Beginning your DAT journey: How to apply, register, and get started
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You’ve decided that dentistry is the career path for you — incredibly exciting, but what now? Taking the Dental Admission Test (DAT) will be a significant step in your journey to dental school and beyond. When you apply to dental school, every school will receive your DAT scores, and these scores, along with other factors (GPA, shadowing, extracurricular involvement, and more), will help schools determine if you would be a good fit. While preparing for the DAT may seem intimidating, you aren’t alone, and you have the resources necessary to tackle this test. Read on for an overview of the DAT and a rundown of how to apply for and schedule your exam.
First things first — what exactly is the DAT?
The DAT is a computer-based test used by dental schools in the admissions process, and it is required for all applicants. Depending on test center availability, you can take the DAT almost any day of the year. The test is administered at Prometric test centers located across the country.
The test encompasses science, math, reading, and perceptual ability. First, you’ll begin with the Survey of Natural Sciences section, which includes Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry questions. Next is the Perceptual Ability Test (or PAT), which contains six different question types aimed at assessing your 2D- and 3D-spatial-reasoning abilities. After an optional break, you will complete the Reading Comprehension (RC) section, and finally, the Quantitative Reasoning (math, or QR) section. Then you’re done! Your scores will be calculated immediately and will appear on the computer screen.
Here’s the breakdown:
Survey of Natural Sciences: 90 minutes; 100 questions (40 Biology + 30 General Chemistry + 30 Organic Chemistry questions)
Perceptual Ability Test: 60 minutes; 90 questions
— Optional Break: up to 30 minutes —
Reading Comprehension: 60 minutes; 50 questions
Quantitative Reasoning: 45 minutes; 40 questions
All in all, plan to spend around 5 hours at the testing center.
How is the test scored?
Each DAT subject is scored out of 30 points. You will receive standard scores for PAT, QR, RC, Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry. Additionally, you will receive a Total Science score, which is based on your overall performance on the Survey of Natural Sciences section. Lastly, you’ll receive an Academic Average (AA), which is simply the average of your QR, RC, Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry scores.
The scoring of the DAT may seem confusing — after all, how can students taking different versions of the test be compared? Yet the standard scores take these variations into account. There is no well-defined relationship between the number of questions missed and the resulting numerical score; scoring depends on the subject, test version/difficulty, and each test-taker’s performance compared to the performance of others. You can read our in-depth explanation of DAT scoring here.
Especially at the beginning of your DAT journey, don’t let scoring concern you too much. Create a study plan that works best for you and learn and practice as much as possible. Great scores will develop over time!
How do I schedule my DAT?
- Get a DENTPIN®.
This is an 8-digit code that serves as your personal identification number, as a future dental student and dentist. You’ll use it when registering for the DAT, when applying to dental school, and later in your career, as you prepare to take your dental boards. This is an exciting first step.
Click here to create your DENTPIN®.
You will be required to enter basic personal information. Once your registration is processed, you will receive an email with your PIN.
Tip: When registering for a DENTPIN®, use a personal email address rather than a university or work email address that you might eventually lose access to. That way, your PIN will be affiliated with an email you’ll always have.
2. Apply to take the DAT (payment is required at this step).
Click here, then click the Apply Now button and fill in the required information.
A couple of things to keep in mind:
- When you take the DAT, you will need to bring two forms of identification. Be sure that the name you enter on your DAT application matches these exactly to prevent future problems.
- You will have to pay for the DAT. The testing fee as of 2023 is $525 and is non-refundable.
- You will be able to select the schools you might send your scores to. Many people select every dental school in their country, especially if they aren’t sure of where they will apply. There’s no harm in doing so. If not, you will have to pay later to send your scores to the schools you didn’t select, which often ends up costing more and takes more time.
- Most importantly: be certain that you will be able to take the DAT sometime within the next 6 months! Applications to take the DAT are only valid for a 6-month period. If you applied, then decided to wait more than 6 months before scheduling your test, you would need to pay the testing fee again.
3. Wait for approval.
Within a day or two of completing Step 2, expect an email from the American Dental Association (ADA) confirming your eligibility. You will see a 6-month range of dates during which you will be eligible to take the DAT. For example, if you received the confirmation email on 12/1/2020, your eligibility period would span from 12/1/2020 to 6/1/2021. You should wait 24 hours after receiving this email before scheduling your DAT.
4. Schedule your test!
You can schedule your test at the Prometric website here.
Here’s a breakdown of how to navigate the website:
- Search for “ADA” under Test Owner Search.
- Click “ADA — American Dental Association.”
- In the left menu bar (“Actions”), click “Schedule.”
- Select the country and state in which you plan to take the DAT.
- Enter your Eligibility ID (DENTPIN®) and the first 4 characters of your last name.
Now, you can select a test center for your DAT appointment and view a calendar with available dates and times. Once you have confirmed your test date, you will receive a confirmation email from Prometric.
With a test date set, you can focus your energy on preparing to ace the DAT, and you’ll be one step closer to realizing your goals. Best of luck!
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