Getting Into Dental School: Planning Your Pre-Dental Journey
Get Started Today Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] 20 Minutes Free Consultation A Timeline for Pre-Dental Students – From Freshman Year to Dental School Acceptance! By Vince Law, DDS Embarking upon your college career as a predental student with the goal of applying to dental school can feel daunting. You want to have a robust social life and a full college experience but simultaneously maintain the grades, clinical experiences in dentistry, and extracurricular activities that will make you a top-notch dental school applicant when it’s time to apply. Don’t Get Overwhelmed as a Pre-Dental Student! The key to not becoming overwhelmed is to first and foremost embrace the pre-dental journey and come up with a pre-dental to-do list early on. Whether you plan to go to dental school straight out of college or you wish to take a gap year, having a clear timeline can help you organize all activities that would make you a strong dental school applicant. Remember, a pre-dental to-do list is not something you are going to knock out in one night! Give yourself time to carefully plan out your pre-dental journey and be flexible to adjustments as needed. Crafting a Pre-Dental Plan Many students will elect to do a gap year between college and dental school, and that is totally fine! According to the ADEA, the average age of the incoming dental student is 24 years old. Below is a rough timeline for students who want to matriculate into dental school directly after college. For those who plan to take a gap year or two, this timeline can be adjusted accordingly. Freshman...
Prerequisite Courses for Different Dental Schools
Prerequisite Courses for Different Dental Schools Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] Speak to a Dental School Admissions Consultant Today. 20 Minutes Free Consultation What are the prerequisite courses for different dental schools? One of the most important requirements for getting into dental school is prerequisite science and non-science courses. Almost all dental schools required a range of similar courses like general chemistry, biology, and physics but these requirements are not identical. For example, some dental schools require anatomy, microbiology, or biochemistry while others don’t. Also, some programs may require two semesters of a course while others only require one semester. The lab requirements for different courses can also be different across dental schools. Predental students are often busy balancing their coursework with DAT preparation, dental shadowing, and other extracurricular experiences. It can be difficult completing the requirements for all dental schools or deciding which courses to prioritize if you are uncertain that you can complete all requirements. Furthermore, when it’s time to apply to dental school, figuring out which dental schools’ requirements you meet can be confusing. One common mistake among dental school applicants is applying to programs without first checking their prerequisite course requirements carefully. We advise our students to carefully review the prerequisites for each dental school because your file will likely not make it past the first round if you do not meet all of prerequisite coursework requirements. Below we have listed specific courses that are required by different dental schools in the United States. We also indicate how long (or how many credits) the course should be and whether a lab...
List of Minimum DAT Scores and Average DAT Scores for Different Dental Schools
Talk to a Dental School Admissions Consultant Today Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] 20 Minutes Free Consultation What Are the Average DAT Scores of Different Dental Schools? If you are planning to apply to dental school, you probably know that your score on the DAT is one of the most critical parts of your dental school application. Dental schools review every applicant’s AADSAS application looking at the score in different subsections of the DAT as well as the DAT Academic Average and Total Science scores. What is a Competitive DAT Score for Dental School Admission? It depends in part on which dental schools you are applying to. Some programs consider a score of 18 or higher to be competitive while others prefer applicants with a score of 20 or higher. To be most competitive for dental school admission, we advise students to aim for a score of 20 or higher in each section of the DAT. That being said, many dental school applicants get in with scores lower than 20. If your scores don’t reach 20 but are close, you may still have a strong chance, especially if you have a solid predental GPA and the rest of your application looks strong. Which Dental Schools Accept Students with Lower DAT Scores? If your DAT scores fall below the averages of most programs, the best way to improve your chances of acceptance is to retake the DAT. However, if you plan to apply with a lower DAT score, be strategic about which dental schools you target. Some schools have minimum cutoffs and verifying that you meet these cutoffs is...
Minimum GPA Requirements and Average GPAs for Different Dental Schools
Minimum GPA Requirements and Average GPAs for Different Dental Schools Call: 888-839-9997 e-mail: [email protected] Speak to a Dental School Admissions Consultant Today. 20 Minutes Free Consultation What is the Minimum GPA for Getting Into Dental School? The GPA or grade point average is one of the most important elements of a dental school application. When reviewing applicants’ backgrounds, admissions committees evaluate both the overall GPA and the science GPA or prerequisite GPA. Often, they also review the AADSAS application or TMDSAS application carefully to examine what courses a predental applicant has taken and how that applicant has performed in each, particularly the science or prerequisite coursework. What is a Competitive GPA for Dental School? According to data available on their websites, the average overall GPA of accepted students at different dental schools ranges from 3.25 to 3.85 and the average science GPA of accepted students ranges from 3.17 to 3.81. To be most competitive for dental school, we advise our students to maintain an overall GPA above 3.6 and a science GPA above 3.5. However, many applicants to dental school get in with lower GPAs. If you have a lower GPA in your predental studies, the best way to improve your chances of getting into dental school is by taking additional courses and improving your GPA. It also helps if you can demonstrate an upward trend with better grades in more recent coursework. Which Dental Schools Accept Students with Lower GPAs? If you plan to apply to dental school with a suboptimal GPA, it’s important to be strategic about which schools you apply to as some...