Dental Schools Ranked by DAT Scores

Many students wonder what dental school suites them the best according to their DAT scores. This was I question that I definitely had when I was trying to decide which schools to apply to. Remember, the DAT is a very big portion of your application and should not be taken lightly. However, this does not mean that if you earned a 19 academic average (AA) that you cannot apply to a school that has a an average AA of 21. The statistics are just that, statistics! If a school accepts someone with an AA of 23 that means that they must have accepted several others with lower scores. 


When scores are reported they are seen in three general categories including Academic Average (all of your scores averaged together except perceptual ability scores), Total Science (average of the biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry sections), and Perceptual Ability. Each of these general categories along with each individual section must be taken into account when choosing schools to apply to. 


Some schools will put a high emphasis on the science sections while others may put more weight on reading comprehension or the perceptual ability section. 


Other factors that you will want to consider while choosing schools to apply to include but are not limited to overall GPA, science GPA, extra curricular activities, leadership experience, volunteer experiences, and shadowing. 


For your convenience, I listed the dental schools in order of highest Academic Average to lowest Academic Average. I also included a list of the schools ranked according to their perceptual ability scores. The statistics shown come from the "2010 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools". 



Dental School Rankings (Academic Average)

1. Columbia 21.7 
2. UCLA 21 
3. Harvard 21 
4. Stony Brook  21 
5. Alabama 20 
6. UCSF 20 
7. UoP 20 
8. Connecticut 20 
9. New York  20 
10. Pennsylvania 20 
11. Minnesota  19.63 
12. Nova 19.58 
13. Maryland  19.5 
14. New Jersey  19.45 
15. Buffalo  19.42  
16. Pittsburgh 19.4
17. Washington 19.39 
18. Boston University  19.35
19. Temple  19.3
20. Houston  19.15
21. Louisiana State  19.1
22. Illinois at Chicago  19.1
23. UNLV 19.01
24. USC 19 
25. Colorado Denver 19
26. Florida  19
27. Iowa  19
28. Kentucky  19
29. Tufts 19
30. Detroit Mercy  19
31. Michigan  19
32. Chapel Hill  19
33. Case 19
34. Ohio State 19
35. Oklahoma  19
36. Baylor  19
37. San Antonio  19
38. Virginia Commonwealth  19
39. Indiana  19
40. Loma Linda  18.79
41. Oregon  18.71
42. Southern Illinois  18.6
43. Midwestern  18.5
44. Creighton 18.48
45. Missouri - Kansas City  18.02
46. Western U. 18
47. Georgia 18
48. Louisville  18
49. Mississippi  18
50. Nebraska  18
51. South Carolina  18
52. Tennessee  18
53. Marquette 18
54. Arizona  17.84
55. Howard 17.7
56. West Virginia 17
57. Puerto Rico  16
58. Meharry 16 

Dental School Rankings (Perceptual Ability)

1. UCLA 21 
2. UoP 21
3. Harvard 21
4. Stony Brook  21
5. Minnesota  20.74
6. UNLV 20.24
7. Loma Linda  20.15
8. Creighton 20.11
9. Washington 20.02
10. Buffalo  20.01
11. UCSF 20
12. Indiana  20
13. Detroit Mercy  20
14. Michigan  20
15. New York  20
16. Case 20
17. Ohio State 20
18. Pennsylvania 20
19. South Carolina  20
20. Virginia Commonwealth  20
21. Oregon  19.93
22. Temple  19.7
23. Pittsburgh 19.6
24. Maryland  19.3
25. Houston  19.25
26. Georgia 19.2
27. Boston University  19.15
28. Southern Illinois  19.1
29. Alabama 19
30. Midwestern  19
31. USC 19
32. Western U. 19
33. Colorado Denver 19
34. Connecticut 19
35. Florida  19
36. Illinois at Chicago  19
37. Iowa  19
38. Kentucky  19
39. Louisville  19
40. Tufts 19
41. Mississippi  19
42. Chapel Hill  19
43. Marquette 19
44. Oklahoma  18.98
45. Louisiana State  18.9
46. Nova 18.85
47. New Jersey  18.73
48. Arizona  18.34
49. Missouri - Kansas City  18
50. Tennessee  18 
51. Baylor  18
52. San Antonio  18
53. West Virginia 18
54. Howard 17.4
55. Nebraska  17
56. Puerto Rico  16
57. Meharry 16  

*NOTE: The statistics that have been listed were taken from the "2010 ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools".