Do you need a bachelors degree to apply

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I've seen this questions asked on this forum before, but there really wasn't a clear answer. I know some schools like harvard won't even let you apply without a bachelor's degree while other schools may. So, is there a list of schools that students can apply to at the end of their junior years? I don't wanna take a year off before dental school. I will have completed all prereqs before senior year.

You don't need a bachelor to apply but you will need a bachelor to GET IN! Lol There is no shortcut my friend, unless you have a 3.9 GPA and 22+ DAT there's zero chance that dental school will take you in without a bachelor. I can't even remember the last time they accept someone without a bachelor, it's probably like in the 90's haha. Get your bachelor if you want to go to dental school, there's no way around it

Originally Posted by Sonny881994

You don't need a bachelor to apply but you will need a bachelor to GET IN! Lol There is no shortcut my friend, unless you have a 3.9 GPA and 22+ DAT there's zero chance that dental school will take you in without a bachelor. I can't even remember the last time they accept someone without a bachelor, it's probably like in the 90's haha. Get your bachelor if you want to go to dental school, there's no way around it

While i appreciate your response, you are wrong. From the harvard dental website:

"All applicants are required to have at least a bachelor's degree in order to apply for the DMD program."

Originally Posted by Walshy

While i appreciate your response, you are wrong. From the harvard dental website:

"All applicants are required to have at least a bachelor's degree in order to apply for the DMD program."

Read the next sentence: "Applications will be considered for students completing their final year of an undergraduate degree"

essentially for 99% of d-schools you will have to have a bachelor's degree before matriculating into dental school.

so you don't need a bachelor's degree to apply to 99% of dental schools? (I 'm aware that you need it to matriculate.)

There are combined programs that will allow you to complete a bachelors with a DDS (ex/ 1st year of d school = last year of bachelors). But you will most likely have to be attending that undergraduate institution for example NYU.

Originally Posted by Walshy

so you don't need a bachelor's degree to apply to 99% of dental schools? (I 'm aware that you need it to matriculate.)

Yes, traditionally students will apply to Dental School during their Junior and Senior years of undegraduate, which means they will have not earned their bachelor's degree yet. The dental schools will assume you will be completing your degree before matriculation. Before you matriculate, you must forward them you undergrad transcript showing them that a bachelors degree was earned.

ok but is the following sentence true:

you don't need a bachelors degree to apply to 99% of dental schools.

Originally Posted by Walshy

ok but is the following sentence true:

you don't need a bachelors degree to apply to 99% of dental schools.

No, I amend the statement to: you don't need a bachelors degree to apply to 100% of dental schools in the U.S. However, you will require to have a bachelors degree to matriculate into most of the dental schools in the U.S.

Some schools you actually dont need a bachelors to attend (but there are very few and very rare).

Originally Posted by Walshy

ok but is the following sentence true:

you don't need a bachelors degree to apply to 99% of dental schools.

No

He's talking about "applying" and not "accepted/allowed to matriculate".

Just get the bachelor degree, period! You haven't even finish your pre-req and taking the DAT yet so.... not to be discouraging but you need to finish your pre req and take the DAT to see where you stand. Unless you get a 22+ DAT and a good GPA like i said above, there is NO reason why you should even talking about this topic. You might just be like every average applicant with a 3.5 gpa and 18 DAT and without an Bachelor you stand NO chance! and for Harvard is freaking Harvard, their requirements are always more than the average dental school......and i said apply not accepted, you don't need a bachelor to apply but you will need to have it to get in after they accept you. Read and understand my comment!

The only ds listed in the 2012 ADEA Guide requiring a Bachelor's degree are: Howard, Midwester Ill, UIC, Boston, Tufts and E. Carolina. Roughly 5% of the 2011 enrollees did not have a B degree (.22% with 2 yrs, 2.04% with 3 yrs and 1.39% with 4 years.)

Of course you don't need a degree to apply. Most people apply their senior year. Heck, you don't even need to have completed all the pre-reqs to apply and get an interview/acceptance (even Harvard). You need a BS/BA to matriculate, except in VERY extreme cases.

Do you guys make this up as you go along?

ok. just like all the other threads about this subject, the answer is unclear. @sonny, I am not asking about MATRICULATION. I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU NEED A BACHELOR'S DEGREE TO MATRICULATE for most schools. I am asking about APPLYING. It seems like the consensus is that you do not need a bachelor's degree to APPLY. do we agree?

Walshy.. No offense but this is kind of obvious! People start dental school right after graduating from undergrad, which means they applied without a bachelors degree, smh

You don't need a bachelors degree to matriculate into dental school either, it just doesn't happen to often.

Originally Posted by tothepark

Walshy.. No offense but this is kind of obvious! People start dental school right after graduating from undergrad, which means they applied without a bachelors degree, smh

if it was so obvious a simple "yes" would have sufficed. I originally thought that you did not need a BA/BS to apply but harvard's site got me confused when they said you did need one.

In What scenario would you be admitted to dschool without a bachelors? What about getting the DAT waived? Just curious.

Originally Posted by Momof2tobeDDS

In What scenario would you be admitted to dschool without a bachelors? What about getting the DAT waived? Just curious.

When you're an outstanding applicant (3.9+ GPA, 22+ DAT, lots of ECs), you have a shot at getting the bachelors waived.

You will not be able to get the DAT waived. That's the only standardized test to measure you up against all of the other applicants.