How to Get a 26+ DAT Score: Strategies from Top Scorers
/How hard is it to get a top DAT score? Learn proven study strategies to achieve a 26+ on the DAT
learn how to get a top score on the dat
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Part 1: Introduction
There are few obstacles along your path to dental school more anxiety-inducing than the DAT. Along with your GPA, your DAT score is a major determining factor in your chances of acceptance to dental school, so you’ll want to do everything in your power to achieve your highest DAT score.
With mean DAT scores steadily climbing among dental school applicants for the last 20 years, you may be wondering how you’ll be able to compete in a pool of top-scorers for dental school seats. What strategies do you need to pursue to score that coveted 26+ on the DAT, placing you in the 99th percentile?
If you’re wondering how to get a top DAT score, this guide will act as a data-informed answer to your question. We’ll detail the study strategies that top DAT scorers used to achieve their impressive results and get into the most prestigious programs.
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Part 2: What is a perfect DAT score?
Ah, the elusive perfect DAT score. In short, a perfect overall score on the DAT is 30, but to the best of our knowledge, no one has ever achieved a perfect score.
In theory, you would at least need to get every question right on the exam—a monumental task by itself—but even if you did, your final reported score would likely still fall short of 30. This is due to how the scores are scaled for each section and how the final score is determined. More on that below.
How is the DAT structured and scored?
The DAT is comprised of four main sections:
Survey of the Natural Sciences
Perceptual Ability
Quantitative Reasoning
Reading Comprehension
You’ll receive a score for each section, which is then scaled. These scaled scores (aside from the Perceptual Ability section) are rounded and averaged to obtain the academic average (AA) score, which is often cited on dental schools’ websites as their average DAT score.
This process of scaling and rounding (especially in the science sections) means it’s near impossible to receive a perfect overall score.
However, students still ask us how they can get a perfect DAT score every year and we respond that while their ambition is admirable, the possibility is slim. The highest DAT score we’ve encountered is a 28, (although the ADA has recorded scores of 29 as you’ll see below) so we know that it is possible to get a top DAT score with the right effort directed in the right way.
(Suggested reading: What DAT Score Do You Need to Get Into Dental School?)
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Part 3: How hard is it to get a 26+ DAT score?
Scoring 26 or above on the exam places you among an elite club of top DAT test takers. That is to say, getting into the 99th percentile is extremely difficult. But what exactly makes this percentile so hard to break into?
As mentioned above, the DAT is a scaled exam. This is meant to account for the differences in difficulty of each test. Essentially, there are a variety of DAT test forms, some with harder questions than others. The ADA notes that “differences in examination form difficulty are addressed via sophisticated psychometric procedures that take question difficulty into account when determining candidate scale scores.”
These different test forms with questions of varying degrees of difficulty mean that even if you and a friend took the test on the same day, one of you can miss more questions than the other while both of you still receive the same result.
While the ADA has stopped reporting percentages and numbers of students who received particular scores on the overall exam, we can still get an idea of the difficulty of achieving a 26 by looking at the most recent ADA data on section scores by gender for test takers in 2022. These charts give us the actual number of test takers that received a particular score, rather than percentages.
In 2022, a total of 13,630 students took the DAT. Of those, the following numbers of students scored 26 or higher in each section:
Quantitative Reasoning: 620
Reading Comprehension: 1,223
Survey of the Natural Sciences: 297
Perceptual Ability: 117
The total number of students who got an academic average of 26 or above is 290. The score breakdown is as follows:
26: 170
27: 81
28: 29
29: 10
30: 0
As you can see, only a small fraction (2.12%) of the total test takers broke through the 26 barrier. To do so, their scores in difficult sections such as organic chemistry, biology, and quantitative reasoning had to be exceptional.
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Part 4: How to get a 26+ DAT score
We know that scoring a 26 or above is possible, even if it’s extremely difficult. Being among the 2% of students who get this highest of DAT scores grants you a competitive application at almost any dental school across the nation. Of course, high scores alone aren’t enough for acceptance without solid essays and extracurriculars, but they can go a long way toward moving your application to the interview pile.
If achieving a coveted top score on the DAT is your goal, preparation and dedication are key. Furthermore, you’ll need to maximize your study time for efficiency and knowledge retention since you’re sure to have other responsibilities competing for your attention, too.
To help you with this, we’ve asked top test takers at SAC what strategies they followed for success and compiled the best study tips for achieving a 26 or higher on the DAT.
Strategy #1: Construct a workable study schedule and stick to it
The DAT tests you on an enormous amount of knowledge. So much so that it’s impossible to cram it all in a few weeks before the exam. If you want to achieve a top score, you’ll need to carefully map out a plan of study and be disciplined about sticking to your schedule.
We find that many students eventually create a study schedule, but this leaves them with limited time remaining before test day. The earlier you make your study schedule, the more time you’ll have for focused and quality practice.
At a minimum, you want to give yourself three months of consistent study to have the best chance of entry into the 2% club. This will include content review and practice tests, as well as test strategy.
We recommend a 300-hour minimum for overall study time for the DAT—and more to get a top score. If you give yourself three months of study, this will look like three to four hours of study time each day.
Keep in mind that you also want to build in weekly flex days to your schedule. Giving yourself a break from the rigors of dedicated study is crucial to retaining information. You can also use these days to do a broad review of what you’ve covered during the week.
(Suggested reading: The Ideal DAT Study Schedule)
Strategy #2: Make sure to study what you’ve studied
This strategy may sound a bit strange, but it’s incredibly important. During your time preparing for the DAT, you’ll attempt many practice problems and practice tests. You’ll always be able to take one more practice test or attempt a few more practice problems. However, if you don’t take time to review the ones you’ve already tried—especially the areas where you made mistakes—you won’t incorporate the knowledge and be able to correct your mistakes as efficiently.
For example, if you’re studying for the perceptual ability section of the test and you’re routinely missing paper-folding questions, continuing to attempt more of them will only get you so far. It’s vital that you take a moment to look over the questions you’re missing and reflect on why before moving on to new questions.
This will give you pause to consider trying a different approach to these questions and ramp up not only your studying efficiency, but also your overall score. Remember, if you understand what you’re doing wrong, it’s so much easier to do it right.
Strategy #3: Allow room for your strategy to grow—or change completely
It’s rare for anyone to get everything right on the first try. This also applies to your study strategy. You may have created a fantastic plan, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t allow for tweaks to your approach once you’ve started studying.
Learn while you’re learning. If you find yourself not retaining the information in a way that you would like, think about how you can change your approach. There’s no sense in continuing to practice ineffectively. Bad practice will lead to bad results. As they say, practice makes perfect, but it’s more accurate to say that perfect practice makes perfect.
(Suggested reading: Should I Retake the DAT?)
Strategy #4: Run practice tests as close to the real thing as possible
As you get closer to your actual test day, you will feel your nerves building. Has your practice been enough? Will you remember the answer to that one organic chemistry question you keep missing?
To mitigate the impact of nerves, try to run your practice tests exactly as if they were real tests on test day. Don’t just take the practice test; think about the circumstances in which your test will be taken, too.
Schedule your practice test day just like the real test day. If your real test begins promptly at 8 a.m., make sure you’re picking up your pencil at 8 a.m. for your practice exam. If you know you’ll have a long commute to the testing center, take a drive of similar length before starting. It can be especially beneficial to follow the route you’ll take to the testing center while paying attention to the traffic and parking situations during your drive. Minimizing the chance of surprises on test day goes a long way to reducing your stress and helping you focus on the task at hand.
Additionally, you should mimic actual testing conditions as much as possible. Find a quiet environment to take your practice exam where you won’t be disturbed. Supply yourself with scratch paper and a pen or pencil. Set timers and ensure you take breaks at intervals required on the real exam.
By attempting to simulate every aspect of the test day beforehand, you’ll know what to expect and minimize surprises. You’ll feel calmer and more confident going into the test which, in turn, will improve your mental clarity and ability to succeed.
Strategy #5: Do a few Perceptual Ability (PAT) questions every day
The Perceptual Ability section of the DAT is often cited as one of the most challenging sections of the test by pre-dental students. However, unlike other sections that require an enormous amount of memorization, succeeding on perceptual ability questions ultimately comes down to practice.
The more often you encounter PAT questions, the more likely you are to be able to visualize them properly. We don’t typically need to mentally manipulate complex shapes and angles in our minds on a daily basis, but once you’ve attempted this a few times, you’ll start to see the patterns and you’ll steadily improve. Besides, dentists often make use of this skill on the job, so this section exists on the DAT for a reason. Every bit of practice helps!
When planning your study schedule, make sure you include a few PAT questions every day to keep that mental muscle sharp.
Strategy #6: Make your own study materials
Self-study is a critical part of any DAT strategy, and you know yourself better than anyone else. If you’re struggling with a particular section, try making your own study materials to target your areas of weakness in that subject.
For example, it’s common for students to have difficulty with the organic chemistry section of the exam. Since you’ll need to memorize an enormous number of reactions and their products, creating your own flashcards is a great way to drill that new information into your head.
Furthermore, flashcards easily lend themselves to studying with a partner. Ask a friend to test you, then test them in return. Group or partner study sessions can help relieve some of the monotony of studying alone.
Final thoughts
Make no mistake. Entering the top ranks of DAT scorers is no small feat and will take concerted, persistent effort to do so. However, it’s far from impossible. Each year there are a few hundred hard-working, ambitious students who achieve this. With the tips and strategies mentioned in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to DAT success.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on dental school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into dental school using his exclusive approach.
