All pre-dental students must take the Dental Admission Test, and achieving a high score is required to stay competitive at the 55 accredited dental schools. The Dental Admission Test encompasses all topics covered mostly at your undergraduate institution such as Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Math, and your ability to read and comprehend. The intent of the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) of the Dental Admission Test (DAT) is to assess the capacity and to test the student's ability to think outside the box. Generally, you will take the PAT as the subset of the Dental Admission Test at the end of your 3rd or 4th undergraduate year. Furthermore, the Perceptual Ability Test is more of an acquired characteristic or trait that can often be the pitfall or deathwish of many students taking the DAT. Not to mention those individuals who have previously taken the MCAT or PCAT that are now seeking dental school as a second option, the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) portion can stand to be their biggest enemy: that is, their Achilles' Heal.
Similar to other standardized exams, the DAT is used to compare students from different schools who might have gone through different curricula. With that being said, your DAT scores will play a pivotal role in which dental school interviews you land. As unfair as it sounds, there are many dental schools which will use your PAT and DAT scores as the main criteria in screening and filtering out their applicants. On the flip side, securing yourself a strong PAT and DAT score can significantly bolster your application's merits and improve your chances into gaining admission.
The Dental Admission Test is divided into modules. The four modules are Sciences (Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry), Perceptual Ability Test, Reading Comprehension and Quantative Reasoning. The Perceptual Ability Test is broken down into six submodules consisting of 15 questions each yielding a total of 90 questions. Just as you will on test day, Crack DAT PAT allots you 60 minutes to tackle the PAT section (although you could change the time setting to suit your needs). For more DAT Practice Tests, we provide you with Crack DAT MATH and Crack DAT SCIENCE and Crack DAT READING. To stimulate your DAT, we have provided you with a sample schedule (you will be given 4 hr 15 minutes to complete your DAT).
Schedule| 5 minutes | Reporting Time | . | |
| 15 minutes | Tutorial | . | |
| 90 Minutes | Sciences (Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry) | 100 Questions | |
| 60 minutes | Perceptual Ability Test | 90 Questions | |
| 15 minutes | Lunch Break (Optional) | . | |
| 60 Minutes | Reading Comprehension | 50 Questions | |
| 45 Minutes | Quantative Reasoning Test | 40 Questions |
The fee for the computerized Dental Admission Test (DAT) is $205. You can register for the Dental Admission Test (DAT) by visiting American Dental Association (ADA). In order to retake examination or any subject(s), examinees must wait a minimum 90 day grace period from last sitting. Keep into consideration that one is entitled to only 3 computerized DAT exams annually. After receiving a letter that confirms eligibility, the examinee can make schedule arrangements for the DAT exam by calling the given 1-800 provided on the letter. The examinee is allotted a 12 month period to make arrangements to sit for the DAT exam. If the examinee fails to make arrangements within this time frame, the examinee will forfeit his money and will have to reapply. The examinee can expect results immediately thereupon completion of the DAT. The student can submit their dental school applications through AADSAS or TMDSAS even before he/she takes the DAT test.