The Dental Admission Test DAT

1
The Dental Admission Test(DAT)

• http//www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/

2
Dental Admission TestOverview

• It is a BIG deal
• Important decision factor in admissions
• Comes 2 at many schools, right after GPA
• 1. GPA
• 2. DAT
• 3. Extracurricular activities

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Dental Admission TestHow do they score? Whats a
good score?

• 8 scores
• 6 individual section scores
• Biology (Bio)
• General Chemistry (GC)
• Organic Chemistry (OC)
• Perceptual Ability (PAT)
• Reading Comprehension (RC)
• Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
• 2 Cumulative Scores
• Total Science (TS) Performance on Natural
  Science section
• Academic Average (AA) Average of individual
  scores except PAT

4
Dental Admission TestHow do they score? Whats a
good score?

• 8 scores
• 6 individual section scores
• Biology (Bio)
• General Chemistry (GC)
• Organic Chemistry (OC)
• Perceptual Ability (PAT)
• Reading Comprehension (RC)
• Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
• 2 Cumulative Scores
• Total Science (TS) Performance on Natural
  Science section
• Academic Average (AA) Average of individual
  scores except PAT

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Dental Admission TestHow do they score? Whats a
good score?

• Whats the range of scores?
• Normalized
• Range is from 1-30
• Admissions are not given percentiles, only
  standardized scores
• Some factual statistics
• Average score for test taker 17
• Average score for successful Dental School
  applicants 19
• More and more people every year are scoring
  higher in every section of the DAT

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Dental Admission TestHow do they score? Whats a
good score?

• Subjective Assessment
• 20 or higher you are in the GREEN
• 18 19 average scores, very common
• 17 minimum at some schools
• Although we have no minimum score, applicants
  are encouraged to achieve competitive scores of
  18 or better in each category.
• Applicants receiving scores below 17 in any
  category are encouraged to attempt to improve
  those scores.

Source University of Detroit-Mercy Admissions
FAQ
7
DAT Scoring Scale
8
Dental Admission TestHow do they score? Whats a
good score?

• Some schools emphasize the DATs more than others

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What does the DAT look like?

• Survey of Natural Sciences (Bio, GC, OC)
• 100 questions, 1 hr 30 min
• 2 hr 30 min
• Perceptual Ability (PAT)
• 90 questions, 1 hr
• 15min break
• Reading Comprehension (RC)
• 50 questions, 1 hr
• 1 hr 45 min
• Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
• 40 questions, 45 min

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Natural Sciences100 Questions 1 hr 30 min

• Biology (40)
• General Chemistry (30)
• Organic Chemistry (30)
• One big clock
• ? Can allocate time however you want

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Natural Sciences Biology 40 Questions

• Cell and Molecular Biology
• Structure and function of systems
• Diversity of Life
• Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
• Developmental Biology, Genetics

• Source ADA 2009 DAT Program Guide

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Natural Sciences Biology 40 Questions

• What do I use to study for Biology? Its so
  broad!
• Its impossible to study for Bio bullshit
• Be sure to give at least 3 weeks of intense
  studying for Biology

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What should I use?Biology

• Cliffs AP Biology 3rd Edition
• ? Easy Read
• ? Only covers approx. 60 of whats needed
• 360 pgs, 12

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What should I use?Biology

• Biology Campbell
• ? The ULTIMATE source for information
• ? Gigantic, but just read whats not covered by
  Cliffs
• 1393 pgs, 135

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What should I use?Biology

• High-Yield Biology Bresnick
• Condensed, detailed, and straight-forward
• Great for reviewing integrating concepts!
• 244 pgsout of print, price varies

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What should I use?Chemistry Organic General

• Kaplan DAT 2009-2010 Edition
• ? Great for GChem, not bad for OChem
• ? Weak in Perceptual Ability QR
• 832 pgs, 50

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What should I use?Chemistry Organic

• Organic Chemistry as a Second Language
• ? Provides a reader-friendly foundation for the
  basics of Organic Chemistry
• Great in teaching how to approach novel problems
• ? Does not cover all the required topics, should
  use in conjunction with Destroyer Kaplan DAT
  book
• 250pgs, 25-35

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What should I use?Natural Sciences

• DAT Destroyer 2009 Edition
• ? Hundreds of challenging, novel problems
• ? Solutions are thorough
• ? Some think its overkill
• Approx. 420 pgs, 140

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Perceptual Ability90 Questions 1 hr

• The Perceptual Ability Test consists of 6
  subsections, 15 questions each
• Apertures (Keyholes)
• View recognition (Top-Front-End)
• Angle discrimination (Angle Ranking)
• 3D form development (Hole Punches)
• Cube counting
• Pattern folding

Source ADA 2009 DAT Program Guide
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What should I use?Perceptual Ability

• Crack DAT PAT 2009 Edition
• ? The most realistic PAT simulation product on
  the market
• ? Numerous tests more practice
• better score
• ? No real drawbacks
• Ace Edition 85

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Reading Comprehension50 Questions 1 hr

• The ability to read, organize, analyze, and
  remember new information in dental and basic
  sciences
• Contains three reading passages.
• 50 Questions

Source ADA 2009 DAT Program Guide
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Reading Comprehension50 Questions 1 hr

• Over the years RC has become a big deal.
• Search and Destroy
• Map the Passage
• Practice
• The Economist
• Scientific American
• New York Times
• Anything that contains lots of scientific details

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Quantitative Reasoning40 Questions 45 min

• Mathematical Problems Algebra - equations and
  expressions, inequalities, exponential notation,
  absolute value, ratios and proportions, and
  graphical analysis
• Numerical calculations fractions and decimals,
  percentages, approximations and scientific
  notation
• Conversions - temperature, time, weight, and
  distance
• Probability and Statistics
• Geometry
• Trigonometry, and Applied Mathematics (word)
  Problems

Source ADA 2009 DAT Program Guide
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Quantitative Reasoning40 Questions 45 min

• Problems arent too complex but
• Time is a HUGE factor
• Be prepared to do computations lightning FAST

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What should I use?Quantitative Reasoning

• Crack DAT Math 2009 Edition
• ? Questions are similar to the real thing
• ? Easier than the actual QR section
• Ace Edition 68

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Dental Admission TestDAT Simulators

• Topscore Pro
• 3 Full-length simulation tests
• Harder than actual DAT
• 50 (Scholarware.com)
• DAT Achiever
• 3 Full-length simulation tests
• Much harder than actual DAT
• 50 (3tquest.com)

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Dental Admission TestFinal Tips

• Over-studying is better and (arguably) the surest
  way to score high
• No such thing as bang for your buck studying
• Learn from your mistakes
• Be sure to practice PAT, QR, and RC regularly
• Rule of thumb time spent on Bio should be equal
  to or more than time spent on GC OC combined

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Dental Admission TestWhen to Take it?

• Dental Schools will tell you that your DAT should
  be completed by the time you send in your
  application (June 1st)
• But the reality is that schools dont truly get
  your application from AADSAS until the end of
  July/ beginning of August
• So you could take your DAT as late as August

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Dental Admission TestWhen to Take it?

• Remember it takes approx. 3 to 4 weeks after your
  test for your score reports to get to the dental
  schools on your application
• But if you are one of those who take it during
  the summer, an alternative would be that you
  could fax your scores to each school individually
• Remember that you have to wait 90 days before you
  can retake the test, and you are only allowed 3
  tries
• so the bottom line is only take the DAT when you
  are ready

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Dental Admission TestFinal Tips

• Aim high
• If people think you are being a bit nuts and
  working too hard, you are probably on the right
  track.