My bootcamp score averages for each section are below (but keep in mind that I had already taken these tests the first time I studied for the DAT, so don't get too stressed about them! I'm sure you will do great )



Bio: 19 average
Chem: 24 average --> did worse
Orgo: 18 average --> did better
QR: 18 average
Reading: 17 average
PAT: 19 average

 

[AKtoTXstudent]

I have a friend who got into UT-Houston as a reapplicant with 18AA.

Continue to volunteer and boost your app. At my interview, they gave us the opportunity to update the application before it went before the adcom for the big decision.

If you get interviews, you wanna be able to speak passionately about what you have done during the application year. GPA is competitive so worst case you have to study for a retake but its only couple hundred bucks for that. I know studying for DAT sucks, we have all been there. But you dont have to pay for post-bac or SMP which can be 10-30K.

Best of luck! Hoping you get some interviews this cycle!

 

[dent56171]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply! I really do appreciate it and wish you all the best of luck in being future dentists


--

@dent56171 My bootcamp score averages for each section are below (but keep in mind that I had already taken these tests the first time I studied for the DAT, so don't get too stressed about them! I'm sure you will do great )



Bio: 19 average
Chem: 24 average --> did worse
Orgo: 18 average --> did better
QR: 18 average
Reading: 17 average
PAT: 19 average

So youre averaged are a little inflated? Did you take the 2009 exam? Was your score pretty on par with that? Also how many times did you take the bootcamp exams? Lol sorry, my scores on bootcamp are from a 17-19 so i'm very stressed as im aiming for a 20 and my exam is in a week and half.

 

[craftytooth99]

So youre averaged are a little inflated? Did you take the 2009 exam? Was your score pretty on par with that? Also how many times did you take the bootcamp exams? Lol sorry, my scores on bootcamp are from a 17-19 so i'm very stressed as im aiming for a 20 and my exam is in a week and half.

Yes, my averages were inflated because I took the bootcamp tests 2 times previously while studying for the DAT the first time! I only had time to do bio and orgo for 2009 and I got higher scores on my real test by 1 point each in comparison to 2009.

If there's one thing I learned though, it's that these scores are not really good estimates of how you are going to do on the test, your confidence is. It really does make all the difference, so please don't stress yourself out on these scores. Just ask yourself if you feel okay with the fast-paced timing and if you feel confident in knowing the background of the questions asked on the practice tests.

 

[craftytooth99]

I have a friend who got into UT-Houston as a reapplicant with 18AA.

Continue to volunteer and boost your app. At my interview, they gave us the opportunity to update the application before it went before the adcom for the big decision.

If you get interviews, you wanna be able to speak passionately about what you have done during the application year. GPA is competitive so worst case you have to study for a retake but its only couple hundred bucks for that. I know studying for DAT sucks, we have all been there. But you dont have to pay for post-bac or SMP which can be 10-30K.

Best of luck! Hoping you get some interviews this cycle!

Thank you so much, this made my day! I'll definitely make sure I'm prepared for interviews, and if I don't get any, I guess there's no harm in just retaking after I give myself a mental break.

Best of luck with everything to you as well!

 

[dent56171]

Yes, my averages were inflated because I took the bootcamp tests 2 times previously while studying for the DAT the first time! I only had time to do bio and orgo for 2009 and I got higher scores on my real test by 1 point each in comparison to 2009.

If there's one thing I learned though, it's that these scores are not really good estimates of how you are going to do on the test, your confidence is. It really does make all the difference, so please don't stress yourself out on these scores. Just ask yourself if you feel okay with the fast-paced timing and if you feel confident in knowing the background of the questions asked on the practice tests.

Yeah I keep trying to tell myself that this past week. It's all about what you know and learning what you don't. Which area did you think you struggled with on the actual exam the most? And do you think doing the bootcamp problems again helped you?

 

[craftytooth99]

Yeah I keep trying to tell myself that this past week. It's all about what you know and learning what you don't. Which area did you think you struggled with on the actual exam the most? And do you think doing the bootcamp problems again helped you?

The one thing I remember is I struggled with the timing for reading a lot- the questions were not in order for my version for any of the passages. For the other sections, they seemed really easy to me, so I guess I either rushed because I thought I knew it all, or the curve was a little harsher since the questions were so easy (easier if you went through the study material 2x or more).

If you go through all of destroyer and bootcamp, you will have encountered most, if not all, the type of questions on the exam- so don't be worried, just make sure you don't get too excited when you know the answers, and double check them. Wishing you best of luck on your test- be confident and you got this, just be in the right mentality!