Skip to main content.

DAT Test

The American Dental Association administers the Dental Admission Test (DAT). The test can be taken on any day of the year at authorized test centers. The DAT test has been in use since 1950 and the computer version was introduced in the year 1998. The DAT is intended to assess students’ common educational capability, grasp of technical information, and perceptual aptitude. To tae the DAT exam the students are required to have completed at least one year of college including courses in biology and general and organic chemistry. Though it is not necessary to know Advanced-level biology and physics, most candidates complete two or more years of college before taking the exam. It is highly advised that students take the exam at least one year earlier to entering dental school.

The DAT consists chiefly of multiple-choice questions in the English. The test is divided into four sections and takes just half a day to complete the entire test. The four DAT sections are:

Since the test is graded based on the number questions answered correctly by the student there is no negative marking for taking guesses. The scores grading is on the scale of1 to 30, with a score range of 16 points symbolizing average performance on a national level. There are no pass or fail scores FOR THE dat exam.

Though is a primary requirement for a student wishing to gain admission in dental schools to take part in the Dental Admission Testing Program, the test scores are only one of the many aspects considered in assessing the admission prospective of a student. Research indicates that the scores of the DAT is a useful factor in predicting the students’ competency with the college curriculum. This in turn is taken into consideration while short-listing the students’ into the dental colleges during the admission process.

Apart from the DAT scores the major determining factors for admission into dental colleges include undergraduate grades, type and level of difficulty of undergraduate or graduate course studies, letters of recommendation and personal interviews if found necessary.

The best time to take the DAT exam is in the month of April, May, or June students are advised to take the test one year befor trying for admission into dental school. This would allow the students to retake the test incase the scores are not satisfactory. There is a compulsary 90 day waiting period before a student is allowed to retake the DAT test.