Pre-Dental+School

you can also download the YU Pre-Health Office Guide to Pre-Dent here = Dental School Course Requirements = toc

Almost every dental school requires two semesters of English, Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Physics. Certain schools have additional application requirements which might include upper-tier biology courses or psychology. Individual dental school websites should be consulted to check for these requirements. All the required courses must be completed at some point before matriculation into dental school, but not necessarily before you apply.

= Physics = Because physics is not on the DAT, many students choose to take it during their last year of college and not have any physics grades on their application. While it is strongly encouraged to take physics before you apply and have those grades to show the schools, many students are still seeing acceptances without having done so. However, you will have a better chance at the top schools if you take physics over the a summer before you apply. If you choose to take physics over the summer (and cannot stand to be in the heights for the summer), do not take it at any community college despite how cheap the price tag may be. Find a city or state university such as Stonybrook, Baruch, or Montclair and take it there.

= Shadowing = It is strongly recommended to do at least 50 hours of dental shadowing before you apply. These hours do not need to be logged or signed and you will enter them into your application validating them with nothing more than the honor system. Many strong applicants do 100+ hours of shadowing taking the time to observe not only general dentists, but periodontists endodontists and oral surgeons as well. Shadowing a family member does not count.

= Recommendations = Most dental schools require three recommendations, two of which must come from science professors. These requirements vary between schools, so once again be sure to check with the admissions website of the school you are interested in. Stronger letters come from lecture professors, as opposed to obtaining letters from lab instructors. It is very worth it to take the time to get to know your lecture professors as their letters are extremely valuable. It is also advisable to obtain a letter of recommendation from a dental professional that you spent time shadowing.

= Major = You can major in anything you want and go to dental school. Biology is the most popular pre-dental major.

= Dental school rankings = There are no official dental school rankings for best dental schools. Anyone who tells you a school is ranked higher than yours is dead wrong.

= GPA = Applicant should have a science GPA and overall GPA over 3.0 to apply to dental school. The average GPA for Columbia dental enrollees in 2009-2010 was a 3.5.

= DAT = The DAT is the most important element to your application. Read the official DAT Guide ([]) thoroughly before starting to prepare for the exam. What? The DAT is a 4 hour 15 minute comprehensive exam given that covers biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, math, reading, and perceptual ability. When? Take the DAT as early as possible, ideally before the application cycle opens on June 1st. Many students choose to study for the DAT over the summer holding back the completion of their application until their exam date in late August. The strongest applicant will have their DAT completed before June 1st. However, some students do see acceptances even into top schools even with taking the DAT at the end of the summer. How? It is highly advised to take Dr. Romano's review class for the DAT exam. Do not take Kaplan. Register early for Dr. Romano (months in advance) because the class fills up quickly. Where? The DAT is administered at Prometric testing centers around the country.

= Manual Dexterity = Schools want to see that you work well with your hands. Think about what activities you participate in (or start one!) that require fine motor skills because you will write about them in your application.

= AADSAS = The dental school application has been streamlined and centralized by a service called AADSAS, which functions as the common app for all schools. Applicants fill out the application online and the AADSAS service mails them out to your choice of schools.

= Interview = All dental schools require interviews. If selected for an interview you have a very good chance of gaining acceptance into the school as long as you perform well during the interview. Visit the CDC and take the time to hone your interviewing skills in their mock interview sessions. Schools use the interview to gauge how well you perform in a social setting and how personable you are. In general, most students report back that the interviews are rather "chill" and that the interview proceeds more like a conversation rather than a question-answer session.