Dental School Admissions

Starting March 1, 2025, the American Dental Association (ADA) will implement a new scoring model for the Dental Admission Test (DAT). Thus, the current 2-digit score reporting scale (1 to 30) will change to a 3-digit score reporting scale (200 to 600). Scores will range from 200 to 600 in 10-point increments (e.g., 200, 210, 220, … 600).
The new scoring model requires additional analyses to provide a more precise score, so beginning March 1, 2025, unofficial scores will not be available at the testing site. Test administrations will continue to use the current 2-digit scale through Feb. 22, 2025.
Tests administered on or after this date will be reported on the 3-digit scale starting March 1, 2025. Candidates whose DAT applications are approved after Sept. 1, 2024 will receive testing eligibility windows that extend beyond March 1, 2025. If these candidates complete the DAT on or after March 1, 2025, their examination will be scored using the new model and their DAT scores will be reported on the new 3-digit score scale. The new scoring model will provide a more accurate estimate of your skills, giving you and prospective dental schools more insight into your level of preparedness for the rigors of dental school.

To see how 2-digit and 3-digit test scores compare, see the sample Concordance Table Link below. There will be no change to your application. You will be able to self-report both 2-digit and 3-digit scores, and all official scores will be sent from the ADA to ADEA AADSAS. Candidates’ choice of when to apply will impact which scoring models will be available for use to score their examination. Once a candidate’s application is approved, they will have six months to complete an administration of the DAT.

For example, a candidate whose application is approved on Sept. 1, 2024 would only have one day of testing eligibility covered by the new scoring and reporting model, March 1, 2025.

https://www.adea.org/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/uploadedfiles/adea/content-conversion-final/dental-education-pathways/sample-concordance-table.pdf?sfvrsn=26f73358_1

 

 

Dental School Admission Requirements

  1. Bachelor’s Degree

We strongly recommend applicants to the DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) / DMD (Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry) program have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university. However, applicants who do not have a bachelor’s degree, but who have a GPA of 3.5 and have completed 90 or more credits at the time of matriculation will be considered. Applicants with a foreign bachelor’s degree must complete 60 credits in an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university for consideration.

All applicants must complete their prerequisite courses at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university.

  1. Prerequisite Requirements

All prerequisite courses must have been completed within the past ten years at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university with a minimum “C” grade. Prerequisite courses may be satisfied through postbaccalaureate study. All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to matriculation in dental school.

Required a minimum of two semesters or three quarters each of:

  • Biology with lab
  • Inorganic/General Chemistry with lab
  • Organic Chemistry with lab
  • Physics with lab
  • English/Writing-Intensive

* Some dental schools require additional courses, such as English composition, and additional upper-level biology courses, such as anatomy and physiology, microbiology and biochemistry. Some dental schools will substitute one semester of biochemistry for the second semester of organic chemistry. Many schools strongly encourage applicants to take courses in the arts and social sciences.

  1. Dental Admissions Test (DAT)

Applicants are required to take the DAT. Applicants’ DAT scores must be submitted by February 1st in the year admission is sought. For applicants who are taking the Canadian DAT (CDAT), for the 2020-2021 application cycle we will consider the February CDAT scores.

*The DAT must have been taken within 3 years of the year in which admission is sought.  

  1. Letters of Evaluation

Applicants must arrange for the submission of one committee evaluation letter or three individual letters of evaluation, two of which must be from science faculty members.

  1. Shadowing

A minimum of 100 hours of dental shadowing is recommended.

  1. For International (Non-U.S./Canadian) Applicants

Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from a school outside of the U.S. or Canada are required to submit a course-by-course evaluation from Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) and official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores by February 1st in the year in which admission is sought. The ECE evaluation must verify equivalency to a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution and we require a minimum score of 100 on the TOEFL iBT. TOEFL scores older than two years will not be considered.

  1. AADSAS Application

Applications must be submitted online through the American Association of Dental Schools Application Service (AADSAS). The deadline for receipt of the AADSAS application is February 1st in the year admission is sought. Responsibility for completing the application rests with the applicant. Applications that are incomplete cannot be acted upon.