An Overview of the
DAT
What is the DAT?
Dental Admission Test (DAT):
What is it?
An exam taken by ALL students who are planning to apply to dental
school. It is:
280 Questions
Multiple Choice (ALL are A-E)
Computerized
Exam Fee: $415 (non-refundable)
Fee includes sending score reports to any schools listed on your DAT
application, regardless of the number of schools. However, to send an
official score report to additional institutions after you have submitted
your DAT application, a $25 fee will be incurred per school.
Dental Admission Test (DAT):
Maximum Score: 30
National Average: 17
Matriculated Average: 19-20
Usually, Cornell students aim for a 20 or above.
NOTE: You must wait 90 days before retaking the exam.
Registration
Information
Step 1: Read the DAT Guide
Info about eligibility requirements, rules
of conduct, test regulations, testing
procedures, testing checklist, and FAQs
The 2015 DAT Guide can be found at
http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Educa
tion%20and%20Careers/Files/dat_exa
minee_guide.ashx
(Just Search Online for “DAT Guide”)
Step 2: Obtain a DENTPIN
and Apply to take the Test
You must have a DENTPIN (DENTal Personal Identifier
Number) in order to proceed with
o your application to test
o your score report request
o your application to a dental program or application
service
Step 3: Schedule a Time to
Take the Test
Must apply to take the test with the ADA and
receive your eligibility letter before
scheduling your testing appointment with
Prometric.
Tests are administered year-round at Prometric
Test Centers, so you may take the test almost
any day of the year.
Important!
To make sure you get your first
choice of date, time, and location,
you should schedule at least 60
days before the desired test date.
You can change your test date
before your scheduled exam date for
a fee
Taking the DAT
Breakdown
The exam takes 4 hours and 15 minutes
(or 5 hours including the tutorial, break,
and survey):
SECTION
TIME
Tutorial
15 minutes
Natural Sciences
90 minutes
Perceptual Ability Test (PAT)
60 minutes
Break
15 minutes
Reading Comprehension Test
60 minutes
Quantitative Reasoning Test
45 minutes
Survey
15 minutes
Survey of Natural Sciences
Time: 90 minutes
Format: 100 multiple-choice questions from 3 science areas
Biology
40 questions
General Chemistry
30 questions
Organic Chemistry
30 questions
Perceptual Ability Test (PAT)
Time: 60 minutes
Format: 90 multiple-choice questions divided into 6 parts
(15 questions in each area)
Apertures (aka. Keyholes)
View Recognition (aka. Top-Front-End, Orthographic Projections)
Angle Ranking
Paper Folding (aka. Hole-punching)
Cube Counting
3D Form Development (aka. Pattern Folding)
Reading Comprehension
Time: 60 minutes
Format: 50 multiple-choice questions:
3 passages with about 16-17 questions each
Passages tend to be scientific and technical
“Tone” questions do appear!
Quantitative Reasoning
Time: 45 minutes
Format: 40 multiple-choice questions
 Fractions, decimals, and percentages
 Algebra
 Word Problems
 Geometry
 Trigonometry
 Basic Statistics
Important!
There is NO penalty for
wrong answers!
NEVER EVER leave any
question blank!
After the Test
You will receive an unofficial score report right after you
finish the test! You will not be sent any other score report.
The official scores are sent to the dental schools you
requested on your DAT application.
Study Resources
Dat Destroyer & Math Destroyer
Kaplan
Crack the DAT PAT
Chad’s Videos
DAT Bootcamp
AP Biology Books
Pay for practice exams from ADA (2009),
website has one free practice exam (2007).
When to take the DATs
The DAT exam should be taken after completing General
Chemistry, Biology, Organic Chemistry
Taking upper level biology courses (eg. Microbiology, Cell
Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics) can’t hurt
For students who are not planning on taking a gap year,
common times to test are:
o Summer after Sophomore Year – if all required courses
have been completed and you feel comfortable with all
material
o Winter Break of Junior Year
o Summer after Junior Year – the earlier the better, as it
can be hard to get a test date as the summer
progresses.