MCAT vs DAT

[zenith92]

Hello,

 

Just out of curiousity, if one were to compare the difficulty of the two exams,

 

which would be more difficult?

 

Also, to what degree do contents for MCAT and DAT overlap?

 

My apologies if this is not the right place to post the thread as I wasn't sure of

 

where to post it. If required to relocate the post, I'll make sure of it.

 

Thanks in advance!

[dentall]

Hello,

 

Just out of curiousity, if one were to compare the difficulty of the two exams,

 

which would be more difficult?

 

Also, to what degree do contents for MCAT and DAT overlap?

 

My apologies if this is not the right place to post the thread as I wasn't sure of

 

where to post it. If required to relocate the post, I'll make sure of it.

 

Thanks in advance!

Hi,

 

It's hard to compare the two, as they differ greatly. The overlap is minimal, even in sciences. The DAT doesn't include physics or orgo, but does include a lot more biology. The reading comprehension (verbal reasoning) are very different as the DAT is more 'read and pick out facts' while the MCAT requires understanding and inference. A lot of people claim the MCAT to be harder (NOTE: a lot of these people are premeds, some are predents) but I would generally disagree. While the verbal section is more difficult than reading comprehension, most of the MCAT can be studied and learned/mastered. The DAT has sections like PAT and MD which, no matter how hard you study, is sometimes a 'you either get it or you dont'.

 

I believe the tests are fairly reflective of the two professions. In

Medicine, while there is a certain level of skill potentially required, you can study hard and eventually you'll be able to be a competent doctor (in terms of diagnostic or treatment ability). Whereas in dentistry, sometimes some people just aren't cut out for the aesthetic appreciation and skill required to perform dental surgery. That being said, everyone sucks when they start dental school and as long as you are determined and willing, you can definitely develop the skills.

 

Hope this helps.

[dentall]

Sorry, I should note that I was referring to the Canadian DAT. The American DAT is more MCAT-like as it has Orgo, but it has Quant (math and calc problems)

[cardigan]

dat bio and chem is a knowledge test, mcat bio and chem is more aptitude based.

 

Determining which one is easier or harder depends on the individual's strengths/weaknesses and academic background background.

I think the dat is easier but its the only one I have written.

[zenith92]

Thanks for your replies dentall and cardigan.

 

Btw cardigan, are you planning on writing MCAT as well?

[zeroNINE]

I did equally well on both tests (in terms of percentiles). And I agree that the DAT is more knowledge based than critical-thinking. Whereas the MCAT often requires you to think about your answer and whether it makes sense with the knowledge you already have. So you still need to know things in order to do well on it. That being said, memorizing Kaplan's biology section won't help you too much if you don't understand what's going on. An average person would find the MCAT harder though I think, even though it doesn't require as much time to study in my experience.

 

Then you can compare the verbal reasoning vs. reading comprehension, and it's just a joke here. VR blows RC out of the water.

 

MCAT has the writing section which isn't very hard and it's rather systematic, practice would help as long as you know what you need to say. My essays weren't very long either. Can't really compare this to the DAT, but I didn't think it was hard.

 

The PAT section on the DAT is actually a fun section and people usually do really well on it. Can't really compare this section to anything on the MCAT.

 

Overall, I think the MCAT is harder. You need to know more material, you need to demonstrate critical thinking ability for pretty much the entire test whereas the DAT is mostly regurgitation and some ability for the PAT.