Dental School
The application for dental school takes at least a year, so be sure to finish your required sciences, as well as any volunteer work or research by the end of your junior year. For more information go to:www.adea.org
Step 1: Take the DAT (Dental Admission Test)
You must complete an application form and pay the testing fee in order to schedule a time to take the DAT. You can obtain an application packet by writing to:
Department of Testing Services
American Dental Association
211 East Chicago Avenue, Suite 1846
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
After you have completed the application, you will receive a notice from the Prometril Registration Center, giving you an 800-number to call to arrange the time, date and place in which you want to test. Testing sites are available at all Sylvan Technology Centers; the test is only administered on the computer (a paper and pencil version is no longer available). It is best to take the DAT before September 1st of your application year.
Although it is not required, many students take a prep course for the DAT. If you choose to do this, be sure to allow yourself enough time to complete the prep course before scheduling your test date.
Step 2: Submit your Pre-Dental Committee Application by April 15th
The Pre-Dental Committee (PDC) cannot review your file until you have completed all of your required science courses, so be sure to finish them by the end of your junior year. When submitting your application, please include:
- Application form
- Personal statement
- Transcripts from every college/university you have attended since high school
- Letter of Recommendation Matching form for each evaluator
Letters of recommendation should be sent directly to Career Services by your evaluators.
Step 3: Apply for admission through AADSAS
Apply on-line or download and print a paper application: www.adea.org
Request a paper application:
AADSAS
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036-2212
AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service) is a centralized application service, allowing you to apply to 55 of the dental schools in the US and Canada with one application and one set of recommendation letters. You will need to have transcripts and DAT scores sent to each school to which you are applying. If you are interested in attending a non-AADSAS school, you will need to contact the school directly to request an application. Check the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools to determine if the schools to which you want to apply participate in AADSAS.
You will also need to consult the Official Guide to Dental Schools to find the application dates for each dental school, since schools differ in the first and last dates in which you may submit your application, so it will be very important for you to stay organized and adhere to the application dates. Some dental schools also require that you pay an application fee before your application will be reviewed. Again, consult the Official Guide to Dental Schools for this information.
You will also need to indicate on your AADSAS application that Career Services will be sending your letters separately from your application form.
Step 4: Complete secondary applications, upon receipt
After reviewing your AADSAS application, dental schools may send you a secondary application that is specific to the school. You are responsible for providing Career Services with a typed list of the names and addresses of the dental schools to which you are applying.
Step 5: Interview, when invited
Dental schools will invite you to interview after they have reviewed your secondary application and your letters of evaluation. Interviews usually take place at the dental schools; you are expected to cover the costs of travel, lodging and meals while you are there.
Step 6: Receive letter informing you of your status
After you have interviewed, you should receive a letter letting you know if you have been accepted, wait-listed, or rejected by the dental school. Some schools write letters on a rolling basis, while others wait until their interviews are completed to send letters. You may not hear from the school right after your interview, especially if you interview early; it may be one of the schools that waits to write letters.
Other Notes About the Application Process:
Please remember that applying to dental school can be expensive. You are required to pay fees to take the DAT, to submit your application to AADSAS, and to submit secondary applications to the individual dental schools (some of these fees may be waived or reduced if you can document financial need). You will also need to have money to travel to interviews. It is not unusual for applicants to spend over $2,000 on the application process alone, so be sure to plan for these expenses well in advance.
It is also important for you to determine how you will pay for your dental education. Some schools have scholarship money available, but most will expect you to apply for government financial aid programs and/or take out loans. Be sure to file financial aid application forms by the deadlines and to have a sound financial plan for repaying any loans you may incur while in dental school.
What is the Pre-Dental Committee (POC)?
The Pre-Dental committee at CLU is a committee of Career Services professionals and Science Faculty formed to assist CLU students and alumni to gain entrance into Dental School. The main purpose of the PDC is to submit all students Letters of Recommendations to various schools and build CLU’s reputation as a Pre-Dental university.
What are the benefits of using the Committee?
Many Dental schools prefer a formal committee turn in recommendations, ensuring their confidential delivery. The committee is also useful when asking faculty or off campus letter writers for letters that may need to be sent to 10-20 schools. The Pre-Dental Committee will handle mailing letters by deadlines to various schools. Writers need to send letters to Career Services by April 15th of each year. In addition, the committee drafts a cover letter and attaches to the separate letters. When your letters are uploaded to schools, the committee will include a statement that the student applying has waived all rights to the contents of their Pre-Dental file, mostly referring to the Letters of Recommendation. Lastly, Dental Schools get accustom to committees submitting letters and start to recognize the quality of the students who go through the formal committee. Students are still responsible for applying online, taking the DAT or other exams, and forwarding transcripts.
What do I need to do to take advantage of this program?
- Student Information Form/Waiver of Rights to Pre-Dental File – This form starts your file. Complete and sign and begin to turn in transcripts, AADSAS or online application printout, resume, personal statement, and DAT or other scores. Then when secondary requests from schools come in, your file is ready and you just provide us via email with where you want us to send letters. Also includes waiver statement to be signed and dated which states you will not have access to your file and that it is confidential.
- Applicant Summary Sheet – Used as a guide for letter writers. You will submit the completed Applicant Summary Sheet to faculty or employers, which provides information about you
- Packet of handouts including courses to take, timeline, DAT information, Dental School interviews, etc.
What is the deadline to have letters sent by faculty to Committee?
Faculty will need to address letter to “Dear Dental School Admissions:” and send letter to Career Services/PDC, mail code 2400 by the April 15th deadline. We will make copies of all letters and send out to AADSAS or Dental Schools who request a secondary application. There is no limit for the number of schools that the PDC will send the Composite Letter and copies of your Recommendations to. However, you will need to print out a Letter of Recommendation form for each evaluator which you can obtain while filling out your AADSAS application.
When will the Committee send my letters to schools?
Beginning June 1st. The Committee will keep original copies of all letters.
The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) and the American Dental Association (ADA) are separate associations. All inquiries concerning the dental school application service (not the Dental Admission Test) should be directed to AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service) at the American Dental Education Association.
AADSAS is available to all students applying to dental schools participating in the program. AADSAS simplifies the application process for students by providing one standardized form, relieving applicants of the need to complete multiple applications. Dental schools benefit by receiving uniform information on all applicants. AADSAS serves as an information clearinghouse, and does not influence any school's appraisal or selection of applicants.
Admission to dental school is competitive; in order to select those schools where your application will have the greatest chance of success, you should review the Official Guide to Dental School available atwww.adea.org. This price includes first class postage and applicable sales tax. Please pay by check, money order or Visa/MasterCard and American Express. This publication contains useful information concerning specific dental school prerequisites, financial assistance, the cost of a dental education, the AADSAS Application Service, and other areas of interest to prospective dental students.
If you decide to apply to any of the dental schools participating in AADSAS, you must file your application through AADSAS. There is no charge for the AADSAS Application Materials.
Applying to AADSAS
To initiate your application to any of the schools participating in AADSAS, you may apply in any of the following ways:
- Apply on line (AADSAS-on-the-Web) via the ADEA website at www.adea.org. (Click on AADSAS). New AADSAS applications become available mid-May of every year.
- Download a paper application from the same website.
- Request a paper application by contacting Customer Service Representatives at (800) 353-2237.
Each participating school has its own specific requirements regarding the payment of a separate application fee, if any, and the submission of supplemental materials (such as recommendations, transcripts etc). The additional requirements are listed in the Supplemental Materials section of the AADSAS Instructions. Also, all schools require official DAT scores transcripts from the Department of Testing Services, American Dental Association.
AADSAS Processing Fee
The AADSAS processing fee for 2005 entering class is $195 for the first school and $60 for each additional school up to 10; $50 for each additional school from 11–20; and $25 for each additional school after 20. Requests for additional schools made after your original request has been received are processed for an extra fee. AADSAS fees cover the cost of processing your materials and preparing statistical analyses, which assist both dental educators and pre-dental advisors.