Preparing to Apply: Everything you need to know about the DATs

1. The Dental School Application Timeline, Part 1 Preparing to Apply: Everything you need to know about the DATs Cornell Pre-Dental Society October 28, 2010 Lindsey Atiyeh

2. The Basics

3. Dental Admission Test (DAT): What is it? • An exam taken by ALL students who are planning to apply to dental school. It is: • 280 Questions • Entirely Multiple Choice (ALL are A-E) • Computerized • Exam Fee: $285 (non-refundable) • Fee includes sending score reports to any schools listed on your DAT application, regardless of the number of schools. However, to send an official score report to additional institutions after you have submitted your DAT application, a $25 fee will be incurred per school.

4. Dental Admission Test (DAT): • Maximum Score: 30National Average: 17 • Usually, Cornell students aim for a 19 or above. • NOTE: You must wait 90 days before retaking the exam. The best advice is to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!

5. Registration Information

6. Step 1: Read the DAT Guide • Info about eligibility requirements, rules of conduct, test regulations, testing procedures, testing checklist, and FAQs • The 2010 DAT Guide can be found HERE, or you can access it at www.ada.org

7. Step 2: Obtain a DENTPIN and Apply to take the Test • You must have a DENTPIN (DENTal Personal Identifier Number) in order to proceed with • your application to test • your score report request • your application to a dental program or application service

8. Step 3: Schedule a Time to Take the Test • Must apply to take the test with the ADA and receive your eligibility letter before scheduling your testing appointment with Prometric. • Tests are administered year-round at Prometric Test Centers, so you may take the test almost any day of the year.

9. Important! • To make sure you get your first choice of date, time, and location, you should schedule at least 60 days before the desired test date. • You can change your test date up to two days before your scheduled exam date for a fee ($25).

10. Taking the DAT

11. Breakdown The exam takes 4 hours and 15 minutes (or 5 hours including the tutorial, break, and survey):

12. Natural Sciences Time: 90 minutes Format: 100 multiple-choice questions from 3 science areas Time per question: 54 seconds • Biology 40 questions • General Chemistry 30 questions • Organic Chemistry 30 questions

13. Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) Time: 60 minutes Format: 90 multiple-choice questions divided into 6 parts (15 questions in each area) Time per question: 40 seconds • Apertures (aka. Keyholes) • View Recognition (aka. Top-Front-End, Orthographic Projections) • Angle Ranking • Paper Folding • Cube Counting • 3D Form Development (aka. Pattern Folding)

14. Reading Comprehension Time: 60 minutes Format: 50 multiple-choice questions:3 passages with about 16-17 questions each Time per question: 1 minute and 12 seconds • Passages tend to be scientific and technical • “Tone” questions do appear!

15. Quantitative Reasoning Time: 45 minutes Format: 40 multiple-choice questions Time per question: 1 minute and 8 seconds • Fractions, decimals, and percentages • Algebra • Word Problems • Geometry • Trigonometry • Effective March 2010: Calculator available on screen!

16. Important! • There is NO penalty for wrong answers! • NEVER EVER leave any question blank!

17. Sample Questions

18. NOTE: The sample questions that were discussed during the meeting can all be found online. Please go to “Resources” on our website to find additional sample problems, helpful websites, and DAT supplies.

19. After the Test • You will receive an unofficial score report right after you finish the test! You will not be sent any other score report. • The official scores are sent to the dental schools you requested on your DAT application.

20. Study Resources • DAT DESTROYER!! • http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html • Kaplan • Crack the DAT PAT • TopScore • 3 practice tests • DAT Achiever • 3 practice tests • Barrons and Cliffs • have a lot of mistakes • Cliffs AP Biology • Great review for the Biology section • Campell’s biology textbook (for reference) • Pay for practice exams from ADA, website has one free practice exam.

21. When to take the DATs • The DAT exam should be taken after completing General Chemistry, Biology, Organic Chemistry, and college level math courses. • Taking upper level biology courses (eg. Microbioly, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics) will give you an added advantage for the Biology portion. • For students who are not planning on taking a gap year, common times to test are: • Summer after Sophomore Year – IF all required courses have been completed and you feel comfortable with all material • Summer after Junior Year – the earlier the better, as it can be hard to get a test date as the summer progresses. • Winter Break of Junior Year

22. What to expect on the exam day • Dress in layers! The room may be warm or cool and you would want to be comfortable. • Ear plugs are available to keep out the noise from other test-takers. • Lockers with locks provided for your belongings. You are not allowed to have anything in your pockets. • You are NOT allowed to bring: calculators, paper, iPods, cell phones, bags, highlighters, food, beverages (including water), or watches.

23. Personal StudyTips • The level of difficulty of the exam for the science portion is most comparable to Kaplan and Topscore. • The digital quality of the exam is comparable to Topscore, and the PAT portion is most comparable to CRACK DAT PAT. • DAT Destroyer is a great resource but is generally much more difficult for the science portions. • Practice the math questions out of the Destroyer and time yourself! 45 minutes to complete 40 questions is not a lot of time.

24. References • http://www.aboutdentalschools.com/dental/images/DAT_test.jpg • http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/index.asp • http://www.orgoman.com/datdestroyer.html • http://www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/dat_test_sampleitems.pdf • http://www.kaptest.com/Dental/Dental-Home/DN_home.html