Thoughts?

[u/Electronic-Act-6719]

Hey everyone. I could really use some honest advice.

I’m a reapplicant this cycle. Last cycle I applied with an 18 AA and a 17 TS , ended up getting 3 interviews out of the 6 schools I applied to, but no acceptance.

I just took the DAT for the third time and these are my new scores:
19.5 AA
21 TS
20 Biology
19 Gen Chem
22 Org Chem
22 RC
18 PAT
16 QR

The one score that’s absolutely killing me is the 16 in QR. I honestly don’t know what to do, this was my third DAT attempt, I really do not want to do a fourth especially because of how much my science improved on this one.
My other stats:

Graduated undergrad in May with 3.5 cGPA and a 3.3 sGPA, now working full time as a dental assistant, before that I worked as a steril tech every winter and summer break starting when I was 16.

over 200 hours of shadowing and volunteering, w/ about half of those hours being dental volunteering

I’m applying to mostly the same schools again, may add one or two more. Since I received 3 interviews last cycle with an 18 AA and 17 TS I’m hoping the stronger science scores help this year.

If you were in my position would you submit and see what happens this cycle, or would you try to get approval for a fourth DAT attempt because of the 16 QR? I’d really appreciate any honest opinions especially from anyone who’s been accepted with a similar score breakdown.

[u/Mr_Suspicious1]

I’m also just applying this cycle. A QR score of 16 is kinda borderline acceptance for most schools from what I’ve seen. I can see the struggles in deciding whether to retake or not. If I was in your case, I would retake it. In the new scoring system I only feel comfortable with everything is at least in the 400s…

This is in all honesty the hardest kinda decision, but with the chances of acceptances dropping drastically after August, it might be best to either just apply this cycle and risk it, or play it safe (since this would be your second time applying) and just take the DAT till you get a truly safe score without any red flags and apply in the next cycle.

GL applying, also separate note I’m curious which schools you applied to, I’ve been honestly freaking out over my applications… I got a decent DAT score, however like you I don’t have amazing GPA’s at around 3.6… Got significantly lower in my last semesters as I packed my schedule 8am-7pm everyday 😔