In addition to submitting a primary application through one of these services, most dental schools require a supplemental (“secondary”) application. The final step in the application is an interview. Here is a timeline for the 2022-2022 dental school admissions cycle to help you with your planning: Become familiar with the application process.
Prior to applying to dental school through the AADSAS, there are a number of steps you must take and benchmarks you must reach. These include taking the proper pre-requisite courses, registering for and/or completing the Dental Admission Test, and shadowing a dental professional.
To apply to dental school, you may need to prepare the following: A personal statement explaining your interest in a dental career Dental office shadowing experience or internship experience with an accredited practitioner Admissions requirements will vary depending on the school (s) to which you’re applying.
If you’re a traditional applicant to dental school (i.e., if you're currently completing your undergraduate education and plan to enter directly into a dental program), you should be prepared to submit your application the summer after your Junior year.
0:1612:39How to BOOST Your Dental School Application 2021 (6 WAYS TO ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipUnderstand. You can still be proactive. Think outside the box and do something different to makeMoreUnderstand. You can still be proactive. Think outside the box and do something different to make yourself stand out i've really put a lot of effort into finding the resources for this video.
six experiencesApplicants should only record experiences obtained during college and should limit their entries to the top six experiences in each category. Provide information about relevant academic awards, honors, and scholarship achieved.
Freshman and sophomore year of collegeGet good grades. ... Develop a plan and timeline for covering DAT topics and taking the DAT. ... Connect with the pre-dental advising office. ... Join the pre-dental club. ... Participate in meaningful pre-dental extracurriculars. ... Work in a dental office or become a dental assistant.
3.55The average DAT (AA) score for students accepted to dental school in 2020 was 20.2 and the average GPA was 3.55.
The DAT score ranges from 1 to 30. According to the test prep experts at Kaplan, competitive DAT scores that rank in the top 25% DAT score percentile are 19 to 20 points. So, a top score would be 22 or higher. The average DAT score is 17.
Applicants to dental schools are at an all-time high. Roughly over 12,000 people apply to dental school every year, with only around 5000 seats available in the U.S. in 2016 there were roughly 12,058 applicants and 6,100 student enrollments. This is an overall acceptance rate of ~50%.
Factors like geographical location, student body, clinical or research focus and curriculum type will help you determine which schools are the right fit for you. Your personal statement is a one-page essay giving dental schools a clear picture of who you are and why you want to pursue a career in dentistry.
The ideal dental school applicant will have a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. There are many schools that average Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (BCP) GPAs together. For these science courses, the average applicant should strive for a 3.4 GPA or higher.
55.3%However, getting accepted into dental school is not easy. Only 55.3% of dental school applicants who sought admission to the 66 accredited dental schools in the U.S. for the 2018-19 school year actually enrolled in one that year, according to admission statistics from the American Dental Association.
The 3.7 Grade Point Average on a scale of four means that the student has a percentage of about 90-92. What is this? As mentioned previously, this GPA is perfect for admission to dental school. It is observed that most of the students who got admission to dental schools have an average GPA of about 3.5.
The exam is scored on a scale from 1 – 30 with an average of 17. That means that with a score of 17, you are scoring greater than 50% of test-takers. Competitive scores of 19-20 put you in the top 25% of test-takers. Scores of 21 and above are in the top 10% of test-takers.
Scores of over 23 are very rare (98th percentile and up). You can miss around 20 questions in the perceptual test to score a 20. And lastly, you can miss around 10 questions in the reading comprehension section to get a 20.
You’ll also need to take the Dental Admissions Test (DAT) at least about a year before you plan to go to dental school. Having at least a year of college-level biology and chemistry courses would be helpful to pass this test.
A personal statement explaining your interest in a dental career
The Dental Admissions Test (DAT), sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA), is a computerized test that measures your general academic and perceptual ability, as well as your comprehension of science. Broken down, it consists of four key elements:
The application cycle typically opens on or around June 1, and the application deadline is typically around February 1. It’s important to note that the ADEA does not make admissions decisions; it is just a centralized application service. Each individual school will have its own admissions committee.
Admissions requirements will vary depending on the school (s) to which you’re applying. Still, it’s always better to be overprepared with more materials than necessary than underprepared.
If you’re a traditional applicant to dental school (i.e., if you're currently completing your undergraduate education and plan to enter directly into a dental program), you should be prepared to submit your application the summer after your Junior year.
For the most part, admission offers tend to come out after December 1st.
The AADSAS is the American Dental Education Association's primary application service for most students applying to dentistry programs in the United States . You'll often see this application referred to as the ADEA AADSAS or simply AADSAS. Most schools require students to submit their applications through AADSAS, although some schools in Texas utilize the state-specific TMDSAS application service. Additionally, dental graduates from outside the U.S. utilize the ADEA's Centralized Application for Advanced Placement for International Dentists (CAAPID). The application fee for AADSAS is $251 (USD) for your first school and $108 for each additional school, while fees for CAAPID are $245 and $102, respectively.
For each college and university listed in your in this Academic History, you will need to arrange for your official transcripts to be sent to ADEA AADSAS. Fill out and submit the Transcript Request Form to your school’s Registrar’s Office. Note that transcripts must be addressed to ADEA AADSAS, and the transcripts must be original and mailed directly by your Registrar. You are not permitted to mail your transcripts on your own, and transcripts that have been issued to or picked up by a student will be designated as such on the transcript itself (which will essentially make it void, for the purpose of the AADSAS application). Additionally, be sure that your ADEA AADSAS ID number is included with each transcript request.
Remember, transcripts take time to issue and process – sometimes upwards of 6 weeks, so you must issue the transcript request as soon as the application opens (you cannot arrange to have transcripts sent before the application opens). As well, it is advisable to monitor your ADEA AADSAS account to ensure everything arrives when it should. You can do this in two ways: 1 By checking with your school a few days after your request to ensure the transcripts have been sent. You can request confirmation of the date on which the transcripts were mailed, as well. 2 By going to the ADEA AADSAS “Check Status” page to see if your transcript has arrived. It often takes upwards of 7 business days for your transcript to be posted after being received. So, if you don’t see an update 2-3 weeks after the date on which the transcripts were mailed, you may want to reach out to AADSAS customer support, as they will be able to provide the most up-to-date information.
The AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service) is the dental school application service for most dental schools in the U.S. and is administered through the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Becoming a dentist requires a lot of time and effort, with an admissions process as challenging as any professional program.
The Dental Admission Test or DAT is a 4-hour comprehensive exam administered by the American Dental Association (ADA), and is generally taken in the Spring of your Junior year of undergrad (ideally right after you’ve completed your organic chemistry prerequisite). All U.S. dental schools require the DAT; however, if you’re a Canadian student hoping to attend dental school in the U.S., note that some schools will accept the Canadian DAT (and, likewise, some Canadian schools will accept the U.S. DAT). As always, check with your specific schools of interest to determine which DAT (s) they accept.
The entire application process takes nearly a full year to complete. By familiarizing yourself with the application process early on, you can develop a schedule for the many application-related tasks you will need to complete and submit a high-quality application early in the cycle.
October–December 2021. Continue to interview at dental schools. Dental schools may begin offering admission to applicants on December 1. (For the 2019-2020 cycle this date was delayed to December 15 due to COVID-19).
TMDSAS (Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service ) – For public dental schools in Texas.
AADSAS applications become available online in mid-May but may not be submitted until the cycle opens around June 1.
Aim to take the test in late spring or early summer, if prepared. If the summer is needed for preparation, take the test by early August. AADSAS applications become available online in mid-May but may not be submitted until the cycle opens around June 1. The TMDSAS cycle opens in early May.
Complete secondary applications. (Note: some schools have secondary application question within the AADSAS application in the “Program Materials” section. Those questions must be completed at the time AADSAS is submitted to those schools.
January-April 2022. Some schools send additional interview invitations in early to mid-January. Interviews are complete at many schools in January or February, although some schools continue into early spring. Update schools you are waitlisted at about new accomplishments.
There’s a seemingly never-ending list of dental school requirements to meet, including taking certain prerequisites, achieving a high GPA and strong DAT score, dental volunteering, community service, and so on.
The AADSAS application opens on May 11th, with submissions beginning on June 1st. You can use the interim few weeks to prepare, review, and perfect your application prior to submission.
This is often the year in which students take the DAT, manage a heavy load of upper division science courses, write their personal statement, and complete their AADSAS application.
The AADSAS allows you to submit up to four letters of recommendation, including individual letters of recommendation and composite/committee letters. In the past, composite/committee letters took the place of three individual letters; however, composite/committee letters count as one letter as of the 2021–2022 application cycle.
Most students need somewhere between two and six months of preparation in order to do well on the DAT. There are many resources both in person and online to help you prepare for the DAT. Be sure to create a detailed study plan and be disciplined in your approach and preparation. Remember, ideally you will want to take the DAT no later than late June of your application year in order to get your application submitted in time to be considered for the first round of interview offers in September and October.
Begin brainstorming and writing your personal statement six months before applying. While the personal statement is relatively short (4,500 characters including spaces), it can take several months to produce a high-quality statement.
Most students take the DAT between the summer after their sophomore year and the summer after junior year. Dental school applications open in late May/early June, so if you’re applying straight from college, the DAT should be completed by the end of June of your application year.
Over 12,000 students applied to dental school in 2013. In these times of highly competitive admissions, it is imperative that your application stands out and is well rounded. Not only do you have to showcase your academic ability, you also have to prove to the admissions committee that you have what it takes to succeed as a dental professional.
Bolstering your application by incorporating several, or all, of these suggestions will transform you from numbers and letters on a page into a substantial and competitive candidate.