Tips and Tricks to ace the Dental Admissions Test and get into Dental School!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Studying for The Biology Section of the DAT

Below is a list of topics that are covered on the DAT, as listed by the ADA on the DAT portion of their website: 

http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx

The scope of the test covers a wide range of topics, but the questions are not as in depth as one might see in a class devoted to a specific topic like Ecology.


Major Biology Topics to Know for the DAT
Cell and Molecular Biology

  • Origin of life 
  • Cell metabolism (including photosynthesis/enzymology)
  • Cellular processes
  • Thermodynamics
  • Organelle structure and function
  • Mitosis/meiosis
  • Cell structure 
  • Experimental cell biology


Diversity of Life

  • Biological Organization and Relationship of Major Taxa (Six-Kingdom, Three-Domain System) – plantae, animalia, protista, fungi, eubacteria (bacteria), archae, etc.


Structure and Function of Systems

  • Integumentary
  • Skeletal muscular 
  • Circulatory
  • Immunological 
  • Digestive 
  • Respiratory 
  • Urinary 
  • Nervous/senses
  •  Endocrine 
  • Reproductive 

Developmental Biology 

  • Fertilization 
  • Descriptive embryology 
  • Developmental mechanisms
  • Experimental embryology


Genetics

  • Molecular genetics,
  • Human genetics
  • Classical genetics 
  • Chromosomal genetics
  • Genetic technology


Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior

  • Natural selection
  • Population genetics/speciation
  • Cladistics 
  • Population and community ecology
  • Ecosystems 
  • Animal behavior (including social behavior)

Two great test prep materials that I highly recommend using for preparing for this section and brushing up on your Biology are: Cliffs AP Bio Book and Kaplan's Blue Book.

Kaplan's Blue Book has material for each and every section on the DAT. It is a great resource to refresh yourself with the general concepts of many of the topics tested on the DAT. However, I would not recommend using only KBB to prepare, as it does not everything.

As I was preparing for my test, I read many good recommendations about the Cliff's AP Biology Prep Book. It is not super in depth, but it does cover a very wide array of topics. Also it's very easy on your wallet!

You can sometimes find a great deal on these books used at eBay or half.com, but I often find that Amazon has the cheapest prices, used or new.

Buying both of these books NEW will probably cost around $55-60, including shipping. Not a bad investment to improve your DAT score!


                            

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Please feel free to express your thoughts about the site. Any suggestions for topics I could add or any improvement you think the site could use would be much appreciated!

Also feel free to ask any questions you have about the DAT and applying to Dental School and I will get back to you ASAP!