Professional School Admissions Tests at a Glance: LSAT, MCAT, DAT, OAT, GRE and GMAT (A Counsellor's Reference)

One Table, Every Test

Profession	Test	Score scale	Recent change that matters
Law (JD)	LSAT	120 to 180	In-person testing from August 2026; format changes from August 2027 on the same scale
Medicine (MD, DO)	MCAT	472 to 528 total; four sections of 118 to 132	None at the moment; centred at 500
Dentistry (DDS, DMD)	DAT	200 to 600 (1 to 30 before March 1, 2025)	New reporting scale from March 1, 2025
Optometry (OD)	OAT	200 to 400 per section	Required by most schools; every US school accepts it
Pharmacy (PharmD)	None	Not applicable	PCAT retired January 10, 2024
Veterinary (DVM)	Varies by school	Varies	No single national test; check each program
Business (MBA)	GMAT or GRE (most programs accept either)	GMAT Focus 205 to 805; GRE 130 to 170 per section, Analytical Writing 0 to 6	GMAT Focus is not comparable to the earlier 200 to 800 GMAT

What Changed in the Last Three Years

The PCAT is gone. Pearson retired the Pharmacy College Admission Test on January 10, 2024. No PharmD program requires it, so a student aiming at pharmacy gains nothing from studying for it. See PCAT vs. OAT for what replaced it in practice.
The DAT has a new scale. Tests taken on or after March 1, 2025 are reported from 200 to 600 instead of 1 to 30. The two ranges do not overlap, so a score can be attributed to a scale by its size, but school figures from before and after the change need converting; the full ADA concordance table does it.
The LSAT returned to test centres. LSAC requires in-person testing from the August 2026 administration, with an exception for test takers who live more than 180 miles or three hours from a centre. It is offering the test in August, September, October, November, January, February, April and June in the 2026–2027 cycle, plus the LSAT-Puerto Rico in February (LSAC, May 2026).
The LSAT format changes again in August 2027. LSAC says it will look a little different but test the same skills, and scores will stay on the 120 to 180 scale and remain comparable across testing cycles (LSAC).
The GMAT has two scales. The Focus Edition is scored 205 to 805; the earlier exam was 200 to 800. GMAC advises that scores on the two cannot be compared (GMAC).

Scales Counsellors Mix Up

Mix-up	Why it happens	What to do
A DAT of 20 versus a DAT of 450	The old and new DAT scales do not overlap but both appear in guides	Convert with the ADA's concordance before comparing to a school median
A GMAT of 700 versus a GMAT Focus of 700	Both are written as "GMAT" but are on different scales	Ask which version, and compare to a median from the same version; GMAT vs GRE for an MBA covers the choice
Section scores versus totals	The MCAT has four sections of 118 to 132 and a total of 472 to 528; the OAT reports section scores and an Academic Average	Match the figure to the one the school publishes

AdmitBase's calculators accept a post-March-2025 DAT score and convert it to the scale the school medians use, so students do not have to do it by hand.

Advising a Student Who Is Not Sure Which Profession

The tests are the clearest point of difference, because each has its own preparation, prerequisites and timeline. The guides on becoming a lawyer and becoming a doctor from high school, professional careers compared and what parents should know cover training length, cost and earnings. Once a student has a target profession and a practice score, a free calculator shows where they stand against every school with published data: law, medicine, dentistry and MBA.

For Offices That Advise Many Students

If you advise a caseload rather than one student, the advisor plan shows each advisee's school list and match scores in one view, and the underlying school-by-school dataset is available for licensing. Student clubs can register at admitbase.com/clubs for a member discount.

Where does a student stand today?

Enter a test score and GPA and see every school as Safety, Target, Reach or Far Reach, with the published figures behind each. Free for the first results.

Open the calculators →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which admissions test does each professional school use?

Law uses the LSAT, medicine the MCAT, dentistry the DAT and optometry the OAT. Pharmacy no longer has a standardized test: the PCAT was retired in January 2024. Most MBA programs accept the GRE or the GMAT. Veterinary medicine has no single national test, and requirements vary by school.

Has the LSAT changed recently?

Two changes matter. In-person testing at test centres is required from the August 2026 administration, with exceptions for test takers more than 180 miles or three hours from a centre, and LSAC has announced the LSAT will look a little different from August 2027 while testing the same skills. The 120 to 180 score scale continues.

What is the DAT score scale now?

From March 1, 2025 the DAT is reported on a 200 to 600 scale. Before that it was reported from 1 to 30. School figures from before and after the change are on different scales, so convert with the ADA's concordance instead of comparing numbers directly.

Is a GMAT Focus score comparable to an older GMAT score?

No. The GMAT Focus Edition is scored 205 to 805 in steps of 10, while the earlier GMAT was scored 200 to 800, and GMAC says the two are not on a common scale. Check which version a school's published median refers to.

Do pharmacy schools require any admissions test?

No. The PCAT was retired on January 10, 2024 and no PharmD program requires it. Pharmacy admissions now rest on GPA, prerequisites, experience, letters and interviews, so GPA carries more weight than it did when a test was available.

How should a counsellor advise a student who is not sure which profession?

Start with the test and the timeline, because they differ most: each profession's test has its own scale, prerequisites and preparation, and the earlier a student knows which they want, the more time they have. Our high-school guides to each profession and the professions-compared guide set out the training length and what each costs.