Dental School Requirement: Dental School Admissions
Requirements
Entrance Requirements - There are sixty dental schools in
the United States and ten in Canada. Each of these schools grant
either of two degrees: the D.D.S. - Doctor of Dental Surgery or
D.M.D. - Doctor of Dental Medicine. In terms of education and
implied professional qualification, the two degrees are equal. The
difference is chiefly semantic.
Although most of these schools cite two years of pre-professional
education, as the requirement of admission, the vast majority of
those accepted will have had four years of college. Most of these
schools also have the same general pre-dental course requirements:
- Biology---1 year
- Inorganic Chemistry---1 year
- Organic Chemistry---1 year
- Physics---1 year
- English---1 year
However, it should be noted that there may be additional
requirements, and it is absolutely necessary to become aware of the
specific requirements of the schools in which you are interested.
Residency Requirements - To increase your chances for
being accepted to dental school, you must conduct a thorough
investigation to discover which schools are most likely to enroll an
applicant of your state residence. There are three different
categories of dental schools which will influence your choice of
were to apply.
(1) State Supported Schools - Since these schools generally
accept very few out-of-state applicants, there is much competition
for these few spaces. New Jersey residents are given priority for
consideration for admission to New Jersey Dental School.
(2) Private School - State residency is not a primary factor in
acceptance to these schools
(3) Contract Programs - Through such a program, a state contracts
with an out-of-state school to provide space for its residents. New
Jersey does not participate in any such program.
The gathering of information about the individual schools can be
highly organized and greatly simplified with the use of the
publications of both the American Dental Association and the
American Association of Dental Schools. Specifically, the American
Dental Association annually publishes a complete list of accredited
dental schools in the United States and Canada as well as their
addresses. This list may be requested by mail from: American Dental
Association, Commission on Accreditation, 211 East Chicago Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60611.
Also of interest is an annual publication of the American
Association of Dental Schools: Admission Requirements of United
States and Canada Dental Schools. This book contains information
concerning the number of applicants, residency requirements, tuition
and fee listings, application requirements, curriculum, and the
address of each dental school in the United States and Canada. For a
copy, write to: American Association of Dental Schools, Attn:
Publications Assistant, 1619 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20036.
The student should not forget information is available on campus
through the Pre-Professional Advisory Committee. They have access to
additional publications (ie., Handbook for Pre-Dental Advisors) and
invaluable information gathering through experience. Once you have
selected the dental schools in which you are interested, you should
write directly to each school, requesting a current bulletin which
will supply further, in-depth information.
More:
|
