What Is A Good DAT Score?

|DATEducatorsReviewsPricingLog InStart StudyingLog InStart StudyingPricingEducatorsReviewsBlogWhat is a Good DAT Score?ByDr. Ari Rezaei—Reviewed byDr. Joel Meyerson—Updated onAugust 26, 2025

Key Takeaway

A good DAT score is around 420-440 AA (70th-80th percentile). This is the average score for acceptance to dental school. Highly competitive scores are 470+ AA (90th+ percentile).

Table of ContentsHow is the DAT Scored?

The DAT grades you on 6 different subjects:

Biology (BIO)General Chemistry (GC)Organic Chemistry (OC)Perceptual Ability (PAT)Reading Comprehension (RC)Quantitative Reasoning (QR)

Each subject is scored on a standardized scale out of 600 points. The average test taker will score a 400 (50th percentile).

In addition to the 6 scores you’ll receive above, you’ll get an Academic Average (AA) score, which is the most important number. The AA is the average of your scores, without the Perceptual Ability score (ie, AA = (BIO + GC + OC + RC + QR) / 5), rounded to the nearest 10th.

What's a Good Score on the DAT?

The average score for acceptance is around 420-440 AA and should be most students' goal.

Scores of 470+ AA are exceptionally competitive (top 10th percentile). Some schools have higher average DAT scores, so if you want to go to a specific school, I recommend the ADEA Dental School Explorer to find their average DAT scores and set that as your goal.

Note: In March 2025, the DAT switched to a 3-digit scoring scale (200-600), replacing the previous 2-digit scale (1-30). Learn more about the DAT Scoring Change here.

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My name is Dr. Ari Rezaei. My team and I built Bootcamp.com to provide challenging prep material to get you ready to conquer your classes and exams. I graduated from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine.

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