The Dental Admission Test is the standardized test mandatory for all dental schools. The DAT helps admissions committees compare students "apples-to-apples." Although it may seem intimidating, the DAT is certainly manageable if you know how to prepare.
What's On It
The DAT includes questions from natural sciences (biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry), reading comprehension, quantitative reasoning, and a perceptual ability test (PAT).
How To Prepare
Kaplan Courses:
Kaplan DAT Book
This bestselling guide provides the targeted training and preparation students need to maximize their Dental Admissions Test score. Kaplan DAT features vivid color instructional charts and diagrams to make learning more memorable, two full-length practice tests with detailed answer explanations, intensive science and quantitative review, Reading Comprehension practice test, effective strategies to maximize your score, and realistic, exclusive exercises created especially for the Perceptual Ability Test.
Barron DAT Book:
Updated and supplemented with a brand-new CD-ROM, this manual prepares dental school applicants across the United States and Canada to pass the required admissions test. The book opens with an overview of the DAT that includes test-taking advice, followed by a description of dental education and the practice of dentistry. A review of all DAT test topics is presented. They include general surveys of biology, chemistry, and organic chemistry, as well as testing for perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. Two full-length model DATs complete this manual and come with all questions answered and explained. The DAT is a computerized test, and this book's bonus CD-ROM presents two additional model DATs that simulate actual test-taking conditions. They come with automatic scoring.
Princeton Review:
Winning admission to dental school isn't easy, and scoring well on the DAT (Dental Admission Exam) is a critical part of your profile as a competitive applicant. The Princeton Review's Cracking the DAT contains everything you need to prepare for this important test, including:
· Access to 2 full-length practice DAT exams
· Extensive reviews of General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Perceptual Ability, Reading Comprehension, and the Quantitative subjects
· A full-color, 16-page reference guide with all the most important formulas, diagrams, information, and concepts for each section of the DAT
· Strategies for the Math, Perceptual Ability, and Reading sections
· Drills and detailed explanations to show you exactly what to expect on the DAT
· Answers and explanations for every practice question
Crack the DAT Online Practice Tests:
Pick a package online that will ensure your success on the DAT exam and prepare with the practice tests that are included in whichever package you choose.
Kaplan DAT Book
This bestselling guide provides the targeted training and preparation students need to maximize their Dental Admissions Test score. Kaplan DAT features vivid color instructional charts and diagrams to make learning more memorable, two full-length practice tests with detailed answer explanations, intensive science and quantitative review, Reading Comprehension practice test, effective strategies to maximize your score, and realistic, exclusive exercises created especially for the Perceptual Ability Test.
Barron DAT Book:
Updated and supplemented with a brand-new CD-ROM, this manual prepares dental school applicants across the United States and Canada to pass the required admissions test. The book opens with an overview of the DAT that includes test-taking advice, followed by a description of dental education and the practice of dentistry. A review of all DAT test topics is presented. They include general surveys of biology, chemistry, and organic chemistry, as well as testing for perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. Two full-length model DATs complete this manual and come with all questions answered and explained. The DAT is a computerized test, and this book's bonus CD-ROM presents two additional model DATs that simulate actual test-taking conditions. They come with automatic scoring.
Princeton Review:
Winning admission to dental school isn't easy, and scoring well on the DAT (Dental Admission Exam) is a critical part of your profile as a competitive applicant. The Princeton Review's Cracking the DAT contains everything you need to prepare for this important test, including:
· Access to 2 full-length practice DAT exams
· Extensive reviews of General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Perceptual Ability, Reading Comprehension, and the Quantitative subjects
· A full-color, 16-page reference guide with all the most important formulas, diagrams, information, and concepts for each section of the DAT
· Strategies for the Math, Perceptual Ability, and Reading sections
· Drills and detailed explanations to show you exactly what to expect on the DAT
· Answers and explanations for every practice question
Crack the DAT Online Practice Tests:
Pick a package online that will ensure your success on the DAT exam and prepare with the practice tests that are included in whichever package you choose.
Scoring
DAT scores are reported by the ADA (American Dental Association) as eight standard scores. The first six scores are from the individual tests themselves, i.e. biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. These multiple choice questions are first scored right or wrong resulting in a raw score. Note that wrong answers are worth the same as unanswered questions so ALWAYS ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS even if you are not sure of certain answers. The raw score is then converted to a scaled score ranging from 1 (lowest) to 30 (highest). A test section that is skipped will be scored 1. This is neither a percentage nor a percentile.
The test is not based on a curve. Essentially, DAT performance is measured using an ability-referenced system. Based on standard scores, your abilities (i.e. knowledge and problem solving skills) are directly compared to that of the other DAT examinees.
The remaining two scores are Total Science (TS) and Academic Average (AA). The Total Science score is the standard score for the 100 questions in the Survey of Natural Sciences as a whole – NOT THE AVERAGE OF THE STANDARD SCORES of the Science subtests. This is derived from the sum of your raw scores each in biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry. The total score is then converted to a standard score for Total Science. In contrast, a score in the Academic Average is the rounded average of the standard scores from the reading comprehension (RC), quantitative reasoning (QR), biology (BIO), general chemistry (CHM), and organic chemistry (ORG) tests.
The Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) is scored on a scale of 1-30, and has a score that stands on its own.
The test is not based on a curve. Essentially, DAT performance is measured using an ability-referenced system. Based on standard scores, your abilities (i.e. knowledge and problem solving skills) are directly compared to that of the other DAT examinees.
The remaining two scores are Total Science (TS) and Academic Average (AA). The Total Science score is the standard score for the 100 questions in the Survey of Natural Sciences as a whole – NOT THE AVERAGE OF THE STANDARD SCORES of the Science subtests. This is derived from the sum of your raw scores each in biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry. The total score is then converted to a standard score for Total Science. In contrast, a score in the Academic Average is the rounded average of the standard scores from the reading comprehension (RC), quantitative reasoning (QR), biology (BIO), general chemistry (CHM), and organic chemistry (ORG) tests.
The Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) is scored on a scale of 1-30, and has a score that stands on its own.
