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There are many DAT preparatory resources available on the market. The most commonly used are Kaplan, DAT Destroyer, and DAT Bootcamp. DAT prep materials can get very expensive: DAT Bootcamp is best resource and the only one needed to succeed on the DAT. It provides in-depth texts, instructional videos, question banks, and practice tests. Contact the President of Eureka College Pre-Health for a discount code. It is highly recommended to invest in DAT Bootcamp. The DAT costs $475 to take. It can be taken a maximum of three times, with a minimum of 90 days between attempts. Retakes are generally looked unfavorably upon by dental school admissions committees, so it is in an applicant's best interest be well prepared and to take the test only once.
In order to take the DAT, a student must apply to take the exam through the ADA (https://www.ada.org/en/education-careers/dental-admission-test/apply-to-take-the-dat). Once the student has been approved, they schedule their exam appointmen through Prometric, the moderation company that delivers the test. There are not scheduled days for the DAT as for the MCAT. The test is completely computerized and can be taken any day a Prometric location has an opening. The nearest Prometric testing center is in Peoria, Illinois.
Generally, the material tested on the DAT covers topics from General Biology I and II, General Chemistry I and II, Organic Chemistry I and II, and lower-level math such as algebra, basic statistics, geometry, and trigonometry. There is no biochemistry, calculus, or physics* on the DAT. It is easy to become too focused on studying the science topics, but it is important to remember to study the other sections as well. Anyone can do well on the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT), but it takes significant practice. The Quantitative Reasoning may seem very easy to college students who have recently taken cacluclus, but the math is at such a low level most examinees will not have seen the material since early high school.
The DAT consists of four sections and takes about five hours. The sections are as follows:
The test is multiple choice. Each section is scored on a scale from 1-30. Most dental schools require that no section have a score below a 17. For most schools, a score of 20 or 21 is considered competitive.Each examinee with receive eight scores:
Perceptual AbilityQuantitative ReasoningReading ComprehensionBiologyGeneral ChemistryOrganic ChemistryTotal ScienceAcademic Average
The Academic Average is the average score of all sections, omitting Perceptual Ability. The total science score is not an average of Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry; because there are more Biology questions, it is weighted toward that subject.
Test scores are generated instantaneously at the end of the exam and the examinee will recieve a printout. These scores are technically considered unofficial. Prometric will submit the test scores to the ADA for verification. The official scores must then be added to the AADSAS general application portal to be viewed by dental schools.
The ADA provides an official guide here: https://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Education%20and%20Careers/Files/dat_examinee_guide.ashx.
*Students applying to optometry schools take the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT), which is nearly identical to the DAT and is provided by the American Dental Association. On the OAT, the Perceptual Ability section is replaced with Physics. For more information, visits https://www.ada.org/~/media/OAT/Files/oat_examinee_guide.pdf?la=en.
In order to take the DAT, a student must apply to take the exam through the ADA (https://www.ada.org/en/education-careers/dental-admission-test/apply-to-take-the-dat). Once the student has been approved, they schedule their exam appointmen through Prometric, the moderation company that delivers the test. There are not scheduled days for the DAT as for the MCAT. The test is completely computerized and can be taken any day a Prometric location has an opening. The nearest Prometric testing center is in Peoria, Illinois.
Generally, the material tested on the DAT covers topics from General Biology I and II, General Chemistry I and II, Organic Chemistry I and II, and lower-level math such as algebra, basic statistics, geometry, and trigonometry. There is no biochemistry, calculus, or physics* on the DAT. It is easy to become too focused on studying the science topics, but it is important to remember to study the other sections as well. Anyone can do well on the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT), but it takes significant practice. The Quantitative Reasoning may seem very easy to college students who have recently taken cacluclus, but the math is at such a low level most examinees will not have seen the material since early high school.
The DAT consists of four sections and takes about five hours. The sections are as follows:
- Survey of Natural Sciences (40 biology questions, 30 general chemistry questions, and 30 organic chemistry questions)- 90 minutes
- Perceptual Ability (90 questions)- 60 minutes
- Reading Comprehnsion Test (50 questions-- 60 minutes
- Quantitative Reasoning Test (40 questions)- 45 minutes
The test is multiple choice. Each section is scored on a scale from 1-30. Most dental schools require that no section have a score below a 17. For most schools, a score of 20 or 21 is considered competitive.Each examinee with receive eight scores:
Perceptual AbilityQuantitative ReasoningReading ComprehensionBiologyGeneral ChemistryOrganic ChemistryTotal ScienceAcademic Average
The Academic Average is the average score of all sections, omitting Perceptual Ability. The total science score is not an average of Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry; because there are more Biology questions, it is weighted toward that subject.
Test scores are generated instantaneously at the end of the exam and the examinee will recieve a printout. These scores are technically considered unofficial. Prometric will submit the test scores to the ADA for verification. The official scores must then be added to the AADSAS general application portal to be viewed by dental schools.
The ADA provides an official guide here: https://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Education%20and%20Careers/Files/dat_examinee_guide.ashx.
*Students applying to optometry schools take the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT), which is nearly identical to the DAT and is provided by the American Dental Association. On the OAT, the Perceptual Ability section is replaced with Physics. For more information, visits https://www.ada.org/~/media/OAT/Files/oat_examinee_guide.pdf?la=en.
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