When to Reschedule Your DAT

There are many factors that can contribute to making the decision to reschedule the DAT exam. These can include not feeling completely prepared, not having enough time to get through the content, having personal reasons, or experiencing an unforeseen event that can prompt you to postpone your exam. Therefore, it is ideal to schedule your DAT as early as 6 to 12 months before applying, especially if any circumstances arise that might make you reschedule the date. In this article, we will go through reasons for deciding whether or not to reschedule the DAT. Let’s get started:

I. Studying Obstacles

After scheduling the DAT and receiving the 6-month eligibility window, many individuals create a study calendar and set daily goals for the chapters they want to get through per subject leading up to their exam date. However, many are unable to stick to the studying time frame due to work, school, or other responsibilities. The decision to reschedule or not is ultimately dependent on:

1. If there is enough time to postpone
2. If there are dates available to postpone to
3. If you have the ability to make use of additional study days
4. If you have enough energy to continue obtaining extra information

While pushing the exam may seem like a great alternative to buying more time to study, it can also gather more built-up stress as it prolongs the anxiety that many naturally feel towards the exam to begin with. If you feel like you are behind on a few chapters and can get through them calmly to better your confidence, it may be best to reschedule the exam.

However, if you have been studying for months and are deciding whether to postpone due to not feeling like II. Personal Circumstances

In some instances, rescheduling the test is beyond your control, such as not feeling well mentally or physically, family emergencies, or any other personal obstacles that can hinder your ability to take the exam on that day. Other situations may include unexpected occurrences, such as environmental hurdles or last-minute delays that can affect the day of.

In these cases, it is vital to understand that your health and well-being are more important than the exam and rescheduling when you are ready would be the key to success in the long run. The DAT is a high endurance test that requires you to be focused and calm for a certain period of time. Therefore, being in the right mindset for the exam is everything when it comes to excelling and rescheduling may be best to get into that mentality.

Regardless of the reason, it is better to go into the exam as prepared and confident as you can be in order to avoid paying the additional fee once again to retake, waiting the 90-day period that may delay your application cycle, or having a score that you are not happy with.

III. The Cost of Rescheduling

The fee to cancel or reschedule your DAT exam correlates to the time period prior to which the Prometric Center is informed of this decision. If the exam is either moved or canceled a month (30 days) or more before the scheduled time, the fee is $25. If it is done throughout the last month (5-29 days) before the date, the fee is $60. If it is 1-4 days before the exam, it will cost $125. If you cancel less than 24 hours before, arrive late to the scheduled date and time, or do not arrive at the testing center completely, the entire fee of the exam is lost. Therefore, it is important that the Prometric Center is contacted about an appointment cancellation or rescheduling in most circumstances. In the case of emergencies, the Department of Testing Services should be contacted via either their email (testingproblems@ada.org) or telephone number (800-232-1694) in order to reschedule or cancel the scheduled Dental Admissions Test.

IV. Still Feel Like You Need to Reschedule?

If the option to reschedule the exam is within your desired window, it may be a better option to push the DAT a few weeks or even a month forward to have more time to focus solely on studying.

By taking these few weeks of additional time to prepare, you can feel more confident going into the exam, which can significantly reflect your performance. This can not only get you on track to score better on practice tests and thoroughly review test concepts but more importantly, that extra time can certainly improve your score on test day.

For a test with as much material as the DAT, you can ultimately never know absolutely everything that can show up and feel 100% certain. However, feeling prepared, positive, and aware of your hard work paying off is a great indicator that you are ready to take on the DAT you have been studying for.