Many colleges and universities use computer-based tests to judge a student’s ability to study a particular curriculum. More than sixty medical schools in the US and Canada use the DAT or the dental admission test scores to determine a student’s eligibility for admission to the medal college.
Every year many aspiring dentists take the DAT exam, but only a few get their preferred choice of college. DAT is a highly competitive exam, and if you want to get a good score, you must start preparing well in advance. You can also take help from Orgoman.com to get hold of DAT exam prep books.
How Is The DAT Exam Scored?
If you wish to understand what is good, then you first need to understand how the exam is scored. DAT is a Prometric exam, and the computer autogenerates a set of questions that are scored.
However, in order to maintain parity between different sets of students who attempt the exam at different time slots and on different days, there is a system of standardization. So the final score that you see in your scorecard is not the number of questions that you have got right. It is also not the percentile score where the highest scorer in a set is given hundred percent marks. In scaled scoring, the total number of correct questions is calculated, and then this sum is scaled to thirty.
What Is A Good DAT Score
The exam has four sections, and scores in each section and the overall scaled score out of thirty matter while getting admitted to colleges.
The four subjects are natural sciences, where questions are asked based on whatever is taught in the undergraduate syllabus. The second division consists of questions in subjects like biology, general and organic chemistry. The third subdivision tests a student’s ability in quantitative attitude, which consists of math-based questions, and the last subdivision tests a student’s perceptual ability, like his ability to visualize foldings of paper, three-dimensional objects, etc.
Score Of Twenty Five (25) Or Higher
Anything above twenty-five is extremely rare, and you have to be a genius of sorts to score an average of more than twenty-five out of thirty. Since these marks are great, you can get admitted to any medical school that you want to with these scores.
Anything In The Range Of Twenty Two (22) To Twenty Five (25)
Any score that is above twenty-two is also very good. Apart from the average score, the scores in individual subjects also matter. So a score of twenty or twenty-one is good for biology and chemistry. A score of twenty-three is good for comprehension, and anything beyond nineteen is good for math.
With such scores, you can get into good colleges like the University Of California in Los Angeles and in San Francisco.
Marks Between Twenty (20) And Twenty Two (22)
Scaled marks in the range of twenty to twenty-two are above average. With such marks, you can get into places like the dental school at the University Of Alabama, the medical school at the University Of Arizona, etc.
Average Marks Of Nineteen (19) Or Below
With a score of nineteen, you can get into schools like the dental school at the University Of Meharry or the University Of Virginia. However, you can still have a chance of getting through a good University if you have good GPA marks. Most colleges take GPA into consideration when they are admitting students.
Moreover, the DAT test can be taken multiple times, and you can take the exam more than once if you want to improve your score. The retest can be taken after a period of sixty days from making the first attempt. The exam can be taken five times a year. Beyond this, the student can take the exam once in a period of one year.
Although you can take multiple attempts, it is always better to get a good score on your very first attempt. Here are a few tips that you need to score well on your very first attempt.
How To Perform Well In DAT
1. Get The Right Study Material
The right study material is the most crucial resource for performing well in any test. So you should get hold of good quality and comprehensive study material. It is also a good idea to get a study partner. If two people explain concepts to each other and take tests together, then the competitive spirit improves.
2. Dedicate Four To Six Months Exclusively For The Test
It is important to get into full blown preparation mode before writing the test. Four to six months of dedicated focus can get you a good store. However, you need to follow a strict timetable where you dedicate a fixed amount of time to each subject.
Also, if you are not particularly good at any subject, then you need to put in more effort in that area.
3. Practice Taking The Test
Try to take the exam in a simulated situation where you have to answer the question in a definite span of time. Also, the level of the questions should be at par with those that are actually asked in the test.
4. Learn How To Eliminate Wrong Options
Many subjects ask questions in the form of multiple-choice questions. So out of four options, you have to figure out the right one. In these questions, the ability to eliminate the wrong options helps to get the answer correct. There are certain tricks to eliminate the wrong options, and you should know those tricks well.
Conclusion
Before you start preparing for a test, it is important to know about the examination pattern, the number of attempts, the eligibility criteria, etc. So it is always a good idea to visit the website of the American Dental Association to know all the relevant details about the test, like the process of seeking an audit for the scores obtained or the exact eligibility criteria for appearing in the DAT.