The Dental Admission Test (DAT) is a multiple-choice standardized exam taken by potential dental school students in the United States. The DAT is a computer based test that can be administered almost any day of the year. Tests are taken at Thomson Prometric testing centers throughout the United States after the preliminary application through the American Dental Association is completed. Each applicant may only take the test a total of three times before having to ask special permission to take the exam again. After taking the exam you must wait 90 days before repeating it. Each exam costs $175. The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American advocacy group that promotes Oral Health Care and the field of dentistry. ...

Test Sections

The DAT comprises four sections: survey of the natural sciences (90 minutes), perceptual ability (often called the PAT, 60 minutes), reading comprehension (60 minutes), and quantitative reasoning (45 minutes). The mathematics of the quantitative exam is similar to that of the SAT. The first section is divided into questions about biology (40 questions), general chemistry (30 questions), and organic chemistry (30 questions). The second section is divided into six different problems sets designed to test perceptual ability, specifically in the areas of three dimensional manipulation and spatial reasoning. The third section of the DAT is divided into three academic essays, each of which is followed by questions about the passage's content. The final section tests basic mathematics skills, with emphasis placed on algebra, critical thinking, fractions, roots, and trigonometric identities. Reading comprehension can be defined as the level of understanding of a passage or text. ... The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Organic chemistry is a specific discipline within chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of chemical compounds consisting of primarily carbon and hydrogen, which may contain any number of other elements, including nitrogen, oxygen, halogens as well...

Scores

Immediately after completion of the test, eight standard scores on a scale of 1-30 are calculated and passed on to the test taker. The first six scores come directly from the test: perceptual ability, reading comprehension, quantitative reasoning, biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry. The remaining two scores reported are summaries of the previous six: the Academic Average is the average of five scores rounded to the nearest whole number: quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry. The Total Science score is a standard score based on all 100 questions in the biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry tests. Dental schools frequently summarize their applicant's scores by listing the academic, science, and perceptual ability scores they typically see in their matriculating classes. Schools tend to emphasize the importance of high perceptual ability and biology scores, though the competitive applicant earns high marks across all sections of the test.

The average DAT score is about 16. Approximately 8000 people a year take the DAT. A score of 18-20 will likely lead to admission.

See also

• American Dental Association
• Dentistry
• Standardized test
• List of dental schools in the United States
• The KSF Review - Preparatory Materials for the Dental Admission Test
• Kaplan, Inc.

The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American advocacy group that promotes Oral Health Care and the field of dentistry. ... A Dentist and Dental Assistant perform surgery on a patient. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This List of dental schools in the U.S. includes major academic institutions in the U.S. that award advanced professional degrees of either D.D.S. or D.M.D. in the field of dentistry. ... Kaplan, Inc. ...

External links

• Preliminary Application (Official ADA Website for DAT)
• Thomson Prometric (the test center)