Pre-Dental Advisement

Dental school applicants have to consider the following:

• pre-requisite courses
• GPA
• DAT test
• extracurricular activities such as research and volunteer work
• letters of recommendation

Pre-requisite science courses for Dental school. Minimum requirements for dental schools are 8 credits of biology, 16 credits of chemistry including organic chemistry and biochemistry, 6 credits mathemtics including analytic geometry and calculus, 8 credits of physics, 3 credits of genetics, 3 credits of microbiology, and 6 credits of English. For Biology majors, the Behavior and Physiology track is recommended.

At WPUNJ, most pre-dental students take the following science courses:

• Biology: BIO163 General Biology I, BIO164 General Biology II
• Physics: PHYS255 College Physics I, PHYS256 College Physics II
• General Chemistry: CHEM160 General Chemistry I lecture, CHEM060 General Chemistry I Laboratory, CHEM161 General Chemistry II lecture, CHEM061 General Chemistry II laboratory
• Organic Chemistry: CHEM251 Organic Chemistry I lecture, CHEM051 Organic Chemistry I Laboratory, CHEM252 Organic Chemistry II lecture, CHEM052 Organic Chemistry II laboratory
• Mathematics: MATH160 Calculus I

DAT: All Dental School applicants are required to take the Dental School Admissions Test (DAT). These test are administered throughout the year, by the American College Testing Service. A score of 17 represents the national average. Applications/registrations may be obtained from the pre-professional advisor.

GPA for Dental Schools: Average Grade Point Average (GPA) for Dental School is 3.2 - 3.5. The average GPA for individual Dental Schools can be found in the Official Guide to Dental Schools. This guide is also available from the pre-professional advisor.

Extracurricular activities:

• Research: Most WPUNJ dental school applicants have participated in research projects at William Paterson University or outside the university. Through your research work you demonstrate that you are familiar with an academic environment and you are interested and commitment to research. As a dentist you will have to keep up with the latest developments in dental medicine such as new drugs that come on the market.
• Volunteer work: Students should have demonstrated their commitment and dedication to dental medicine through regular volunteer work. As volunteer you will be exposed to the day to day routine of a dentist. Contact your local dentist for volunteer opportunities.

Letters of Recommendation

The Pre-Professional Committee will submit a composite letter of recommendation together with the four to five letters of recommendation by individual professors. Students are advised to request individual letters of recommendation from their professors and to forward these letters to the Pre-Professional Committee.

A letter of recommendation will be supplied by the Pre-Professional Committee after the following has been received :

• updated curriculum vitae (resume)
• completed Pre-Professional registration form
• letters of recommendation from individual professors
• list of addresses of Admission Offices

 

Please allow two to four weeks for preparation of the recommendation letter.

Application

• The electronic application for 2004 will open at Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADSAS) in Mid-May 2003.
• The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has lots of resources available on their web site.

Information about Dental School

• A list of Dental Schools in the U.S.

Additional information can be found at:

• American Student Dental Association.
• American Dental Association