How Hard Is It To Get Into 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) I think the field of dentistry is a GREAT field to be in. Paying off debt.....work like hell and know that until you pay it off you won't be taking that money home! :-) I think the average in the USA now is $101,000 for dental income. I 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. 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. Maybe that is because in most universities there is no " predental" major offered. Therefore most predental students end up in the biology umbrella. One question I must ask is if you are asking how easy it is to get intyo a dental school maybe this is not the field for you. It is alot more difficult to survive the program than it is to get in as I later found out. It is a great profession, but it requires a much greater "constitution" than mosty people would assume. If you are not totally committed then forget it. Do yourself and your patients a favor and persue another career.