Combined dental Programs

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neil7818

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Hey Everyone,

I've been looking into combined dentistry programs and was wondering if anyone knows of any and where they may be?

If anyone is in any that's be WONDERFUL and a great help if you could jsut tell me some of your experiences.

Thanks!
Neil
 
What do you mean by combined?

Case and UOP have programs where you can earn conditional admissions to dental school from high school. Also, these programs can be accelerated. I am in Case's program and will be doing two years of undergrad before I enter dental school.
 
If by combined, you mean B.S./D.D.S(D.M.D.) programs, then i was in VCU's 8 year program; however, i applied out and now attend a different dental school.

Penn also has a 7 year program through several schools, including Villanova, Muhlenberg College, Penn, and some others.
 
I'm 106 days from finishing my 7 year joint degree program. 3 years undergrad/4 years at Univ. at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine.

I think it was a good decision for me, mainly b/c I felt I wasn't getting much out of undergrad and a fourth year there would have been unbearable. And now I am glad to be 24 when I graduate in May with my DDS. I feel like I'm not limited in pursuing anything in dentistry b/c of not having enough time or being too old or having too many responsiblities to a family or significant other, etc.

My dental school experience has been the same as all of my other classmates b/c we all had to do the 4 years together.

Other dental schools with combined programs:

Case (where MarkFitzsimmons is) - 6 or 8 years
NYU - 7 years
UConn - 7 years
Penn - 7 years
Univ. at Buffalo - 7 years
UOP - 5 (!!!), 6, or 7 years
UMDNJ - 7 years
UT-San Antonio - 7 years
Boston University
Tufts
Virginia Commonwealth

Note, since UOP is a 3 year dental school, anyone who goes there after 4 years of undergrad still graduates in 7 years (rather than the traditional 8). There are probably more combined programs, these are just the ones I've come across over the years since being in dental school. I know the programs at Univ. at Buffalo, UMDNJ, and Penn are set up with several different undergrads, not necessarily the corresponding undergrad of the dental school.
 
These are exactly what I'm talking about! Does anyone know any site or book or source about these programs? I'd like to find out about more specific programs and then decide where to apply.

Thanks!
 
Are you a high school student or are you already in college?

If you are already in college, then it's a moot point.

But the best way to go about it in case you are an HS student: Best call up the admissions offices at the colleges you are applying to and ask if they have a combined program with a dental school.
 
I know it doesnt matter for me now, but how competitive are these programs for admission? Do you need straight As in high school to even be considered?
 
Originally posted by Dentaldream
I know it doesnt matter for me now, but how competitive are these programs for admission? Do you need straight As in high school to even be considered?
Click to expand...

I was in VCU's Guaranteed Admission Program for Dentistry, and I seem to remember that there was a min. 1270 SAT and 3.0 GPA (it's been 4 years, so it may have changed). Upon admission to the University Honors Program, there was an interview with the Director of the Honors Program and the Dean of Admissions at the Dental School. Only 5 people applied my year, 3 were admitted, and 2 attended.

During college, their requirements were 3.5 cum GPA, completion of predental course requirments, graduation with University Honors, and 17 avg. on the DAT. I think there may also be a volunteer requirement now. We also had to apply through AADSAS for record keeping purposes. They provided a lot of support to make sure you made it through; and when it came down to it, they suggested i apply to other schools as well to pursue my best interests and supported my decision to attend a different school.

I was pretty happy with the program. After all, it takes a whole lot of pressure off of college and dental school interviews when you know that you're at least going somewhere.
 
That's right - Tufts & BU. I forgot, they have combined programs too. Adding them to the list above.

I don't know really what they were looking for in high school to get accepted. I had good grades in high school, took a gazillion AP courses, and had a decent SAT score. At my program, they interviewed 5, accepted 3, and 2 of us enrolled. They definitely wanted to see some experience in dentistry b/c both me and my classmate had done some shadowing our senior year in high school.

To stay, we had to maintain a 3.3 (a joke at my undergrad) and earn a 17 on the PAT. Each year, the dental school administered this ghetto version of the PAT by itself to us and the international dentist applicants. The students now have to take the entire DAT on the computer, but only the PAT will be looked at for the program. We didn't have to apply through AADSAS or anything. Sometimes I feel like they opened the back door to the dental school and just let us in b/c I didn't have to go through too much stress or agony in college to be here. Our undergrad bio department was not fond of the joint-degree students. I felt like they looked down on us for two reasons: 1)We weren't staying the full four years to get the true bio experience - blah. 2)We were pre-dent and not pre-med, so we weren't bringing any pre-med glory stats into their department. I had a lot of professors convincing me to drop the dental thing and go pre-med.

It was nice going through undergrad without the stress of "Where am I going next?" I knew all along. The only regret I have is I never bothered to look into applying out of the program, so I'll never know what other options I may have had.
 
Originally posted by griffin04


To stay, we had to maintain a 3.3 (a joke at my undergrad) and earn a 17 on the PAT. Each year, the dental school administered this ghetto version of the PAT by itself to us and the international dentist applicants. The students now have to take the entire DAT on the computer, but only the PAT will be looked at for the program.
Click to expand...

DAT is still required for those combined programs ? MD combined programs do not require MCAT score at all. Only if student applies for scholarship. Dental school ain't easy, mate. 🙁 🙁
 
UOP information, but make sure you understand high DAT
requirements (see below)

Advantage Dental Program For High School StudentsIs Dentistry for me?
Are you a current high school student who is considering a career in dentistry? If you'd like to learn more about the field of dentistry you can visit the American Dental Association's web site and take a look at: Why would I want to be a dentist?.

The Programs
Once you've decided to become a dentist, you can read all about the honors program we offer to qualified students, in conjunction with our affiliated campus Pacific Stockton (College of the Pacific). There are three programs to choose from: a five-year program, a six-year program, and a seven-year program, which provides students with the ability to earn a bachelor's degree.

2 + 3

A five-year program leading to the DDS degree was initiated in 1984 to provide predental education in two academic years for qualified students. Students admitted to the program take a prescribed list of general education and science courses as undergraduates in the College of the Pacific. After two years of study, they are eligible to apply for admission to the School of Dentistry. All students registered in the program are monitored closely and are counseled by predental faculty on the Stockton campus as well as by dental faculty from the San Francisco campus.

3 + 3

A six-year program provides qualified high school students with the opportunity to enroll in a selective baccalaureate and DDS degree program. Students accepted into the program major in chemistry or biological sciences and obtain a bachelor's degree from the College of the Pacific after completing three academic years on the Stockton campus and one year at the School of Dentistry. This special opportunity, combined with the 36-month continuous education program in dentistry, makes possible the completion of all requirements for both the bachelors and doctor of dental surgery degrees within a total of six years.

4 + 3

A seven-year program provides students with the opportunity to complete a bachelor's degree in any discipline on the Stockton campus in four years of study and then complete the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the School of Dentistry in San Francisco in three additional years. Students admitted to this honors program can major in any subject provided they complete an appropriate series of science courses as prescribed by a College of the Pacific predental advisor.


Now:
Real fact is UOP requirements on DAT are much higher
than what they advertise as "avarage score on DAT"
is acceptable. Average is 17-18 where as UOP incoming
class averages are:

GPA 3.3 and higher

Academic average 21
Perceptual ability 19
Reading comprehension 21
Quantitative reasoning 19
Biology 20
General chemistry 21
Organic chemistry 21
Total science 20
 
Nova undergrad also has this 3+4 contract with Nova Dental. Like others, a certain GPA and DAT must be acheived.
 
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