MCAT vs DAT

[hello1921]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I know this is probably a common question but I was wanted to know if people thought the MCAT was harder than the DAT and WHY? I'm asking this because I had told one of my freshman advisers I was planning on applying to dental school...she replied that dental school generally was the "easier" path to take then medical school.

- I just finished my freshman year as a Bio major and haven't taken either tests yet...i plan on sampling them soon tho...

 

[tranv117]

whether dental or medical school is the easier path or not, i won't comment on that. But I am studying for the DAT from both DAT and MCAT material and will say that MCAT material is much more densed. You need to know all the steps in each metabolic pathway, which enzymes are used, etc. Another thing is that the MCAT gives you passages to read for the sciences, and then give you a set questions that you'd have to apply from knowledge and from reading the passage to answer (still multiple choice like the DAT). As opposed to the DAT where its a bit more random with questions and answers kind of thing...

 

[doc3232]

Actually the MCAT is easier, I think. Because some of the questions are based on whether you understood the passage.
Not to make this a Med school vs Dental school thread, but med schools do require higher gpas usually.

 

[nashfan3213]

I think that dental school is just as hard if not harder to get in as medical school. There are way more schools out there for doctors than dentists. My friend got in with a 3.2 gpa and a 31 MCAT. Granted it was a D.O. school but still.

 

[dent2009]

Actually the MCAT is easier, I think. Because some of the questions are based on whether you understood the passage.
Not to make this a Med school vs Dental school thread, but med schools do require higher gpas usually.

Doc3232, either you're crazy or you've just never taken the MCAT before. I'm thinking it's the latter.

No contest here. MCAT is much more difficult. The MCAT is a critical reasoning test. It's not just about understanding the passage but it is also being able to pick out and use the right information while sifting through useless ones and apply that to a new set of circumstances, situation, etc at the same time using your own knowledge to come up with the final answer. The passages are not clear cut and simple either. So it's not like the DAT where most questions are straightforward and all you have to do is spit out facts. I guarantee you that those who get AA 19 on DATs will most likely not get a MCAT 30 the average allopathic (MD) med school matriculant. However, PAT could be a challenge to many med students out there.

So based on the entrance exam alone, i'd have to say that getting into med school is more difficult. Although you can still defer to DO schools which may have an average MCAT of 25, 26ish which is more doable but still not that easy. Average GPA for MD schools is at least a 3.6. I don't know the average GPA for DO schools.

 

[efficient]

I wonder about the people that say the MCAT is easier than the DAT. My personal experience is the opposite. I took the MCAT and DAT and I have to say the MCAT is a lot!!! harder than the DAT. There is a lot more content and the format is a killer. In a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the hardest, I give the DAT a 6, and a 9.5 to the MCAT.
Oh yeah and for the DAT you know how many questions you're going to get for each topic in Biology, Org, etc, but for the MCAT, it is random. I remember I got all passages in the Biological Sciences about the nervous system and one about carbohydrates in the MCAT. So if you don't know the nervous system and carbs, you're pretty much screwed.

 

[tranv117]

to point out another difference is that MCAT includes Physics while DAT has the Perceptual Ability Section.

 

[doc3232]

Doc3232, either you're crazy or you've just never taken the MCAT before. I'm thinking it's the latter.

No contest here. MCAT is much more difficult. The MCAT is a critical reasoning test. It's not just about understanding the passage but it is also being able to pick out and use the right information while sifting through useless ones and apply that to a new set of circumstances, situation, etc at the same time using your own knowledge to come up with the final answer. The passages are not clear cut and simple either. So it's not like the DAT where most questions are straightforward and all you have to do is spit out facts. I guarantee you that those who get AA 19 on DATs will most likely not get a MCAT 30 the average allopathic (MD) med school matriculant. However, PAT could be a challenge to many med students out there.

So based on the entrance exam alone, i'd have to say that getting into med school is more difficult. Although you can still defer to DO schools which may have an average MCAT of 25, 26ish which is more doable but still not that easy. Average GPA for MD schools is at least a 3.6. I don't know the average GPA for DO schools.

I completely agree with you. But I am saying that memorizing all those facts as we do for the DAT is easier than having to go have 4 hours of analysis (MCAT test). just my opinion. If you read a MCAT book, such as examkrackers, you come across: "this is much too detailed" and often those details are things we would need to know. MCAT just need practice...don't get me wrong, I am not sayin the MCAT is easy...

 

[efficient]

doc3232, you need to take the MCAT! I thought I was going to get 32+ in the MCAT when I took it, but hmm... no I did not get that. I only got a 30 and prepared for 3 months, day and night, no weekends. Now with the DAT, I got a AA 20, TS 20, and PAT 17 with only 3 weeks of preparation with a little partying every once in a while. So my verdict is MCAT will kick your butt even if you practice the format, because it is just another thing 🙂. Seriously, it's like finding a needle in a room full of hay, that's what it feels like when reading a passage in the MCAT. And please, the Verbal Reasoning in the MCAT is the most difficult thing I've ever encountered. It just kicks your ass!

 

[Contach]

you guys are all stupid. there i said it.

both tests are in relation to how everyone else does. you are competing against your peers. so it doesn't matter if it's a f'ing grade 9 math test.. if the scores are standardized.. you still need to aim for a good percentile rank. Whether that means studying to improve you score from a 98-->100 or a 68 --> 75.. it will be equally as hard.. because everyone is doing the same thing..

now.. if you can highlight the differences between the two tests which i think dent134321434 did.. ie mcat is about application and dat is more factual.. then u can align which test matches your strengths. and that will be relatively easier for YOU and only YOU.

 

[doc3232]

you guys are all stupid. there i said it.

both tests are in relation to how everyone else does. you are competing against your peers. so it doesn't matter if it's a f'ing grade 9 math test.. if the scores are standardized.. you still need to aim for a good percentile rank. Whether that means studying to improve you score from a 98-->100 or a 68 --> 75.. it will be equally as hard.. because everyone is doing the same thing..

now.. if you can highlight the differences between the two tests which i think dent134321434 did.. ie mcat is about application and dat is more factual.. then u can align which test matches your strengths. and that will be relatively easier for YOU and only YOU.

Actually, DAT scores are preset...so how well everyone else does has NOTHING to do how you do.

 

[Contach]

Actually, DAT scores are preset...so how well everyone else does has NOTHING to do how you do.

and what exactly are they preset based on?

 

[Danny289]

doc3232, you need to take the MCAT! I thought I was going to get 32+ in the MCAT when I took it, but hmm... no I did not get that. I only got a 30 and prepared for 3 months, day and night, no weekends. Now with the DAT, I got a AA 20, TS 20, and PAT 17 with only 3 weeks of preparation with a little partying every once in a while. So my verdict is MCAT will kick your butt even if you practice the format, because it is just another thing 🙂. Seriously, it's like finding a needle in a room full of hay, that's what it feels like when reading a passage in the MCAT. And please, the Verbal Reasoning in the MCAT is the most difficult thing I've ever encountered. It just kicks your ass!

I think you got 20 because you studied 3 month for MCAT! your total study for DAT was 3 months + 3 weeks!

 

[PSU SHC 414]

Actually the MCAT is easier, I think. Because some of the questions are based on whether you understood the passage.
Not to make this a Med school vs Dental school thread, but med schools do require higher gpas usually.

I've taken both, and while each test is challenging in its own respects, I'd say that the MCAT is definitely harder. Your post is obviously purely speculation with zero experience in taking or studying for the MCAT. Yes, everything on the MCAT is passage-based, but IMO, this actually makes the exam harder. Not only do you have to have good knowledge of all the material like you do on the DAT, but knowing that info isn't enough on the MCAT... you need to be able to extrapolate information from the passages and apply the correct equations/formulas/knowledge to answer the questions. And this all has to be done with proficiency and speed.

This is aside from the fact that the DAT doesn't cover Physics... that in itself is enough to give the "more challenging/difficult" title to the MCAT.

To the OP... the real question is who cares?!?!?!?? Most pre-meds are egotistical SOBs (moreso than pre-dents, but granted there are a fair share of us who fall into that category too), so they're going to fight you to the death when it comes to the question of difficulty between the MCAT and DAT no matter what you argue. If you're basing your career decision on how people view the prerequisite exam that you have to take to get into that field, you're setting yourself up for a serious tumble off a steep cliff... trust me on this one. Before you waste your time "sampling" both exams, I'd take some time to do some real introspective reflection about which profession you'd be able to devote your life's work to. Remember that at the end of the day, you're the one who has to deal with both the pros and cons of the career you choose to pursue... not the people in the peanut gallery. You're still young and you've got a lot to learn, but don't make this mistake...

 

[BluAvenger]

The MCAT is harder, but the DAT isn't easy either. They're like different sports; you could do well in both, but they require different skills. To the OP, it's a waste of time and money if you decided to prepare for both. If you try studying for them at the same time, you'd end up learning two sets of strategies, and you'd probably won't end up doing your best on either exam (doesn't mean you won't do well). I'd take the time to explore your career options instead.

 

[doc3232]

I've taken both, and while each test is challenging in its own respects, I'd say that the MCAT is definitely harder. Your post is obviously purely speculation with zero experience in taking or studying for the MCAT. Yes, everything on the MCAT is passage-based, but IMO, this actually makes the exam harder. Not only do you have to have good knowledge of all the material like you do on the DAT, but knowing that info isn't enough on the MCAT... you need to be able to extrapolate information from the passages and apply the correct equations/formulas/knowledge to answer the questions. And this all has to be done with proficiency and speed.

This is aside from the fact that the DAT doesn't cover Physics... that in itself is enough to give the "more challenging/difficult" title to the MCAT.

To the OP... the real question is who cares?!?!?!?? Most pre-meds are egotistical SOBs (moreso than pre-dents, but granted there are a fair share of us who fall into that category too), so they're going to fight you to the death when it comes to the question of difficulty between the MCAT and DAT no matter what you argue. If you're basing your career decision on how people view the prerequisite exam that you have to take to get into that field, you're setting yourself up for a serious tumble off a steep cliff... trust me on this one. Before you waste your time "sampling" both exams, I'd take some time to do some real introspective reflection about which profession you'd be able to devote your life's work to. Remember that at the end of the day, you're the one who has to deal with both the pros and cons of the career you choose to pursue... not the people in the peanut gallery. You're still young and you've got a lot to learn, but don't make this mistake...

Why is everyone bashing on me...it is just my opinion, OP asked a questions and that is what I think.
Actually, I have some MCAT books (to help me prepare for the DAT) and I have taken some passages for the hell of it and actually did well. I prefer the science passages. I didn't find verbal too bad either.

 

[efficient]

I think you got 20 because you studied 3 month for MCAT! your total study for DAT was 3 months + 3 weeks!

No, I took the DAT one year later so I had forgotten everything. Trust me, my head filtered all the science stuff after I got done with.

 

[Chesnok]

Why is everyone bashing on me...it is just my opinion, OP asked a questions and that is what I think.
Actually, I have some MCAT books (to help me prepare for the DAT) and I have taken some passages for the hell of it and actually did well. I prefer the science passages. I didn't find verbal too bad either.

Because you are Einstein ........ before nobody could comprehend his relativity theory 😀 and nowdays it's a fact.

 

[paul510psu]

Maybe the most worthless thread I've ever seen on SDN.

Everybody who is applying to dental school is required to take the DAT and is competing with every other dental school applicant. So who cares if the DAT is easier than the MCAT because those who apply to medical school are required to take the MCAT and cannot have the DAT substitute for official MCAT scores.

This means that every dental school applicant takes the, arguably, easier DAT and competes with every other dental school applicant based on their DAT scores (along with other criteria). This puts every dental school applicant on a level playing field, which is the point of the standardized testing process.