The Dental Admissions Test (DAT) has 6 sections: Biology, Chemistry, Organic chemistry, PAT, Reading and quantitative reasoning, QR aka Math. Everything is multiple choice.
How to register for the exam video:
How to register for the exam long version:
You must "apply" (create) a DENTPIN on the ADA website (https://www.ada.org/en/education-careers/dentpin/dentpin-registration). Then create a new DAT Application. The exam costs $475 as of the date of this article. When you register, make sure you select "all" for when it asks which schools would you like to send your DAT scores to, because otherwise, later on, if you choose to send it, it costs additional money to send scores individually to schools if you did not select "send all" when you first register.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. When you create an application, it lasts 6 months from the day you create it, so you must take the DAT within 6 months of when you pay for the exam. If you don't, you forfeit your $475. Also, when you sign up for your exam, if you want to push it back, you may incur some late fees depending how soon before your exam you reschedule. I would say to go over the material first, and then choose a date for your exam, but that's up to personal preference. https://datbootcamp.com/blog/when-am-i-ready-to-take-the-dat/
2. Make sure when you fill in your name on the DAT application, that you put your legal name that matches 2 forms of government ID (you will need to bring 2 forms of identification for your DAT). See below for more information.
How to register for the exam continued:
You will receive a letter of eligibility in your EMAIL which you will use the eligibility ID to sign up for a time slot for the exam. ("You must submit an application to test and receive an eligibility letter with an assigned eligibility ID number from the American Dental Association (ADA) prior to scheduling your testing appointment with Prometric.") You can register at prometric.com to take the exam. Here is the ADA (Dental) test prometric site. https://www.prometric.com/test-takers/search/ada
Length and Content of the DAT
The DAT is a total of 5 hours long. Make sure to practice with the timing or at least be familiar with it if you choose to only use the DAT Destroyer books.
(Picture courtesy of wikipedia Dental Amdissions Test page). The 3 science sections are all together in a 90 minute section. The order of the sections is as shown in the test breakdown picture.
*NOTE: The US DAT is different from the Canadian DAT.
About the Scoring
You will receive your score immediately after taking the exam. The entire DAT is taken on a computer as well. I would check test center ratings to see how the test center is. However, the testing center will take about 1-4 weeks to send your scores in to the AADSAS application portal, so you want to take the exam before the day the application opens if you want to apply on the first day, make sure you take the DAT at least 2 weeks before the first day the application officially opens. The four most recent test attempts are reported to each school that you selected on your DAT application. I'm not sure which attempt schools look at, but I know the school's don't superscore, where they take the best score on each section. Also, you must wait 90 days after your latest testing attempt to retake the exam.
What to bring to your exam and what to expect on the day of your exam:
"On the day of the exam, the only thing you need to bring with you are two forms of identification: one government issued with a photograph and signature (e.g. driver’s license and passport), and one ID with a signature (social security cards, credit cards, library card, etc. all meet this requirement). The signatures between both IDs must be similar. The name on your DAT registration should match the name on your ID (if there are differences between your name on your ID vs. your registration, be sure to check in advance with the Department of Testing Services at 1-800-232-2162). Any other personal items brought with you will have to be stored at a locker assigned to you at the testing center. You do not need to bring any form of test registration with you; the testing center will be expecting you and know exactly what test you’re taking."
I have seen someone get turned away because they forgot to bring the 2 forms of ID so don't forget your items.
How to study and how long to study:
There's a few study schedules out there, namely Ari's Study Schedule (from DAT Bootcamp) which is 10 weeks. For resources, see our DAT article for recommended resources.
How the DAT is graded:
"To begin, your raw score on the individual sections of the DAT are converted into standard scores. All of the DAT sub-sections (Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Perceptual Ability, Reading Comprehension, and Math) are individually graded on a scale of 30 points. Your sciences raw scores combine to make your Total Science Score (TS), and everything except your perceptual ability section is combined to make your Academic Average (AA, the most important score).
The standard score is designed to make the tests fair for everyone. There are multiple versions of the DAT being administered simultaneously; the standard score enables admission committees to compare the DAT scores of students taking different versions of the test. This means that if you get an easier version of the DAT, missing more questions would hurt you more than if you took a difficult version of the DAT. In the end, you’ll score the same regardless of what version of the test you take.
DAT Grading Scale
A lot of students are floored once they realize how heavily scaled the DAT is across sections. For example, on the 2007 DAT exam, missing five questions in the organic chemistry section (out of 30 total questions) results in a standard score of 20. Missing five questions in the general chemistry section (out of 30 total questions) results in a standard score of 19. The DAT is not graded linearly.
As you can see, there is very little room for error on the DAT. The difference between a 22 AA and a 26 AA is often just a few questions. Therefore, it’s important that you dedicate studying time to every section of the DAT. Continued practice is the best strategy to recognize your weaknesses and prepare you for test day."
About the AA score:
The total science (TS) score is composed of only the biology, chemistry and organic chemistry sections. It is not the 3 averaged exactly either.
Scrap paper you're given:
During COVID, we were given 2 sheets of normal paper and pens. This was much better than the laminated sheets because the expo markers would make really thick lines, but the pens make thin lines. You raise your hand to change the papers. You only really need the papers for Chem, Orgo maybe, PAT definitely, and the QR (math) section.
If you want to learn more about the DAT, here's some free information from the DAT Bootcamp Blogs:
Thank you for reading and good luck studying!! You got this!!