*Advice for rewriting canadian DAT for FOURTH time* / how to score high / tutors for DAT?

[c5555]

I have been trying to get into dental school for several years now with no luck. I have been waitlisted for the same school 3 times in a row. I have also done 2 interviews in the past at 2 different schools. My last dat I wrote in 2019 (third time I wrote) I scored a 17 in chem, 20 bio, 20 pat, 19 reading, 19 science total, and 19 AA, but it is now expired for the school I want to apply to. In the past I have used dat bootcamp, dat crusher, Cliff's 5th edition AP bio, DAT destroyer, etc. What am I doing wrong? Anyone have good advice to excel at the DAT? Also, do you have advice for resources / tutors? Also, advice for studying for the DAT while in dental hygiene? I plan to rewrite this fall but want to improve my scores. I am going into my last year of dental hygiene (undergrad GPA is around 93-94 but I don't think dental schools look at technical college grades) and I have a university degree of BSc in Psych. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[kamyars]

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[kamyars]

@c5555 Hey! I am a current student at UWO Dent. Going to give you some advice that I think would be valuable

1. Your AA is fine - only problem i see is the 17 chem which is low. I scored a 27 in chem when i did the DAT and what I did was by going to DAT bootcamp facebook page and downloading an anki deck that was created by a guy named Tyler i believe (if you search anki deck in the group its the most popular one that has like thousands of cards). From there, I did his bio and chem cards EVERYDAY as I read the material. I then finished all the practice questions on DAT crusher - any questions or concepts i got wrong or didnt know i made an anki card from it and I screenshotted the page/question and put in the card so i get repeated exposure. As i got closer to the exam i did the DATBootcamp questions as they were much much harder than crusher and honestly overprepared me.

2. If i had to give my old self advice was to focus the least amount of time (without totally butchering it) on biology section this is because its unpredictable. The other 3 sections tho you can score very highly on and increase your chances to do well overall. It’s much easier to score a 25 on chem than on bio and on PAT and RC with enough practice than BIO since they are more predictable with practice. Bio sometimes comes down to luck on whether you learned that info in your undergrad or not as some of the questions will not be found in any of the prep services or notes that people review  

3. You do not need more than dat bootcamp and crusher - less IS MORE. Having too many resources will just make it harder to actually learn the material. Stick to these 2 as they are proven and a good reflection of the test. 

4. You only need a 20+ in each section to be competitive if your GPA is good - the DAT, contrary to belief, seems to be not that important - many of my classmates scored 19AA and got into dent. 

5. Next cycle - CRUSH your personal statements and interviews - im talking about waking up at 8am and practicing/writing until 5pm everyday. You already got interviews, meaning the schools see you as a valuable candidate. The interview is VERY VERY important. I recommend Emily Gershon med prep (she specializes in medicine but she also knows a lot about dental school). Every single one of my peers that worked with her got into their respective professional school. Again you DONT ABSOLUTELY NEED to hire an interview coach - but for me the investment was invaluable  

 

Good luck, you seem dedicated about the field, you will get in.

 

 

***EDIT: Name of the author of anki deck is Luke Ty - jsut search that on the dat bootcamp study group and download the deck - its solid

[Teeth 4 Life]

which school if I may ask ?

[Hokage777]

I was in the same position as you and just got off the waitlist at UofT after several years of trying. I've taken the Canadian DAT 3 times using all the resources out there. Between my first attempt (20AA in Feb 2020) to my most recent attempt (25AA in May 2022), I improved quite a bit. Here is my advice:

1. Retake the DAT and prioritize the sections that the school you interviewed focuses on. 

2. Don't use too many DAT resources, it will make it more difficult to learn the actual content. Pick two solid resources and run with them. I made the mistake of using everything out there on my first 2 attempts and did poorly since it was too much to cover. In my most recent attempt where I got a 25AA, I only used two solid resources (DATCrusher and Chad's videos) and did significantly better.

3. I wouldn't bother with bootcamp, I've never found it representative any of the times I took the Canadian DAT. I would also recommend focussing on Crusher the last month up to your exam, it's always been the most representative of the Canadian DAT every time I've taken it.

4. In your free time, practice interviewing as often as you can especially with strangers. If you had 2 interviews, this is what's going to really push you to get in. I personally took on different jobs every year (walmart, shoppers drugmart, etc) to help interact with different people and face new challenges.

[Dentistry1]

On 8/22/2022 at 11:05 AM, Hokage777 said:

I was in the same position as you and just got off the waitlist at UofT after several years of trying. I've taken the Canadian DAT 3 times using all the resources out there. Between my first attempt (20AA in Feb 2020) to my most recent attempt (25AA in May 2022), I improved quite a bit. Here is my advice:

1. Retake the DAT and prioritize the sections that the school you interviewed focuses on. 

2. Don't use too many DAT resources, it will make it more difficult to learn the actual content. Pick two solid resources and run with them. I made the mistake of using everything out there on my first 2 attempts and did poorly since it was too much to cover. In my most recent attempt where I got a 25AA, I only used two solid resources (DATCrusher and Chad's videos) and did significantly better.

3. I wouldn't bother with bootcamp, I've never found it representative any of the times I took the Canadian DAT. I would also recommend focussing on Crusher the last month up to your exam, it's always been the most representative of the Canadian DAT every time I've taken it.

4. In your free time, practice interviewing as often as you can especially with strangers. If you had 2 interviews, this is what's going to really push you to get in. I personally took on different jobs every year (walmart, shoppers drugmart, etc) to help interact with different people and face new challenges.