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Information about the Carving Dexterity Test
On this page you will find useful information about the Carving Dexterity Test (commonly known as The Soap Carving Test) which it is a part of the Canadian DAT test.
This information may include how to practice, how to get help, which product to buy, which service to use, the related official web sites, where to find the materials needed for this test and more.
At the end you must make the final decision. Please take your time and read the following information about the Soap Carving test with care so you might save a lot of time and money at the end.
Some of the information presented here are from the
Canadian Dental Association (CDA) web site. If you need more detailed information about the Canadian DAT in general please click here. I have also made a short video in case some students are interested to see the materials and how they look like. Finally I have included some general Q & A's on the FAQ web page in case some students are interested to read them.
I have tried to explain different topics with a very simple language so everybody can understand and analyze the information without any confusion. The information provided on this page and on the other pages on this web site are come from my own personal views and my own personal experiences working with different students over many years. They are not intended to give credit to or to discredit any individual, any company, any institution, any organization, any product or any service.
Questions
1-What is the Carving Dexterity Test or the Soap Carving test and Who needs it?
2-What is the content of the Soap Carving test?
3-What is a passing or a good score for the Soap Carving test?
4-How a student should practice for the Soap Carving test?
5-Who is running www.prepseminars.com and how this service can help students with the Soap Carving test?
6-Who are the instructors for the Soap Carving tutorial sessions?
7-How many students are per session and How the Soap Carving tutorial sessions are conducted?
8-What is the cost of the Soap Carving tutorial session?
9-Where are the locations and when are the dates for the Soap Carving tutorial sessions?
10-When is the deadline to register for a Soap Carving tutorial session and make the full payment?
11-How can a student register and pay the fee to confirm his/her attendance for the Soap Carving tutorial session?
12-What is the refund policy if a student makes the full payment by the registration deadline but he/she can not come to the Soap Carving tutorial session or if the Soap Carving tutorial session was cancelled for any reason?
13-What are the options if a student interested in a tutorial session for the other sections of the Canadian DAT (Perceptual Ability Test, Chemistry, Biology or Reading Comprehension sections)?
14-Anything else do students need to know about the Soap Carving Test?
Answers
1-What is the Carving Dexterity Test or the Soap Carving test and Who needs it?
This test is a part of the Canadian DAT test and it is administer by the Canadian Dental Association (CDA).
All Dental Schools in Canada and the U.S. require the DAT test as a part of their admission process. Please note that there are 2 different DAT tests:
A-The Canadian DAT Test
B-The American DAT Test
The 2 tests have similar sections but there are some differences between the 2 tests.
For the American DAT test please click here.
For the Canadian DAT test please click here.
There are also 2 different versions of the Canadian DAT test
a-The English version
b-The French version
The French version does not have a Reading Comprehension section but all the other sections are the same for the 2 versions.
Please check the links to the Dental Colleges in Canada and the U.S. to see the specific admission requirements for the each college.
Some Dental schools accept the results from only a specific DAT test (the Canadian DAT test or The American DAT test) and some Dental schools accept both tests.
If you need the Canadian DAT test then you need to get familiar with the Soap Carving test.
2-What is the content of the Soap Carving test?
Please take a look at the photos and also watch the video so you can see what materials you will get if you order
DAT Preparation Kit
from the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) and also for the actual test.
On the day of the test you will get the following:
A-a piece of soap (an oblong cylindrical shape) measuring 84 mm in length, with a width of 16 mm.
B-Carving tool (a handle and a blade)
C-a flexible metric ruler
D-a permanent marker
F-a piece of napkin to wrap in your soap after you finished carving it.
Each piece of soap has 3 parts, 2 ends and the middle section. You will be given specific instructions to carve shapes or make cuts to these parts. All measurement will be in metric (mm). You have about 5 minutes to inspect your soap and the materials before you start the carving, and then 30 minutes to finish your carving.
3-What is a passing or a good score for the Soap Carving test?
The score range for the Canadian DAT is 1-30.
For the Soap Carving test your score depends on:
A-Completeness and accuracy of carving
B-Flatness and smoothness of planes
C-Sharpness and accuracy of angles
D-Symmetry and orientation of carving
There is no set standard passing score for the Soap Carving test. Based on my own experiences working with different students over many years, the students with scores of 20-22 and the above have a better chance to get an offer of interview from a Canadian Dental School (you might get an offer of interview with lower scores). Please note that you need to satisfy all other admission requirement before you get an offer of interview or to be accepted to a Dental School.
4-How a student should practice for the Soap Carving test?
I recommend that students to order the DAT Preparation Kit from the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) before they do anything else. When you get your kit you can practice on some shapes and test your carving skills. This way you can see that if you can do the Soap Carving on your own or you are going to need outside help.
This test is a unique part of the Canadian DAT test. The Soap Carving is not a science, it is an art. You can perfect your carving skills only with practice. Most of the students taking the Canadian DAT test have never taken any carving course as a part of their undergraduate courses. All students are in the same level when it comes to the Soap Carving test.
To get ready for the Soap Carving test you have 2 options:
A-Order the DAT Preparation Kit from the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) and start practice on your own and perfect your carving skills.
B-Attend a tutorial session for the Soap Carving test and learn how to perfect your carving skills.
5-Who is running www.prepseminars.com and how this service can help students with the Soap Carving test?
This tutorial service is offered by David Hunt.
There are a few ways that I can help you with the Soap Carving test:
A-I do offer tutorial sessions for the Soap Carving test at different locations in Canada. Students can attend these tutorial sessions in person and learn how to practice carving different shapes on a piece of soap.
The tutorial sessions are usually offered in September and in October of every year. They are usually one day long (10:00 AM-5:00 PM) and they are offered on Saturdays or on Sundays.
B-I am working on an online tutorial service for the Soap Carving test, more details are coming soon.
C-There is a Consultation Service for the students who they want to practice on their own or for the students that they can not attend a tutorial session. This service could help these students to get a feedback on their carving skills and to know that if their carving shapes are good or not.
How this works?
You will order the DAT Preparation Kit from the Canadian Dental Association (CDA). This way you will get a chance to practice on the the actual soap.
a-You will carve a shape on each section of the cylindrical soap (remember that each piece of the soap has 3 sections, 2 ends and one middle section)
b-You will take one digital photo from
the whole piece of the carved soap that you like to get feedback on (to show all 3 sections of the soap).
Please put a small piece of paper with a number on it beside the soap when you are taking the picture of the whole soap.
Include this number with all the photos (16 photos in total for the each piece of soap) in your e-mail.
This way the right piece of the soap can be identified when we give it a score and also it could be used when we discuss your score over the phone.
c-You will take 5 digital photos of each carved section of the soap (the 3 sections in a above) from different angles (one from left view, one from right view, one from top view, one from front view, one from bottom view and etc.)
d-You will e-mail your digital photos (small to medium size), 16 pictures in total, for the each piece of soap to www.prepseminars.com
e-Make sure to include a contact phone number and the best time to call you with your e-mail. I will give your score and discuss your carving ability with you live over the phone. Please keep all carved soaps and the pictures in a safe place in case you need to look at them when we discuss your score.
f-If the photos are received in the correct format and can be analyzed then you will get back a confirmation e-mail to make the payment online.
g-Please send a test photo first before you make any payments. I will let you know that if your photos are good for a feedback or not. You only need to make the payment if your pictures can be analyzed and given a score.
h-A group of carving instructors (3-5) will view the pictures and each instructor will give a score for every 5 photos of a section of the soap (make sure you send 5 photos for every section of the soap).
i-You will get an overall score of NOT GOOD, GOOD and EXCELLENT for one piece of the soap. The details of your score for each section of the soap and how it can be translated to the actual score (1-30) will be discussed over the phone.
j-If you like to get feedback on 2 or more pieces of the soap you need to send 16 digital photos for every piece of the soap (make sure all 16 photos are from the same piece of the soap so your score can reflect your carving skills)
k-The minimum fee is $20 (for every 16 photos per piece of the soap per e-mail). All 16 photos for each piece of the soap must be included in the same e-mail. If you send less then 16 photos you still will be charged the $20 minimum fee.
6-Who are the instructors for the Soap Carving tutorial sessions?
The students have asked me this question many times in the past. They are interested to know who is the best qualified instructor to help them with the Soap Carving. Here I am going to answer this question in details and then I let the students to make up their minds.
I have mentioned before that the Soap Carving is not a science but it is an art so I choose my instructors from the art community. I believe that if a person can make a living from carving woods, carving soaps or being a Sculptor then that person is qualified to teach the Soap Carving.
A Biologist with a PhD degree can teach you Biology, a Chemist with a PhD degree can teach you Chemistry, a Dentist (DDS) can extract your tooth or do fillings and a Sculptor can teach you the Soap Carving.
A Sculptor didn't choose the soap carving or the wood carving because he/she wanted to go to a Dental School or work for me. He/she has chosen this profession because they are good at it and they can make a living from it.
On the other hand a Dentist didn't go to a Dental School to teach Soap Carving or a Medical Doctor didn't go to Medical School to teach Chemistry or Biology.
I always use instructors that they all have university degrees (some even with master degree in the art design) and some of them are instructors at different colleges and universities in Canada and the U.S.
Many of my Soap Carving instructors have their own galleries or they work for different galleries in Canada and the U.S.
Many of them had and have live shows of their art works in many galleries in Canada, the U.S. and around the globe.
At the end I will let you to read the definition of Sculpture and then you can decide if they are qualified or not:
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping hard or plastic material, commonly stone (either rock or marble ), metal , or wood . Some sculptures are created directly by carving ; others are assembled, built up and fired , welded , molded , or cast . A person who creates sculptures is called a sculptor .
7-How many students are per session and How the Soap Carving tutorial sessions are conducted?
There are maximum of 30 seats per session. This will allow the instructor to interact with students on one on one bases.
A-The students needs to order the DAT Preparation Kit from the Canadian Dental Association (CDA) before they come to the tutorial session. This way you will get all the materials that you need for the soap carving session. Before the session starts you will get a booklet that it is has the carving shapes. You need to bring your own materials (soaps, blades, ruler and etc..). The session is only for the instruction. I have extra handles, extra blades and extra rulers in case you need them during the tutorial session but if you bring your own materials then you don't need to buy them for the second time.
B-At the start the instructor will carve a piece of soap in front of the class and will explain the rules and
the techniques that are
involved.
C-Students will be provided with different shapes to carve on 3 different sections of the soap.
D-During the rest of the session, the instructor will interact one on one with students and he/she will answer any question that the students might have about the Soap Carving.
E-The students will get feedbacks on every shape they carve during the tutorial session. The students welcome to bring any soap that they have carved before the tutorial session if they want a feedback on them.
F-Please keep all the carved soaps until the end of the session. You will get an over all score for your carving shapes in the last 30 minutes of the tutorial session.
G-You have the option to use all of your soaps during the tutorial session or you can save some and then practice at home at the later date. You also have the option to use the Consultation Service (mentioned in # 5 above) after the tutorial session if you still have extra soap left over.
8-What is the cost of the Soap Carving tutorial session?
Winnipeg Location
TBA
Western Canada Locations (Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan)
TBA
Eastern Canada Locations (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec)
TBA
All fees are in Canadian dollar.
9-Where are the locations and when are the dates for the Soap Carving tutorial sessions?
a-The tutorial sessions will be offered once a year and only at the times and the locations mentioned below.
If a date is not listed for a city then there is no tutorial session for that city or location.
The tutorial sessions will be held at a university campus or a close by location. The exact location will be listed when I know how many students will be attend a session (after the registration deadline).
b-I will try to offer the tutorial sessions at as many location as possible to make it easier for the students to attend but it all depends on the number of interested students for a location.
c-When you register for the Soap Carving tutorial session please indicate in which city do you like to attend the tutorial session.
d-If there are more then one city listed below for a given date (for example Toronto or London or Ottawa) the tutorial session will go on in the city with the most interested students.
If I get 20 students in Toronto and 8 students in London for the same date then the session in Toronto will go on and the session in London will be cancelled.
The students in London have the option to attend the session in Toronto if they choose to. (the same idea for Calgary or Edmonton and so on).
e-There are maximum of 30 seats for a Soap Carving tutorial session at any given location.
f-The Soap Carving tutorial session in Winnipeg will go on if there are 15 or more interested students for any given date (the session with less then 15 students will be cancelled)
g-The Soap Carving tutorial session for any location in Western Canada (Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan) will go on if there are 20 or more interested students for any given date (the session with less then 20 students will be cancelled)
h-The Soap Carving tutorial session for any location in Eastern Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario
and Quebec) will go on if there are 25 or more interested students for any given date (the session with less then 25 students will be cancelled)
i-The full payment must be made by the registration deadline. This way I could let students know that if a tutorial session for a location will go on or it will be cancelled for that location. For the details about the cost and the refund policy for the Soap Carving tutorial sessions please see # 8 above and # 12 below.
Alberta
City: Calgary or Edmonton
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
(will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation:
If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
British Columbia
City: Vancouver
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
Manitoba
City: Winnipeg
Where: TBA (U of M campus)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
New Brunswick
City: Saint John
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
Nova Scotia
City: Halifax
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
Ontario
City: Toronto Area (GTA) or London or Ottawa
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
Quebec
City: Montreal
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Cost: TBA
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
Saskatchewan
City: Saskatoon
Where: TBA (At a local university campus or close by)
When: TBA
Time: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM (will be a few short breaks)
Registration Deadline: TBA
Cost: TBA
Cancellation: If I don't get enough interested students for a location, the Soap Carving tutorial session for that location will be cancelled.
10-When is the deadline to register for a Soap Carving tutorial session and make the full payment?
i-The deadline depends on the location of the tutorial session (please see # 9 above)
11-How can a student register and pay the fee to confirm his/her attendance for the Soap carving tutorial session?
If you are interested to register and attend a Soap Carving tutorial session in one of the locations listed in the # 9 above please contact David by the the e-mail.
For the registration I need:
a-
your name
b-the location that you are interested in to attend a Soap Carving tutorial session (see # 9 above)
c-
your valid e-mail address
d-a contact phone number
All Payments for the Soap Carving tutorial sessions must be paid in advance by the Pay Pal by the registration deadline.
12-What is the refund policy if a student makes the full payment by the registration deadline but he/she can not come to the Soap Carving tutorial session or if the Soap Carving tutorial session was cancelled for any reason?
A-If you are not sure that you can make it to a Soap Carving tutorial session please do not register for it and do not make a payment. It makes the life much easier for you and me.
B-If there are not enough interested students for a location then your full payment will be refunded to you by the Pay Pal.
13-What are the options if a student interested in a tutorial session for the other sections of the Canadian DAT (Perceptual Ability Test, Chemistry, Biology or Reading Comprehension sections)?
I do offer tutorial session for the Chemistry, the Biology and the Perceptual Ability test (PAT) sections of the Canadian DAT.
i-Chemistry and Biology
a-If there are enough interested students I will do offer tutorial sessions for the Chemistry and the Biology sections of the Canadian DAT. Please click here and read #15
b-If there is no tutorial session you can still buy the notes and the practice questions and study on your own. The cost is $40 for the Chemistry section (notes and practice questions) and $40 for the Biology section (notes and practice questions).
c-I am also working on the online tutorial sessions for the Chemistry and the Biology sections of the Canadian DAT.
ii-Perceptual Ability Test (PAT)
a-I do offer tutorial sessions for the Perceptual Ability test at the same locations as the Soap Carving tutorial sessions.
b-I am also working on the online tutorial sessions for the Perceptual Ability test.
c-For more information about the dates and the locations of the tutorial sessions for the Perceptual Ability test please click here.
iii-English
I do not offer any tutorial sessions for the Reading Comprehension section of the Canadian DAT.
I believe nobody can teach a student how to read or how to write in one day or even in a few days. The skills of reading and writing develops over an extended period of time and only can be perfected with a lot of practice. For more information please click here.
14-Anything else do students need to know about the Soap Carving Test?
Here are very useful web sites if you need more information about the Canadian DAT test and the Soap Carving Test.
The DAT test (Dental Aptitude Test program)
The DAT test Preparation Materials
The DAT test fees
The DAT Testing Dates and Registration Deadlines
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