Choosing which Dental Schools to Apply To

[thebulk3]

Hello everyone,

I am beginning my research in regard to which dental schools I should apply to this summer, and I came across this (awesome) website. Without getting into too many specifics, I am a junior who took the DAT last summer. My DAT went well and I should have a pretty competitive GPA as well. I live in the Midwest and am planning on applying pretty broadly in my geographical region. With that being said, I am obviously going to apply in-state, as dental school cost is going to be a key determining factor in my decision. Since I know applying to dental school can get expensive, I was curious about how many schools I should apply to? Further, for those of you who have gone through the application process or are preparing to apply this summer, what did you find helpful when narrowing your choices outside of cost and location (i.e. program design, previous dental class make-ups, class size, etc.)?

Essentially, what do you think are the most valuable things to compare between dental schools? If you have any other advice about applying, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for any help in advance and happy holidays,
thebulk3

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[reallybroydude]

Glad to hear you're already thinking about these things - I didn't do my research until about a month before applying. Anyway, cost of attendance was the largest factor governing where I applied. Consequently, as a WA resident, I applied to my state school and OOS public schools that allow an individual to switch residency after the first year, as well as have a history of accepting WA residents. I also applied to a couple of private schools to be on the safe side. You may also want to consider the GPA and DAT ranges of the school you're considering. For information on each school I found the ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools (http://www.adea.org/publications/Pages/OfficialGuide.aspx) very helpful.

Good luck and happy holidays!

 

[gobblergiant]

So there are many factors (which I won't go into all in detail) that you should be looking at when choosing dental schools. Although price is a huge factor, know that if you are ready to accept the amount of debt, price should not matter and you should be choosing a school that you want to go to. Here are some questions that you should address while choosing schools:

1. Looking at yourself 10-15 years later, do you see yourself as a clinical dentist or in academia?
2. What are you looking for in the school you wish to attend? (E.g. location, quality of education, friends/family, etc.)
3. Are the schools you are looking at well-known for its clinical or research-based teachings?
4. What is the faculty-student ratio?
5. Are faculty willing to help students and are they open and honest?
6. How many post-grad specialties are available at that school?

These will help you start looking in the right directions. Also, if you know any dentists or even faculty in dental school, ask them what their opinion of good schools are. The best way to find out about the school is to ask students and faculty who attend or have attended the school.