DAT vs. CPA/CFA exams.

[denticus]

I know that it is very difficult to compare the absolute horror of either exam but after I took the DAT I would have to say that (for me) it was the most grouling standardized exam that I have ever taken. I talked to a few accountants and they were talking down the DAT by saying that there probably is not one standardized exam in the country more difficult then the CPA/CFA exams. My take on it was that they simply said that because they were ACCOUNTANTS and they somehow feel more manly by telling me that those exams were more difficult to make them feel better about themselves. Am I wrong or (in your opinion) are the CPA/CFA exams way more difficult then the DAT? I suppose that no matter what profession you go into, the standardized exam that you took to place you in that profession will be (too YOU) "the most difficult" standardized exam in the country. Perhaps there really is no comparison unless someone has taken both and can compare the two. Regardless, I've heard that the NBDE II makes the DAT look like a walk in the park. What say you?

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[NoFear66]

I am a finance major and have taken a couple of accounting classes and can definately say that the CPA and CFA exams are way harder than the DAT. The DAT just gets you into dental school. the CPA and other board exams enable you to publicly practice, of course they are harder.

 

[diane07]

Plenty of accountants do not pass the CPA exam on their first try, and some accountants never end up passing it. It is extremely difficult. Almost anyone can take the DAT if they so choose. Whereas the CPA can only be taken after your accounting studies have been completed. The CPA is probably one of the toughest exams out there. Perhaps you could compare the DAT to the MCAT, but probably not to the CPA.

 

[Montserrat]

A professional licensing exam should be harder, but that's just my speculation. However, the GMAT might be a better comparison. I took the DAT about a month ago, and with respect to word problems, the GMAT has more, and they are more difficult. Mathematically speaking, the GMAT was probably more challenging, and the verbal section was analagous to how I've heard my friends describe the MCAT reading sections. I'd say the DAT was harder, only because the sections span more fields of knowledge. Makes sense to me, because I scored a 740 on the GMAT, but scored significantly less in percentile rank on the DAT.

 

[denticus]

I am a finance major and have taken a couple of accounting classes and can definately say that the CPA and CFA exams are way harder than the DAT. The DAT just gets you into dental school. the CPA and other board exams enable you to publicly practice, of course they are harder.

Since the CPA and CFA exams allow you to practice publically, how then would they compare in difficulty to NBDE examinations which allow dentists to practice publically. I've heard that the NBDE examinations make the DAT look like a joke. Certainly the CPA/CFA examinations cannot be that much harder then the NBDE exams if many already qualified dental students fail miserably on those exams every year.

 

[crazy_sherm]

There are different pressures associated with the NBDE than with the DAT that actually make it easier IMO. Sure the subject matter may be more in depth or detailed, but at the same time, you just spend the last year or so getting it pounded into you at school. You only need roughly 50% to pass the test and about 80% to do well if you want to specialize. The DAT covers some basic subjects, but the pressure of doing well seems greater because the fate of your next 4 years hangs on it. With the NBDE, if you fail, you still have time to take it again before graduation. I thought the DAT was a much more stressful test and I feel like I studied way more for it than Part I. A lot of my classmates aren't really even gonna study for Part II, so I'm sure it can't be that bad either. The real test is the live patient boards where so much is out of your control.

Looking back on the DAT however, it didn't seem nearly as tough as I made myself think it was. The subject matter is pretty basic and as you learn more, a lot of it makes much more sense. I don't have any experience taking the CPA exam, but I would bet it's harder than the DAT considering people who only took the prereq classes to do fine on it, but only accounting majors seem to have a shot at the CPA exam.

 

[denticus]

There are different pressures associated with the NBDE than with the DAT that actually make it easier IMO. Sure the subject matter may be more in depth or detailed, but at the same time, you just spend the last year or so getting it pounded into you at school. You only need roughly 50% to pass the test and about 80% to do well if you want to specialize. The DAT covers some basic subjects, but the pressure of doing well seems greater because the fate of your next 4 years hangs on it. With the NBDE, if you fail, you still have time to take it again before graduation. I thought the DAT was a much more stressful test and I feel like I studied way more for it than Part I. A lot of my classmates aren't really even gonna study for Part II, so I'm sure it can't be that bad either. The real test is the live patient boards where so much is out of your control.

Looking back on the DAT however, it didn't seem nearly as tough as I made myself think it was. The subject matter is pretty basic and as you learn more, a lot of it makes much more sense. I don't have any experience taking the CPA exam, but I would bet it's harder than the DAT considering people who only took the prereq classes to do fine on it, but only accounting majors seem to have a shot at the CPA exam.

But if you think about it, accountants say that all you have to do is pass the exam and you can practice accounting which I heard is only like 50 percent of the questions that you need to answer correctly. The DAT is so difficult because even if you do "pass" the DAT (say with a 19 or 20) there is still no gurantee that you'll even be admitted but there are gurantees for passing the CFA/CPA. To get a virtual gurantee for being admitted to dental based off of your DAT score would require an outrageous score which I would imagine to be much more difficult to attain as opposed to just passing the CPA/CFA exams though they are still difficult.

 

[crazy_sherm]

But if you think about it, accountants say that all you have to do is pass the exam and you can practice accounting which I heard is only like 50 percent of the questions that you need to answer correctly. The DAT is so difficult because even if you do "pass" the DAT (say with a 19 or 20) there is still no gurantee that you'll even be admitted but there are gurantees for passing the CFA/CPA. To get a virtual gurantee for being admitted to dental based off of your DAT score would require an outrageous score which I would imagine to be much more difficult to attain as opposed to just passing the CPA/CFA exams though they are still difficult.

You can argue all you want about it and I was just pointing out my own experience with the DAT and NBDE. Very few of us will be able to give you good answer because we don't usually take the CPA exam and won't have anything to compare it to. If you're really interested in getting a good view point, try PMing JavadiCavity. He was an accounting major out of school and worked in finance for a number of years before deciding to switch to dentistry. If I remember correctly, the DAT and Part I were pretty much a cakewalk for him.

 

[denticus]

You can argue all you want about it and I was just pointing out my own experience with the DAT and NBDE. Very few of us will be able to give you good answer because we don't usually take the CPA exam and won't have anything to compare it to. If you're really interested in getting a good view point, try PMing JavadiCavity. He was an accounting major out of school and worked in finance for a number of years before deciding to switch to dentistry. If I remember correctly, the DAT and Part I were pretty much a cakewalk for him.

Thanks

 

[Meatwad]

Actuarial exams sound like the worst ever.