The Dental Admission Test (DAT) is the gateway to dental school in the United States and Canada. Before you can sit for the exam, you need to understand exactly who's eligible, how the application process works, and what the ADA (American Dental Association) requires from candidates. Get this part wrong and you could waste an application fee or — worse — delay your dental school timeline by a year.
This guide covers everything about DAT eligibility and the application process: who can take it, when to apply, what to submit, and how to navigate the scheduling system.
The Dental Admission Test is a standardized exam developed and administered by the American Dental Association. It's required for admission to virtually all CODA-accredited dental schools in the United States. Canadian applicants use the Canadian DAT (cDAT), a separate but similar exam administered by the National Dental Examining Board of Canada.
The DAT tests four major areas:
Scores are reported on a 1–30 scale. The national average score is approximately 17, and competitive dental schools typically want applicants with Academic Average (AA) scores in the 19–22+ range. But before any of that matters, you have to be eligible to sit for the exam.
The ADA's eligibility requirements for the DAT are more flexible than many applicants expect:
You must have completed or be currently enrolled in a minimum of 90 semester hours (or 135 quarter hours) of undergraduate coursework from an accredited institution. This typically means you need to be at or near junior year in college before you're eligible.
There's no requirement to have completed a specific degree — you don't need to have graduated. However, the practical reality is that most DAT applicants have completed the prerequisite science courses before sitting, because the exam tests that content directly.
The ADA doesn't require specific courses as a formal eligibility condition, but the DAT tests content from:
Most applicants complete these before sitting because taking the DAT without this background knowledge essentially guarantees a poor score.
The ADA administers the DAT for U.S. and international applicants. International students who plan to apply to U.S. dental schools can take the DAT. There's no citizenship requirement for exam eligibility — but individual dental schools may have their own requirements for international applicants regarding visa status, English language proficiency, and other factors.
There's no minimum or maximum age requirement for the DAT. The 90-credit-hour minimum effectively sets a practical floor, but there's nothing in the rules that prevents a particularly advanced student from testing earlier.
This is where many applicants trip up. The ADA has specific rules about how many times you can take the DAT:
Every attempt is permanent record — dental schools can see all scores. Some schools average scores; some take the highest; some view multiple attempts unfavorably regardless of outcome. Know your target schools' policies before your first attempt. Don't treat the first sitting as a "practice run."
DAT applications are submitted through the ADA's online testing program. Here's the full process:
Go to ada.org and create an account in the ADA's testing program portal. You'll use this account to submit your application, pay fees, and schedule your exam. Keep your login credentials secure — you'll need them throughout the process.
Complete the online application, which includes:
The DAT application fee is $475 as of the current ADA fee schedule. This covers the exam itself. There's no separate scheduling fee for the initial appointment. If you cancel and need to reschedule within certain windows, additional fees may apply — check the ADA's current rescheduling policy.
After your application is processed and fee is paid, the ADA sends an Authorization to Test letter. This document is required to schedule your exam at a Prometric testing center. Hold onto it — you'll need the information in it when you book your appointment.
The DAT is administered at Prometric testing centers nationwide. Use the ATT information to schedule your appointment at prometric.com or by phone. Testing center availability varies by location — popular centers in college towns fill up quickly during peak testing seasons (spring and early summer before dental school application deadlines).
Schedule your exam date with enough time to receive your official scores before your dental school application deadlines. Official DAT scores are typically available within 3–5 business days of testing, though you'll see unofficial scores at the testing center immediately after completing the exam.
Timing the DAT correctly relative to your dental school application is one of the most important strategic decisions in the pre-dental process.
Most dental school applications go through AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service). AADSAS applications typically open in late May/early June and the cycle runs through February or March. Dental schools review applications on a rolling basis — submitting early matters.
Working backward from an ideal AADSAS submission of June/July:
If you need to retake the DAT, the 90-day waiting period means a lot in your application timeline. A low score in March can be retaken in June and scores received in time for a July AADSAS submission — but that's tight. A low score in May leaves you either submitting without a stronger score or delaying your application by a full cycle. Plan early.
Some applicants intentionally plan for two application cycles: take the DAT junior year, apply in the first cycle, and if not accepted, improve scores and apply again senior year. This is a legitimate strategy, but it requires honest self-assessment about your score expectations and your backup timeline.
Understanding the format helps you plan your prep timeline. The DAT is a computer-based exam with four sections:
This is the largest section — 40 biology, 30 general chemistry, and 30 organic chemistry questions. It's heavily memorization-dependent on factual content (cell biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics) mixed with problem-solving (reaction mechanisms, stoichiometry).
Unique to the DAT — you won't see this section on most other admissions tests. It tests 3D spatial visualization through six question types: apertures, view recognition, angle discrimination, paper folding, cube counting, and 3D form development. Many candidates find this the most unfamiliar section. It's also highly learnable with dedicated practice.
Three scientific reading passages with questions testing recall, inference, and ability to apply information from the text. Speed matters here — 60 minutes for 50 questions across three passages requires efficient reading strategy.
Math: algebra, probability, statistics, geometry, trigonometry, and data analysis. The level is roughly comparable to strong high school or freshman college math. Calculator use is allowed for this section.
There's no universal "passing score" — dental schools set their own cutoffs, and they vary significantly. General benchmarks:
GPA matters as much as DAT scores. A 3.2 GPA with a 22 DAT gets evaluated differently than a 3.8 GPA with a 19 DAT. Know the DAT and GPA profiles of matriculants at your target schools — ADEA publishes this data annually through their Dental School Explorer tool.
Beyond the exam content itself, there are logistics to prepare:
Before applying, verify that your credit hours will meet the 90-hour requirement. If you're close to the cutoff, check whether AP credits, dual enrollment, or transfer credits count toward the total at your institution — some do, some don't.
Choose a testing center you've actually been to before — or at minimum, visited. Unfamiliar testing environments on exam day add unnecessary stress. If you can take an MCAT or GRE at the same Prometric center before your DAT date, that familiarity is genuinely useful.
Popular testing windows (January–May) at Prometric centers near universities fill up fast. After you receive your ATT, don't wait to schedule. Book your preferred date as soon as possible. You can reschedule if needed, but availability shrinks quickly.
If you have a documented disability and need testing accommodations, apply for accommodations through the ADA before submitting your regular application. Accommodation approvals take additional time — don't leave this until the last minute. The ADA's accommodations process follows ADA and Section 504 requirements.
When you finish the exam, you'll receive unofficial scores before you leave the testing center. These are your actual scaled scores — the "unofficial" designation just means you haven't received the official documentation yet.
Official score reports are available through your ADA account within 3–5 business days. You can send official scores to dental schools through AADSAS, which requests your scores directly from the ADA.
If your scores aren't where you want them, remember the 90-day wait and 3-attempt limit before planning a retake strategy. Use that time to identify exactly which sections need improvement and address those specifically — not just general "more studying."