Office of Pre-Health Advising
Office of Pre-Health Advising
Standardized entrance exams are a key part of the application process for most health professional programs. Whether you’re preparing for the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), DAT (Dental Admission Test), OAT (Optometry Admission Test), GRE (Graduate Record Examination), or another exam, understanding the format, content, and preparation strategies is essential for success.
Each exam is designed to assess your academic readiness and critical thinking skills in areas relevant to your chosen field. At Detroit Mercy, we provide advising, resources, and support to help you plan effectively and perform confidently.
The DAT is required for admission to dental schools and tests your knowledge in biology, chemistry, perceptual ability, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning.
Important Update: As of March 1, 2025, the DAT uses a new three-digit scoring scale (200–600) instead of the previous 1–30 scale. This change improves score precision and reporting.
The MCAT is required for admission to most medical schools and is a multiple choice test covering the natural, behavioral, and social sciences knowledge and analysis skills that students need for success in medical school.
Visit the AAMC’s official MCAT
The OAT is required for admission to optometry schools and covers natural sciences, physics, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. Scores range from 200 to 400, with 300 as the average.
Visit the ADA’s official OAT
The GRE is required for some health programs, including some veterinary and certain PA or public health programs. It includes verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing sections. Scores range from 130 to 170 per section, with writing scored from 0 to 6.
Visit the ETS official GRE
Effective preparation is key to performing well on entrance exams like the MCAT, DAT, OAT, GRE, and others required for health professional programs. Most students begin studying 3 to 6 months before their scheduled exam date, depending on their academic background, schedule, and test format.
Creating a study plan that includes content review, practice questions, and full-length exams is essential. Consistency and reflection are just as important as time spent studying.
Detroit Mercy offers free access to Kaplan test prep for all pre-health students. This includes both live online courses and on-demand options, allowing you to choose a format that fits your learning style and schedule.
Kaplan’s expert-led courses cover all major entrance exams and include:
Take advantage of this valuable resource to boost your confidence and readiness.
Go to Kaplan Test Prep
SJTs are used by some health professional programs to assess non-academic qualities such as ethical decision-making, empathy, teamwork, and communication. These tests present hypothetical scenarios and ask you to evaluate or rank possible responses. These tests help evaluate your readiness for the interpersonal and ethical challenges of healthcare, complementing your academic record and entrance exam scores.
Casper is an online, open response test designed to assess an applicant’s emotional intelligence and professionalism. This SJT is used across multiple health disciplines including dental, medical, physician assistant, veterinary, and more.
Visit Acuity Insights for additional information as well as free test prep
AAMC PREview assesses professional competencies essential for success in a professional medical program. During this SJT, you rate the effectiveness of responses to hypothetical scenarios on a four-point scale.
Visit AAMC for information on preparing for and taking PREview
Office of Pre-Health Advising
Engineering Bldg. RM# 125
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM – 5 PM
Kia Hart
(313) 993-1928
hartkl@udmercy.edu