Prepare for Dental School – Pre-Health/Pre-Law Advising Center

What do you need to be a strong candidate for dental school?

3 key factors that dental schools are looking for:

Strong academic performance: high GPA in prerequisite and upper division science coursework can show dental schools that you are prepared for their curriculum.
Evidence of experience and personal development: experience in the dental field can help you determine whether dentistry is the right fit for you. Your experiences (both related and unrelated to health) can also show dental schools that you have the qualities they are looking for in a future dentist.
Strong entrance exam scores: like your GPA, your entrance exam score can suggest that you are ready for the rigor of dental school.

More information on each factor can be found within their respective sections below.

Prerequisites Experience and Personal Development Researching Schools Entrance Exam Tracker Templates

Prerequisites

Most importantly, remember that requirements vary from school to school! You must research the prerequisites you will need to apply to the schools you are interested in attending.

Dental Program Prerequisites: We compiled some information on the dental programs in the US. Please note that we still recommend you to do your own research alongside this guide.
American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Official Guide to Dental Schools: A one year subscription to the online directory of dental schools (the ADEA dental school explorer) and A PDF publication.

More than 25% of the programs in this field require the following UHM courses for admission:

BIOL 171/171L and 172/172L	Introduction to Biology I and II	8 cr.
BIOC 141 or higher	Biochemistry	3 or 4 cr.
CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L	General Chemistry I and II*	8 cr.
CHEM 272/272L and 273/273L	Organic Chemistry I and II	10 cr.
ENG 100 and 200	Composition I and II	3-12 cr.
MATH 140 or higher	Precalculus or higher*	3 cr.
MICR 130 or higher	Microbiology**	3 cr.
PHYL 141/141L and 142/142L (or PHYL 301/301L and 302/302L)	Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II***	8 cr.
PHYS 151/151L and 152/152L (or PHYS 170/170/L and 272/272L)	College Physics I and II (or General Physics I and II)	8 or 9 cr.

Additional requirements may include courses such as calculus and upper-division biology. It is also recommended that non-science majors take additional upper-division or advanced science electives beyond the prerequisites listed above.

For a list of other general recommended pre-health courses, click here.

ART 113, ART 116, ART 242, and ART 344 are recommended to take in preparation for the perceptual ability section of the DAT.

CHEM 171/171L might not be accepted by dental schools in place of CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L. Students should double-check with the schools they are interested in if the schools would accept CHEM 171/171L in place of CHEM 161/161L and 162/162L.

*If you are planning on taking a chemistry or math course for the first time, please make sure to fulfill the placement exam requirement prior to registration.

**Some schools may require a microbiology lab.

***It is strongly recommended to check with each school for specific requirements.

Please note that if you are retaking courses because dental schools may not accept Advanced Placement (AP), online, or community college credit, your financial aid and/or scholarship status may be affected.

Applicant Undergraduate GPA Statistics

Category	UH Mānoa Applicants	UH Mānoa Accepted	National Applicants	National Accepted
2023
Cumulative Undergraduate	3.26	3.47	3.52	3.64
Cumulative Undergraduate BCP	3.14	3.45	3.42	3.57
2022
Cumulative Undergraduate	3.28	3.56	3.48	3.61
Cumulative Undergraduate BCP	3.17	3.48	3.38	3.53
2021
Cumulative Undergraduate	3.2	3.47	3.44	3.58
Cumulative Undergraduate BCP	3.07	3.34	3.33	3.5

Additional Applicant Information

Based on data acquired by the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).

*BCP stands for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The GPA is calculated using the courses in those subject areas.

To calculate the ADSAS GPA, please see the ADEA GPA Calculation website and PAC's ADSAS GPA Calculation spreadsheet for more help. This guide is for reference. Please do not enter any estimates calculated from this guide into your application. Enter course information as it appears on transcripts only.

Sample Four-Year Academic Plan

Experience and Personal Development

The 3 most common types of experiences that those who matriculate into dental school have include shadowing, volunteer work, and work experience.

Shadowing: To gain a deeper understanding of the field and determine if it is the right fit for you.
- *Some schools will require 30 to 200 hours of shadowing. Some schools specify a minimum number of different settings, and may even specify a minimum number of hours in certain settings. Be sure to check the specific requirements for each school!
- Tips from the ADEA on "How to approach a dentist for shadowing request via cold call or in-person?"
- Email the Pre-Health Career Corps for shadowing opportunities at phcc@hawaii.edu
Volunteer work: To demonstrate your genuine interest in helping others and the larger communities.
- Clinical Volunteer: To gain experience in the health professional field in which you are interested; aids in figuring out if that is the field you want to work in.
- Community Service: Not necessarily related to health, but demonstrates qualities that health professional schools are looking for.
Jobs: Another way to be well-rounded and grow personally and professionally. A great option is dental assisting, as it gives you a chance to work in a dental office.

Schools may also request that one of your letters of recommendation come from a dentist. Shadowing or working under a dentist can be a great way to build a relationship to get a strong letter of recommendation.

List of LOR Requirements

Other Experiences:

Internships/Fellowships: To gain experience in the health professional field in which you are interested.
Enrichment: To be more well-rounded and gain experience communicating with others from different backgrounds.
Research: To ensure that you will be prepared for the research that will be included in the health professional school/program curriculum.

Personal Development:

It is not enough for admissions committees to see that you have completed experiences. You also need to share with admissions committees what you gave and got out of the experiences.

Gave = What and how did you contribute to the organization and/or the people through the organization? How did you make an impact?

Got = What did you get out of the experience? What skills did you gain or establish? What knowledge did you gain?

Admission committees seek students who demonstrate certain qualities that will make them strong practitioners, such as empathy, compassion, a commitment to public service, high ethical and moral standards, a conscientious work ethic, and maturity. These qualities should be demonstrated through the previous experiences mentioned. If this is not the case, then find other experiences from which you can grow.

Keep in mind that: it’s not about what you’re doing, it’s why you're doing it. Why are these things important for you to dedicate your time to?

Networking:

Networking with peers and professionals enables you to meet people with similar interests. You can find a mentor to help lead you in the right direction, or find a study buddy for your prerequisites and entrance exam!

UH Connect: If you are a UH student or alumni, you can find a professional mentor through the UH Connect website.
Clubs and Organizations
- Pre-Dental Association
  - Assist members in becoming competitive applicants through volunteering, networking, and shadowing opportunities
  - Network with students with interests and goals towards becoming a dentist
Pre-Health Undergraduate Mentoring Program

Experience Log:

When applying for professional school, you will be asked to list and describe the experiences you have gained in preparation for the profession of your interest. Having an experience log or curriculum vitae (CV) will allow you to fill out your application with more ease. However, an experience log can include additional beneficial information, such as your employer’s contact information and a reflection portion of what you learned.

PAC's AADSAS Achievement / Experience / License Log Template

Researching Schools

There are currently about 67 accredited dental schools in the US, each unique in its mission, philosophy, criteria, and strengths.

ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools

Although there are resources that “rank” schools, the rankings are rarely pertinent for individual applicants. More important is whether there is a good match between the applicant and school.

To find schools that are good a fit for you (PAC peer advisors can help with this process):

Assess your individual strengths and weaknesses, your professional interests, learning style, and personality;
Start by considering all schools, which usually includes all 60+ schools;
Create your “Long List” by omitting the schools that do not match your professional interests, learning style, and personality;
Create your “Short List,” which includes the schools to which you will most likely apply. You will need your entrance exam scores and/or current cumulative GPA to narrow and sort your school choices. We strongly recommend that you apply to schools for which your entrance exam score and/or current cumulative GPA are within the ranges of those who were accepted into that program. Ideally, you will apply to schools for which both your entrance exam score and cumulative GPA fall within the ranges of accepted applicants.
You can also consider other factors when categorizing your schools like prerequisites, pass rate on boards/ licensing exams, areas of specialization, and cost/ aid. When deciding how many schools to apply to, consider how many schools to which you can afford to apply. Finally, consider if you really want to attend the school if/when accepted even if it is the only school to which you have been accepted.

Information on Researching Schools: If possible, visit the schools to see their facilities, talk to admissions directors, and chat with students.
Researching Schools Template

Notes for international students:

Health professional schools in the U.S. may process applications of international students differently than those of U.S. citizens and permanent residents due to institution, state, and federal requirements.
Some schools do not admit any international students, so you will be limited in the number of schools to which they can apply and need to research schools.
There may be additional requirements such as showing proof that they will be able to afford the costs of health professional school as financial aid opportunities are very limited for international students.

UH Mānoa Applicant Application Statistics

	Applicants	Applications	Average # of Applicants/Applicant
2023
All Applicants	9	91	10.11
Accepted Applicants	3	40	13.33
2022
All Applicants	14	142	10.14
Accepted Applicants	6	79	13.2
2021
All Applicants	21	223	10.62
Accepted Applicants	10	137	13.7

Based on data acquired by the National Association of Academic Advisors for Health Professions (NAAHP).

View our Dentistry School Stats to see where UH Mānoa applicants applied to/matriculated into.

Reminder!

UH Mānoa has an early acceptance program for dental school with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)!

Entrance Exam

All dental schools require applicants to take a standardized test called the Dental Admission Test (DAT).

DAT Overview

DAT Averages for UH Mānoa Applicants

Category	UH Mānoa Applicants	UH Mānoa Matriculants
2023
Perceptual Ability	18.15	20
Quantitative Reasoning	17.85	16.5
Biology	17.23	18
Inorganic Chemistry	17.15	18.5
Organic Chemistry	17.08	17.25
Total Science	17.08	18
Reading Comprehension	22.25	22.25
Academic Average	18.15	18.5
2022
Perceptual Ability	20.37	23
Quantitative Reasoning	19.32	23.8
Biology	19.42	21.2
Inorganic Chemistry	20.16	25
Organic Chemistry	19.96	21.8
Total Science	19.37	21.8
Reading Comprehension	20.58	22.2
Academic Average	20	22.8
2021
Perceptual Ability	19.54	20.14
Quantitative Reasoning	17.03	18.36
Biology	18.26	19.57
Inorganic Chemistry	17.71	19
Organic Chemistry	18.03	18.29
Total Science	17.86	18.93
Reading Comprehension	21.11	21.11
Academic Average	18.46	19.57

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