Columbia Dental School?

Q: I was wondering how competitive is dental school admission? It seems like there aren't as many pre-dental students as compared to pre-med students. Are state schools with lower tuition much more competitive than private schools? Besides required course works, what can I do to improve my chance of getting admission? Is the field of dentisty still a good field to get into? How do dentists pay off the infamous debt after graduation? Does average dentist make at least 100K a year after overhead costs?

A:I just attended a meeting at the dental school I went to (Univeristy of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry) and they announced that this year's incoming freshman class of 56 had 1200 applicants with an average GPA of 3.4 (out of 4.0) am a dental student at Columbia School of Dental and Oral Surgery, New York, NY. Although I can't answer all your questions, I can may be knock out few. Getting in is not bad, in fact it is easy. If you have overall GPA of 3.3, DAT of 20/20, and an OK interview skills. I think you just about can get into any school of you choice. However, if you are applying as an out of state student to a state school that is a different story all together. What is more difficult is surviving through the programs. However, that may be debaitable depending on where you go. From what I understand, most state institutions offer more clincally oriented programs. I remember when I was at U of Florida for the interview they were very proud of the fact that there students come out clincally sufficient enough to open up their own practice. However, some schools more academically

oriented programs. There goal is to prepare you for the specialty programs. However, the chances are no matter where you go you have to work hard. If you want to know more about Columbia, write to me. Because of the cost and the reduced income of todays insurance managed world, dental school is a lot easier to get in to than years ago. A friend of mine tells me C's will do. I love what I do and wouldn't quit, but the income isn't enough to justify the schooling, the investment, and the responsibility. If you invested the tuition and the cost of support for the years of school, and got a job making $58,000 a year, you would equal what the average DDS makes.