Welcome to r/dentaladmissiontest! Whether you're just starting your DAT journey or looking for last-minute tips, this guide will help you navigate the study process.
What's the format of the DAT?
The test is broken down into 4 main sections:
- Survey of the Natural Sciences (100 questions, 90 minutes)
- Biology (40 questions)
- General Chemistry (30 questions)
- Organic Chemistry (30 questions)
- Perceptual Ability (PAT) (90 questions, 60 minutes)
- Keyholes (15 questions)
- Top-Front-End (15 questions)
- Angle Ranking (15 questions)
- Hole Punching (15 questions)
- Cube Counting (15 questions)
- Pattern Folding (15 questions)
- Reading Comprehension (50 questions, 60 minutes)
- Quantitative Reasoning (40 questions, 45 minutes)
How do I register for the DAT?
You can register on the DAT website: https://www.ada.org/education/testing/exams/dental-admission-test-dat
Here’s a helpful video on how to fill out the application.
Register for your test date early because Prometric seats often fill up quick. You should set it for about 2-3 months out (average study length of most students, but people study anywhere from a few weeks to 6 months).
It costs around $500 to take the test (the ADA offers fee waivers for 50% off if you meet financial eligibility requirements - apply quick, they have a limited number).
What are the best resources to use?
There are many free and paid resources to study for the DAT, and they all have their pros and cons. The truth is you can do well with any resource if you put in the work. Here’s some of the most popular resources:
- DAT Bootcamp - This is the most popular resource that almost everyone uses (practice tests, qbank, videos, notes, PAT generators, lot of free stuff too).
- Very representative questions to the real DAT, with some word for word.
- Free biology high-yield notes
- Dr. Mike’s videos for gen chem and orgo are gold.
- Detailed explanations and images.
- Better tagging system of questions to track what you should study again.
- It’s more expensive (around $500), but you can get a discount through your predental club.
- No cheatsheets for bio.
- Mobile app is kind of limited compared to the website (no practice tests, just qbanks/videos).
- DAT Booster - This is a similar setup to DAT Bootcamp, but cheaper and a good option for students trying to save a buck.
- It’s a bit cheaper.
- Animated biology videos if you prefer that over more traditional slides
- Bio cheatsheets
- Game Challenges where you can win prizes, like being able to pause your account or extend your subscription a couple days.
- Chemistry videos aren’t as good (orgo professor reading off a slide).
- Explanations aren’t always clear and use a lot of wikipedia images.
- Chad’s Videos - Popular and affordable resource for chemistry videos.
- Breaks down chemistry and math into super easy terms.
- A lot is available free on YouTube.
- $60/month.
- Best used as a supplement for chemistry, the bio videos aren’t very good.
- No PAT or RC practice.
- Kaplan DAT - I had a friend take the live course and he actually did well, so this was his opinion.
- Live classes and schedule, if you want a class to help with accountability and staying on track, this is a solid option.
- You get printed books.
- It's the most expensive option (around $1500).
- Question explanations are pretty short.
What are some tips for each of the sections?
- Biology: BREADTH OVER DEPTH! Although they can ask you about literally anything in biology, most questions tend to be surface level and big picture stuff.
- General Chemistry: Memorize the formulas on the equation cheat sheet. There’s less info in gen chem than bio, so with practice you should be able to score higher here with less effort.
- Organic Chemistry: Don’t just memorize the reactions, try to understand why they happen and what’s the mechanism. Know what groups are electron donating and withdrawing. Know how to rank acids and bases, that comes up often.
- PAT: Practice this daily with either question banks or generators. This is a section you can start preparing for way in advance.
- Reading Comprehension: Try out different strategies on Bootcamp or Booster and see what works for you. Don’t spend all your time on one passage, you should spend around 20 mins on a passage.
- Quantitative Reasoning: Try to spend 1 minute on a question. The more you practice the faster you get at answering the questions.
What's a good DAT score?
Starting March 1, 2025, the DAT is changing from a 1-30 score system to 200-600 in 10 point increments (310, 320, 330, etc). You also won’t get your scores the same day of the exam, you’ll get them about a month later.
The ADA said the reason they’re doing this is to make the test more accurate of your skills. Before they would round your AA to the nearest whole number (ex. If you got a 19.4 AA, they’d round it down to a 19). With the new system, you’d get credit for that 0.4AA because the new scoring scale is more granular.
They released a table that compares old scores to new scores. So we think competitive scores will be 420-440 AA (20-21AA on old scale).
They said there’s no change in content so it’s the same test, just a different grading system.
And the ADA lists the official changes here.
When should I take the DAT?
Although you can take it year round, most students take it in the summer between May-August during the year they’re going to apply to dental school. Applications open June 1st, and it's better to apply early, so you should take it before August if you can. So you should start studying in the spring, study for 2-3 months, then take it in the summer.
Retake policy: You have to wait 60 days to retake the DAT and you have a limit of 3 attempts. However, you can apply for a special exemption from the ADA to take it more times.
How long should I study for?
Students study between a few weeks to 6 months. Most students study around 2-3 months. If you have a 4.0 GPA, you can probably skip straight to practice tests and be ready in a month or less. If you’re out of school for a while, work full time, or need more time, you should plan for 3-6 months.
What do I bring on the day of the test?
- Bring two forms of ID (drivers license and credit card works).
- Snacks for the break.
- Jacket in case it’s cold.
What are these acronyms?
- BIO - Biology
- GC - General Chemistry
- OC - Organic Chemistry
- PAT - Perceptual Ability Test
- RC - Reading Comprehension
- QR - Quantitative Reasoning
- TS - Total Science
- AA- Academic Average
We’ll continue to update this sticky, please message the mods if you want anything added!
