Dental Will my RC and PAT scores on DAT hurt my chances at top schools?

[Mr.Smile12]

I got a 19 RC, 19 PAT, 24 AA and 26 TS... will my PAT and RC impact my chances?

How many dental experience hours do you have?

You could get an early interview before December if all materials are in. You could get an early spring interview. Your RC and PAT to me are fine.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I have about 150 hours of shadowing between two general dentists. I am going to start volunteering at a free dental clinic this month, so Im going to update my app with that once I start. My letters of rec should also be strong. One is from a professor I was a TA for, another professor who met with me several times to talk about making the letter perfect, a third from my research PI and a fourth from a dentist. I have already submitted to 12 schools with all materials in. I just wanted to make sure I am competitive enough for the schools I have applied to and if I should apply to more.

Thank you. My original opinion stands, and I think timing will depend on how each school reviews your application within its queue and how well you articulate your fit with the mission and/or raison d'etre for each program you applied to.

 

[TanMan]

I got a 19 RC, 19 PAT, 24 AA and 26 TS. I have a 3.7 oGPA and 3.63 sGPA. Although my AA, TS and GPA are okay, will my PAT and RC impact my chances at UCLA, UCSF, U Mich, U Penn, etc

I am a white female, I am from a low-income family, raised by a single parent. I have 900 hours of research with no pubs, I have 1000+ hours of work experience (retail) and 500+ hours volunteer.

"Top schools" are often research heavy. That might be a red flag if you have lots of research hours but no publications. I got into all schools applied (IIRC, UCLA,UCSF,Harvard, UOP, NYU, BU, Tufts, and all except Columbia because I got stuck in a snowstorm en route to the interview, with an 18PAT/23TS/22AA, 3.6gpa (I don't recall if it was overall or scigpa, and way less volunteering than you - I did the minimum recommended). I'm a sample size of 1, but you're clearly a better candidate than I was, I think you'll get in. The only thing I had that's different was 2 publications.

Always apply to more, it can't hurt. Better to overshoot and drown in acceptances than not get any at all.

 

[TanMan]

Thank you and congrats! I worked in a lab that required me to help with eveerryyones projects and so I didnt have my own. I was coming in to do protein preps, run gels, grow yeast and bacteria all the time so I got a lot of hours. The real research was left to the grad students and post docs though. In my app I explained this clearly and said that the reason I was interested in working at labs was well 1. to actively practice science and 2. I needed money to help my family with rent.

That was a long time ago... I'm not sure if the averages are up, but it seems like students are smarter these days.

As long as you articulate yourself well, I see no problem in getting in. That's pretty much the only deficiency that could be brought up in the interview. Only thing I would probably rephrase is "real research". Would also help if you read up on what the research was about, what the grad students/postdocs/PI published so that you can talk more about the importance of your supporting work. If you can carry on a conversation about what the research was all about, it will show you more as someone who is capable of doing/understanding research and appeal to the more research heavy institutions. There's a big difference between a busybody and an active investigator.