Dental Admissions Test

The DAT

Administered by the American Dental Association® (ADA) | Costs around $415.00 USD

The DAT is designed to measure general academic ability, comprehension of scientific information, and perceptual ability. The DAT is administered year round at test centers operated by Prometric Inc.

While all dental schools require applicants to participate in the DAT Program, test results are only one factor considered in evaluating applicant admission potential. Validity studies have shown that test scores in conjunction with academic records are useful in predicting performance in dental school. The relative importance of these predictors in the admission process is determined by each dental school. (taken from the ADA DAT Guide, 2016).

STRAIGHT INTO DENTAL SCHOOL

You should plan on taking the DAT the summer before you plan on APPLYING to dental school.

Don’t forget that your GPA is also an important factor in your application, so don’t risk your GPA, and study for the DAT during the SUMMER. The average length of studying should be around 500 hours MINIMUM.

Typical studying schedules are 10-12 hrs per day, over an 8-10 week span.

Format of the DAT

Survey of the Natural Sciences* (100) –

Biology (40)

Gen. Chemistry (30)

Organic Chemistry (30)

Perceptual Ability (90) –

Lock & Key, Hole Punch, Paper Folding,

Cube Counting, Angle Ranking, Top-

Front-End

Reading Comprehension (90)

Quantitative Reasoning (40)

*Each section of Natural Sciences receives a score, as well as one for the total Natural Sciences (TS). PAT, RC, and QR all receive scores as well. All Sciences, RC and QR constitute the Academic Average.

DAT Testing Schedule

Optional Tutorial (15 min)

Survey of Natural Sciences (90 min)

Perceptual Ability Test (60 min)

Scheduled Break (optional) (15 min)

Reading Comprehension Test (60 min)

Quantitative Reasoning Test (45 min)

Optional Post Test Survey (15 min)

Total Time: 5 hours

DAT Preparation Resources